Father and son on Christmas trip found dead in underwater cave

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A father and son who went diving on Christmas Day with new equipment the boy got for a present have been found dead in an underwater cave at a north Florida wildlife refuge.

The Hernando County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that Holly King called authorities after her fiancé, Darrin Spivey, and his 15-year-old son Dillon Sanchez didn't return home after a planned dive in the 300-foot deep Eagle Nest Sink cave about an hour and a half north of Tampa.

A sign near the entrance to the cave reads: "Cave diving in this area is extremely dangerous — even life threatening!! Do not dive unless you are a certified cave diver!!"

According to the sheriff's office, the 35-year-old Spivey was a certified diver; however, he was not a certified cave diver. They say Sanchez was not a certified diver.

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ObamaCare sank Democrat approval ratings: poll

WASHINGTON — ObamaCare is giving Democrats a heart attack — with the party suffering a dramatic drop in a congressional ballot test since the disastrous rollout of the federal Web site to sign up for health insurance.

The latest CNN/ORC poll gives Republicans a 49-44 advantage over Democrats on the "generic" congressional ballot, when respondents are asked which party they favor in the 2014 midterm elections.

That's a 13-point swing from two months ago, after the government shutdown that was equally disastrous for the Republicans gave the Democrats a 50-42 advantage.

Most of the movement has come from men, whose support for Democrats has dropped from 46 percent in October to 35 now.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the party's House campaign arm, immediately sent out an e-mail appeal for cash, citing the "tough news."

"The latest Republican assault on ObamaCare has proven to be dangerously effective. If we don't respond to Republican smears with the facts right now, the damage to the Affordable Care Act AND our chances in 2014 could be irreversible," wrote the group's "rapid response" team.

The generic question isn't as good an indicator as individual races for the 2014 elections, but it can show how the electorate is leaning.

Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group that gets funding from the billionaire Koch brothers, released a new $600,000 TV ad buy Thursday slamming two first-term lawmakers for voting against a GOP effort to repeal ObamaCare.

In another sign that President Obama could become a drag on his party as it tries to keep control of the Senate in 2014, his personal approval rating dropped to 39 percent — with 54 percent disapproval in the latest Gallup poll.

Meanwhile, ObamaCare problems continue. The performance of a main Healthcare.gov contractor continued to draw scrutiny this week, as Massachusetts and Vermont officials reviewed legal options and refused to pay additional funds to Montreal-based CGI Group. CGI also does IT work on the state-run exchanges.

Massachusetts has paid $11 million to the company on a $69 million contract, but has had to resort to a different software system and rely on paper for people signing up for new insurance, the Boston Globe reported.

The Obama administration Thursday began the process of sorting through paper applications for insurance coverage by people who failed to get through on the Healthcare.gov Web site by the Dec. 24 deadline.

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Rangers mulling their options with unsteady Del Zotto

WASHINGTON — As the holiday roster freeze lifts hours after the completion of Friday night's match here against the Capitals, the most immediate pertinent question concerning the Rangers is how much longer Michael Del Zotto will wear the Blueshirt?

Management has all but settled on dealing the erratic 23-year-old defenseman, who will play in his ninth straight game on Friday since sitting out the Dec. 7 match against the Devils in which Marc Staal was concussed.

General manager Glen Sather has been seeking for a top-four defenseman (and preferably a right-handed shot) as the return for Del Zotto, but that doesn't appear to be realistic given his ongoing struggles.

It will be up to Sather and his staff to determine whether the club is best served by taking the best available offer — Toronto and Ottawa have had interest, and Colorado is believed intrigued, with the Maple Leafs perhaps willing to part with risk/reward defenseman Jake Gardiner, who had an adventurous night at the Garden on Monday — or whether to continue to hold out for more, even when doing so might yield diminishing returns.

Staal, who skated on his own Thursday after a two-day break following three straight days on the ice, continues to make strides in his recovery and could conceivably play before the end of the five-game road trip that continues in Tampa on Sunday and at Florida on Tuesday prior to concluding with a back-to-back in Pittsburgh and Toronto next Friday and Saturday.

Staal's return might be enough to bump Del Zotto into the press box, from where his value on the market will not increase. Del Zotto moved up to the second pair during Sunday's victory over Nashville, but was back on the third pair against Toronto, skating with Justin Falk while John Moore reclaimed his spot with Anton Stralman on the second tandem.

Dylan McIlrath, who suffered a knee injury playing for the AHL Wolf Pack on Saturday, will be reevaluated in approximately a week, according to the Rangers. The injury was to the same knee McIlrath had surgically repaired in July 2012 after suffering a dislocation during the club's prospect camp. That injury sidelined him for the first half of the 2012-13 AHL season.

If Del Zotto is dealt before Staal returns, the Blueshirts likely would recall 23-year-old first-year pro Connor Allen from Hartford. Allen, who had an impressive training camp after having been signed last spring as a free agent out of Massachusetts, has been the Wolf Pack's best defenseman.

Staal, and Ryan Callahan, who has been sidelined since sustaining a sprained left knee against the Caps at the Garden on Dec. 8, will travel on the trip, which reconvenes for Friday morning's skate following the three-day holiday recess.

The Blueshirts, 3-1-1 in their last five, trail the second-place Caps by four points in the Metro Division. Washington's Alex Ovechkin has eight goals in his last seven games, a league-leading 30 goals in 35 games and 53 goals in his last 58 games stretching back to last season, but has been blanked in two games this season by the Blueshirts.

Matched primarily against Ryan McDonagh, Ovechkin has not scored against the Rangers in eight straight games — all with Henrik Lundqvist in nets — since his second-period power play goal in Game 1 of last year's first round of the playoffs.

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Football follies: Truth-y NFL broadcasts can go unchecked

Man, we're easy. We'll believe anything.

A 6-8 Jets team, at home, beats the 4-10 Browns — both previously eliminated — and we're told it was an inspirational, win-one-for-the-Gipper number, a Spielberg production, "Saving Head Coach Ryan."

OK. But gee, if Rex Ryan could provide such motivation how did the Jets get to 6-8? It's not as if the Jets, Sunday, would have inspired Lord Tennyson — or Prince Fielder, for that matter — to prose. Looked a lot more like a 6-8 team beating a 4-10 team.

But, again, we're easy. That day, the next TV game into New York, Giants-Lions, Fox's Kenny Albert reported Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford this season has thrown the most dropped passes in the NFL. OK, that's worth knowing.

Yet, moments later, Fox posted a graphic showing Stafford's low passer rating, as if those dropped passes had nothing to do with that!

The game would turn — and Detroit's playoff chance destroyed — on an interception and touchdown run by DB Will Hill, who two days earlier was arrested. Again. This time for a child-support issue. At 23, he has four children by three women.

Hill's swelling file — including an NFL drug suspension and his dissemination of pictures of him in suggestive sexual interaction — does not exclude his candidacy for NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Of course, so many Lions have been arrested, it's hard to keep track; it's around a dozen, the last two years.

But that's OK; we're easy.

Monday night on ESPN's national telecast, Falcons-Niners opened with expert Jon Gruden telling us Atlanta has "a one-dimensional offense" — all passing. The supportive graphic read "68 percent" of plays have been passes.

While 68 percent isn't exactly one-dimensional, the Falcons were 4-10, thus 68 percent seems about right for all such teams. The 4-10 are forced to throw a lot more and a lot sooner than the 10-4.

Throughout the first half, the one-dimensional Falcons heavily relied on their other dimension — running the ball. That also stood to reason; they were beating the Niners.

As Gruden admired Falcons' runners and runs, he apparently forgot his opening claim.

Only after the Niners went up, 20-10, early in the fourth, did Atlanta's other one-dimension take over. And that stood to reason, too.

With 50 seconds left in the first half and the Falcons driving, Atlanta took/used/called a timeout. Made perfect sense. Yet Mike Tirico chose to say that Falcons' coach Mike Smith "is going to burn one, time out, here."

"Burn a timeout" has become the hip expression for a timeout, spoken to indicate premature wastefulness — even if it isn't.

But now, with 50 seconds left, Smith burned a timeout. Guess he should've waited.

I know, the whole thing has become ridiculous. But what are ya gonna do? We're easy.

NBA uniforms put ugh in ugly

Yes, We're Open All Day, Christmas!: The NBA used to sell basketball. Now? Merchandise. Its national telecasts resemble a shopping channel.

