AVENGERS LIMP TO ANOTHER LOSS SAN JOSE 75, AVENGERS 72.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

Of the Avengers' 10 losses in their inaugural season, Saturday night's was without question the most painful, on multiple levels.

Four players, including quarterback Todd Marinovich, left the game with injuries, and the Avengers had their playoff hopes officially ended by a 75-72 loss to the San Jose SaberCats in front of 13,034 at Staples Center.

``We went through some crutches tonight,'' said Avengers coach Stan Brock, whose team fell to 3-10 with only next Friday's road game against Buffalo remaining.

The Avengers' attempts to control San Jose's pass rush and shut down the SaberCats' trio of quick receivers were also painful to watch, but of more immediate concern were the conditions of the injured players, the most serious of whom, lineman Victor Hall, was taken off the field on a stretcher in the third quarter with a neck injury.

Hall, playing defense, made a tackle near the sideline and was accidently hit on the helmet by a teammate who also converged on the play. Team owner Casey Wasserman said Hall had movement in all extremities and was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles for precautionary tests.

The Avengers also lost defensive back Tray Crayton (foot) and receiver Damian Groce (knee) but suffered their most serious blow in the first quarter when Marinovich bruised his left rib cage when he was hit after letting go of a pass.

Marinovich, who said he initially injured his ribs in last week's loss to Milwaukee, came back to throw a touchdown on the next play but was replaced in the next series by Scott Semptimphelter and did not return.

``I'm obviously really sore,'' Marinovich said. ``It wasn't a real serious hit, it was more of a re-injury from last week.''

In between all the injuries, there actually was some football being played, and the SaberCats (11-2) won their 10th consecutive game with an impressive offensive effort against the Avengers' overmatched defensive backs.

Quarterback Mark Grieb completed 20 of 31 attempts for 346 yards and six touchdowns and connected with receiver Steve Papin for 13 catches, 232 yards and three scores. Every time the Avengers got close, Grieb and the SaberCats would push the advantage back to a comfortable margin.