Handley

NEW YORK -- George Washington University Law School will begin its fall semester next month, but the Class of '94 will commence without Ray Handley. That's because the 1991 New York Giants have begun their studies and Handley is the new headmaster.His is an improbable rise to one of the most demanding and coveted jobs in professional football. On Jan. 28, the morning after the Giants won the Super Bowl, the 46-year-old Stanford University graduate with a keen mind for math and a bachelor's degree in history stood in a Tampa, Fla., hotel lobby planning to resign as the team's running backs coach and get on with the rest of his life.

On August 19, 2005, JOHN JAMES, JR., of Randallstown; beloved husband of Shirley F. Balfour; devoted father of Linda S. Birch and John James Balfour, III; loving father-in-law of Edward Birch; dear grandfather of Charlene Handley and Michelle Lyon; great-grandfather of Erin and Kelli Handley, Hannah, Rachel and Joshua Lyon; brother-in-law of Beverly Miller. Friends may call at the Haight Funeral Home & Chapel, Rt. 32 near Eldersburg, on Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 P.M., where services will be held on Wednesday at 10 A.M. Interment in Garrison Forest Cemetery.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New York Giants coach Ray Handley called a special meeting Monday with quarterback Jeff Hostetler to try to clear the air about some criticisms Handley made about Hostetler's play. But based on Hostetler's comments yesterday, the purification process appears far from complete.Handley and Hostetler met privately for about 10 minutes to address Hostetler's feelings on a number of issues. The two talked about plays from Sunday's 13-10 win over the Cleveland Browns, and also about some of the concerns Hostetler may have been having about the Giants' stumbling offense, which has produced only 59 points in four games.

On March 4, 2005 JOYCE C. BAGWELL, (nee Clark), formerly of Edgewater, FL., passed at the Hospice Gilchrist Center in Towson. Predeceased by her husband Edward B. Bagwell; she is survived by 2 daughters, Jacquelyn A. Handley of Cockeysville, and Rosemary B. Newton of Stanley, Virginia; 3 grandsons and 5 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a daughter, Linda J. Mathews of Arlington, Virginia in 2004. Ms. Bagwell was an avid needle-work artisan whose creations received many awards.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- When the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills line up tonight at Giants Stadium, you'll undoubtedly recall Super Bowl XXV, the Giants' 20-19 exhilarating triumph dubbed "A Game for the Ages."But this is not so much a Super Bowl rematch as it is Ray Handley's debut as an NFL head coach and the first round of the Phil Simms-Jeff Hostetler QB Competition.The first of the Giants' four 1991 pre-season games is a chance for the quarterbacks to start battling for the starting job. It's an opportunity for the coaches to try unscrambling the jumble at tight end. It's a stage for the rookies to try landing spots and for some vets to get into game shape.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The torrent New York Giants coach Ray Handley had to expect was unleashed yesterday.Abuse flowed nonstop on WFAN-AM. It detonated on the back pages of the New York tabloids, one showing a photo of Handley nudging a photographer from practice, another running a large picture of Handley with a gas gauge reading empty drawn on his forehead.This was the day after Handley announced his new media schedule, which significantly curtails his availability. Lost in all of it were two other stories that broke Wednesday -- the retirement plans of linebacker Lawrence Taylor, probably the best player the team has ever had, and the elbow injury that could keep starting quarterback Phil Simms out for up to six weeks.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It almost seems as if New York Giants coach Ray Handley is trying to fit the square peg into the round hole. Each week, he tries to find the proper mesh for his anemic offense; each week, he faces the same problem: not nearly enough points.Yet Handley remains unwilling to try one solution to jump-start the team's moribund attack. He isn't ready to let Phil Simms replace Jeff Hostetler and try to revive an offense that has yet to score more than 23 points in a game and is 21st in the NFL with 138 points in nine games.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- This was the first full day of Jef Hostetler's reign as the New York Giants' starting quarterback. And everyone seemed to have an opinion as to whether Hostetler or Phil Simms should have been chosen for the job.There were opinions, or at least a vote of appreciation, from the 1,400 people who packed the ballroom of the New York Hilton yesterday for the annual Kickoff Luncheon honoring the Giants. There were opinions from JoAnne Handley's family and co-workers. There were opinions from the many people who telephoned the Giants' offices here.

At first glance, the New York Giants appear victims of the post-Super Bowl syndrome. But their slide from Super Bowl champs to borderline wild-card team has more to do with their transitional state than any creeping complacency.To make changes at critical coaching positions, and then to change the quarterback on top of that, is to change the personality of a team.And when the Giants went from Bill Parcells to Ray Handley at head coach, and from Phil Simms to Jeff Hostetler at quarterback, their personality changed.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The first major move the New York Giants coach made in his rookie year was to bench Phil Simms.The coach then got off to a rocky start by winning just 10 of his first 28 games.That's how -- surprise -- Bill Parcells, not Ray Handley, started his career as the Giants' head coach.They both benched Simms in their first season, but Handley actually has had a better start (13-15) than Parcells (10-17-1).The difference was that Parcells wasn't following Parcells. When he replaced Ray Perkins, the team hadn't won a championship since 1956.

