Series sweep for San Francisco

DETROIT (AP) — The Giants are World Series champions for the second time in three years.

San Francisco closed out a clean sweep of the American League champion Tigers last night with a 4-3, 10-inning victory in Detroit.

Marco Scutaro’s two-out RBI single in the top of the 10th plated the go-ahead run and the Giants held on for their seventh-straight postseason win.

After throwing back-to-back shutouts, the Giants got another clutch pitching performance. Matt Cain limited Detroit to three runs over seven innings. Three relievers delivered three hitless innings of relief. Closer Sergio Romo closed out the victory by striking out the side in the ninth for his third series save.

Giants’ pitchers posted a 1.46 earned run average in four meetings with the Tigers. That is the 12th-lowest ERA in World Series history.

Pablo Sandoval, who hit three home runs in Game 1, was named World Series MVP. Sandoval batted .500 for the series, and drove in four runs. Sandoval had 8 hits in 16 at-bats in the 108th Fall Classic.

Falcons stay perfect…Giants win by a finger…Manning tosses 3 TDs

UNDATED (AP) — There remains one unbeaten team in the NFL and that club is from Atlanta. The Falcons upped their record to 7-0 with a convincing 30-17 victory over the Eagles in Philadelphia. Matt Ryan threw touchdown passes on Atlanta’s first three possessions and the Falcons are 7-0 for the first time in franchise history. They were so dominating they scored on their first six possessions. The loss was the Eagles fourth in seven outings. It was their first after a bye week in 14 games under coach Andy Reid since 1999.

Ryan finished 22 of 29 for 262 yards and three TDs for his first win against his hometown team in three tries. Michael Vick is now 0-2 against his former team since returning to the NFL in 2009.

In other Week 8 results:

__ The New York Giants blew an early 23-0 lead, recovered and edged the Dallas Cowboys 29-24. The Cowboys appeared to have scored a winning touchdown with 6 seconds left on a long TD pass from Tony Romo to Dez Bryant. But TV replays showed Bryant’s finger landed out of bounds and the TD was overruled. The Cowboys self-destructed with six turnovers. The Giants are in command of the NFC East with a 6-2 record, and are 4-0 lifetime at Cowboys Stadium.

__Chicago upped its record to 6-1 win an exciting 23-22 win over Carolina. Robbie Gould provided the final second heroics with a 41-yard field goal as time expired. The Bears rallied twice in the fourth quarter to get the win. The loss was Carolina’s fifth straight and gives the Panthers a record of 1-6.

__Rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III of the Redskins has had his first encounter with the Steelers defense and came out the loser. The Steelers were all over Griffin who was able to complete 16 of 34 passes for 177 yards a score. The Steelers won the game 27-12.

__There was quite a finish in Detroit as the Lions edged the Seahawks 28-24. Lions signal-caller Matthew Stafford threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Titus Young with 20 seconds left to give the Lions their third win in seven games. The loss dropped Seattle to 4-4.

__Aaron Rodgers and Donald Driver connected on a 4-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter to seal the Packers’ 24-15 win over Jacksonville. Rodgers threw two touchdowns, passing Bart Starr for second place on Green Bay’s all-time list. The Packers are now 5-3 while the Jaguars, who have lost four straight, are 1-6.

__Browns rookie Trent Richardson bounced back from an off game last week to rush for 122 yards and the game’s lone touchdown in a 7-6 win over San Diego. Richardson, pulled last week at Indianapolis when he was ineffective because of a rib injury, carried 24 times as the Browns won their second straight home game.

— In London, Tom Brady led touchdown drives on the Patriots’ first five possessions as New England ran over St. Louis 45-7. New England surpassed 350 yards of total offense for the 17th straight game, breaking an NFL record set by the Rams in 1999-2000.

__ The Colts continued their mastery of the Titans with a 19-13 overtime win. The winning score in OT came off the hand of rookie quarterback Andrew Luck who threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Vick Ballard at 4:49 of the extra session. The 4-3 Colts have beaten Tennessee in seven of eight overall and seven of the past 10 in Nashville

— Miami rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill was injured in the first quarter and had to leave the game with New York. None the less the Dolphins had an easy time of it, beating the Jets 30-9. Fill-in Matt Moore finished 11 of 19 for 131 yards. Tannehill left the game with an injured left knee and quadriceps muscle after being sacked on Miami’s second possession of the game.

