Giants team flight delayed three hours after brutal loss

It was bad enough that the New York Giants knew a somber four-hour flight back to New Jersey Sunday night would feel like an eternity, but imagine the added misery of prolonging the pain for another few hours waiting around for it.

While the team definitely didn't expect to get much sleep after the gut-wrenching loss to the Cowboys, their long night of heartbreak got a lot more unbearable.

Their charter flight from Dallas home to Newark was delayed 21/2 hours because of mechanical problems and did not take off until 4:30 a.m. ET, arriving in New Jersey on Monday around 7:30 a.m..

"There was not much sleep, nobody got any sleep,'' Tom Coughlin said of the team's disposition Monday. "The guys were tired, and they were sad, they were disappointed . . . It was a different kind of day, let's put it that way.''

It was the kind of experience that even a visit from Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan couldn't fully erase.

"Some of the coaches helped pick my spirits up,'' said Cullen Jenkins about Strahan's attempted morale boost. "Strahan was in the building and he talked to us and that helped a lot. It’s things like when we just have to rally together, stay behind each other, and get through this together."

Easier said than done.

Luke Petitgout on Giants sideline angers estranged wife: Report

Former Giants lineman Luke Petitgout is facing charges of assaulting his wife in New York and New Jersey, but that didn't stop the former NFL star from hanging out on the sidelines of MetLife Stadium with his old team Sunday.

And Jennifer Petitgout was shocked to hear that her estranged husband was allowed on the field while facing the domestic abuse charges, according to Page Six of the N.Y. Post.

The perceived lack of good judgement by the Giants comes even while the NFL’s “social responsibility” team has launched a campaign of PSAs — featuring the team's quarterback, Eli Manning, — raising awareness of domestic violence.

"Luke was at the game with his kids, waving to the crowd," a source told the site. "This was the second time recently he was on the field, despite the NFL saying they’re clamping down on abuse. It’s pathetic. You need credentials to get on the field."

#goodcallref #jefftriplette #hestheboss #giants #win

A photo posted by @luke._i_am_your_father_ on Dec 12, 2014 at 4:52pm PST

It would be a surprise if the invite did come from the top because the Giants organization is normally considered one of the more conservative and image-conscious teams in the NFL.

And a Giants rep told Page Six that Luke attended Sunday’s game “as a guest of one of our suite holders. He was not there at the invitation of the team.” And “he was not on the field during the game. He was on the sidelines during pregame, when there are hundreds of guests . . . To my knowledge, he was on the visiting side.”

Petitgout’s facing an attempted assault rap in Manhattan Criminal Court for allegedly attacking his wife at a Midtown lounge on June 5. He was separately arrested in November on sexual assault charges against her in New Jersey for allegedly attacking her at their home after she’d thrown him from the house. The night of that incident, Petitgout was also on the sidelines at a Giants game, sources said, as part of a celebration for ex-players including Michael Strahan.

Former #NYGiants offensive lineman Luke Petitgout charged with assault on estranged wife http://t.co/M44gFvur2o pic.twitter.com/QEvONFZOJg
— UPI.com (@UPI) November 5, 2014

Jennifer’s lawyer, Nicole Noonan, told Page Six: “The NFL is still condoning this type of aggressive behavior off the field, and only focusing on success on it.”

Tim Tebow, Michael Strahan get spots on People's Sexiest Man Alive list: Report

Actor Chris Hemsworth may head the list for People's 2014 Sexiest Man Alive issue but that didn't stop a couple of athletes turned analysts from making the cut.

Ubiquitous television personality and former Giants football star Michael Strahan made the list along with the sexy Thor star. But it was the inclusion of former Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow — currently toiling as an SEC Network talking head — that could be considered a bit of a surprise.

Hemsworth, who plays the Marvel hero with the flowing locks and enormous hammer, won the cover spot (he was a runner-up in 2012) but shrugged off the accolade. 

"I can just say to Elsa, 'Now remember, this is what the people think, so I don't need to do the dishes anymore, I don't need to change nappies. I'm above that. I've made it now.'"

Like Hemsworth, Tebow poo-pooed the honor.

