BLUE IN THE FACE

Eli mess sheds light on Giant dysfunction that already existed

Until further notice, the only thing left for the Giants to sell is dysfunction. This will come as a shock to the football media who traditionally portrayed the franchise as different than the rest, even when the theory was more myth than reality. During those many seasons when the Giants were on their way to not making the playoffs, writers and opinion-makers constructed a smoke-screen, reminding the Free World about the two Super Bowl wins with Eli Manning running the show. Or the glory years under Bill Parcells when Lawrence Taylor ,a player with both a nose for the football and cocaine, was playing his way into Canton.

Yes, when things went south, accentuate the past and what it did for you, the fan. And don’t ever forget how the late owner Wellington Mara “saved” the NFL by pushing his fellow owners to equally divide the national television money. And you only have to look back to last summer when those “in the know” were waving premature pom-poms predicting a Super Bowl appearance for the Giants this season. The offensive line problems were put on the media’s back burner, portrayed as a minor flaw, especially by those who supported Jerry Reese as if they were propagandists propping up a tin-horn dictator.

It took Club Brainiacs’ (aka John Mara, Ben McAdoo, Reese) soulless bungling of the apparent transition from Manning to the Giants QB of the future to make many of those on the Giants media bandwagon finally realize the organization is not all they cracked it up to be. It took many moons for the Giants to build this holier-than-thou image and about three days for the media to tear it down, at least until the usual suspects reverse field and start building it up again.

Any future PR spinning won’t undo the damage, or the word “Giants” conjuring up chaotic images. And you can’t blame this one on Odell Beckham Jr. But how will he react to all the changes when he returns next season? How will he respond to a quarterback who can’t deliver the ball on time or a new coach if McAdoo is pink-slipped? Will Mara & Co. allow a new coach to let OBJ be OBJ? How did that work out for McAdoo?

Get it. The organization walks out of the Manning mess with even a bigger mess on its hands. Unless this hyper-scrutiny of the Giants by onetime media allies is a fleeting occurrence, the only way to rekindle the organization’s “caring” reputation is to win and win big. It will be tough, probably impossible, to do that next season. And if Manning goes elsewhere and succeeds, well, it’s not hard to predict the reaction of fans who respected the way he carried himself on and off the field.

Turns out, the class Manning exuded didn’t rub off on the people he worked for. You know what, that’s OK. Owning an NFL franchise forces one to be ruthless and cutthroat. Having a mostly fawning media, as the Giants have enjoyed for years, sends a message that dirtydealing can be done with a benevolent approach. That’s baloney. Loyalty has no place in a business where doing the wrong thing is standard operating procedure.

The bottom line, not image, is all that matters, even to the sainted Giants. Just ask Eli.

POPE’S AFTERLIFE

In the final days of his reign as Sports Pope, Mike Francesa has talked about wanting to go out as No. 1 in his final ratings book.

How is he doing when he goes mouth-tomouth from 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. with ESPN-98.7’s “The Michael Kay Show?”

Not bad. In November, Francesa’s WFAN soiree pulled a 6.8 share, good for second in the marketplace in the key demographic, men 2554. Kay’s gabfest recorded a 5.8 share, which put his show third in the marketplace and still in striking distance of passing His Holiness. As Francesa’s days dwindle down to a “precious” few, speculation mounts on where he will land when he returns to shepherd his flock. After commenting on Francesa’s recent Giants rant (Did the Pope clear the rant with Parcells?), SiriusXM’s Howard Stern wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of Francesa possibly coming to SXM. Stern said he wasn’t sure Francesa could draw a crowd. “We need people who will bring subscribers,” Stern said skeptically on his Wednesday show. “(We need) People who will move the dial.”

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, right?

‘TAKE’ SUPPORT

There are a few rays of sunshine popping out of Bristol Clown Community College, where bad ratings and layoffs dominate the conversation.

In November, First Take’s viewership increased a whopping 70% over the same period last year. The show averaged 511,000 viewers from Oct. 30-Nov. 26. Why the increase?

While the two Gasbags, Stephen A. Smith and MeMax Kellerman, along with host Molly Qerim, have a lot to do with the numbers, there are certain “contributors” who come off the bench and light up the proceedings.

We are referring to Tim Tebow, Professor Paul Finebaum, Donovan McNabb, and the ultimate instigator Will (Super Sub) Cain. These cats know how to inspire REAL debate, not prefabricated drivel.

‘HOPE’ IS ETERNAL

If Giants brass needs spiritual guidance they might want to check out the Jets’ pregame show Sunday on SNY, specifically for the “Ray of Hope” segment. Yes, in the middle of the usual NFL tumult, the right Reverend Ray Lucas (okay, so he is not officially ordained) brings the prospect of a brighter future for a team, you, me, or any other pair of eyeballs watching. Making this segment even more inspiring is the background music provided by Willie Colon, not the salsa musician and social activist, but the former Jets/Steelers lineman and social activist.