US Patent and Trademark Office Cancels Washington Redskins Trademark Over Derogatory Nature

The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued a landmark ruling in cancelling the Washington Redskins trademark use of the Redskin name. The PTO cancelled the Redskins trademark because its "disparaging to Native Americans."

That'll probably force the NFL and Washington team owner to change the team name, though they'll probably appeal the ruling even though it was the right one (and will likely set precedent for other sports teams around the nation that use similar terms).

Of course, a few are complaining that this is another sign of a bureaucracy run amok. That's a bogus complaint since the US PTO has rules for trademarking, and that includes a prohibition of terms, phrases, and images that are disparaging. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled on the case, brought by a Native American against the team's trademarks, and won. The reasoning is sound and grounded in the Trademark Act since the registrations were in violation of Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a). The decision concerns only the statutory right to registration under Section 2(a) because the Board lacks the statutory authority to issue rulings concerning the right to use trademarks. See, e.g., In re Franklin Press,
Inc., 597 F.2d 270, 201 USPQ 662, 664 (CCPA 1979).

Allowing the trademark to stand would have undermined the very law prohibiting derogatory trademarks (in other words, potentially opening the door to allowing a group like the KKK or a white supremacist group to file trademarks and protect their use - like say against the SPLC that goes after these hate groups).

Those who are trying to protect the use of the name because of the historical nature of the usage within the NFL would be blind to the derogatory nature of the team name, and history of repression and poor treatment of Native Americans across the country and throughout US history. This was the right decision to make, and hopefully the NFL and Dan Snyder act appropriately and change the team name immediately. It shouldn't have taken a trademark ruling to do it; it's a decision that should have been made long ago.

It's now up to the NFL and Snyder to make this right. Of course, Snyder has previously stated he would never change the team name, but his hand is likely to be forced by this decision.

The Mess That Is the New York Jets

As a New York Giants fan, I can't help but laugh at all the nonsense coming from the Giants' MetLife stadium mates - the New York Jets. The entire offseason has been a circus for the Jets. First, they picked up Denver Quarterback Tim Tebow even though they have a quarterback who has taken the Jets to the AFC Championship twice, but regressed last year. Then, they courted a quarterback controversy.

Throughout the preseason, the Jets offense has been missing in action. Actually, it's been worse than that. The offense has actually turned into points for the opposition while not putting up a single touchdown.

The offense is putrid. Yet, Coach Rex Ryan seems to be pinning the team's offensive success on a wildcat offensive system that has yet to be tested during the preseason.

Ryan keeps claiming that there's no reason to show the offense before the regular season opener against the Buffalo Bills.

Throughout the preseason, the Jets have zealously guarded the Wildcat portion of their offense that coach Rex Ryan has boasted about so much since they acquired Tim Tebow in a trade with Denver in March. Not only did they not use it in any public practices during training camp, they didn’t run it, not even for one play, during any of their first three preseason games.

And Tebow won’t play Thursday night in the preseason finale, Ryan said.

Why all the secrecy? Ryan truly believes it will make the formation and all its wrinkles that much more effective when the Jets finally unleash that Wildcat against Buffalo in the regular-season opener Sept. 9.

“There’s no sense in putting it out there on film,” Ryan said Tuesday. “Let [the Bills] guess and hopefully it messes them up.”

He admitted that he and offensive coordinator Tony Sparano made a conscious decision not to tip their hand at all.

“Yeah, we bounced it back and forth,” Ryan said. “But we made that collective decision that we thought it was in our best interest not to.”

Still, it could be argued that merely a few snaps in preseason game action against an opponent other than the Jets themselves could have helped Tebow and the rest of the players become more familiar with the scheme under game conditions. And really, the Jets could have done that without giving away too much that isn’t already known among NFL defensive coordinators.

The folly of the logic of not testing out the system in the preseason is that the first time they run the system in the regular season, every team they face down the line will be able to recognize it and prepare defenses to counter it. So, instead of preparing the team for how it will operate during the regular season, the Jets have put together an offense that can't score under a standard offensive scheme, and will leave it to wishful thinking that the wildcat will work past the first game.