Those Christmas Day uniforms — style-over-substance ESPN/ABC made the perfect debut fashion runway — may have looked like thermal underwear, but they'll make the perfect purchase for the fools who will buy anything, thus becoming the VIP targets of all sports.

The NBA now exploits basketball to sell everything — sneakers, warm-ups, six uniforms per team per season.

As for basketball, well … That spectacular, on-the-run, we-both-get-it Dwyane Wade backboard pass to LeBron James was worth the 11 times ESPN/ABC replayed it. Unfortunately, 10 of those times it was shown in slow motion.

Problem: 1) The play did not occur in slow motion. 2) Repeatedly showing it in slo-mo diminished its reality, thus removed much of the special from the special.

'Rudy' only has a happy ending if history is forgotten

Dan Bongino is a former NYC police officer, ex-Secret Serviceman and a Republican political candidate from Maryland. He's a law-and-order, tell-the-truth guy.

Bongino does some radio talk-show hosting. Monday he subbed for Sean Hannity on WABC. One of his guests was Daniel Ruettiger, commonly known as "Rudy," the undersized underdog legend of Notre Dame football and subject of the 1993 movie.

Well, for nearly 20 minutes, Bongino gushed; couldn't find enough great things to tell Ruettiger about Ruettiger, how he's a hero and inspiration to all, a good and great man, an absolute honor to have on the show.

Absent from Bongino's worship session was recent Rudy history. In December 2011, an SEC fraud indictment against him in a pump-and-dump scam for a sports drink was settled with Ruetigger paying $383,000 in fines.

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Given that Mike Fran-say-so is the ultimate insider and stand-alone genius who for 20-plus years has demonstrated his capacity to get everything colossally wrong — he's particularly gifted at turning home favorites into blowout losers — you'd think he'd be smart enough to cut it out.

But he still puffs himself up as the one, the only. He knows far more and much better than all!

Last week, after picking the home favorite Chiefs to crush the Colts, he rudely would not even allow dissent from a caller. He similarly selected the Ravens, home favorite against the Pats. Yep, Pats had no shot.

Final scores: Pats 41, Ravens 7. Colts 23, Chiefs 7.

By the way, at season's start Francesa authoritatively declared the Colts to be, at best, an 8-8 team. They're now the first-place, 10-5 Colts. More lost tapes.

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• Evan Roberts, whose kid-like takes have persisted in his seven years on WFAN, Monday made like Chris Russo, advancing the shallow notion that athletes should be measured by "pelts on the wall" — number of championships won. How would Roberts classify pelt-less Ernie Banks, Don Mattingly, Elgin Baylor, Dick Butkus, Jean Ratelle, Barry Sanders? Underachievers?
• "Face of ESPN" Commits Barbicide: Geez, now Chris Berman's a redhead. That should help reduce his image of a TV clown.
• Hey, YES Nets' man Ian Eagle! Lose that faux-hip gibberish. "Nets have numbers here — three-on-two!" Nets have numbers? Why not just give the numbers, "Three-on-two"? Or say, "Fast break"? Or, given that it's TV, why say anything?
• Reader Jim Longo wonders why YES or ESPN Radio-NY hasn't done a promotion twinning Michael Kay with Kay Jewelers, using the tag jingle, "Every kiss begins with Kay." Actually, YES is finalizing a deal with Katz's Deli; the jingle will be, "Every Knish begins with K."

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It’s easy to misjudge matured, team-first Giants captain Rolle

From afar, I judged Giants safety Antrel Rolle before getting to know him, boxed him into a category, stereotyped him.

Rolle looked to be one of those players who sought the TV cameras so he could draw attention to himself. He had a weekly radio spot. He was the most quoted player in the newspapers. Sometimes, with players like that who weigh in on all team topics, the message becomes blurred and it becomes difficult to them take seriously.

This is who I thought Rolle was.

Then I got to know him a little bit through locker-room interviews, and realized how wrong I was.

Rolle, who is in his fourth season with the Giants after spending his first five NFL seasons with the Cardinals, was a named as a team captain before this season and rarely will you see a captain carry himself with more class and honesty (often brutal) than he has — particularly while enduring a season that has been as disappointing as this one has been for the Giants.

Rolle might be — probably should be — voted to the Pro Bowl when the results are announced Friday, because he has had an outstanding season with six interceptions, a forced fumble and recovery, 90 tackles and 11 passes defensed while being asked to play several positions in the secondary.

