Here is some Sunday morning reading material for you, New York Giants fans.
Heard about Chad Pennington ripping up his knee while playing pickup basketball? Giants defensive captain Justin Tuck did, and says it is a reminder that players need to take care of their bodies during the NFL Lockout.
"Guys have to be careful because we can’t go in to our doctors and we can’t see our trainers and things like that," Tuck said of the lockout rules which do not allow contact between teams and players. "Any injuries you have, you are pretty much on your own. That is why you have to be careful. That is one of the reasons why I am not amping up my training right now. Just doing small stuff and light stuff that keeps me in shape, not doing anything strenuous."
Tuck says the lockout can be beneficial for some veterans who can use the off time to completely heal from any injuries that bothered them during the season.
"I’m looking at it that way," said Tuck, who did not need any offseason surgeries unlike several Giants. "It benefits some and hurts others. For me personally, I am trying to use (the time) to make sure my body is healed and I guess I can be more detailed in my training. I can do the things that I know my body responds to the best."
Speaking of players staying in shape, a report in Yahoo! Sports says personalized training centers are seeing an influx of business from NFL players wanting places to train.
Former Chicago Bears linebacker and union rep Hunter Hillenmeyer admitted recently that the NFLPA turned down a chance to look at financial information offered by the league for PR purposes.
"It’s true, the NFL did offer some financial info towards the end of mediation," Hillenmeyer writes. "We rejected it, not because nothing is better than something, which it is not, but because the perception would then be that we got what we needed."
I have to agree with Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio when he says that's not a good enough reason. Really, it's just another example of how both sides in this 'negotiation' have seemed to care more about public perception of who is right than actually getting a deal done.
A growing list of NFL Draft prospects have announced that they will accept invitations from the NFL to attend the event at Radio City Music Hall. Good for them. The draft is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and they should have their day. Let them worry about the business of the NFL later.