There's absolutely no reason to believe that the offense will improve. After all, the offensive line can't protect the quarterback, create running lanes for running backs or Tim Tebow, and if they can't vastly improve on either front, the team will disintegrate before your very eyes. It will turn ugly.

In fact, there's already been signs of just how ugly it might get - with the team failing to score a touchdown thus far in the preseason, the first time that the offense sputters in the regular season will open up the possibility of a full-blown quarterback controversy that will only mire the rest of the season as a lost cause.

Yet, despite this self-imposed disaster, picking up Tebow helped sell newspapers and keep the Jets in the headlines.

That's all while the defending Super Bowl champion Giants went to business and are plugging away at getting their players ready for the grind and seeing who will fill the shoes left by the departed Brandon Jacobs and Mario Manningham. In both instances, it seems the Giants have found their men, and their chief concern is mitigating and minimizing injuries.

NCAA, Pro Sports Leagues Suing New Jersey Over Sports Betting Law

There are four states where sports gambling is legal: Nevada, Delaware, Oregon, and Montana. That seems to be unfair to other states that have later legalized gambling, such as New Jersey. This year, Gov. Chris Christie and the legislature sought to overcome federal law authorizing only Nevada to allow sports betting by enacting a sports betting law for the state.

Now, the NCAA and the major pro sports leagues are suing the state.

The nation's four professional sports leagues and the NCAA filed suit against Gov. Chris Christie and other state officials in federal court in Trenton this morning to block New Jersey from allowing sports betting in Atlantic City casinos and the state's race tracks.

The suit, brought by Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and the National Collegiate Athletic Association cites a 1992 federal law, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, prohibiting all but four states to permit betting on collegiate and professional games. The measure was sponsored by Bill Bradley, a former Democratic senator from New Jersey who also played basketball for the New York Knicks.

The suit asserts that "the outcome of collegiate and athletic contests must be determined, and must be perceived by the public as being determined, solely on the basis of honest athletic competition."

New Jersey was the only state in 1992 to be be given an opportunity by Congress to approve a referendum allowing sports betting, but the matter was never placed on the ballot.

In November, New Jersey voters approved a ballot referendum to amend the state Constitution to allow sports betting , which is currently only permitted by federal law in Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana.

It's really hilarious to read that the leagues and NCAA are concerned about New Jersey's gambling threatening the "character and integrity" of events and threatens the "reputations and goodwill" between fans and teams. After all, that would be an argument applicable to any state that had sports gambling.

This seems to be a curious argument being made by the sports organizations. After all, they haven't been concerned about the gambling in the states where it is legal (and grandfathered into the federal law prohibiting sports gambling elsewhere). If they were that concerned about the vice of sports gambling, then they would have tried to block sports gambling in those states. Well, they have tried, though they haven't been successful.

This has more to do with a poorly conceived federal law that is discriminatory against states that didn't consider sports betting prior to the enactment of the federal law. It protects the interests of the states where sports betting is legal and intrudes into an area where states were previously free to consider their own policy on gambling.

Football Training Camps Open With Giants As Underdogs and Jets Again Overestimating Themselves

The last Super Bowl is already in the rear view mirror, and training camp is now open across the NFL. Despite having a stirring Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots, Las Vegas has a half dozen teams ranked ahead of the defending champion New York Giants including all the teams that the Giants beat in the playoffs to win it all.

You can be assured that will make for all the motivation that the defending champs need. Their regular season wasn't much to look at, but it was more than enough to get them into the playoffs where they showed their mettle. The Giants have already stated as much.

That’s why Eli Manning said in a radio interview on WFAN earlier this week that the Giants will begin camp with “a lot to prove” to everyone, even though their most recent championship isn't yet six months old. That’s a notion that has been echoed by some of his teammates who will arrive in Albany with chips on their shoulders the size of their Super Bowl rings.

“There’s always a lot to prove every year,” Osi Umenyiora said. “It’s not like the Olympics or the World Cup. Every year somebody’s got to win it again. Last year’s over with. Going into this year nobody’s picking us to win again, as usual. There’s always going to be a lot to prove every year we go out there.”

