Hall Monitor

DeAngelo Hall, the Giants top offseason target, has been off the grid since the scouting combine and it is rather curious that there has been no news of him through the first 24 hours of the FA/Trading Season. You gotta wonder what's up with that. We'll follow it here.

NFL FREE AGENCY

NFL Free Agency begins in two and a half hours, and it looks like the Giants could lose all 4 of their "major" free agents when the signing period begins. It's been unusually difficult to find out who the Giants are targetting this year, but, in Reese we trust and we look forward to his next moves. Go Giants!

Rangers Beat Canes

The Rangers built a 3-0 lead on goals by Dubinsky, Avery and Drury before letting things get to 3-2, then bouncing back to a 4-2 on a 3rd period goal by Shanny. Sjostrm showed some speed in his first Ranger action and Backman debut was destructive and forgettable. Hank had 26 saves, and the Rangers have now picked up points in 8 straight. Go Rangers!

Rangers Get Backman

The Rangers picked up Christian Backman for a 4th rounder and a possible conditional pick. Backman is a former Swedish teammate of Lundqvist, so there may be some synergy there. Beyond that, he's a big defender who can move the puck and pass, but doesn't use his good size to his team's advantage. He's better that Strudwick and Malik, though, so that't not bad. The deadline has now passed, but as so often happens, more deals could be announced over the next few hours.

Deadline

So far, nothing cooking for the Rangers, but there is word that Prucha, Montoya and a 2 for Boynton and Vrbata could be announced soon. Other rumors have Prucha and Malik head to Columbus or Edmonton. I hope that whatever deal they make includes Malik. Go Rangers.

Rangers Crush Panthers 5-0!

Hank got his 8th shutout, but the big story is Jaromir Jagr may be waking up. He scored a goal for the second night in a row. The other goals were scored by Avery, Malik, Straka (much needed) and Dawes. They really dominated most of the game and Hank didn't face much strife, though he did make some big saves. The Rangers don't play again until Thursday, at which point they may have a new player of two. Go Rangers!

Rangers Win!

Sean Avery put the Rangers up for good with a late 3rd period goal to make it 4-3. The defense was once again spotty, but goals by Jagr, Dawes, and Dubi kept them in it till Avery scored the winner. Two big points! Go Rangers!

Giants Willing to Give up a 1 for DeAngelo?

Word is leaking out that the Giants are willing to give up the 31st pick in the first round of this year's draft for DeAngelo Hall. Of course, the Giants should do this if Atlanta is willing. Hall would add a playmaker to the back 7 the likes of which we haven't seen since Sehorn in his prime, and would summon up memories of traditional Giant ballhawks like Tunnell, Barnes and Lockhart. Make it so, Jerry Reese!

Rangers Blow Historic Lead In Montreal

The Rangers established a level of embarrasment they've never visited before. After getting out to a 5-0 lead, early in the second, they went on to give up 5 unanswered in regulation, then lost the shootout! They leave Montreal with 1 point, but the momentum of the last two games completely lost. I would not be surprised if they make a trade for a defenseman in the next few days. C'mon, Rangers.

Rangers Re-Sign Girardi and Tyutin

Girardi got a two year extension and I have yet to find the details of Tyutin's new deal, but along with the Lundqvist deal, it's good to see the Rangers identifying and locking up their young core players. That's what winning teams do. Keep it going, Rangers.

Rangers SMOKE Sabres!

Sean Avery scored the first of his two goals just ten seconds into the game, and it went downhill for the Sabres from there. The final was 5-1 as Hank came up with 20 saves in his first action since signing his new deal. Dubi, Callahan and Shanny did the rest of the damage for the Rangers. Nice to have Shanny back, and of course great to see Callahan scoring again. They need every point they can get now, and this was a great start for the stretch run. Go Rangers.

On TCM Tonight

They're showing Ford's greatest comedy at 8pm est on TCM. Check it out if you haven't already. It's beautifully shot and features some of the greatest character actors of all time having fun around to of the greatest leads of all time. Up the Irish!

Rangers Extend Hank

The Rangers have given Henrik Lundqvist a 6 year extension worth about 6.5M per year. It's a great deal for the Rangers. Though Hank has been a little inconsistent this year, he is a franchise goalie and they will be able to win cups with him if they ever straighten out the team in front of him. This is a very good day for Ranger fans: no embarrassing games, and we have Hank hooked up. Go Rangers.

Feagles Back, Too

Jeff Feagles has told the Giants he will punt again this year. A deal should be announced shortly. Go Giants.

The Giants Extend Tynes

The Giants have signed kicker Lawrence Tynes to a 5 year 7M extension. That's not a tremendous commitment for the champs, but it sure makes it seem like they won't be drafting any kickers in April. Go Giants.

Here We Go

Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Shelley Duncan and Chris Woodward took BP down in Tampa today. Joba and Phil Hughes have been there for over a month and Ian Kennedy joined them recently. Nice to see them getting a jump on #27. Go Yanks!

Rangers win a Tough One

The Rangers just beat the Flyers 2-0 in Philly in front of Vally who has now shut them out twice in a row. The game was very phyical, but the Rangers were n0t intimidated. Dawes and Gomez scored the two goals as part of the second PP unit. This is a weird team. Sometimes they seem so flat, then other times they seem so tough. If they can get any consistency going, I think there might be a post-season run in them. Of course they have to get to the post-season first, and that's no sure thing with their up and down play. Go Rangers.

The Rangers Need to Wake Up

While they looked like they were coming out of it last week, this week they've dropped two in a row to the Southern Cal teams and looked bad in each game. They need to play harder and start scoring more. They can't make a run if they don't make the playoffs.

Spags Stays Put

Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo backed away from a chance to coach the Redskins and got a big raise from the Giants in the process. The new deal is for 3 years, at more than 2M per. It's unlikely that Spags will stay the full term, but it was still a strong move by the Giants. Jerry Reese was on with SAS today and said Tom Coughlin's new deal would probably be announced by the end of the week. Stability of this sort is good for championship teams. All of us remember what happened to the championship staff after SB 25. The Giants need another big offseason to keep improving, but keeping the key coaches in the house and happy is a great first step. Go Giants!

Champions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Way to go team! Eli and Tuck are my MVP's but all sorts of guys made plays! WOW! That's what I'm talking about!

Shock the World Part II

I really believe the Giants will pull this off today. I think the Giants can run and stop the Pats from running, and I think they're gonna get to Brady and intimidate his receivers with some brutality. Let's Go Giants!

Rest in Peace, Lovie Yancey

The co-founder and co-creator of the Fatburger has checked out. She was 96. I cannot say enough about this angel and what she gave us. And it's also cool to let your girlfriends know that this woman who ate more fatburgers than they could even begin to calculate, lived to the ripe old age of 96 when she passed of pneumonia in this unseasonably cold spell. God bless her, her survivors and her creation. Go show the angels what a burger's sposed to taste like, Lovie. Do it on the char!

Finally!

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-strike3feb03,0,3280280.story

Wait till you see what I got coming for you!

Rangers Win Again

The Rangers put together another good effort in beating the Devils on the road tonight. It was a very good win, and hopefully they can build on it. Drury seems to be breaking as he had another two goals tonight. Hank had more big stop. Keep it going, Rangers!