Mauling the Media: Lockout Edition

During this NFL lockout, the media has reached a new low. From lies, to misreporting, to childish slander, the media has show how low its integrity actually is.

Let’s look at different instances of the lockout being “over”.

It all started in late April when the lockout temporarily was put on hold.  The media went crazy, but they failed to report on a possible appeal by the owners.  The owners won their appeal, and the lockout still hasn’t officially ended to this day.  Not only that, beat writers and amateur bloggers started to speculate on what the rules would have been for free agency.  Some said we’d go back to 2010 rules, some said we’d go back to 2009 rules, and others just completely made things up.

Then you had the false reportings of the lockout being over.  Some said it would end July 21, some said it would end even earlier.

Here’s all the times we reported on the media thinking it was over.

April 25

June 15

July 11

July 15

July 16

July 23

Once again, the media shows how it’s more important for them to be first, rather than being right.

If Adam Schefter is wrong about the lockout being over, there will be a lot of angry NFL fans.

Breaking News: NFL Lockout Appears to be Over

It looks like the lockout is over.  The NFLPA is expected to hold a press conference on Monday.  The league year (and training camps) could begin on Friday.  Team facilities may open earlier.

For more on the end of the lockout, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

UPDATE (7:15 P.M.): Damien Woody just confirmed the speculation.  The lockout is over.

UPDATE (12:20 A.M.): Reports now say the players are set to officially vote Monday.  All signs indicate that they will approve the CBA.

Daily Briefing: July 22, 2011

– The NFL owners passed a CBA yesterday, but the players have yet to vote on it.  I highly doubt they’ll agree to the proposal.  Reports say the deal heavily favors the owners.  Knowing well that the players won’t agree to the deal, this was likely just a public relations move by the league.

– The Jets announced yesterday that they hired former Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore as a consultant.  I love the move.  Let’s hope he can do to Mark Sanchez what he did to Peyton Manning.

– Sources say that NL East teams are interested in Carlos Beltran.  The Daily News says the Mets could trade Carlos to the Phillies or Braves, despite rivalries with both teams.  I believe this is a smart move by the Mets.

– As we reported yesterday, the Rangers have re-signed Brandon Dubinsky to a four-year deal worth $16.8 million.  Considering this year’s free agency market, this is a great deal for the Rangers.  Dubinsky could be a legitimate 30 goal scorer in this league if he reaches his potential.  If not, the Rangers will settle for a hard-working 20-25 goal scorer who gives his all every night.  You’ll rarely see a game that Dubinsky doesn’t make an impact in some way or another.

– Announcer Doc Emrick announced yesterday that he is leaving the Devils for a full-time role with NBC/Versus.  He was without a doubt one of the best announcers in the league every year he was with the Devils.  Good luck to him, and I can’t wait to see him take on a more prominent role in nationally televised games.

As always, feel free to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest breaking news on all things New York sports.

Doc spend 21 years as a play-by-play man for the Devils.

Owners Approve Labor Deal, Players on the Clock

According to multiple sources, the NFL owners have approved a proposed labor deal.  The players may vote tonight on the deal, but there has been no confirmation yet.  Reports say the deal would be for ten years with no opt-out clauses.

This is the first step to ending the lockout, but don’t be surprised if the players turn this down.

Update (10:00 PM): The players have not and will not vote tonight.

Daily Briefing: July 21, 2011

– The NFL lockout was expected to be over by July 21, but there will be no deal today or anytime soon, according to various sources.  Seahawks guard Chester Pitts even said that a deal won’t happen for another two weeks.  That would be a disaster.

– There have been conflicting reports of a possible vote on a proposed CBA.  Some have said a vote will take place soon, while others say the two sides are far apart.  It’s hard what to believe anymore concerning the lockout.  A week ago we thought a deal would be done today, and now we have no idea when a deal will get done.

– The NBA lockout is still on, and there is no end in site.  A hard cap and changes to the revenue system are almost assuredly going to keep a new CBA from being agreed upon before this season.  It still wouldn’t surprise me if all of this season is missed.

– The Yankees have won two out of three games against Tampa Bay this week, with the final game of the series tonight.  The Rays are now eight games out of first place.  The Bombers head back home Friday for a weekend series against the A’s.

