Photo of Dutch fans in Basel, Switzerland, by Matt Dunham, AP The European Cup soccer tournament heads into the quarterfinals this weekend and it's shaping up to be one of the most exciting and highest-rated international tournaments in some time. For those who contend that soccer is too boring to watch, one should try watching it surrounded by football fanatics who can not only clue you in on the finer parts of the game,......

It’s time to end this soap opera. No, not the one currently in an extended run at Shea, but the one flaring up this past week at Giants Stadium. Jeremy Shockey is unhappy and pissed off. He is mad he broke his leg, he is mad the team didn’t let him onto the field at the Super Bowl and he is mad about his uncertain future. Shockey has a legitimate gripe about the Super Bowl,......

At least he has his ten-table ring: photo of Michael Strahan showing off his Super Bowl ring and the Lombardi Trophy by AP/Jason DeCrow Saving his team plenty of uncertainty and resulting annoyance, Michael Strahan reportedly announced his retirement Monday. That means the team and the media are saved another dance in which the player hems and haws as he tries to avoid training camp while still collecting a high salary. Now, the Giants......

After the first day of the NFL Draft, the Jets and Giants wrapped up their drafts yesterday by filling some needs and taking some chances. The Jets added Dwight Lowery a cornerback, Marcus Henry a wide receiver, Nate Garner an offensive tackle and Erik Ainge, the QB from Tennessee and the nephew of Danny Ainge. In many ways, Ainge is similar to Chad Pennington, so it is an interesting pick to say the least. The......

Photograph, above, of Vernon Gholston, 6th NFL Draft pick overall, at Radio City Music Hall by Jason DeCrow/AP; photograph, below, of Jets fans cheering the pick by Julie Jacobson/AP Being the sixth-worst team in the NFL has its advantages come April. The Jets had the sixth pick in this weekend's NFL Draft, and, despite hopes that Arkansas running back Darren McFadden would fall to them, ended up taking talented Ohio State defensive end Vernon......

The Jets made a big splash in free agency and they hope to make a big splash in the draft. Sitting at number six, the Jets could go in a number of interesting directions. Darren McFadden, the great running back from Arkansas could be the selection, as could Matt Ryan, the QB from Boston College. Ryan is the top-rated QB in the draft. If the Jets don’t select him, the Patriots (picking at 7)......

For the Giants, the opening of free agency saw them lose three players. Kawika Mitchell went to the Bills, Reggie Torbor to the Dolphins and Gibril Wilson to the Raiders. The loss of Wilson will hurt the most, but remember he was once a fifth-round pick. GM Jerry Reese proved last year that he is very good drafting players and won’t overpay in the free agent market, so don’t panic the Super Bowl champs will......

If you can't get enough of the Giants winning Super Bowl XLII, we've got some good news for you...the Super Bowl XLII DVD is out today! While the DVD has a runtime of nearly three hours, it doesn't contain the whole game. What you do get from the DVD is a recap of the entire Giants season, culminating with highlights from the Super Bowl (without Joe Buck, if that's how you like it). The DVD......

The football season is over, but news about the Giants and their Super Bowl win never gets old. Here's what's been happening since the ticker tape parade: Boston Mayor Thomas Menino made good and delivered the Boston items he promised - like 100 cups of New England Clam Chowder from Legal Sea Foods; 42 pounds of coffee from Dunkin' Donuts (in honor of Super Bowl XLII); 12 dozen Boston Cream Pie (Tom Brady is #12)......

Photos of David Tyree catching the ball with Rodney Harrison defending in the 4th quarter of Super Bowl XLII by AP/Charlie Riedel (left) and AP/Gene Puskar (right) You’ve seen it a thousand times by now and it’s clearly the biggest play in Giants history. Eli Manning drops back, somehow escapes three different Patriots from sacking him and then heaves the ball downfield. David Tyree jumps up, pins the ball against his forehead and somehow......

Photograph by forklift on Flickr An estimated three million people assembled along Broadway during yesterday's ticker tape parade to celebrate the Giants' 17-14 Super Bowl XLII win over the New England Patriots. After the many floats with Giants players (and cars with some dignitaries, like Governor Spitzer, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver) rolled up the Canyon of Heroes, Mayor Bloomberg presented the team with keys to the city. When David Tyree,......

Photograph of Michael Strahan, coach Tom Coughin (holding the Vince Lombardi trophy) and quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning by Tien Mao Update: Here are some of our photographs from the parade route - it look us a few hours to download the photos and decompress/shake out the confetti from the parade. We'll be adding a slideshow later. Photograph of NFC Championship hero, kicker Lawrence Tynes, by Tien Mao Photograph looking down the......

Photo of one of the 72 game balls for the Super Bowl by AP/Charlie Riedel So, the Giants making the Super Bowl has you preparing to watch a football game and you don’t know much about the sport. Let us help you with some pointers about the game. The weird thing about football is very little of it is done with your foot. Teams take the ball and either run it or throw it......

While Plaxico Burress hasn't practiced much all year because of an ankle injury, now another injury seems to be hampering the Giants receiver. Burress is listed as "questionable" because of a left-knee injury that has bothered him on and off this season. The injury prevented him from practicing on Wednesday or Thursday. Yesterday, he was limited to a few individual drills. Joining Burress on the injury report is defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who has an......

Sometimes the only interesting parts of Super Bowl Sunday are the ads and the halftime show, and neither of those things are really that great. But not this year! On top of getting a home team in the big game, we get Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performing during the halftime. It may have been quite some time since you last listened to Petty, who is about to go on a nationwide tour, so we......

