The End of an Era...

Michael Strahan has retired from professional football.

According to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, Michael will call it quits after his only Super Bowl championship. He will finish fifth on the all-time sack list, and currently holds the record for sacks in a single season at 22.5. He was amongst the greatest run stopping defensive ends of all time.

Strahan didn’t want to draw things out like last year when he didn’t report to training camp until it was almost over.

The Giants will likely replace him with Justin Tuck or Mathias Kiwanuka.

Another Neverending Giants Saga...

Rotoworld.com is reporting that the Giants believe that DE Michael Strahan is currently "60-40" to retire. Well, as Jason will tell you, everything in life is a 60-40.

My only gripe with this whole thing is I want it to be over one way or another. In an off-season that was supposed to be harmonious because of our gigantic Super Bowl Victory (remind me again what happened on February 3rd?) we're instead sitting here listening to this story and the one about Jeremy Shockey being traded.

Can a Fan get some good news?

News That Makes me Angry (But I Kinda Saw Coming...)

Let's make a list:

- First off, Rotoworld.com is reporting that the Falcons asked permission to speak to Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo about their head coaching vacancy. They were denied, but it will probably only be until the Giants are eliminated from the playoffs.

Now, let me say that I hope that Steve does get a head coaching job because he has done a fantastic job and will one day make a great head coach.

Also allow me to say the following: Fuck.

Jason and I often lament about how important coaching is in the NFL now, and guys like Spags are not easy to find. Someone who can turn a defense from the bottom of the league, to the pass rushing monster that we saw in 2007 in his first year is special and you hate to lose him.

Steve Spagnuolo is a small guy, but is a fantastic Coach. Hopefully he'll be a fantastic coach dressed in blue for at least one more season.

Why am I so worried? The Falcons have to be interviewing dozens of other guys, right? Yea, but it's who their General Manager might be that might seal it. Chris Mara. Sound Familiar? It should if your a Giant fan. He was passed up for Jerry Reese in last year's search to replace Ernie Accorsi. He also happens to be our director of player evaluation (So, the Tony Sprano-Dolphins-Cowboys draft board worries exist.) and oh yeah, He's the son of the late Giants Patriarch Wellington Mara.

Who's been charged with finding a new general manager for the Falcons? Accorsi.

Fuck.

- Michael Strahan has stated that he will make a decision about his retirement long before training camp and will not leave his team wondering this year. He has also said that if the team could make some concessions, most notably not having him practice on Wednesdays, he would be all for coming back.

This prompted loyal reader Dave Bamdad to say "Wait, He's just lazy and doesn't want to practice?"

Hold on. A lot of older players do this. Bryant Young, one of the hardest working and msot successful defensive linemen in the history of the league did it this season with San Francisco. There are other cases I can't think of at this moment, but they are there.

This is what Michael Strahan should be dressed like each Wednesday next year.

Now, should the Giants do it? Tom Coughlin has a tendency to treat everyone on the team the same in an effort to not play favorites.

Well, I believe that conceptual artist Jenny Holzer(I'm taking an art class. Leave me alone.) says it best:

"Exceptional people deserve special concessions."

Strahan is just that: exceptional. He may not be the nicest guy in the world, but he is playing like a beast this season despite getting a little long in the tooth. He's one of the keys to a Giant defense that is playing fantastic right now, and since he best attribute in his excellent technique, will be successful until the day he retires.

Tom, Let the man take Wednesday off. He deserves it.

Tiki Barber is an Idiot...

The More he speaks, the more I'm absolutely sure that it's true.

For those of you who don't know, Tiki is writing a new book in which he says that Tom Coughlin stole his love for football and that's why he retired. Wow.

""If Tom Coughlin had not remained as head coach of the Giants, I might still be in a Giants uniform," Barber writes, according to the Daily News. [Coughlin] robbed me of what had been one of the most important things I had in my life, which was the joy I felt playing football," Barber wrote, according to the newspaper. "I had lost that. He had taken it away."

Now, Without me going into a complete diatribe about how much I hate it when athletes do things like this (half because I have said it so many times today, and half because it's 5 a.m. and I start school tomorrow.) This is single handedly the worst thing any athlete can do. Certain things are supposed to remain in the clubhouse. If don't like somebody on your team, then you keep your mouth shut and only associate with them in a business sense. However, Barber has now called out both his quarterback, saying that Eli Manning has no leadership skills (more on that later) and that Coughlin stole his love of the game.

Tiki, you were a great football player. Stop Talking. Please, for the sake of everyone involved.

As far as Manning goes, How can you lead a team with this many discontents on it? Between Barber and Strahan, Manning has had no shot whatsoever of leading this team. I hope this finally changes. I Hope that changes this year. That's why part of me hopes that Justin Tuck makes Strahan replaceable.

The Strahan Saga...

Time for a trip in the 3SS WayBack Machine:

Monday, Feb. 26th (From my old Facebook Blog. How Far we've come.)

2. Michael Strahan to the Redskins – While more likely than not, someone overheard Strahan telling a joke and made it into a rumor, if this is how he feels than Jerry Reese should adopt a new motto:Get the Hell Out.

If Strahan needs money that badly and will become a distraction: Poof. He’s gone. I’ll take a 1st or 2nd round pick and be plenty happy. I love Mike, and still think he is the most complete DE in the league, but I am done with all this drama. Why does it seem more and more like Plaxico Burress is the sanest person on this team?

Well, Funny how this is working out. Anyone who knows me knows that I love Defense. I always have. I've always loved Strahan because I beleive that there is not a more COMPLETE defensive player in the league. He can rush the passer with the best of all time, he plays the run about as well as some linebackers. He's responsible for teaching Osi Umeniyora and Justin Tuck how to play the position at a high level.

But This needs to stop.

We all know that Mike went through this crazy divorce and while I don't know Mike's business, I'm assuming that all the this money he needs has something to do with that. At least it seems that since the divorce he has been extremely money hungry.

Now, He says that he is "Betrayed" by the team's hardline stance.

Jerry Resse needs to let Mike go. Let him do whatever he needs to do. Let him go somewhere else and get his money. As sad as it will be to see Strahan play in another uniform, I can't deal with another season of more drama than Football. I just can't.

Now, For Happier thoughts: