They might be Giants

I, for one, have never been opposed to starting over. There's nothing like a clean sheet after a few years of intolerable disappointment.

So hiring a new coach, bringing in some new players, implementing a new system... all that stuff is fine by me.

But the Giants are walking a dangerous line this year. They seem caught in between the rebuilding movement they say they're making, and the Super Bowl-contending team that they nearly were two years ago.

Many of the established stars are still here -- Michael Strahan, Tiki Barber, Amani Toomer -- and yet many of the team's best supporting players are gone -- Mike Barrow, Dhani Jones, Cornelius Griffin.

And there is the bizarre situation at quarterback. Kerry Collins is out, Kurt Warner is in... but Eli Manning is also there, and the Giants just gave him $54 million over the next six years. So who's the boss?

Many say the smart money is on Warner, who is an established vet with big credentials and a lot of talent. But no one has mentioned his history of concussions, his chronic fumbling problems, and his complete immobility in the pocket. No one's questioning his arm strength or his vision... but how much of an upgrade will he really be over Kerry Collins? We'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, the Giants will be trying to cobble together offensive and defensive lines, which have been completely dismantled. Let's hope those get put back together before September 12, or it could be a long season for the Big Blues.

Oh, and there's that whole superstar-hates-the-coach problem. Strahan has already been outspoken about his dislike for some of Tom Coughlin's new rules, and he was no doubt among the group of players who rallied to have a fine imposed on the Giants for forcing them spend too much time in the workout room this summer.

And then there's the ol' special teams. Does anyone know who their field goal kicker will be? Does anyone care? Will it matter? Anyone seen Brian Mitchell lately?

The 2004 Giants are a talented team, no doubt. They are also a rebuilding team. We'll have to wait and see which emerges as the season goes on.

Another one's treasure

"We have now entered extended garb-age time"

Those words, immortalized by legendary former Knicks broadcaster Marv Albert, symbolize something you don't often see in sports. A chance for the players, managers, coaches, and fans to let loose as a contest winds towards its inevitable conclusion.

Garbage time can lead to some pretty entertaining memories, even if the game itself is a wash. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite garbage time moments.

How do you spell relief? Z-E-I-L-E, if you watched Monday's Mets game. Some of the most enjoyable, if not artistic, moments in baseball are born out of the blowout, when frustrated managers with exhausted bullpens use position players to work an inning of relief.

The most entertaining mound cameo was performed by veteran Diamondbacks first baseman Mark Grace. With his team way behind, Grace took to the mound armed with a 65-mph fastball and a well-honed impression of teammate Mike Fetters. Grace's caricatured spoof of Fetters -- complete with puffed cheeks, bulging eyes and head swivel -- had both dugouts rolling.

The 12th man The crowd cheers as he unsnaps his warm-ups, tosses his practice robe and dashes onto the court. He is the 12th man. The most beloved 12th man in the history of sports: Knicks center Herb Williams, or, simply: "HERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRB!"

Particularly in his final years as a Knick, when he was more valuable for his experience and leadership off the court than his play on it, Madison Square Garden's faithful made him a cult hero. With a big lead and the seconds ticking away, faint groans... "HERRRRRRRRB!" They'd grow louder and louder until finally the coach had little choice but to put him in the game. When Williams finally touched the ball, the shouts reached a thunderous echo in the half-empty Garden. And if by some miracle of God he happened to score, 5,000 fans erupted in rapturous applause. This is for a man who averaged 2.8 points per game in his Knicks career.

Box-score blowouts: The NHL's tempers run hotter than those in any sport, so when your opponent's skated over and through you all night -- garbage time means revenge time. Better clear out those WNBA transactions, because your hockey box scores are about get a Canseco-sized injection of game misconducts.

Philadelphia and Ottawa engaged in one of hockey's most memorable donnybrooks last season, setting an NHL record for penalty minutes in a game. In a 32-second span, the two teams were whistled for 55 penalties, including 13 ejections and 21 fighting majors. Anyone who saw the game knows that the wild screaming fans at the Wachovia Center were not among those trying to get fighting banned from hockey.