It’s still early, but in some places the Giants are already projected to finish third in the NFC East, and at least one Vegas oddsmaker has them the ninth choice to win Super Bowl XLVII behind four other NFC teams (including the Philadelphia Eagles). It’s been pointed out in many places too that before they were champions the Giants were a 9-7 team that barely qualified for the playoffs.

That fact will follow them this summer, and likely for most of the year.
“It’s understood,” Umenyiora said. “We’re used to it. It’s been like that since I’ve been here.

“My teammates understand we are the champions and we are the best team in football until someone knocks us off that mantle. To me there’s no question we’re a great football team and we’re going to play that way. But it’s just making everybody else on our football team understand that what we did last year wasn’t a fluke.

“What we did last year was real and we can do that again this year.”

They officially begin working toward that goal on Friday afternoon when they take the field for their first practice at the University at Albany, free from some of the distractions that have plagued previous camps. Umenyiora, for example, got his long-awaited raise and no longer has contract issues hovering over his head. And the Giants extended Tom Coughlin’s contract through the 2014 season, taking his usually perilous job security out of play.

The Giants do have some holes to address, including at tackle and tight end, but those are concerns that mirror the issues the team had last season as well.

By comparison, the Jets are already making newspaper fodder despite having not produced on the field. They also face the prospect of a QB controversy the moment starting quarterback Mark Sanchez hits a rough spot or a losing streak and fans begin chanting for Tim Tebow. It's a self-imposed mess that will only fester the longer the season goes. And the Jets don't seem to have the discipline to keep out of the headlines, which means that it's great for selling papers but not so good for sticking to football.

Has Eli Manning Established Hall of Fame Credentials With Second Super Bowl Win; MVP?

Kurt Warner, who knows a thing or two about winning Super Bowls, seems to think that NY Giant Eli Manning hasn't quite made the case to be in the Hall of Fame.

For the moment, I think he's right.

Two rings and two Super Bowl MVPs plus the rest of Manning's numbers definitely put him in the discussion for the NFL Hall of Fame, but don't mean he's a sure thing.

Just ask Jim Plunkett.

Plunkett won two Super Bowls with the LA Raiders, but he still needs to buy a ticket to get into Canton. Manning, if he plays at the level he did this year for the next few years, could find a space saved for him there. If he keeps his interception rate down, maintains his completion rate and accuracy on his long throws, then he'd be in the discussion both on the strength of his regular season numbers plus what he's done in the postseason.

After all, Manning has set all manner of records in the postseason. He's won seven straight road/neutral games. He's had several stirring come-from-behind wins in that stretch, including twice in the Super Bowl. He's led the Giants through some of the toughest competition to get to the Super Bowl this year, including wins over the number 1 and 2 seeds in the NFL plus the top seed in the AFC.

Yet, his statistics until the 2011 season were not quite Hall of Fame material. If Manning puts another couple of seasons together like he did this year, he cements his legacy as a Hall of Famer. If he does that, he might make it on the first ballot.

If he has a few more average seasons, with 18-20 interceptions to go along with 25 touchdowns, then he'd still have a good shot of getting in, but it would not be a sure thing. Someone would inevitably point to his uneven regular seasons as proof he's not Hall of Fame material.

I'm sure that Manning would love to put together another couple of years like this - particularly the outcome - and end all doubt about his credentials and career.

The thing is, that compared with his peers, he's certainly in the Hall of Fame discussion. That discussion starts with Tom Brady, with his three rings in five chances. It also includes Ben Roethlisberger, who has also won two rings. For Roethlisberger, his statistics are in good company:

He currently ranks 10th all-time in NFL passer rating (92.9), 5th in yards per attempt (8.06), and 11th in completion percentage (63.24%) among quarterbacks with a minimum of 1,500 career attempts. He has the fourth highest career winning percentage (.710) as a starter in the regular season among quarterbacks with a minimum of 100 starts.

