After many months of publicly expressing his unhappiness with the New York Giants offensive system, TE Jeremy Shockey was traded to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for second- and a fifth-round draft pick in 2009. New Orleans had been after Shockey since February but the Giants held onto their former Pro-Bowl tight end because they felt he was too valuable to give up for what was being offered. Originally, the Saints had only offered the second-round pick, and then right before the NFL draft they threw in the fifth-round pick as well but the Giants didn’t budge. After more disgruntled complaints from Shockey, the Giants finally said enough was enough and accepted the Saints offer, handing the remainder of Shockey’s contract over to New Orleans club. One of the main reasons the Saints were so adamant about acquiring Shockey was the fact that their offensive coordinator in Sean Payton was a former offensive coordinator for the Giants and worked with Shockey during his rookie season when he made 74 receptions for 894 yards. So far in his six-year NFL career, Shockey has totaled 371 receptions for 4,228 yards and 27 touchdowns. That reception mark leaves him at fourth all-time in Giants history.

It took 15 years, 216 games, seven Pro-Bowl appearance, 141.5 sacks and a championship ring for NY Giants DE Michael Strahan to decide that it was time to call it quits from the NFL. The longtime fan favorite announced Monday that he would be retiring from football after an amazing run as one of the best defensive ends the game has ever seen. “I know there are a lot of tackles in the league getting excited right now,” said receiver Amani Toomer, who played side by side for 12 seasons with the man everyone called “Stray.” By deciding not to return for the final year of his contract, Strahan is passing up over $4 million dollars this season. His agent, Tony Agnone, said the Giants even offered him more money after the incredible upset victory over the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. “Money was never the issue for him,” Agnone told The Associated Press. “Really I thought he was going to retire before last season. I’m happy he stayed around.” In sticking around for one final season, Strahan was able to win the ring he had long desired and is now able to go out on top, something few athletes ever have the chance to do. He made the official announcement to Giants co-owner John Mara on Monday morning. “I told him he’s been a great Giant,” Mara said Monday. “He thanked me for everything the organization has done for him. I said, ‘I think you’ve done more for us than we can ever do for you.” Strahan not only leaves the Giants as their all-time leader in sacks but with the NFL single season sack record of 22.5 which came back in 2001. He was referred to as the locker room leader and often viewed as a mentor to many of the younger players entering the league. “I knew it was going to (eventually) happen,” quarterback Eli Manning said. “He had a tremendous career. If that is the case, he picked a great season to go out on.” Strahan will be missed by many, but not by offensive linemen or opposing quarterbacks, they will be glad to see him leave. This is the ultimate sign of respect. Congratulations Michael on a great career.

As reigning champions of the National Football League, the New York Football Giants have some pretty big shoes to fill this season after their shocking upset victory of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Head Coach Tom Coughlin has re-signed with the club and hopes to lead the champs to another title run under the on field leadership of Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning. Below you will find the Giants 2008 schedule and preview of the upcoming season! Home games are in bold. Week 1 Thursday, Sept. 4 – 7 p.m. vs. Washington Redskins (9-7) – After splitting games with the Skins last year during the regular season, the G-Men look to avoid last years 0-2 start by getting out ahead early and taking home their first “W” of the year.   Week 2 Sunday, Sept. 14 – 1 p.m. at St. Louis Rams (3-13) – The Rams just aren’t the same team they were in the late 90’s and the Giants will ride the week 1 win to carry them to victory #2 of the season in as many weeks. Week 3 Sunday, Sept. 21 – 1 p.m. vs. Cincinnati Bengals (7-9) – The Bengals can put up great offensive numbers with their receiving core running circles around most secondary defenses, their main problem is stopping opponents at doing the same thing. This has the potential to be a shootout in the high 40’s but New York will come out on top at home. Week 4 BYE – Early BYE week this year for the Giants, could play into late season fatigue. Week 5 Sunday, Oct. 5 – 1 p.m. vs. Seattle Seahawks (10-6) – The