— Carson Palmer threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns, and the Oakland Raiders stuffed the struggling Kansas City Chiefs 26-16 for their sixth straight win at Arrowhead Stadium. Sebastian Janikowski was perfect on four field-goal tries. The Chiefs have lost four straight and still have not led in regulation this season.

Irish gain ground

UNDATED (AP) — Notre Dame is the latest team to move past Oregon in the BCS standings. The Fighting Irish are in third place, behind Alabama and Kansas State. The Ducks remained fourth.

Florida fell out of the top five with a 17-9 loss to Georgia, helping to set the field in the race for the BCS title game with a month to go in the regular season.

Alabama is locked in at No. 1, and if the Crimson Tide can keep winning it will play for its third championship in four years. The Wildcats, Fighting Irish and Ducks need to remain unbeaten, and keep an eye on each other.

The computers ratings are still holding the Ducks back because their strength of schedule lags behind the other contenders.

Kansas State is third in each poll and Notre Dame is fourth. But according to the computers, the Wildcats and Fighting Irish are tied for first.

Dislocated knee for Lattimore

UNDATED (AP) — South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier says running back Marcus Lattimore had his right knee dislocated against Tennessee and the injury is something he can come back from to play football again. Spurrier says South Carolina’s team doctor was able to put Lattimore’s knee back in place soon after he was taken from the field to the hospital.

Johnson wins, again

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Jimmie Johnson held off Kyle Busch on a restart with five laps to go to win for the seventh time in his career at Martinsville Speedway. The five-time series champion moved into the lead in the championship standings, two points over Brad Keselowski with three races remaining.

Keselowski started 32nd, methodically worked his way forward, and took a late gamble to grab the lead on a restart with 19 laps to go. When Johnson and the rest of the leaders pitted for tires, Keselowski was a sitting duck once the race went back to green.

Johnson made the race a points bonanza, leading the most laps and earning three points for the victory.

Busch was second, followed by Kasey Kahne.

The Huskers are back in both of college football’s major polls. They check in at number 21 in both the AP poll and USA Today Coaches Poll after their 23-9 home victory over Michigan on Saturday. The victory puts the Huskers in control of their own destiny in the Big Ten’s Legends Division. Both Nebraska and Michigan claim 3-1 conference records, but the Huskers now have the tiebreaker with the head-to-head win. Another difficult test awaits Nebraska this Saturday, as they visit a Michigan State team that ranks in the top 10 in the country in total defense.

Peyton Manning lit up the primetime stage once again as the Denver Broncos trounced the New Orleans Saints 34-14 in Denver last night. Manning completed 22 of 30 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns, two to Eric Decker and one to Demaryius Thomas. It’s the fifth straight game in which Manning has thrown for 300 yards, tying a personal-best and setting a Broncos franchise record. Willis McGahee rushed for 122 yards as the Broncos outgained the Saints 530 yards to 252. The game was tied at seven in the second quarter when Denver’s Wesley Woodyard intercepted a fourth down pass near midfield, setting up a touchdown drive that started a run of 27 straight Denver points. The Broncos are now 4-3 on the season and alone atop the AFC West. They visit the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday.

After opening their weekend with a home loss, the fourth-ranked Husker volleyball team reversed their fortune and came up with a thrilling five-set win over top-ranked Penn State at the NU Coliseum. After dropping the first set 12-25, Nebraska won a thrilling second set 32-30. The Huskers lost the third set 19-25 but eked out the fourth set 25-23 and then took the decisive fifth 15-10. Gina Mancuso led four Huskers in double figures with 16 kills. The Huskers are 18-3 and 10-2 in Big Ten play. They visit Michigan and Michigan State this coming weekend.

The eighteenth-ranked Husker women’s basketball team opens their exhibition schedule tonight. Preseason All-Big Ten selections Jordan Hooper and Lindsay Moore will lead the Huskers against Pittsburg State. The Huskers return four starters and ten letterwinners from a 24-win team that finished as the Big Ten runners-up and made the NCAA tournament last year. Tip-off at the Devaney Center is scheduled for 7 PM.