Giants have become a disgrace

In recent years, the New York Giants were considered a franchise that operated with class and dignity.

The Giants enjoyed a lot of success, winning four Super Bowl championships over the last 30 years. They won two in Bill Parcells' regime and two more under the guidance of Tom Coughlin. It was a lot for fans to sing the Giants' fight song, "Proud to Be a New York Giant."

But no more. That class and dignity has disappeared this year. It started when prima donna receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. made like a dog and acted like he was peeing on the turf in Philadelphia. It continued when almost the entire secondary was either suspended or reprimanded for bad behavior.

Some of those secondary members, like the well-paid Janoris Jenkins, and the misguided former first round pick Eli Apple, appeared to stop playing in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers, a team that was winless before Big Blue came calling. Both Jenkins and Apple looked like they didn't want to make tackles during that loss. On one play, Apple was out of bounds when 49er quarterback C.J. Beathard ran by for a touchdown. He was standing out of bounds. I had never seen that in a football play on any level, even Pop Warner.

Apple was apparently called out for that play and others, like running away from Robert Woods on a touchdown the Los Angeles Rams receiver scored on a play where it was third-and-33. Apple's poor play was pointed out in a film session and he was so angered by it that he considered walking out. But he thought better and returned, but he has not played in a game since.

All of the aforementioned things are bad enough, but the way that beleaguered head coach Ben McAdoo treated his future Hall of Fame quarterback Eli Manning this week took the cake and placed the entire franchise in a state of disgrace.

I just happened to be covering Giants' practice for Associated Press a few weeks ago, when McAdoo first hinted the idea that he might sit Manning, even though Manning hadn't missed a start in his entire career, dating back to 2004.

When reporters asked Eli about McAdoo floated the idea of sitting Manning down, Eli, like he has done many times in his career, handled the questions like a true professional.

"I'm happy to be out there," Manning said. "I'm able to play through injuries. It's important for me to be out there for my team. I want to play. I play quarterback. I play football. I understand I have a job to do. It's no fun losing games. We're going through a tough time, but we have eight more games and an opportunity to fix it."

Even after the loss to the Washington Redskins on Thanksgiving night, I took part in a conference call that featured Manning.

"It's definitely been a frustrating year," Manning said. "It's not the style of football I'm used to playing. It is frustrating and it is tough. We have to find ways why we're not able to do things. I've missed some throws. Everyone is contributing to our lack of success. I have to make plays. It's been a tough year, but we have five games left and now it's all about pride."

You know, proud to be a New York Giant.

McAdoo was on the same conference call last Friday.

"We're disappointed in the way our offense looked," McAdoo said. "We had a lot of unforced errors. We're going to take a look at it and see what adjustments we can make."

But there was no talk of any quarterback change.

However, three days later, McAdoo announces that the Giants were sending Manning to the bench in favor of Geno Smith, stating that "Geno gives us the best chance to win right now."

And this was done on Tuesday, which is always scheduled as Manning's day to speak to the media. Coincidence? I don't think so.

So then Manning was left to twist in the wind and deal with the issue of the benching head on. Which, by the way, Eli did and did magnificently, like he always has over the last 14 years.

My problem with the whole thing is this: First of all, if McAdoo really wanted to bench Manning, like he hinted at doing three weeks ago, then why didn't he do it then? Why wait until now?

I'd understand it even more if McAdoo said, "We have five games left and we want to see what Davis Webb can do." But no, he chooses to say that Geno Smith _ yes, that same Geno Smith who was a total flame out with the Jets _ gives the Giants a better chance to win than the two-time Super Bowl MVP. Now, how insane is that?

We all know what Geno Smith is capable of. I covered a game a few years ago against the Buffalo Bills that Smith threw three interceptions among his first four passes. He threw the ball to the other team three times in his first four passes. Right there and then, we all knew that Geno Smith was not a good quarterback. But now, McAdoo believes that Geno gives the Giants a better chance to win than the guy who brought two silver trophies to the East Rutherford facility. There's no logic in that whatsoever.

Here's the deal. If McAdoo wanted to make the change, there were better ways of doing it than letting the future Hall of Famer twist in front of his locker Tuesday. I still believe that it was calculated to happen on Eli's talk day with the media. It would have made more sense on the conference call. Did McAdoo just decide on Tuesday that he was going to make the change? Not if he hinted about it three weeks prior.

There's no way that Eli Manning is the source of the problem with the 2-9 Giants. He didn't put that ridiculous offensive line in front of him. That falls in GM Jerry Reese's lap. He's the one who knew last year that Ereck Flowers couldn't block and John Jerry couldn't move laterally, but he thought that if they worked out all during the off-season, they would magically get better. Or that Justin Pugh could play every single position on the line.

Eli Manning wasn't the cause of the injuries to receivers Brandon Marshall and Beckham. Manning wasn't the reason why the rushing attack simply isn't there. Manning didn't instruct the secondary to act like complete lazy jackasses and refuse to tackle people with the ball.