Ricky's gone? Too bad

Yes, sports fans, it's true. Ricky Williams is gone. He traded in the wedding dress, the dreads, the funny cigarettes and the shtick for a one-way ticket to Asia.

It's a tremendous loss for the city of Miami, the NFL, and the poor, broken-hearted Dolphins fans. But in thousands of households across the nation, millions of people slept a little easier last night, grateful that Williams is gone and hopeful that it's for good.

You see, there is a game people play -- a game called fantasy football -- where the real-life comings and goings of NFLers can make or break you. When a superstar like Williams hangs up the cleats in the prime of his career, it can destroy a team anchored by his prodigious running and his prolific touchdowns. And when you are one of the owners lucky enough not to have His Hairness on your team, you really can't help but feel giddy over your opponent's misfortune.

To the ill-fated owners whose hopes have been waylaid, we offer this: Boo hoo. "That's a bummer," in the words of noted empath Steve Mariucci.

Good luck trying to rebuild your sorry teams. In the meantime, try not to think too much about what might have been. We promise to buy you some Kleenex just as soon as our first-place check clears.

More from Newsday.com:

Ricky Williams retires. Read more

Bob Glauber's NFL rumblings. Read more

No one's immune to this drug

Lance Armstrong. Marion Jones. Barry Bonds. Three people with a lot in common.

They're superstars, first of all, each in his or her own sport. They have overcome obstacles, succeeding in ways no one thought possible. And now they are united in a new challenge, vastly different from any they have encountered before.

With the specter of possible steroid use looming perilously above, one of the most fascinating aspects of the scandal is just how deeply each of these athletes have been affected, and how they've each dealt with the criticism in different ways.

Armstrong, a virtual shoe-in to win his sixth straight Tour de France, last week lashed out at the French media, whom he claimed were attempting to raid his hotel room in a search for evidence of steroid use.

"It's scandalous," Armstrong said of the alleged incident, later opining that "in France, they're after us."

He also fired back at criticism from three-time Tour winner Greg Lamond, a fellow American who suggested that Armstrong "would do anything to keep his secret."

Friday, during the Tour's 18th stage, he doggedly chased after Italian rider Filippo Simeoni, who has testified against a controversial sports doctor with whom Armstrong has ties

Jones, considered by many to be the fastest woman alive, has attempted to maintain her squeaky-clean image by addressing accusations head-on in the media and taking a polygraph test last month.

It will be interesting to see whether she can keep up a brave face, especially as her former coach, ex-husband, and current boyfriend are all investigated regarding their involvement in the Bay Area Lab Co-Operative steroid scandal.

In stark contrast to Jones' approach, Bonds has been notably quiet, declining to discuss the BALCO case as he inches closer to Hank Aaron's career home run mark of 755.

While controversy continues to swirl around Bonds and the legitimacy of his quest to become the greatest slugger of all-time, his strategy of silence appears to be working. He has managed to steer clear of any major media firestorms this season, although that is at least partially due to the sudden attention surrounding Jones and Armstrong.

Armstrong. Jones. Bonds. Three athletes of similar stature with the same problem, dealing with it in different ways. Each hoping -- whether he or she is guilty or not -- that what they say (or don't say) will be enough to exonerate them. Unfortunately, that ingores the sad truth about the BALCO case: Everyone is guilty until proven innocent.

Too little, too late

Over the last four months, the Mets have played some surprisingly good baseball at times. Leaving behind the torpid legacy of overpaid, underperforming laggards (Mo and Robbie, we hardly knew ye), they've managed to assemble a group of dedicated, hard-working players who compete harder on the field than they do in contract negotiations.

Wednesday night's debut of 21-year-old third baseman David Wright was another breath of fresh air for the Mets, who are already relying heavily upon another neophyte, Jose Reyes, to lift them to contending status.

