Injured woman demands 'justice' for Brandon Marshall

A 24-year-old woman showed off a black eye she claims was the result of a punch from NFL star— and new Chicago Bears acquisition— Brandon Marshall outside a Manhattan nightclub during an early Sunday morning melee.

The Harlem resident, Christin Myles, told the New York Daily News— in an exclusive report— that  Marshall— known as "The Beast"— ruined her birthday party by cold-cocking her with a closed fist and she wants to see justice for her pain and suffering.

"My eye still hurts," the California-raised woman told the paper.  "I still have problems with my vision."

Myles contends that the punch was unprovoked and left her eye bloody and swollen.

"I want him criminally accountable for what he did to me," said the San Diego State graduate.

Marshall— who was just traded from the Miami Dolphins to the Chicago Bears—said he was trying to escape the Marquee nightclub with his wife after she was hit with a thrown bottle.  He denies any wrongdoing.

Myles filed a different version of the incident with police the next day.  She claims Marshall left the popular club swinging at anyone within his reach and said she never met Marshall before the free-for-all.  Myles also said none of her friends at the club were involved in the brawl.  She also visited an eye doctor.

Myles' lawyer Sanford Rubenstein brushed away any talk that his client— a laid-off executive assistant— was preparing for a civil suit against the NFL player.  Marshall stands to earn $28.1 million over the next three years with the Bears.

"Right now, her intent is on getting justice," said Rubenstein.

Marshall's attorney, Harvey Steinberg, claims the 6-feet-4, 230-pound receiver nor any of his friends were involved in the fight that spilled outside the club.

"While attempting to leave to avoid the melee, Mrs. Marshall was struck in the face by a thrown bottle," said Steinberg.  " She suffered serious injury."

He said Marshall took his wife, Michi Nogami-Marshall, to a local hospital for treatment.

Marshall, the three-time Pro-Bowler, has posted five straight 1,000 yard seasons on the field but might be more well known for his off-the-field escapades.

He has been arrested many times for charges including disorderly conduct, battery, drunk driving and several incidents of domestic violence.

Last April, Marshall was stabbed in the stomach by Nogami-Marshall during a domestic spat that put him in the hospital for two days.  His wife was charged with aggravated assault.

Jets Players' Calls For Peyton To Replace Sanchez Getting Louder

The end of a disappointing season for the New York Jets has led players to point their fingers at one player for the epic fail— Mark Sanchez— and started  a rallying call inviting the services of a veteran quarterback to take the reins— namely Peyton Manning.

The consensus among unnamed players, according to a story in the New York Daily News, has been that if  Manning gets a clean bill of health, he would be the ideal solution to the inept Sanchez.

Those calls are getting real loud.

Key members of the Jets organization said Sanchez is a "polarizing" figure in the clubhouse and there are serious doubts he can lead the team to the Super Bowl.

The consensus among players, according to the Daily News, is that— at the least— the team must sign a legitimate veteran backup to push their young quarterback.


"We have to bring in another quarterback that will make him work at practice," said one unnamed player.  "He's lazy and content because he knows he's not going to be benched."

Sanchez has been inconsistent for three seasons and his deficiencies came to a head during the 19-17 loss against the Miami Dolphins. In the final game of the 2011 season, Sanchez's lackluster play helped put the kibosh on any playoff chances and was the final sour note on a season where head coach Rex Ryan was singing the Jets praises.

The inconsistent play of Sanchez over the final three games started his teammates dreaming about another Manning in MetLife Stadium.

The Indianapolis Colts are expected to take Stanford QB Andrew Luck with the first pick of the draft and there is speculation that the team will let Manning go.

The future Hall-of-Famer is still recovering from a pre-season surgery to his neck, is 35 years old and still waiting to be medically cleared before he can even suit up again.  That's a lot of ifs.

Whether it's in blue and white or green and white is any one's guess.

Asked if the Jets should make a move for the veteran Indianapolis Colts QB if he becomes available, several players told the Daily News they would welcome him with open arms.

"Come on.  That's a no-brainer," a Jets source said.  "If you have a chance to get a 36-year old Peyton Manning and you don't do it, then you're stupid.  If you get a healthy 36-year old Peyton Manning, then, hell yeah, I would trade Sanchez."

The chances Manning would make the switch from the Colts to the Jets are pretty good.

For one thing, at the core, the Jets are a good team and— if they keep Santonio Holmes— have plenty of targets for Manning to throw to.

Secondly, Ryan adores Manning and with all the problems with play calling from the sidelines, Ryan would relish having a real leader on the field to lead the team.

The trifecta payoff is the presence of Jets consultant Tom Moore who was Manning's offensive coordinator and mentor for over ten years in Indy.

"We already have his coach— Tom Moore," one well-respected player told the News.  "Plus, he's a field general and will get everyone lined up.  He will get his playmakers the ball.  We can win a Super Bowl with Peyton."

