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While Drew Brees(notes) and the New Orleans Saints are ready to return and make
their push for the postseason, Eli Manning(notes) and the New York Giants are again
having trouble in the second half of a season.

Brees will try to help the Saints remain perfect at home Monday night and
hand Manning and the sputtering Giants a third straight loss.

New Orleans (7-3) has not played since a 26-23 overtime win at Atlanta on
Nov. 13. The Saints are 4-0 at home, where they’ll be for the majority of their
games the rest of the way as they try to maintain a one-game NFC South lead over
the Falcons.

“Four of the next six games at home … and this is our opportunity to try
to separate ourselves and really establish our position both in our division and
in the conference,” Brees said.

New York (6-4) held a two-game NFC East lead before losses the last two
weeks to San Francisco and Philadelphia have helped surging Dallas take a
one-half game lead in the division. The Giants managed season lows of 29 yards
rushing and 278 of total offense in their lowest-scoring effort of the year, a
17-10 loss to the Eagles last Sunday night.

It’s been a common theme for the Giants, who had late-season collapses the
last two seasons to miss the playoffs. They have turned in worse second halves
than first halves in each of coach Tom Coughlin’s first seven seasons.

“It is not going to be the history, believe me,” Coughlin said. “I know that
this is something fanatically involved with all of you but each team is a new
team and each year is a new year.”

This contest centers around both quarterbacks, former Super Bowl MVPs who
figure to have strong efforts since New Orleans’ defense ranks 20th overall and
New York’s is 21st.

Brees leads the NFL with 3,326 yards passing and his 23 touchdown passes are
the league’s third-most. He’s 3-0 in his career against the Giants, with seven
touchdowns, no interceptions and a 65.5 completion percentage with his team
winning by an average of 22.0 points.

Brees is eager to play after coach Sean Payton gave the Saints eight days
off for the bye.

“We have enough of a veteran team now, and leadership and character, and
guys just knowing the right thing to do to take care of themselves and make sure
they’re prepared and ready when we come back,” Brees said.

Manning will play in the city he grew up for the second time. He completed
14 of 31 passes for 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 48-27
loss in New Orleans two seasons ago while Brees threw four touchdowns.

“I know it’s not easy playing there,” Manning said. “It’s a loud stadium and
we have to try to do our best to concentrate well. We have to try not to let the
crowd get into the game. We have to start fast and then not allow them to get
big plays.”

Manning leads the league with a 120.5 fourth-quarter passer rating and is
sixth in the NFL with 18 TD passes. He’s already been sacked 19 times – three
more than last season – as the Giants’ revamped offensive line continues to
struggle.

That unit will be without left tackle Will Beatty(notes), scheduled to have surgery
to repair a detached retina in his right eye. David Diehl(notes) could move back to
left tackle, with Kevin Boothe(notes) moving in as left guard.

The line is a major factor why the Giants own the NFL’s second-worst rushing
attack at 83.2 yards per game. Top running back Ahmad Bradshaw(notes) could return
after missing three games with a broken bone in his right foot.

“Actually, this line has gotten better in the previous games coming into
this (Philadelphia) game and we continue to do that,” Coughlin insisted. “We did
not play well the other night and hopefully we will go right back to it.”

The Saints, meanwhile, have a stable of running backs to choose from to
complement Brees and the passing game. Either rookie Mark Ingram(notes) or second-year
pro Chris Ivory will be inactive despite being healthy, with the other joining
veterans Pierre Thomas(notes) and Darren Sproles(notes) on the active roster.

“This discussion we’re having is a good one,” Payton said. “It’s something
we sought to start the year – that depth and that competition.”

New Orleans ranks eighth in the league in yards per carry at 4.6 compared to
New York’s league-worst 3.2 mark.

The Giants have an edge with a pass rush that is tied for the most sacks in
the league with 31. Their defense will be hampered, however, if middle
linebacker Michael Boley(notes) misses a second straight game with a hamstring strain.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP)—In the New York Giants hierarchy, Jonathan
Tisch is the quiet leader.

