Watchdog

I still am not entirely sure what Chris Russo's point was Tuesday in his amusing, rambling rant about John Mara in the wake of the Plaxico Burress incident, but I have gotten to the bottom of one of Russo's accusations.

For the record, the Giants' president does have four dogs, but none is a poodle.

Initially Mara described them in an email as "the mangiest looking mutts ever seen in the greater metropolitan area."

Later, he added a clarification in an attempt to maintain peace in his home. The pooches all are Pet Rescue dogs, an organization for which Mara's wife, Denise, volunteers.

So, now you know, people. That's journalism!

I'm out. Enjoy the 1999 "Wrangler World or Rodeo" on ESPN Classic at 11 p.m.

I'll be taking the next 90 minutes off to sit in a dark room listening to Guns N' Roses and putting on my game face for a 12:15 p.m. live chat.

Let's save time and effort during the chat by getting some things out of the way now:

Yes, I think Mike Francesa should and will add another regular cast member. No, I don't know who it will be or when it will happen. Yes, there is a very good chance you will have the MLB Network on your TV Jan. 1 if you live on Long Island or in New York City. No, I don't know yet whether the Panthers-Giants game is headed for a prime time flex, but I wouldn't bet against it. Yes, CBS Radio and WFAN as far as I know are happy with the morning show that replaced Don Imus.

No, I do not know whether John Mara actually has a poodle. I was going to ask him this morning, then thought better of it.

I'm guessing his sense of humor about all this is somewhat limited at this stage.

No matter how wacky or convoluted my baby boomer references get, readers always manage to surpass me.

Take this observation from a radio industry type who (understandably) requested anonymity:

Plaxico Burress reportedly checked into the hospital under the alias "Harris Smith."

In the 1960s sci-fi show "Lost in Space," the bad guy was played by actor Jonathan Harris, whose character was Dr. Zachary Smith.

Hmm. Is Plax a closet "Lost in Space" fan? I'll ask him next time I see him.

Now that Plaxico Burress officially is done until after Super Bowl XLIII, how about one more Plax-related post after all.

It's a partial transcript, courtesy of Sirius XM, of Chris Russo's vintage John Mara rant while discussing Mr. Burress' problems on "Mad Dog Unleashed" this afternoon.

Enjoy:

“I’ll say one thing about the Giants. And the Giants are a classy organization but let’s be fair here. John Mara has more nieces and more nephews and little kids running around Westchester County. Trust me. I know. There’s hundreds of them. If he knew that one of his nieces, including the great Kate Mara, the actress, if he knew that one of his nieces or nephews or, God forbid, his own children was in an establishment late on a Thanksgiving weekend night when one of the patrons was drinking with a loaded pistol in his pocket, John Mara would have gotten out of bed with his pajamas on, hopped into his SUV with sleep on his face, with a cup of coffee and would have himself escorted the nephews, the nieces, the sons, the daughters, his poodle, to get them out of the bar. Guaranteed, guaranteed, guaranteed…”

OK, one more Plax post:

If you were planning to give a loved one a No. 17 Giants jersey emblazoned with the name "Harris Smith" as a holiday gift, you are out of luck.

Glauber called to report that Plaxico Burress left Giants Stadium at 3:19 p.m., five hours and 59 minutes after he arrived.

He did not talk to reporters on the way in or on the way out, and did not hand out any dessert to go with the pizza and sandwiches the Giants provided an hour earlier.

The Giants have not said what they will do with Plax, but I would say my odds of starting at wide receiver against the Eagles are better than his.

If ESPN thinks it's got it bad Monday with the 4-7 Jaguars against the 4-7 Texans . . . it could have been worse.

Like last time "MNF" visited Houston.

I was there. It was Nov. 21, 1994.

The Oilers - playing their first game under interim coach Jeff Fisher - were 1-9. The Giants were 3-7, with a seven-game losing streak.

Lawrence Taylor gave the Giants a pep talk before the game. They won, 13-10, on a field goal with two seconds left. Kent Graham took over at quarterback after Dave Brown left with a concussion.

That was the game story I wrote on a TRS-80.

After that game the Giants' bus caravan was stuck in traffic en route to the airport. At one point coach Dan Reeves and security man Mike Murphy left their bus to try to get something to eat. Just then, traffic broke up and it drove on without them.

Reeves spent 40 minutes or so telling the story in his news conference at Giants Stadium the next day. The guy was a world-class storyteller. But I digress.

I've never carried a concealed weapon into a nightclub and/or had a license to do so in the State of New York, but I did have an apartment-mate in Anchorage in the early 1980s who made his own shotgun shells and once took me out to shoot at (inanimate) stuff with a rifle, shotgun, pistol and other firearms.

(Charlie Chilkoot might have come. I don't remember.)

Why? Why not? It was Alaska, you betcha, and guns are as common there as fishing poles and reindeer sausage.

This item also has nothing to do with my beat. I'm starting to ride off the tracks here. December off to a rough start. Will try to focus.

The 2008 Giants to this point are better than the storied 1986 edition, which from Weeks 7 through 13 lost one game and won six, by margins of only 7, 3, 3, 2, 3 and 4. But, naturally, this team can't compare to that one until it gets it done in the playoffs.

What about the 1927 Giants, though? True, they did not start 11-1 like the '08 team, but they were 10-1-1 after 12 and finished 11-1-1. (There were no playoffs then.)

They outscored opponents, 197-20. The only blots on their record were a scoreless tie and a 6-0 loss, both against the Cleveland Bulldogs, a team that led the league with 209 points that autumn.

None of this has anything to do with my beat. Just thought it was interesting.

I wrote my Tuesday newspaper column in Monday's paper. Why? Because the Plaxico Burress stuff was timely, and because my boss asked me to.

For some reason I forgot to include in the column a mild criticism of Antonio Pierce by his friend and now Fox analyst Michael Strahan. Here it is:

"As a captain, Antonio Pierce out at 1:30 in the morning, it’s not a great thing to be out that early on a Friday night/Saturday morning when you have a game on Sunday."

Strahan also quoted Pierce as telling him this: "'I didn’t know he had a gun. I was surprised he had a gun.' When you’re surprising the guys you’re going out with, who go out with you quite a bit, that really shows that he’s in a place right now where he needs help."

Usually I follow the pregame shows by reading the quotes the networks send after the fact, but this time I actually watched, knowing Plax would be a big topic.

Click below for quotes the TV types sent on that subject.

(The Strahan stuff from Fox does not include everything he said about Burress, and in some cases his quotes are mashed together with pieces missing, but it basically captures the spirit and content.)

Continue reading "TV analysts take turns taking shots at Plaxico Burress" »