Manning already has a Lombardi trophy and the Jets are wondering if they can do it with Sanchez?


"How can we when he's not improving at all?" a Jets player said.  "He thinks he is, but he's not.  He has shown us what he's capable of."

Sanchez is only 25-years old and has two years left on his contract.

Some Jets players still think he needs another shot— god knows he's taken enough both on the field and off.

"When you get hit the way he got hit," another team source said, "there were some quarterbacks that wouldn't have made it through the season."

But others think their QB is being coddled by the organization.

"They see the organization babying him," said the source.  "They see him with a sense of entitlement.  He's been given all this and hasn't done anything.  They call him 'San-chise.'  They make him the face of the organization.  They gave him the captain tag.  He's not a captain.  He should have never been a captain."

Sanchez denies he is a victim being held accountable for failure after going to two AFC Championships and losing both.

"We hold ourselves to a high standard," he said.  "I don't want to feel like I'm a victim or anything like that.  We expect to win... I don't feel like we set the bar too high.  There is no way.  I don't feel like that."

"You go to back-to-back AFC Championship Games, and everyone thinks , 'OK, we'll get a little bit better and you are winning the Super Bowl," he told ESPN Radio.  "I don't want to make excuses at all.  That's not my style.  But we've been a victim of our success."

It all boils down to a lot of circumstances fro the Jets to land Manning.

Do the Colts draft Luck, does Manning heal, retire or does he even want to come to New York?

"I don't think he'll come here," a Jets source told the News.  "We have to change the perception of the Jets organization.  We're not the organization that players said they wanted to play for a year or two ago.  We're starting to come across a little flaky. We talk the talk.  We don't back it up. We're out of control.  There's no discipline.  It's a mess right now."

The NFL's biggest off-season story will be the Peyton Manning saga.

Just imagine though, Peyton and his little brother Eli sharing the biggest bedroom in the world— MetLife Stadium.

Who gets the top bunk?

Rex Ryan Gets Teary-Eyed During Team Meeting

Rex Ryan joined thousands of New York Jets fans who cried in their beers Sunday after the team's season came to a monumental halt.

The day after the Jets were officially eliminated from the playoffs, the once-boastful coach humbly stood in front of his team and tearfully told them: "We must become one again."

According to the New York Post, the Jets head  coach stood in front of his players at a meeting and "pleaded" for a return of team unity and got so emotional his eyes welled with tears.

"I'm Irish," he said after the meeting. "It's hurtful.  I'm extremely prideful.  I want to be the best.  I want to win.  Sometimes it comes out like that."

Ryan had lots of reasons to let the waterworks fly.

All the high hopes the bold Ryan tried to sell his players and fans before and during the season— after making the AFC Championship game two years running— fluttered away like a Mark Sanchez pass.

The "player's head coach" lost control of his team and it came to a head when Santonio Holmes— a team captain—quit on the team during the crucial last game and sulked on the bench during the final minutes of the 19-17 loss to division rivals the Miami Dolphins.

The image of Holmes moping on the bench sums up the Jets whole season.

Ryan seemed to realize his braggadocio did little to keep the team together in the end.

"Normally, I'm a guy that really has the pulse of the team," said the now-humbled Ryan.  "I don't think I had the pulse of our team the way I [have] in the past.  When I met with players [yesterday] that became clear to me.

Has losing the final three games of a season with high expectations finally quieted the dysfunctional Jets?

Not if you believe the Post.  According to the newspaper, Bart Scott gave their photographer the finger before storming out of the meeting uttering a stream of obscenities.

Surprisingly, the maligned Holmes showed his face and sprinted from the room too.

While Ryan has turned his boasting into contrition, it does little to explain the free fall of a group of players he called "the most talented team he has had."

The players themselves blamed team chemistry.

"We need to pull together as a team," said Matt Slauson.  "There were a lot of guys just playing for themselves, because we haven't been a team all year."

Ryan said that will all change.

"In my talk to the team what I said was from the heart, and we will have that team, because that's how you win in this league," he said.  "Every team has got talent.  That's what separates  from winning and losing is a team that truly believes in each other and cares about each other.  We're going to have 53 people that believe that way."

The head coach might not be the only one in the Jets locker room to shed any tears this week.

Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's job is on the line and the outlook for a few players returning doesn't look good either.

"Tebowing" Makes Time Magazine's 2011 Top 10 List

Tim Tebow just got a spot on Time magazine's "The Top 10 Everything of 2011" list.  The weekly publication picked the quarterback's signature "Tebowing" pose as No. 5 on its 2011 list of "Top Ten Memes."

Memes—for the Luddites—is a name used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet and is commonly used in viral marketing as a cheap form of mass-advertising.

