Phil Mushnick

Phil Mushnick

Sports

Chris Christie’s two-faced Eli Manning claim a blatant charade

Real people. Not actors. Or is it the other way around?

Chris Christie, the part-time governor of New Jersey, recently did what he so effortlessly does. He spoke reckless, classless, thoughtless, undignified, bully-boy trash.

During his continuing radio gig/audition on WFAN’s “Boomer & Carton” show, he characterized Eli Manning as “The liar, Eli Manning,” prompting Manning’s subsequent denial that he knowingly passed two of his Giants helmets to a collectibles broker for sale as “game-worn,” when they were not.

Could Manning be lying? Sure. Not that he needs the money, but he could’ve easily and casually assented to allowing two of his helmets to be passed along and sold as carrying his in-game DNA.

From years of study, I know the sports memorabilia “industry” to be fraught with fraud and fraudsters. Certificates of authenticity, piled high enough, make good doorstops.

But I don’t know if Manning’s lying, and neither does Christie. As the former US attorney for NJ and now its governor, he seemed unaware his declaration of Manning as a “liar,” thus guilty, could jeopardize the adjudication of an ongoing lawsuit in a Bergen County, New Jersey, court. It also may be an actionable defamation — even if Christie’s only a part-timer in both gigs.

Christie then was heard in his monthly “Ask The Governor” show on NJ 101.5, where he altered the courage of his conviction: “I like Eli Manning. I think he’s a really good guy. I’ve met him a number of times.”

As for his “The liar, Eli Manning” claim? Christie said, “What I said was: It appeared he hadn’t told the truth.”

Really? That’s what Christie said? Gee, that and “The liar, Eli Manning” aren’t even close.

Chris ChristieAP

With the coming departure from WFAN of Mike Francesa, habitually unable to tell the truth about what he said, whom he knows, what he did and where he was, Christie, as Francesa’s replacement, seems a form-fitting natural.

As for a bonus angle to this fake memorabilia caper, the story broke in local newspapers just before the 2014 Super Bowl in the Meadowlands.

Craig Carton, co-host of “Boomer & Carton,” called it a “scandal” for which Manning and the Giants “must answer.” Carton was rough, tough. Yeah, let’s get to the bottom of this!

Later in that show, Archie Manning, Eli’s father, in town for the Super Bowl, was Carton and Boomer Esiason’s guest. Carton demonstrated the courage of his conviction by telling Archie Manning that the bogus helmet story about Eli is just a bunch of “nonsense,” then changed the subject.

Real actors. Not people.

A running battle with showboats

Since the post-Robinson Cano Yankees, YES’ Michael Kay has, gratefully, become a convert to those who prefer that big league ballplayers do the least they can by running to first base.

But not Saturday.

With two on and the Yanks down, 3-0, Starlin Castro tied it with a homer in chilly Pittsburgh. The ball landed four rows deep in left. Ch. 11 then showed Castro standing, posing, watching, jogging. Kay then explained/excused that with, “He knew it.”

Funny thing about that. The frequent flipside to “He knew it was gone” is, “He thought it was gone.”

If Castro knew it, why stand and watch? How often do we hear that this time of year the ball doesn’t carry?

While Castro was with the Cubs, manager Joe Maddon grew disenchanted with Castro because, to his team’s peril, he often stood and watched, didn’t run, thinking he knew what he did not know — otherwise known as a bad guess.

Last week, the game after the Phils’ Freddy Galvis didn’t run out an infield fly that was dropped, Ron Darling, on SNY, said Galvis had learned his lesson: “He’ll never do that again.”

But the one thing we’ve learned about “the game has changed” big league baseball is that they never learn.

Starlin Castro hits a three-run home run Saturday against the Pirates.AP

The first batter in Monday’s Padres-Braves was called safe at first on a bang-bang play. Predictably, that triggered a delay for a replay challenge, the call eventually sustained. First batter!

As reader Mark Morley suggests, why not cut to the replay rule chase: “Anytime there’s a close play at first, the first base ump just shrugs and gestures for a replay review.” Perfect! The “Leave me outta this” replay!

Reader John Wolosz asks what’s taking pro wrestling so long to add replay, “in case the shoulder came off the canvas before the ref counted three.”

No exoneration for Mike, Mad Dog

Last week a tape of the “Mike and The Mad Dog” show from the day after the 9/11 attacks was revealed as evidence that my accusation of the blatant anti-Jewish session that I heard and have written about was exaggerated if not fabricated, thus Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, at last, have been vindicated.

That 9/12 show was not the one I heard nor wrote about. If it were, WFAN would not have subjugated its recording for over 16 years.

The show I heard and have written about was several days later, and included Francesa’s and Russo’s claim that the 9/11 attacks by Islamic radical terrorists were to be blamed on US support of Israel, which they called “a failed experiment,” and Francesa’s claim that American Jews would fight for Israel but not the United States.

And if Francesa’s on-air claim that the Anti-Defamation League “cleared me” of the charges I made in print is true, why not produce that evidence?


How bad would jail be if you were sentenced to watch six-plus hours of Saturday’s Stanley Cup games, Blues-Wild then Habs-Rangers, on NBC? What intense, riveting, all-in sport — even with just a stale cheese sandwich and a cup of water in between? Book me!


So if Yoenis Cespedes again chooses to rehab a bad leg by playing golf, Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins again will say they’re good with that, it’s just “a bad optic”?


During Tuesday’s White Sox-Yanks, Suzyn Waldman: “This Speed Report is brought to you by [so-and so].” She next said there have been no stolen bases, tonight. Reader David Distefano: “Once again, nothing was sponsored by something.”


Steve Albert, 35 years here as a call-everything play-by-play/blow-by-blow man, has retired, having spent his last five years as the TV voice of the Phoenix Suns.


Mets tickets last week were pitched on SNY at “65 percent off.” Does that mean they’re priced 65 percent too high?


Whattaya say, Commissioner Manfred; wasn’t yesterday another beautiful Sunday afternoon in New York for a ballgame?