Manning, by comparison, has a lower NFL passer rating, lower yards per attempt, lower completion percentage. Yet, he's done something that none of his other peers have done - and that's outplay Brady - the best quarterback of our generation - twice in the Super Bowl.

This is one discussion that I'm sure will be revisited in the next few years, particularly if we see a few more of these.

Snowstorm Forces Cancellation of Giants-Vikings Game in Minneapolis

The massive snowstorm that has blanketed the Upper Midwest and Great Plains has caused all manner of mayhem for transportation and now it's affected NFL plans as well.

The New York Giants were initially unable to fly directly into Minneapolis because of the weather and the game was delayed until Monday to give the team time to reach the game site - the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome.

Now, there are reports that the air-supported dome has collapsed under the tremendous weight of the snow that has fallen. That means that the game cannot be played at the Metrodome for at least several days.

That throws the schedules for both the Giants and Vikings into chaos, and it further affects the NFL playoffs as the Giants are in the playoff hunt. For those who still follow Brett Favre, the delay means that Favre may be able to extend his streak of consecutive games played as he will now have more time to recover from his shoulder injury.

UPDATE:
NFL officials and the teams are considering alternative locations because the Metrodome is unavailable. Not only did the roof collapse, but several tears in the roof mean that repairs will take some time. Alternative locations include Detroit, but outdoor locations are not likely to be considered because the Giants did not travel with their outdoor gear (they were expecting to play indoors).

It is possible that the game may end up being played at the Meadowlands on Monday night, because the league wants to maintain the schedule.

UPDATE:


The game will be played Monday night in Detroit at 7pm.

Why This Giants Fan Is Rooting For the Cowboys

I'm a longtime Giants fan, but I know my division rivals well enough to know that to maximize the Giants playoff possibilities, it will require winning of their remaining games and hoping that the other division rivals beat each other up.

It wont hurt if the Cowboys win their remaining two games against the Eagles.

Cowboys can still make some noise.

At 4-8, the Cowboys are even more cooked than the 5-7 Vikings. But the Cowboys still can screw things up for other teams as they continue their climb to respectability.

Specifically, the Cowboys can throw a wrench into the Eagles’ playoff hopes. A year after Dallas took three from Philly, the Cowboys still have not one but two cracks at their NFC East rivals.

Lose both, and the Eagles could end up home for January, especially since they still have to travel to New York to face the Giants. The Vikings likely won’t be a pushover, either.

But it all comes down to Dallas and Philadelphia, and it starts on Sunday night in Dallas, where the Eagles lost twice in six days to end their 2009 season.

The Cowboys are showing life for interim coach Jason Garrett. They're 3-1 after he inherited a lifeless 1-7 team. Garrett has made the Cowboys dangerous and while the Cowboys are an outside chance for winning a playoff slot - they'd have to overcome both the Eagles, Giants, and a slew of other teams who are ahead of them in the NFC playoff hunt, they could derail some of those other teams - particularly the Eagles.

And nothing would make me happier than to see the Eagles implode to the Cowboys except seeing the Giants make a return trip to the playoffs on route to the Super Bowl.

Brett Favre Retiring Again?

Reports claim that New York Jet quarterback Brett Favre is considering retirement again. I'd say that he already retired a month ago when his arm pretty much gave out. Only after the season ended was it revealed that he had a torn tendon in his arm, affecting his accuracy and play.

I'm sure that this isn't going to be the last time we hear about Favre and his decision to retire. I'm sure he'll attempt yet one more year in the NFL, hoping to erase the stink of failure surrounding the 2008 campaign. After all, the Jets were in a prime position to make the playoffs before their complete collapse with a losing December.

For the Jets, they'd better start looking at quarterbacks on the market and in the draft, because it will be some time before they have a franchise quarterback to helm the team.

Giants Sack Burress; Hospital Sacks Doc Who Treated Him

The New York Giants did the right thing yesterday by suspending troubled star wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Burress was suspended for the rest of the season, and his career with the Giants is likely over. The last thing that the Giants need is a criminal headache, and that's what they got in Burress, and that threatens to derail Antonio Pierce who was with Burress when Burress shot himself in the leg.