– It’s safe to say that the Mets are now out of contention for a playoff spot.  At seven and a half games back in the wild card race, there is no hope for the Mets.  Carlos Beltran is the number one asset the Mets should look to trade away.  I don’t see anyway he doesn’t get dealt by the July 31 trading deadline.

– There has been talking about shipping Beltran to the Phillies for Domonic Brown.  This would be a great move in my opinion, despite the fact it may help the Phillies win a championship.  The Mets have to do anything to get better for the future, and a trade for Brown would certainly help do that.

As always, feel free to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest breaking news on all things New York sports.

Carlos Beltran's days in New York are numbered.

Daily Briefing: July 20, 2011

– The NFL lockout is still on, but it is expected to end any day now.  I personally wouldn’t be surprised if today is the day a deal gets done.  Negotiations are being held up by the Brady vs NFL anti-trust lawsuit, but hopefully everything will be resolved quickly.

– Meanwhile, the NBA lockout has no end in sight.  The Knicks will open up at home against the Heat if the season starts on time, but that’s very unlikely.  I fully expect to miss at least half the season.  I’d say at this point it’s likely we don’t see another NBA game until the 2012-2013 season.  Games are going to have to be missed before one side caves in their demands.

– Antonio Cromartie said that he wouldn’t give the Jets a hometown discount, which shouldn’t be surprising to any Jets fans.  Cromartie has always come off as a guy who would easily leave to go get money somewhere else.  It will hurt the Jets if he leaves, but the team can definitely do without him.  If his departure leads to the re-signing of Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards, it may be a good thing.

– Peter DeBoer is the new head coach of the Devils.  I don’t expect him to last more than three months, as it’s customary that Devils coaches don’t last the whole season.

– The Lightning and Steven Stamkos have reached a five-year deal.  As I said all along, there was no way Steve Yzerman was going to move him.

– The Yankees and Mets have discussed a possible Carlos Beltran trade, but it remains unlikely at this point.  I believe the Mets should not shy away from possibly trading with the Yankees, Braves, or Phillies.  They would only be hurting themselves by not taking the best deal possible.

– More and more teams seem to have interest in Ubaldo Jimenez, although there is no reason to believe the Rockies will trade him.

For more on the two lockouts, NFL free agency, and more, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Could Carlos Beltran be wearing a different set of pinstripes within the next week and a half?

Daily Briefing: July 19, 2011

– With the lockout over for all intensive purposes, free agency should begin sometime next week.  I believe the Jets’ salary cap situation isn’t that bad, and other sites such as Jet Nation agree with me.

– One of the biggest free agents for the Giants is Ahmad Bradshaw.  He may look to take his talents down to South Beach, according to sources.  This would be bad news for the Giants, because they don’t have another reliable running back behind Brandon Jacobs and Bradshaw.  Unlike when Derrick Ward left, there’s no Ahmad Bradshaw waiting to take his place.  If Giants fans think D.J. Ware is that guy, good luck with that.

– Pro Football Focus has been compiling position rankings using advanced statistics.  Nick Mangold was ranked the #1 center in football in a landslide, while Shaun O’Hara was ranked #5.  Bryan Thomas and Calvin Pace rank #9 and #10 for 3-4 outside linebackers.  Chris Snee ranks #5 for guards, Brandon Moore ranks #6, while Rich Seubert ranks #8.  D’Brickshaw Ferguson was the #3 overall left tackle, Damien Woody was the #1 overall right tackle, and Kareem McKenzie was ranked #2 for right tackles.  Santonio Holmes was ranked as the #8 overall wide receiver.

– Overall, the Jets were ranked #1 in the site’s offensive line ranking, having the best pass blocking and rush blocking lines.

– According to Jeremy Shockey, a labor deal is done and football activities will begin Thursday.  I’ll believe it when I see it.   Teams like the Packers are telling their players to show up Saturday.  Again, I refuse to celebrate until a deal is done.

For more on free agency and the lockout, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Jets have the best offensive line in football.

The Worst Case Scenario for the Jets & Giants

Many people expect the Jets to lose and their free agents this offseason and thinks the team will have to make significant cuts to just get under the cap.

Unfortunately for Jets haters, none of it’s true.  If you want to believe the propaganda, go ahead.  I’m just telling you, it’s not worth your time, even if you want to believe it.

