Sports this 'n' that

It's another lost football season for the fans in New York City. The Giants (3-9) and Jets (2-10) will be sitting home when the playoffs start next month, but there will be some organizational changes to be sure.

Giants: It will be a miracle if the Giants actually retain Tom Coughlin for a 12th season as coach. QB Eli Manning's skills have become schizophrenic. One week he's up, the next, he's picking himself off the turf after being sacked or dropped a few times by the opposing defense. You can make a case, though, that he has regressed, as witnessed by the two dozen interceptions last year, but injuries to key players (i.e. Time Warner Cable pitchman Victor Cruz) haven't helped. At least Eli didn't sign on for any more Toyota ads. Instead, he's part of the NFL group doing those "No More" spots for Mariska Hargitay's Joyful Heart Foundation.

Big Blue should've seen this coming after the defections of defensive stars Osi Umenyiora (Atlanta) and Justin Tuck (Oakland) the last couple of years. If there's going to be a fall guy if Coughlin stays, it's likely defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and/or offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. Why the Giants let Kevin Gilbride walk (to NBC Sports Network) after last year remains a mystery, and one of the most dimwitted decisions in team history.

Jets: Rex Ryan knows he's done after six years, and if we're lucky, he can take professional saboteur John "Idiot" Idzik with him. Idzik deliberately botched the last two drafts, with an eye toward getting rid of Ryan and bringing his own coach in, reportedly Seattle assistant Dan Quinn. Problem is, Idzik, who is about as telegenic as a tree stump (Peyton Manning is a few steps higher, but not too high), has to go, because the 2-10 record is his fault more than Ryan's. The Jests will play out the string vs. Minnesota, New England, and a rematch vs. Miami, among other things. Not an easy one in the bunch.

Does Geno Smith have to take the fall, too? Some say he began to regress before he graduated from West Virginia, and Idiozik had no patience to let Smith carry a clipboard for a season while Mark Sanchez (now in Philadelphia) recovered from an injury in 2013. Matt Simms (Phil's kid) has the bloodlines, but not the trust of Idiozik or Ryan, and should've gotten more playing time last year than he finally got.

Here's where it gets wacky. The tabloid press is claiming either the Jests or the Giants should make a play for San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh, since it seems he's almost surely a goner after this season. There's better money on Harbaugh going back to the college ranks, like, for example, his alma mater, Michigan. If I'm Woody Johnson, the Jests' owner, I'd offer Smith, 2 draft picks, and a case of baby shampoo to the Niners for Harbaugh. If I'm John Mara, I'd offer Eli Manning, Perry Fewell, two draft picks, and a partridge in a pear tree. Seriously, though, Harbaugh's not going east, if he's going anywhere at all. Former defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo would be happy to return to the Meadowlands to take over the Giants OR the Jests, for example.

For those of you who think Florida State's Jameis Winston will declare for the draft after this season, you----and he----are fools. He's not mature enough to play the pro game just yet, and his Houdini act every week is getting tiresome. Of course, we could recommend a therapy course for Winston, but then, one of those relentless Law & Order: Special Victims Unit marathons might be helpful, too......

Can someone do us all a favor and take Stephen A. Smith, the poor man's Howard Cosell, and Mike Francesa, who's doing Bullwinkle's "Mr. Know-It-All" schtick worse than B. J. Moose used to back in the day (listen to his radio show, and you'll know what I mean), and chain them to a dead cactus? Those two might be the cause of most people's migraine headaches, for all we know.

While we're at it, can someone finally find it in themselves to call out Scott "20 Mule Team" Boras for what he really is? He's not a sports agent. He's a con artist. Owners are tiring of his act, but it goes on, because there aren't enough of them who can see through him. He'll string out free agent pitcher Max Scherzer (late of Detroit) as long as he can until someone gets stupid enough to fall for his con. As if that worked for Stephen Drew & Kendrys Morales last year, and it didn't.

Next thing you know, Boras will claim the USA Network series, White Collar, should've been about him.

High school basketball season is just starting, but you wouldn't know it by the lack of pre-season press. My alma mater, Troy High, has their home opener tonight, but not a shred of ink in the local papers. They're playing an independent schedule this year, with the demise of the Big 10 league in the home area. That means playing bigger, tougher teams, which could eventually mean getting the attention of certain cable networks that have a phobia about the northeast. Searching online for information isn't helping.