KEEPING UP WITH

After consuming enough media info on Odell Beckham Jr. to make my head explode, there is a major factor concerning the Giants’ one-man answer to the Kardashian crew that has slipped through the cracks.

So, what happens if OBJ can’t pull it back? What happens if he can’t change a lifestyle that is troubling to so many, especially those who still believe there is a “Giants way” of living your football life? Make no mistake, these are not great philosophical questions to answer.

They are more of the simple variety. Stuff we all face. Like not being able to stop consuming ice cream, cherry pie, or pizza. Harmless “vices” but still hard to shake. It won’t be easy for Beckham either. This cat, already a superstar in the age of social media (we know, he hasn’t won anything yet), is a free spirit living life the way he wants to.

Nothing wrong with that, unless you are a member of the Giants looking for a new contract, which would make you extremely rich. Then the equation changes. You hear the preaching in the Valley of the Stupid, and other media precincts, all the time. Stuff about whether the Giants would be taking “a big risk” by paying OBJ all that money. Or how someone in the Giants organization must “get to Odell” and convince him to change his ways. Or maybe how the Giants should rid themselves of a headache and trade him. Rarely do you hear how the Giants brass has enabled Beckham to do what he does.

Then there is Fox’s (First Thing First) Cris Carter who said he is “disappointed“in Beckham and warned him “You are in sports. You are not some rapper.” Was Carter really upset? Or just angry because OBJ didn’t have a Fall Guy in that hotel room?

All of these pronouncements currently result from a seven-second video of OBJ sitting on a bed in a Paris hotel room eating pizza with a young lady who looked to be in the possession of some white powder, aka cocaine. How nefarious. How dare OBJ put himself in such a spot.

Please. This all turned into another opportunity for commentators to tell Beckham how to live his life. In this case it was allowing himself to be in a room with someone pointing their phone in his face to surreptitiously record a video. The seconds of video provided hours and hours of commentary.

It was as if getting “caught” made him either a bad guy or a dope. No, what it really makes him is one of the most recognizable faces in the NFL. That’s not a bad thing, that he discussed a $100,000 payment to Deandre Ayton to get him to play for the Wildcats.

“Something else (another big story) comes along and nobody talks about it (the FBI investigation),” DiPietro said.

Here’s a novel concept DiPietro should consider: Why doesn’t he talk about it? DiPietro is the straw that stirs the drink on the show, he can set the agenda.

So, DiPietro and his crew should keep the FBI investigation on the front burner and spend a little less time talking about a video of Dave (Rothy) Rothenberg dancing naked after a Giants Super Bowl win.

THE ONE AND ONLY KEN SINGLETON

Ken Singleton is departing the Yankees TV booth after this season, but will YES still employ multiple mouths when he’s gone in 2019?

Headed into this season YES will use eight in-game voices. When Singleton splits will Fox, which owns YES, look to cut costs and go with a smaller crew? Or will Fox keep the status quo and replace Singleton with yet another voice.

One of the hardest missions covering this beat is finding anyone who had a bad word to say about Singleton. It was Mission Impossible. Singleton is a voice of reason and responsibility. No shtick, all substance.

And in all his years in broadcasting, which began in 1985 on WJZTV in Baltimore, Singleton never ticked anyone off. He leaves on his own terms, on top.

FLUFFY FEUD

While the signs are definitely there, don’t look for an intramural war of words between WFAN’s morning and afternoon shows. Morning mouth Greg Giannotti has gone on the offensive with unflattering imitations of Chris Carlin, one third of “The Afternoon Nap” crew. This is just another way to promote the afternoon show. It’s staged jive. “This is cross-promotion,” a FAN mole said. “This isn’t like (Craig) Carton ripping (Mike) Francesa. That was truly bad blood. Management would never let what’s going on now (between the morning and afternoon shows) get out of hand.” Another reason this will never turn into a real feud is because Giannotti and afternoon mouth Bart Scott are represented by the same agent, Mark Lepselter.