Here’s an article from The Jets Blog that uses actual numbers and scenarios to determine what the worst thing that could happen to the Jets would be.  The haters will be very disappointed.  In actuality, another team from New York may have more to worry about.

With talk of the lockout’s end spreading like wildfire over the last few days, there have been a number of fans concerned about just where the Jets stand with the 2011 salary cap. There have been multiple rumored cap figures being thrown around from various reporters, such as ESPN’s John Clayton, and NFL Insiders, such as Andrew Brandt of the National Football Post. The figures range anywhere from about $120 million to about $130 million, depending on what concessions the Union made in the first year of the new CBA in an effort to keep the traditional high spending teams like the Dallas Cowboys from being forced to cut veterans left and right in order to comply with a cap figure that is probably $15 million lower than projected when contracts were all signed.

So let’s try and clear up a few things before getting all excited about the Jets cap situation, which was reported to be around $120 million by Clayton a few weeks back.

Here is how that number has been arrived at: The Jets currently have about $102 million in official cap commitments for 2011. That is the number for all the players currently under contract to the team. ILB David Harris signed a franchise tender, rumored to be for $10.2 million. The NFL is also tracking dead money for players released following the 2010 season. The Jets had three big names released and they account for about $8.6 million. When you add those numbers together, you come up with Clayton’s figure of $121.3 million.

The most important thing to note about the cap, as Bent has been stressing the last few days, is that nobody knows just what will and will not count against the cap in 2011.

The Harris tender was never recognized by the Union as a valid contract. New language in the CBA may change the way a franchise tag operates by making a distinction between the middle and outside linebacker position. If that proves to be true, Harris’ franchise value will drop by a few million.

With the exception of the people in the negotiating room, nobody knows how the league will treat the dead money created by the cuts made right before the lockout began. Had the Jets thought that money would remain in the cap calculations, at the very least they would have held onto T Damien Woody.

Those salary cap figures also include close to $4 million in workout bonus money that was never earned due to the lockout. How will that be treated? Nobody knows. The Jets had two players that tried to work out during the very brief lifting of the lockout, LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson and DE Mike DeVito, but both were turned away. Will any of that money count? Nobody knows until the CBA gets into the hands of the owners and players, at which point it will very quickly end up in the hands of the general public.

Even assuming the worst – which is very easy to do for a time-tested Jets fan who has been trained to not just assume, but expect, the worst – the Jets have a number of avenues to create cap room to allow them to sign their free agents and rookies. Let’s take a look at the obvious ways to do that:

Restructures/Renegotiations

Mark Sanchez – Sanchez signed a contract back in 2009 that was pretty much signed to force the Jets hand into a renegotiation in 2011, unless the salary cap exploded in 2011. The $17.7 million cap hit Sanchez carries is not unexpected and both the Jets and Sanchez should have expected to rework the contract around this time. A very simple way to rework the contract is to pay Sanchez a $10 million prorated bonus, add an extra year onto his salary and reduce his base salary to $4.75 million.

(Cap Savings – $7,500,000)

David Harris – For the sake of argument, let’s say the $10.2 million tender is valid. It is an unrealistic number for an inside linebacker and the offer was simply made to maintain exclusive negotiating rights with Harris. Personally, I don’t believe that Harris is a better player than Bart Scott, or more important to the team than Scott and I don’t think he will end up with a contract close to Scott’s 6-year $48 million market setter, but we will assume that is what the Jets will pay him. Under the original terms of Scott’s contract, Scott would have earned a first year cap charge of $5.45 million, a far cry from $10.2 million.

(Cap Savings – $4,750,000)

Jim Leonhard – The Jets have a significant amount of leverage with Leonhard, scheduled to count for $2.4 million in cap charges. Leonhard is in the final year of his contract and is coming off a major injury. If the team was to release him, he would only count for $330,000 in dead money. If the Jets offer him a one or two year extension with an opportunity to make back his salary this year down the line, he should jump at the opportunity. The Jets should be able to reduce his cap charge to $1.5 million.

(Cap Savings – $900,000)

Mike DeVito – DeVito has been a good soldier with the Jets, who quietly extended him in 2009. DeVito, totally unproven at the time, ended up with a contract with no job security that comes in the form of a signing bonus. He has developed into a solid rotational player for the team. He might be open to a two year extension onto his current deal where he gets the signing bonus needed for some job protection. I haven’t given his contract any thought, but a $4 million bonus now in lieu of some salary the next two years might get the job done.

