Redskins' Cofield calls Eli the new 'Montana'

Washington Redskins defensive tackle Barry Cofield got a close up view how elite New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning had become from the sidelines when they played as teammates for five years.

Since last season, the former Giants starter has had the reverse angle on how good Manning is while watching from the opposite side of the ball wearing the Giants division rival's burgundy and yellow.

Yesterday, Cofield was witness to another fourth-quarter Manning comeback when Easy E hit Victor Cruz on a 77-yard bomb with 1:13 left to give the Giants a wild 27-23 victory over the 'Skins.  Too bad  for Cofield, it was from the losing side's perspective.

After the game, Cofield paid his props and elevated Manning's elite status to another level when he placed him in the same company of the former San Francisco 49ers great Joe Montana.

"Eli is like Joe Montana right now," said Cofield.  "When I was here, he was good, showing flashes, he's exceptional right now.  He's got nerves of steel.  To beat this team you are gonna have to bury him, then you have to put the dirt on top of him and then put the cement on top of him and then watch it dry.  Anything short of that they are still in the game."

The unbelievable rally marked the eighth game winning-drive that Manning has led in the last two seasons and the 24th time in the quarterback's career that he's led Big Blue to victory after trailing in the  fourth quarter.

Sunday's win might not be classified as one of Manning's prettiest outings but, like Montana, it's the final result that matters most.  For Manning's career, that could be the Hall of Fame too.

Worst version of 'God Bless America' by woman with giant hat on her head

San Francisco is known for a lot of crazy things.  Banning Happy Meals, trying to limit the sale of goldfish but still allowing Brian Wilson to roam free seem to be the norm.  So having a woman wearing a giant hat with a model of the city on it sing "God Bless America" at Game 6 of the NLCS seemed fitting for the free-spirited fans.

That was until an visibly embarrassed Misa Malone, from the San Francisco musical revue, the "Beach Blanket Babylon." flubbed her way through the words of the song in front of the Candlestick Park crowd.

It takes a lot of guts to get out in front of 60,000 fans on a nationally-televised game but, come on, next time don't forget the words.



Performers from the campy Beach Blanket Babylon — the longest running musical revue in theater history — routinely perform at Giants games so it was no surprise to see the singer in her outrageous attire.

We've all heard of people wearing a city on their sleeve, but wearing it on your head is tough — especially when it weighs more than Tim Lincecum.

Cam Newton: 'Something's gonna have to change real fast'

Cam Newton faced the media, after his Carolina Panthers lost a close game to to the Dallas Cowboys, and gave another glum assessment of his and his team's play on the field.

 The Carolina quarterback's post game speeches have become such downers, they should be called depressing conferences.

He looked like a scolded child when he greeted the media after the 36-7 loss to the New York Giants and didn't look much better after Sunday's 19-14 loss.

After the game, Newton at least managed to keep his eyes open and his head held a little higher when he told reporters that everyone on the team "had to do better ... including myself."

It sounds like the second year time bomb is ticking away and he warned the media to bring a suggestion box because he's out of answers on how to turn things around.

"This taste.  This vibe.  I'm not buying it, man.  I don't know what it is," said Newton.  "But something's gonna have to change.  Something's gonna have to change real fast."

The Cowboys (3-3) rallied after the Panthers (1-5) took a 14-13 lead late into the game but two late Dallas field goals sealed the deal for the visitors.

Newton passed for 233 yards but the offense was sporadic and was held to a frustrating eight three-and-outs.  Newton had a critical first down pass to Greg Olsen called back after Dallas called a dubious time out.

A lot was expected from Newton after a sensational rookie season but it looks like both he and the team  are having a hard time delivering.  Call it a sophomore jinx or just NFL defenses catching up to him.  Either way, the close losses are taking a toll.

Panthers guard Jordan Gross was a little more positive.

"If you want a bright spot, we're a fourth-and-one away from a lot of wins here," he said.

Oh yeah, at least Newton rocks the brown sweater.

Jay-Z's Brooklyn Nets No. 4 'Carter' jersey up for auction

Rapper, producer and Brooklyn Nets minority owner Jay-Z opened the new Barclays Center with eight sold out shows a few weeks ago and, if you were lucky enough to get through the new arena's TSA style security gates, you saw the performer wearing the Brooklyn Nets' new game jerseys.

The singer, whose real name is Shawn Carter, wore a black No. 4 Nets jersey with his surname "Carter" on the back to help promote the team's relocation to Brooklyn from New Jersey.

While the jersey will never see a single NBA foul shot, the Brooklyn native is auctioning off five home and five road limited edition autographed versions of the "Carter 4."

Ten authenticated Carter jerseys with Jay-Z's signature on them will be put up for auction on Wednesday at auctions.NBA.com.  The bidding will end on Oct. 31.  Each jersey will come with the handwritten message "Peace Jay-Z" on the size tag.

Be prepared to shell out rapper sized cash if you plan on imagining yourself playing Beyonce's husband in the mirror. The opening bid on each jersey was $500 and the bidding on one road jersey has already grown to over $1,000.  The smallest bid on any other jersey was $670.

All the proceeds will benefit the Shawn Carter Foundation — which has given more than $1.4 million in scholarships to financially strapped students since 2003.

