Capping one of the greatest postseasons for any quarterback, Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to their first NFL championship in 14 years Sunday, 31-25 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Green Bay reclaimed the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for its legendary coach who won the first two Super Bowls and is making his own star turn in New York in the play named after him.

Rodgers, the game’s MVP, thrilled his legion of Cheesehead fans with a spectacular six-game string that should finally erase the bitterness of the Brett Favre separation in Green Bay. After sitting for three long years before Favre left in 2008, Rodgers is now equal with the retired quarterback in Super Bowl wins, and he extended the Packers’ record of NFL titles to 13, nine before the Super Bowl era.

“You can stop it now,” Packers veteran wide receiver Donald Driver said. “Aaron’s proved that he’s one of the best, if not the best, quarterback in this game today.”

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The San Francisco Giants won the MLB World Series on Monday night, beating the Texas Rangers 3-1 in a tense Game 5 and taking the trophy home to the city by the Bay for the first time.

More than a half-century after moving West, the Giants are taking the trophy to the city by the Bay for the first time. Tim Lincecum was wicked on the mound, Edgar Renteria broke a scoreless duel with a three-run homer in the seventh inning and San Francisco beat the Texas Rangers 3-1 in a tense Game 5 Monday night.

The prize that eluded Willie and Barry for so long finally belongs to San Francisco, thanks to a band of self-described castoffs and misfits and their shaggy-haired ace.

“World Series champs, 2010. Can you believe this?” October ace Matt Cain said.

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The rebirth of hockey in Chicago can be traced to June 22, 2007. Thirteen days shy of three years later, the player who helped turn around a franchise and breathe new life into a moribund franchise, Patrick Kane, lived the dream of any kid who ever picked up a hockey stick.

Kane’s NHL Stanley Cup-winning goal 4:06 into overtime sparked a celebration 49 years in the making that ranged from the Wachovia Center ice to the “Magnificent Mile” and all the way back to Buffalo.

“I can’t believe this just happened,” Kane said. “It’s something you dream of as a kid. To score the winning goal in the Stanley Cup Final … it was just … it was unbelievable.”

“It would be a storybook ending to a good Hollywood script,” Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz said . “Who would have thought we could do this?”

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