Watched the kickers a bit and it looks like the wet grass is holding up. Will be interested to see how the footing is come the second half, since soccer grass is probably not as durable as football grass.

Giants inactives:
QB Jared Lorenzen is the third QB.
WR Steve Smith
RB Derrick Ward
T Adam Koets
DE Dave Tollefson
DT Manny Wright
G Kevin Boothe
S James Butler

Dolphins inactives:
S Traveris Tillman
LB Zach Thomas
DT Anthony Bryant
TE David Martin
DE Vonnie Holliday
DT Sam Rayburn

Ciao for now.

Just had a nice test announcement from the young lady doing the sound system. “Due to undforeseen circumstances, it is not possible to continue today’s match. Please proceed to the exits.”

Guess that’s pretty normal for Europe, where folks get all crazy over their soccer teams. Gotta think about terrorism, too, since London’s been a target as recently as a year ago.

Had a nice conversation outside the stadium with a fellow from Bristol and his son wearing Dolphins jerseys. Took him four hours on the trains and Underground to get there, but the two of them are big football fans. Even went to Miami last year to see the Chiefs-Dolphins game. The Sky Network, he said, shows three live games every Sunday beginning at 6 p.m., so obviously there is some interest.

Not enough, apparently, to make him buy season tickets if the NFL ever does put a team here, though. Too hard to get to for him. And even if he drives, he said the traffic out of Wembley is even worse than Giants Stadium.

The new Wembley is really nice. The stands are covered, with a Texas Stadium-type opening that exposes the whole field, only it’s bigger than what they have in Dallas. Guess God likes to watch this country’s National Team as much as the Cowboys.

The seats in the upper deck sweep upward, kind of like Seattle’s Qwest Field. Only none of the American stadiums have colored end zone seats spelling out their names. Field is natural grass and appears in fine shape.

Okay. Off to grab some fish n’ chips, or some mulligatawny stew (I think that’s how you spell it. Heck, I just eat the stuff).

Ciao for now.

Last night was a wonderful, seasonal autumn evening in London, great for walking around downtown with just a jacket.

Today it’s lousy. Wind, rain, pretty cold out. And we’re going to be stationed outside at Wembley Stadium, as is the custom for all the soccer reporters there. Have to see, I may scurry inside and set up there if it’s too chilly. Most likely, I’ll stay outside. Hey, when in Rome, er, uh, London…

A friend of mine made a very astute observation last night. The raw price of goods and services here are almost identical to what we’d pay in the States. In other words, if a subway ticket costs you $5 back home, the Underground costs about five pounds here. If a cab ride costs $14 back home, it costs about 14 pounds here. The problem is the exchange rate. It’s more than two dollars to the pound, so we really get hit hard. Just shows how the dollar has fallen in Europe. Went to Italy this summer and it was almost $1.50 per Euro. Oh, well, the price of doing business.

Meanwhile, the Giants have a little business of their own to attend to. Let’s ask a few questions about the Dolphins today.

1) Will the Giants’ running game be effective?

Well, it should be. Linebacker Zach Thomas is out with whiplash, and the Dolphins’ run defense was ranked 31st with him in there. No jokes, please. Thomas was hurt in a car accident, not from watching rushers wiz by him. The point is, Brandon Jacobs and Reuben Droughns should be able to run consistently today, and maybe break a few big plays. If that happens early, the Giants will have an easy time of it.

2) Can Michael Johnson hold down the fort at strong safety?

Yes. The seventh-round rookie, filling in while James Butler recovers from hamstring and ankle injuries, showed himself to be a fast, aggressive kid. Sometimes speed can cover up mistakes, which I’m sure is what happened in the second half against San Francisco last week. But that’s okay for now. Getting a whole game of experience will only help Johnson. Let’s face it, the Dolphins don’t have much going for them offensively, anyway.

3) How about handling the quarterback?

Glad you asked. Cleo Lemon can make some plays with his feet, but he’s not a great passer. Look for a lot of Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora in the backfield today as the Giants try to get him out of the pocket. He doesn’t have a real deep threat, but at least Marty Booker is accomplished. Shouldn’t be too hard to cover those guys.

4) Will the prospects of an idle week have any affect on the Giants?

Probably not. The Giants do pretty well going into bye weeks. They’re 14-4, actually. It’s coming out of the bye that gives them problems. Tom Coughlin has probably planned a long weekend off for them if they win, so it’s in their best interests to get past this odd game and into the bye at 6-2.

5) Will the Giants play down to 0-7 Miami’s level of competition?

Don’t think so. Unless they’re still dragging from jet lag (they shouldn’t be, since the Londoners set back their clocks today and afforded everyone an extra hour’s sleep), I don’t think they’ll falter much. The thing about this year is that they really haven’t played down to the lesser competition. They might not have looked great at the start, but they eventually go on to comfortable wins. They outscored their last two opponents 64-25, and Miami is in worse shape physically than either of those teams were.

Prediction: That last question is the key. On paper, the Giants should run away with this one. In the past, it would come down to a field goal either way. But this year the Giants have played so well on defense that close games haven’t been an issue. I think they keep it up today. Giants 30-14.

Cherrio, er, Ciao for now.

And everything, I mean EVERYTHING, is expensive. I’m surprised they’re not charging me a couple of pounds for the jet lag I’m experiencing after a six-hour and change flight. Did get a nice view of Londontown on the approach to Heathrow, though. Flew right over Wembley Stadium, caught Big Ben and Parliment, with Westminster Abbey right behind it.

