Saturday morning thoughts.........

Rick DiPietro is facing a potential 2 game suspension for wearing pads that weren't approved by the league. Come on DP, you're better than that. That's just stupid.

According to a lot of NFL reporters, Tiki Barber has quickly become public enemy #1 in the Giants locker room.

Henrik Lundqvist is about to get a monster contract contract from the Rangers. Let's hope he uses some of that money to buy his confidence back.

Roger Clemens is going to be on 60 minutes tomorrow. I'm not sure what to make of this. I think he did steroids but he's making a lot of noise to defend himself. When he said "I never took any illegal substances", is that an admission that he took some substances that were not yet banned? Steroids didn't get banned till 2003 and McNamee said he first injected Clemens in 1997 or 1998. Interesting.

The Mets are still in the Johan Santana running but the Twins still want Reyes. If that's the case, then the Mets really aren't in the running at all because they won't trade Reyes (at least that's what they say).

Bill Parcells is already shaking things up in Miami. If the Giants part ways with Tom Coughlin, how long do you think it will be before Coughlin goes running to Bill? Parcells would let Coughlin be his normal ornery self. The probability is that the Giants will extend Cougjhlin's contract again. Good move, he's earned.

If I can steal Mike and Mike's "Just Shut Up Award" again this week, I would give it to Isiah Thomas. He needs to just shut up and stay away from the media. At this point, I think Dolan has to be thinking that since Isiah created this mess, he's going to make him suffer through it as long as he can. But since isiah has said he won't resign, we could be here for a while.

I still consider myself a big Mets fan and usually by Christmas I start looking forward to spring training but so far, I have no interest. Maybe the Mets have forgotten about the collapse, but I haven't and it still tastes really bad.

Still no interest in any college football bowl games. I had to think about who was even playing for the national championship. Still don't know what day it is though.

I loved the outdoor hockey game and it seems like i'm not alone. The NHL should make that a New Years Day tradition. But don't go over board with it. Part of the attraction is the novelty of it and if you make it too common, it will lose its effect. Once a year is enough but you have to get more popular teams involved. Next year, Rangers vs Maple Leafs in the stadium the Toronto Argonauts play in. You get two of the biggest hotbeds involved and it will really show the fans something.

FIRE ISIAH!!!

Tiki Barber

In a time when the only sports figures discussed around here were all Yankees (and now when you mention those guys it's usually not without controversy), Tiki Barber was one guy that was worth mentioning. He was a guy you had to love. From the moment he became a Giant, his attitude was great, his dedication was great and her performed. What more can you ask for? Too bad previous Giant coaches didn't have the vision to see how Tiki can impact the team when given a chance and instead the relegated him to punt returns and being a 3rd down specialist.

Then along came Tom Coughlin. He made Tiki into a top notch running back. Of course the fumbles were an issue for a while but Coughlin even corrected that. And when he did, a star was born. For a stretch of 3 seasons, Tiki was arguably the most proficient back in the NFL. He shattered Giants records and was an MVP candidate each season.

Then something went wrong. I think this is a classic case of a guy's ego growing too big. During a contract dispute, Tiki gets into a public war of words with the team captain and face of the franchise Michael Strahan. Then he starts shooting his mouth off in the press about how the coaches lost a game (see playoff loss to Carolina) for them.

After the 2006 season, in an attempt to show his real value to the team, Tiki decides to retire. But before he does, he tells the GM and ownership that if they get rid of Coughlin, he'll reconsider. Needless to say, we know they chose Coughlin and Tiki went off to NBC to discuss recipes and window treatments.

All of these events lead me to my point. The once beloved MVP of the team, is now the town jerk. In less than 1 year, he managed to get three quarters of his former teammates to hate him and a good portion of Giants fans. Just to put this in perspective, T.O. left San Francisco with more friends and fans than Tiki has in NY right now.

This amounts to one of the worst PR moves in all of sports. The intention was to retire so the team can see how valuable he was and he would go down as a NY sports legend. Instead, he let's his big mouth and huge ego get in the way. The Giants didn't help much by making the playoffs and having a running game that is just as productive without Tiki as it was with him in the lineup.

So on the eve of the playoffs, Tiki announces he will be at the game on the Bucs sideline to support his brother but he will wear a Giants hat. As a Tike Barber jersey owner, I say don't bother faking it by wearing the hat. We all know where your allegiances lie.

FIRE ISIAH!!!