Meanwhile, the doctor who treated Burress has been suspended by the hospital for failing to follow policy. The Manhattan District Attorney's office is investigating the Giants, the New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center and the principals involved to determine who knew and why no one informed the police of the gunshot injury.

The Giants suspended superstar Plaxico Burress for the rest of the season yesterday, ending any chance for the troubled wide receiver to help his teammates repeat as Super Bowl champs.

Burress, who shot himself in the leg while drinking in a Manhattan nightclub Saturday morning, is ineligible to play in the team's remaining four games or the postseason.

"This is an important time for him to take care of his body and heal up, and also deal with the very serious legal consequences and other issues in his life," Giants President John Mara said.

Hours before the team disciplined Burress, the Manhattan district attorney vowed to investigate the alleged coverup of the Giants star's gunshot wound.

"We got the gun, we got the wound, but who knew and who failed [to report the injury] is part of the investigation," said District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, who will probe why neither the Giants nor New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell notified police about the shooting

(snip)

The hospital suspended emergency room doctor Josyann Abisaab for failing to report the wound, sources said.

"Not reporting a gunshot wound is a clear violation of our policies and procedures," said Weill Cornell spokeswoman Kathleen Robinson, who said the hospital was investigating whether other staffers will be disciplined.

Abisaab, 44, could not be reached for comment. A 1989 graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine, she has no history of state disciplinary action.

There are reasons why policy requires reporting gunshot wounds, even if they are accidentally inflicted because of the potential for uncovering criminal activities in the process.

Burress faces criminal charges that could lead to a lengthy stay in prison - 3.5 to 15 years on two counts. Some suspect that Burress was carrying his gun after learning that a teammate, Steve Smith, was held up at gunpoint last week in Clifton in front of his home.

Joy in Jets-land

Happy days are here again? Brett Farve, one of the all time NFL greats, has finally ended the long saga with the Green Bay Packers and has agreed to be traded to the New York Jets.

Farve holds quite a few NFL records: career NFL touchdowns; career passing yards; pass completions; pass attempts; most interceptions; most consecutive starts; and most career victories as starting QB.

This was the long shot of the teams suspected of being in the running. The Jets were atrocious last year, and Farve clearly wants to make it back to the playoffs, and the Jets happen to play in the same division as the Patriots, which lowers those chances.

Tampa Bay was another option, but that clearly didn't pan out. It would appear that the Jets' commitment to win this season won Farve over:

The Jets spent more than $140 million in the offseason on new talent to bolster a team that went 4-12 in 2007. Among the offseason work the Jets did was revamp the offensive line with the signings of LG Alan Faneca and RT Damien Woody.

Those signings surely were attractive to Favre.

So, too, was a conversation he had with coach Eric Mangini on Tuesday night during which Mangini gave Favre the hard sell on why coming to New York was the move for him to make.

Mangini told Favre of the team's new state-of-the-art practice facility that the Jets will move into in September. He informed him of the attractive rural places to live in New Jersey near the team's Florham Park (N.J.) facility. He, too, emphasized the fact that playing in New York could be a huge marketing and promotional opportunity for him.

The Jets, too, would love to think the addition of Favre will soften the blow to season ticket holders who will have to pay those personal-seat licenses in the new stadium that will open in 2010.

So, Farve comes to the Meadowlands to bring his gunslinging attitude to a team sorely in need of a quarterback who can lead the team out of the wilderness (or at least out of the long shadow of their co-tenant - the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants). It also means that the days of Chad Pennington lining up behind center for the Jets is over. The Jets will try to move him as quickly as possible, along with the $6 million owed for this season.

Farve brings leadership, NFL MVP awards, Super Bowl rings, and a strong arm to the table. Pennington, who was a capable leader, never managed to get the arm strength back after injuries and that limited the team's offense.

Michael Strahan Calls It Quits

The active sack leader and 7-time Pro Bowler for the New York Giants, Michael Strahan is calling it a career. His crowning glory is a Super Bowl ring this past January in one of the most improbably outcomes in history, as the Giants beat the vaunted New England Patriots 17-14.