But sheesh, that airport. Endless. It’s an hour’s tube ride to downtown, where I plan to have dinner. Bet I wind up in Coney Island somehow.

Anyway, mark S James Butler (ankle and hamstring), RB Derrick Ward (ankle) and WR Steve Smith (hamstring) as officially doubtful. We won’t be seeing them tomorrow. Do expect to see Plaxico Burress, however, and that should mean curtains for the Dolphins.

Got deep into reading a good book about Lincoln and three of his cabinet members, and came across one of his great yarns that seems apropos right now. Seems just after the revolution, Ethan Allen came across to visit and found a rather unwelcoming crowd. So much so that they hung a picture of George Washington in the outhouse for Allen to see.

Allen said nothing about it, but the Englishmen, looking to dig a needle into him, asked if he saw it and what he thought about it. Allen responded he thought it was the ideal place to hang a picture of General Washington.

The Brits were astonished. “Why would you say that?” they asked.

Allen said, “Because there is NOTHING that will make an Englishman (poop) so quick as the sight of General Washington.”

Off to bed to catch a few hours of shuteye.

Ciao for now.

A late bit of news from some colleagues who’ve already made the jump across the pond. Rookie wide receiver Steve Smith apparently tweaked a hamstring Thursday and is unlikely to make it for this game after all. Too bad. He was progressing so nicely from that fractured shoulder blade. That means more of Sinorice Moss at third wide receiver, even though he hasn’t done much to bolster anybody’s confidence in him as a playmaker.

Also, S James Butler and RB Derrick Ward failed to practice at all this week. Don’t expect to see either of them. Do expect to see rookie Michael Johnson starting at SS and Reuben Droughns carrying the ball when Brandon Jacobs doesn’t. Also, Ahmad Bradshaw, relegated to the inactive list since losing his kickoff return job because of two fumbles, could get some carries.

That’s it. Off to get me some of that jet lag.

Ciao for now.

Getting ready for my overnight flight to London on British Airways. Hope the TV commercials about all that legroom and such aren’t false advertising. Also hoping the flight is as short as my colleague’s 4 1/2-hour deal last night. Must have been a heck of a tailwind. Probably take all of us 10 hours to get back, if that’s the case.

Just doing some last-minute lists before I close the valises. Passport, check. Cash to be converted to pounds, check. Electrical adapters, check. And when I land, look right instead of left before crossing the street. Check. Hope I don’t forget that one.

I’ll be getting back to you guys with the Sunday 5 early that morning. In the meantime, I’m just hoping for a shortness of weather delays and a surplus of flight speed. I’ll catch up with you when I get there.

Ciao for now.

No, no. Don’t go showing it to the kids who like to watch reruns of old Dolphins shows. This is just my way of saying the Giants will face such a depleted Miami team Sunday in London that it will be the surprise of the year if they don’t beat the 0-7 Dolphins handily.

The latest to join this Night of the Living Dead season is linebacker Zach Thomas. He’s unlikely to play after missing all the practices with whiplash, the result of a car accident he had after last week’s beating by the Patriots.

So Thomas joins, at least for now, the ranks of QB Trent Green (concussion, IR), RB Ronnie Brown (ACL, IR), S Renaldo Hill (ACL, IR), and S Yeremiah Bell (Achilles, IR).

The Giants should win this one going away. But Plaxico Burress, ever the realist, won’t put it in the books yet.

“I’ve been around too long and seen too many crazy things happen,” Burress said.

Be aware. Be very aware.

Ciao for now.

The Giants-Lions game on Nov. 18 on FOX-Channel 5 has been moved up to 1 p.m., from 4:15, as part of the NFL’s flexible schedule plan. The move was made to accommodate the Washington-Dallas game that is being moved from 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. on the same channel.

So change those viewing plans and invite the whole family for dinner. The Giants won’t interfere with the roast beef.

Ciao for now.

Here’s a couple of bits of audio for your listening pleasure. We’ll start off first with Dolphins kicker Jay Feely talking about his free agent departure from the Giants—and don’t you wish you had a guy who was 16 of 16 in PATs and 12 of 12 in field goals right now? Then we’ll go to Tom Coughlin talking about how the players have already begun an important process to stave off the effects of dehydration on a long flight.

For totally selfish reasons I miss the heck out of him. He was a great locker room interview, and a real standup kind of guy. I remember when he missed those three kicks in Seattle, he got right out there and answered any and all questions. Not to be too critical, but Lawrence Tynes was nowhere to be found this week after he missed his third extra point against the 49ers. Just an observation.

Here’s Feely.

Download:

And here’s Coughlin. Sorry about the sound quality on this one, but the press conference was held in a busy hallway.

Download:

That’s it.

Ciao for now.

Second—round receiver Steve Smith looked good catching passes. I’m thinking he could be back Sunday, which would mean he could slip back into that No. 3 receiver spot ahead of the ineffective Sinorice Moss. The passing game could use Smith, who caught four passes before fracturing his shoulder blade against Green Bay. He had a wonderful preseason and looked like the goods.

It wouldn’t be hard to move him up. They could put tight end Kevin Boss on the inactive list. They might not need more than two tight ends for this game. And if they need another blocker up front to get Shockey free, they could always throw fullback Madison Hedgecock up there.

Just a thought. What would you do, move Smith up or let him sit and give him the bye week to make sure of a full recovery?

Ciao for now.