What about Bob?

Giants co-owner Steve Tisch found that out firsthand when he was booed vociferously at halftime of Thursday night's game against the Redskins while introducing Christy Brinkley, who was on hand to raise awareness about cancer.

Fans were expressing their frustration over the introduction of personal seat licenses, an idea that has not gone over well. In fact, the reaction was so intense Thursday night that one person we spoke to who was on the sidelines at the time said it was impossible to make out what Tisch was saying.

Before the game, longtime Jets fan Steve Kern, who organized a rally protesting the PSL's before the Jets-Giants exhibition game, held another impromptu rally before Giants-Redskins. About 100 people showed up to express their frustration about the new ticket policy.

In the wake of their season-opening 16-7 win over the Redskins last night at Giants Stadium ...

* In the end, there was some ugliness to it, especially offensively. Bottom line: a win. At home. Against a divisional opponent. And now 10 days off.

* Defense looked absolutely incredible for the first 28 minutes, holding the Redskins to just six yards offense. Six!

* Redskins finally able to move the ball on their last drive of the first half and then into the second half, but Giants still manage to pitch a shutout after Washington's late first-half TD.

* The big problem on defense is lack of depth, no question. When Mathias Kiwanuka went down on the final play of the game with an ankle problem, you could see the air go out of the team. The sense of relief was palpable after he got up. The Giants cannot afford to have either Kiwanuka or Justin Tuck join Osi Umenyiora on the sidelines.

* Very cool moment having Michael Strahan pop out of the replica Vince Lombardi Trophy in pre-game ceremony. Fans went nuts.

* We're told that Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms were asked to make an appearance at the pre-game show, but they couldn't agree on financial terms. Strahan got $75,000 for the appearance. (UPDATE: The Giants have said Strahan did not get paid for the appearance.)

* I know Brandon Jacobs isn't happy that the team didn't give him a contract extension. But football wise, that might be a good thing, because Jacobs is clearly a man on a mission. The emotional tailback led the way with 116 yards on 21 carries.

* The running game will be crucial to the Giants' success. The 1-2 punch of Jacobs and Derrick Ward (9-39) worked well. And we didn't even see Ahmad Bradshaw, who I believe will have a major impact before it's all over.

* Plaxico Burress agrees to a five-year, $35 million deal moments before the game, and then goes out and has 10 catches for 133 yards. Cause-and-effect? Ya think?

* Eli Manning needs to be better than he was last night. There were flashes, especially early on. But 19-of-35 for 216 yards and an interception just doesn't cut it. He'll get better.

* No turnovers produced by the Giants defense. That has to change.

* Grumpy old men, Part I: Three of Jeff Feagles' four punts were inside the 20.

* Grumpy old men, Part II: Newly signed kicker John Carney made all three field goal attempts. Huge.

* Giants' secondary is very, very good. With much-improved cornerback Corey Webster on the right and shutdown corner Aaron Ross on the left, and with safeties Michael Johnson, James Butler and rookie Kenny Phillips, this is a very deep group.

* Thought on the Redskins: Horrific clock management out of rookie head coach Jim Zorn late in the fourth quarter. Needing two scores, there was no sense of urgency in the no-huddle. And he burned his timeouts way too quickly, especially after a stoppage in play preceding a Giants' punt with 1:38 to play.

Best forwarded a promotional e-mail from the folks at Fox, who offer up a tease about Sunday's programming that will include the REAL reason Michael Strahan didn't come back to the Giants.

Well done to the PR folks at Fox, especially if Strahan offers up a different version of his decision to stay retired (just didn't have it in him, etc.)

I'm sure there could be some interesting versions that he might offer up. In fact, I'd bet I505, richieg, LTmeansLawrenceTaylor, Craig, and the rest of the Glauber Nation gang can come up with some pretty imaginative reasons that kept Strahan in retirement.

Any suggestions? Jot 'em down.

