Safest New York Sports Jerseys to Buy

Santana Moss, Jonathan Vilma, Chad Pennington and Kerry Rhodes. Those are the names on the backs of the four Jets jerseys hanging in my closet. None of those players are currently on the Jets roster, therefore, I will have to spend another $80 on a Jets jersey before their season opener on September 13th. 

Which player’s jersey does my $80 deserve to go toward? Well, have you ever heard of the saying there’s “no such thing as a sure bet?” In the landscape of sports today, it’s not often a player spends his entire career with one team. Here one year and gone the next. There are, however, a number of players that do spend their entire careers with one team, but it is a small percentage of the total number of athletes in each sport. There are a number of reasons for this, but that’s neither here nor there. The intention of this article is to address the jerseys that you can count on being able to wear for the next five years and hopefully beyond. You could always buy a Lawrence Taylor, Willis Reed or Mickey Mantle jersey to be extremely safe, but I’m talking about the jerseys of more current and active players.

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Giants to Open New Stadium, Jets to Follow on Monday

The NFL has resolved the issue of which New York team would be the first to christen the new stadium at the Meadowlands. As reported by Newsday’s Bob Glauber, both teams will play home during the first weekend of the season.

Glauber tweeted, “Giants and Jets to play at home on opening weekend. Giants on Sunday, Jets on Monday.”

Rich Cimini of the NY Daily News went further in an article;

“The NFL just issued a press release on the controversy. Here it is:

The New York Jets and New York Giants both will play at home in their new Meadowlands Stadium on the opening weekend of the 2010 regular season, the NFL announced today.

The Giants will play on Sunday afternoon, September 12, and the Jets will play in the first nationally televised Monday Night Football game of the season on September 13. The NFL is completing the final stages of the 2010 schedule. The opponents for the Jets and Giants Kickoff Weekend home openers will be announced soon.

In addition, the NFL announced that the Jets will host the first NFL game at the new stadium during the preseason in August.”

Earlier in the day, it was reported by several media outlets that the Giants won a coin toss that gave them the rights to host the first game at the new stadium. This move should appease the Jets, having their game in prime-time a day later. Having both teams play home games on back-to-back days during opening weekend makes complete sense and the NFL did a very good job making this work.

Kenny Phillips’ Recovery

The Giants were dealt a huge blow last season when defensive standout, Kenny Phillips, was lost to a season ending injury.  What was more puzzling was if the safety would be back in time for the start of the 2010 season.  Kenny is an integral part of the Giants’ secondary and we all saw what happened after his departure to the sidelines; the Giants’ once feared defense had more holes than a hunk of cheese. The Giants’ organization and fans all blew a major sigh of relief last week when Kenny wrote on his website, “I could play tomorrow, If I had too.”

In fact, the star safety went on to say, “My knee is ahead of schedule.”  

The doctors have been saying Phillips’ knee is looking very good and he is scheduled to do some running at the end of this month.  These are amazing signs for Kenny and especially for the Giants. Their secondary was almost non-existent after the loss of the star. The Giants also helped the cause by acquiring the talented, defensive back Antrel Rolle from the Arizona Cardinals.  If Kenny can continue on with his speedy recovery, the once porus secondary has potential to be an elite bunch.

Giants General Manager Jerry Reese

There is a reason Ernie Accorsi received a 2007 championship ring.  Of the 22 starters for the 07 Giants, Accorsi was responsible for 20 of them including Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, Brandon Jacobs and defensive captain Antonio Pierce.  Jerry Reese took the car Ernie Accorsi put together, added tires, and rode his way to a Super Bowl championship.

After the signing of Antrel Rolle, Jerry Reese has the potential to become the immediate scapegoat if the Giants fail this year.  In his first season taking over for Ernie Acorsi, Reese led the Giants to one of the most improbable upsets of all time.  In that year Reese’s draft picks were an integral part for the success of the team.  Kevin Boss, Aaron Ross, Ahmad Bradshaw and Steve Smith were vital components in leading the Giants to their third Super Bowl championship.  Reese only added one impact free agent that year to a 1 million dollar contract, Kawika Mitchell.

With a Super Bowl championship under his belt and P.S.L. dollars coming in, Jerry has opened up the bank.  The past couple of years Reese has spent big and spent early.

