The Rangers left Henrik Lundqvist out to dry. And then he did the same to them. After giving up five goals, he had enough and pulled himself from the game. He couldn’t get out of that nightmare fast enough. Can you blame him? So much for the goaltending matchup of the century between the King and Roberto Luongo. Who knew the best netminder on the ice would be Stephen Valiquette? The final score was 6-3, but it wasn’t really that close.
This is what the Rangers look like when Lundqvist isn’t there to bail them out. The turnovers are becoming a broken record. The breakdowns and mistakes keep on coming. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Rangers are on the power play, a forward passes the puck back to the point, the defenseman mishandles said puck, the opponent saunters down the ice and scores. Last night it was Wade Redden who …

Here are the answers to yesterday’s quiz.
1. Ken O’Brien was the Jets first-round pick in 1983.
2. Chad Pennington won the Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2006.
3. Tackle Winston Hill made the Pro Bowl eight times (1964, 67-73), more than any other Jet.
4. Mark Gastineau was the Jets second-round draft pick in 1979.
5. Joe Namath was the only Jets QB to be named as a first-team All-Pro (1968).
6. Justin Miller was the only Jet to be named to the pro Bowl in 2006.
7. Freeman McNeil led the NFL in rushing in 1982, with 786 yards (they only played nine games that season)….

Here is the second in a series of superteams smackdowns (click here to see the first). It’s the battle of the ultimate underdogs. The 1968 Jets defeated the mighty NFL champion Baltimore Colts. And the 2007 Giants upset the unbeatable New England Patriots. Joe Namath made The Guarantee. David Tyree made The Catch. If these two teams matched up, who would win? Would they out-underdog each other? Would anybody even be favored?
Weeb Ewbank’s Jets finished in first place in the AFL East, with an 11-3 record. They were, of course, led by Joe Namath. He usually had a drink in one hand and a broad in the other. Somehow he found the time to throw for 3,147 yards, 15 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, though with only a 49.2% completion rate. The Jets offense racked up 419 points (in a 14 game schedule), good for 29.9 per game, ranking …

See how well you know some of the Jets greatest and not-so-greatest players. Name the player that goes along with each clue. The answers will be posted tomorrow.
1. He was the Jets first-round draft pick in 1983.
2. This Jet won the Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2006.
3. This offensive lineman made the Pro Bowl eight times – more than any other Jet.
4. This defensive lineman was the Jets second-round draft pick in 1979.
5. This player was the only Jets quarterback to be named to the All-Pro first team.
6. He was the only Jet to be named to the Pro Bowl in 2006.
7. This Jet running back led the …

Henrik Lundqvist is great in regulation. He’s great in overtime. He’s great in the shootout. And unlike Donovan McNabb, he actually knows the rules: there are no ties in hockey, only in the NFL. He made 27 saves and led the Rangers to another come-from-behind, shootout victory, beating Ottawa 2-1. Hank has now let in two goals or fewer in 12 consecutive games. Unbelievable. Last night’s victory was his league-leading 12th win of the year. His positioning is impeccable. He’s always in the right place. Remember suffering through the Mike Dunham era (who was always in the wrong place)? And the highlight-reel saves are piling up for the King also.
As for the game itself, it was kind of a nothing-special, ho-hum affair. Jarkko Ruutu spiced things up, though, by running at Rangers players, hitting them late and leaving his feet on his checks. Aaron Voros gave him a nice little crosscheck to …

The Baltimore Ravens had the #1 rushing defense in the NFL. But they hadn’t seen anything like Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, Ahmad Bradshaw and the Giants offensive line before. When Big Blue got done smashing them in the mouth and ripping them apart, the Giants walked off the field with a 30-10 rout.