For all of the positive game-changing things Rolle has done on the field, his most impressive moment of the season came after the Giants lost to the Cowboys at home on Nov. 24 in what turned out to be the game that ended any realistic chance of them making the playoffs.

When cornerback Trumaine McBride was injured, Rolle was asked to play out of position at nickel cornerback on what turned out to be the Cowboys' late game-winning drive, and he was beaten several times as the Cowboys marched down the field for the win. After the game, Rolle stood tall and did not make a single excuse.

It's what captains do.

That moment was light years from the way Rolle might have handled it when he first arrived on the Giants in 2010 as a wild, unbridled colt with little interest in being corralled. Rolle banged heads with Giants coach Tom Coughlin then, not understanding Coughlin's old-school disciplined ways.

"Him and coach Coughlin clashed a little bit at first and because he was the new guy some guys got the wrong impression,'' said defensive end Justin Tuck, who has known Rolle since he was in high school. "But over the last [few] years, man, 'Trel has been the consummate pro, a true leader for this football team — not only for what he says, but because what he's done on the football field has backed up every ounce of what he says.''

Asked how much he has changed since he came to the Giants, Rolle laughed.

"Oh [bleep], man, night and day,'' Rolle told The Post. "I didn't understand a whole lot, didn't see things clearly. Looking at it now, I understand what coach Coughlin was trying to instill in this team — everyone doing the same thing the right way, just being one. My first year here, I didn't respond to it too well.''

Now look at him. Coughlin, who is no softie, beams with pride seeing what Rolle has become. So, too, do Rolle's teammates.

"He has really transformed into a leader,'' cornerback Terrell Thomas said. "His actions have backed up everything you want in a captain. In games where we didn't show up as a team he was always playing his butt off, bringing it every week. He really took the captain role personally, like he was honored to be a captain for the New York Giants and he wanted to represent it right.''

Asked if making the Pro Bowl this season would help heal any wounds from this season, Rolle said: "No, absolutely not. The Pro Bowl, that's a self accomplishment. I ride with my team. That's the way I've always been. That's the way I'm made. That's my thought process. I would give my left arm to be playing in the postseason around here. I'd give up 100 Pro Bowls to play in one postseason.''

From afar a few years ago, I might have heard or read those words and not taken them as genuine. Now I know how wrong I was for judging and stereotyping before I had any first-hand knowledge of the man. Shame on me for succumbing to perception before uncovering reality. But hopefully, a lesson learned.

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Trying times bring out worst in Knicks

There was a time when the Knicks were built to withstand adversity. When injuries or suspension shortened their roster, they accepted those challenges as a test of their manhood and character and put up a decent fight even if it ended in defeat.

No Willis Reed, no Patrick Ewing — even no Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony in past years when they were ailing — and the Knicks still battled. You don't win 54 games, as the Knicks did a season ago, without winning games shorthanded. But not this team; not this season.

When Anthony and his 26.3 points a game were scratched from the lineup 45 minutes before Wednesday's Christmas Day matchup against Oklahoma City at the Garden, the question became not whether the Knicks would lose, but by how much. The answer was Thunder 123, Knicks 94 and another indictment of a team without much depth or heart.

"I'm a competitive guy. I want our guys to be competitive," coach Mike Woodson said after yet another afternoon debacle. "I thought we played in spurts and that wasn't good enough. That's why the game was so lopsided."

Sidelined by an ankle injury suffered Monday against Orlando, Anthony wasn't the only Knick not in uniform.

Raymond Felton didn't play because of pulled groin and Metta World Peace was resting his bad knee. Pablo Prigioni was already out with a broken toe. Nevertheless, you would have expected the Knicks to put up a better fight, playing on their home floor before a national television audience.

Yet, there was not one stretch against the Thunder when the Knicks looked like they might be competitive. They never rattled the OKC offense led by Kevin Durant (29 points) and Serge Ibaka (24 points). The Thunder shot 53.6 percent from the field and made 13 of 24 from 3-point range. The holiday crowd had nothing to cheer about.

"It felt like no one was in here," Thunder guard Russell Westbrook said.

