Giants Not Smarting From Loss to Cardinals

Shaun Powell of Newsday was obviously irritated about the New York Giants’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday:

“Following a thorough checking of the team record book, it’s official: This was the stupidest game the Giants ever played.

“From the coach to the quarterback to the punter, the Giants bungled one play after another and finally flunked themselves right out of the contest. But a 21-7 loss to a fleabag franchise went beyond the Giants’ IQ....

“For many teams, Sun Devil Stadium is the ninth home game on the schedule. The whole purpose, especially if you call yourself a contender, is to come to Arizona, whip the Cardinals and leave before sundown or sunburn, whichever comes first.”

Trivia time: Which NFL team holds the record for consecutive games lost?

Wandering aimlessly: Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune is equally annoyed as Powell over the Bears’ 33-27 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills:

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, here are your 2002 Chicago Bears in a nutshell, a team not quite sure of where it’s going, a team not quite sure of anything anymore.... Kato Kaelin’s TV career looks more promising than the Bears right now.”

Bengal bashing: Gary Shelton of the St. Petersburg Times on the 0-4 Cincinnati Bengals: “The Bengals are such a sad sack of a franchise. They are government-subsidy, CARE-package, Sally Struthers-commercial pitiful. You don’t know whether to pat them on the head or point and laugh.”

O-for-awful: The Minnesota Vikings are another NFL team loitering at 0-4 and Bob Sansevere of the St. Paul Pioneer Press takes his shot at them: “The Vikings need Randy Moss to do something stupid again. Either that or they need a whopper of a scandal. They have to come up with something to deflect from just how miserable a team they truly are.”

All in the family: Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “Welcome to the playoffs Barry Bonds. Try not to think about the fact that in 97 postseason at-bats you have one home run, six RBIs and have never won a game.

“Bonds’ father, Bobby, held onto his single-season strikeout record, 189, which was preserved when the Brewers rested Jose Hernandez on Sunday. Hernandez finished with 188.”

FYI: The St. Louis Rams’ 0-4 start is the worst since 1963, when the franchise was in L.A.. That Ram team lost its first five games and finished 5-9.

Looking back: On this day in 1916, Grover Cleveland Alexander pitched the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-0 victory over the Boston Braves--his modern-record 16th shutout of the season.

Looking back again: On this day in 1938, Cleveland’s Bob Feller struck out a then-major league-record 18 batters in a 4-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

Trivia answer: Tampa Bay, 26, 1976-77.

And finally: Dwight Perry in the Seattle Times: “We’re not saying he’s the second coming of Rhodes scholar jocks Bill Bradley and Pat Haden, but the quarterback at Olmsted Falls (Ohio) High School certainly has the ultimate name for a scholar-athlete: Mickey Mental.”