He has the title of co-owner and treasurer, but tends to let his brother,
Steve Tisch, and John Mara share the limelight on matters involving the NFL
team.

But a decade ago, in the wake of the terrorist attacks that claimed
thousands of lives and devastated lower Manhattan, Tisch responded to a request
from then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani and quietly took on another job—the one as
chairman of New York Rising.

The task force’s goal was to rebuild the Big Apple’s economy by helping
revive travel and tourism post 9/11, a major job with lower Manhattan and other
parts of the city reeling and in shock.

Gotta run!.

Giants co-owner John Mara

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Albany, N.Y., is the latest loser in the NFL’s four-month-old labour lockout.

The New York Giants became the third NFL team to cancel their out-of-town training camp when they informed officials at the University at Albany and Mayor Gerald Jennings on Friday morning that they would not be returning this year because of the uncertainty surrounding the league’s labour problems.

If the players and owners reach a new collective bargaining agreement, the Giants will train at their headquarters in East Rutherford.

“In light of current circumstances, it simply became impractical for us to hold camp away from home,” John Mara, the Giants co-owner and chief executive said. “The University at Albany and the Capital Region has been a great summer home for us for 15 years, and we have every intention of returning there in 2012.”

The Baltimore Ravens cancelled their camp at Winchester, Md., and the Jets called off their training camp at SUNY-Cortland in central New York roughly two weeks ago. Both teams also plan to have training camps at their home facilities if there is a season.

While the owners and players are negotiating, the Giants felt there was not enough time to transport equipment, weights, medical supplies and to organize the transportation of players even if an agreement was reached.

The team also said that coach Tom Coughlin and his staff also felt after missing an off-season with the players, their time will be more efficiently spent at the team’s home base.

The Giants’ 15-year stay at Albany is their longest at one training camp site in the 87-year history of the franchise. Before moving to Albany, they spent eight summers at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, N.J.

“While I was disappointed when John Mara called me this morning, I fully understand the Giants’ decision,” said University at Albany President George M. Philip.

The university does not profit financially from Giants summer camp. However, it measures the value of hosting the team by enhanced public awareness and publicity.

Jennings also understood the rationale behind the decision.

“We have had a great relationship with the Giants organization for 15 years, and my office and our city look forward to this season and to welcoming the Giants back next summer,” Jennings said.

The Giants home facility — the Timex Performance Center — is a state-of-the-art complex which opened in 2009. It has three grass fields, a turf field outdoors and a full-sized indoor field.

The only problem having camp there will be housing the players since there are no dormitories.

The NFL lockout has been in place since March 11.

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Read More: New York Jets

Ever since former New York Giants WR Plaxico Burress was released from prison earlier this week we’ve been trying to identify which teams will pursue him. The top two teams in the mix appear to be the Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams, although that can be debated.

Other teams that could show interest include the Chicago Bears and New York Jets. It’s that team, the Jets, that has folks talking in New York because Burress previously played for the Giants.

So could Burress remain in New York playing football? Anything’s possible but, according to the NY Daily News, Burress wants to get out of the city.

Several people who have spoken to him in recent months say Burress knows he needs to get away from New York, where he’s known as much for catching the game-winning touchdown pass in Super Bowl XLII as he is for shooting himself in the leg in a Manhattan nightclub nearly 10 months later.

This makes a lot of sense. Burress does, as his friend and former teammate RB Brandon Jacobs said, need a fresh start. New York is not the place to get that. 

Of course, if the Jets offer the most money…

That’s all the news for today.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress(notes) left Oneida Correctional Facility in Rome, New York on Monday morning wearing mostly black, but there was nothing but happiness in his heart.

“It’s a beautiful day,” Burress said in a brief statement to reporters. “It’s a beautiful day to be reunited with my family … As far as football is concerned, if and when everything is settled and when they get back on the field, I’ll be ready.”

