A loss?

Sure, definitely possible.

But, a game with as much meaning for the Giants as Sunday’s contest with the Carolina Panthers, essentially lost by halftime?

Almost unfathomable.

Had the Giants followed the expected script, they would have kept their season alive with an inspired, crisp effort leading to a happy Giants Stadium farewell.

Instead, they didn’t fare well at all.

In their long and storied 84-year history, New York had never rallied to victory following a deficit of at least 24 points at any time, in any game they’ve ever played.

So, the Giants’ 283rd game in the stadium they called home since October 10, 1976 was certainly the wrong time to fall behind by such a margin in their final game at Giants Stadium, with their 2009 playoff lives on the line.

The team with simply pride and nothing more to play for thoroughly embarrassed the team with absolutely everything at stake.

The result was the Giants producing their third worst loss in the history of the stadium which has now become history to the Giants’ franchise.

The Giants lost to Dallas, 35-0, in 1995, and to Green Bay, 37-3, in 1998, at Giants Stadium. Strictly in terms of margin of victory, those two losses weren’t quite as bad, but in other ways, Sunday’s defeat was indeed, much worse.

Appropriately, Carolina (7-8), clad in black and Carolina blue caused Big Blue to feel blue with disappointment, and made the Giants (8-7) black and blue after physically beating them up, during a 41-9 rout, simultaneously ending New York’s season and signaling the end of a 34-year era.

Hours later, the Dallas Cowboys officially eliminated the Giants from playoff contention with a 17-0 victory in Washington.

That too, was fitting, not only because the Cowboys will go down as the final team the Giants ever beat at Giants Stadium, but because the Panthers did almost exactly to the Giants what New York did to the Redskins only six days earlier, during its 45-12 win in Washington.

In one other symbolic nugget, one of the most humiliating Giants losses in the history of the stadium which bore their name for nearly three and half decades, was a microcosm of the Giants’ 2009 season.

After beginning the season looking like dominant, legitimate 5-0 Super Bowl contenders, the Giants faded quietly out of the NFC playoff picture with their seventh defeat in ten games.

Similarly, New York began its game with Carolina in impressive fashion, moving the ball well, before everything -– much like the Giants’ season –- quickly fell apart.

Winning the opening toss, the Giants used a nice mix of passing and rushing on a 13-play, 63-yard drive over 7:22, and they had an apparent first down inside the red zone, until wide receiver Mario Manningham (game-high 87 yards on 6 catches) fumbled just past the first down marker.

The ball was recovered by Carolina. Subsequently, like the air going out of a huge balloon flying along nicely, the Giants appeared sapped of all of their momentum, as the Giants Stadium crowd of 78,809 lost all of its energy.

The fumble was one of two lost by the Giants, who were also intercepted twice in losing the turnover battle 4-0.

Perhaps the real turning point however, occurred three plays earlier, when Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning (who prior, had completed his first six passes) thought he had a 26-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Steve Smith (game-high 7 catches for 70 yards and the Giants’ only touchdown), who caught Manning’s pass in the left corner of the end zone, but had the potential score nullified by fullback Madison Hedgecock’s holding penalty.

Manning, who completed 29 of 43 passes for a game-high 296 yards while reaching a career-high 3,880 yards, but who also threw for just one touchdown and two interceptions, said “We got off to a really fast start, we’re converting third downs, we’re running [and] passing good… we think we have a touchdown, we pick up right where we were last week… and we get a holding, we get the turnover, after a seven-minute drive… to do just about everything right and [then] to get no points out of it… after that, we just never got into rhythm.”

Giants’ running back Brandon Jacobs, who had a mere one yard on six carries, added about Hedgecock’s holding call and the effect it seemed to have on the Giants for the rest of the game, “We never overcame it and it just went downhill from there… That first drive… there was nothing that they could do to stop us and we got the penalty which killed out momentum, [it] took the fans out of [the game], and downhill went everything… something like this isn’t supposed to happen when you’re playing for so much… and that is a terrible way to go out.”

However, something like that shouldn’t stop a team, unless it’s as mentally fragile as this year’s Giants, or unless that team’s defense lacks the toughness, especially defensively, as much as the 2009 Giants’ defense has ever since New York’s season-starting five-game win streak.

Giants’ tight end Kevin Boss (5 catches for 49 yards), summed up the feeling of most Giants players, coaches, and fans, saying “I think we were riding high from last week’s victory. I think we all thought we were going to come in here and do what we did last week, and instead, it was the other way around.”

