One Image Sums Up Current State of Giants and Jets

While I spent my Monday night perusing through Twitter-space like I usually do, I came across the photo above. My first reaction: that was the most fun I've ever had attending a football game (replacing the 12-sack game the Giants had against the Eagles in 2007). My second reaction: this single photo perfectly sums up where each organization is at right now: the Giants....standing tall, victorious, Super Bowl champions. The Jets...weak and desperate.

Eric Smith's last ditch effort to stop Victor Cruz's 99-yard, season-turning touchdown reception, captured in this single frame, serves as a metaphor for the state of desperation for the Jets. How? They just traded for Tim Tebow.

As the Giants continue to reign supreme in the greatest city in the world, the Jets made a P.R. move to steal the tabloids. Today they gave their new backup quarterback a nationally-televised press conference while they their starting quarterback got a conference call that was not allowed to be broadcast live. The Jets just gave Mark Sanchez an extension, yet it's his understudy that gets all the attention. It makes zero sense. Zero.

Sidenote: Jets owner Woody Johnson, head coach Rex Ryan, GM Mike Tannenbaum and Sanchez were not at the Tebow presser. Go get 'em, Timmy!

Perhaps the most criminal thing to come out of this media circus is that Tebow will most likely get more media attention than two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Eli Manning, who owns the city and the stadium. I'm sure it doesn't bother Eli based on his on-camera personality, but it sure bothers me and it's going to be forced down my throat so long as Tebow is a Jet.

For at least this coming season, Tebow and the Jets can claim they play in the home of the Super Bowl champions. Your team may have the tabloids, but the real team will have the rings.

Rangers Grab 2 Huge Points in Toronto

Before I get to the story, I'd first like to thank former co-worker, good friend and rabid Giants fan Ryan Doyle for volunteering to create the new custom header for the blog. He used an impulse photo I took while riding the East River Ferry and created an incredible logo. Thanks dude. You can follow him on Twitter if you choose at @ODoyle_Rulez. I will warn you, he's a bigtime Giants fan but also loves the Red Sox and Bruins. I suggest a follow from September-February only. OK now onto the first-place Rangers...

The New York Rangers currently have as many points as there were canines in a classic, animated Disney cinematic masterpiece: 101. The eclipsed the century mark in points with a dramatic shootout victory in Toronto with the game-winner scored by (guess who) Ryan Callahan.

While the Rangers continue to tread water atop the Eastern Conference, the two points earned last night were extremely important to hang onto the first place position. At the same time last night, just east in the same province of Ontario, the NHL's hottest team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, lost in regulation for the first time in over a month in Ottawa. To say the Penguins have been hot is an understatement and they just got that Crosby fella back (I'll refrain from personal feelings on Crosby, but just for today).

Now the Rangers have a three-point cushion on second-place Pittsburgh with seven games to play (Pittsburgh has eight remaining).

In five of those next seven games, the Rangers will be getting the absolute most out of their opponents. Winnipeg is fighting for their playoff lives and the atmosphere at the MTS Center on Wednesday will be electric as it is every night. Boston is out for vengeance as they're 0-2-1 vs the Blueshirts this season.

Then the Rangers embark on perhaps the toughest two-game stretch of the season: at Philadelphia and at Pittsburgh. Both the division rivals still have a shot at the Atlantic division title and top spot in the conference. It also helps that there's a bit of bad blood between each of the squads.

Last game of the season is home vs Washington in a possible playoff preview. As of right now, the Capitals are not in the top eight in the east. They are two points behind eighth placed Buffalo with a game in hand, and it appears Alex Ovechkin has found his former self and has turned it on. Based on recent playoff meetings between the Rangers and Caps, it'd be sweet revenge to either send them home on the season's final day or in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Any way you slice it, it seems the Rangers can't fall back further than fifth in the east. However, should the Rangers get the four or five seed, they'll either play Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the first round. Either series can easily go seven games and could physically drain the Rangers. This is why the top seed is extremely important.

My Worst Nightmare: Tim Tebow is a Jet

Tim Tebow is coming to my city. New York's other football team has acquired Tebow from the Denver Broncos in exchange for a 4th round draft pick.

I chose to dismiss the rumors that the Jets were interested in him because I couldn't fathom this ever happening. I mean, they just signed a subpar Mark Sanchez to a very wealthy contract extension, so why would they give up anything for the worst quarterback I've ever seen play professional football?

As I was driving home listening to Evan Roberts break the news on WFAN, I nearly crashed. OK maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but needless to say, I was, and still am, extremely shocked. Joe Benigno, Jet superfan and Roberts' co-host, immediately said the organization is a "disaster." I turned the dial to ESPN 1050 to only hear Stephen A. Smith say the exact same thing.