There was some talk in Philly that Jerome McDougle had done enough to stick, despite his history of injury and ineffectiveness of the years. In fact, he was one of the team's most consistent linemen during camp.

But McDougle was released on the final cutdown, and the Giants signed him in about 30 seconds to serve as a valuable backup to ends Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka. Sure takes some of the sting out of the Osi Umenyiora injury.

So, why didn't McDougle make it in Philly? Because the Eagles invested heavily in free agent defensive end Chris Clemons, who earned a $4 million signing bonus. Clemons was hurt for much of camp, and didn't do too much when healthy.

But because of the large signing bonus, the Iggles opted to keep him over McDougle.

At least not with the Giants.

The rookie quarterback out of Kentucky didn't survive the final cuts, due in part to an absolutely abysmal performance in Thursday's preseason finale against the Patriots. After two fumbled snaps, Woodson was actually replaced by starter David Carr, who is now the only backup on the roster.

It's possible the Giants go into the regular season with two quarterbacks on the roster, which is becoming somewhat of a trend in the NFL. But it's also possible they scour the wires in hopes of a decent backup coming along.

That's LT as in LTmeansLawrenceTaylor, our very own commenter whose opinion we value greatly. LTMLT thinks we haven't seen the last of Michael Strahan, even though MS said from his villa by the Aegean Sea that he's done with football.

Here's LTMLT's take:

And please check up on him to see about his work outs.

Here's what I think, LTMLT:

There is merit to what you are saying, but in this case, I believe Strahan is done. I'm not saying 100 percent done, but I don't see it happening. Even if he does work out regularly (as he did last year before finally reporting a few days before the opener), he will not be in football shape. So if the Giants are making a playoff run in November, and they can use his help then, they'd still have to factor a month into getting him into football shape.

Again, not an impossible scenario, but I think you will be seeing MS on Fox for the entire season.

The Giants had a couple pics of Eli Manning hanging in the locker room from the most recent edition of Men's Vogue. The pics were taped to the ceiling near a corner of the room where a bunch of offensive linemen hang out. That includes backup center Grey Rueggamer, who is the class clown of the room. He was merciless in ripping the man he is paid to protect from very large men bent on tackling him.

The biggest yuks the linemen got out of the pics were about Manning's hair. It does look somewhat out of character for the aw-shucks kid from N'Awlins.

(-photo by Men's Vogue)

I admire the guy for making the decision not to come back.

He could easily have surrendered to the moment, decided his old team needed his help, and ditched all the plans he had carefully made during a very deliberate process in the off-season. Strahan would have been welcomed back to the team with open arms, and it would have been an insanely interesting story regardless of how it turned out.

But the guy has been retired in his own mind for a long time now, and to suddenly ignore what his heart was telling him throughout the process would have been unfair to himself and, ultimately, to the team.

Too often we see athletes not know when it's time to hang it up. Strahan was different, because he was in touch with himself more than most. Kudos to him for sticking to his plan, regardless of the tug he felt from his old team who could have used his help in the wake of Osi Umenyiora's season-ending injury.

And well done to his agent, Tony Agnone, for helping to sift through the madness with some sound advice during the process. He spoke frequently to Strahan, who has been vacationining in Greece.

"I said, 'Here are the pros, and here are the cons,'" Agnone said. "The cons, to me, outweigh the pros, but you've got to sit down and sleep on it and look over the Aegean Sea and think about it. One thing I love about him is that when he goes out to perform, he wants to perform to the ultimate level. At this point, I don't know if he was ready in his heart to do that."

Agnone told me that he told Strahan to think past the swirl of events generated in the immediate aftermath of Umenyiora's injury.

"I told him to think about the reality, that in two months, how are you going to feel. Everything is worn off, and now you're in the battle again. Do you really want that when you've been working on your other career? At that point, we came to the conclusion that it didn't make a lot of sense. He loves the Giants and he loves the fans, but it just wasn't the right thing."