That the Giants were never able to bounce back from such early mistakes was puzzling, though maybe it shouldn’t have been given the Giants’ inability to stop most teams over the last ten games.

During past highly successful Giants Stadium seasons, after a fumble like Manningham’s, the Meadowlands crowd would have become even louder and the defense would have simply made a stop and got the ball right back for its offense to drive again.

However, with that one play, the atmosphere at the Meadowlands became more of a “here we go again” mentality, perhaps understandably so, since this year’s Giants’ defense, — one that allowed 40 points for a fourth time this season on Sunday, the first time a Big Blue defense had done that since 1966 — became as soft against the Panthers, as the Meadowlands marshes which surround Giants Stadium, lacking any sort of heart, fire, drive, determination, or any other adjective which you’d expect from a defensive unit playing its final game ever in an historic home stadium with very realistic playoff chances still within its grasp.

Carolina marched down the field on its opening possession, going 61 yards on 15 plays in 6:52, taking a 3-0 lead on a 38-yard field goal by kicker John Kasay with 46 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Sadly, ever since the 5-0 start, the Giants never remotely approached the accomplished Giants teams of years past which made Giants Stadium, with its swirling winds, a living nightmare for opposing offenses.

Earlier in the week, with WFAN’s Mke Francesa, former Giants linebacker, Lawrence Taylor, arguably the best ever to play his position, said that when he played (as a Giant from 1981-1993), the Giants’ defense back then, didn’t “really worry about the pass, it was all about the running game. I [didn’t] care if [our offense could] score or not,” he said. “Just don’t turn the ball over and we [were] going to win.”

Yes, in LT’s day, the Giants were predicated on a stout defense which was very tough to move the ball on, and offensively, on a solid running attack which amassed yardage and controlled the ball.

But, not these Giants, and definitely not in either case on Sunday.

The Giants managed just 60 rushing yards on 19 carries, second only this season to a paltry 57 yards on the ground in a Thanksgiving night loss in Denver.

Defensively, New York saved its worst for last. The Giants simply couldn’t tackle, as the Panthers ran the ball right down their collective throats, to the tune of 247 yards, the most rushing yards ever allowed by a Giants’ defense in Giants Stadium history.

Carolina rookie running back Jonathan Stewart, filling in for the injured DeAngelo Williams (the Panthers’ leading rusher), torched the Giants’ defense for 206 yards on 28 carries despite playing with an hurt Achilles tendon and toe.

And, backup quarterback Matt Moore, who hasn’t yet played the equivalent of a full 16-game NFL regular season in his three seasons as a pro, replaced injured starter Jake Delhomme for the fourth straight week by going 15 of 20 for 171 yards, and three touchdowns for the Panthers.

After that initial Giants’ drive, New York would manage a total of four yards on its next four possessions, punting three times, and seeing Manning intercepted, breaking his string of 84 pass attempts without a pick.

Meanwhile, the Panthers moved the ball quickly, and at will, scoring touchdowns each of the first three times they touched the ball in the second quarter. They scored on drives of 63 yards (in 3:04), 51 yards (in 3:47), and 29 yards (in 2:29) to take a commanding 24-0 lead.

A two-minute, 71-yard touchdown drive at the start of the third quarter extended Carolina’s lead to 31-0, and effectively ended any chances the Giants still had to save their season and close out Giants Stadium out on a happy note for Giants fans.

A Lawrence Tynes field goal midway through the third quarter brought only sarcastic cheers from the crowd before Manning later found Steve Smith on a two-yard touchdown pass with 11:59 left in the game, cutting Carolina’s lead to 34-9, for the final Giants Stadium points ever scored by the Giants.

The stark difference between what actually took place on the Giants Stadium turf one last time for the Giants and what Giants’ fans players, and coaches expected could be summed up well by looking at Manning’s comments.

Prior to the game, Manning said, “I have only been here six years, but I have a lot of fond memories and great wins,” he said. “Obviously for the fans and the ownership, it’s a special game for them. You think about how many great teams and great games have been played in Giants Stadium. It will be a special day for us.”

Afterwards, he said “It is shocking and it is disappointing. When you have a shot to get into the playoffs and everything is right in front of us, to come and have mistakes and turnovers and penalties, we did about everything we could just to try to lose that game.”

Defensive end Justin Tuck admitted just how much the loss hurt, saying “This is the lowest I have been in a Giants’ uniform.”

