EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Odell Beckham Jr. had a scarlet welt growing between his right eye and ear, the apparent result of his lost sideline fight with a kicking net. It resembled a boxers mouse, actually, making it a good time to give the New York Giants receiver a history lesson in the bittersweet science.Just because Jake LaMotta fought Sugar Ray Robinson six times doesnt mean the two belonged in the same ring. In other words, Josh Norman is a very good football player. But Josh Norman also has no chance to ever be as good a football player as Odell Beckham Jr.On Sunday afternoon in MetLife Stadium, Norman honored his chief responsibility by keeping his opponent out of the end zone and helping the?Washington Redskins?to a desperately needed 29-27 victory. Of course, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Beckham was so wide open that he could have moonwalked into the end zone for a 75-yard score had Eli Manning?only seen him on the left side with his arm up, signaling for the ball.Manning instead threw to Sterling Shepard, and Norman ended up committing a personal foul on the play, the only unsportsmanlike penalty called between the cornerback and receiver who combined for five last season in their Giants-Panthers steel-cage match. Beckhams most flagrant offense on this day came when he responded to a brutal Manning interception by angrily swinging his helmet into that kicking net, which punched back by hitting Beckhams face with its crossbar.I dont remember, Beckham said when asked how he got the resulting scratch.He didnt remember a lot of things as he addressed reporters at his locker, including his sideline tantrum, whether he indeed started crying during the tantrum, and whether he felt Norman deserved to be flagged when the Giants scored their first touchdown on Shane Vereens 1-yard run in the opening quarter. On that play, Beckham leaped deceptively as if going for a jump ball, inspiring a confused Norman to grab him in the air, carry him six steps and then drop him gently to the ground in front of an official, while raising his arms in I-didnt-do-anything form.The only meaningful thing Beckham claimed to remember was the warning officials gave him before the game.Yeah, they implemented a new rule this year, he said. Its basically the Odell Beckham Jr. rule. I had three personal fouls last year so ... today they came up before the game and said, If you do anything, were throwing you out of the game. And that was before the game. There was no, You get a warning. There was no any of that.So youve just got to be on your best behavior. Unfortunately, thats what its come to. Its not really football anymore as much as it is all the other things that play into it.But heres the one thing above all that Beckham needs to take away from this rematch with Norman: He cant ever look at these Giants-Redskins games to come as anything outside the norm of a divisional duel that could make or break a teams season. In 2007, the 0-2 Giants made a late and improbable goal-line stand at Washington to salvage their season and ultimately win the Super Bowl. Could the 2016 Redskins use Sua Cravens late and improbable interception of Manning to turn an 0-2 start into a season to remember? Hey, crazier NFL things have happened.So Beckham has to rise above the Norman rivalry for those team-centric reasons -- and for the simple fact that Norman isnt his caliber of athlete. At age 23, Beckham is already the most explosive offensive player the Giants have dressed in more than 90 years of competition. He has the talent to supplant Antonio Brown as the leagues top receiver and to join Jerry Rice and Randy Moss among the all-time greats.With 107 of his 121 receiving yards on Sunday coming at Normans expense, Beckham cleared 3,000 career receiving yards in his 30th game, something no receiver dead or alive had accomplished. He also reached 200 career receptions faster than anyone before him. Though he didnt score against Washington, Beckham is averaging .833 touchdowns per game; Rice averaged .660 and Moss .712 across the regular season and postseason. Meanwhile, Norman doesnt rate the same way historically. He has seven interceptions in 61 regular-season and postseason games, an average of one per 8.57 games. Darrelle Revis, the cornerback he replaced as the NFLs best, has averaged an interception every 4.42 regular-season and postseason games, and Deion Sanders, the presumed best corner ever, averaged a pick every 3.45 games.This is why Beckham was quoted in GQ over the summer as saying that Norman made a smart business move in taking the $75 million deal with Washington and booking twice-a-year matchups with the Giants. Beckham said he had made his own mistakes in bringing people to your level who dont deserve to be there. Theyre trying to bite off your so-called fame, make a name off you. Though Norman deserves more credit than that -- he was essentially fired by Carolina -- it is true that the corner has a lot more to gain from the continuation of this feud than the receiver who lost his cool near the bench this time, and not on the field.Giants rookie coach Ben McAdoo tried talking to his ranting (and crying?) receiver, and so did Manning.I was trying to figure out what was going on, why he was getting frustrated, the quarterback said. He was getting catches. He was making plays and we just need everybody to stay calm. We dont need to get rattled. We dont need to get fired up. You can get excited, celebrate with your teammates. But we just need to do a better job offensively, everybody, to stay calm and stay in our rhythm.For Manning, this is about as close to a public rebuke of a teammate as hell get. He watched Beckham slam his helmet into the ground after a loss to San Francisco two years ago, and he watched him melt down against Normans Panthers last season, a performance that did nothing to help former Giants coach Tom Coughlin keep his job. ESPN confirmed a report that Beckham was fined $36,000 for delivering a blind crackback block last week on the Saints Kenny Vaccaro.Clearly, Beckham is struggling to funnel his passion into positive thoughts and actions.If I was you, you, you, you, any of you, he said to reporters, and were playing pinball and your score is 36,000, I want 36,001. It doesnt matter who it is. I love to compete and I hate losing.Today, I think we did a great job in making it a lot about football, even though there were a lot of outside implications that went on that predetermined the matchup before it happened -- instead of letting us play football, which weve been doing all of our lives.Given the officials pregame lecture, Beckham said he was surprised he wasnt ejected when called for offensive pass interference on his teams final drive. As it turned out, after Beckham started making one-handed catches and sideline spin moves and stiff-arms that left Norman in his dust earlier in the fourth quarter, center Weston Richburg was the one Giant to get tossed for taunting, a foolish breakdown that did no favors for the line.Norman said the officials had also warned him not to make a mockery of the game, and despite his personal foul, he heeded those words. He met with the Giants receiver on the field afterward in a mutual (if temporary) show of respect.Were just two fierce competitors, thats all it is, Beckham said. We love football. We feel like this has turned into something that is not football.Truth is, Norman and Beckham are more responsible than the media for starting and extending this sideshow, and its on Beckham to stop it. Hes five years younger than Norman, more gifted than Norman and headed places Normans never going to reach.As he left the building Sunday evening wearing headphones and his boxers welt, Beckham should have remembered that a beautiful fighter never lets a lesser man trap him against the ropes. Adidas Shoes Cheap Wholesale . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Adidas Shoes Clearance Sale . 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There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa is moving forward with plans for a $90 million renovation of Kinnick Stadium.The Iowa Board of Regents on Thursday approved the design and financing plan for the project, which will renovate one of the stadiums end zones.The enhancements to the north end zone include a second deck for seating, new restrooms, expanded concourses and improved concessions. The projectt will begin after the 2016 season and be completed prior to the 2019 season.ddddddddddddinnick Stadium, which has hosted the Hawkeyes since 1929, last received an overhaul in 2006 that was highlighted by a new press box.The stadiums capacity is expected to remain around 70,000. ' ' '