Talked to Tony Agnone, the agent for both Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, about Strahan's decision to retire, as well as Osi's physical condition in the wake of surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee.

One interesting thing that Agnone said was that he didn't necessarily expect Umenyiora to ask to re-do his contract in the near term. You will remember that Umenyiora had wanted to re-work the deal, which has three years remaining on it, before this season. Ultimately, he decided not to when it was clear the Giants had no intention of renegotiating.

"We'll see," Agnone said, explaining that there was a good chance Umenyiora would play next year and then see about re-doing the deal after the '09 season. If he has a monster year, then he will look for a monster contract.

The Giants and Michael Strahan have had preliminary discussions about a potential return to the team, although it's premature to say whether Strahan would be willing to come back. It depends on whether he wants to actually play, and how much he's willing to play for.

If the asking price is too high, the Giants will respectfully decline. But if they get a sense that Strahan would return at an affordable rate (probably the estimated $6 million they were talking about paying him if he came back this season) then there's a much better chance a deal gets done.

Well, like any good poker player, he isn't saying. The only thing he acknowledges is that he will consider all options as the Giants move forward without Osi Umenyiora.

But one thing keeps coming back to me that tells me the Strahan deal WILL NOT get done.

If it's true that Strahan would need a pile of money - again, we're talking $10-12 million - then why would anyone think Reese is ready to make that kind of investment and swallow up just about all the team's remaining salary cap space?

And I ask that while thinking back to last year, when Reese was a rookie GM and he stared down Strahan during his absence from training camp. With reports swirling that Strahan would only return to the Giants if they upped their offer from the $4 million on his contract, Reese did not blink. He didn't offer a penny more.

Strahan was the one who ultimately decided to keep playing, and he did so at his designated salary.

So, I ask: Why would Reese suddenly more than double the $4 million on the final year of Strahan's contract, especially after moving Kiwanuka back to right end in Umenyiora's absence? For a 36-year-old defensive end who announced his retirement 77 days ago?

Just askin'.

Actually, he already has.

Remember, the Giants switched Kiwanuka from defensive end to strongside linebacker last year, averting the need to sign a high-profile outside 'backer like Lance Briggs, who was on the market and commanding at least $6 mil a year.

And if the Giants wind up not reaching out to Michael Strahan about a possible return - something that could conceivably cost in the neighborhood of $10-12 million as we hear it - then Kiwanuka will have saved the team plenty of dough and cap space on that one, too.

Kiwanuka's switch back from linebacker to defensive end to replace Osi Umenyiora makes all the sense in the world, since it gives the Giants two quality bookend DE's in Kiwi and Justin Tuck.

It would still be nice to have Strahan back, but considering the Giants are about $12 million under the salary cap, re-signing him to a huge deal would cut that down significantly and reduce the team's flexibility if additional injuries were to occur.

I know Giants fans would love to see Strahan back in uniform, but if Reese ultimately decides not to go down that road, I think he has earned enough trust over the previous year and a half to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

... then the next best thing is to move Mathias Kiwanuka from strongside outside linebacker to right defensive end to replaced the injured Osi Umenyiora.

That's what I wrote in"> today's newspaper, and it looks like that's what the Giants will do.

Stay tuned.

While a Strahan return would certainly give the Giants more depth along the defensive line, it's still not the sure-fire solution. First, Strahan isn't in football shape. Second, he told me last week he is completely comfortable with his decision to retire, and even relayed what Lawrence Taylor told him once: that when you don't want to hit anyone, it is time to leave the game.

Strahan told me he no longer wanted to hit anyone.

As for Kiwi, the guy was drafted as a defensive end, he showed plenty of promise there are a rookie, and the Giants have alternatives to replace him at outside linebacker.

Giants beat reporter Tom Rock had a very interesting piece in today's paper about the possibility of Osi Umenyiora returning within a matter of weeks, depending on how tomorrow's surgery goes.

