The day the Giants beat the 49ers in overtime, I was on a plane from Orlando to my hometown in Albany, NY. It was actually my fourth flight of the day and this is where I note that though I was glad that a roundtrip flight to Salt Lake City, Utah only cost $20 I could have gotten to Europe faster.

I made my flight plans in July precisely around the time that the Giants should have been arriving in Albany for summer training camp but were kept away by contract negations and a lock out. But I digress. As the plane hit the 10,000 feet mark and that tell-tale ding went off in the cabin, I watched as passengers to the left, front and back of me hopped on the in-flight wifi. It’s such a first world problem to complain about how slow the Internet was while IN THE AIR but whatever. There we all were hovered over iPads and iPhones painfully watching each down. Some were able to catch the play-by-play on super amazing headphones – I dunno, technology or something – while I squinted and peaked over the shoulders of the men in front of me to make sure they were seeing what I was seeing.

As the plane started to make its final descent and flight attendants went through the cabin to make sure seat backs and tray tables were in their full and upright position, roughly 20 of us remained “watching” the game. Damn the man and the FAA we were flying in blue and red gear and we were going to watch this game right into the end of overtime.

I remain confused by the new overtime rules. Like, physics confused but I knew that when Lawrence Tynes kicked that 31 yard field goal and – I imagined – that ball sailing beautifully that we had it. At 20 to 17 the Giants were going to the Super Bowl. Of course there could be no outcry because we were supposed to be gazing out the windows and waiting for our ears to pop but I tapped the shoulder of the gentleman in front of me and we gave each other a high five.

***

There are people who hate the Giants. Actually there are people who hate all things New York just as I have a difficult time stomaching the Patriots, Celtics and those awful Red Sox. My dislike isn’t because of the way I was raised but because I’ve learned to embrace the rivalry and the game. My father is one of those who hate the Giants. In fact he once told me that he hated Archie Manning and would hate the mother if she played football, too. It’s an Ole Miss thing not just because of the talent or as he would say, “Lack thereof”.

I, on the other hand, have thought about marrying a Manning brother and since 2005 have spent many Sundays arranging my schedule around what time the Giants would be playing. If you were to find me at the end of the season I kind of sit around wondering what to do with myself come 1, 4: 30 and 8PM.

***

When Eli was first drafted to the NFL there was the infamous trade between the Giants and the Chargers. Eli didn’t want to go to San Diego and so he made a fuss and ended up with New York. Since then he’s been called a whiner and a crybaby for his decision. He then took over for the legendary Kurt Warner in 2005 as the starting QB and they have never looked back. When people criticize Eli for not wanting to go to the Chargers and for being immature I shrug and wonder what they expected of a 22 year old? I can understand just graduating from college and not having something work out for you and being bummed. Of course Eli did what he did on a far more public scale but show me one early 20-something who is thrilled with their life right after college and I’ll show you a person who is most likely lying.

Over the last seven years what thrills me most about this Giants team is Eli’s leadership and watching him mature. Thinking of it now I realize it’s because we are roughly the same age (he’s a year younger) but that first job is tough and it takes a lot of crap to make the job your own and to grow into what you do. Two Super Bowl appearances don’t just happen. It requires having a team that works well together and gels. With Eli Manning at the helm this team has done just that. So hate him if you’d like. Hate the Giants. Hate their Super Bowl appearances or that they have ruined perfect seasons but don’t hate what they’ve accomplished over the last several years. I love the Giants not just because I’m a New Yorker but because watching them is like magic and I, for one, cannot wait for this Sunday.

As a Sun Devil alumnus, I’m less than pleased.

Arizona State reached out to Pitt and asked permission to interview Graham. Pitt denied the request. With good reason, seeing as Graham just finished his first season coaching the Panthers. And Graham wasn’t even Pitt’s initial first choice last offseason, but came in three weeks after Pitt had hired former Miami of Ohio coach Mike Haywood, who was then arrested on domestic violence charges and promptly fired by Pitt.

Since Pitt denied the request, Graham took matters into his own hands. He decided to resign and gave the terms of his contract with Pitt a big middle finger. This after he brought players into his office and personally told them he wasn’t going anywhere.

Wow. Some class act we got coming to Tempe, huh?

