In case you missed it and you weren't around, here's a roundup of things that went down in NY sports this weekend.

Eli Manning and the Giants snapped their four game losing streak with an overtime win against the Atlanta Falcons yesterday at the Meadowlands. Manning had a career day as he completed 25 of 39 passes for 384 yards. The G-men nearly blew a 14 point second half lead. The Falcons tied it in the final minute of regulation but after winning the coin toss in OT, the Giants got a game winning field goal from Lawerence Tynes on their first possession. The Giants are now 6-4 holding on to second place in the NFC East.

Mark Sanchez and the Jets didn't have it together yesterday in Foxboro. Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and the Patriots took the rookie QB to school. Sanchez threw 4 interceptions and not all that effective. The Pats coming off a much talked about loss to the Colts last Sunday night, came in and released their fustration on their divison rivals. The Jets, after starting the season 3-0, are now 4-6 and a chance at the playoffs appears to be very slim. Brett Favre and his 8-3 start last year wasn't so bad was it?

The Knicks beat the Nets Saturday afternoon in the Medowlands and thus the Nets remain the only winless team in the NBA at 0-13. The Nets came within 1 point of the Knicks in the 4th quarter, but the Knicks started pulling away in the final minutes. The Knicks also played the Celtics yesterday at MSG and lost by 2 in overtime. A hard fought game by New York but Boston got the best of them late in OT.

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Tags: Atlanta Falcons, Basketball, Boston Celtics, Eli Manning, Football, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Mark Sanchez, Nets, New England Patriots

The Giants played one of their worst games of the season today against the Philadelphia Eagles and won't be repeating as champs.

The 23-11 loss comes as a shock to many as the Giants were thought to give it a better run than this. This is a different season and different team. The day Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg is possibly the day the season ended for the Giants. In the 5 games since the shooting incident on Novemeber 29th, the Giants have lost 4 of them. Burress was an instrumental part of the Giants postseason success last year and his absence proved to be huge. The Eagles move on to the NFC Championship games against the Arizona Cardinals next week for a trip to the Super Bowl at stake.

Eli Manning threw 2 interceptions and nearly a 3rd one late in the 4th quarter. There's no need to go over what happen in the game, the Giants lost. They didn't take advantage of good field position on several occasions, they didn't covert on 2 critcial 4th down coonversions in the 4th quarter.

It was a nice run by the Giants over the last calendar year but now it's over. They can still be a strong team next season but for now, they go home and the rest of the city will wait for April and baseball season. The Giants looked so good for so long this season until the Plax shooting. Blame whoever and whatever you want for this loss, the Giants didn't get the job done. Thanks Eli for a magical run over the last year, now it's time to say goodbye.

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Tags: Eli Manning, Football, Giants, NFL Playoffs, Plaxico Burress

Today the Giants start their defense of their World Championship. They play the Philadelphia Eagles at 1pm at Giants Stadium in a much anticipated match-up. Does Big Blue have enough to repeat as champs? That question begins to get answered today.

The Giants and Eagles have split their two meetings this season. The Giants won in Philly earlier this season in week 10, 36-31. The Eagles beat the Giants in their own home a few weeks ago in week 14 20-14. It'll be interesting to see if the G-men can top last year's unprobable feat. There's no Michael Strahan this year, no Plaxicio Burress, no Osi Umenyiora, no David Tyree. So how can the Giants win today, much less the whole thing? Easy, there's Eli Manning, there's the defense, and they have guys like Kevin Boss, Brandon Jacobs, and Corey Webster that can step up to the plate when the time is right. Granted Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook and company are playing their best football of the year, I don't think their best is enough to overtake the champs.

Eli is going to need a big game if his defense lets him down. Jacobs hopefully is healthy enough to run over the Eagles defense. This one will be close I believe until the end. I would pay special attention to the latter stages of the 4th quarter.

In a season where the Jets and the Mets collapsed at the very end, the Yankees didn't make the playoffs and the NBA teams around here are circling the .500 mark, the Giants are the team to make things happen, just like they did one year ago. This time they might have a tougher road ahead of them but that's the way they like it, that's the way they win, that's the way they plan on repeating as champs.

