Newark, N.J. – Start spreadin’ the notes. …
Broadway Joe, meet Upper East Side Eli.
Or not.
Eli Manning, according to no less an authority than his dad, can’t get enough of New York. But the junior partner in Quarterbacks “R” Us isn’t about to fall victim to the bright lights and night life of the city.
“He lives in Hoboken,” Archie Manning said. “He’s a happy youngster. He loves the city, he loves the fans and he loves his teammates. But he didn’t think that (living in the city) would send the right message. That’s just his personality. He doesn’t say a lot, doesn’t have a big ego and doesn’t read the newspapers. He knows, if he’s going to be successful, he’s got to keep his nose to the grindstone.” …
Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Jose Contreras, Orlando Hernandez. … Talk about what goes around comes around. The Yankees have become a farm club for baseball’s best teams. …
Stuff happens when your best pitchers leave town. Stuff like this: The Yankees, 22nd in the bigs with a 4.52 ERA. …
Mrs. Doubtfire, meet Mrs. October: Vladimir Guerrero, hitting a buck-80 (9-for-50) in his postseason career. … Awe-inspiring maybe, but not automatic. Or maybe you didn’t know that Roy Oswalt is 4-7 after Astros losses. …
By the way, did you see former President George Bush’s reaction when Albert Pujols took Brad Lidge deep last week? I haven’t seen that look on his face since Bill Clinton told him, “Hit the road, pal, this is Monica’s office now.” …
Welcome to Indianapolis, the pro football capital of the world. You know the Colts are livin’ large when one of their linebackers, Cato June, leads the league with five interceptions. …
PinnacleSports.com last week installed the Colts as 10-1 shots to run the table, whereupon the public immediately bet it down to 7-1. The Texans, meanwhile, are 12-1 to lose out. …
This just in. Las Vegas oddsmakers have installed the Vikings as even-money favorites to win the Lingerie Bowl. …
Talk about insult to injury. Suspended Vikings running back Onterrio “Whizzenator” Smith has been charged with sexual assault and linebacker Napoleon Harris, acquired from the Raiders in the Randy Moss trade, has been benched. …
Not that all is lost in Minnesota. I’m thinking the Vikings can win today if they can just strip the ball from the Packers a few times. …
Wisconsin 14th in the first BCS rankings, two notches ahead of Notre Dame? Whoever programmed that computer is a few zillion gigabytes short of a load. …
It isn’t just Carson Palmer. The Bengals have allowed 84 points in six games, 55 fewer than last season. …
The crowd will be into it today at the Meadowlands. Question is, which team will they be booing? The Giants, having lost two out of three, are going to hear about it if they get off to a slow start. Said Ebenezer Ekuban, a frequent visitor to New York during his days in Dallas, “The fans will turn quick on them.” …
Memo to Mike Shanahan: The Broncos press corps asked me to pass along a heartfelt thanks for giving us Ekuban. All you have to say is, “Um, Eb,” and he fills up your tape recorder for 20 minutes. …
Ekuban on Al Wilson: “He’s a defensive lineman in a linebacker’s body. Just don’t look at that three-point stance. That’s not the best-looking three-point stance in the world.” …
Sure, NBA players make more jack than I do. Then again, I’m writing this in sweatpants and a T-shirt. And if I had any bling, I could wear it so everyone would notice. …
Early leader in the clubhouse for NFL individual stat-o-the-year: Julius Peppers, no sacks. …
Maybe there’s hope yet for the Huskers. Bill Callahan is 10-8 in his first year and a half on the job. Pete Carroll, meanwhile, was 10-8 in his first 18 games at USC. Now for the fine print: Carroll is 39-1 since then.
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN 560 AM. He can be reached at 303-820-5452 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