two NFC teams did not meet last year but will battle is out at the Meadowlands in a possible first round play-off preview. Whichever team establishes the run early will have the advantage opening up their passing attack for deep yardage in the 2nd half. Week 6 Monday, Oct. 13 – 8:30 p.m. at Cleveland Browns (10-6) – Here’s another match up that we didn’t see last year. The Browns have the potential to be a playoff caliber team, but it will require wins against teams like the Giants to boost them over the top. In a game that features many lead changes, the Browns squeak this one at with a late FG and hand NY their first loss of the season. Week 7 Sunday, Oct. 19 – 1 p.m. vs. San Francisco (5-11) – Tom Coughlin has his boys ready to go and jumps on the 49er’s early in this one. With a double digit lead after the first quart and a 3 TD lead by the half, Manning and the Giants offense coast to a potential offensive record setting day. Week 8 Sunday, Oct. 26 4:15 p.m. at Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) – This game will be decided by which young QB steps up to the plate first. Big Ben has the home crowd on his side, but last year we saw that Eli’s best games were when he was in the spotlight under pressure. The Giants win on a beautiful last drive ending with a Manning QB sneak, untouched for the TD. Week 9 Sunday, Nov. 2 – 4:15 p.m. vs. Dallas Cowboys (13-3) – The NFC equivalence to the Red Sox vs. Yankees match up is a Cowboys v Giants game. Dallas took both regular season games last year but fell to the G-Men in an exciting 2nd round playoff game. Dallas’s running game is too much for the Giants defensive line and NY falls for the first time at home this season. Week 10 Sunday, Nov. 9 – 8:15 p.m. at Philadelphia Eagles (8-8) – In two low scoring games, the Giants handed the Eagles two losses last season and crushed their playoff hopes. Philly will be hungry at home, gunning for the Super Bowl Champs, especially Eli Manning in the pocket. Defensive pressure leading to turnovers helps the Eagles pull off the upset win. Week 11 Sunday, Nov. 16 – 1 p.m. vs. Baltimore Ravens (5-11) – Baltimore comes in with a mediocre offensive unit, a better then average defensive unit, but below average team chemistry which is why they have trouble putting points on the board. The Giants take advantage of good starting field position and put points up early that are enough for the low scoring win. Week 12 Sunday, Nov. 23 – 4:15 p.m. at Arizona Cardinals (8-8) – The Giants are happy to return to Arizona, the site of where they captured the Super Bowl victory and make sure not to overlook the scrappy cardinals who can quietly put a high point total on the board. However, the Giants are in their element and even though it’s not as special and against a different opponent, win for the second straight time in Arizona. Week 13 Sunday, Nov. 30 – 1 p.m. at Washington Redskins (9-7) – The Redskins are having a solid season and battling for a playoff spot while the Giants are thinking about home field. Washington has learned from their early season loss to attack the Giants special teams, and great starting starts lead to many short but effective offensive possessions and a big Redskin victory. Week 14 Sunday, Dec. 7 – 1 p.m. vs. Philadelphia Eagles (8-8) – The Giants must re-focus after the week 13 loss and have a tough opponent coming in for week 14 in the Eagles. In another close game, the Giants even up the season series at 1 a piece on a dominating afternoon performance by Eli Manning, throwing for over 400 yards and 3 TD’s en route to the win. Week 15 Sunday, Dec. 14 – 8:15 p.m. at Dallas Cowboys (13-3) – The game will decide the division champion and unfortunately for the G-Men, they are outmatched right from the coin flip. Tony Romo comes to play and picks apart a secondary that hasn’t had a week off since their Bye week in late September. Week 16 Sunday, Dec. 21 – 1 p.m. vs. Carolina Panthers (7-9) – The G-Men come out with a statement victory of the Panthers in their last regular season home game. They want to show the rest of the NFL that their loss to Dallas was a fluke and that going into the playoffs they are once again a serious contender. Week 17 Sunday, Dec. 28 – 1 p.m. at Minnesota Vikings (8-8) – The Vikings are well out of the playoffs and the game means little for either team. The Giants rest the majority of their starters but are still able to capture the road victory heading into the playoffs with the 3rd best record in the NFC only behind Dallas and Green Bay The defending Super Bowl Champions certainly has what it takes to make it into the playoffs but like last season, they will need to hit their stride at the right time and use that momentum to push them through the always tough NFC playoffs.

