Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: madbadger on Today at 10:32:48 AMIt's how he chooses to handle it. Considering his past demons I'm glad he decided to deal with it by writing a shitty song but and the end of the day he's a human being not the property of the NY Giants and it's fans. It's ok to not have to have an opinion on his off field pursuits.

Well said.

Most fans think of him as a player with a commitment to the team. I get all that. He left the field last season with an injury and nobody knows his status, except the Giants, which is more frustrating. I get that, as well.

But this story speaks loudly of his human side which has a history of substance abuse. God bless him that he fights the good fight every day to stay clean, but understand that fight takes a toll. His recent divorce takes another toll. Being an NFL player, and conducting yourself as an NFL professional requires great discipline and rigor, both physically and mentally, where emotional Well being doesn't always get tended to. It has nothing to do with money. It has nothing to do with acting out. He has a life decision to make that will affect the rest of his life and that stress, on top of all his other issues, he could very well be one thing away from saying f#@k it and start using again. If that were the case, then by all means I'd rather see him write songs and channel that stress in other productive ways.

He's a good guy who helps other people. I want him to make the right decision for him, period.

The fact the Giants are giving him the time and space to allow him to make that decision is a credit to them.

The decision will come and that will be that. 

Peace!

I watched "Atlas" on Netflix last night because I couldn't find anything else worth watching. I figured I'd give it a few minutes to decide whether-or-not to stick with it. Not a fan of J-Lo, but gave it a whirl anyway. I ended up watching the whole thing, and it was much better than expected, and I actually think J-Lo did a great job acting, despite her pending divorce from Afleck

Movie summary:

Reminded me an awful lot of a new version and different take off of "The Terminator", where AI and machines take over the world, with a splash of "Star Trek" (space travel and odd planets) thrown in. If you like thrillers, killing, savagery, and saving the world once again, you'll probably like this movie. It was one of the few movies that I didn't wish I could get the last two hours of my life back afterward. Definitely worth watching

@Jolly Blue Giant

Here is the USS New Jersey's Korean war battle history

USS New Jersey arrived in Japan on May 12, 1951 and became the flagship of the Seventh Fleet under Admiral Harold Martin, who had commanded a carrier at Leyte Gulf. The New Jersey reached the east coast of Korea on May 17. The Communist forces had just driven the outnumbered U.N. forces back across the 38th Parallel to the gates of Seoul in the biggest battle of the war. The Chinese then launched a major offensive against General Almond's X Corps near the east coast. The New Jersey promptly pitched in on May 19, shelling Kansong just above the Parallel to interdict enemy supplies.

USS New Jersey next bombarded Wonson, a major port and transportation center behind Communist lines. There, on May 21, 1951, a North Korean shore battery scored a direct hit that did no significant damage to the heavily armored Turret I, and a near miss that sprayed the ship with shrapnel, killing Seaman Robert Oesterwind. He was the only sailor ever killed in action on the New Jersey throughout the many conflicts in which she participated over her four commissionings. The New Jersey returned fire and quickly obliterated the shore battery. She bombarded Wonson multiple times over the next two years, silencing any shore batteries that fired back. The New Jersey was the only battleship that participated in the Navy's siege of Wonson, the longest naval blockade in modern history.

In late May 1951, U.N. forces counterattacked, driving the Communist forces back above the 38th Parallel. Supporting X Corps' advance, USS New Jersey bombarded the Communist supply line near the Parallel at Yangyang and Kansong, dropping bridge spans, exploding ammunition dumps, and shelling enemy troops. Her helicopters worked to rescue downed aviators. During June, while U.N. forces penetrated the Iron Triangle, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Forrest Sherman, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet Admiral Arthur Radford, and Far East Naval Commander Admiral Turner Joy boarded the New Jersey and watched her bombard Wonson. Admiral Arleigh Burke, a future CNO, also visited by highline to confer with Admiral Martin. In June and July, the New Jersey provided sustained fire support for a U.N. offensive near Kansong.

With the battlelines stabilizing and negotiations beginning, USS New Jersey still alternated between escorting carriers and bombarding the North Korean coast. After the Communists broke off talks in August 1951, the New Jersey provided naval gunfire support for the U.N. troops ashore near Kansong. Her firing broke up counterattacks, harassed the enemy at night, and supported amphibious feints while X Corps took Heartbreak Ridge and the Punchbowl. In October and November, she ranged far north up the North Korean coast, bombarding Hungnam, Hamhung, Iwon, Tanchon, Songjin, and Chongjin, almost within 16-inch range of Siberia.

USS New Jersey fired three times more 16-inch ammunition in her first tour in Korea than she had in World War II. Her 16-inch guns could range twenty miles inland, outdistancing Army artillery and demolishing targets that had survived repeated air attacks. Her 16- and 5-inch guns destroyed enemy bridges, tunnels, road and rail junctions, railroad yards, trains, bunkers, trenches, troops, mortar pits, artillery positions, shore batteries, supply dumps, ammo dumps, a dam, and an oil refinery. An aerial spotter said the New Jersey put "every shot on target – most beautiful shooting I have seen in five years." General Almond praised the New Jersey's fire for its devastating effect on enemy morale, equipment, and personnel.

https://www.battleshipnewjersey.org/the-ship/full-history/

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on Today at 10:42:56 AMThat doesn't happen to me. I am a NYT subscriber. Not sure if you are, but if you're not, that is probably why.

Connections is easily my favorite game of any of the ones we've talked about on the Front Porch. However, it can be super annoying on some days, including totally legitimate answers being called "wrong."