Not that there was much left to choose from. The Sun Devils were supposedly in talks with Houston coach Ken Sumlin, but he dropped out of the picture when then Texas A&M job became available. ASU was all ready to announce SMU head man June Jones as the next head coach, but then dropped it at the last minute, supposedly amid backlash from alumni and boosters. (Which, DUH! Why would you replace Dennis Erickson with another Dennis Erickson??)

The rest of the head coaching openings in the Pac-12 have seemed to have gone in the right direction – Rich Rodriguez to Arizona, Jim Mora to UCLA and Mike Leach to Washington State. And ASU went with Todd Graham. For some reason the “one of these things is not like the other” tune from Sesame Street is now in my head. Which one of those names just doesn’t belong?

Last year ASU unveiled a new logo and a new (stupid) tagline – Fear the Fork. Now I’m afraid with this hiring, it’s Fear the Wins. Fear Being Elite. Maybe it should be Embrace the Mediocrity.

I’m pretty sure Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Dejan Kovacevic summed it up best with one tweet:

Such is life as a Sun Devil fan. SIGH.

[source] [source] [photo]

:::::

Kristabella will always bleed maroon and gold and hopes that Todd Graham proves her wrong.

Simple.

I was drunk.

Yep. That’s all I got for you on that one, folks. Also? This was not, in any way, shape, or form, a shock to anyone in the Kansas City area. So, I did what any proud Kansas Citian would do when one of our head coaches get fired. I drank. A lot. And not because I was sad or mad or had any emotion whatsoever about this firing. No, no. That’s not the case at all. I drank because I was bored. And alcohol is tasty when combined with Mexican food.

Anyway, my point? Nobody in this towns cares about Todd Haley anymore. At the beginning of this season, he was pretty much a lame duck coach. He created controversy with his unorthodox “training camp” during the shortened off season that most likely directly resulted in the season-ending injuries of not only our starting linebacker Brandon Siler, but our starting tight end Tony Moeaki, our starting Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry, our stud speedster Pro Bowl starting running back Jamaal Charles, and then eventually our underachieving Pro Bowl “quarterback” Matt (mesodreamy) Cassel.

Yes, I realize that pretty much ANY coach wouldn’t be able to win very many games given the multitude of injuries to that many star players. And I am going to go out on a limb here and say that it wasn’t necessarily the lack of wins that got Haley canned. You know what it was? His piss poor attitude. When you berate your offensive coordinator on national television (his third in as many years), you have a problem with the way you handle yourself. Now, if you are willing to do that to your fellow coaches, just what in the hell was he doing to the players?

His bad attitude turned into inconsistency on the field. In a sense, his players were through with his Jekyll and Hyde shit and said “Fuck it. I’m going to go home and play me some Madden 2012.” And we all know, as an NFL coach, once you lose your players respect, you will lose your job. Just like many Americans waking up this morning, Mr. Todd Haley will be looking at the Help Wanted ads in the Kansas City Star. And he has nobody to thank but himself, a shitty attitude, and one of the worst homeless looking beards I have ever seen on a man.

So, this morning as I shake off the tequila hangover, I am a wee bit excited. Why? Because this town is abuzz with excitement. Why? Because everyone, I mean EVERYONE is convinced the next head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs will be the one and only Bill Cowher. What? We can dream can’t we?

Jack Del Rio was fired by the Jaguars on Tuesday.

Nail in the coffin: the 20-13 loss to Houston on Sunday. Also announced was the sale of the team to Illinois businessman Shahid Khan. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker has been named as the interim head coach and will be given the opprtunity to apply for the job.

Rick Neuheisel was fired on Monday by UCLA.

Nail in the coffin: an embarrassing 50-0 ass-kicking last Saturday delivered by cross-town rivals USC. Neuheisel was fired despite the fact that the team will play in the inaugural PAC 12 championship this weekend, with Neuheisel on the sideline calling the shots. Whaaaaa????

Dennis Erickson, head coach of Arizona State University was fired Monday.

Nail in the coffin: the Sun Devil’s loss on Friday to Cal and 4 seasons with a .500 record. Erickson will also coach through his team’s final game of the season. (This shit is crazy. Hey Coach, you’re fired, but, uh, could you hang around for one more game?)

Larry Coyer, the defensive coordinator for the Colts was replaced by the linebacker coach, Mike Murphy.

Nail in the coffin: the Colts 0-11 season, duh.