And, Giants’ head coach Tom Coughlin called his team’s effort “Very disappointing, obviously. A very, very poor performance by our team. To have the game kind of game that we played today was… I called it for the players ‘the most inopportune of times.’ To have what was potentially at stake for our team, and to be playing at home coming off a big win. Carolina had a big win last weekend, but did not have a chance to be in the playoffs, and for us to play the way we did today, there is obviously no excuse for it. We didn’t tackle well. We didn’t play with great energy.”

For whatever little it’s worth, the Giants still have a chance to finish with a winning road record this season with a win in next week’s season finale in Minnesota. But sadly, the stadium which helped send the Giants to three Super Bowl titles, ends with a year in which that same franchise was a mediocre 4-4 at home while missing the playoffs.

Coughlin said the Giants will still try to show up to win, now in their own spoiler role. “We have to regain some kind of respect for the way that the game is to be played,” he said.

The Giants finished with a record of 162-121 (.572) in Giants Stadium, including 155-117 in the regular season and 7-4 in postseason games.

Overall, it was the 476th regular season football game played in Giants Stadium, which is the most ever played in any stadium. Chicago’s Wrigley Field is second with 365.

In an ironic twist, the stadium’s other tenant, the New York Jets (8-7), which have yet to make a Super Bowl while playing at the Meadowlands, can close out Giants Stadium the way the Giants had hoped to, next week.

The Jets had been thought to have been out of serious playoff contention after a home loss to Atlanta last week, but things in the AFC have since broken just right for Gang Green, and the Jets can clinch an AFC wild-card berth with a home win over Cincinnati (10-5) on Sunday night.

The Jets and Giants will both move into their new state-of-the-art $1.7 billion New Meadowlands Stadium during the 2010 season after Giants Stadium is demolished, beginning in February.

Time will tell what kinds of memories the Giants might make in their new building, but despite the disappointing ending for the Giants, the current one will still be missed.

“The new place is nice, don’t get me wrong,” said Jacobs before Sunday’s game. “But it’s not this place.”

Save that myth for the casual basketball fan.

Real basketball followers know that’s not always the case.

And, if you’ve watched the first four New York Knick games this season, you especially know what a huge difference getting off to a good start means to their success.

It took three tries in a span of four nights, but the Knicks finally figured out what sometimes makes a strong fourth quarter hold up in an NBA game –- playing just as well in the first quarter.

Persistence pays.

So does another cliché… playing from ahead instead of playing catch-up.

After a season-opening blowout loss in Miami, the Knicks lost their next two games in pretty much the same fashion.

On Friday, New York had a big fourth quarter, outscoring the Charlotte Bobcats 27-13, which was only good enough for a double overtime loss because the Knicks came out flat and trailed 32-13 after the first quarter.

The following night, New York again dominated the fourth period, 41-26, but all that did was cancel out a miserable first quarter in which the Philadelphia 76ers outscored the Knicks 40-25, before later beating them in overtime.

On Monday night at Madison Square Garden however, the Knicks finally learned their lesson.

This time, playing from the start, with focus, passion, intensity, and a sense of purpose, a fourth quarter in which the Knicks outscored the New Orleans Hornets 40-30, didn’t go to waste.

That’s because it was coupled by New York also winning the first period, 31-24, slightly more than the final margin of victory in the Knicks’ 117-111 win over the Hornets, despite Chris Paul again doing what he does best.

The victory was the 300th regular season win in career of Knicks’ head coach Mike D’Antoni, who laid out some specific pre-game goals before the win. “Keep our intensity up for 48 minutes, play together, and move the ball,” he said.

That sounds fairly simple, but those were all areas in which the Knicks lacked while beginning the season with three straight losses, their worst start since going 0-5 in 2005.

Well, check, check, and check on all three accounts, and then some, against New Orleans (1-3), which lost its second straight on a northeast road trip.

“I thought our defense was solid most of the night,” D’Antoni said, as he finally saw his team buy into buckling down and getting serious about making defensive stops.

“Just a better flow of the game,” he added. “It felt better offensively and defensively. Each guy came in and understood what he needed to do.”

The one guy who did it best for the Knicks was forward David Lee, who scored a team-high 28 points on 13 of 17 shooting from the floor, while adding eight rebounds. “He was huge,” D’Antoni said of Lee.

