Note: I must apologize to my loyal readers who think I have fallen off the map. I've been bogged down with work and have had little time to put in my two-cents to FoxSports. I am currently enrolled in a sports writing class, so this posting is my first assignment. I know it's a little outdated, but I hope you enjoy! -Belle

     While the final seconds ticked off the clock in Giants Stadium on Sunday, all you could hear was the collective exhale from the crowd. As the 14-10 victory over the Houstan Texans was set in the record books, perhaps it was the team who was most relieved the game was over.

     The New York Giants may be 6-2, but the performance against the Houston Texans (2-6) hardly earned style points or affirmations from the crowd. With a massive match-up against the 7-1 Chicago Bears next week, Giants fans were hoping to see a game that would reassure a victory over the Bears, not a game that proved any team can win on any given Sunday.

     Nobody understands that sentiment better than Chicago. The previously undefeated Bears lost at home to an underwhelming Miami Dolphins team in a game that many expected to be a Chicago blow-out. Instead it was a Chicago bust, setting up a huge match against the Giants to battle for the number one place in the National Football Conference.

     With injuries plaguing the Giants and several key athletes unable to play, the team relied on the veteran performance of the league’s leading rusher, Tiki Barber, who had 15 carries for 115 yards. The Giants took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, thanks to a 16 yard run in which Barber scampered up the left sideline to the endzone. With Barber, it’s always business as usual. Immediately after his touchdown, he returned to the bench and donned his Giants cap, no smile, no accolades, just a calm look on his face that said “I did my job, now you do yours.”

     Giants quarterback Eli Manning did his job, completing 17 of 28 passes for 179 yards. He had several needle-threading passes to tight-end Jeremy Shockey, including a 25 yard pass near the Houston goal line in the second quarter. That play should have resulted in a touchdown, but thanks to a crushing hit by Houston’s Glenn Earl, the tackle forced the ball loose from Shockey’s hand and the play was ruled incomplete.

     The Glenn Earl hit was illustrative that when a team is struggling the little dog continues to fight, and that’s what Houston did for four quarters. Earl wasn’t the only Texan to deliver bruising blows. First round draft pick Mario Williams managed a sack on Manning in the second quarter and continued his torment of the quarterback for the remainder of the game. With Houston up 10-7 over the hometown team at the start of the fourth quarter, the sleep-walking game quickly turned in to a dog fight.

     The Giants inability to stop third-down conversions helped keep the Texans within striking distance of the upset victory. Thanks to an offensive surge by the Giants that resulted in a 3 yard touchdown pass from Manning to Shockey, the Giants assumed the 14-10 lead with less than eight minutes remaining in regulation. The stagnant Giant defense was jarred awake by the nippy Houston offense, but managed to silence the little dog when Giants linebacker, Gerris Wilkinson, forced a fumble that ended the Texans final march to the endzone. 

     While the little dog may be laughing back to Texas, it was the bigger dog that won the battle and will continue to Chicago. The Giants might have overlooked the Texans, but there is no looking past the Bears.

‘Twas the morning of draft day and all through the house, one rookie was cursing ‘That terrible louse!’

For while he was settled all snug in his bed, visions of signing day danced in his head.

For Reggie, he thought, ‘I’ll go number one! On Carroll, on Heisman, on Houston I come!”

The press had declared he’d be the best choice, now Mr. Bush just needed a voice.

Someone to get him the biggest deal ever with Nike and Wheaties, this voice must be clever!

Thinking that Texas would be his next stop…now Reggie Bush must rethink his plot.

For what should take place on the eve of his day but one Mario Williams to step in his way.

The Texans choose Williams to be “Number One!” Not Reggie, not Leinart, not even Vince Young.

The press was befuddled, his agent a mess, for what should he say once he is addressed:

             “Dear Mr. Bush, we thought you’d go first, how does it feel to be slapped with this curse?

To have to go second, or wait ‘til the fifth, since Texas chose Williams over you as a pick."

Although broken hearted and a little dismayed, sweet Reggie Bush will still have his day.

For Reggie, he’ll sign an exorbitant deal; he still has that Heisman with plenty of zeal.

It’s not in the number or time that you’re called; it’s what you produce in the following fall.

No agent, no bonus, no signing day perk can ever determine your fate as a first: how will you handle the pressure of Sunday, will you make it to playoffs or vanish on cut day?

Tonight Mr. Bush can finally exhale, his fate all decided, his check in the mail.

Today he was made a very rich man, but tomorrow he’ll have to start forming a plan.

Come Sunday this fall, the test will be set; who will prevail and settle the bet?

Will Bush take the field and prove himself better? Or will Mario steal the front page header?

These questions have answers I cannot predict, but I relish the drama of signing day shtick!

Thus, I proclaim as I drop out of sight: Happy Draft Day to all and to all a good night!