Larry Brown Sports

Some things in life just can’t wait. Apparently a bridal shower is one of them. We know women get excited about their wedding day, but can’t you let the other one finish moving out before you move in? According to the NY Post, Tiki Barber’s fiancee Traci Lynn Johnson is having a bridal shower this weekend despite the fact that Tiki’s divorce with his ex-wife is not yet finalized.

While still finalizing his divorce from wife Ginny, ex-Giants superstar Tiki and fiancée Traci are determined to press forward with their wedding plans, we’re told. And tomorrow, Erica Rivera, the attractive wife of journalist Geraldo Rivera, will throw a bridal shower for Johnson at new downtown wine bar Bahr Ché. Sources tell us Tiki and Ginny “have a divorce agreement in principle, but the divorce is not yet final.”

A few months ago it looked as though Tiki and Traci’s wedding plans were being held up by Barber’s unsettled divorce with Ginny. Apparently they aren’t going to let a silly estranged wife hold them down any longer. If Ginny decided she was entitled to half of the value of the gifts at the wedding shower since the two are still technically married, then we’d have a sticky situation.

Tiki Barber went on the radio Sunday morning and said he doesn’t feel like his comeback attempt was a failure, even though no NFL team signed him. He says the comeback motivated him and therefore was a positive factor in his otherwise boring life. He also says he’s tried to reconcile with Giants coach Tom Coughlin, with whom he’s often clashed.

“We tried (to set up a meeting). He said no, through his agent, (Giants vice president of communications) Pat Hanlon,” Barber reportedly said ESPN 1050.

“But one of these days I’m sure it’ll happen, because as we know, time heals all wounds. And I think at the end of the day, Giants fans, despite their dislike of me at times, know that I was one of the guys that put (it) on the line every time I put on my uniform.”

There are a few questions that must be asked. When did Barber try to reach out? If it was during the season, that’s probably why he was turned down. If it was during the offseason and at a time when Coughlin would be available, then I’ll bet it’s critical commentary from Tiki like this that makes Coughlin want no part of his former running back.

The New York Giants do not need Tiki Barber, and that kills him. Anyone who follows football knows that. Since his abrupt retirement from the NFL in 2006 after a falling out with Tom Coughlin and the Giants organization, very few in New York have missed Tiki. Why should they?  One season after he left, they became the team that put a stop to the Patriots undefeated season.  It was the greatest moment in Giants history and Barber was not a part of it.  Still, Tiki feels the need to kick Coughlin and company while they’re down.

After an embarrassing loss to the Saints, New York’s season is on the verge of disarray.  They are in danger of missing the playoffs and Barber wanted to be one of the first to highlight what has gone wrong in his latest column on The X Log.

After the Giants put on a particularly poor performance against the Philadelphia Eagles two weekends ago, coach Coughlin came up to the press lectern and said, “We had 29 yards rushing, which is about as pathetic as you can get,” clearly placing the arrow directly at Brandon Jacobs and the Giants’ starting offensive line, as if they either aren’t good enough or weren’t trying hard enough. Now, he may have been right, but for someone who is prone to saying, “we have to keep our sh-t in-house,” it sounded a little outside the corps talking point.

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Tiki Barber needs a hug.  At the moment he’s unlikely to get one from his fiancee, who is probably not thrilled with the fact that her wedding plans have been pushed back.  Barber, who was supposed to marry Traci Lynn Johnson in May of 2012, is reportedly locked up in an unresolved divorce with his ex-wife, Ginny.  According to the NY Post, Barber and Johnson’s wedding plans are on hold until a divorce settlement can be reached.

“Tiki and Traci cannot get married until the divorce with Ginny is settled, and it’s taking longer than they expected to reach a settlement,” the Post’s source explained. “Traci may have got a little too excited and ahead of herself with the wedding arrangements.”

Well, duh — the guy’s still married.  Barber reportedly is unable to afford Ginny’s alimony demand and the case is currently help up in Manhattan Supreme Court.  It’s only a matter of time before Tiki is living in his parents’ basement to prove to the court that he can’t afford to meet his ex-wife’s financial demands.