So, if you’re a football coach, it looks like it might be a good year to be looking for a high profile job. I’ll throw my hat in the ring for the UCLA job. I can’t be any worse than Neuheisel.

Source Source Source

Found guilty in March of sexual offenses including soliciting a 16-year-old prostitute, the former New York Giant and general sleazeball is now a registered sex offender in Florida (where don’t worry, he’s still allowed to be near schools and playgrounds because he has young children. Because that makes total sense..) Radar reports that the now-18-year-old victim will bring suit against him today for sex trafficking, represented by lawyer Gloria Allred (Nicole Brown Simpson and Amber Frey ring a bell? Gloria does not mess around.)

If Radar’s source is correct and this case goes through, it will be the first where an offender “seeking services” is charged under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and not just the pimp. That guy, Rasheed Davis, already pled guilty to trafficking. I don’t know where he is but let’s hope he’s not allowed near schools.

Gross, just gross, all of it gross. Nice work, LT. Gross.

Image: Florida Department of Corrections

Source

Tim Tebow reporting:

“Well good for him. Congratulations to him. That’ll be fun to play him the last game of the year.”

The Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears put in waiver claims for Orton too, but the Chiefs won-lost as the team with the worst record (4-6). The Chiefs acquire Orton after starting QB Matt Cassel had season-ending surgery and replacement Tyler Palko threw three interceptions in last week’s loss to the Patriots. Benched in favor of Tebow in the fifth game of the season, Orton bit the Broncos dust.

His desired return to Chicago not in the cards, Orton will go to Kansas City, who will be responsible for paying him the remaining $2.58 million of his almost $10 million salary this year.

So, you know, he’s got that going for him.

Source

I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.

I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.

That’s why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.

This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.

My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University.

Joe’s made his intentions clear, but we don’t know what the university’s board of trustees will do when it meets on Friday, with Pa. Gov. Tom Corbett as a special guest. Joe definitely wants to finish the season; the board may have other ideas.

Photo source.

Tony Romo let it slip during an appearance at a Dallas high school on Tuesday morning that his wife, Candice Crawford, 24, is pregnant. Romo, 31, and Crawford were married in May.

Romo back in the Simpson days

“It’ll be fun!” Romo said, pumping his fist in the air while students clapped.

Look for Romo to be an excellent dad for the first two trimesters, and totally choke in the delivery room.

(Meanwhile, Jessica Simpson is smugly congratulating herself for getting pregnant first.)

image: celebritysmackblog.com

Next week has some big match-ups and I for one will be hoping for some upsets. We haven’t had enough of those this season for my liking.

And hoo boy, did we get some amazing games and some AWESOME upsets! I just woke up from my drunken stupor from all my Saturday celebrating on Monday morning, just to write this post!

Let’s get to those recaps!

Miami 24, Georgia Tech 7

The Hurricanes’ defense dominated this battle and held the 22nd-ranked Yellow Jackets to just seven points. Former football powerhouse Miami is now 2-2 in the ACC and won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Purdue 21, Illinois 14

Illinois loses its second game this season, and second in a row, and stumbled its way out of the Top 25. As an ASU fan, this makes me happy. On one hand, the Illini beat my Sun Devils earlier this year, but on the other hand, the self-destruction of the Illini doesn’t help my Devils in the BCS rankings. The Big Ten is a crazy place this year!

Oregon 45, Colorado 2

Remember when Colorado was a good football school? Even worse is that the Ducks were short-handed, without their running back and quarterback, and still steamrolled the Buffaloes.

Michigan State 37, Wisconsin 31

Another unbeaten bites the dust! The sixth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers went down to the Michigan State Spartans on a last-minute, Hail Mary touchdown pass as the clock expired. The game was insane, as both teams blew 14-point leads, and Wisconsin lost their first game of the season, dashing their National Championship hopes. Wah, wah.

Texas Tech 41, Oklahoma 38

Stunner! In a game that was delayed because of lightening, the Red Raiders shocked the nation and the Sooners with an upset. It was just the third home loss for Bob Stoops in his career and the loss snapped a 39-game home winning streak for Oklahoma.

Let’s hope for another wild weekend this upcoming Halloween weekend in the college football ranks. As long as my Devils are on the winning side of things.

[source] [photo] [photo]

:::::

Kristabella would like to point out that Kansas State is quietly still one of the eight unbeatens in the Top 25.