The 36-year-old Strahan, the NFL's active leader in sacks, informed the Giants on Monday.

"I'm just finding out about it; let me get organized," coach Tom Coughlin said after a team offseason workout.

Strahan's retirement first was reported by Foxsports.com

"It was important that my teammates knew which way I was going before they got on the field to start the work to defend our title," Strahan told the Web site. "It's time. I'm done."

Strahan had hinted at retirement last season and missed almost all of training camp while coming to a decision to play.

Strahan also holds the NFL's single season sack mark and the Giants record for sacks, which was previously held by Lawrence Taylor.

Expect Strahan to make an impact in broadcasting and television, as he has made numerous appearances on both radio and television in several capacities.

He's also eligible for the Hall of Fame in five years.

A Super Ending

While I am not at today's parade down the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan, it is still a super ending to a super season for the New York Giants. They're going crazy along the parade route and it's a well deserved accolade after beating the undefeated New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII.

The Big Blue Wrecking Crew Crushes Patriots Perfection

The New York Giants stunned the football world and prognosticators who never gave them a chance of even staying close with the New England Patriots. They not only kept the game close, but played a game for the ages.

The Giants defense harassed Tom Brady all night and Brady spent half the time on the ground. Even if they didn't get a sack, Brady was hitting the turf.

And the Patriots defense was just as stingy. Until that last drive. While people will point to the Manning to Burress touchdown throw as the one that sealed the Giants win, it was the Manning to Tyree pass earlier in the series that cemented Manning's legacy in Giants and NFL lore.



The Patriots had Manning in their grasp, and they couldn't contain him. And David Tyree made his catch of a lifetime by going up for the ball and coming down with it with a circus catch.

So, the Patriots, who came in with dreams of perfection couldn't close the deal. And the Giants came away with the perfect ending.

Sweet.

And I'll also take this opportunity to mention that I picked the Giants to win 21-20.

UPDATE:
And for those who only watched for the commercials, I've got to say that by and large they sucked. Bigtime. Two did stand out; the Sobe Lizard Thriller and the Budweiser Clydesdale Rocky. Every other commercial fell flat or simply didn't get it done. An honorable mention does go to the latest trailer for Ironman.

Super Bown XLII Prediction

Well, here goes nothing. The Giants will win 21-20 on a last minute field goal by Lawrence Tynes shocking the world. It would also mean that I'd win a nice chunk of change in my office pool since those numbers would mean I win on the boxes. I love it when a plan comes together.

The spread on the game has been about 12-14 points depending on the day and what news comes out about Tom Brady's gimpy ankle. I don't think that injury will have any effect on his play. He'll still do well, but not well enough to break the Giants defense.

The Giants will come up big on a goal line stand somewhere during the game and will force the Patriots to make a field goal instead. They'll need their front four on defense to get serious pressure on Brady all game long to harass him into making early throws and keep the Patriots off balance.

On offense, the Giants will have to play error free ball. Eli Manning has done just that since the last meeting with the Patriots during the final week of the season.

For a slightly different take, check out Jammie's predictions, although the outcome remains the same - Giants win in a shocker.

NY Giants: Super Bowl Bound!

For all the naysayers who thought that Eli Manning couldn't finish the season, he's taken the Giants to within a win of holding aloft the Vince Lombardi trophy. This was quite the game for the Giants, who not only had to overcome a very game Packers team, but weather conditions that were horrendously cold.

Not only did Manning survive the game, but he thrived under pressure, which included watching his place kicker miss two field goals in regulation (one with seconds left on the clock). His defense kicked it up a notch in overtime, got the ball back in Eli's hands, who got the ball down to within range where Lawrence Tynes made his third field goal.

Giants 23- Packers 20 (OT).

As for recapping my predictions from earlier today, I'd have to say I did damn well.

The Patriots won their game 21-12, which I had predicted to be 28-13. Here, I had predicted 24-21 [fixed typo]. I also get to rub it in to anonymous emailer, who was bandwagoning on the Packers to beat the Giants. He thought the Packers would win, and gave me the spread (+7). Turns out, I didn't need the spread.