One thing we do know is that it can’t be easy being Tiki right now.  After a summer in which he targeted an NFL return only to find out the hard way that absolutely no one was interested in his services, Barber is just looking to move on with his life.  Maybe he was planning a comeback because he’s low on cash. Perhaps his new lady will lend him some money so she can get on with planning her special day?  We’ll know in time.

Did any of us think Tiki Barber was going to return to the NFL and take over a desperate team’s backfield?  Of course not.  Did we think he would come back at age 36 and help a team make a playoff run?  I certainly did not.  However, it has to come as somewhat of a surprise that not a single team showed enough interest in the former Pro Bowler to bring him in for a workout.

Back in March, reports surfaced that Barber planned to make a comeback after four years away from football.  His trainer — a biased source to say the least — let it be known that he was in phenomenal shape and still more than capable of being effective.  With the start of the 2011 season only two days away, it has become obvious Tiki’s career as an NFL running back is over.

In this week’s edition of Monday Morning Quarterback, Peter King wrote that he had spoken with Barber’s trainer, Mark Lepselter, who said that he and Tiki were “flabbergasted” that no team gave the former Giant an opportunity even when rosters were at 90 players per team.  King also noted that he heard Barber was devastated over the lack of interest, but Lepselter refuted that claim when speaking with the NY Post on Monday and said Tiki has “moved forward accordingly.”

Barber’s agent can debate the wording all he wants to make his client look less upset, but I doubt this was something Tiki went into thinking “if I get a chance that’s great and if I don’t that’s fine too.”  The fact that no one even gave him a shot to earn a roster spot had to have been a disappointing reality check.

Former Giants running back Tiki Barber had a lengthy profile run in SI this week, and true to the pattern of anything Tiki-related lately, there was a controversy. The piece by L. Jon Wertheim is extremely well done and worth your time. In it you get a glimpse of who Tiki is and what some of his problems were. He comes across as a guy who tried hard to be a part of high society and make it a point to his teammates that he was different from them. High society accepted him until they learned he was a fraud, and now he’s been left without much of a place. That’s a big part of the reason he’s trying to come back to the NFL.

But getting back to the interview, he made an extremely poor and despicable reference that has created a controversy. When describing what it was like hiding out from the media after news broke that he left his long-time wife for a 23-year-old NBC intern, Barber told the magazine that he and his girlfriend were at his agent, Mark Lepselter’s house. “Lep’s Jewish,” Barber said, “and it was like a reverse Anne Frank thing.”

That is such a stupid comparison to make. Anne Frank was hiding from the Nazis to protect her life. Barber was hiding from the New York press to protect his image and ego. The two are about on the same planes as asparagus and frisbees.

As Wertheim noted in his article, the horrendously ill-informed comparison was Barber writ small. “He has the wit and smarts to make an Anne Frank allusion and the artlessness to liken himself—an adulterer trying to elude gossip columnists—to a Holocaust victim,” Wertheim wrote.

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On Tuesday the news of Tiki Barber’s improbable return to the gridiron was released. People have had a day to digest Tiki’s comeback and have come to three conclusions: he needs the money, he was a bad teammate, and he won’t be successful.

Given his status as the Giants’ franchise leading rusher, Barber will likely at least be able to get a workout with some teams. He may be 36 and he may have been retired the past four seasons, but his trainer Joe Carini says he’s still in fantastic shape.

“It’s all still there, man,” Carini said. “The guy is strong is hell. He has no injuries, his knees are great, his back is fine, no shoulder irritations, his ankles are good. It’s like when I first met him again.”

Supporting the sentiment that Barber is close to being ready for the field is his work in the weight room. He’s reportedly already leg-pressing nearly 1,000 pounds, squatting 800 pounds and dead-lifting more than 600. I’m not so sure that correlates with an ability to run and cut like he used to, but it’s a good start.

Honestly, I’ll reserve jokes until I hear about the way he looks on the field. Barber was a talented running back and I wouldn’t put it past him to make a relatively successful comeback.