You know times are bad when coverage of John Mara's jury duty leads Giants notes.
Nevertheless, that's the case as the National Football League lockout drags into its 27th day of existence. Representatives from the players' side and the owners' side met in Minneapolis Wednesday as U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson oversaw a five-hour hearing on the legality of the whole thing. Not surprisingly, it ended with Nelson saying she'd take "a couple of weeks" to rule on the players' request to end the lockout.
Players Mike Vrabel, Ben Leber, Vincent Jackson, Brian Robinson and Von Miller were present in the hearing, as was Tony Richardson and Charlie Batch. The leaders of the plaintiffs and the three highest profile players named in the lawsuit, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, did not attend.
ESPNNewYork.com's Ohm Youngmisuk continued his Giants draft preview by focusing on tight ends yesterday. Given the questionable future Kevin Boss and Bear Pascoe have in New York - though it seems the Giants want both back - Youngmisuk figures general manager Jerry Reese might want to address the position in the draft given the fact that free agency isn't remotely close to happening, and threw out a few names. Notre Dame's Kyle Rudolph is the consensus No. 1 tight end in this draft class, but one name I like is Wisconsin's Lance Kendricks.
Yes, another Wisconsin tight end.
But Kendricks is quite different then current Giants tight end Travis Beckum, as the former is much more of a traditional fit at the position. While Beckum's game is primarily built around his pass catching abilities, Kendricks is a physical player who loves to block and does it well. Of course, he can still catch the football, as he finished third in the nation among tight ends last year with 663 receiving yards to go along with 43 receptions (15.4 yards per) and five touchdowns on a Badgers team that demolished opponents on the ground.