So, next stop, Glendale, Arizona where the Giants will face the Packers in a clash for the ages. Can the Giants stop the Patriots perfect season? Can the Giants continue their record run on the road? We'll see.

UPDATE:
Here's the box score. Read it and weep Packer fans.

UPDATE:
Apparently Eli Manning's long time girlfriend is the anti-Jessica Simpson. Hey, whatever it takes to win.

NFC and AFC Championship Game Predictions

The Giants and Packers will face off tonight in the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Big Blue has a big task today, but I think that they might be able to pull it out. They've been overcoming long odds all postseason, and today will be no different. If the defense gets pressure on Farve, it can be a long day for him - and no matter how used to the cold he is, being flat on his back isn't going to be comfortable. It might not be the coldest game ever played, but it will be the coldest that these players have ever experienced.

Eli will have to be on the top of his game, but he's come through in the playoffs so far. I see that trend continuing.

Giants 24 - Green Bay 21.

Meanwhile, the Patriots will face off against the surprising Chargers, who are as beat up as you can possibly imagine. Their starting quarterback is beat up, and their all world running back, LaDainian Tomlinson, suffered from a hyperextended knee.

The Patriots aren't going to lose their perfect season here.

Patriots 28 - Chargers 13.

Jet Fans Finally Find Something To Cheer

It wasn't something that happened on the field, but rather when hooligans stole a vending cart and threw it down one of the spiral staircases that provide access to the stadium.

Other Jet fans have found ways to keep occupied during games by turning Gate D into their version of Bourbon Street, complete with harassing women who do not bare their wares.

When one woman appeared to be on the verge of obliging, the hooting and hollering intensified. But then she walked away, and plastic beer bottles and spit went flying. Boos swept through the crowd of unsatisfied men.

Marco Hoffner, an 18-year-old from Lacey Township, N.J., was expecting to see more. Not from the Jets — they pulled off a big upset over the Steelers. He wanted more from the alternative halftime show that, according to many fans, has been a staple at Jets home games for years.

“Very disappointed, because we’re used to seeing a lot,” Hoffner said.

The mood of previous Gate D crowds — captured on video clips posted on YouTube — sometimes bordered on hostile, not unlike the spirit of infamously aggressive European soccer hooligans. One clip online shows a woman being groped by a man standing next to her.

Jets and NFL officials are not amused. Yet, it took a NYT report to set things in motion, given that this behavior supposedly has been going on for years? What gives? The NJSEA (who operates the stadium) had better have some good answers for why this has been allowed to persist.

Even state officials are getting into the act, including Richard Codey.

Sports Blotter Roundup

The wheels are officially coming off the cycles at the Tour de France, as not only have two teams been disqualified for members doping, but the tour leader was pulled by his team because he failed to provide an itinerary for the past several weeks. Oh, and a bomb went off along the Spanish portion of the ride earlier today. The terrorist group, ETA, claimed responsibility. As for the racing, Michael Rassmussen was tossed, even though he was leading the race. He violated his team rules.

The Tour is in complete disarray as leaders have been sacked, high profile cyclists have been tossed, and last year's winner, Floyd Landis, is still under a cloud of suspicion over his performance and a failed test.

Earlier this week, Cofidis pulled its team out of the Tour when rider Cristian Moreni of Italy failed a doping test and was led away by police at the end of the 16th stage. That comes on the heels of another team pulling out because Alexandre Vinokourov tested positive for a banned blood transfusion. He had won a stage earlier in the race.

It's a sad thing that the sport of cycling is best known for doping scandals, and not the difficulty of winning the most prestigious race, the Tour de France.

Then, there's the ongoing mess with Michael Vick. He's been told to stay away from training camp by the NFL. Some are wondering why the half measures. Well, good question. There's also a good answer. While everything appears stacked against him, he is still presumed innocent under the law. Animal lovers have every right to be pissed off at Vick, but don't get ahead of the legal process. These things also have a way of working out for themselves. It might not be as fast as one would like, but they will work out.

There are also signs that Vick might never take another snap with the Atlanta Falcons, the team that drafted him out of college.