But on Tuesday, McAdoo chose to single out Manning as the reason why the team smells like bad fish.

Manning was the one who went out there and took every single snap, despite being so grossly undermanned. But now, he's the reason.

So now Giants fans are left with Geno Smith? Are you kidding me? That's like going out on a date with Charlize Theron and coming home with Phyllis Diller.

I'm also stunned and shocked that John Mara told sportswriters Wednesday that he was on board with the decision. Here's Mara's quote:

"I had had a conversation with Jerry (Reese) a week or two ago about – and I normally don’t speak to the coach directly about which players are playing and which players are not playing. I’ll have the conversation with Jerry. I mentioned to him a week or two ago – ‘don’t you think it’s time that we start to get a look at these other quarterbacks at some point during the games’ and he agreed. Said he had already had a conversation with Ben (McAdoo) about that. Jerry called me on Monday afternoon, I was at a family function in Virginia, to tell me that Ben was going to be speaking to Eli to let him know that he was going to continue to start the game. He’s going to start the game on Sunday, but that at some point Geno (Smith) would come into the game. Tuesday morning, Jerry called me and said that Eli had informed Ben that ‘if you’re going to play Geno in the second half, you may as well just start him. It’s not fair to him. It’s not fair to me and I think that would be the best decision going forward.’ And, he also wanted us to put out a statement announcing that. So, that’s what we did."

UGH! 

So after all that Manning has done for the Giants, the franchise throws him under the bus. Just like that. Thanks for the memories, but you're done here.

If the Giants were classy, like they once were, they would have released Manning and let him go elsewhere to play right now. You can be rest assured that Coughlin (who was first told to retire by the Giants, but in reality was fired) would take him in Jacksonville in a heartbeat.

But the Giants, the ones who let Beckham pee and let Jenkins and Apple whiff on tackles, decided to let their two-time Super Bowl MVP to twist and then handle his benching.

This is now a disgraceful franchise, top to bottom. I never would have thought that of Mara, who is a disciple of his father, Wellington, one of the most respected men in the history of the NFL.

As for the coach, he's a complete clown. The general manager has to go, because he constructed this mess. They decided to get rid of Coughlin for some reason and now the team that Coughlin oversees is in first place and the Giants are dead last.

I don't know where the Giants go from here. I was at the game in 1978 when a plane flew over Giants Stadium that said, "Fifteen years of lousy football, we've had enough."

Well, the Giants have reverted back to those days in one single year. They are a laughingstock. And it's only going to get worse Sunday in Oakland, with Geno Smith calling the signals. What a joke!

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On Thanksgiving morning, I attended the final high school football game between Madison and Millburn, ending a tradition that lasted 86 years.

I covered 13 of those Turkey Day contests for the Daily Record of Morristown. I first covered the games when the legendary Ted Monica was on the sidelines for the Dodgers and I was overjoyed to see him there with the countless other former Dodger and Miller players that were on the field at halftime. I cherish the times I spent talking football with Monica when I was just starting out in the business and he remembers many of those chats to this day.

I also experienced current coach Chris Kubik's genius over the years, winning five state championships and posting three undefeated campaigns. He's one of the finest football coaches in the state and a credit to the Madison athletic department.

I spoke with my friend, current Madison athletic director Sean Dowling about the demise of the long-standing rivalry.

"The North Jersey Super Football Conference has encouraged us to discontinue the game to give us more flexibility and create more competitive crossover games. We're also looking to pass a new playoff structure. To wait around for 2 1/2 to 3 weeks to play this game is not good. Madison and Millburn really don't have a rivalry in other sports anymore. It's time to end this and move on. It was a great rivalry, but we understand that it's time."

It makes sense, but it still stinks that a long-standing tradition that stood the test of time for 86 years is gone. It was the last Thanksgiving Day game in Morris County and now it's over.

There was something special about seeing football on Thanksgiving morning, then going home to have dinner with the family. I remember the old St. Peter's Prep-Dickinson Turkey Day games at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, memories I shared with my late father.

So Madison-Millburn ended with Madison winning 14-7.

I understand the move, but it doesn't mean that I'm applauding it. I wish there was a way to keep the tradition. That's all.

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You can read more of my work at www.hudsonreporter.com and www.theobserver.com

Protesting officials had to go; Verona's treatment of grid coach Racioppe unacceptable

High school sports and political beliefs should never be intermixed. They have to be separate. There’s no room for one with the other.

But that’s what took place recently at the Monroe-Colts Neck football game, when a few members of the Monroe team, taking the lead of their National Football League gridiron brethren, decided to take a knee during the National Anthem, forcing two officials slated to work the game to walk off in protest.

Ernie Lunardelli and his son, Anthony, decided that they didn’t want to work the game after the Monroe team protested, so they walked off soon after and decided they were not going to work the game.

Ernie Lunardelli was reached by NJ Advance Media after the incident and gave his reasons for doing what he did.

“I’m not in favor of anyone disrespecting our country, our flag, the armed forces,” Ernie Lunardelli told NJ Advance Media. “What they’re protesting has nothing to do with the national anthem and I’m against it, so I decided to protest for them kneeling and that’s what I did.”