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Tags: Brandon Jacobs, Brian Westbrook, Corey Webster, Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, Football, Giants, Kevin Boss, Philadelphia Eagles

Sunday Jan 4, 2009






Recap: Chad Pennington threw 4 INTs and the Dolphins turned the ball over 5 times. That pretty much told the story yesterday in Miami.

"We heard all week that they don't turn the ball over," linebacker Ray Lewis said. "But we force turnovers."

Baltimore allowed just 52 yards rushing. The Wildcat formation that helped turn Miami from a 1-15 team to AFC East champs got them all of 7 yards. Joe Flacco was 9-for-23 for 135 yards, which did just enough to get the Ravens to move on.








Recap:
A 71-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter put the dagger on the Vikings as Philly was able to pull away for the win. Asante Samuel had a 44-yard interception in the 2nd quarter to set the tone of the game. Donovan McNabb, went 23-of-34 passing for 300 yards in Sunday's win.

"I've seen this team have confidence in each other and try to have one another's back," McNabb said. "What you're seeing is a team playing with a lot of energy, playing with emotion and just having fun."

The Eagles will now face the defending Super Bowl Champs in the Giants next week week in Jersey. Since the week 12 2nd half benching of McNabb the Eagles have responded with their best play of the season.

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Tags: Football, NFL Playoffs

So it comes down to this, Brett Favre vs Chad Pennington in the final week of the season for a shot at going to the playoffs. Everything is on the line today at Giants Stadium. Eric Mangini's tenure as Jets head coach, Favre's career, the Jets credibility, and Pennington's status. A lot to play for today, it'll be interesting who comes out on top.

Favre has met expectations, he turned the franchise around from 4-12 last season to 9-6 so far this season. How many would've thought he would've gone this far? Not many. The problem is that the Jets started out 8-3 and beat both New England and Tennesse on the road and people were already thinking Super Bowl. Are you serious? I mean really, it's a nice thought but everyone knows you have to play out the season and make it to the playoffs first before you even think that kind of stuff. This is why people get on Jets fans because they jump the gun when they really jump the shark. If you don't know the expression "jumping the shark", google it, then you'll get it.

Pennington comes back to the place where he called home for most of the career. He led the Jets to the playoffs 3 times and plans on doing the same for the Miami Dolphins. How ironic is it that he faces the man he was replaced by and can end his "storybook" season? I hope he does. All this nonsense about this comeback and how the Jets were going to be so much better. All baloney. Don't get me wrong, I'm a casual football fan, so it's not like I have a hate for the Jets, I just don't like for people to brag about their teams when they haven't proved anything. Win today, then talk, then win, then talk, then let's see how the season ends for Brett and the Jets.

I'm going with Chad and the Fins today. Mangini and Favre are as good as done. Who cares if Favre comes back next season, you won't make a difference. If you're not sure of that just see Roger Clemens.

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Tags: Brett Favre, Chad Pennington, Eric Mangini, Football, Jets, Roger Clemens

For the first Sunday this season the Giants looked flat, tired and got outplayed. The Giants were beat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles 20-14. Could this be the result of Plaxico Burress and all the distraction surrounding last week's incident?

To most people the answer would probably be yes. I will have to say that the Burress situation did affect the Giants this week, even if it was indirectly. The focus all week was on Plax and Anotonio Pierce and about what the Giants were going to do as a result of the shooting. Question after question, report after report, rumor after rumor. I honestly don't remember hearing anything about the Eagles this week. Everything I saw was about Plaxico so I can only imagine how things were around the Giants all week. This whole situation was embedded in all of our minds and was the focus in the Meadowlands.

"I thought we had a good week of practice despite what everyone is going to say," Pierce said after the game. "It was just a bad game."

The Giants didn't score until a last second field goal block at the end of the first half. Justin Tuck blocked a Philly FG attempt and it was recovered by Kevin Dockery and he went all the way for the Touchdown. In a matter of seconds the G-men went from lifeless to right back in the thick of things down 10-7 at the half.

