What cheerleaders?
Giants not distracted by Cow-girls
Don’t worry about the New York Football Giants being distracted tomorrow night against the Cowboys. Asked how much of a distraction the world-renowned Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders might be, Justin Tuck smiled and said: “For a married man like myself? Not really much.”
How does Tuck feel about the Giants not having cheerleaders?
“I like it,” he said. “It shows the tradition here. It shows the what an old-fashioned organization this is. . . . It’s not the norm. Cheerleaders are the norm, so the Giants went against the grain, and decided not to do it.”
Defensive end Dave Tollefson was asked whether the cheerleaders might be a distraction.
“I didn’t even know they had cheerleaders,” Tollefson said with a mischievous smile.
Tough issue to tackle
Marc Buoniconti, a tackle for The Citadel, launched himself into an East Tennessee State runner 25 years ago Tuesday and hasn’t walked or moved his arms since.
Nevertheless, he has become much more an advocate for spinal cord injury sufferers than he is for safety in the game.
“In my opinion it’s very difficult to regulate a highly volatile high contact game with split-second decisions,” Buoniconti, President of The Buoniconti Fund, the fundraising arm for the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, told the Post’s Jay Greenberg. “It’s nearly impossible.
“I would start tackling someone up by the shoulder and ended up getting them by the foot. I understand 110 percent [this past week’s NFL initiative], but I think except for extreme intentional examples, the thing is unenforceable.
“Point is, you are lining up with your shoulder and next thing you know [you are] making contact with your head. What part leads the body? The head. The head is inevitably going to make at least some contact every play or you might as well play flag football.
“You take somebody out of the game whose only interest was to make a tackle, you’re hurting the game in the long run.”
Piece of Amar’e
The jersey Amar’e Stouedmire will wear in his first game as a Knick — Wednesday in Toronto — will be available for purchase through MSG-Steiner Collectibles. The memorabilia firm just announced a partnership with MSG. . . . Actress Jenna Ushkowitz will sing the national anthem and Michael “Lets Get Ready to Rumble!” Buffer will do player intros at the Knicks’ home opener vs. Portland on Saturday. . . . Nets rookies Derrick Favors and Damion James will meet with fans and distribute Nets ticket information at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway, by the Wall Street subway entrance for the No. 4 and No. 5 lines, in Manhattan tomorrow from 3:30-4:30 p.m.
‘Under’ the hood
Steve Phelps, NASCAR’s chief marketing officer, will appear tonight on “Undercover Boss,” the first major sports league executive to be featured on the CBS show. The episode is based around the July 3rd race at Daytona. The crew filmed Phelps for nine days, and at each job, he was introduced as a race fan, who won a contest to work in NASCAR. Phelps worked on Mark Martin’s pit crew, loaded a hauler, served concessions, acted as a NASCAR Nationwide Series spotter, and pretended to be a pit row tire specialist.
By hook or book
Meadowlark Lemon arrives in New York City tomorrow to promote his new book, “Trust Your Next SHOT” (Ascend Books, available at amazon.com and in bookstores nationally). The former Harlem Globetrotter will climb to the top of the Empire State Building Tuesday afternoon to show off his famous hook shot as part of a kickoff tour and photo shoot.
He will be going to Washington sometime in the next few months to face President Obama in a special hook shot contest on the White House basketball court. Lemon still plays basketball 4-5 times a week in his late 70s and lives in Arizona. He has played in more than 16,000 basketball games in his career, has played in front of kings, popes and presidents. And he can still shoot that famous hook shot. Recently, in Phoenix, he nailed 8 of 12 from the top of the key.
Meb’s Storm
Defending ING New York City Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi heads here in a little over a week to defend his title, but his thoughts already are on the New York hoops scene. Keflezighi, whose book “Run To Overcome,” will be out Marathon week, spent four years at UCLA during now St. John’s coach Steve Lavin’s run there, and has remained close with the coach.
“Coach Lavin was great to be around when I was a Bruin, as he made sure he supported all UCLA athletes, and we are looking forward to see what he can do with St. John’s,” Keflezighi said. “I hope he can join me on the route when we hit Queens.”
Sightings
Mike Tyson (inset) and NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West, dining together at Union Restaurant & Lounge at Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas recently. A Rumble informant reports the two discussing all things Lakers-related before the former heavyweight champ stood up at his table and sang happy birthday to a female friend while engaging fans who jokingly asked about his tiger from “The Hangover.”
Rangers Michael Del Zotto, Brandon Prust, Brian Boyle and Steve Eminger at Lavo NY on Tuesday, helping Russell Simmons celebrate the launch of his new reality TV show, “Running Russell Simmons.”