Lee’s efforts were complimented by that of former starter Al Harrington, who D’Antoni has preferred to use as a spark off the bench the past two games. As he did with his game-high 42 points on Saturday, Harrington responded in that role, matching Lee’s eight boards while scoring 24 points on 8 of 21 shooting from the field in 29:43.

On Harrington seemingly accepting his new role well, D’Antoni said “I hope he likes it because he’s doing a terrific job at it.”

After trailing by 31, 21, and 23 points in their first three games, and never leading after the first quarter in any of those games, the Knicks came to play early against the Hornets, scoring 14 straight points to take a 16-6 lead in the opening period.

The seven-point lead the Knicks built after the first quarter, propelled New York to a 58-52 halftime lead. But Paul, widely considered the best point guard in the league, scored 11 of his game-high 32 to help the Hornets outscore the Knicks 29-19 in the third quarter and take an 81-77 lead going into the final period. Paul also had a game-high 13 assists with just two turnovers, and added five rebounds, while shooting 12 of 18 from the floor (including 4 of 5 from three-point range) and 4 of 5 at the free throw line.

However, it was the fast start in the opening quarter, leading to the six-point halftime lead, which allowed yet another big fourth quarter by New York to be the difference between a third consecutive late rally falling short and instead, the Knicks’ first win of the season.

For the first time on the young season, the Knicks consistently exhibited solid team play, sound defense, a good motion offense, and nice ball movement, often finding the open man and exploiting the Hornets’ interior defense for easy baskets.

Most of all, keeping their intensity up as D’Antoni wanted, often diving after loose balls, deflecting passes, and just having a better overall court awareness, ultimately carried the Knicks to victory.

Although Lee and Harrington led the way, they had plenty of help as the Knicks played a nice team game, with 24 assist on their 43 field goals.

Guard Larry Hughes, scored 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field, as the latest new starter in D’Antoni’s early season lineup experimentation, as the coach searches for the best floor combinations.

Knicks’ point guard Chris Duhon scored 18 points, making 8 of 9 free throw attempts, while dishing out 9 assists and turning the ball over just twice. And, forwards Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler chipped in nine points apiece.

All around, it was largely a team effort. As Hughes pointed out, “It’s about coming out and playing hard for 48 minutes.” He added that offensively, “When we make those guys move, we can shoot the ball from anywhere. It makes the game a lot easier.” He also was happy for D’Antoni on reaching his personal milestone, saying “Congratulations to Coach!”

D’Antoni meanwhile, was happy just to get any win, and viewed the win as a positive sign of the potential of what could lie ahead when his team backs up on the court what he preaches to them in the locker room. “I was just encouraged the whole game,” he said. “We’ll just keep going forward… Much better tonight, we took a gigantic step forward.”

The Knicks can take their next step on Wednesday night, when they host 0-2 Indiana, who will first play at home against Denver on Tuesday, before coming to New York.

That is not head coach Eric Mangini’s style. He prepares his team the same every week and was visibly happy after the convincing win. “With the completeness of the game, it’s something we’ve been stressing week in and week out,” he said.

With the largest margin of victory in team history, the Jets improved to 6-3 to maintain a share of first place in the AFC East. The second three-touchdown game of the year for running back Thomas Jones paved the way, and he gave a lot of the credit to the guys in front of him for the success.

“I’m lucky to be able to run behind those guys,” he said. “They’re one of the best offensive lines in the league.”

Jones, who finished with 149 yards on 26 carries, had a 20-yard gain on the Jets first offensive play of the game and capped off the eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run to the right corner of the end zone, following a key block thrown by wide receiver Laveranues Coles.

The Jets put up 10 more points before the first quarter came to an end. Abram Elam sacked St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger on a blitz, knocking the ball loose. On a play that proved that the ball was bouncing the Jets way on this day, Calvin Pace basically had it jump off the ground and right into his hands. The linebacker took it the other way 50 yards for his first career score.

Quarter number two was even more one-sided, with three field goals by Jay Feely, another rushing score by Jones and a one-yard pass from Brett Favre (14 for 19, 167 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions) to tight end Dustin Keller. The contest became a laugher and a 40-0 advantage at halftime for the Jets.

The 78,073 in attendance enjoyed themselves on Military Appreciation Day, and only booed when the Rams broke the shutout when Josh Brown kicked a 37-yard field goal with 9:51 left in the third quarter.

By winning five out of their last six games, the Jets have a chance to take over the top spot in the division by defeating the Patriots on national television after a short work week preparing for the game.