Expect Vick to take a look at what's happened and I expect him to try and cut a deal to get out. Prosecutors will likely try to take this to court, and the evidence certainly seems quite complete.

Oh, and for those still paying attention, there's Barry Bonds and his quest to crack baseball's holy grail, the career baseball home run record. He's sitting at 753, and Hank Aaron stands at 755. The problem for Bonds is that everyone associates him with the steroid scandal, regardless of whether he actually took them or not. His name is indelibly linked with the BALCO mess, and his name keeps popping up, despite his protestations to the contrary. It's surely keeping MLB Commissioner Bud Selig up at night, and perhaps wishing that Bonds comes down with an injury that prevents him from reaching the milestone, but Selig has said he'd be there. Hank Aaron has said he wouldn't attend, which is a shame, since putting the spotlight on Bonds actually makes Aaron's accomplishments all the more impressive - he did them without any claims of performance enhancement.

NFL Tells Michael Vick To Stay Away From Training Camp

Michael Vick was ordered by commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday to stay away from the Atlanta Falcons' training camp until the league reviews the dogfighting charges against him.

"While it is for the criminal justice system to determine your guilt or innocence, it is my responsibility as commissioner of the National Football League to determine whether your conduct, even if not criminal, nonetheless violated league policies, including the Personal Conduct Policy," Goodell said in a letter to the quarterback.

The NFL said Vick would still get his preseason pay and Goodell told the Falcons to withhold any disciplinary action of their own until the league's review was completed.

The NFL is trying to balance the fact that Vick is still presumed innocent in the criminal justice system with the appearance of impropriety and misconduct under the league's personal conduct policy.

They can rationalize this simply by noting that the bad press Vick has rightfully received as a result of being indicted on multiple counts of animal abuse and gambling has given the league a black eye.

Don't expect the player's union to contest this as they are the weakest player's union among the major sports.

New York's One and Done

Playoffs in the New York metro area are supposed to go on longer than Wildcard weekend, and yet, that's exactly what happened. Within a span of about eight hours this afternoon, both the Jets and Giants seasons ended.

For the Jets, it was a season that exceeded expectations. The Jets lost to New England in a blowout, 37-16. While the first half was a closely contested match, in the end, New England had way too much firepower. The apprentice, Jet coach Eric Mangini, didn't have the answer to the master, New England coach Bill Belichick. Then again, few do come the playoffs. Of course, it was also the Tom Brady show.

The Jets are going into the offseason sad that their season ended early, but they show promise for the future - they have a coach who managed to make the most of the talent on the team and created a work ethic that other teams should take note - like the Giants who spent more time yapping to the media than getting business done on the field.

For the Giants, it was one that began with so much promise, and now will see major changes. They lost to Philly 23-20 on a last minute field goal.

Giants running back Tiki Barber likely played his last football game, going out at the top of his game - a week after running for more than 230 yards, he put up another 137 yards. He's the all-time Giants running back and is retiring after 10 seasons and three trips to the Pro-Bowl (including this year).

You have to give Philly credit for hanging in there as injuries decimated their team over the course of the season, including the loss of Donovan McNabb to a knee injury. They were able to come together, whereas the Giants couldn't overcome the raft of injuries that hit on both sides of the ball.

One casualty for the Giants will likely be coach Tom Coughlin, who came in as a disciplinarian, but while he managed to fix Tiki's fumbling issues, was never able to get the team's error-prone ways in check and appeared to lose the team several times this season as they went through the prolonged losing streak.

I'm not sure that criticism headed Eli Manning's way will be entirely warranted. Just as Coughlin fixed Tiki's fumbling habits by noting a subtle problem with Tiki's mechanics, another coach might find some minor flaw that will help Eli regain his accuracy that made him the top Giants pick over Philip Rivers (and the rest of the SD Chargers players that came with the swap in picks). There's also going to be a new General Manager for the Giants, so the changes will be widespread.

The Giants will see changes up and down the roster - questions about defense, running back, and coaching staff. It will be a most intriguing offseason for them.

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