For me, it would be a great game if I lost and then learned the answers, my reaction would be, "I can't believe I didn't think about that."   Instead of their connections being so silly (or in some cases factually incorrect) that my reaction is usually- "really?"

Quote from: MightyGiants on Today at 07:52:52 AMBobby may be the best FA signing of Schoen's Giants career, to date.

I would say that is an accurate statement.

Quote from: MightyGiants on Today at 07:52:52 AMBobby may be the best FA signing of Schoen's Giants career, to date.

I agree, but let's hope that he can repeat his great performance in 2024, and not regress.

Quote from: MightyGiants on Today at 08:43:48 AMThey are forcing me to watch a 5 second commercial to play every day.  I may drop the game as the quality of the game is often not worth the 5 seconds of my time.

That doesn't happen to me. I am a NYT subscriber. Not sure if you are, but if you're not, that is probably why.

Connections is easily my favorite game of any of the ones we've talked about on the Front Porch. However, it can be super annoying on some days, including totally legitimate answers being called "wrong."

Quote from: Stringer Bell on Today at 09:41:40 AMIt is gettin old, for sure, but for different reasons. The reason Waller is going through a "public" divorce is because he's consciously making choices to release horrible auto-tune drama ballads and speak on podcasts about it. This could be private and easier, but his actions don't allow that to happen. He has no one to blame but himself.

I really wish the Giants would just move on from him. He's washed.

It's how he chooses to handle it. Considering his past demons I'm glad he decided to deal with it by writing a shitty song but and the end of the day he's a human being not the property of the NY Giants and it's fans. It's ok to not have to have an opinion on his off field pursuits.

Quote from: Trench on Today at 08:38:39 AMJolly - God bless your dad and all those who served and made "The Greatest Generation"....I cannot than you enough for sharing these pics. I'd love to hear any of his stories he passed along.

It would take a book to tell all his stories. He was on the battleship only during the Korean War. He lied his age when he was 16 in order to "get in the war before it was over" during WWII. His two older brothers were already in. His closest brother, Glenn, was in the 10th Mountain Division and was killed during the Battle of Po Valley in the Apennines Mountains of Italy. He was killed by mortar fire on the same day and next to the mountain where Sen. Bob Dole was wounded. Glenn's story: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136681952/glenn-lee-chrysler

My Dad's other brother, Bob, was a Sgt (2nd Platoon, Company D, 134th Infantry Regiment, of the 35th Infantry Division), and partook in the Normandy Invasion and marched all the way from France to Germany before getting shot in the leg while marching through the streets of Geldern, Germany. While the rest of his unit took cover, he stood his ground and manned a machine gun, pinning down the shooters until his unit was able to come in from behind and take them out. He refused to go for medical help and marched (limped) all the way to Berlin. He died several years ago with the bullet still in his leg. You could paper a wall with all the citations and honors he was given. He marched back across Europe (still wounded)



My Uncle Glenn and Uncle Bob


During WWII, my dad was stationed in the Pacific arena as a member of the SeaBees on the Island of New Caledonia. After Japan capitulated, my father was stationed in a port near Nagasaki for a year. He used to drive officers to the smoldering ruins of Nagasaki to tour the damage. We used to joke with our dad that the reason all his sons were bald was because of his walking around the radioactive ruins of the city. One of the things I'm proudest of for my father, was that after he was discharged, he went back to high school and graduated at 20 yrs old. A lot of my friends had fathers who quit school to join the war, but I only know of one who returned to finish his education - my dad. After high school, he went to Cornell to earn a certification in milk analysis. He then went to farms around NYS to train farmers how to test and graph various components of milk. While doing that, the Korean War broke out, and he immediately signed back up, this time as a Petty Officer/Boatswain Mate on the USS New Jersey. While the ship was being refitting in the Brooklyn shipyard, my father would travel home by train to Binghamton on weekends, and that is when he met my mother. They married in November 1950 just before he took off for the next year in Korea. Interestingly, the ship's mast and structure had to be removed for the ship to go under the Brooklyn Bridge. The parts were shipped to Virginia Beach to reattach before heading to Korea, which took a couple of weeks. Then a stop at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba for supplies, then through the Panama Canal, and off to war. The ship was so large, there were only inches of clearance on its sides as it went through the locks. So once they reached the Pacific, the sailors had to hang off the sides with ropes to repaint that sides of the ship

Anyway, there's way too many stories in my family to do it justice on this site. On my mother's side, she only had one member of the family in the war - the only male of fighting age - her cousin. My grandmother and mother (a teenager at the time) used to make homemade candy and cookies and send them to him. They wrote letters back and forth for the duration. His name was "Kenny" and he was a member of the paratroop battalion known as "Easy Company". He was killed in the Battle of the Bulge. His story can be found in https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56063971/kenneth-jay-webb

Our "Wall of Fame" at my parent's home

the picture on the right with the stars border was hand signed by Harry S. Truman


the small shadow box underneath the painting of the New Jersey contains a piece of the original deck of the New Jersey. My son (who was a combat medic in Iraq) purchased it when he and I toured the New Jersey with my dad

Quote from: madbadger on May 31, 2024, 07:52:34 PMThis is getting old. Players are allowed to have interests outside of football. The dude is going through a very public divorce. Let him cope how ever he wants to.

It is gettin old, for sure, but for different reasons. The reason Waller is going through a "public" divorce is because he's consciously making choices to release horrible auto-tune drama ballads and speak on podcasts about it. This could be private and easier, but his actions don't allow that to happen. He has no one to blame but himself.

I really wish the Giants would just move on from him. He's washed.