Yet with all the talk and media attention on the positive storylines of the Mets' youngsters, there is an equally large spotlight shining on the team's NL East playoff race. The story goes that the Mets' starting pitching, held together by duct tape and melted Skittles, needs a boost to keep the team in the hunt.

So along come the rumors about Kris Benson. Fans, energized by pennant fever, soon begin tossing out names like Scott Kazmir and Ty Wigginton as possible trade bait. They know that this annual time of madness in baseball can provide the lift a team needs to win a pennant.

But the Mets are 47-48. They are locked in a race against three teams that are all probably better than they are. They have a shaky pitching staff and a shakier bullpen. That's hardly something that can fixed by a band-aid.

Kris Benson, a good pitcher and no doubt a fine gentleman, is not the caliber of performer to patch up the Mets' shortcomings. Agonizing as it may be, the Mets are a young team learning how to win by losing in some pretty excruciating ways. There's no reason to believe that that will change with the addition of one decent starting pitcher from Pittsburgh.

Slowly, guys like Wright, Kazmir, and Reyes have the potential to be the backbone of something exciting at Shea. But first, a little patience would serve the Mets well.

Now is not the time to panic; now is the the time to watch the youngsters rise and fall and rise again. Now is not the time to dump homegrown talent in favor of hired guns; now is the time to make sure the Mets fans have a reason to come back next season.

Read more on David Wright's debut: Click here.
Newsday's Jon Heyman on the Mets: Click here.
Photos from Wright's debut: Click here.
Ask Newsday's Bob Herzog for his thoughts: Click here.

Meet the Keyboard Quarterbacks

Welcome to Keyboard Quarterbacks, Newsday.com Sports' daily updated web log designed to tackle the quirky, offbeat, and controversial issues. Our goal is to debate, delight, annoy and, occasionally, inform.

You're probably asking yourself "Who are these Quarterbacks of the Keys? These Monsters of the Mousepad?" We're glad you asked...

Mark La Monica, a former high school writer for Newsday, recently joined the staff of Newsday.com as the evening sports news manager. He rarely wakes up before noon.

Mike Casey is the morning sports news manager who has previously worked at the Baltimore Sun. He occasionally makes it into the office on time.

Just get it done

Embarrassing. What else do you call a major professional league getting undercut by a rogue outfit, out of business for 25 years?   
  
In a gaunt attempt for publicity Saturday, the World Hockey Association, defunct since it went bankrupt in 1979, delivered a hard slash to the NHL’s credibility by conducting a free agent draft in which all professional hockey players, including those already under NHL contracts, were up for grabs. The Boston Bruins’ Joe Thornton and former Ranger Eric Lindros were among the lucky chaps selected in the first round. The WHA’s hope is that the current NHL labor impasse will drag on and eliminate the upcoming NHL season, clearing the way for the WHA to sign some of hockey’s biggest stars.
 
But even with a few big names under contract, it’s hard to believe that a league that boasts a homeless team named the "founders franchise" would do much long-term harm to hockey's aristocracy. The boys at the NHL possess too much international credibility and the fierce loyalty of millions of hockey-mad Canadians to be seriously affected.
 
For the NHL, the biggest problem is already rising to the surface: Intense criticism from fans and pundits alike has slammed the league for an increasing lack of credibility as one of the four major American sports. In addition to being in serious danger of entering the 2004-05 season without a network television contract, the league faces the erosion of a loyal fan base exhausted after years of unsuccessful rule tinkering meant to increase scoring. As the league spins towards a seemingly inevitable work stoppage, "Are you out of your minds?" seems like the only real question left to ask.
 
Players and owners need to take a look at the pro sports landscape, recognize that their long-term success (and survival) is contingent upon the lucrative American market, and stop gnawing at the hand that feeds them.
 
Get a deal done, NHL, or risk slipping even further from the consciousness of the average American sports fan.
 
Read about the WHA draft here.