(Cap Savings – $850,000)

Releases:

Bryan Thomas – Thomas has been a non-descript player for most of his career with the Jets, but has managed to remain with the team since 2002. The Jets do like his versatility, but the reality is they have been trying to replace him since he admittedly didn’t try very hard in 2007 after signing a new contract in late 2006. He’ll be given a take it or leave it ultimatum, with the take it offer probably not being much more than $1 million. My guess is that he will leave it.

(Cap Savings – $3,700,000)

LaDainian Tomlinson – I really enjoyed having Tomlinson on the team last year and he pulled off a miracle early in the campaign before tailing off at the end of the season. Expecting anything close to last year is just not realistic and with $3.1 million due in cash, it’s hard to see him on the team. The Jets have three other sets of much younger and fresher legs on the club, which should make him the odd man out. He seems to desperately want to be on the Jets, so when they give him the take it or leave it offer for the veterans minimum, he may just take it, but there is a good chance he will be released.

(Cap Savings – $3,125,000)

A Few Additional Notes:

NT Sione Pouha could also see his contract reworked if the Jets want to keep him beyond 2011. He is scheduled to count for $2.45 million, but the Jets may not want to extend him. They drafted Muhammed Wilkerson and Kenrick Ellis to play on the line and are still high on Ropati Pitoitua, whose 2010 season was derailed by injury, who might be a lower cost and much younger version of Pouha … Calvin Pace will be asked to take a pay cut, but his high dead money charge gives him a lot of leverage. He will be in trouble if the dead money players from 2010 do not count against the cap in 2011, or if there is something of a one time cap free cut in the new CBA … Darrelle Revis will make $7 million in 2011 salary, but if the Jets were to prorate more money for him to reduce his cap charges in 2011 he would have the leverage in 2013 to get the crazy money he talked about when he held out last summer. No chance the Jets give him that leverage just to create a few million in cap room in 2011 …

Final Conclusion

If the Jets did all of the things outlined above, they would create an additional $19.8 million in cap room, once you factor in the replacement costs for BT and LT, to play with in the new league year. Using Clayton’s salary numbers, that will give the Jets around $18.7 million to sign their rookies and re-sign the key free agents.

Assuming rookies will effectively cost around $2.5 million in cap room, the Jets should have a budget of $14.2 million to play with in free agency, which would leave them around $2 million in wiggle room during the season. Is it enough to sign Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and Antonio Cromartie? Maybe not, but it’s certainly a far better “worst case” scenario than most people seem to believe the Jets are in.

So there you go.  That analysis doesn’t even include possible exceptions that would allow the Jets to go over the cap.  Don’t worry Jets fans, everything will turn out fine.

Onto the Giants…

I’ve been saying for months now that the Giants are in a very similar cap situation, and there’s may possibly be worse.  Everyone ignored me and laughed it off.  Well, it looks like I may have been right all along.

Last year, the NFL salary cap was approximately $127 million. That was due to the expiring CBA and the rules of the last year of the contract. Once a new contract is agreed upon, you can bet your last buck the cap will be lower, somewhere around $120 million.

That would figure to hurt the Jets, who imported many high-priced free-agents over the past few years. As it turns out, it might not. The Jets have set themselves up fairly well considering. The team has to make a decision on three of those players: WRs Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes and CB Antonio Cromarite.

None of those players are really part of the Jets’ “core” so to speak. They were all traded for by GM Mike Tannenbaum in an attempt to win a championship in a hurry. The Jets may end up with two of the three, which would be a coup for them.

Holmes has said he wants to stay; Edwards’ market value has taken some hits with his off-the field antics and Cromartie may not find a suitor given his past issues. The Jets will have a shot at signing each of them.

The Giants, on the other hand, may have problems. They do have core players that need to be attended to.  RB Ahmad Bradshaw, DT Barry Cofield, TE Kevin Boss, WR Steve Smith ad DE Mathias Kiwanuka could all walk, although Smith and Kiwi may not be ready to play come opening day due to injuries.

