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      Michael Strahan would return to Giants for $8 million?

      August 25, 2008 /

      The New York Daily News has discovered that former Giants’ defensive end Michael Strahan would be willing to come out of retirement to help his old team in the wake of Osi Umenyiora’s season ending injury. But it’s going to cost the G-Men $8 million.

      “If the Giants make a sincere overture, it’s a good chance that Strahan would consider coming back,” the source said. “There are other things he has to take into consideration: the money and his contract with Fox. But if the Giants really want him, they have a shot. It’s not out of the question.”
      Strahan, in an interview with the NFL Network, wouldn’t rule it out either.

      “I haven’t heard from anybody else, so to say if I would or wouldn’t is premature,” Strahan said, “so I’m enjoying my retired life right now.”

      The question, though, is do the Giants really want Strahan to return for a 16th NFL season? They obviously need help at defensive end now that an MRI revealed torn cartilage in Umenyiora’s left knee and he will undergo season-ending surgery tomorrow. And they were looking for help at that position even before Umenyiora’s injury, which is why they discussed trading disgruntled tight end Jeremy Shockey to Miami last month for Jason Taylor.

      But as of last night, they had not reached out to Strahan’s agent, Tony Agnone, and one source close to the defensive end said, “I don’t think they will.” They know Strahan’s asking price — the same $8 million that they would’ve paid Taylor — but back in the spring they weren’t willing to go any higher than $6.5 million, including incentives.

      The Giants are reportedly fine with moving linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka back to defensive end (he played the position in college). But if the team was willing to pay Strahan $6.5 mil this summer for him to postpone retirement, what’s another $1.5 mil if that’s what he’s asking for? Kiwanuka just spent an entire summer getting used to outside linebacker, now you’re going to ask him to change positions two weeks before the season starts? Paying Strahan a little more makes sense, assuming he’s in football shape, that is.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Couch Potato Alert: 8/25

      August 25, 2008 /

      With the 2008 Summer Olympics coming to an end, the sports lineup is looking somewhat bleak this week until Thursday, when college football returns!

      – Week 3 of the NFL preseason concludes Monday night in San Diego when the Seahawks come to town. The game can be seen on ESPN at 8:00 PM Eastern. I know it’s just preseason, but at least the starters will play for a while, and it’s going to be the most NFL football we’ll see until September 4th when the Giants and Redskins open up the regular season.

      – “Hard Knocks” with the Dallas Cowboys continues on HBO this Wednesday at 10:00 PM Eastern. It’s the fourth episode of six.

      – It’s crunch time in the MLB. Check out the Dodgers vs Phillies Monday night on ESPN2 at 7:00 PM Eastern. The Dodgers are three games back of the Diamondbacks and need to get things back on track. It won’t be easy against a Phillies team that’s just half a game back of the Mets in the NL East.

      – Although the Red Sox and Yankees aren’t at the top of the AL East for the first time in about a thousand years, it’s still the biggest rivalry in baseball. Watch the two teams clash this Wednesday at 7:00 PM Eastern on ESPN.

      – Thankfully, college football is back! There’ll be a few games airing this Thursday. ESPN will televise NC State @ South Carolina, ESPN2 will air Oregon State @ Stanford. Be sure to check out your local Fox Sports Net channels to see what else might be on.

      College Football, Couch Potato Alert, MLB

      Lesnar’s next fight, and the premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter”

      August 25, 2008 /

      Just a couple of news updates for UFC fans:

      – Looks like Brock Lesnar will have his next UFC fight in November. It’ll likely be at UFC 91 which will be held in Portland, Oregon. He’s projected to face fellow heavyweight Cheick Kongo.

      – For those of you wondering when the new season of “The Ultimate Fighter” premieres, it’ll return on September 17th at 10:00 PM Eastern on Spike TV. The two coaches will be heavyweights Antonio Rodrigo and Frank Mir.

      Mixed Martial Arts

      Giants’ Osi Umenyiora out for season – will Michael Strahan get a call?

      August 24, 2008 /

      The New York Giants suffered a massive blow to their hopes of repeating as Super Bowl champs, losing defensive end Osi Umenyiora for the entire season.

      Osi Umenyiora suffered serious ligament damage in his left knee last night, and he will miss the entire 2008 season.

      That was the terrible news that the MRI revealed this morning, according to his agent, Tony Agnone. The injury is a torn MCL, according to a source, though it’s not immediately known if the tear is full or partial. He will need surgery to repair the damage and the recovery time is expected to be 3-4 months.

      Clearly that wasn’t what the Giants were expecting. After the game Saturday night, team doctors had told Tom Coughlin there was no ligament damage. But the MRI said otherwise. And while there was a possibility that Umenyiora could rehab the injury without undergoing surgery, that option was a little risky and a full recovery wasn’t guaranteed.

      It’s not clear when the surgery will take place, but Umenyiora’s season is over.

      Here’s a question: Will Michael Strahan come out of retirement to help the G-Men if asked? The man hated training camp and guess what? Training camp is over. The Giants would surely welcome the veteran sack master back with Umenyiora now done and the team hurting for depth. It’ll be interesting to see if Tom Coughlin reaches out to Strahan, or even if Strahan would want to come back after ending his career on top with a Super Bowl ring.

      If Strahan isn’t an option, Mathias Kiwanuka will have to move from outside linebacker to end, which is the position he played in college. Either that, or journeyman Renaldo Wynn will likely get a start at end if the Giants want to keep Kiwanuka at LB.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Kurt Warner, not Matt Leinart to start for Cardinals?

      August 24, 2008 /

      ESPN.com is stating that the Arizona Cardinals will name veteran Kurt Warner over Matt Leinart as their starting quarterback for Week 1.

      Leinart had three interceptions in the first half and completed just 4 of 12 passes for 24 yards. His passer rating was 2.8. The Cardinals won the game 24-0.

      The source said Leinart’s training-camp performance has been uneven, and the Cardinals are concerned about his arm strength and consistency.

      After the game, coach Ken Whisenhunt said Leinart was still in the running for the Cardinals’ starting job.

      “I know Matt’s down because he didn’t play as well as he would have liked,” Whisenhunt said. “This competition, being pushed by Kurt, has made Matt tougher. It’s one of the things you have to be as a quarterback.”

      This is a good move by Whisenhunt. Yes the Cardinals used a high draft pick on Matt Leinart. Yes he’s supposed to be the future. Yes he eventually has to get experience. But the bottom line is that Whisenhunt is trying to establish a philosophy in Arizona that you have to earn you way onto the field, regardless of how much money you make or how high you were drafted.

      Now, do I think Warner will hang on to the job? No. He looked absolutely disastrous when he lost the job two years ago and I doubt he’ll look better this year, but maybe this will light a fire under Leinart’s ass.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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