It’s how we know you mean it. It’s how we know you care.

The Draft Day Suit crew is known to practice ours in stadiums, living rooms, and sports bars for the NFL teams we love on any given Sunday, from the pre-season to the Super Bowl.

This week is even more special than the others, because the good people at Vicks have given us an opportunity to share our rallycries with you, a chance for you to win their Most Dedicated Fan contest, and the ultimate NFL prize: a trip to Super Bowl XLVI, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Game? We thought so.

To give you some inspiration to submit your own rally cry, two of our intrepid staff writers are here to show you why their teams are the best — and to encourage you to disagree.

Kristin lives in — and from what anyone can tell on any football Sunday, breathes — Chicago. She’s been to the West Coast and back, an Arizona State alum (and Sun Devil devotee, naturally) who’s even worked for an NFL franchise, so she knows her stuff. But her heart? It’s still unsurprisingly, and solidly, with the Bears. She thinks that makes her tough to beat. Let’s let her tell it:

We are the city of big shoulders. We are the Second City because we are second to none. We are the Monsters of the Midway. We are one of the gridiron originals. Football is about the game, not cheerleaders. Which is why we don’t have any. We are the pride and joy of Illinois. That’s why we sit through rain, sleet, wind and snow to cheer on the Chicago Bears. BEAR DOWN.

Convincing, right? Quite a rally cry — and an outfit to copy for anyone wanting to represent in style in the stadium or sports bar.

And yet? There’s competition.

Uncle Crappy talks a good game, too. Plus, he’s gone through one of the toughest football trials by fire — moving to Steelers country as an avowed Browns fan.

Can we agree that his (pretty impressive) rally cry is hard won?

Want to understand commitment? Trying being a Cleveland Browns fan and living in Pittsburgh. I knew I was in for a treat shortly after I moved to Pittsburgh in 1994 and saw an effigy of then-Browns quarterback Vinnie Testaverde hanging from the Smithfield Street Bridge just before a Browns-Stillers playoff game. The rivalry has since lost some of its luster, but Stillers fans never hold back — jokes, abuse, empty Iron City can tossing — when they know a Cleveland fan is around. Bye weeks? Offseason? There’s no such thing around here, so I have to be on my toes all the time. It takes a certain level to be a Browns fan in the first place; it takes another level altogether to be a Browns fan in a city where they’ve hated you for 60 years. You think you can hang? Prove it.

Now it’s your turn. You want to go to the Super Bowl, right? We know we do — so you must. Vicks is making it easy peasy to enter,  but you have to hurry, because entries for the initial round must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. this Sunday, October 23.

How to enter? Have someone snap a photo of you, showing your fan support and create your best rally cry (really — make it your best. This is the Super Bowl, friends. Scream it loud.). Then visit the Vicks/Nyquil “Most Dedicated Fan” Facebook page, and submit the picture.

Then sit back, relax, and wait for them to let you know you’ve made it to the next level.

We want you to go almost as much as we want to go. Give it a shot. (And if you enter? Let us know in the comments. We want to see your pictures!)

The fine print:

In the NFL, there are no sick days for players, coaches or true fans. Vicks and NFL quarterback Drew Brees are partnering up once again to celebrate fans that never miss a moment of the season with the “Vicks NyQuil/DayQuil Most Dedicated Fan” Contest. This marks the second year for the contest, in which Vicks is asking NFL fans to prove they are “Fan Enough” to be crowned the Most Dedicated Fan with the ultimate fan experience – an all-expense-paid trip for two to Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI

CONTEST DETAILS: To enter, fans that embody the spirit of a true fan should visit www.Facebook.com/NyQuil and submit a photo, with a personalized rally cry that shows why they are the Most Dedicated Fan. Next, 32 semi- finalists, one from each NFL team, will be selected and the final voting period will begin. Shortly after the NFL’s regular season comes to an end, the winner of the Most Dedicated Fan contest will be announced.

Semi-finalists from all 32 NFL teams will be asked to compete in three Facebook challenges that will put their fanship to the test. The grand prize winner will earn the bragging rights to be called the Most Dedicated Fan. NFL fans who think they have what it takes should visit www.Facebook.com/NyQuil for contest rules and to enter.

Draft Day Suit was compensated for this post but the words and opinions are our own.