Free Republic

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Amani Toomer thought he had a chance to make the NFC Pro Bowl team in 2002, but when the votes were counted with two games remaining in the season, the Giants’ wide receiver came up short. But Toomer was an All-Pro to an important man who didn’t have a vote, Wellington Mara, and that meant more to him than the conference-wide ballot. “He said, ‘You made my Pro Bowl,’” Toomer said today. “That’s all I needed. I was happy the next day. I said, ‘Okay, I made the Pro Bowl this year.’ It made me feel...

(Oct. 26, 2005) -- I've read and heard so many wonderful things this week about Giants owner Wellington Mara, who passed away Tuesday morning at the age of 89. First and foremost is the unselfishness that he displayed years ago when he consented to and supported the concept of revenue sharing. That business decision alone sums up everything that Wellington Mara was about. Think how much money that probably cost the New York Giants. But Mara was willing to do it because it benefited the league as a whole. Then again, maybe it didn't cost the Giants more money --...