By Gary Rose Special to PA SportsTicker

SHANGHAI, China (Ticker) — Goalkeeper Nadine Angerer admitted having researched Marta’s penalty-taking technique before making the crucial save to help Germany win its second straight Women’s World Cup title on Sunday.

With Germany holding a slender one-goal advantage courtesy of Birgit Prinz, Brazil was awarded a penalty just after the hour mark when Cristiane was brought down in the box.

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By Bruce Martin

PA SportsTicker Contributing Editor

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (Ticker) - For all but a few drivers in Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup LifeLock 400 at Kansas Speedway it was not a good day to be in “The Chase.”

It actually started one day earlier for defending series champion Jimmie Johnson, who won the pole on Friday but crashed his car in Saturday’s practice. He had to start the race in a backup car, which meant he had to start at the back of the pack.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Eli Manning threw a 9-yard touchdown to PlaxicoBurress and the Giants defense sacked Donovan McNabb five times as New York leadthe Philadelphia Eagles 7-0 at halftime on Sunday night.

The second of three sacks by Osi Umenyiora set up the Giants second-quartertouchdown. The sack forced the Eagles to punt from deep in their end and R.W.McQuarters returned the kick 11 yards to the Eagles’ 49.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Lawrence Tynes missed a 34-yard field goal attemptfor the Giants as New York and the Philadelphia Eagles played a scoreless firstquarter Sunday night.

On their second possession, the Giants drove deep into Eagles territorywhere they settled for the field goal attempt. The kick by Tynes sailed wideright with 5:13 remaining.

The Giants kept the Eagles in check by pressuring Donovan McNabb as JustinTuck and Osi Umenyiora had sacks.

The Eagles were shorthanded for the game, missing half back Brian Westbrook,cornerback Lito Sheppard, safety Brian Dawkins and offensive tackle WilliamThomas.

MANCHESTER, England - Owen Hargreaves has warned Manchester United that Roma will be thirsting for revenge in Tuesday’s potentially explosive Champions League tie at Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side thrashed the Italians 7-1 when they met in the quarter-finals of Europe’s top club competition last season.

Only six months later, Roma have the chance to regain some pride at the scene of one of most humiliating defeats in their history.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Dimitri Patzold won the San Jose Sharks’ backup goaliejob Sunday when the club sent Thomas Greiss to the minors.

Greiss had better statistics than Patzold during the exhibition season,which the Sharks finished 5-0-2 with a 2-1 win over Calgary on Saturday night.The 21-year-old Greiss went 2-0 with a 1.45 goals-against average, while the24-year-old Patzold had a 2.88 GAA and a meager .813 save percentage.

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LONDON — After a whirlwind week in London, where the Anaheim Ducks paradedthe Stanley Cup and played back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Kings, thedefending champions aren’t exactly getting a rest.

Next up: a road game on Wednesday in Detroit. On paper that’s a much tougherchallenge than playing the Kings on neutral ground. Plus the Ducks must againdeal with a trans-Atlantic trip and the jet lag that comes with it.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Brent Burns scored three goals and the Minnesota Wildbeat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Sunday in the preseason finale for bothteams.

The Wild will host Chicago in the regular-season opener on Thursday and bothclubs appeared ready to face off in a game that counts.

There were several skirmishes, and Minnesota’s Derek Boogaard fought DavidKoci early in the second period. Martin Lapointe and the Wild’s Dominic Mooredropped their gloves late in the third.

Mikko Koivu scored in the first period, and Pavol Demitra added anempty-netter to seal the win for the Wild. Patrick Sharp and Lapointe scored forChicago.

Earlier in the week, the Blackhawks (3-4-1) shored up their defense bysigning veterans Karel Pilar and Brent Sopel. That means that Cam Barker, thethird overall selection in the 2004 draft, will likely be sent to Rockford ofthe AHL before the opener.

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KANSAS CITY, Kansas (Ticker) — Greg Biffle on Sunday won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Lifelock 400 at Kansas Speedway.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Pittsburgh Steelers were beaten Sunday at their owngame by their old offensive coordinator and might-have-been head coach.

Rookie Steve Breaston returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown and theArizona Cardinals’ defense shut down Pittsburgh’s high-scoring offense most ofthe day to hand the Steelers their first loss, 21-14.

Breaston’s burst up the middle for the go-ahead score early in the fourthquarter was the Cardinals’ first punt return for a touchdown in 14 years.

The Cardinals (2-2) ended Willie Parker’s string of four consecutive100-yard rushing games, limiting him to 37 yards in 18 carries.

But Pittsburgh rallied behind Ben Roethlisberger, whose second TD pass toSantonio Holmes, a 7-yarder, cut it to 21-14 with 1:49 to play.

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