Phil Simms

The two former Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks will coach against each another June 7 in the New Jersey vs. Northeast All-Star Classic at Giants Stadium. Simms will coach the New Jersey team and Theismann the Northeast. The game will be broadcast live on the Fox affiliate in New Jersey.

Read the full story here.

Count former NFL quarterbacks Joe Theismann and Phil Simms among those who feel Plaxico Burress should be punished for his crimes.

“Sooner or later, the National Football League is going to have to take a stance on athletes regarding conduct,” Theismann, who led the Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XVII, said Tuesday on a conference call promoting the New Jersey-Northeast All-Star High School Football Classic next May at Rutgers Stadium. “Somebody has to be told they’re no longer allowed to play in the game because of their conduct.

Read the full story here.

For more on Simms and Rutgers QB Mike Teel...

SIMMS SAYS TEEL HAS SHOT AT NFL

When Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel was suffering through a rough early part of the season, he spoke to both former Giants QB Phil Simms and current QB Eli Manning for encouragement.

Simms has known the former Don Bosco Prep star for many years, dating to the time when Phil’s younger son, Matt, played at Bosco.

“With Mike, what I say to him is a lot of private stuff,” Simms said Tuesday on a conference call to promote the New Jersey – Northeast All-Star Classic that will take place next May at Rutgers Stadium. The game will replace the old New York-New Jersey All-Star Classic and will feature Simms coaching the Jersey squad and former Washington Redskins QB Joe Theismann, a native of South River, N.J., coaching the Northeast.

“[Teel] is just a friend. I’ve always admired how hard he’s worked and he’s really put in time and dedicated himself tremendously while at Rutgers, so I’m proud of him just for that. He’s withstood a lot of tough stuff.

“Mike Teel’s going to have a chance to play in the NFL and I think that’s pretty exciting for a kid who just grew up around the block from me. I’ve seen the improvement over the years. He showed that he loved the game by working hard enough. He’s put in the time, so I’m glad for him.”

Teel and the Scarlet Knights (6-5, 4-2 Big East) will play their final home game of the season Thursday night on ESPN against Louisville (5-6, 1-5). If Rutgers wins, it would qualify for its fourth straight bowl appearance.

All we can say is, What kind of an idiot goes to a club with an unregistered loaded handgun and then leaves the safety off and the gun in his pants?

Plaxico Burress is lucky that shot didn’t hit someone else in the club and wound or kill them. He’s also lucky the bullet only hit his thigh and not some more valuable part of his anatomy.

As it stands, he faces a minimum of 3 1/2 years jail time for the gun charges. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is coming down on Burress, New York-Cornell Hospital for not recording the gunshot wound and the Giants for failing to report the incident. “It would be an outrage if we did not prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” Bloomberg said.

Burress may have played his last game as a Giant and is yet another black eye for the NFL, which has had to deal with the Michael Vick and Pacman Jones sagas in recent years.

Burress shouldn’t have gone to that club with the gun…or he should’ve smartened up and called NFL security to protect him if he felt endangered.

The Giants will move on without him, just as they did last year with Jeremy Shockey. Through it all, the G-men just keep winning….

RB Desmond Scott, C Mark Brazinski, OL Malcolm Bunche and TE Malcolm Bush (pictured) have all decommitted, but John Otterstedt of ScarletNation.com says Rutgers still has a strong class.

“When Rutgers nearly completed their recruiting class before many schools had picked up a third of their classes, it was pretty obvious that they wouldn’t roll into Signing Day without a few changes,” Otterstedt said. “Desmond Scott’s commitment hurt since it was a position of need [running back], but then again, his commitment was just as much of a shock since it came on a whim. The other one that came as a bit of a shock was Mark Brazinski, who appeared to be 100% RU after a large press conference to announce his decision.

“This is still a very good class that still ranks up there with the best of Schiano’s classes at Rutgers. We are still three months away from the final Signing Day push, so there are a lot of things that can happen.”

The Rutgers class is led by 6-foot-4, 217-pound QB Tom Savage of Cardinal O’Hara (Pa.), who could compete for the starting QB job next season with Jabu Lovelace, D.C. Jefferson and Dom Natale.

Tom Lemming of College Sports TV says there is a national trend toward players committing early and then decommitting.