"I don't go through life trying to be sexy; I go through life trying to help others," he says. "It sort of hits me out of the blue when I find out that anyone finds me attractive. I mean, it's a great compliment, but I'm just trying to do the right things and live my life in the right way. I want to be noticed for the right reasons."

One thing you can be sure about: Kelly Ripa is thrilled out of her gourd for Strahan's selection and she'll be yammering about her gap-toothed co-host all week.

The celebrity list also includes "Guardians of the Galaxy" star Chris Pratt; Jamie Dornan of the upcoming "Fifty Shades of Grey" adaptation; Ki Hong Lee, who stars in the young adult apocalyptic thriller "Maze Runner"; country star and "The Voice" mentor Blake Shelton (last year's winner was fellow coach Adam Levine); Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper, the 2011 "Sexiest Man Alive"; "White Collar" star Matt Bomer; Eddie Redmayne of the Oscar-buzz biopic "The Theory of Everything"; and Scott Foley, turning up the heat on "Scandal."

What does it all mean?  Well, Nick Nolte was once voted PMSMA. 

Yes he was.

Michael Strahan to make cameo in 'Magic Mike' sequel: Report

If you still don't get enough of Michael Strahan's gap-toothed grin all over the television screen these days, get ready to see even more of the former New York Giants legend on the big screen — maybe a little too much.

The ubiquitous talk show host will now be taking his NFL sack dance to Hollywood where he'll be making a cameo as a male stripper in the "Magic Mike" sequel.

The "Live with Kelly and Michael" co-host announced on the air that he'll make an appearance in the male stripper tale after star Channing Tatum hounded him to have a cameo in "Magic Mike XXL."

The video below has some of the moments with the actor in which Strahan showed off his moves leading up to his new gig.

TMZ  reported Strahan will at least be topless, but there will be no full frontal for him.

At least Kelly Ripa — like any time Strahan talks about taking something off — seems overly titillated.

Warren Sapp busts a move at Hall of Fame after party

Warren Sapp finally got to put his "Dancing With The Stars" moves to good use this weekend when he took over the dance floor and the DJ booth at an NFL Hall of Fame induction party.

Sapp — sporting his newly acquired yellow HOF jacket — was the guest of honor at the special Warren Sapp party tent in Canton, Ohio ... where stars like Dan Marino, Lawrence Taylor, Marshall Faulk and Deion Sanders came by to party with the former NFL star. 

But during the party, Sapp — clearly feeling the excitement — grabbed the mic and told the crowd, "One time like my dog Ray Lewis used to do."

Then he hit the dance floor and showed he can do more than crush Michael Strahan over the air waves.

Here's the TMZ clip:

 

Sapp delighted he made H.O.F. over 'media darling' Strahan

NFL bad boy Warren Sapp was on his best behavior leading up to the voting for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recent weeks.  But it didn't take long for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman to sack New York Giants great Michael Strahan once he was selected.

On Wednesday, Sapp took a shot at the popular Strahan on WDAE-AM 620 in Florida (via JoeBucsFan.com), saying there was no question who had a better chance of making it to Canton.

“Say if I rewind this to Saturday at 12 o’ clock, me and you are sitting and I say, it breaks down whatever and whatever and then you have Michael Strahan and me. C’mon, the menace and the media darling," Sapp said. “C’mon. Madness or Good Morning America. I mean, c’mon.”

Sapp did tone it down by saying he "absolutely" had doubt that he'd be a first ballot selection.  Both Sapp and Strahan were in their first year of eligibility for the Hall.

The former Giants defensive end — now co-host of the morning gab fest "Live with Kelly & Michael," was one of the 10 finalists but couldn't crack the last five which included: Sapp, Larry Allen, Cris Carter, Jonathan Ogden and former Giants coach Bill Parcells — who were all voted in by the committee.

Sapp and Strahan were no friends of each other back in their playing days either.  In a lively exchange in 2002, Strahan called Sapp a "jackass" and joked about his physique by saying it looked like he made too many trips to McDonald's.

Sapp responded by calling Strahans's Brett Favre-assisted sack record a "travesty."

Giants GM will reach out to Strahan to help JPP

Jason Pierre-Paul went from being one of the best pass rushers in the NFL last season to being just another body on the New York Giants seemingly overwhelmed defensive line in 2012.