The Jets in no way can say they're committed to Sanchez. Peyton said no, so they gave Sanchez a big pay raise and a few more years on a contract. Then within a few weeks they trade for another quarterback.

Does Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum realize what he just did? Does he have any idea what he just said to Mark Sanchez? He just created the biggest possible circus you could imagine in the sports media capital of the world. We haven't even reached the 2012 NFL Draft and there's already a mega QB controversy in the Jets locker room. Who do they go with? Sanchez, who regressed in 2011 from his decent seasons in 2009 and 2010 or Tebow, who is a flat out awful quarterback.

Who do we blame for this? Peyton Manning for telling the Jets no and taking Tebow's job in Denver? Victor Cruz for his 99-yard touchdown which ended the Jets season and sprung the Giants to another Super Bowl title? Rex Ryan for his necessity for being on the back pages of the newspapers?

Regardless of who we blame for this, I can't wait for this to blow up in the Jets faces. If you think Santonio Holmes had a problem with Sanchez, can you imagine what he'll say about Tebow? An hour before the Tebow trade news broke, Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie tweeted against bringing Tebow in.

Are the Jets really that upset because the team they share a stadium with just hoisted another Lombardi Trophy that they had to make such a bizarre move? The Jets are so desperate for attention in this city and it's an absolute joke. Ever since my beloved Giants beat the Patriots (again) in the Super Bowl, the Jets logo has basically disappeared from the city (and it's been beautiful). They are the little brother in this town and do whatever they can to grab the headlines. It's kind of ironic that they're the little brother, but the Giants' little brother QB has won more Super Bowls than that franchise.

If Tebow thought he had haters before, he has absolutely no idea what he's about to get into. Tim Tebow will not survive the New York media. No way, no how. Every Jet fan I know is hammering this move and they're already hating on Tebow (which I've done since his freshman season at Florida).

The media coverage for Tebow throughout the 2011 season (and his entire career at Florida) was beyond insufferable and now he's coming to New York. He's going to be everywhere. He might be bigger than Namath just because of the amount of media that has grown in the nearly 50 years since he won the Jets their only championship.

I'm sick to my stomach about what we're about to experience.

Step One Complete: Rangers Are Playoff Bound

For the first time since pre-Y2K, the Rangers clinched a playoff spot before April and not by the skin of their teeth. With a 4-2 win over the hated New Jersey Devils, the Rangers became the first team to clinch a postseason berth in the Eastern Conference.

Now, I can't stand writing game stories, but tonight feels a bit different. While I missed the opening trifecta of brawls in the first three seconds of the game (relax, I was at work), I was able to see the replays. Devils coach Peter DeBoer was out to send a message, which isn't a surprise in a rivalry like this. He put his tough guys on the ice and the Rangers made them pay. Stu Bickel vs Ryan Carter: win for Bickel. Mike Rupp vs Eric Boulton: win for Rupp. Brandon Prust vs Bryce Salvador: win for Prust. To see three fights taking place simultaneously was equally as bizarre as it was amazing.

Just over a minute later, Brandon Dubinsky (finally) scores and the Rangers had the momentum and never looked back. As the Garden crowd aired out chants of "MAAAARTYYY" to the Devils portly goaltender, you can tell just from watching an illegal online stream of the game how electric the atmosphere was.

This marks the sixth time in the last seven the seasons that the Rangers will play after their 82-game regular season schedule. But this is such a different team than in years past. It's not the usually-frustrating squads that are barely making it into the playoffs. It's a fun, confident group of guys that have all bought into John Tortorella's system. These guys play for each other and it's clear every time they take the ice.

We don't have to worry about Olli Jokinen in the shootout. We don't need Jody Shelley to score two goals for them to get to that shootout. We don't have to worry about other teams needing to lose to get into the playoffs. They're in. On March 19. After a total team effort win against a team that every fellow Ranger fan absolutely despises. This is so mind-bogglingly great and I'm going to enjoy it just like every other Ranger fan should.

Sidenote: Mats Zuccarello has been a tremendous spark plug since being recalled from the Connecticut Whale. I was a huge fan of that kid last season and was hoping to see him sooner this season, but he's here and he looks like he's going to stay. And I'm calling him Duke Zuke 'Em. It may not catch with everyone, but I personally love it.

Granted they have the Red Wings coming into town on Wednesday which will be one tough contest, tonight, I am not worried about that. The Rangers are in the playoffs before Easter and I'll have a beer to that. Now let's go get that Cup.