Burress served almost two years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. In November of 2008, Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh when a weapon he was holding in his sweatpants discharged in a New York nightclub, and that started a downward spiral that now has him as an interesting NFL comeback story. Between the recent rehabilitation story of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick(notes) and the currently slow NFL news cycle, we can expect to hear all sorts of football options for Burress, who is reportedly heading down to Florida to begin training for his own comeback.

Of course, if you ask his agent Drew Rosenhaus, Burress is already set to go.

“We are going to be open to all 32 teams,” Rosenhaus said on Monday. “Ultimately, this will be Plax’s decision, not mine. I am here to help him pick the best spot and get the very best contract. And that is what we will do … Before the lockout started and during that very brief window, right around the time of the draft, the feedback was excellent. Plaxico is going to be a top free agent, there are going to be multiple teams interested in signing him. I expect him to get a good contract, I expect him to absolutely be playing. I think he’ll be coveted. He’ll be one of our top free agents.”

Of course, Rosenhaus isn’t allowed to talk with teams about his client until the lockout is resolved. The Giants released Burress in 2009, and former teammate Brandon Jacobs(notes) was quoted as saying that there was “no way” Burress would be asked to return to the Giants. Vick, on the other hand, recently said on Philadelphia talk radio that Burress would be an interesting fit on an Eagles team that’s already full of weapons.

“Plaxico is going to come out with a chip on his shoulder the same way I did, and he’ll go out and help this football team to whatever capacity he can,” Vick said. “I think the guys would be willing to embrace him and bring him in. If that happens? Who knows? [Are] we talking about ‘what ifs’ now? It would certainly be a good thing.”

Burress was wearing a Philadelphia Phillies hat upon his release, and that will certainly be interpreted by some as a definitive sign that he wants to play in the City of Brotherly Love. It’s also possible that the New York Jets may take a look at him as a possible replacement for Braylon Edwards(notes). The St. Louis Rams desperately need receivers for second-year quarterback Sam Bradford(notes) … you can expect that Burress will be tied to just about every NFL team over the next few weeks.

Right now, for Burress, it’s just about getting his head around freedom and acclimating to a new chapter in his life. As for football, he’ll have to wait for an opening just like everyone else.

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Related: Brandon Jacobs, Braylon Edwards, Sam Bradford, Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Rams

There is the quick update of the day.

NEW CITY, N.Y. —

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NEW CITY, N.Y. (AP) — Former football star Lawrence Taylor was sentenced Tuesday to six years on probation for an encounter with an underage prostitute.

The ex-New York Giants linebacker pleaded guilty in January to sexual misconduct and having sex with the underage prostitute.

The girl, now 17, appeared in court with well-known attorney Gloria Allred and said afterward that Taylor should have gone to jail. The girl has been identified in court and by Allred only by her initials, C.F.

The teen denied she is a prostitute and said another man forced her to go to Taylor’s hotel room in May 2010. She believes Taylor could tell that she had been beaten and that she was underage. She said Taylor took “something precious” from her and should be behind bars.

Allred said the girl had wanted to read a victim-impact statement in court. The judge, however, said victims are entitled to speak only at felony sentencings. Taylor pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.

Taylor was arrested May 6 at a Holiday Inn in Montebello, N.Y., after the girl’s uncle contacted New York City police. The ex-athlete was charged with third-degree rape because she was underage.

When he pleaded guilty to the lesser charges, Taylor admitting having intercourse with the girl, who turned out to be a Bronx runaway. He said she told him she was 19, but he added that he now knows the girl was 16 and legally incapable of consent. He said he paid her $300.

Taylor led the New York Giants to Super Bowl titles in 1987 and 1991. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team.

In 2009, he competed in ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” He had also been a spokesman for the weight-loss company NutriSystem, but he was dropped after his arrest.

Taylor also will have to abide by the conditions of a sex offender, but the judge postponed until April 12 a hearing to determine what level of sex offender will be assigned to him.

