Red right or big Blue?
No voting consensus in Giants locker room
As the presidential race revs up, political conversations in NFL locker rooms echo those in workplaces nationwide.
Taxes. Economy. McCain. Obama. War. Terrorism. White. Black.
If the contest between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama has energized the U.S. public as never before, locker rooms across the country are reflecting the trend. Players whose jobs are based on wins and losses identify with the wild swings of the who’s-leading-and-by-how-much grind of the campaign.
Giants punter Jeff Feagles, a McCain supporter, is not a fan of higher taxes for the upper class.
“He is going to tax the wealthy, which is what we are,” said Feagles of Obama. “We are in that category. You look at those kinds of implications, and I hate using that word, it will affect us.”
Teammate Mathias Kiwanuka, couldn’t disagree more.
“It’s insulting to think you would vote based on how it affects you financially,” the defensive end said. “I had that conversation even before I got my signing bonus. It’s a matter of general policy and what you believe in and what that person stands for. . . . When you look at it, I spent the majority of my life with an average upbringing to say the least, and that has shaped how I vote a lot more than the last couple of years living this lifestyle.”
For others in the Giants locker room, the choice isn’t clear if they are going to vote big Blue, or if they believe if Red is right.
“For an NFL player it’s easy to say we want lower taxes, but I think there are a lot of people who say that really hasn’t helped and maybe it’s time for a change,” said Giants center Shaun O’Hara, who declined to state his preference. “Maybe we need to change something up and just try. It’s tough. There are equal arguments on both sides.”
Trio remembers Alzheimer’s
Joe Girardi, CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz and YES Network Yankees play-by-play man Michael Kay have had a parent afflicted with Alzheimer’s. The venerable Grand Central Oyster Bar will honor the triumvirate when they appear at “Remember When, Remember Now,” a benefit for Girardi’s Catch 25 Foundation and Alzheimer’s Research on Nov. 19.
All proceeds from the fundraiser and celebration will be earmarked for Alzheimer’s research and assistance. Tickets are $250 per person, and tables of 10 are $5,000 (exclusive “Box Seat Table” which include celebrity table host) and $2,500.
Cocktail hour begins at 6:30 p.m., with the dinner and program starting at 7:30. For information and ticket purchase, contact (212) 490-7108 or (800) 622-7775 or [email protected].
Knicks video right on Q
The Knicks and hip-hop legend Q-Tip partnered together this week to film a music video for the new revamped version of the Knicks tune “GO New York GO.” Several Knicks players including Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson took part in the video shoot which is set to premiere at the Knicks Opening Night on Oct. 29 when Q-Tip will perform the song live to a sold-out Garden.
Amazin’ ratings top Yankees
The Mets on SNY are now the top-rated team in town – surpassing the Yankees on YES. SNY attracted nearly 1.3 million viewers at one point during the final regular-season game at Shea Stadium, and SNY delivered the highest ratings on a New York regional sports network for the entire season in the key demos (adults 25-54 and men 25-54) that the two powerhouse networks sell. On top of that, for the second half of the season (post-All-Star break), SNY was the most watched regional network in all of MLB.
Torre’s foundation honors ’98 Yanks
The Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation is honoring the 1998 world championship Yankees. Attendees will include Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch, Scott Brosius, David Cone, Paul O’Neill, David Wells, Homer Bush and Don Zimmer. The event, which will be held at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers, also will feature a musical appearance by Jon Bon Jovi. For information on sponsorships and tickets, visit http://www.joetorre.org.
Mummified arm returning to Ireland
The most famous mummified arm in sports history – that of Irish champion boxer Dan Donnelly, which has been the highlight of Jim Houlihan’s touring Fighting Irishmen eclectic art exhibit on Irish boxing the past four years – is returning home to Ireland.
After stops at the Irish Arts Center, the South Street Seaport and Burns Library at Boston College, the most famous petrified limb in history is returning to its homeland for an exhibit at Ulster American Folk Park in Northern Ireland, scheduled to begin next spring through November 2009.
But the story doesn’t end there. The Moon & Sixpense, whose founding member Des Byrne passed away tragically from cancer, will make its U.S. debut at the Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st St., in a benefit Oct. 17-18. This will be the debut performance for The Moon & Sixpence in the United States. All proceeds will go to benefit the Irish Arts Center in New York. Tickets are limited and priced at $75.
Osi, Coughlin
getting pub’
Osi Umenyiora will not be the only Super Bowl champion Giant to participate on ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” pregame show.
Umenyiora, who is out for the season with a knee injury, will be in studio. Big Blue head coach Tom Coughlin will be featured in an adaptation of ESPN The Magazine’s “For Love or The Game,” a segment that pairs an NFL player or coach with a member of his family and a teammate to find out which person knows more about him. Coughlin, who led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XLII, is the first coach to be featured in this series.
To find out who knows the coach better, the series quizzed Coughlin’s daughter, Kate, and her husband, Chris Snee, a Giants starting guard. The coach’s daughter and son-in-law matched their answers to Coughlin’s favorite food, favorite song, discipline of master’s degree, favorite morning drive-time listening and last big purchase.
(photo: 12s.076.Rumble POW.4.c)