Even after being selected to his second straight Pro-Bowl, JPP said he wasn't happy to see his production fall to 6-1/2 sacks in 2012 from 16-1/2 in a breakout season in 2011.

General manager Jerry Reese has sensed the 24-year-old defensive end's frustration at his drop in his numbers and says he plans to contact a former Giants star pass rusher for help in building the young player's confidence.

"I plan to reach out to Michael Strahan this offseason," Reese told WFAN Thursday. "To see if he can have some conversations with JPP.

"If he hears it from somebody like Michael Strahan, it will really encourage him."

Strahan recorded 141-1/2 sacks over his 15-year career —including a Brett Favre-assisted record 22-1/2 in 2001.  And the gap-toothed DE did it without the benefit of a premium defensive line for the most part.

Reese sounds convinced a motivational speech from the future Hall-of-Famer will help JPP break out of his funk.

"After Michael became a superstar defensive end, he was getting double-teamed, he was getting chipped, but he was still getting sacks," Reese said.  "So the great ones still get through there and make plays."

It's wasn't hard to see that offenses focused on Pierre-Paul this past season and the added abuse from offensive linemen wore him down. No sacks in the final seven games of the season will attest to that.

"I'm not having that fun I'm used to," he admitted about the high expectations after last year's Super Bowl went down with the Giants pass rush.

Reese hopes Strahan — who altered his own type of pass rush to fight through the double-teams — can get JPP to follow suit.

"You have to have the heart to do it," said Reese. "He [JPP] can't give up, like 'Wow, they're double-teaming me, they're triple-teaming me, they're high-lowing me.'  That's frustrating to a young player.  But to be a superstar defensive end , a pass rusher in this league, you have to beat those double-team blocks."

Strahan never shied away from the spotlight and probably thought of triple-teams as an audience.  The former Giants team leader  is probably the busiest guy in show biz right now — outside of Ryan Seacrest —  co-hosting "Live with Kelly and Michael" during the week and the "NFL on FOX" Sundays.

I'm sensing a special episode of Live.

If anyone could cheer up the despondent JPP it's Strahan's perky co-host Kelly Ripa.

Michael Strahan makes Broadway debut in 'Elf'

It seems like there's no getting away from the gap-toothed face of Michael Strahan these days.  The former New York Giants defensive star splits his week as co-host of "Live with Kelly and Michael" weekday mornings and pops up as an analyst on "Fox NFL Sunday" every weekend.

On Wednesday, the ubiquitous Strahan added another skill to his growing resume and made three short appearances at the matinee of "Elf" in his Broadway debut.

The musical is adapted from the 2003 Will Ferrell movie of the same name and is about a human raised as an elf at the North Pole who heads to New York City in search of his parents.

Strahan played a police officer and a Salvation Army Santa in the first act and appeared as himself in a scene in the second act asking Santa for a present.

Michael Strahan strips down for People's 'Sexiest Man Alive' issue

Michael Strahan might be known as one of the busiest working men on television these days but you can now add sexiest (in some quarters) to that list too.

The former New York Giants defensive end has been showing a lot of his metro side since getting the co-hosting gig on "Live with Kelly and Michael" but yesterday he revealed a lot more when he stripped down to nothing but a velvet curtain and construction boots for this week's "Sexiest Man Alive" issue of People magazine.

Actor Channing Tatum was crowned this year's sexiest man for his role as a male stripper in the film, "Magic Mike" but in the magazine centerfold it will be Strahan doing all of the grinding.

In keeping with the theme of the film, a video of the photo shoot  —where Strahan is transformed "from a co-host to a male stripper" dressed as a construction worker — was shown on his morning talk show.  The gap-toothed "NFL on FOX" host looked pretty comfortable stripping down for the female crowd.  Co-host Kelly Ripa sure seemed overly titillated when she expressed her excitement (even for her) to see what was behind the curtain.

The issue will be on newsstands Friday Nov. 16.

Some other tidbits that the Giants all-time sack leader will share with readers had to do with his personal hygiene.

"I get manicures, pedicures, facials, massages.  I do it all.  No shame in my game," he said.  "But I won't get waxed — that looks like it hurts."

