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New York Giants’ Steve Weatherford: “Mark Sanchez is a Very Talented Quarterback”

May 18th, 2012 at 4:57 PM
By Dan Benton

Although there may be no love lost between New York Giants punter Steve Weatherford and New York Jets Special Teams Coach Mike Westhoff, the Super Bowl XLVI champion maintains his respect for former teammate Mark Sanchez. However, he also acknowledges that Sanchez still needs to take that next step.

'Jets-Dolphin game, Nov 2009 - 007' photo (c) 2009, Ed Yourdon - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

"I like Mark — I think he's a very talented quarterback — but from my standpoint, I haven't seen a lot of maturation," said Weatherford. "When you're a quarterback and you come in, and you're expected to be the face of the franchise, and you're expected to lead the team. That's a lot to take on as a rookie. But as the years go on, I think you're expected to mature, skill-wise, and also mature as a leader, and to be honest with you, as much as I like the guy, I just haven't seen that."

Unfortunately for Weatherford, that single quote turned into a "Steve Weatherford Rips Mark Sanchez" article on ESPN that has now stirred up a lot of unnecessary back-and-forth between fans of the two teams, as well as fans and Weatherford himself.

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Former Giants LB Lawrence Taylor Had “No Clue” His Super Bowl XXV Ring was up for Auction

May 18th, 2012 at 11:21 AM
By Dan Benton

Why in the world would former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor sell his Super Bowl XXV ring? That's been the question for the last 24 hours, but as it turns out, LT isn't the one auctioning off the valuable piece of jewelry … his son TJ is.

'Lawrence Taylor' photo (c) 2007, Barbara moore - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

"Lawrence was, in fact, unaware of it but said he gave it to TJ and it's his right to do what he wants with it. He's fine with whatever TJ decided," Taylor's long-time agent Mark Lepselter said.

When Lepselter first called Taylor about the auction, #56 replied: "What the f**k are you talking about?"

Taylor had "no clue" the ring was even up for auction prior to the many media reports. But that begs the question: why does the listing say it comes with a notarized Letter of Authenticity (LOA) signed by Taylor?

Whatever the case may be, Taylor gifted the ring to his son and if he chooses to sell it, however disrespectful some people feel that may be, it's well within his rights. That said, many Big Blue fans would love to see the team purchase the ring and have it put on display at MetLife Stadium … or even placed in the NFL Hall of Fame.

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New York Giants’ Osi Umenyiora Apologizes for Mother’s Day Tweet

May 18th, 2012 at 6:45 AM
By Dan Benton

When New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora tweeted a special Happy Mother's Day wish to Philadelphia Eagles LeSean McCoy, it was intended to offend only one person. Unfortunately, it did not have its desired effect, and the only people it ended up allegedly offending were women.

Shortly after the tweet, Sarah Spain of ESPN W ripped Osi for his continued "sexist" and "anti-female" comments. She claimed it was utterly disrespectful to refer to a professional athlete in an all-male sport as female.

"It's time to put an end to these lazy, damaging jeers. It's time to stop spreading the message that being female is inherently wrong or inferior. The use of 'woman' or 'female' or 'girl' as an insult is sexist, plain and simple. Replace 'woman' with race, religion or sexual orientation and the reaction would be far different. Just imagine the response from media and fans if Umenyiora had tweeted McCoy 'Happy Gay Pride Day'," Spain wrote.

Umenyiora agreed with Spain, and apologized for his comments on Thursday morning.

"Sarah Spain is absolutely correct in her article. I wasn't thinking about it from that perspective. I apologize to any woman offended," Umenyiora tweeted. "I always try and look at things from someone else's perspective when it's called to my attention. [Her] article is the truth."

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Former New York Giants LB Lawrence Taylor Auctioning Off His Super Bowl XXV Ring

May 17th, 2012 at 3:10 PM
By Dan Benton

Less than 24 hours after the New York Giants received their Super Bowl XLVI rings, former linebacker Lawrence Taylor has decided to sell one of his.

'On the Giants Stadium scoreboard: Lawrence Taylor enters the field. 10/25/09, Giants Stadium' photo (c) 2009, Bari D - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

The Super Bowl XXV ring has been listed on auction website SCP Auction and has an appraised value of between $75,000 – $100,000. Bidding currently stands at $67,292 (17 bids), but has not yet met the reserve. The description also fails to list any premiums or premium rates (rates usually vary from 5% to upwards of 25% on top of the hammer price). It does, however, come with a Letter of Authenticity (LOA) courtesy of LT himself.

The descriptions reads, in part:

"The ring shows considerable wear, that in some eyes, only enhances it aura. A phenomenally important memento from one of the greatest football players of all-time."

Taylor's recent and ongoing legal issues have been publicly scrutinized, and are not something he shies away from discussing. In a December 2011 interview with Giants 101, Taylor admitted he likes having fun and that sometimes fun "gets him into trouble."

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New York Giants’ John Mara on Tom Coughlin’s New Deal: “We’re Working on It”

May 17th, 2012 at 12:07 PM
By Dan Benton

Back in late March, New York Giants co-owner John Mara said the team expected to have Tom Coughlin's contract extension worked out within 4-6 weeks. Now, more than seven weeks later, the head coach remains a lame duck. However, Mara reiterated on Wednesday night during Big Blue's Super Bowl XLVI ring ceremony that a new deal is, in fact, coming.

'Coach' photo (c) 2012, Scott Rubin - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

"We're working on it," Mara said. "It will be done sooner rather than later."

Following a 2010 season in which the Giants went 10-6 and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year, Coughlin was given a one-year extension through 2012 to avoid being a lame duck coach. Despite two mediocre seasons and a rough start to 2011, which saw fans beginning to call for his termination, Giants brass remained loyal to Coughlin. They never wavered in their support and Mara said during the Super Bowl XLVI postgame that he looked forward to answering the many letters questioning why they chose to keep Coughlin around.

In his eight years with the Giants, Coughlin has experience only one losing season – his first (6-10 in 2004). Since then, he has compiled a 68-44 regular season record, a 8-3 playoff record and, of course, has brought the Lombardi Trophy home twice.

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