The Good

On the Giants second play from scrimmage, Jacobs bounced off the vaunted Ravens defense, rambled 36 yards up the sideline and finished off the run with a stiff-arm to a defender’s neck. Game over. Right there. Baltimore gives up an average of 65.4 rushing yards per game, and had only allowed one rushing touchdown all season. But it only took one quarter for Jacobs to stomp over the Baltimore D like Gozilla destroying Tokyo, and make it into the end zone twice and take their rushing-yards-per-game average and tear it apart. He ended up with 73 yards on 11 carries, all in the first half (he had to leave the game with a minor …

Here comes Friday. And here comes the Hot Stove Player of the Week. It was a tough decision this time around, with a lot of good performances to choose from, including two Jets games in one week. They get a special award for beating the Patriots – The Everybody Hates the Patriots and Bill Belichick So Thanks For Whoopin’ Them Award. This week’s prize for the winner is Tony ‘Paulie Walnuts’ Sirico’s new cologne. The secret ingredient is ruthless, out-of-control violence. What’s next? Silvio Dante’s Wig Emporium? “We use real human hair – from people we killed ourselves.”
Winner 
Jay Feely: Yes, he’s only the kicker. But who else is going to make those field goals, Calvin Pace? The veteran kicker belted the game-winner through the uprights in OT last night against the hated Patriots and added a 22-yarder earlier in the game. Last Sunday …

Here are the answers to yesterday’s quiz.
1. Phil Simms attended Morehead State.
2. Ron Johnson was the first Giant to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season, when he gained 1,027 yards in 1970.
3. Lawrence Taylor made the Pro Bowl 10 years in a row (1981-90), which is more than any other Giant.
4. Y.A. Tittle was the only Giants QB to be named first-team All-Pro (1962 and 1963).
5. Joe Morris held the single-season Giants rushing record with 1,516 yards in 1986 until Tiki Barber broke the mark in 2004.
6. Kareem McKenzie was drafted by the Jets with their third-round pick in 2001.
7. Dave Jennings led …

Thanks, Devils. They seem to solve all the Rangers’ problems, don’t they? The Blueshirts defeated David Puddy’s favorite team (el diablo!) out at the Rock yet again, by a score of 5-2. New Jersey was sorely undermanned (John MacLean had to fill in and take a few shifts), but it still counts in the standings. It was the first time the Rangers faced the Devils franchise without Martin Brodeur in goal since they were the Kansas City Scouts back in 1976.

After (another) slow start and falling behind 1-0 in the first period, the Blueshirts just completely turned it on in the second. New Jersey aided the Rangers immensely by having one player after another take turns sitting in the penalty box (four infractions in all in the second). New York ended up with two five-on-threes in the period and scored on both of them. That would be routine for most teams, but five-on-threes haven’t been the Rangers’ best friend this season. Michal Rozsival scored the first one, slapping it …

See how well you know some of the Giants greatest and not-so-greatest players. Name the player that goes along with each clue. The answers will be posted tomorrow.
1. This quarterback went to Morehead State.
2. He was the first Giant to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season.
3. He made the Pro Bowl 10 times, more than any other Giant.
4. He was the only Giants QB to be named first-team All-Pro (he did it twice).
5. He held the Giants single-season rushing record until Tiki Barber broke it in 2004.
6. This present Giant was drafted by the Jets with their third-round pick in 2001.
7. He led the league in punting yardage …

The Rangers played two games last night in their 3-2 shootout loss to Edmonton. They skated for the first 25 minutes or so in a nice deep sleep. There was no hitting, no pressure, no puck control, no hustling, no scoring. Then the alarm clock went off, and the hitting, hard work and (some) scoring miraculously arrived. But it wasn’t enough as they came out of the game with only one point.
After starting out the season 10-2-1, the Blueshirts have gone 1-3-1 in their last five games. Do we know what kind of team this is yet? They can’t seem to play a solid 60 minutes. They don’t score enough. They can barely score at all on the power play. They don’t always outwork the opponent. They get pushed around too easily. They don’t stick up for their goalie when he gets run over. They have too many defensive breakdowns. They turn the …

Another division game, another win. The Giants took care of business again. With their 36-31 victory, they remain undefeated against the NFC East (3-0), and stay atop the conference with an 8-1 record. They made some mistakes that kept Philadelphia closer than they should have been, but the Giants just keep on winning, no matter what way they do it.
The Good 
The rushing game won this one for the Giants. No matter who was carrying the ball for the Jints, the Eagles couldn’t stop him. Brandon Jacobs ran over, through and around the Philly D. It usually took about six defenders to bring him down. He bulled his way for 126 yards on 22 carries, and made it into the end zone twice. Derrick Ward bounced off would-be tacklers for 53 yards. And Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 38 yards in the fourth quarter. Madison Hedgecock and the offensive …