The Giants may have enough money to barely re-sign their key free agents, but then they’re not going to have enough money to improve other areas of the time.  That would be fine, but the Giants have missed the playoffs the last two seasons.  They’re not going to be able to acquire a piece to get them over that hump.

Shocking?  Not really.  It’s just an example of the media pouncing on everything problem the Jets have or may have, and ignoring similar problems the Giants have or have had.  We saw the same thing when the media (Mike Francesa) was all over the Edwards DUI, but failed to mention Giants players with similar transgressions.

Giants free agents like Ahmad Bradshaw may be shown the door this offseason, while the Jets are actually may be in a better cap situation.

Chris Mortensen Says CBA Deal Nearing

Chris Mortensen of ESPN says a CBA deal could be struck within 24-48 hours.

Here’s a recap of what the new CBA is rumored to include:

– A $120 million salary cap that could include exceptions to make it more like a $130 cap.

– A salary floor which will be very close to the actual cap itself.

– A $1.5-$3 million exception that would allow a team to go over the cap to re-sign any player.

– An exception that would allow a team to go over the cap to sign one player they can’t fit under the cap.

– A rookie wage scale.

– No right of first refusal.

– A 16-game Thursday Night Football schedule that will air on other networks besides the NFL Network.

– No 18-game schedule.

The owners are going to make out pretty well when this deal is struck.

Breaking News: NFL Lockout May End Today

NBC Sports is reporting that the lockout could end as soon as today.  This long national nightmare may finally be over.

Well, it’s time to put the pink champagne on ice.

With all economic issues now resolved and questions far less thorny or crucial remaining, it remains a matter of time before a labor deal is done.

That time could come today.

Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal reports that she’s hearing a global settlement could be reached on Friday.

Let’s hope this is the case.  If the lockout ends within this week, expect an offseason schedule like this to take place.

For more on the lockout’s imminent end, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

The lockout may finally be coming to an end.

NFL CBA Virtually Done, Approval Nearing

Our good friend Jason Cole over at Yahoo Sports says that there is very good news concerning the lockout.

“I know everybody is tired of hearing the word ‘close.’ I know I am,” one of the aforementioned sources said. “But I think this is really, truly right there, ready to be done unless somebody comes in and really screws things up. We all have some things we’re not happy with, but it’s small stuff … the big picture, that’s exactly right. We all see that the big picture is in pretty good shape.”

While both sources declined to get into specifics, they indicated that the players’ side felt satisfied with the overall compensation for rookies, an issue that was never as far apart as had been indicated at times.

“The owners understood that they couldn’t have it both ways,” the previously quoted source said. “They couldn’t have a big, huge drop in the guaranteed money and have five-year deals, too. You can have an option for a fifth year, but you have to pay for it. You have to be fair to guys who are good players and prove it for three or four years. Everybody gets that, whether you’re a veteran player, a coach, an owner or a fan.”

After the final bridges were gapped on the rookie pay scale, the other issues seemed to follow suit. Owners gave in on the desire for some money off the top while players gave in on paying the burden for benefits on retired players out of their share. While there are still some health and safety issues that will have to be finalized, none of those issues figure to hold up the momentum.

“What you have left are not big money issues, they’re fairness issues. It shouldn’t be that hard,” the aforementioned quoted source said.

Sounds good.  Let’s get free agency rolling.  It sounds like we’re going to have something around $120 million cap next year, which is decent news for the Jets.  While the cap won’t be high enough to ensure all their free agents come back, Gang Green will certainly have room to make some moves and hopefully put the final touches on a championship contender once again.

For more on the last stages of the lockout, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Sources: NFL Lockout to End July 21

After months of negotiations, finally fans can be optimistic about the lockout ending rather soon.

There is a growing belief inside league circles that the NFL and NFL Players Association will have an agreement in place that can be ratified during the July 21 league meetings in Atlanta, according to sources familiar with the state of negotiations.

As one NFL owner said this weekend, there’s “no reason to believe it won’t get done.”

Other people familiar with the talks now think an agreement in principle will be put in place in the next seven to 10 days, a handshake deal that would allow each side to ratify the deal to start the 2011 season.

Outlined plan for a July 1st deal adjusted for potential July 21st deal:

• July 1 (July 21)– Educate the clubs on the news league rules and allow voluntary training for teams and agents.

• July 5 (July 25)— Sign undrafted rookies, as well as give free agents a chance to re-sign with their teams.