Tebow's pose was surpassed by the No. 1 meme—"We Are the 99 Percent" protesters and other memorable memes like Planking, Princess Beatrice's Fascinator (don't ask) and "Winning" by Charlie Sheen.

The Denver Broncos quarterback did top other popular memes like Hipster Ariel, Ted Williams' (not the baseball icon) Golden Voice and Bronies (again, don't ask).

Tebow first introduced the often parodied move after an upset win over the Miami Dolphins in October when he dropped to one knee in a zen-like state and the act went viral.

The practice has been copied by many Tebowers and attained its impressive meme status through the Internet and on the football field.

"Typically it's wide receivers who are known to make a statement when their team makes an impressive play," wrote Time.  "That was until Tim Tebow.  The Denver Bronco's habit of dropping to one knee and bowing his head in prayer after a particularly successful play made him not only the most visibly faithful member of the NFL, but an Internet celebrity."

Time even described that "Tebow's prayerful pose, reminiscent of Rodin's Thinker sculpture" has inspired a website devoted to the move and has turned it into a global phenomenon.

People have been photographed Tebowing underwater and at the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

For now, people will just have to get used to Tebowing becoming a part of our popular culture as long as the Broncos keep winning.

Skier Lindsey Vonn dropped to her knee after her first U.S. victory this week and members of the Colorado Avalanche have also been spotted Tebowing on ice.

Tebow, himself, is endorsing the fad as long as it remains focused on the prayer aspect.

"At least it's being talked about, and that's a cool thing," Tebow told reporters.  "If I can help be an example of that, then I look at it like a blessing."

Giants Bradshaw Could Need Foot Surgery

The New York Giants already know they will head into Sunday's game against the New England Patriots without Ahmad Bradshaw—one of their most dangerous offensive weapons.  Now, the Giants are also in danger of losing their most valuable running back for the remainder of the season.

Bradshaw injured his foot last Sunday against the Miami Dolphins and, according to the the New York Daily News, is mulling season-ending surgery.

The Giants haven't provided full details about Bradshaw's injury but said the 5th-year veteran—who has had foot and ankle problems before— is thinking about having corrective surgery.

Both Bradshaw and Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks missed practice today.  Nicks is nursing a hamstring injury and looks doubtful for this Sunday's game.

At first glance, the Giants will use backup Brandon Jacobs as their primary running back.  Jacobs has  been ineffective so far this season and has grumbled about his lack of playing time over the past few weeks.  Last week, against the Dolphins, the 260-pound Jacobs totaled 10 yards on four carries.

Beyond that, the Giants can got to D.J. Ware (45 yards on 14 carries this season) and rookie Da'Rel Scott— who hasn't had a carry since the preseason ended but, in the last exhibition game against the same Patriots team, ran for 114 yards and a TD while returning a punt for another TD.  Expect to see a lot of Ware on passing downs.

The Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said Bradshaw was still "sore and swollen" on Wednesday.

The Newark Star-Ledger reported that unnamed sources said Bradshaw has a fractured foot but are unsure if he just aggravated an old injury.  The running back already had a screw inserted into the foot for an old fracture and tests on Thursday will determine whether or not there is a new break.

Bradshaw, meanwhile, told the source that he might be sidelined for only two weeks, however doubtful that looks.

Bradshaw's loss is huge blow to the Giants rushing offense.  He accounts for 60% of the carries—on a team that only has 440 total yards on the ground this season—and the team faces a brutal nine game schedule to close out the regular season.

Jacobs just returned from a knee injury himself after missing two games.  He has run 42 times for 126 yards this season and looks like a shell of the bruising back he once was.

The free-agent-to-be Jacobs had been yapping about his lack of playing time until this week when he vowed to turn his season around.

 Let's see if he can back it up.

Brandon Jacobs Wants Out in 2012

Brandon Jacobs is tired of playing tag-team with Ahmad Bradshaw in the New York Giants backfield and—in an interview with "Men's Fitness" magazine—said he feels disrespected by the team and doesn't expect to be back with the Giants next year.

The disgruntled running back has seen his role with the Giants diminish over the past few seasons and has previously expressed displeasure with how he is used by the team but, this time, Jacobs spills his guts.

"I can't wait to get a true opportunity to get out there and show myself again, you know?  Next year, hopefully," he said in the interview.  "This is a business and you have to look at it that way.  I just want to get out there and show myself.  It's going to have to be for another team, but it is what it is."

When asked outright if he sees himself with the Giants next year, he said, "No, I don't."

Jacobs is recovering from from a knee sprain which has kept him out of the last two games but is expected to play on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.

Jacobs has no one to blame but himself for his sporadic use.  Injuries and inconsistency have become his trademarks and, at times, looks more like Ron Dayne falling down on third-and-short than the bruising back he once was.