"That was what I was looking for. ... We had a chance. We didn't do anything with it," Coach Tom Coughlin said.

Was it a Philly upset on Sunday or was it that the Giants were due for a loss. I think it's a little bit of both. When Brian Westbrook and Donovan McNabb are playing well, they are hard to stop. McNabb finished 19-of-30 for 191 yards. Westbrook gained 131 yards on a season-high 33 carries and caught 6 passes for 72 yards all while recording 1 rushing and receiving TD.

“I just think we kind of beat them,” said Eagles tight end L.J. Smith, who had six catches for 44 yards. “It’s tough to say. That’s one of those: ‘How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll?’ Who knows if the distractions hurt them and helped us? I don’t know.”

The win for Philly gives them life in their pursuit of making the playoffs. The Giants even with the loss clinched the NFC East.

The Giants will face the Cowboys in Dallas next Sunday night in what appears to be a sure classic in the making. The Cowboys are coming off a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in which they dominated most of the game but lost in the final minutes of the 4th quarter. The Giants 7 game winning streak was snapped and hope that this game was just a bump in the road and the Burress situation is behind them so they can move forward and concentrate on a Dallas team looking for revenge because they didn't put up much of a fight earlier in the season when the teams met in Giants Stadium.

Time for the Giants to put this game behind them and focus on the task at hand, getting by the Cowboys and getting things ready for the postseason. Let's hope Coughlin and his crew are free of distraction the rest of the way.

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Tags: Antonio Pierce, Dallas Cowboys, Football, Giants, Justin Tuck, Kevin Dockery, Philadelphia Eagles, Plaxico Burress, Tom Coughlin

It's starting to get interesting for the other team that plays at Giants Stadium. The Jets have won 5 in a row and are one of the top teams in the AFC. This deserves some space on the blog as they have earned their way on. Brett Favre has led a team that was 4-12 last year to 8-3 so far this season. The last 2 wins coming at the expense of AFC powerhouses, the New England Patriots and the Tennesse Titans.

The Titans came into yesterday's game against the Jets undefeated, they left with their first loss of the season. They beat them in convincing fashion 34-13. Favre threw for 2 touchdowns, Leon Washington ran for 2 and thus the Jets are making waves around the league.

“I’m not going to sit here and say we’ve established ourselves as the best team in football,” Favre said. “All it says is I think we beat the best team in football today, definitely if you go by record and the way that they’ve played. They have been the best team in football.”

The Titans didn't look anywhere near being the NFL's best team yesterday. The Titans went three-and-out on three of their first five drives and had only 55 yards offense until a final drive just before halftime. Favre and the Jets wore out the Titans defense by holding the ball on offense for 40 minutes. Brett threw 25-32, 224 yds 2 TDs, 1 INT. His Tennesse counterpart Kerry Collins threw 21-39, 243 yds 1 TD. The loss for the Titans snapped a 13 game regular season winning streak, dating back to last season. As for New York it was their 5th straight win, the last they did that was October 2004. They have also won 7 of their last 8 games.

“Now people are going to start looking at us and say, ‘They are a team you have to reckon with,”’ Jets linebacker Bryan Thomas said.

Favre has given the Jets a boost of confidence with his presence. The ability to win is there. The Jets are now just 2 games behind the Titans for the AFC's best record, that would secure home field advantage for them in the playoffs. The ability to win big games is also there for the Jets who if faced with a playoff matchup with the Pats or Titans can look them eye to eye and know they can stand toe to toe with them. The confidence is building week after week. All this talk about a New York-New York Super Bowl might be premature at this point but with the way both teams are playing, you have at least acknowledge it as being a reasonable thought.

Now here's a little stat for the record books, with the win, Favre broke a tie with Dan Marino for victories in the most NFL stadiums by winning in his 32nd at LP Field.

For now Brett and the Jets will have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, a top spot in the AFC.

