Giants & Jets both want to start in NEW stadium....WTF???

NEW YORK -- Both the New York Giants and New York Jets wanted to open next season in the new Meadowlands Stadium. Both will.
The NFL said Monday the Giants will play on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 12, and the Jets will host a Monday night game the next day.
Opponents have not been announced; the full league schedule usually is released in early April.
"After extensive discussions with both teams, we have come up with what we believe is a unique approach for celebrating the opening of the new Meadowlands Stadium," commissioner Roger Goodell said.
The issue became somewhat contentious when the Jets announced on their Web site that a coin toss conducted by the league would determine which team opens the $1.7 billion stadium. The teams split the cost on the replacement for Giants Stadium, which they both called home since 1984.
But the league never confirmed such a decision until Monday, when it said Goodell did flip a coin for which team would play Sunday.
The Giants won.
"We look forward to playing the first regular-season game ever in the new stadium," Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon said. "We have a great new home, and it's right next door to Giants Stadium, a building that housed our three Super Bowl championship teams. We look forward to building the same legacy for our new stadium, and it starts on Sept. 12."
Goodell said the teams' ownership were passionate about being the first to play at home. He concluded that the fairest resolution would be to play both teams at home on the opening weekend and to use the coin flip.
The Jets will host the first NFL game at the new stadium during the preseason in August.
Only once have the Giants and Jets opened a regular season on the same weekend at Giants Stadium. In 1991, the Jets played Tampa Bay on Sunday, Sept. 1, and the Giants hosted the 49ers on Monday night, Sept. 2.

Copyright 2010 Information used by The Associated Press

LATEST: Gilbert Arenas SPEAKS OUT!!!

WASHINGTON -- Gilbert Arenas says he deserves to be punished for bringing guns to the locker room.
The suspended Washington Wizards guard told Esquire magazine that he wasn't using "longevity thinking" when he took out four guns in what he says was an attempt to play a prank on teammate Javaris Crittenton in December.
Arenas pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge in January and will be sentenced next week. He has been suspended until the end of the season by the NBA.

“ I called Mrs. Pollin and said, 'If Abe was still with us, I would've had to talk to him, so I'm gonna give you the same respect. I want to say sorry to you. I deserve to be punished. I'll do everything it takes to get back your husband's respect.'
” -- Gilbert Arenas

In the Esquire interview, which hits newsstands next week and was obtained by The Associated Press in advance, Arenas says he has "messed up" the legacy of Wizards owner Abe Pollin, who died in November.
"I have a painting of him in my garage. I just walk by it with my head down," Arenas said. "I called Mrs. Pollin and said, 'If Abe was still with us, I would've had to talk to him, so I'm gonna give you the same respect. I want to say sorry to you. I deserve to be punished. I'll do everything it takes to get back your husband's respect."
Arenas has kept a low profile since his guilty plea. He told the AP this month that he would have "no problems" playing for the Wizards again and that he's not nervous about his sentencing date as long as the judge "goes off the actual real story" of what happened. Last week, he submitted paperwork to change his jersey from No. 0 to No. 6 next season.
Arenas told Esquire that he used to have as many as 500 firearms in his home, having bought many of them from an elderly man's World War I collection. He says he put all but four of them in storage when he started having children.
Arenas also said that he and Crittenton returned to good terms almost immediately after their confrontation, which stemmed from a card game on the team plane. Crittenton also displayed a gun during the spat and was sentenced to unsupervised probation for a misdemeanor gun charge.
"He goes into the Jacuzzi," Arenas told the magazine. "You know what? I gotta warm my knee up anyway. I go in and sit with him. We're just sitting in there talking. We didn't have no problem. It was just some fun that got out of control."
Arenas also gave his perspective on another fallen star, Tiger Woods, separating the golfer's infidelity from the sport.
"Say it's all true," Arenas said. "At the end of the day, that's not the reason I love Tiger. I got three Tiger Woods games for my Xbox just in case one gets scratched. On the cover, it doesn't have him walking next to his wife. It just has Tiger Woods, hitting shots."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

Soccer News : David Beckham has Surgery

TURKU, Finland -- David Beckham's left Achilles tendon was totally torn, and the doctor who performed the surgery said the England midfielder is expected to be out of action for about six months.

Is That All There Is?

David Beckham dreamed of playing in a fourth World Cup for England. But that dream may have vanished in the instant his Achilles tendon snapped, writes ESPNSoccernet's Harry Harris. Story
• Schaerlaeckens: Difficult choice averted?
• French: What's next for Beckham?