Man builds replica of Giants Stadium in his garage

New York Giants fans who live for the days when the names L.T., Bavaro, Carson and Simms resounded in the Meadowlands, and still call MetLife Stadium by its given name — Giants Stadium —  might have the next best thing to sitting in the swamp watching Polyester Parcells circa 1986.

A New Jersey man spent two years of his life and over $20,000 of his own money to recreate a shrine to his favorite team by building a scale-model replica of Giants Stadium in his Blairstown garage, reports the Star-Ledger.

Don Martini's labor of love is small enough to fit in his garage but large enough to bring back memories of the old 77,000 seat stadium when it was constructed for the Giants and the New York Jets were just considered pesky intruders.

Martin's creation is 20-feet long and 17-feet wide and no attention to detail has been spared.  The replica includes tiny halogen lights, billboards and tiny TV Jumbotrons in each end zone — one which plays Super Bowl XLII on an endless loop, the other shows the NFC Championship Game victory from that season.

The only things missing might be the sound of Bob Shepard's booming voice and the smell of the backed up toilets in the crowded bathrooms.

The 34-year-old Giants Stadium was demolished in 2010 to make way for the new venue. The old arena was the place where Bruce Springsteen cut his teeth doing stadium shows, high school teams pretended they were pros and might be the legendary grave of Jimmy Hoffa.

While never considered one of architecture's great marvels, the "obsolete" old stadium's demolition  touched a nerve with Martini.

"I'm going to build Giants Stadium," the 75-year-old retired teacher, and avowed builder of things, said to his wife one day.

"You're crazy," she told him.

Martini started working on the project and didn't stop for two years.

His son, Don G., is encouraging his dad to give it to the Giants — maybe for some season tickets.

Team spokesman Pat Hanlon called it "a wonderful tribute to a building that housed many wonderful memories" but he needed to give it more thought before accepting or declining the gift.

Nothing can ever erase the memories of Giants Stadium and it's nice to know there's a place you can still see its tiny reincarnation — minus the Turnpike traffic and Ray Handley years.

Yankee fans vote to dump A-Rod, Swish and Grandy in polls

Brian Cashman is going to have his hands full when he starts working the offseason phones this winter.  But, if it were up to New York Yankees fans, he could start by dumping Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson right off the bat and nary a fan would cry — at least around 75% wouldn't.

In two separate New York tabloid polls, The New York Post and the New York Daily News readers unanimously voted to dump all three players after pitiful showings in the 2012 postseason.

A-Rod seemed like a no-brainer and former-fan favorite Swisher's exile was expected but Granderson's — a 40-home run hitter — percentages were closer than he probably deserves.

Take a deep breath New York.  Getting swept in the ALCS by the Detroit Tigers is no reason to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge or poison yourself with 32 oz. sugary drinks.

The polls, taken a day after the disaster in Detroit, may have been swayed by seeing the fresh kill all over the news, but the winds of change have swirling around the Yankees for the past couple of post seasons.

The polls were both pretty much in the same ballpark when it came to percentages.

Not surprisingly, a couple of the new guys like Ichiro Suzuki and Hiroki Kuroda, who both played up to snuff, got a lot of love.  As were some old faces like the remaining Core Four triplets Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera.  All three were in the mid-80% range. Jeter and Rivera will both be coming back from the most serious injuries of their Hall of Fame careers while the 40-year-old Pettitte is still undecided about making another run with the team.

A couple of other key players still had legions of fans forgiving them for their miserable postseasons.  Both Mark (all glove, no bat) Teixeira and Robinson (29 at-bat hitless streak) Cano were given passes by the voters.

The fans also gave a vote of confidence to two key decision makers.  Manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman were both voted back by sizable percentages.  But that could all change if A-Rod is still wearing pinstripes next season.

The Yankees' ace CC Sabathia probably had the highest "stay" percentages (near 90%) but Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova hovered around the 60's.  Both of them could be trade bait this winter.

Fans were still in love with postseason hero Raul Ibanez but voted for Joba Chamberlain to take his trampoline act on the road.

These percentages may mean nothing in the grand scheme of Cashman's offseason, but here's a number the GM won't soon forget — a .157 team batting average in the ALCS.

Carmelo Anthony: 'I feel bad' for A-Rod

Add Carmelo Anthony to the the list of NBA superstars coming to the defense of embattled New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez.  Lord knows the New York fans aren't.

It sounds like the New York Knicks forward is sympathetic towards A-Rod for the way he was benched and booed during the playoffs and, like Kobe Bryant the other day, doesn't think riding the pine suits the $114 million Yankee.

"I feel bad for A-Rod, man," Anthony said at Friday's shootaround before the team played the Toronto Raptors in Montreal. "I don't like to see anyone go through that."

Rodriguez was benched in ALCS Game 3 and didn't start Game 4 but came in as a pinch hitter and went 0-for-2.  The final two at-bats only added to his 3-for-25 futility at the plate during the 2012 postseason.

Asked if he had ever been taken to task and benched by a coach, Anthony replied, "Never.  I can't imagine being benched like that."

Anthony, who was born in Brooklyn but raised in Baltimore, lost some Yankees fans when he started rooting for his hometown Orioles in the ALDS but claims he cheered for the Yankees when they played the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS.

"I jumped ship," he joked.

Knicks fans must be hoping that the thoughtful 'Melo will do some more reaching out — especially when his teammate Amar'e Stoudemire in on the floor with him.