"I'm just here; doing the best I can do to help my team," he said.  "I come out to win; it's up to them whether or not they want me."

Maybe the team has soured on Jacobs already.  It's possible the Giants don't want him back next year anyway.

Jacobs restructured contract—made prior to this season—results in $500,000 roster bonus in March.  This means the team will have to make a decision on Jacobs future with the Giants quickly after the season ends, instead of later during the summer.

The big back may find himself with a new team sooner than he thinks and Jacobs could still be playing in MetLife Stadium.  I hear the Jets are looking for someone.

Giants Will Face Dolphins At Full Strength

Tom Coughlin says he has a problem and a good problem it is.  When the New York Giants head coach surveyed his practice field yesterday, Coughlin saw something he hasn't seen all season—a full roster of football players.

"I hope we have enough uniforms for these guys," he joked.

For the first time since last season, the Giants had every starter participating in practice in some way or another.

Big Blue is no longer black and blue.

The equipment manager may be the only person on the IR by Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins.  He'll be exhausted gathering up all 53 uniforms after every practice.

The Giants bye last week couldn't have come at a better time.  It gave key players extra time to heal and now they face the winless Dolphins healthier than they have been in a long time.

Six players: DE Osi Umenyiora, DE Justin Tuck, RB Brandon Jacobs, LB Michael Boley, FB Chris Hynoski and CB Prince Amukamara were on the injury report and all were listed as practicing on a limited basis.

G Chris Snee practiced fully after missing a game due to a concussion, while S Kenny Phillips and LS Zak DeOzzie weren't on the injury report.

The only player not expected to play is Hynoski, who will miss a second game because of a neck burner and everyone else is expected to suit up this Sunday.

The defense will be welcoming a couple of key additions. All-Pro Tuck (neck/groin) will be back on the field for the first time in over a month and Amukamara will be making his NFL debut after breaking his foot during the second day of training camp.  The top draft pick is looking forward to playing as a pro.

"I haven't lined up across someone in a couple of months," Amukamara said.  "[I] have to get re-acclimated to that speed."

After playing hapless Miami, the G-Men face a brutal line-up of teams with a combined record of 31-14.  They will need all the healthy bodies they can field.

On paper, the visiting Dolphins look like tuna salad on a menu for the Giants (4-2).  New York may have a full roster of players, but Coughlin is still wary of the winless Miami team.

"Respect all, fear none is the approach we've taken," he said.

Looks like the uniform shortage isn't such a problem anymore.

Mark Sanchez Was Ready To Lay Down His Own Brand Of Hard Knocks On Rex Ryan

New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez admits there was a time last season when he wanted to lay down his own version of Hard Knocks on his coach Rex Ryan-- with his fists.

Last year, after Jets head coach Rex Ryan came close to benching Mark Sanchez, the quarterback said the incident nearly caused him to come to blows with the outspoken Jets coach.

According to the New York Post, Sanchez-- he of movie-star looks and lifestyle-- told GQ magazine, in the new issue featuring the NFL, he wanted to throw down a beating on his mentor and coach.

"I wanted to fight him.  I was really mad," opened up Sanchez in the revealing article.

According to Sanchez, he had not been playing well during consecutive losses to division rivals, the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins, causing the never-shy Ryan to openly speculate about sitting down his signal-caller and replace him with back-up quarterback Mark Brunell.

Brunell was instructed by Ryan to start practicing more with the other starters.

Sanchez said he took this as a subtle message that the head coach was considering benching him and it made the Gang Green QB see red.

The scorned Sanchez put down his dukes after offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, intervened.

The article reports that Schottenheimer-- as the messenger-- reminded Sanchez of Ryan's order for Brunell to handle more of the first-team practices which made Sanchez want to call out Ryan.

"I was like [Ryan] can come tell me [himself],' recalled Sanchez.

Schottenheimer threw water on the fired up QB.

The coordinator consoled the unhappy Sanchez.  "And [Schottenheimer] is like, ' Come on, man, don't do that,'" he revealed to GQ.

Ryan and Sanchez have always had a father-son relationship-- albeit one that could blow at any time.  It's pretty easy with a no-nonsense-speaker like Ryan, even with the soft-spoken Sanchez, but the head coach has stood by his QB through all of Sanchez's growing pains in the NFL.

"Rex is super honest," said Sanchez.  "I wish he wasn't that honest at times."

In the article, Sanchez delves into his personal life as a rich single man in New York City and the boundaries he has learned to set for himself outside of the game.  He acknowledges that the rock star life style has its limits.

"You have to be a 24-year-old bachelor with the means to do anything, just about, but with the wherewithal and understanding and life skills of a 45 year-old Supreme Court judge," he said.

Even a 45 year-old Supreme Court judge has probably felt like giving the loud-mouth Jets head coach a pop on the snout at one time or another.