A Bruce Springsteen show is not like any other concert you’ve been to, it’s an experience. For decades crowds have packed arenas, stadiums, parks and venues to see the Boss live and no matter what they might have paid for their tickets, always come away satisfied with the performance. Bruce Springsteen always puts together an amazing set that goes well into the night and unlike many other entertainers, there is never a time limit to a show with “The Boss”. Springsteen’s current 2008 tour features 54 shows in 44 cities and 14 countries. The man will travel the globe to make sure all of his fans get a taste of his music. On average, a Bruce show will showcase 23-26 of his songs and last around 3 to 3 ½ hours long. He will mix in new music with classic favorites such as The Promised Land and Reason to Believe. During this current tour, Springsteen has ended each show with the widely popular hit song American Land. The Boss will continue to tour in North America for the month of April before he journeys overseas in late May to resume the tour in Europe. Springsteen’s tour will head back to North America in July for three shows at Giants Stadium and one show at Gillette Stadium. If you’ve been to a Springsteen show, you know that the first thought after its over is always, when is his next one? Hopefully for his fans, the Boss continues to tour for a very long time because he is truly one of the most entertaining performers of this generation. Check out the schedule and grab some Bruce Springsteen tickets today.

After leading the New York Giants to the upset Super Bowl Championship victory less then one month ago, Tom Coughlin has been sitting on top of the world. With his new contract extension unofficially announced, soon Coughlin will be sitting on top of a pile of cash. The Giants announced that over the next four seasons Coughlin will make $21 million dollars, which moves him into the upper tier of the NFL’s highest paid coaches. Only Mike Holmgren of the Seattle Seahawks will earn more then him next year ($8 million). Even Patriots head coach Bill Belichick who reportedly makes $4.2 million, will be earning less then Coughlin. The deal is close to being signed, with both ends working on minor paperwork to complete the legal aspects of the contract. If the contract is signed, this will be a drastic change for Coughlin from this time last year when job security was not something he was fortunate enough to have. Many NY reporters felt that if Coughlin could not produce a playoff caliber team in ’07 that he would not be resigned by the club. Looks like Coughlin has nothing to worry about now except if he wants $50′s or $100′s.

The New York Giants did not win Superbowl XLII, the New England Patriots lost it.  Dating as far back to the NFL preseason camps, the Patriots were this year’s favorite to win it all. They had one of the smartest quarterbacks in the league in Tom Brady, a young and talented running-back in Laurence Maroney, a few brilliant off-season additions to their receiving core in Randy Moss and Wes Welker, and not to mention one of the greatest NFL minds of all time in coach Bill Belichick. After winning their first eight games, reporters started throwing around the idea of a perfect season. Of course it’s not something you want to bring up in the middle of the year, but after finishing the regular season at a perfect (16-0) it was also something hard to avoid or ignore going into the playoffs. The fairytale season needed a happily-ever-after ending, too bad the Giants didn’t get that memo. In case you missed it, the final score to this years Superbowl championship game was kind of a shocker, Giants 17 – Patriots 14. So what happened to the so called dynasty? Did the Pats choke? Are the Giants really that good? Who should New Englanders blame? Is it the Red Sox season yet? All are legitimate questions running through Patriot fans heads after a devastating loss to the Giants in what could have been the most historic football game in the history of the NFL. Key words in that statement, could have. Since the Giants won, the game only goes down as a huge upset, but the history part of a perfect season many were hoping to see will have to wait for another year. If you’re a Patriots fan, recent front page newspaper headlines have hurt to read. “Giant Upset”, “Dynasty Killers”, and “Free Fallin’” were just a few story titles that will leave a bitter taste in your mouth until pre-season camp begins in August. Another reason why it will sting is the talk radio personalities around the Boston area will not stop pointing fingers until the camps either. Remember