The Giants announced that Umenyiora would miss the season, but Rock spoke to Dr. Craig Levitz, a Rockville Centre-based surgeon who is a physician for the PGA Tour and member of the MLB panel of physicians. Levitz said if the Giants docs who operate on Umenyiora discover that his meniscus cannot be repaired and is instead removed, Umenyiora could be back within a matter of weeks.

Interesting.

The plan is to have the meniscus repaired, in which case there would be a four-month recovery period. Under that scenario, Umenyiora would miss nearly all of the regular season, although the Giants have not announced yet whether he will be placed on injured reserve. If he is placed on the list, then Umenyiora would be ineligible to return until next season.

One of the challenges in the newspaper industry is to come up with what's called an "early" for a night game. Baseball writers face it just about every day (or night, actually), which is probably why they consider the football beat a "country club" and the writers soft, but I digress.

Anyway, the idea is to write about a topic that will "hold" no matter what the outcome of the game. (There are no such issues for Internet stories, since you can write about a player picking his nose and eating it - oh, I'm sorry, I just can't help myself - and publish it almost instantaneously.)

For last Monday night's Giants-Browns game, I wrote about injuries. Here was my lede:

"For all the optimism surrounding the defending Super Bowl champion Giants - and there is plenty of reason to think this will be a very, very good team this year - the one thing they can't control is the one thing that could make a mess out of this season.

The Giants have already gotten a taste of it, not even a month into training camp. If you're even remotely familiar with what's been happening with the team, you know what it is: injuries."

I was writing about the receivers at the time, but you can pick any position, any time. Last night against the Jets, the injury bug hit big-time: Osi Umenyiora is done for the year, and the GIants' best pass rusher and one of the most indispensible players of all will go under the knife on Tuesday to repair torn meniscus in his left knee.

I'll be writing a column for tomorrow's paper on Osi Umenyiora.

It's not a ligament, it's a torn lateral meniscus. The Giants just put it out in a press release.

Tom Coughlin had said afterward last night's game against the Jets that doctors had found no ligament damage. That meant cartilage was the most likely problem.

Umenyiora had an arthroscopic surgery in college in the same knee to address a cartilage problem.

I don't want to press any panic buttons here, but in some ways it's better to suffer a ligament tear than the cartilage situation. That's what ultimately ended Curtis Martin's career, and it's a condition that often leads to arthritis when the meniscus is damaged.

Best case scenario: Umenyiora undergoes the surgery on Tuesday, and doctors successfully repair the meniscus without long-term damage. Worst case scenario? Hey, Giants fans have enough to worry about now. There's plenty of time to discuss.

(UPDATE: Just got off a conference call with Tom Coughlin, who said he was assured by team physician Dr. Russell Warren that the meniscus repair would allow Umenyiora to resume normal function with his knee ... you can exhale now, Giants fans.)

Interesting question now that Umenyiora is done for the year with knee ligament damage.

I just texted with Strahan a few minutes ago, and he's obvoiusly aware of the situation.

Strahan is usually coy about these things, so I asked that he not respond with one of his "hahahahahaha" comments.

So he said:

"Instead of hahahahahaha, I will respond with a LOL!!!!"

More:

"I already heard the news and I've been asked the question, but no comment is my answer."

Figured he wouldn't completely close the door, but personally, I'd be shocked if he returned.

I just saw Strahan last Monday at Giants Stadium, where he showed up for the Giants-Browns preseason game. We talked afterward, and I asked if he missed the game. He did he did occasionally, but was comfortable with his decision to retire.

"L.T. used to say, 'Once you don't want to hit people, you're done,'" Strahan said. "I don't want to hit anyone."

Strahan said he was extremely busy with his new gig at FOX. He spends most of his time in California. He didn't say whether he was there when we texted, although when I asked if he was at Giants Stadium, he said: "Not at Giants Stadium. Long way from it .... ahahahahahahahah!!"

Strahan buddy Rich "Big Daddy" Salgado says Strahan is vacationing in Europe.

Strahan still works out, although he didn't look as svelte has he had during the latter portion of his career. Even if he did come back, it wouldn't directly resolve the Osi situation, since he and Osi were on different sides. The more likely scenario is to have Dave Tollefson start at right end, keep Justin Tuck at left end, and consider moving converted linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka back to end.

The Giants have decent numbers at the linebacker position, so the switch seems like a natural for Kiwi.

Then again, this wouldn't be the first time a future Hall of Fame player would change his mind about retirement ... would it, Brett Favre?

... despite the fact they're not getting props throughout the NFL community, if for no other reason than it's fashionable - and easy - to pick against the defending Super Bowl champions.

If you watched them for one quarter-plus last night against the Browns, you saw the kind of play that made them champions. Granted, it's only preseason, and the games don't count. But when you see the kind of concerted effort the Giants made, especially after last week's lackluster performance in Detroit, you can't minimize the performance.

The only thing that can set the Giants back in a meaningful way? The x-factor that every team faces: injuries. Here's my column from last night's game and how the injury factor is the one unknown that could very well determine how far the Giants go.

* I know it's only preseason, but Eli Manning looked really good tonight, especially considering the fact he was playing with backup receivers. Eli was 4-of-7 for 52 yards and 2 TDs with a 120.2 rating. This after a 2-of-6, 19-yard effort in Detroit (43.1 rating).

* One of the Giants' backup receivers, Domenik Hixon, might not be a backup for very long. Two touchdown catches and a touchdown return of a free kick after a safety, and you have to get this guy on the field somehow. He started in place of Plaxico Burress, who is still out with an ankle problem/orthotics adjustment/contract situation.

* If Super Bowl hero David Tyree hasn't so much as practiced yet, it's difficult to see him getting off the PUP list in time for the start of the season.

* I really like the Giants' lunch-bucket offensive line. Hard workers. Very effective. Nothing fancy. Just the way Tom Coughlin likes it.

* Ahmad Bradshaw worked mostly with the second team in the third quarter, but looked strong as always. The guy is one of the most instinctive runners you will ever see. He ALWAYS hits the right hole, and scoots through space you don't think is there. Love watching him.

* The Giants' three-headed monster of Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Bradshaw is going to be tough to stop this year.

* Still waiting to see something from Sinorice. Drawing an interference penalty on a "go" route in the first quarter is fine. But this guy needs to make some plays.

* Justin Tuck is a beast, pure and simple. He is one of the most physical, yet athletic defensive ends in the league. With him on one side and Osi Umenyiora on the other side, they can easily combine for 25 sacks.

* For all his brilliance in training camp, Kenny Phillips is still behind James Butler and Michael Johnson. It might not be much longer, though.

* My gut feeling is that Danny Clark beats out Gerris Wilkinson for the starting weakside linebacker position.

(Good job out of Chris Mascaro in his live blog of Giants-Browns. Lots of interesting stuff.)

But it should be noted that the Bucs released oft-injured left tackle Luke Petitgout yesterday after he couldn't come back from a knee injury. You may remember that Reese took gobs of criticism for dumping Petitgout last season and then going with David Diehl as his left tackle after spending his entire career as a guard.

Well, lookie here. The Giants won the Super Bowl with Diehl as their left tackle, they just re-signed him to a new contract, and Petitgout is likely done with his NFL career.

At least that's what he told Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline to write in his column.

Seems Prisco, a longtime media acquaintance of "What About Bob" (he's a bigger wise guy than me, which is hard to do), ranked the NFL's top players and he put Houston defensive end Mario Williams, the No. 1 pick of the 2006 draft, at No. 6 overall. He ranked the Giants' Umenyiora 42nd.

During a radio interview, Osi expressed dismay at the rankings. Yet he never said anything to Williams when the two spoke shortly before the interview. So, when Williams got wind of Umenyiora ripping the rankings, he called Umenyiora a coward and told Prisco to write it.