Jason Pierre-Paul: Giants defensive ends not having 'fun' this season

If Jason Pierre-Paul thought every season was going to be like his breakout campaign last year, the New York Giants defensive end is finding out not every one is always fun and games.  The operative word here being "fun."

After only four games, Pierre-Paul is unhappy with his own performance (1-1/2 sacks) and and the inefficiency of the Giants defensive ends to pressure opposing quarterbacks.  The vaunted "NASCAR" defense — Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Unmenyiora — has recorded only 3-1/2 sacks through the first quarter of the season.

"I'm not having that fun, I'm used to," said the 23-year old Pierre-Paul on Thursday.  "I've just got to go out and run around like a little kid — just be happy that you're out there and make plays.  Have that energy that I had last year."

It sounds like Are you down with JPP? just took on a whole new meaning.

"And that'll go for the other guys, too," he continued.  "You could see it in their eyes that they're not having fun with the game.  They've got to find themselves and I've got to find myself."

All three defensive studs would like to get back to last year's mirth-making performances that lead to a Super Bowl title but have been hindered this season by double-teams and key injuries to defensive unit — particularly the secondary.

Kenny Phillips joined Antrel Rolle and Corey Webster with injuries that kept all three defensive backs off the practice field this week.  Phillips was on trainer's table in the first quarter against the Eagles after spraining an MCL.  Tuck said the safety's absence in the final three quarters of last week's loss made him "gun-shy."

"I'm not having that much fun, either," added Tuck. "I pretty much suck."

The Giants (2-2) had a full week to prepare for the Cleveland Browns without Phillips.  Now, the defense's task will be to adjust.

"Sometimes you just have to whip somebody's (butt) and make a play," defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said.  "And we need to do that."

Pierre-Paul — who many expect someday to break former Giants DE Michael Strahan's single-season sack record* ( *Brett Favre) — has to learn to block out the fans' high hopes and remember there's a Super Bowl bulls eye on each Giants player's back in every game this year.

"People have high expectations of me, so it kind of brings me down a little knowing I've got to live up to that," Pierre-Paul said.  "But I have to have fun too.  I can't just go out there thinking I'm Jason Pierre-Paul.  It doesn't work that way."

Could facing a Browns (0-4) team — spear-headed by rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden and first year running back Trent Richardson — be the cure for the Giants blues?

"We aren't living up to the way we expect to around here," said Pierre-Paul.  "We're not going to make excuses about it.  We haven't played the way we're capable of playing.  That's why I haven't had the same amount of fun."

Are you depressed with JPP, yet?

Strahan boosts ratings and cuteness factor on 'Live!' morning show

Ex-NFL star Michael Strahan scored big ratings when he made his debut as Kelly Ripa's permanent co-host on "Live! With Kelly and Michael"on Tuesday.

The ubiquitous Strahan's appearance boosted the show's ratings by 44% over the same day a year ago.  And that was when the popular Regis Philbin was still hosting the morning talk show.

On Thursday, Strahan upped his cuteness factor after he and Ripa —wearing replicas of the U.S. Olympic Women's Soccer team's uniforms — joined 2012 Olympic gold medal Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan to a soccer drill challenge on the set.

It was hard to figure out what the rules of the competition were — as everyone kicked balls into metal tubs, little nets and up tiny ramps — but the sight of Strahan in shorts and a "Where's Waldo" shirt had the audience going, "Awwww."

I think Ripa's team won because she jumped around the set more than anyone else when it was over.

Expect to see Strahan — the big lug — donning more funny little outfits and playing silly games in the future.  It's ratings gold.

Michael Strahan is Kelly Ripa's new permanent co-host

Kelly Ripa officially introduced her new morning talk show co-host Tuesday and it was ... surprise ... Michael Strahan.

In television's worst kept secret since Clint Eastwood's bizarre appearance at the Republican National Convention, Ripa introduced the former New York Giants defensive end as her new permanent co-host on the newly unveiled  "Live! With Kelly and Michael."

After auditioning nearly 60 guests as co-hosts, Strahan has finally filled the void left by Regis Philbin after he retired from the show last November.

At his introduction, Strahan jogged from an SUV on the street and entered the set amidst streams of confetti and hugged Ripa, the woman he will banter with every weekday over coffee.  He sat next to her in front of a new "Live! With Kelly and Michael" logo.

