E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer
for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of
only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

ONE OF THE SUPER BOWL BENEFITS ON TAP -- THE GIANTS WILL GO TO VISIT PRESIDENT BUSH
By DAVE KLEIN

The Giants will go to Washington, D.C., for a meeting with President George Bush on Wednesday. It is the latest (and perhaps) next to last perk associated with their Super Bowl XLII triumph, the final and most glamorous being the awarding of their emblematic rings.

That will take place sometime prior to the end of May, so that they can leave for an abbreviated vacation before showing up at training camp near the end of July.

It is also the last time President Bush will receive a Super Bowl champion. The ceremony is scheduled for 3:20 p.m. ET on the famous South Lawn, after which there will be a photo opportunity after which POTUS will make remarks, as it says in the White House briefing of his week's schedule.

In case you never watched the sadly-missed West Wing (and don't you think Martin Sheen would have made a great President?) POTUS stands for President of the United States.

It is also fairly safe to assume that this president has been informed that the Giants won the Super Bowl and that his "remarks" will be written to include that salient fact.

Well, the Giants get to go to Washington and meet the President.

Now on to more nuts-and-bolts stuff.

Through the sources of colleges, on-line sports centers and the like, it is possible to build a list of about a dozen undrafted free agents who have been signed by the Giants since the end of the Great Body Snatch last Sunday night. ... They include defensive tackles Nate Robinson of Akron, Eric Butler of Washburn and Josh Muse of Louisiana Tech; wide receiver D.J. Hall of Alabama; safety Nehemiah Warrick of Michigan State (he's the cousin of former top pick Peter Warrick); defensive ends Antonio Reynolds of Tennessee and Wallace Gilberry of Alabama; offensive linemen Glenn Bujnoch of Cincinnati (whose dad, Glenn Sr., played eight season in the NFL for Cincinnati and Tampa Bay), Dylan Thiry of Northwestern, Carnell Stewart of LSU and Andy Bain of Miami (Fla.); and punter/kicker Owen Tolson of West Point.

The Giants unveiled new T-shirts yesterday in the open locker room. ... They read: "It's a Whole New Season," and no one can dispute that. ... No one seemed to know whether tight end Jeremy Shockey planned to attend the gathering at the White House. … Five of the Giants' seven draft picks play defense, with only Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson and wide receiver Mario Manningham the exceptions. ... It is probably a first in the NFL for one team to have two quarterbacks from the University of Kentucky, but it is debatable just how long the other one, Jared Lorenzen, is going to stick.

Woodson approached most of the passing records at Kentucky, most of them owned by Lorenzen, and when he emerged as a high school superstar he turned down scholarship offers from the University of Tennessee and Penn State to remain in-state. ... His hometown is Radcliff, Ky., although he was born in Fort Lewis, Wash., and lived in Germany, Pennsylvania and Hawaii before his military father moved the family to the Fort Knox area. ... He gained 9,360 total yards passing, second to Lorenzen who holds record of 10,354. ... He is also second to the Hefty Lefty in 1,510 offensive plays and 8,870 yards of total offense (Lorenzen: 10,637 -- the mathematical discrepancy is because he records minus-490 yards rushing during his career.

This season the Giants will play only three games (with a 10-day rest period between the opener and the next one) before getting their bye. ... That means the 13 remaining games will be played without a respite the rest of the season, including two Sunday night games and a Monday nighter.... Someone asked Manningham, the third round pick via Michigan, if he felt he had to "sell himself" when he came in for his on-the-scene interview prior to the draft, to which he responded: "When I came to the interviews they [the Giants] got to know me and got to know how I learn and got to know about my past and everything, so I really don't think that I had to sell myself. I just feel like I had to just be myself."

You can't make that up.

Oh, and reports (not confirmed) suggest that Manningham recorded a score of 6 in the Wonderlic, which normally is composed of 50 questions. ... Before you begin giggling, a well-known educator with a string of degrees offered this: "It would sound, without ever talking to the young man, that he has some sort of learning disability. I know that the University of Michigan has a program for the learning disabled and that he is going to need constant reinforcement during the time he is with the Giants. He'll have a lot of free time on his hands and that might not be the best thing for him."

First round choice Kenny Phillips, who should assume starting stature at free safety by the opening of the season, follows in a long line of Miami (Fla.) safeties, including Burgess Owens, Fred Marion, Bennie Blades, Ed Reed, the late Sean Taylor and Brandon Merriweather. ... In fact, the coaching staff of the Hurricanes (puffing hot air?) said that Phillips "is a player with the body of Taylor and the knowledge and quickness of Reed." ... The Giants should be so lucky.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

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