All sex offenders have to report their address annually and report any changes in 10 days.

In Level 1 and 2, offenders have to get their picture taken every three years; in Level 3, it’s every year. Level 3 offenders also have to report the name and address of their employer and advise of any change.

John Caher, spokesman for the state Criminal Justice Services Division, said that although Level 1 offenders aren’t posted on a public website, anyone who calls the division can find out if a person is a sex offender.

Allred would not say whether her client plans to sue Taylor.

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NEW CITY, N.Y. (AP) — Former football star Lawrence Taylor was sentenced Tuesday to six years on probation for an encounter with an underage prostitute.

The New York Giants ex-linebacker pleaded guilty in January to sexual misconduct and having sex with the underage prostitute.

The girl, now 17, appeared in court with well-known attorney Gloria Allred and said afterward that Taylor should have gone to jail. The girl has been identified in court and by Allred only by her initials, C.F.

The teen denied she is a prostitute and said another man forced her to go to Taylor’s hotel room in May 2010. She believes Taylor could tell that she had been beaten and that she was underage. She said Taylor took “something precious” from her and should be behind bars.

Allred said the girl had wanted to read a victim-impact statement in court. The judge, however, said victims are entitled to speak only at felony sentencings. Taylor had pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.

Taylor was arrested May 6 at a Holiday Inn in Montebello, N.Y., after the girl’s uncle contacted New York City police. The ex-athlete was charged with third-degree rape because she was underage.

When he pleaded guilty to the lesser charges, Taylor admitting having intercourse with the girl, who turned out to be a Bronx runaway. He said she told him she was 19, but he added that he now knows the girl was 16 and legally incapable of consent. He said he paid her $300.

Taylor led the New York Giants to Super Bowl titles in 1987 and 1991. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team.

In 2009, he competed in ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” He had also been a spokesman for the weight-loss company NutriSystem, but he was dropped after his arrest.

Taylor also will have to abide by the conditions of a sex offender. But the judge postponed until April 12 a hearing to determine what level of sex offender will be assigned to him.

All sex offenders have to report their address annually and report any changes in 10 days.

In Level 1 and 2, offenders have to get their picture taken every three years; in Level 3, it’s every year. Level 3 offenders also have to report the name and address of their employer and advise of any change.

John Caher, spokesman for the state Criminal Justice Services Division, said that although Level 1 offenders aren’t posted on a public website, anyone who calls the division can find out if a person is a sex offender.

There is the quick update of the day.

NEW CITY, N.Y. (AP) — An underage girl whose encounter with former football star Lawrence Taylor led to his conviction for sex crimes says he should have been sent to jail.

The girl, now 17, spoke to the media after Taylor was sentenced Tuesday to six years on probation for sexual misconduct and patronizing an underage prostitute.

The girl has been identified in court and by her attorney, Gloria Allred, only by her initials, C.F.

She denied she is a prostitute and said another man forced her to go to Taylor’s hotel room in May 2010. She believes Taylor could tell she had been beaten and that she was underage. She said Taylor took “something precious” from her and should be behind bars.

Allred would not say whether the girl plans a lawsuit against Taylor.

Thanks for reading! .

Governments that subsidized $7 billion of National Football League stadium construction will be the biggest losers if the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys and other teams lock out players March 4.

Mayors and city officials of Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, San Diego and Kansas City, Missouri, have written the NFL asking that it avoid a work stoppage that could cost the entire season and millions in revenue and wages for workers at stadiums, hotels, restaurants and other businesses that depend on games.

Governments that financed 65 percent of new stadiums in the past 20 years would receive an unexpected blow at a time when tight budgets are forcing them to dismiss teachers and firefighters and cut back other government services.

“We don’t want to lose a dime,” said Tony Young, San Diego City Council president, who said by telephone that the NFL’s Chargers generate at least $100 million of local spending. “We’re talking about janitors, parking-lot attendants and catering crews, people who are already struggling.”