Ripa joked to the audience that she feels like she just "gave birth to a new co-host" after the long auditioning process.

The raspy-voiced Ripa then teased Strahan about how the staff painted the waiting area "49ers' colors."

"It can always be changed with a little paint," joked Strahan before giving her a dozen red roses.

Gotta love the cute interplay already between Strahan and his "TV wife."

The former NFL star first appeared on the show with Philbin and Ripa in 2008 and jokingly predicted that one day he would host the show.

 Strahan, 40, is currently a host for "Fox NFL Sunday" and also starred in the short-lived Fox sit-com, "Brothers," in 2009.  He can be seen endorsing a number of products on television commercials.

Philbin left the show after hosting it 28 years alongside a number of different co-hosts.  Ripa joined him in 2001.

Michael Strahan could be headed to 'Live With Kelly' show

Kelly Ripa has announced that the "Live With Kelly' show will introduce her new co-host on Sept. 4— nearly a year after Regis Philbin left the morning show— and a lot of signs point to former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan landing the gig.

Ripa posted a video on tout.com Monday in which she announced her new co-host will join her on the "Live" set during that day's syndicated broadcast.

"Hey guys, big news," she said.  "Mark your calendars.  On Sept. 4, I'll be joined by my new co-host." Yay!

Since Philbin left the show, Ripa has sat opposite a variety of potential co-hosts including Strahan who has sat next to the perky Ripa more than anyone else.

Strahan, the ex-Giants star and "Fox NFL Sunday" host has put his beachfront California home up for sale— sparking rumors of his return to the New York area.  It would be convenient for the former NFL player to live near the ABC studios on the westside of Manhattan where the show airs from.

Other potential co-hosts who are in contention for the highly-visible job include "Saturday Night Live" host Seth Myers, singers Josh Groban and Nick Lachey along with her husband Mark Consuelos.  How cute would that be?

Ripa joined Philbin on the show in 2001 after Kathy Lee Gifford (Frank's wife) left a year before.

The gap-toothed Strahan looks to be the favorite but my money is on dark horse Pat Kiernan of NY1 News.

It looks like Ripa could talking about Giants football instead of Notre Dame on Mondays this fall.

Michael Strahan a finalist for "Live With Kelly" show

Michael Strahan is reportedly one of the finalists to succeed Regis Philbin and co-host the morning show "Live With Kelly" alongside Kelly Ripa, according to NFL.com.

The other two finalists are Seth Meyers of "Saturday Night Live" and singer Josh Groban.

Strahan, the former New York Giants defensive star, has been a guest host on the show previously, including last week when his "Magic Mike" striptease dance went viral.

The Super Bowl winner retired from the NFL in 2008 and is now his face is all over television.  Besides seeing the ubiquitous Strahan on a slew of TV commercials— he is an analyst with FOX's NFL pregame show.  He once starred on FOX's short-lived sit-com "Brothers."

Before fans get ready to wake up with the gap-toothed Strahan five days a week, NFL.com reports that the frontrunner for the prized gig is Meyers, who will be a guest co-host all next week— the show's first Monday-Friday co-host since Neil Patrick Harris last year.

Strahan might still have a shot.  The Knicks thought they had Steve Nash wrapped and bowed and look how that turned out.

Strahan calls Giants treatment of Umenyiora 'flat-out robbery'

Former-New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan found out what the team is paying his current protege Osi Umenyiora and thinks his friend is way "underpaid."

"To be honest with you, it's flat-out robbery," Strahan told The New York Post.

"If it were me, I would have sat at home and I wouldn't have played," said Strahan.  "That's just me.  I've threatened to do that in my time and I ended up getting what I wanted.  Osi's a different mindset than.  I'm probably a little more, 'I don't care what people think.'"

What Strahan seems to forget is that the last time he held out for more money, he piled up over $500,000 in fines and penalties.  When Strahan did return, he didn't get the increase in his $4 million salary.

Umenyiora was unhappy with the contract he signed in 2005 and— earlier this month— agreed to a restructuring that will pay him about $7 million this season— up from $3.975 million— before he becomes a free agent.

For Strahan to criticize a jump in pay like that is kind of funny— especially if Umenyiora seems content.