• July 8(July 28) — League year starts and free agency begins.

• July 13 (Aug. 2) — Rosters must be set at 90 players.

• July 14 (Aug. 3) — Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets.

• July 18 (Aug. 7) — A four-day match period for teams to match restricted free-agent offer sheets.

• July 23 (Aug 12) — Deadline for rookies to sign contracts (not yet agreed upon).

• July 27 (Aug. 16) — Signing period for restricted free agents ends, as does the signing period for franchise and transition tenders.

• Aug. 9 (Aug. 29) — Deadline for players to report to earned credit for an accrued season toward free agency.

Please, just get a deal done.  Everyone wants to see football this season.  Just get together and agree to a deal.  There’s no reason for this to drag on much longer.  If a deal can get agreed to by July 21, I see no reason the league can’t fit in free agency and the preseason without postponing/canceling any regular season games.

What’s Next After the End of the NFL Lockout?

There has been rumblings that the NFL lockout is nearing it’s end (I’ll believe that when I see it). Unfortunately, a lot of players (draftees, free agents waiting to be signed, players waiting to be traded, unsigned college players hoping to get a contract) have been in the dark about their future in the NFL. Fortunately. once the strike ends, many players will get clarity, while some will not.

My biggest concern once the strike ends will be players trying to get into game shape too quickly and injuring themselves along the way. I realize that many players are working out and have been for a while. However, we all know the difference between workout and game shape. I will be very curious to see if there is an increase in injuries this season, especially to the legs (hamstrings, quads, Achilles) that warrants my concerns. Football is a demanding sport and even injuries occur to players who have the proper time to get into game shape.

I will be wondering (if injuries do increase) if the players union will get involved and cause more problems. Will the owners have any stipulations regarding injuries they deemed avoidable? Will the commissioner be thrown back in the middle and again try to be the peace maker? These are just a few of my thoughts and concerns regarding the upcoming NFL season.

NFL

Labor Talks 80-85 Percent Complete

According to multiple sources, the Lockout could be over shortly, possible as soon as July 4.

Here’s what CBS Sports’ Mike Freeman had to say about the reports.

One source with intimate knowledge of the discussions tells me negotiations are 80-85 percent complete. They’ve made such fast progress, I’m told, it’s catching many of the principals by surprise. Some are now canceling vacations, believing an agreement will be reached within a matter of days.

Basically, it seems, we continue to move solidly into that threshold where a season will be played, not if one will be played. Again, barring the knucklehead factor.

“It’s going to be very difficult for this to get screwed up,” the source said.

That doesn’t mean the negotiations can’t revert back to the primordial days of disgust and hatred, or that the talks can’t implode. It does mean, however, that the discussions are in such a good place it would be difficult for even the most selfish, destructive personality to affect them.

No one will go into specifics about what concessions are being made. What is being said is that both owners and players are making major ones and that has greased the CBA skids.

This is obviously good news, although I always thought a deal would get done.  The real news will be what the new CBA will look like.  We’ll have to wait on that, but I expect new details within the next two weeks.

Lockout Over (Pending Appeal)

According to multiple sources, the lockout is over due to a judge’s ruling.  The judge ruled in favor of the players, something I am personally happy about.  This means we should have a football season this year, but the owners are expected to appeal.

We’ll have more on this story as it progresses.  Follow me on Twitter or join our new Facebook page for breaking news.

It's over, for now.

Giants and Jets Players Look to Stay Busy

The inactivity of football players due to the lockout has got some of New York’s biggest football stars looking for something to do. So I thought I’d report what these players are doing to stay in shape.

• Darrelle Revis- The All- Pro cornerback is doing exactly what he was doing last year, not playing football.

• Eli Manning- Has been spending his free time doing his brother’s chores and practicing his boyish mannerisms.

• Braylon Edwards- The free agent has been listening to his favorite rap artist, Waka Flocka Flame. Braylon’s favorite Waka song, ” No Hands”.

• Plaxico Burress– Is in Jail.

• Antonio Cromartie – Applied for a part time job as a Greeter at a New Jersey area Wal-Mart to feed his family.

• Shaun O’Hara- Is currently trying to build a desk he bought at Ikea.
  

How Giants Fans are Coping with the NFL Lockout