Sure the Knicks were shorthanded. But there's no excuse for allowing the Thunder's Jeremy Lamb to go coast-to-coast for an easy layup or Knicks guard Beno Udrih hitting the side of the backboard on a 3-point shot, or allowing Oklahoma City to score an endless array of easy dunks and backdoor layups. The Thunder had far more energy than the home team, outscoring the Knicks 18-8 in fastbreak points.

"They're an experienced team with all their pieces and we're a team that's struggling because we're shorthanded," Woodson said. "But I don't see that being a 30-point blowout. That's what's disappointing."

With Anthony out, the Knicks needed someone to step up. Stoudemire had 22 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 21 off the bench, but that was basically mop-up work after the Thunder rested their starters in the fourth quarter. J.R. Smith had 20, but was 8 of 22 from the floor.

"I don't think we even established anything from a defensive standpoint," Woodson said, adding, "When you're not making shots and you're not defending and rebounding, it's a bad combination."

Tyson Chandler offered a damning critique of his 9-19 team.

"We have to get better all over the board," he said. "There are a lot of holes. If I started going over them I wouldn't make it home to watch my kid open their gifts."

A Christmas Day game featuring new orange T-shirt jerseys was supposed to add some extra energy in the building. Instead there was only frustration as fans couldn't figure out who they wanted to blame. Chants alternated between "Fire Woodson" and "Fire Dolan."

Woodson keeps saying the Knicks just need to survive "until our guys get back and healthy." But that doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon. It's why this team needs to learn how to deal with adversity instead of being overwhelmed by it.

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Pierce, Garnett haven’t brought the fight to Brooklyn

The day after the Nets were knocked out of the 2013 playoffs by the injury-ravaged Bulls in a Game 7 on their home floor, Deron Williams was asked what quality the Nets needed to add during the offseason.

"Toughness," he said that day in early May. "I think we got out-toughed in that last series, especially [in Game 7], so I think that's the main thing."

It was with that idea in mind that Nets general manager Billy King acquired Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from Boston — giving up three draft picks and the right to swap another in the process — to give them the heart transplant they needed and instill the toughness they desired in order to truly threaten the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

But the Nets team that was once again run off its home floor in a 95-78 loss to the Bulls in Wednesday's Christmas Day matinee looked eerily similar to the group that ended last season tagged as mentally soft, fragile and lacking in toughness.

The only difference is that team won 49 games and finished fourth in the East, while this one is 9-19 and with little reason to think things will be getting better anytime soon.

"I'm very surprised," Pierce said when asked about the Nets' inability to respond to adversity. "We've got to be able to weather the storm. We've got to be more mentally tough. You can't get down when things don't go your way. You've got to continue to fight."

Fight has been something the Nets have lacked throughout this season, something that once would have been considered an unthinkable charge to level against this team after it went out and hired one of the game's all-time great competitors, Jason Kidd, to be its head coach and purposefully added veterans Pierce, Garnett and Jason Terry to make sure this team wouldn't back down from any challenge.

Instead, the Nets have immediately folded in almost every adverse situation with which they have been presented all season, often choosing to pack it in instead of picking themselves up and going back at their opponents.

"I don't know if it can be taught," Pierce said. "I don't know if you can go to the library or read a book on it or buy it at a store."

You can't get it from those places, but you're supposed to be able to get it from veteran players who have led their teams to a championship. And for all of the Nets' injuries this season, most notably the ones to Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, Garnett and Pierce have played in all but three and five games, respectively.

There has been plenty of time for them to instill the kind of toughness and fortitude they were supposed to in this team, but so far it's nowhere to be seen.

"You can say what you want about individuals or certain people being mentally tough, but it has to be everybody," Pierce said. "I can't speak for everybody all the time.

"If this was an individual sport, I could speak for myself. But you know, some people respond to adversity different, no matter who is around or who says anything to them."

There's plenty of blame to go around for the woeful performance of this team through 28 games. The Nets are on pace to win 27 games despite having committed $189 million of owner Mikhail Prokhorov's vast fortune through payroll and luxury tax commitments. Injuries undoubtedly have played a role, and Kidd's inexperience on the sidelines hasn't helped, either.

But none of the Nets' issues have been as glaring as their inability to respond whenever it's challenged. Even in games the Nets have won, almost any lead feels as if it may not be enough, that any opponent can reel off a quick 10- or 12-point run and get back into a game because of the expectation the Nets will drop their heads whenever things go badly.