"He is doing well and the operation lasted just under an hour. It went very well," Dr. Sakari Orava told The Associated Press after the operation at the Mehilainen clinic in Turku, southwestern Finland. "He will have to take it very easy during the next two to three weeks or a month, and then he will continue with a recuperation program slowly. The foot won't take much strain for two to three months."
Orava also said it would be "four months to running" and another two months before playing.
Beckham's spokesman, Simon Oliveira, said the tendon was completely repaired, and he expected the 34-year-old midfielder to play again.
"David is expected to make a full recovery," Oliveira said.
The former England captain was injured in the closing minutes of AC Milan's 1-0 win over Chievo Verona on Sunday. He was on his second loan to the Italian club from Major League Soccer's Lox Angeles Galaxy.

World Cup Run In Jeopardy

David Beckham, who tore his left Achilles tendon Sunday and will likely miss the 2010 World Cup, was vying to be the first English player to participate in four World Cups.
David Beckham, World Cup Career

		England all-time rank
Tournaments	3	T-1st
Caps	13	3rd
Goals	3*	T-5th
* -- Scored one goal at each of last three World Cups

Orava said Beckham planned to spend the night at the clinic and likely will leave Finland on Tuesday. A statement from AC Milan said Beckham will remain under observation for a few days.
"Tomorrow, Professor Orava will give his prognosis, and a precise rehabilitation plan will follow," Milan said.
Using crutches, Beckham hobbled out of a private jet at Turku airport in southwestern Finland and left in a Mercedes. Just minutes later, he arrived at the clinic surrounded by security guards amid cheers from hundreds of fans who had gathered outside the entrance.
"I am upset but [want] to thank everyone for their messages of support," Beckham said in a statement posted on his personal Web site before his arrival. "I hope to make a swift and full recovery."
The injury shattered Beckham's hopes of becoming the first English player to appear in four World Cups and put his future on the national team in doubt. He will miss most of the MLS season.
"Injuries are an unfortunate part of our game and they are even more disappointing when they happen to a player who was so close to realizing his dream of representing his nation at this summer's World Cup," Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said Monday. "David remains an important player for the Galaxy and we look forward to welcoming him back to the club and assisting him in his recovery."

Achilles Tendon Injury: An Explainer

The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscle to the bone in the heel and is the most commonly torn tendon in the body. The tendon is usually torn when the leg is straight and the calf muscle contracts. It typically takes several months for athletes to fully recover.
Tearing the Achilles tendon can happen without major incident, particularly in athletes whose bodies are under the continual stress of training.
The injury is most common in tennis, soccer, basketball and running. A study published this year found that one third of NFL players who hurt their Achilles tendon never played professionally again.
People who tear their Achilles tendon have major swelling and are unable to put weight on their ankle or foot.
Certain medications increase the risk of tearing the Achilles tendon, like antibiotics or medicines to reduce inflammation like corticosteroids.
Doctors typically fix torn Achilles tendons with surgery. After the operation, patients are outfitted with a cast or brace to help the tendon heal, for about six to eight weeks.
-- The Associated Press

With only a few minutes remaining in the Chievo game and the score 0-0, Beckham was by himself in the center circle when he took a pass with his left foot, stepped back awkwardly, then stepped forward and started hopping on his right foot with an expression of pain on his face. He reached a hand down to his left heel, then stood up and gestured as if he was breaking a twig in half to show the AC Milan bench he knew the tendon was broken.
Visibly in pain and in tears, Beckham went to the touchline for medical attention.
Orava told the AP the tendon "was totally torn," not just a small rupture.
Milan's medical staff consulted with the Galaxy's medical team, and Milan organizing director Umberto Gandini spoke with Tim Leiweke, president of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Galaxy.
"It was the player's decision," Gandini told the AP on Monday. "It's the player who decides for his own health, and the player's decision was to go to Finland where there is a surgeon who specializes in these injuries."
While Beckham has not been a starter for England in recent matches, he was likely to make the World Cup squad. Beckham was still prized for his free kicks and crosses, especially when England needed second-half goals.
And for many, he is the best-known soccer player in the world, a fashion icon with a celebrity wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star has scored 17 goals for England and made 115 appearances, second in England history behind only goalkeeper Peter Shilton's 125 from 1970-90.
Beckham was England's captain from November 2000 through the 2006 World Cup.
It was yet another blow for MLS, already facing the threat of a players' strike ahead of the season opener on March 25. Beckham is the league's highest-paid player with a $32.5 million, five-year contract -- and its biggest draw.

Copyright 2010 Information used by The Associated Press