Whew, I spent longer on that title than I wanted to. Good morning, my fellow Giants fans, and welcome to another lockout special edition of New York Giants Notes. Ed Valentine posted a rather somber yet truthful article on Monday about the lockout and how it is affecting him personally and BBV as an extension of that. You can bet you are going to hear many more stories of how the lockout is affecting those who not only cover the games, but who have businesses tied directly to NFL games--be they restaurants near stadiums, parking lot owners, or fantasy football publications. This is a high stakes legal battle, to be sure, and it may get uglier before it gets sunny again.
I don't know about you, but I am thankful we have a quarterback who isn't afraid to take the reins and organize player workouts. Eli Manning has been doing just that at Hoboken High School with his teammates, and probably simulating OTAs or mini-camps. It's nice to see that fringe players like Mark Clayton and Victor Cruz jumping in, because those guys have no guarantee of making the team, but they care enough to stay in football shape and run some routes with Manning. It's also nice to hear this about David Diehl, as Cruz pointed out: "For a big guy, he has some smooth hands and feet." Maybe it's time for some tackle eligible plays to be added to the playbook.
Power Rankings: Top 10 NFL owners - AFC East Blog - ESPN
There wasn't a whole lot of room for debate at the top. ESPN.com took its positional Power Rankings series off the field and into the boardroom to rate the owners.
Giants' ownership was ranked fourth overall, behind the Rooney family in Pittsburgh, Robert Kraft of New England and the Green Bay Packers' executive committee. I'm totally okay with the Steelers and Packers having a higher standing here, but not so crazy about Kraft being ranked ahead of the Mara/Tisch regime. What about you?
Giants seat licenses earning profits on resale market - NorthJersey.com
Giants fans are getting an average of 50 percent above the original sale price for upper-deck personal seat licenses at New Meadowlands Stadium, according to a review of the first wave of PSL resales at the Giants’ online marketplace.
It's crazy that PSLs are drawing that kind of money when there is no guarantee of a full season, or a season at all. Man, now I'm the one getting somber.
Lastly, Giants' defensive end Justin Tuck has partnered with JP Morgan Chase and World Vision (as well as David Robinson's Admiral Center) to donate $275,000 to tornado relief efforts in central Alabama, where Tuck is from. As part of the donation, Tuck is putting up $25,000 of his own money through his R.U.S.H. for Literacy organization, and will be speaking to community members on Thursday afternoon.