In the past two off seasons Reese has signed Chris Canty, Michael Boley, Rocky Bernard, and Antrel Rolle to the lump sum of 120 million dollars.  If this team fails to find success this upcoming season, Reese could see himself in hot water.  Questions of a Redskins type off-season could creep into the back of your mind.  One of the riskiest things you can do as a general manager is spend money freely.  It immediately puts a target on your back if those players don’t succeed.

Maybe Reese knows something we don’t.  Maybe the success of a general manager can always be tied back to the way he drafts. As every Giants fan knows Reese’s strong suit is the draft.  If Rolle and Canty fail to produce the way they are paid to, one of his decisions in late April could be the one saving his job.

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Giants Sign Antrel Rolle

The Giants have signed free agent safety Antrel Rolle to a five-year deal worth $37 million, making him the highest paid safety in NFL history. 

Safety was a major concern of the Giants heading into the off-season and they filled the void on the very first day of free agency. 

Whether the Giants overpaid for Rolle is a different story. That won’t be known until we see how Rolle does in a Giants uniform, but there’s no question he is an upgrade over the safeties the Giants strolled out to the field lat year. 

Don’t expect another big name free agent to head to New York after Rolle. 

I like the signing. It was necessary to upgrade at the safety position especially with questions around the health of Kenny Phillips. Linebacker should be the next area the Giants look to improve and I’d put my money on the Giants selecting a linebacker with their 15 overall pick in the draft.

Giants Need to get Involved in Free Agency

When the clock struck 12:00 p.m. last night, NFL free agency began. GMs and coaches lined up by the telephone in hope of signing coveted free agents. In less than 24 hours, a slew of players have already been signed leaving few talented players available.

For the past several years it seems as if the Giants have just ignored the free agency market. From what I can remember, their last significant free agent signings came in 2005 when they inked Kareem McKenzie and Antonio Pierce to long term deals. Both deals worked out spectacularly for the Giants, as both players became intrigal parts of their Super Bowl Championship team. However, since 2005, the Giants have bypassed the free agency period almost altogether and seem content by just improving their team via the draft.

In today’s NFL, teams must get involved in free agency. Relying solely on the draft to improve your team is much too risky. Especially with rookie contracts the way they are now, signing established NFL players is the more sensible choice.

With an aging offensive line, a running game that vanished, and holes in every level of their defense, you would think that the big market Giants would be extremely active this offseason. That just isn’t the case. Hopefully, the Giants will wake up and salvage what they can from the remaining free agents.

P.S. Jerry Reese – Antrel Rolle and Karlos Dansby are still available. Pick up the phone!!

Antrel Rolle Released, Should Giants Be Calling?

The Cardinals have released safety Antrel Rolle and the Giants should take a good look at this guy. Rolle was actually fined $7,500 for a hit he put on Giants tight end Kevin Boss in October of last season. Now the Giants may be putting Rolle on their payroll. 

The Giants have question marks throughout its secondary and it would behoove the team to sign Rolle in order to use its 15th overall pick in the draft on a middle linebacker or maybe to fill a different need depending on who is available. It will be hard to fill both safety and linebacker through the draft with guys that can make an immediate impact, so signing Rolle will give them more flexibility. 

The question is whether the Giants will dish out $8 million per year for Rolle. That’s the figure Rolle wants. I don’t think any team is going to give him that kind of money so it may come down to the highest bidder and the Giants should concern themselves with being at the top of the bids.

Notre Dame vs. Navy Football Tickets at New Meadowlands Stadium

I am selling two pairs of tickets for the Notre Dame vs. Navy football game on October 23, 2010 at the new Meadowlands Stadium.

2 Tickets in Section 220C, Row 5, aisle seats 1 & 2
Total $325

2 Tickets in Section 121, Row 39, seats 17 & 18
Total $300

Email me for more information – Rich(at)EmpireSportsNow.com

Giants Cut Antonio Pierce

Mike Garafolo of The Star-Ledger has reported that the Giants have cut veteran linebacker Antonio Pierce. Pierce had one year remaining on his contract and missed the second half of the 2009 season due to a bulging disk in his neck. 

Pierce told Garafolo, “Looking forward to endless possibilities. Loved every moment as a NY Giants.”

Garafolo believes Pierce’s injury factored into the Giants decision.

The Giants linebacking corps needs to be overhauled. They need to get some fresh, youthful players in there. With the 15th pick in the draft, I’d like to see the Giants select Brandon Spikes, a middle linebacker from Florida.

Notre Dame vs. Navy at New Meadowlands Stadium

Notre Dame and Navy will be playing college football at the new Meadowlands Stadium on October 23, 2010.