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Tags: Brett Favre, Bryan Thomas, Football, Jets, Leon Washington, New England Patriots, Tennesse Titans

The last time Eli Manning and the Giants were in Glendale, Arizona they won Super Bowl XXII. Manning had won the MVP award for his performance in that game, a game that established him as an elite NFL QB. Yesterday, the Giants returned to the scene of their Super Bowl win. They left with the same result, a win. They beat the Arizona Cardinals 37-29, snapping Arizona's 7 game home winning streak.

“It’s just a totally different feel, it’s just a different time,” Manning said. “You never really compared it to the last time we were here. We knew we’d have a tough contest with Arizona.”

Manning threw for 3 touchdowns and went 26-33, 240 yds passing. The Giants were without RB Brandon Jacobs who was out with a knee injury and they also lost WR Plaxico Burress in the 1st quarter beacuse he injured his hamstring. This was no problem for Eli who led the offense to 37 points, thus marking the 4th week in a row they have scored at least 30 points. Domenik Hixon had kickoff returns of 83 and 68 yards and caught 6 passes for 57. Manning connected with a 10 yard pass to Kevin Boss in the 4th quarter. Kicker John Carney also connected on 3 field goals.

The Cardinals, led by QB Kurt Warner did their best to stay with the Giants. Warner was 32-for-52 and passed for 351 yards, the 5th straight game in which he passed for at least 300. He was intercepted once and fumbled once, both leading to Giants touchdowns.

“They’re a good defense and we matched up with them very well and went toe to toe with them for 60 minutes,” Warner said. “Of course, you never want to go away a loser and that part is disappointing. I think you leave from this game and move ahead. If we eliminate some of the mistakes we can play with anybody in the league.”

The Giants improved to 10-1 on the season. They are defending their championship with pride and passion. They have stepped up to every challenge that has come their way this season. Yesterday was another win on the road for New York. One would think that the Giants at some point would lose some steam but they have continued to roll. They are the best team in the NFL without question. The schedule gets a little tougher next week as the Giants travel down to Washington to play the Redskins, a team they took care of at the Medowlands in Week 1. The 'Skins have played well and are 7-4 on the year and should provide the G-men another challenge. I guess when you're the defending champs nothing comes easy the second time around. Let's see how far the Giants go with this hot streak.

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Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Brandon Jacobs, Domenik Hixon, Eli Manning, Football, Giants, John Carney, Kevin Boss, Kurt Warner, Plaxico Burress

The NFC East was suppose to be the toughest division in the NFL but the Giants have made sure the only tough thing about their division is them. Last week they gave the Cowboys a beating, last night they took care of the Eagles.

It was a little tougher for the Gmen this week as the game went down to the final minutes to decide who was coming out on top. Eli Manning threw 2 touchdown passes (17-31,191 yards) and Brandon Jacobs had 2 TD runs in the 36-31 victory. It was the second week in a row where the Giants offense exploded for 30 plus points. The game was ultimately decided with 1:55 remaining in the 4th quarter. The Eagles had the ball at their own 45 and were facing a 4th and 1. The Eagles elected to give the ball to Brain Westbrook to try and gain the yard they needed for a 1st down but he was stopped by Chase Blackburn and thus sealed the win for New York.

The win puts the Giants at 8-1 on the year and puts Philly at 5-4, 3 games back of New York and tied with Dallas.

It was a back and forth game which saw numerous lead changes. Eagles QB Donovan McNabb threw for 3 TD passes (17-36, 194 yds 1 INT) and that still wasn't enough. Another big moment in the game was in the 3rd quarter when Manning threw a 17 yard pass to Kevin Boss but the play was ruled illegal because it appeared Manning was ahead of the line of scrimmage. The Giants challenged the ruling on the field and replays showed Eli's back foot was still behind the line and thus the ruling on the field was overturned and gave the Giants a 1st down. Two plays later the Giants scored on Jacobs' 3 yard TD run making it 27-24.

