I Hate NFL Refs

This ticky tack officiating has been driving me nuts since last year's Seattle game.

Tonight was the kicker. Yes, I understand that Coughlin and company have to adjust to these ticky tack refs. But that Carter pass interference call was ridiculous by any reasonable standard. The false starts? Please. The Giants should have won that game by 10 points. They lose by six. Give Peyton and company credit. They were efficient in the pass game and were able to overcome the fact that they couldn't run the ball. But they had no business winning this game.

I think what happens is that the Giants have a rep for being one of the more penalized teams in the league and the refs more on them than other teams. The Giants have a chance to be a very special team this year. Look at the way Tiki and Jacobs moved the ball on the ground. The mismatches that Shockey and Burress create for most secondaries. If Eli continues to progress, they have a chance to put a real hurting on some teams. But they have to find a way to negotiate a way around these penalties. The Giants could have put 30 plus points on the board against that defense. But those damn penalties keep stopping drives in their tracks.

If Coughlin is this stickler for discipline that I keep hearing about, then he has to find a way to cut down on these flags. That more than anything else is keeping this team from becoming one of the elite teams in the league. They can survive Eli's occasional shaky throws and Shockey or Plaxico's drops. They can't survive all that and a million false starts penalties.

The defense also needs to double up on their receiving drills. I counted three or four chances the Giants had to keep the Colts off the boards with timely picks. Instead, the Colts get three points when they should have had none. The difference between the Giants defense and the Ravens, Pats and Steelers is that those would have been picks and their offensive units would have been back on the field. You can't give a QB like Peyton second chances.

Peyton had a decent night. But there's nothing I saw tonight that makes me think that this is the favorite in the AFC. But they did JUST enough and we did the rest. Now the Giants get to go to Philly to face a rejuvenated Donovan McNabb 0-1 instead of 1-0. Fun times.

I'm a Giants fan born and bred. I don't hate the Jets but if it comes down to a showdown between Blue and Green for ....Green always loses.

So when my Jets buddies asked me to buy into their season ticket group, I did for two reason 1)Kickass tailgates 2) and the chance to see some players in person I normally wouldn't see watching NFC games. I never thought I'd actually see winning football this year.

Chad, Eric and company are trying raise my lowered expectations.

Pennington has been getting killed by the fans and talk-radio over the last year and a half. But even before the injuries, arm strength was one of his...well, strengths. It was intellect and accuracy that set him apart. As long as he has enough to get the ball to his target, he can be effective. Kill them softly with the underneath stuff and occasionally hit the defense with a 30 yarder. If Eli had Chad's accuracy, he'd be Marino.

I'm not predicting playoffs for Gang Green, but I think they can be better than 6-10. Their defense is solid and if they can get any sort of running game going, they can be competitive. Today's win was a good one for the Jets even if the opponent wasn't. It's one in the books that noone can take away from them.

7-9 and 8-8 is a reasonable goal for the Jets and their fans. And will keep me interested in something other than the chili and brats in Jets Parking lot when I go to home games.

I'm convinced that these pundits that pick Dallas to go to the Super Bowl don't actually watch Dallas games. I have two words as to why the Cowboys won't win the division much less go to the Big Dance. Drew Bledsoe.

Today big Drew showed the world why the boys in Big D will be also-rans once again.

Jacksonville has a good team with a solid defense. But if you have a QB with some semblance of mobility in the pocket, you win that game by two touchdowns easy with Dallas' defense. That's not Drew Bledsoe.

With Larry Allen gone and Flozell Adams hobbled, you're looking forward to a 9-7 record with pissed off T.O in Ewingville. I can't wait.

Ok...Maybe I Do Care....
Because Andy and Roger forced me to. Thanks fellas.

The US Open final wasn't a great match. Far from it. But it showed me just enough to continue to think that the Grand Slams still matter.

You saw a former champion regain his old swagger and push the big dog to step up his game. You saw the big dog say, "Ok, let's do this." And not only steps it up a notch, but three just to get the message across to his opponent and the rest of the field.

It was apropos that Tiger Woods was there. Woods and Federer are no longer competing with the rest of the field. But with the ghosts of history. Roger's chief competition is Pete, Bjorn and Rod. Tiger's is Jack. Only Tiger can relate to what going Roger is going through right now. And what he needs to to do to stay motivated to stay on top in a way that Pete and Bjorn couldn't. Sampras got married, had kids and had to be dragged to matches. Bjorn thought he couldn't beat McEnroe anymore so he quit. McEnroe wanted to be a rock star. Hopefully Roger can avoid those fates.

And hopefully Roddick, Nadal, Safin and company can elevate the quality of play to match Federer and make these tournaments interesting. In the same way Mickelson, Singh, Furyk and others have done in golf. There's nothing to say that these guys can't break through against Federer and add to their Grand Slam hardware. As I've said before, we'll see how great this guy is, when there are a number of top players in their primes to challenge him. Let's hope Roddick's match today and Nadal's performance against him will be the beginning of a new golden age in the men's game.

As for the women....Great win by Sharapova over Henin-Hardenne. But I still don't care.

More on that later...