Lunardelli continued with his words and reasons for his protest.

“Whoever is disrespecting that flag and the national anthem, that’s who I have a problem with,” Lunardelli said. “That’s my protest. I don’t care if it’s a baby, if it’s an 80-year-old man, anybody. I don’t care. Any race, color, I don’t care who it is. It’s not the way I was brought up and it pisses me off that people are doing that.”

But the sickening part took place even before the game. Apparently, the elder Lunardelli was yelling at the Monroe players before the game and had to be physically restrained from going after the players by other officials.

And get this: The elder Lunardelli apparently informed officials from the Greater Middlesex Conference that he was indeed going to walk away from officiating if such a protest took place. He gave the GMC officials warning of his protest _ and lived up to it.

And it gets better: Both Lunardellis posted comments on social media that were derogatory toward race and religion.

Well, I personally don’t care what our beloved father and son do on their own free time. They can protest the NFL actions or high school actions all they want away from the high school gridiron. But once they put on that black and white striped shirt, they have a job to do as an official. How can players and coaches actually take them seriously if they act in such an antagonizing fashion before kickoff?

There’s no room for such behavior in high school sports. Adults have to set the tone for the adolescents. Even when the teenagers are making a political statement of their own, there’s no room for the so-called adults to react to it, especially when they are there to do a job as football officials.

And then, to make matters worse, this father-and-son combo is bragging about their exploits before the incident takes place? And they’re dishing racial and religious epitaphs on social media to boot?

The NJSIAA did the right thing by informing these clowns that they have relinquished their rights to serve as football officials for the rest of their lives. Good riddance.

Mind you, I’m not fond of the NFL players disrespecting the flag and our servicemen by kneeling and sitting for the National Anthem. If you can’t stand for two minutes and 10 seconds, then you don’t deserve the right to play a little boys’ game for a whole lot of spending cash. If the NFL players want to make a statement, do so on your own time at the venue of your choice, not one where people are spending hundreds of dollars to see you play a little boys’ game.

That being said, I find it ludicrous for high school kids to be kneeling and sitting. What kind of lesson are they being taught by kneeling?

But it’s far worse for paid officials (who get paid pretty well to referee games) to walk off and not do their jobs simply because they disagree with the stance the football players were making.

Shame on the powers-that-be in the Verona Board of Education for electing to oust long-time head football coach Lou Racioppe last week.

The Verona BOE decided that Racioppe, the head coach at Verona for the last 20 years, was worthy of losing his job in the middle of a season for apparently raising his voice and barking expletives at some of his players.

How ridiculous is that? Football coaches have been yelling at kids and using profane language since the turn of the century. Amos Alonzo Stagg probably berated his players. Knute Rockne more than likely cursed once or twice.

But Verona decided to can a good man and an even better football coach like Racioppe in the middle of the season. They couldn’t wait until the season was over? They had to disgrace him and humiliate him now? 

What about all the good Racioppe did during his career, like winning four state sectional championships and producing superstar players like Anthony Fasano and Carlo Calabrese? Does all that simply get forgotten?

Apparently so, because if the Verona BOE did some revisionist history and realized that Racioppe did more good for Verona than could possibly be ever bad, then they would realize they made a colossal mistake.

If a move like this was made during the offseason, it still wouldn’t make much sense, but it would make more sense than showing the man the unceremonious door In the middle of the season.

The Verona BOE has not publicly stated the reasons for Racioppe’s dismissal, but it was rumored that some parents and members of the BOE was not happy with his behavior toward his players.

The school board conducted an investigation into Racioppe’s behavior three weeks ago and determined after interviewing players, coaches and parents that Racioppe was to be placed on administrative leave.

Then the BOE determined last week that Racioppe should be terminated immediately.

Now, if Racioppe did something criminal, like lay his hands on a player, then he deserved to be fired. But for yelling at kids and cursing?

"If this is the case for his termination, then every coach in the state of New Jersey and around the country shouldn't be able to coach," one parent said. “He did nothing immoral, it's just really a shame and a shame on the administration for doing this."

Bingo. Shame on the administration.  

Once again, a Board of Education gets angered by some harsh words from a disgruntled parent _ usually a parent whose kid is lacking in playing time _ and then runs with the accusations like they’re fact. It happens way too many times in high school sports. Frankly, I don’t know why any college kid would aspire to be a coach in New Jersey because there are far too many instances such as this.

Prayers go out to retired New Providence football coach Frank Bottone, who fell ill earlier this week. 

Bottone is one of the rare members of the 300-win club in New Jersey, but more importantly, Bottone is one of the pure gentlemen in the sport. He is always an absolute joy to run into at different events and was a pleasure to cover during my early days at the Daily Record and then later the Elizabeth Daily Journal and Star-Ledger. 

I adore Frank Bottone and I urge you to hit the knees and ask God to love him as much as the entire football community certainly does.

 

You can read more of my work at www.hudsonreporter.com and www.theobserver.com