New York Giants training camp: Thursday afternoon practice report

It seems a little less important, what with the Plaxico Burress news and pre-season games to talk about. Here, however, is your report from Thursday afternoon's practice at UAlbany.

Truth be told, there isn't a whole lot of football to talk about. Or, at least that I want to talk about. See, I need to talk about pens. Gel pens, in particular. Take notes, people. One a nearly 90-degree do not, I repeat DO NOT, leave gel pens in your pants pocket for several hours then pull them out and expect to be able to use them. They will explode all over you.

Believe me, I know. This happened to me twice -- yes, twice -- at the beginning of practice. Wrecked a shirt and caused me to high-tail back to the car for spare pens. Not a good time.

One more non-football highlight before I get on with it. Sinorice Moss, the toddler-sized Giant, must have a soft spot for kids. There was a crying infant on the sidelines this afternoon, and after running a pass route Moss trotted by and took a moment to try and comfort the child. Good stuff.

OK, so enough with that. Here is a little football info for you.

• Kevin Gilbride reached into his bag of tricks on the first play of 11-on-11 drills this morning, calling for a flea flicker. Corey Webster wasn't fooled, however, and knocked away Eli Manning's long pass to Steve Smith.
• Mario Manningham had a nice afternoon. He caught passes from Manning on three successive plays -- a square out, a juggling grab on a square in and a short comeback route where he was the check down receiver. No huge plays, but he got open and made all the catches.
• Ramses Barden used that 6-foot-6, 230-pound body to take a ball away from Stoney Woodson on a long throw from backup quarterback Andre Woodson. This is what I love about Barden -- he does not have to be open to make plays.
• A Hakeem Nicks sighting. Nicks, the first-round pick, made a few catches this afternoon. The biggest was a long ball from David Carr where Nicks ran by Terrell Thomas.
• Speaking of Carr, there were several more occasions today where he took off running or held the ball so long the coaches whistled the play dead. I finally have it figured out. He runs around so much because he thinks he is orchestrating the 'Wildcat' offense.
• David Tyree had a bad drop today on a crossing route where he was wide open. To be fair, Derek Hagan had a drop today, too, probably his first of camp.
• Lawrence Tynes made field goals from 30, 35, 38 and 41 yards without a miss.

NOTE: I will be appearing on 'Game Face,' Saturday on 940 ESPN Radio (www.940ESPN.com). If you want to tune in I should be on shortly after 9:00. By the way, 'Game Face' is a good show -- even without me!