Rangers 3 Devils 1: Why can’t they play like this all the time? Maybe it’s because the Devils seem to turn and run at the sight of “New York” (winless this season against the Rangers and Islanders) on their opponents jerseys. Whatever the reason, the Rangers need to replicate this effort a lot over the remainder of the season. Chris Drury had two goals, one against an empty net while Brandon Dubinsky got things started......

Photo of Tom Coughlin reflected in the Vince Lombardi Trophy during a press conference by AP/Eric Gay After two weeks of hype, Super Bowl XLII is finally around the corner. The Giants have reached the ultimate game with a chance to prevent history by ruining the Patriots' quest for a perfect 19-0 season. During those two weeks of hype since the NFC Championship, there has been a frenzy of media covering Tom Brady and......

Clockwise from upper left: Photo of Creamsicle from the Lemon Ice King of Corona by joshbousel on flickr; Jamaican beef patties from Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery; Clam Chowder from Legal Sea Foods; artificially steaming coffee from Dunkin' Donuts Mayor Bloomberg and Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston are putting it all on the line for Sunday's Super Bowl. After winning the awful bet from Green Bay, Bloomberg has a lot more riding on the line......

A Giant hooked up to a shock device, numerous wedding proposals and an American Idol audition all added to the collective fun know as “Media Day” at the Super Bowl. What else can you expect when nearly 5,000 reporters have to shake out stories from 200 or so football players and coaches. Ruben Droughns must be looking for something to do because he agreed to answer questions while holding two electrodes hooked up to......

As if the Giants didn’t have enough to worry about heading into their Super Bowl matchup with the Patriots, the flu bug is going around the team. (Note: stop eating now) Aaron Ross was so sick yesterday that the Giants’ charter flight was delayed an hour to clean up the mess. The New York training staff has been giving the players every type of preventative medicine they can come up with to ward off the......

Photo of Eli Manning by AP/Bill Kostroun; Photo of Tom Brady by AP/Stephan Savoia When Super Sunday rolls around, there will be a lot of questions that will be answered. Will the Giants stop the undefeated season of the Patriots? How will Eli Manning perform in the biggest game of his career? And how Tom Brady's foot be? While there are clearly lots of other questions, one question that isn't so obvious is...who's the......

We know that Giants co-owner and movie producer Steve Tisch has been trying to ramp up the star power for the Giants sidelines. After Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore and Cameron Diaz were seen at a game last fall, Tisch told the NY Times, he brings "the spices, the taste, the flavor" to the Giants (if the Giants experience were a soup; the other co-owners, the Maras, would bring the meat and potatoes). This past......

The game is still a week away, but the verbal sparring has begun. Plaxico Burress fired the first shot this week when he said about the Giants’ wide receivers that, "We have guys that can go out and do things just as well or maybe better than some of those guys.” The Patriots have refused to take the bait with Rodney Harrison simply talking about seeing what happens on the field while Ellis Hobbs noted......

Before getting back to his grueling practice schedule* today, Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes stopped in to the Late Show last night. David Letterman and Tynes chat about his family and when he learned to kick (as a senior in high school). Tynes, the 29-year-old father of twins, who missed two 4th quarter field goals in the NFC Championship before kicking the game winner in overtime, was not able to escape ribbing from Letterman, "Everybody......

Last week, Brett Favre was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. This week, Eli Manning graces the cover of the magazine. If you believe the S.I. cover curse/jinx, then the Giants may be in trouble. In the magazine, Peter King gives the Giants-Packers game the cover story treatment, while Dr. Z decides to pick the Giants to make up for picking against the Jets in Super Bowl III. We're not sure if Manning believes in......

Is he hurt or isn’t he? That is the question after Tom Brady was spotted walking without a boot on his foot a day after being seen with one. Sources say that Brady is suffering from a mild high ankle sprain and will not have any problem playing in the Super Bowl. It should be noted that Plaxico Burress has had the same injury all season and has managed to play through it. Perhaps the......

Photo of Michael Strahan kissing the George S. Halas Trophy after the game by AP/David J. Phillip The Giants are going to the Super Bowl! Thanks to a 47-yard field goal in overtime New York defeated Green Bay on the infamous “frozen tundra” 23-20 to advance to Super Bowl XLII. It was a game of dramatic twists and turns and it produced some unlikely heroes. Start with Dominic Hixon who had several big kick......

If there's one thing to warm up New Yorkers - and New York newspaper editors thinking about a holiday issue - today, it's the Giants' NFC Championship win over the Green Bay Packers. Let's look at how they touted the big win. The Post opts for quarterback Eli Manning on the cover and kicker Lawrence Tynes on the back sports cover. Points for puns on both headlines. The Daily News and Newsday both use the......

Photograph of kicker Lawrence Tynes after the game-winning field goal by David J. Phillip/AP The Giants won the NFC Championship in overtime, beating the Green Bay Packers 23-20 in overtime and overcome the frigid, below-zero conditions. They are now headed to the Super Bowl where they will meet the New England Patriots, who beat the San Diego Chargers 21-12. Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes missed a field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter,......

Less than 6 hours until kickoff at Lambeau Field and it's a balmy -6° in Green Bay. With winds at 15 miles per hour, Accuweather's real feel temperatures are -18°. While temperatures will increase by game time, it's still going to be ass-cold. The cold weather and the importance of the game makes it an event that could be one for the ages, something that seems to happen with frigid temperatures. Despite the cold weather,......