Indignities pile up for Jets
It has been a rough week for the New York Jets, who were pummeled 45-3 by the New England Patriots on Monday and had a contract offer rejected Tuesday by free-agent safety Keith Fitzhugh, who kept his job as a train conductor rather than join a team that could be veering off the tracks.
The Jets, who many predicted to win the Super Bowl this season, appeared to suffer another indignity when playful Pats fans plastered their charter plane from Boston with "45-3" signs.
It turns out the plane, which is emblazoned with a Jets team name and logo, is a commercial aircraft painted as part of JetBlue's sponsorship deal with New York.
But, considering how his team failed to show up Monday, it wouldn't have been surprising if Jets coach Rex Ryan refused to board the plane after mistaking it for his charter and instead took a ride on the Reading to try to recruit Fitzhugh.
Maybe Ryan could have signed his former practice-squad player had he boarded his train in a pair of striped overalls and matching engineer's hat, wielding a whistle to let Fitzhugh know it was snack time again.
But Fitzhugh, 24, who has worked for Norfolk Southern Railroad since the Jets released him Sept. 4, chose stability -- and the chance to support his struggling parents -- over an uncertain future in the NFL.
"Being that it would be for just a couple weeks, I feel that I'd rather stay with a secure company and job, somewhere I know I could have long-term employment," he said.
■ HAIRY SITUATION -- Shortly after signing former Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth to a $126 million, seven-year deal, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told Yahoo! Sports' "Big League Stew" one of the main reasons Washington was interested in him was because he regrew his beard for Philadelphia's playoff run.
"And that's the most important reason," Rizzo said. "He's often in the playoffs, he's a championship-caliber player, and he excels at the biggest stages in baseball. We like that he's a little bit of a free spirit and that he's got a little bit of pizzazz to him."
But Rizzo, who sports a goatee, also said his club has a policy about facial hair, which is allowed but must be "professionally groomed."
That would seem to rule out the bushy beard Werth wore in this year's playoffs, wouldn't it?
"That's a question you have to ask the manager, who enforces those policies," Rizzo said, putting the pressure on Jim Riggleman.
It's that type of teamwork that has kept the Nationals near the bottom of the National League year in and year out.
■ THE COLOR PURPLE -- ESPN.com columnist Bill Simmons once wrote a "20 Rules of Being a True Fan" column.
But after discovering his 5-year-old daughter loves the color purple -- which he fears could lead to her becoming a Lakers fan -- the Boston native, who lives in Los Angeles, wants to amend one of his rules.
"It should have gone like this: 'If you live in a city that has fielded a professional team since your formative years, you have to root for that team unless your father has deep ties to his teams and you would basically be ripping out his intestines if you rooted for anyone else.' "
COMPILED BY TODD DEWEY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