“I don’t think it really means a whole lot because there’s a lot of guys decommitting from a lot of schools, even winners,” Lemming said.

“It just seems to be an epidemic right now, kids making hasty and not well thought out decisions and then just going back and wanting to visit other schools. It seems like it’s not really a mark against one school or another, it seems to be happening at every school.

“It’s just a sign of the times. It really doesn’t effect Rutgers that much. It’s not really a mark against Rutgers just because some of the winning teams are losing guys, too.”

SIMMS, MANNING SPOKE TO TEEL

Rutgers QB Mike Teel said during a Saturday interview on SNY that both former Giants QB Phil Simms and current Giants QB Eli Manning have called Teel this season to offer him words of encouragment.

Before last week’s 6-TD explosion in a 54-34 win at Pitt, Teel had thrown 3 TDs and 7 INTs on the year. During a loss at Navy, he lashed out and smacked teammate Glen Lee in the helmet. Teel has also been booed by fans at Rutgers Stadium.

“I’ve had a lot of support from a lot of different people, obviously my family and my coaches and my teammates,” said Teel, who last week was named the Big East and USA Today Player of the Week. “I’ve gotten phonecalls from people that I’ve grown up watching on TV and people that really have supported me throughout my career.”

Asked how important the Simms call was, Teel said: “It was extremely important. He says, ‘You know what, I’ve been there. I’ve done the same that you’ve done. I’ve struggled. I’ve gotten booed. And the bottom line is you’re going to go out and you’re going to play football for your team and you’re going to try to play the best that you can play.’ And that’s what I continue to try to do.”

Rutgers (3-5, 2-2 Big East) had a bye this weekend and will host Syracuse (2-6, 1-3) on Saturday at noon (ESPNU).

“You always like to keep playing, but bye weeks are always at a good time when they come,” Teel said.

Periodically, the former NFL tight end who helped the Giants win Super Bowl titles after the 1986 and ‘90 seasons would send out letters of inquiry attempting to get the book published.

“I got some initial interest, [but] once they found out it was a novel, they said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’” Bavaro, 45, said Tuesday at the Sports Museum of America in Lower Manhattan. “It got frustrating as far as not being able to get the manuscript in the correct shape that I wanted it to be for people to take an interest in.”

Read the full story at SNY.tv. here.

After Tuck’s event, it was time for the allocation ceremony for the new women’s pro soccer league, Women’s Professional Soccer, of which two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash is a part owner.

This photo is compliments of my friend Ted Leshinski, who handles PR for the museum and does a great job promoting events there.

“Soccer was very important in my house growing up, so it’s a big part of my life,” said Nash, whose father played professionally and whose brother still does. “I’m an extremely passionate fan of the game. I still play in the summer in New York City on a couple teams. It’s an exciting part of my life outside of basketball.”

Among the players from the gold-medal winning U.S. National Team allocated on Tuesday were Heather Mitts (pictured above), who went to the Boston Breakers; former Rutger star Carli Lloyd, who kicked the game-winning goal in the gold medal game and will play for Chicago; and New Jersey natives Christie Rampone and Heather O’Reilly, both of whom will play for New Jersey/New York Sky Blue FC at Rutgers.

“We can luckily learn from the mistakes that happened last time (with the failed Women’s United Soccer Association), but the women’s game’s growing,” Nash said. “Ten or 20 years ago there would be two or three countries with a chance to win the World Cup or the Olympics. Now you see eight or nine are vying for a gold medal or a World Cup. The game’s growing, there’s women coming from all over the world that are extremely talented and exciting that are only going to make this league more and more viable.”

As for the hardwood, Nash had a few thoughts on Shaquille O’Neal, Baron Davis and Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni.

ON SHAQ RETIRING IN TWO YEARS:

“I’m excited. He’s still got a lot to give. If we can get him in great shape and feeling good about himself, he can still be a huge factor.”

ON BARON DAVIS TO THE CLIPPERS

“I think Baron going to the Clippers is going to be great for that franchise. There’s always moves every summer, and sometimes an unheralded move can turn out to be the big one.”

ON MIKE D’ANTONI COACHING THE KNICKS

“He’s a great coach, very bright. I think as he did in Phoenix, he can turn it around here, so it should be exciting for Knicks fans.”