"I'm just surprised at this season and how it's played out altogether," Williams said. "It's like a nightmare, the way the injuries have been and the things we talk about every day.

"The lack of effort, the lack of energy, I didn't see that being a problem when we put this team together."

No one did, in large part because of the presence of two icons from Boston brought to Brooklyn to lead the way, something the Nets mortgaged their future to do.

It appears they were sold a bill of goods.

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Is Keri Russell dating her ‘Americans’ co-star?

Keri Russell is spending a lot of time with her "The Americans" co-star Matthew Rhys after announcing her divorce — sparking rumors the pair are embarking on a romance.

Multiple sources tell Page Six that Russell — who announced earlier this month that she and her husband Shane Deary have split after seven years of marriage — has been spotted "looking affectionate" with handsome Welsh-born actor Rhys, her on-screen husband on the hit FX show.

One source who spotted the disarmingly charming Rhys, who is single, and Russell recently sharing an intimate lunch at ABC Kitchen, told us, "Seeing the way they are together I could have sworn they were a couple. They were so touchy-feely, drinking and laughing."

Another source tells us that Russell and Rhys have become such close friends they have spent time with their respective families.

Russell, 37, and Rhys, 39, are currently in New York filming Season 2 of "The Americans," in which they star as Soviet KGB agents posing as a married couple. Their reps didn't respond to repeated requests for comment.

In early December, Russell's publicist confirmed her marriage to Deary — with whom she has son River, 6, and daughter Willa, nearly 2 — was over, telling People, "They have been separated since early summer. The separation is amicable and their focus is on their children."

Former "Brothers & Sisters" star Rhys, who lives in Santa Monica, Calif., and will soon play Mr. Darcy in the BBC drama "Death Comes To Pemberley," recently talked about his famously single status, telling UK newspaper Metro, "I am lucky in a way because I am still single — much to my mother's fury — so I can embrace the gypsy lifestyle [of an actor] and enjoy it. Many of my friends now have wives and kids, and they find juggling the two incredibly hard."

And he said in a 2012 interview, "My mother's despairing. In the last year-and-a-half I haven't been in the same place for more than six months . . . but, yeah, I do enjoy the single life. Also I haven't met her yet, so . . . until then . . . "

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Yankees’ pursuit of Tanaka begins Thursday

The clock is set on Masahiro Tanaka.

With the Japanese right-hander free to seek a major league job, a 30-day window has been established for clubs to sign him. The opening bell will be rung on Thursday when Tanaka and his new agent, Casey Close, can begin discussions with interested teams that first submit a posting fee capped at $20 million. The righty has until 5 p.m. on Jan. 24 to strike a deal with a US club.

The Yankees might appear as the obvious favorite to sign Tanaka, but the Dodgers, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Angels and Red Sox all have been mentioned as teams with interest and enough payroll flexibility to make a charge.

The Yankees are expected to have an answer on Alex Rodriguez's situation by Jan. 24, too.

Not falling into that category are the Mets, who seem content with their stable of young pitchers and not in a hurry to offer Tanaka a long-term deal that could surpass $100 million.

Last week, general manager Sandy Alderson indicated the Mets were unlikely to pursue Tanaka, and that thinking hasn't changed since Tuesday, when the president of the Rakuten Golden Eagles announced his intention to post Tanaka, according to an industry source.

The Mets made their pitching splash of the offseason earlier this month, when they signed Bartolo Colon to a two-year contract worth $20 million. With highly-regarded Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero on the way, Zack Wheeler already in the rotation and Matt Harvey expected to rejoin the club next year after rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, there is no sense of urgency for the Mets to sign Tanaka.

But the Yankees are a different case, needing a potential high-end starter to fill the rotation vacancy created by Andy Pettitte's retirement. As is stands, the Yankees have CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova penciled in for rotation spots next season.

Under the new rules, bidders on Tanaka must submit a posting fee capped at $20 million to Tanaka's club, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. That money allows clubs to negotiate with Tanaka, with only the winning bidder actually required to pay the fee.

An industry source confirmed Tanaka has selected Close to represent him. The Yankees certainly have familiarity with Close, who is Derek Jeter's agent. Close's other significant clients include Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Ryan Howard, who received a five-year contract extension worth $125 million from the Phillies in 2010.