"For him, it works out, he's going to be fine, he's going to play well," Strahan added.  "If he played well under the previous situations of being unhappy to being somewhat happy now, I'm sure he'll do great."

Still, Strahan thinks his old teammate should have taken a harder stance with the Giants.

"He just didn't take advantage of it at the times when he should have," said Strahan.  "I think Osi has a good heart.  He expects for people to do as what he would do, you expect people to treat you the way you expect to be treated.  Sometimes in the game of business it doesn't work out that way and you have to understand it as a player sooner rather than later."

Umneyiora lost his starting job in 2011 to rising star Jason Pierre-Paul but still had 12 1/2 sacks in 13 games.

It sounds like Strahan might have an ulterior motive for for Umenyiora's bigger paycheck.

"I think he'll play well and I think next year, contract-wise, will be a big year for him and I can get a loan from him," he joked.

Only Strahan— one of the most popular Giants players ever— might get away with criticizing the organization after a touchy situation had already been settled.

Giants' punter leaks photo of Super Bowl ring on Twitter

In March, a photo of the New York Giants' Super Bowl XLVI ring was tweeted by linebacker Clint Sintim to the public.  The 14K white gold ring was reportedly called "tacky" and ladylike by Diamond District jewelers who checked it out.  Sintim deleted his tweet hoping to put the cat back in the bag before the Giants officially released the ring design.

At the same time, Giants defensive end Justin Tuck tweeted he had no idea who was circulating the photo and claimed the photo wasn't one of the finalized ring.

Today— one day before the rings will be presented to the players and coaches at Tiffany & Co. in Manhattan—  punter Steve Weatherford tweeted another picture of the ring which, oddly,  looks identical to the one Sintim had leaked.

Even if the ring is the same design, it looks like the Giants be slipping a magnificent piece of jewelry onto their fingers representing their hard fought run to their championship victory.

The team will get their rings at a ceremony Wednesday night at Tiffany's Fifth Avenue flagship store.

The rings were designed with input from Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, general manager Jerry Reese and team captains Eli Manning, Zak DeOssie and Tuck along with representatives from Tiffany.

According to the photo Weatherford tweeted, the  top of the ring features four Lombardi Trophies to represent the number they have won in their history and the iconic "NY" logo.  On one side of the ring is the player's name and uniform number.  On the reverse side is the word "Giants" along with the final score, 21-17, of Super Bowl XLVI when Big Blue defeated the New England Patriots.

This year's ring is actually smaller than the team's 2008 version.  It features only 1.36 carat weight in diamonds.

Former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan described the Super Bowl bling four years ago as a "10-table stunner" because he bragged you could see it from 10 tables away.

Ten tables, nine tables. . . it's still a Super Bowl ring.

Robert Griffin III: Giants pass rush doesn't scare me

Robert Griffin III has been the talk of New York this week as he makes his way around town before Thursday night's 2012 NFL Draft, but the future quarterback of the Washington Redskins might have picked his own words a little better last night.

The projected No. 2 pick says the prospect of facing the New York Giants ferocious pass rush of Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora does not scare him.

"I'm not going to play with fear," Griffin III said.  "I'm a talented guy and  I respect talent.  I respect Pierre-Paul, I respect Tuck, Umenyiora all of those guys, but I am not going to go out and play as if I'm scared they are going to sack me."

RG3, the headline player posed with former-NFL great Barry Sanders at EA sport's NCAA Football '13 Draft Party at Lavo nightclub on Tuesday.  He said he isn't going to change the way he approached the game in college.

"That's the one thing I've never done as a player," he said.  "Never play with fear, always play fearless but respect your opponent.  Those guys are so great, so use your strength against them."

The Heisman Trophy winner believes he can lead his team to victory without scoring a lot of points.

"From what I heard, you score 21 points in the league and you win 70 percent of your games," said the QB.  "I come from the Big 12, where if you score 56 points you might win a couple so I look forward to only having to score only 21 points and win, it's a great feeling."

The naivety of youth.  Hate to break this to you RG3, first, you have to score 21 points.

Griffin III attributes the evolution of quarterbacks— from pure drop-back passers to modern NFL signal callers who can play inside and outside the pocket— to some past and present Giants pass rushers.

