LITTLE ROCK — Ugly game not so bad to Coughlin
The New York Giants-Miami Dolphins game Sunday went off without too many problems, but it was played in London and it tends to rain a lot in the fall in England.
The grass atWembley Stadium was cut short and the turf came out in chunks. The players struggled with footing and that, probably more than jet lag or fatigue, helped turn the game into something less entertaining than the NFL's normal Sunday afternoon product.
"It's too bad it became like that because it could have very well been a very nice performance," Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said.
But was it hard to watch the replay of the Giants' 13-10 victory?
"No, because I knew the outcome," he said.
Miami fright
With Halloween just a day away, Miami Herald columnist Greg Cote says he's dressing up in an outfit so ghastly that people should look away in disgust. He's going to dress up as the 2007 Dolphins.
"Ooooh that's mean," Cote wrote of the 0-8 team. "But I figure if former Dolphin players are allowed to call the team embarrassing and pathetic, I can make a harmless lil' Halloween joke." Surprises in store?
With the NBA season about to tip off, former Atlanta Hawks Coach Mike Fratello, now an analyst for TNT, gives us five teams that could surprise: 1. Orlando. They've added depth and the younger players are a year older.
2. New Orleans. If they can stay healthy, they'll win 10 more games than last season.
3. Atlanta. On the brink ofbreaking through.
4. Memphis. Right on the verge of some big things.
5. LA Lakers. They are going to win more than people think.
Perfect employee?
Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle relayed a story about how the currently unemployed Barry Bonds loves his BlackBerry so much that he takes it into the dugout during games and, on one occasion, responded to a message during a game.
"Which would be against baseball rules," Ostler wrote. "So Bonds' next job might be with the New England Patriots." Hammering away
Hank Aaron was asked about the number of strikeouts players amass now: "To me, that was the most embarrassing thing in baseball to have a pitcher strike me out," Aaron said. "I see a lot of players today take that very lightly."
Aaron's highest strikeout total in any one season was 97 in 1967.
Quote of the day
When our organization started adding pitching, the curse kind of went away." Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona on winning two World Series titles since 2004
Sports, Pages 16 on 10/30/2007