“I think the way the rule is written, it was worth taking a shot at it,” said Manning, who urged Coughlin to challenge the call. “If you have one toe on the line of scrimmage, then it’s a legal pass. I thought it was worth the risk.”

The risk payed off for New York. The Eagles weren't too thrilled with the overturn of the call.

“I don’t know what they were looking at,” defensive tackle Mike Patterson said.

This was another big win for the Giants as they further themselves from the rest of the division. The Eagles needed a win to stay afloat wit New York as a win would've seperated the two teams by 1 game in the NFC East. It was a hostile crowd in Philadelphia but the Giants are no strangers to winning on the road and look forward to the challenge.

“It’s great to win here,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “It reinforces everything we believe about team, supporting each other and finding a way to win the game.”

The defending Super Bowl Champs are finding ways to win these tough games and that makes them a scary team going into the second half of the year. If they can keep things up, the playoffs look like they'll no sweat for Eli and the boys. Another meeting with the Eagles, Cowboys, and Redskins still awaits the Gmen so they can get through those games like they did the first time around, I'd say this team is set to make a run at returning to the Super Bowl.

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Tags: Brandon Jacobs, Dallas Cowboys, Eli Manning, Football, Giants, Kevin Boss, Philadelphia Eagles, Tom Coughlin

The Giants collected another victory yesterday, this time at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys. With the 35-14 victory it puts the G-men at 7-1 on the year.

Eli Manning threw 3 TDs and went 16-27, 147 yds with 1 INT. Runningback Brandon Jacobs rushed for 117 yds and 1 TD. The Cowboys were without Tony Romo who has been out with a broken pinkie. The loss for the Cowboys leaves them at 5-4 going into thier bye-week. The Giants defense had another good showing as they got 3 INT off Dallas quarterbacks yesterday.

"When a football team comes in here and it is kind of depleted as far as
injuries go, you don’t want to give them any sunlight,” said Giants
defensive end Justin Tuck. “You don’t want to give them any light whatsoever.”

The Giants have now won 5 straight at home. Kevin Boss,Steve Smith and Amani Toomer were all on the recieving end of TD passes from Manning on Sunday. Smith and Toomer got their TDs after Corey Webster picked off Romo's replacement Brad Johnson.

“The coaches preach turnovers,” Webster said. “We pin our ears back and let ourselves go once we start getting turnovers. If we keep getting turnovers, it builds more and more confidence.”

The Cowboys turned the ball over on 4 occasions, 3 on INTs and 1 on a fumble by Terrell Owens in the 2nd quarter. The Dallas offense never got going in the game. The Cowboys were coming in injured on many fronts, no Romo, no Jason Whitten, no Roy Williams, no Mat McBriar, and no Pacman Jones (because of his suspension).

Too bad for the Boys. They were picked by many in the preseason to go to the Super Bowl and represent the NFC. That doesn't look likely at the moment. Things could change when Romo comes back. As for the Giants, they continue their strong season next weekend in Philly as they match up against the Eagles who are coming off a dominating win against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. The road is getting a little tougher for Eli and his men but they are up to the task. Just because they're heading down to Philly next weekend, doesn't bother the Giants, they win on the road too. I hope Donovan McNabb is ready for a fight, because the G-Men are bringing it.

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Tags: Amani Toomer, Brandon Jacobs, Corey Webster, Dallas Cowboys, Eli Manning, Football, Giants, Justin Tuck, Philadelphia Eagles, Steve Smith, Terrell Owens

Today's meeting between the Giants and Steelers could be a Super Bowl preview. Ok, I'm getting a little ahead of myself but with both teams at 5-1 it's not an outlandish thought.

Much talk leading into this game is which QB is better, Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger? Both were drafted in the 1st Round. Both are the only Super Bowl winning QB's who were drafted in the same 1st round.

"I think you've got to throw (San Diego's) Philip Rivers in there, too," said former Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who was in Pittsburgh when the Steelers drafted Roethlisberger with the 11th pick and now works as a studio analyst for CBS. "I don't think you're going to find a quarterback class like it. Certainly you can go back to '83, but this class of Rivers, Roethlisberger and Manning is going to go down as one of the great classes of quarterbacks. You're not going to be able to match that."