Never one to pass up a little smack talk, Prisco did just that.

The only downside to all this is that the Giants and Texans don't meet this year. At least not in the regular season. If the teams meet in the Super Bowl (fat chance), at least Rock will have a decent storyline to start the week.

... he's also up to speed on the use of orthotics in flat-footed athletes, specifically as it relates to one Plaxico Burress.

The things you learn in this business.

There is zero buzz around the defending Super Bowl champion Giants, who now toil in the shadow of Brett Favre's Jets. And some Big Blue players don't take too kindly to being second-class citizens - at least when it comes to the media - in their own market.

But the bottom line is all that matters here, and the Giants look to be almost every bit as good as last year's team. Here are a few more thoughts from my newspaper column today. Some decent stuff from GM Jerry Reese.

We hear that NKR was in Albany, and we missed her by a day. We hope she's behaving herself and will return safely to contribute her expert comments on the blog.

That would be Kate "Tiki" Barber, captain of the U.S. women's field hockey team that is competing at the 2008 Olympic Games. The other Tiki Barber - you know, the one who played for the Giants and is now a broadcaster with NBC - is also in Beijing working his new gig.

In case you're interested, here's a live blog from the U.S. field hockey match vs. Japan. It is from a competing newspaper, so I won't give the name. But it is written by Lawrie Mifflin, a woman I have long respected in this business when I started out as a hockey writer back in the glory days of the Islanders.

I'm fairly certain back then that Ms. Mifflin would not have guessed that she'd be live blogging field hockey games at the Olympics. But ours is a strange business.

The Iraq war veteran, an inspirational force during the Giants' run-up to Super Bowl XLII last February, visited the team yesterday at the invitation of Giants head coach Tom Coughlin.

Gadson addressed the team after an indoor practice yesterday afternoon, and had some interesting things to say. Enough to make for a column in today's newspaper.

I, too, find inspiration in talking to Gadson. I first met him at the NFC Championship Game in Green Bay, where he had served as an honorary captain. He had lost both legs in Iraq in May, 2007, yet he seemed like the happiest man in the locker room after the Giants had beaten the Packers.

Gadson was a teammate of Giants receivers coach Mike Sullivan at Army, and Sullivan re-connected with him after learning of Gadson's injuries.

The man has an incredible outlook on life, and he has become a part of the Giants' family in a unique and meaningful way. He'll be at camp for a couple more days before returning to his home in northern Virginia.

The team just announced that they'll be training at the University of Albany in 2009.

It will be the 14th straight summer the Giants will train at Albany.

"We look forward to continuing our relationship with the University at Albany and the city of Albany," said Giants president John Mara. "UAlbany is our summer home, and that's not just because of the great resources and facilities we are provided, but it is mostly because the administration and staff have made us feel welcome and have always gone out of their way to accommodate our needs."

The Giants have so far drawn a combined 33,540 fans, which is on pace to break the attendance record of 45,040 in 2004.

The Giants’ 14th training camp at UAlbany will be the longest at any location in the franchise history. The Giants spent 13 summers at Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y. from 1975-87. The Giants, who have also trained in the states of Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Oregon, previously worked out at Fairleigh Dickinson University (1988-95) in Madison, N.J. prior to their arrival on the UAlbany campus.

That's because the Browns receiver was injured in a freak accident on Saturday. He and fellow receiver Donte Stallworth staged an impromptu race. Only problem was Edwards was running in his socks, and Stallworth accidentally nicked Edwards' foot with one of his spikes. The injury required a couple of stitches, and Edwards is expected to miss up to two preseason games.

The team fully expects him to be ready for the season, however.

Nah.

But the former Giants defensive end did joke about the possibility the other night. As we hear it, Strahan teased an audience of about 1,000 people at the John T. Petters Foundation in Minneapolis Saturday night. As Strahan addressed the crowd, he said he was ready to come out of retirement. The crowd immediately grew quiet.