"First and foremost, you have to blame guys like Mike Strahan, Reggie White, Justin Tuck for making quarterbacks more mobile," he said.  "The game always evolves, because defensive linemen are so mobile now, quarterbacks have to be able to move a little bit.  They don't have to be world-class speed guys but they have to be able to move."

It looks like RG3 is ready to work with Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan and be embraced by the playoff-starved Hogs fans.

"The way I look at it, it shows that not only is a team aligned with its fan base, but also the team believes in you," Griffin III said.  "I love that, I wanted a team to fall in love with me and I can't be mad about that."

"It's not a knock on the Colts, but they never had a moment like that, it was always back and forth.  Washington made a decision and said, 'look, we want this guy,' I'm humbled by that."

Don't expect the same love from the Giants.

Cruz and Strahan salsa together at ceremony honoring NY Giants

This morning, an estimated 1 million fans lined the sidewalks of lower Broadway during a ticker tape parade honoring the New York Giants come-from-behind Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots.

Afterwards, at the Key to the City ceremony on the steps of City Hall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Giants player Michael Strahan stood at a podium and honored all of the Giants players and staff by handing them each a ceremonial key to the city.

One of the highlights of the fete was when wide receiver and favorite target of Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, stepped to the front of the stage with the crowd's cheers of "Cruuuz" filling the air and performed some of his patented salsa dance moves with Strahan.

Cruz made the hip-shaking dance popular by doing it every time he scored a touchdown this season.

Strahan may not have had as much practice as Cruz has shaking his booty lately— he did have a sack dance years ago— but did hold his own alongside the smiling Cruz under the bright blue skies.

The confident Strahan— wearing a "GMEN" sweatshirt— actually nudged Cruz and coaxed him into dancing.

Something tells me that it won't be the last time we'll see someone grab Cruz to do the Latin dance in New York this winter.

Giants Super Bowl XLII Ring On Sale For $47,995

A diamond-studded Tiffany ring presented to one of the New York Giants players after the team upset the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII is up for sale.

All it takes to get one of the historic ring is a deep-burning love of Big Blue and $47,995.

Tiki Barber, are you listening? 

"For whatever reason, back in 2008, we received eight players selling their rings within six months after they received them," Tim Robbins of Champions-Rings.net.  "The majority of them were still playing for the team, which is rather unusual."

According to the New York Daily News, one of Robbins clients bought the  ring back then, but last November, looking to turn a profit, decided to sell the ring back.  It now sits on a shelf among 1,200 or so championship rings that range from NCAA Championships to the Super Bowl.

Robbins said the rings are also awarded to team staff members— which are different from the ones the players recieve— and he was kind of surprised by the number of Giants that season who were looking hock their bling.

If you are a fan of TV's Pawn Stars, you already know that the players' rings are more valuable than the staff's.

The white gold and diamond rings are manufactured by the same famous silversmith that also makes the Lombardi Trophy every year.

"The Giants rings, being made by Tiffany, it was a little surprising to see that many," said Robbins.  "But there are so many die-hard New York Giants fans that it didn't take that much time to sell them at all."

"And if you wear this out," Robbins said.  "It's the best icebreaker in the world."

But this is a special ring— nicknamed a "10-table ring" by former Giants player Michael Strahan because he wanted people ten tables away to see his pride and joy.

Robbins said the ring has been on the market for over three months and blames the slow economy for it sitting on the shelf so long.  Normally, Giants rings "don't have a tendency to last that long," he said.

In 2008, when the rings were presented to the Giants players, they had a value of over $25,000.  The face of the ring features three Super Bowl trophies— one for each of the team's titles.  One side is engraved with the score of the game (Giants 17, Patriots 14) and the other side says "Eleven Straight on the Road" in reference to the NFL record set by the team in 2007.

 Strahan, Eli Manning, Amani Toomer and Shaun O'Hara were all consultants on the design of the ring.

Players sell their rings for a variety of reasons claims Robbins and it's not always financial hardship.

"You have players where their religion prohibits them from wearing jewelery," he said.  "So they just don't need the ring."

Robbins stands by his firm's privacy policy and won't disclose the name of the player who came in and unloaded his ring.  He just said the unnamed player wasn't a starter in the Super Bowl.

One person we can definitely leave out of that discussion is good ol' Tiki.