The Steelers' defense is ranked No. 1 in the NFL and is first in sacks with 25. The Giants are ranked fourth overall, and second in sacks with 21.

Both men met back in 2004 when the Steelers won 33-30. On that day Manning went 16 for 23, 182 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while Roethlisberger had his first 300-yard game and 18 of 28, 316 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions.

"They are both guys who have had accelerated experiences, let's put it that way, because of the nature of playing at such a young age (and) going through the amount of experiences that they have had against the great defensive teams in the league," Tom Coughlin said. "Without a doubt, there are similarities in the way in which their experiences have gone, even though there are differences in what you might call style of play."

Today's game in Pittsburg is going to be a messy one as rain poured down all day yesterday. If you saw last night's World Series Game 3, you saw it get delayed 91 minutes by heavy rain. It was also like that here in New York. Hopefully by the 4pm start today the field will be in good condition. The weather should be pleasant with game time temp hovering around 50 but the wind is suppose be around 15mph is that going to be a factor? We'll see.

This game is going to be close and one to watch. I got the Giants going over Big Ben and his boys today. No matter the outcome today, both teams have a good shot at making the playoffs. One guy who knows about both QB's is Giants WR Plaxico Burress. Here's what he had to say about his former QB:

"Oh yeah, there was no question about it," he said. "Some of the things he was capable of doing -his athleticism, making crazy throws, getting out of the pocket, giving his receivers the opportunity to make plays down the field -he's continued to do that. Because of that he's an elite quarterback and a Super Bowl champion. I can't say enough about the guy."

Well let the talking turn into playing on the field and let's see who emerges on top.

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Tags: Eli Manning, Football, Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Plaxico Burress, Tom Coughlin

Congratulations to the 2008 World Champions New York Giants

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Tags: Eli Manning, Football, Giants

Sunday night the Giants face the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game. It's a big game for so many reasons. So many reasons for so many people.

For the Giants, Eli Manning and coach Tom Coughlin it's about proving all the critics wrong. Over at FOX, all of their analysts chose the Cowboys to win last week and the Bucs the week before. So much for in-depth analysts. You will get a few people in the media rooting for the Giants Sunday night but they'll be in the minority. Everyone in New York and New Jersey (the Giants' real hometown) will be rooting for Big Blue. Ask any Giants fan and they would tell you they would love to face the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Their week 17 meeting caused so much attention because the Pat's perfect season was on the line and if they meet again in two weeks in Arizona, it will be again. The Giants came as close as anyone else to beating them this season so what makes you think they can't pull it off when everything is on the line? Ok so I got a little ahead of myself there...they do have to beat Brett Favre and the Packers Sunday in Lambeau Field, the Yankee Stadium of football. They would have to do it in single digit temperatures and freezing conditions. If the G men can win, it makes it all the better.

It's interesting to note that Mike Lupica has said this is the kind of game New York needs. I happen to concur with his notion. New York's last big game was in 2006 when the Mets lost Game 7 to the Cardinals when they were one win away from the World Series. Now, Manning can follow in his brother Peyton's footsteps and win the "big" game. This is as big as it gets for the Giants. The game gets bigger and bigger by the week and the Giants seem to rise to the occasion. Their playoffs started Week 17 against the Patriots and even though they lost, they gained so much. If it wasn't for Eli's interception in the fourth quarter that night, they might've beaten Tom Brady and his crew. That "almost" turned into two consecutive wins and put them into a championship game.

The Giants once again have their backs against the wall and they seem to like it that way. Whenever you have them as the favorite they tend to disappoint. So let them be the underdog, let them be the ones fighting an uphill battle. That's the way they like it and if it results in a win, then so be it. That's the way we like it and that's the way we want it.

(Frank's articles can also be read at www.HotStoveNewYork.com)

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Tags: Eli Manning, Football, Giants, QUITE FRANKLY, Tom Coughlin