FOOTBALL: NY Giants vs. NY Jets

Here's one for my New York readers. Because few others living outisde a 50 mile range of the Meadowlands likely care about a preseason matchup between two medicore teams. This game is always fun because not only do these teams share a fanbase, they actually share a stadium. And in 2006 I think they'll share a tendency to frustrate NY football fans.

After winning the NFC East, the Giants ended their season last year by getting thoroughly destroyed at home by the Carolina Panthers. Eli Manning should continue to develop into a good QB, but many other signs point to troubles for Big Blue. No player is more critical to their success than RB Tiki Barber . Tiki's a star, but now a decade into his career, I expect he'll start to slow down. One injury to Tiki and they're done for sure. Eli does have a good weapon in TE Jeremy Shockey, but his wideouts are less than impressive. I expect WR Plaxico Burress to begin to look more like the guy who fizzled out in Pittsburgh. However, look no further than their competition in the NFC East for the biggest reason why I have the Giants only winning 8 games this year. Coming off winning seasons, Dallas and Washington both made several big off-season additions. And Philadelphia should rebound from a down 2005 with the release of Terrell Owens and return of Donovan McNabb.

On the other hand, the Jets suffer from nothing more than a general lack of talent. Surprisingly they then choose to use their prime draft picks to stock up on the offensive line. If the Jets already had talent at positions like QB, RB, and WR, this would have been a fine strategy. But they don't. And I think Jet fans will long regret that Gang Green passed on landing both Matt Leinart and LenDale White. Chad Penningon, Patrick Ramsey, Kevin Barlow, Lavernius Coles, Curtis Martin?? You're not going to find any stars on the offensive side of this team! As a result, new coach Eric Mangini should concentrate on building up the defense since that was his forte with the Patriots anyway. Too bad they gave up DE Jonathan Abraham in the offseason. The Jets must rebuild completely and I don't expect more than 6 wins in 2006.

My pick: Giants. It's a shame these teams are separated by a conference and the NFL's methodic rotating schedule. They only play for real every 3 years and, as a result, there isn't much of a rivalry. The biggest competition between the NY football teams is which team will leave the unsightly Meadowlands first!

Inspired by the news that the new Survivor will group tribes according to race, TOTW will strive for diversity for the next few days. Here's Halle Berry, beautiful by the standard for any color.