The 25-year-old Tanaka, who went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last season, will likely set the market for remaining free-agent pitchers such as Matt Garza and Ervin Santana.

If the Yankees sign Tanaka, they would almost certainly surpass $189 million in payroll for 2014, pushing them beyond the luxury-tax threshold. The Yankees have already signed Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, Matt Thornton, Brian Roberts and Kuroda to deals this offseason totaling $308 million.

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Eli Manning endured as Giants (and other QBs) crumbled

The only quarterback left standing in the NFC East is Eli Manning.

For what that's worth.

Michael Vick was gone before midseason, a physical failing that led to an offensive rebirth for the Eagles, who have taken flight with Nick Foles running the attack. The Redskins weren't going anywhere with a less-than-dynamic Robert Griffin III and they aren't going anywhere now that RG3 has been shut down and Kirk Cousins closes out a miserable year in Washington. Tony Romo nearly made it unscathed, but he's got a herniated disk in his back, making his presence highly unlikely in Sunday's division title showdown with the Eagles, meaning Kyle Orton is going to have to be dusted off to perform in a winner-take-all playoff-type game.

Manning this weekend is set to make his 16th start of the season, the 151st consecutive start of his 10-year career, but that doesn't mean the Giants can look back at the mess that is 2013 and see a relatively clean medical history.

They were the most beat-up team in their division and one of the more injury-riddled teams in the league. At present, the Giants have 12 players on season-ending injured reserve, but it's not an all-inclusive list. Consider that Dan Connor, who came out of training camp as the starting middle linebacker, hurt his neck in the very first game, was put on injured reserve and then waived off the roster.

The 13 players on IR puts the Giants in the top eight in the NFL, not as many as the Packers (16), Colts (15), Panthers (15), Jaguars (14), Buccaneers (14) and as many as the Jets (13). It is not always how many players are lost, but which players and when.

How bad did it get? The Giants have started 46 different players this season, the league's second-highest total to the Buccaneers (47 players started).

There is no doubt that players falling by the wayside was a factor in the 6-9 record heading into Sunday's game against the Redskins. To what extent is debatable, but there is no denying the brunt of the damage was inflicted on an offense that came up sorely lacking. Their best offensive lineman, right guard Chris Snee, wasn't effective in the first three games before relenting to have hip surgery. Center David Baas lasted three games before his knee gave out. David Diehl, projected to be a veteran filling a reserve role, missed the first three games following thumb surgery and then was forced onto the field as a starter.

Last Sunday, the Giants used their seventh different starting offensive line configuration in a 23-20 overtime victory in Detroit, the second-highest total in the league this season. Only the Raiders, with eight different starting lineups on the line, were less cohesive up front. This forced overhaul was a fatal blow, as depth along the line was an issue even before the injuries hit.

An investigation is not in order to figure out why the Giants are such a lousy rushing team — their 80.7 yards per game is 31st in the NFL, behind only the Falcons. Not only has the blocking from the ever-changing line been suspect, a key ingredient was removed when fullback Henry Hynoski went down after only three games with a shoulder injury that required surgery.

At running back, those asked to carry the ball nearly didn't show up. Andre Brown broke his leg for the second time in less than a year and missed the first eight games. David Wilson, entering his second season, lost two fumbles in the opener in Dallas, never gained his footing and then, after five games was gone for good with a herniated disk in his neck that could be career-threatening. The Giants were forced to pick over the unemployment scrap heap to bring back old friend Brandon Jacobs and then Peyton Hillis, veterans whose better days are behind them.

Six different running backs ended up starting at least one game and the results, other than a few exceptions, were dismal. In their last two games, the Giants rushed for 25 yards against the Seahawks and 41 yards against the Lions. The 66 yards is the lowest two-game total in franchise history.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, under fire for the demise of his unit, did not want to use all the injuries as an excuse but said: "You don't have to be too intelligent to figure that one out'' when asked what affect the physical issues had on trying to gain yards and score points.

"You have to compensate for a lot of things,'' Gilbride said. "You're adjusting for a lot of things. It's not like defense. In defense, if one guy beats a block, he can go and compensate for everybody. Here, all eleven guys have to play well enough to give the guy who has the ball the chance to perform, to function, at a high enough efficiency level.''

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