The 2011 regular season could be in jeopardy if “serious negotiations” don’t begin soon, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a commentary posted on the NFLlabor.com website last week. The league may lose $1 billion in ticket sales if it takes until September to reach an agreement, according to Eric Grubman, executive vice president for business operations. Each week of lost games would cost the league about $400 million.

Opting Out

Owners in the U.S.’s most-watched television sport voted in 2008 to opt out of the labor deal with players as of next week, saying it didn’t account for costs such as those for building stadiums. Talks have ranged from dividing revenue and expanding the season to 18 games from 16, to a rookie salary cap and health-care benefits. Both sides agreed Feb. 17 to negotiations run by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Bondholders of both corporate and municipal debt tied to stadiums and other infrastructure would be protected by reserves of as much as 18 months of revenue or the proceeds of hotel and motel taxes pledged to repay bonds sold by municipalities. The rating company Standard & Poor’s said in 2008 that it didn’t expect the NFL owners’ rejection of the current contract to hurt repayment of seven stadium-related debt issues.

“If NFL games were not played, the stadium projects should have sufficient liquidity to withstand a prolonged labor action,” S&P’s Jodi E. Hecht and Craig Parmelee, both New York- based analysts, said in a bulletin.

Cowboy Stadium Bonds

As the deadline for an agreement has approached, prices of bonds that the city of Arlington, Texas, issued to help build a new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys have risen, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. On Feb. 23 the bonds traded at an average of 98.4 cents on the dollar, up from 93.8 cents on Jan. 19, driving the yield down to 5.14 percent from 5.55 percent.

Sal Galatioto, who has helped structure bond deals for teams including the New York Giants, said he doesn’t expect stadium bondholders to be hurt because of reserves and the fact that the national TV contract would keep paying the NFL during a work stoppage.

“You’re making plenty of money because you have no expenses,” said Galatioto, the president of Galatioto Sports Partners LLC in New York. “The bondholders would be fine.”

For NFL cities, the teams add value to the property-tax base and labor pool, said N. Edward Coulson, an economist with Pennsylvania State University in University Park, who has studied the value of sports franchises.

“People are willing to pay more to live in a town with an NFL team,” Coulson said.

Sought-After Franchises

The value leads government officials to offer subsidies as incentives to help owners finance stadiums. In Houston, bonds for the Houston Texans’ Reliant Stadium are backed in part by taxes on hotel and car rentals. Alcohol and tobacco taxes helped fund the Cleveland Browns’ stadium.

Subsidies in the Ohio city, which dismissed firefighters, and in New Orleans, which has struggled to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, would continue to be paid even if localities are cut off from the economic benefits expected from games, according to official documents and reports. Yet the cities would lose the economic benefits generated by the events.

In Minneapolis, the Minnesota Vikings’ regular-season games generate $6 million of spending that “support a wide variety of good jobs for workers in the hospitality, hotel and service industries,” wrote Mayor R.T. Rybak in a Feb. 3 letter to Goodell. Playoff games generate $9 million, the letter said.

Metrodome Situation

The city has no guarantee the Vikings will play in the Metrodome after the roof collapsed in December, leaving the team to host games at the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank stadium.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker said in her Feb. 8 letter to Goodell that the Houston Texans’ games in Reliant Stadium generate $250 million of economic activity in restaurants and other entertainment outlets.

“Any decline in these revenues would hurt working families and the city as a whole, further compounding the difficulties we are facing due to the ongoing economic downturn,” Parker wrote.

As businesses and governments that depend directly on games lose income, the impact on the economy in most NFL cities will be minimal as fans spend on other activities, said Andrew Zimbalist, who teaches sports economics at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.

“It may be devastating to the psyche of a community, but not the economy,” Zimbalist said. “Instead of spending money at the stadium, fans will go bowling or do something else.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Darrell Preston in Dallas at dpreston@bloomberg.net; Aaron Kuriloff in New York at akuriloff@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net.

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