2002 Handley Cellars Zinfandel, Redwood Valley ($20). California's Mendocino County tends to produce a style of zinfandel far different from the blockbuster style that prevails in neighboring Sonoma County. The wines generally emphasize elegance over sheer power, and this wine from the reliable Handley winery is a good example. It offers generous black-raspberry fruit and a touch of black pepper. It finishes long and clean and would be an excellent companion to red meat, hard cheese or pasta dishes.

On April 30, 2004, RUTH N. BRIDDELL (nee Ridgely) of Chestertown, MD, beloved wife of the late C. Orville Briddell; devoted mother of Ann V. Handley and son-in-law Don of Easton, Charles E. Briddell and his wife Lynn of St. Michaels, and Windfred C. Cowee and son-in-law Daniel of Neavitt. Also survived by nine grandchildren, David M. Handley, Karen E. Mc Kinley, Charles E. Briddell, Michael S. Briddell, James W. Briddell, Allison N. Briddell, Ridgely J. Cowee and Elizabeth A. Cowee; five great-grandchildren; and a nephew, Herbert M. Ridgely, Jr., of Daytona Beach, FL. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by her brother, H. Monroe Ridgely formerly of Hagerstown, MD. There will be a private family service with Dr. Millard Knowles officiating and burial will follow at druid Ridge Cemetery in Baltimore.

On February 24, 2004, FRANCES A. TAMPLIN, beloved wife of the late Earl T. Tamplin, Sr.; devoted mother of Earl T. Tamplin, Jr., James E. Tamplin, and Alice F. Handley; cherished grandmother of Frederick K. Handley; loving sister of Martha Leopold. Friends may call at the family owned Evans Chapel of Memories - Parkville 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M., Sunday. A funeral liturgy will be held 10 A.M., Monday at St. Ursula's Catholic Church, Harford Rd., Parkville. Interment Baltimore National Cemetery.

On February 9, 2004, WILLIAM FRANKLIN ZIEGLER, beloved father of Mike Ziegler, cherished grandfather of Shane Ziegler, loving brother of Betty Handley. Also loved by Betty Strack. Relatives and friends are invited to call Charles S. Zeiler, Inc., Funeral Home, 6224 Eastern Avenue (at Folcroft Street), on Wednesday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9, where a Funeral Service will be held on Thursday at 11 A.M. Interment Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.

A discarded cigarette ignited a wood pile underneath a deck yesterday, starting a fire that caused $5,000 in damage at a Hampstead house, the state fire marshal said.The fire occurred about 3: 45 p.m. at the home of Wayne and Karen Butcher in the 1600 block of St. Paul St.A neighbor, Wally Boston, spotted the fire and used a garden hose to nearly extinguish it before 20 firefighters from Hampstead, Manchester, Reese and Arcadia in Baltimore County arrived, fire authorities said.Authorities did not identify the smoker.

Bill Parcells and George Young, who were something of an odd couple when they were working together in the 1980s, are finding life is even more difficult now that they've gone their separate ways in the 1990s.Parcells won two Super Bowls as coach of the New York Giants with the players Young drafted as general manager, but he never stopped grumbling that he didn't have control of the draft. He even complained about the selection in 1990 of Rodney Hampton, who has become a franchise running back.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Ray Handley era ended yesterday. To no one's surprise, the New York Giants dismissed their coach after two tumultuous seasons marked by player-coach controversies, confrontations with the media, inconsistent play and a losing record.General manager George Young announced the dismissal at a news conference at Giants Stadium. He said he told Handley, 48, of his firing Monday.At a 10 a.m. meeting yesterday, Handley told his assistants of the decision. An hour later, he was gone without comment, and only Young appeared at the news conference.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Bill Parcells couldn't answer the most obvious question yesterday when he walked away from the job he had dreamed about holding all his life: Why?Why did he quit as coach of the New York Giants, the team he grew up following as a youngster in New Jersey and took to two Super Bowl victories?"I just feel it's time to move on. It's hard for me to put it in any different words. Really, that's what it is," he said at a crowded news conference at Giants Stadium as he stepped down less than four months after winning his second Super Bowl.

William E. Jenne, administrator of Carroll County's Office of Economic Development, passed the Certified Economic Developer examination on his first attempt last weekend in Washington."

East Rutherford, N.J.-- The New York Giants don't live on the mean streets of the NFL anymore. They live in the high-rent district.The Giants don't quarrel and point fingers any longer, either. Now they preach harmony and talk of togetherness.After two years of rancor under Ray Handley, the Giants are enjoying the good life under revivalist Dan Reeves.In one fell swoop, they went from a mutinous 6-10 outfit to a resilient, 10-3 Super Bowl contender. Last week they became the first NFL team to clinch a playoff berth, and tomorrow night they take the NFL's best record to New Orleans to confront the Saints.