back to the 2003 ALCS when Grady Little left Pedro Martinez in game 7. I know, sorry for bringing that up, but the Boston media didn’t quit until Little was fired. Now, Bill Belichick will not be fired, but who wants to hear about all the mistakes he made in Superbowl XLII for the next 6 months. Put your hands down Giants fans. The numbers don’t lie, this years Superbowl was not a well played offensive game. With the Vegas over/under line at 53.5 points, the offensive output was a disappointment and the games flow did not live up to the shootout everyone was expecting. Credit needs to be given to the Giants defensive line who continued to pressure Brady in the pocket, causing him to hurry some patterns and even miss a few receivers, which almost never happens. Let’s put it this way, there were more bad commercials in the first half of the game then there were points scored. Not good, not good at all. The Patriots simply did not play the type of football that they had played all year. They were passive on first and second down play calls and at times overly aggressive on third down. A fourth down play call may have been the difference in costing the Pats a chance at an overtime when they decided to go for a fourth and 13 on the Giants 31 yard line instead of attempting a 48 yard field-goal. That’s not a ‘gimmie’ but the percentage of making a FG like that in a dome is much higher than completing a 13-yard first down pass, over the middle into double coverage by a good secondary defense. Who knows, maybe it was Grady Little who told Bill to go for it. Another thing that the Patriots were always good about in close games, but forgot to do in the Superbowl was manage the clock. For eighteen games they always were so aware of how much time was left, and what they needed to do, or prevent their opponents from doing in that time. Last night looked like they forgot to set their watches back with the time zone change and were completely lost late in the fourth quarter. In their last scoring drive, Brady completed a TD pass to Moss with 2:42 left on the clock. The ball was at the 6-yard line when the score was made. Think about it. It’s first and goal, on the 6, 2:42 left in the game. RUN THE BALL! If you don’t score, RUN IT AGAIN. EAT THE CLOCK! Why give the Giants a chance to get the ball back with more then 2 minutes left so they get the 2-minute warning as another opportunity to stop the clock, plus all their timeouts. If the Pats run the ball three times in that series, what’s the worst thing that could have happened? They don’t score the TD, and are forced to kick a 21-yard game tying field goal, which would then force the Giants for put points on the board with less then 1:30 on the clock. If Eli Manning could muster up a 70-yard drive in 90 seconds, fine, great win Giants, you earned it… but even big brother Peyton would have had a tough time doing that against this Patriots defense. The guys upstairs were not thinking with these play calls, and it cost the organization their 4th title in 6 years. When all is said and done with, you do have to tip your cap to the New York Football Giants. They stood up to the Patriots and didn’t allow the media hype to get to them. They played 60 hard-nosed minutes of football, and when the clock ran out, they had more points on the board. So what if the Patriots won 18 games this year, they lost the one that counted the most. It’s not about how you start a season, but how you finish it. Sometimes the better team doesn’t always win, but everything will be okay around New England. The Celtics are playing great basketball, the Sox start spring training in two weeks and besides, there’s a saying around these parts that Patriot fans can adopt for the time being… there’s always next year.

Super Bowl XLII was one for the ages. The New York Giants shocked the world and the New England Patriots by winning the game 17-14 on a last minute drive by Eli Manning. Eli sealed the game with a touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with under a minute to play. The Giants were huge underdogs but never seemed fazed by the 18-0 Patriots. Eli Manning won the Super Bowl MVP one year after his brother Peyton won the same honor. This year’s Haltime Show was quite a treat as Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers performed a great set of hits such as Free Fallin, Running Down a Dream and American Girl. Tom Petty tickets are set to go onsale on Monday 2/4 for several dates throughout North America for 2008. Among the shows onsale will be their 6/13 show at Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden.