George Bush honored the New York Giants in Washington D.C. today, joking that he believed in the Jessica Simpson jinx and Add this to the lore of championship ceremonies at the White House: President Bush believes in the Jessica Simpson jinx, remarking that “We’re going to send Jessica Simpson to the Democrat National Convention

Bush said, regarding the Giants incredible Super Bowl win “turned out to be really one of the great, legendary football games in our nation’s history

The team visited wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center earlier in the day.

“To see their spirit, and the way they reacted to us, was just very special,” said center Shaun O’Hara. “That’s going to stick with me.”

Transcripts of Tom Coughlin’s comments can be found here, and George Bush’s comments can be found here.

Michael Strahan, Antonio Pierce, Osi Umenyiora and Jeremy Shockey did not attend.

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Last night HBO aired a fascinating episode of “Costas Now” which focused on the changing landscape of sports media. Neil Best on his ‘Watchdog’ blog for Newsday was in the audience and shares his thoughts. Among them was seeing Michael Strahan talk to WFAN’s Chris “Mad Dog” Russo for the first time in nearly nine years.

Strahan has had a beef with Russo and his partner Mike Francesa stemming from multiple incidents, starting with his comments in 1999 while Jim Fassel was out of town for his mother’s funeral, his criticism of Strahan’s record-breaking sack in the 2001 season, and his 2007 holdout and subsequent selection as a team captain.

“All of a sudden, that’s why the team is 0-2,” Strahan said of the blame he felt he took for the team’s slow start.

Strahan said that sitting next to Russo was the closest he ever has been to the WFAN host, and it was clear from his tone he was tempted to reach over and slap him

Head over to Neil’s blog on Newsday for more about the exchange between Strahan and Russo on last night’s Costas Now.

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Newsday reports that Giants safety James Butler did not garner any interest as a restricted free agent and plans on signing his $1.47-million tender offer soon.

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Vinny DiTrani on his blog for The Record relays comments from some Giants players who will have competition for their jobs next season from the recently acquired draft picks.

Jared Lorenzen watched the draft and hopes he will make it to camp. He could be the odd man out between David Carr and Anthony Wright.

“If I can get there [to camp] I feel confident,” Lorenzen said of his chances. “I’m confident in what I can do.

Safety James Butler doesn’t think the Giants pick at safety, Kenny Phillips from Miami, will affect him.

“I don’t look at it like it affected me,” he said. “I look at it like the Giants needed another safety. We only had three or four guys on the roster.”

Sinorice Moss in his first two seasons with the Giants has not yet been able to distinguish himself among the Giant wide receiving core, and will find himself in compeition with draft pick Mario Manningham. Injuries have bothered him in his two seasons, especially as a rookie in 2006. Moss realizes he needs to step it up if he wants to be in the mix for next season.

“I need to wake some people up, that’s what I need to do. I’ve been on the shelf. So I’m ready to come out here and shock the world.”

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The famous Wonderlic test, used to judge a player’s intelligence and ability to make quick decisions, has been a point of controversy for many players. Mario Manningham scored a 6, Eli Manning scored a 39. The average score, out of 50, is 21. Players have 12 minutes to complete it.

Take the test and see how you would score, and compare to other potential draft picks.

Here are some other scores for reference: Drew Bledsoe - 37, Steve Young - 33, John Elway - 30, Dan Marino - 16, Deltha O’Neal - 15, Donovan McNabb - 14

Hat tip to Ralph Vacchiano’s Daily News blog for the link.

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It appears that the Giants have added DT Nate Robinson out of Akron (6-4, 322lbs, 5.11)

Robinson transferred to Akron from Rutgers after he was released from the team for an undisclosed team violation. He started 6-of-10 games at nose tackle in 2007, finishing the year with 26 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, and 2 sacks.

Big Blue Interactive provides the following scouting report : Robinson missed time due to ankle and shoulder injuries. Robinson is well built and powerful. He is stout and can hold his ground in run defense. Not overly quick or explosive. His work ethic, competitiveness, commitment to the game, and intensity have been questioned. Robinson has been labeled an underachiever. He had offers from the Chiefs and Dolphins after the draft as well.

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The Giants have come to terms on a free agent deal with undrafted Alabama wide receiver D.J. Hall.

Hall on signing with the Giants…

“They just seemed the most interested, willing to take a chance. I’m not the person that’s going to turn a lot of things down. I just want the opportunity, and they’re giving it to me. I’m just ready to go. I’ll show a lot of people. The whole thing was crazy. What can I do about it now but prove them wrong.”

In 47 games for the Crimson Tide, Hall came down with 189 receptions for 2,881 yards and 17 touchdowns. He currently owns several school records including most career catches, touchdowns and receiving yards. He also broke the single-season school record for receptions in a season with 67.

The Detroit Lions also reportedly showed interest in signing Hall.

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Speaking with WFAN’s Mike and the Mad Dog today, Giants General Manager Jerry Reese discussed the outcome of the team’s draft class this weekend.

Reese stated that he’s very happy with the picks he made and was pleased to have seen Miami safety Kenny Phillips fall to them at No. 31. The team had him pegged as the top safety in the draft and didn’t expect him to fall all the way to their pick.

Regarding second-round pick Terrell Thomas out of USC, he thinks he will fit well in the Giants press coverage style defense.

Third-round pick wide receiver Mario Manningham had been discussed as a possibility at No. 63 in the second-round, but the team thought there was a chance he’d fall to them in the third-round. There have been reports regarding Manningham’s past use of marijuana, failing drug tests, lying to NFL teams and recording a 6 out of 50 on his Wonderlic Test. Despite all of that, the Giants believe he can be managed well by the team.

Andre Woodson had just too much value to pass on when the Giants were picking with their sixth-round draft choice. A good reason the team liked him was his calm demeanor and how things don’t bother him too much, which Reese stated was very similar to Eli Manning. While he was projected a first-round pick back in November, his stock dropped all the way to the sixth-round due to the fact that he didn’t have a lot of talent around him at Kentucky and his performance at the Senior Bowl was not that great. Supposedly, Mike Martz, coaching Woodson at the Senior Bowl tried to tinker with his delivery and that may have caused him to have a down performance.

All the rumors about the front office disliking Jeremy Shockey are false. Everyone in the organization loves him. The doctors have told them that he will be 100% to start the season. They did not come close to trading Shockey this weekend, despite all the reports. Reese avoided answering whether or not Shockey asked for a trade.

Here’s a couple of tidbits:
- Reese hasn’t taken the time to go over what the NFC East has done during the draft yet.

- The team has signed around 12 undrafted free agents so far.

- They will take four quarterbacks to camp, though five are currently on the roster.

- QB David Carr’s contract is not guaranteed and will have to compete to earn a roster spot with the other two quarterbacks the team will bring to camp.

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Giants GM Jerry Reese will be on WFAN at 3pm with Mike and the Mad Dog.

Go to WFAN.com for those that cannot listen to 660 AM.

UPDATE 3:30PM ET : Gary will be providing notes from the interview in a few moments.

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