Strahan then flashed his patented gap-toothed smile and said he was coming out of reirement to join the Petters Group Worldwide.

Strahan also joked that maybe it was a good idea to threaten a comeback with the Giants, perhaps in hopes of getting a deal like the Packers were offering to Favre to remain in retirement. Green Bay waved a $20 million package in front of Favre to entice him to stay retired, but he rebuffed the offer and ultimately forced the trade that sent the Great Green-And-White Hope to the Jets.

Not a bad idea, although there's no way the Giants would have made that offer. In fact, if Strahan said he was coming back, they'd get his uniform and locker ready for a return.

Strahan did his part later in the evening by helping to raise nearly $50,000 during a live auction. Also appearing at the event were Strahan's girlfriend, Nicole Murphy, comedian Kevin Nealon, and Strahan confidant Rich "Big Daddy" Salgado, the former Long Island schoolboy star offensive lineman who now insures several NFL and NHL players, including Justin Tuck of the Giants and Bill Guerin of the Islanders.

Here's Giants.com writer Michael Eisen's lede (sorry, we spell it this way in the newspaper business) for a story on cornerback Aaron Ross:

"Aaron Ross is probably the only player in the NFL whose love interest is faster than he is."

Turns out Ross' fiance is Sanya Richards, who is the favorite to win the 400 meters at the Beijing Olympics. Ross says he can beat her in the 100 meters, and possibly the 200, but that he'd get crushed in the 400.

(Memo to Rock and Boland: I regularly enjoy your ledes, so don't give me any guff about referencing this one. Besides, I covered the Giants with Eisen when you guys were in diapers. Did I tell you about the time Eisen and I walked across a rickety suspension bridge over a gorge on Mount Rainier? Oh, never mind.)

I'm sure Newsday Giants beat reporter Tom Rock will offer a few motivational sayings to our previous post, but in the meantime, TRock came up with an all-timer in one of his own blog posts.

"My story for tomorrow's newspaper is already up today. Imagine if I was covering the Olympics in China, where today really is yesterday and tomorrow is today. I wonder if the Internet knows what I'll be writing for the Friday paper. I think I just crossed the International Date Line of sanity."

Hang in, TRock, the two-a-days will be over before you know it.

Meantime, check out Rock's story from the other day on former Lawrence High offensive lineman Shane Olivea, who is attempting to hook on with the Super Bowl champs after being released by the Chargers. It's a compelling read.

(If Rock seems a bit obsessed with constant updates on Olivea, it's understandable. After all, just like Rock, Olivea was a top schoolboy lineman on Long Island.)

When you go into the Giants' locker room, one thing that jumps out are the sayings posted on the walls. Turns out Tom Coughlin is very much into quoting famous people, which is what I wrote about for my intro to Giants' camp last week.

I am into famous quotes, and will be sharing a few as we move along here in the blogosphere.

If you've got any motivational sayings, bring 'em on.

Memo to Boland: You already used the Helen Hayes "rest/rust" saying, so no smart aleck comments here. I know there are some favorites deep inside the Bubbling Cauldron of Intensity.

Tom Rock will be on the horn for a live chat at 2 p.m. So come back to the Newsday.com sports site, click a few buttons where the chat mavens indicate, and fire away with some Giants' questions.

Just three days after claiming wide receiver Craphonso Thorpe off waivers, the Giants said goodbye to quarterback Jared Lorenzen, the portly quarterback often referred to as J-Load ... or the Hefty Lefty ... or the Lord of the Ringdings.

He was a good sport about the fact he might have been the biggest quarterback in NFL history.

He has a great arm, but got caught in a numbers game after the Giants drafted Andre Woodson, another Kentucky alum, and signed David Carr.

The Giants claimed a receiver off waivers from the Jaguars the other day, although he'll have a hard time cracking a lineup that already inc