The Best of Neil's Watchdog

Burns is a fan of FAN

It should come as no surprise that actor / writer / director Ed Burns made the lead character in his new film, "Nice Guy Johnny,'' a sports talk radio host.

The plot calls for the character to be pursuing his dream career, and that seemed as good an ambition as any to Burns, 42, who grew up in Valley Stream and recalls WFAN's debut in 1987.

"Me and my buddies were diehard sports fans,'' he said, "and we thought, 'Could you imagine that job, that you get to hang out and talk sports on the radio all day?' "

Burns made his own WFAN debut last month as part of a promotional push for the film, which was made in 12 days for $25,000 - partly in his parents' and sister's homes in Rockville Centre - has no advertising budget and was released on iTunes and DVD rather than theatrically.

Such is the reality for the type of independent films Burns likes to make, a strategy he said already has ensured a "nice chunk of change'' in profit on the movie.

An avid Knicks fan, Burns said he is pleased with the general direction of the franchise, within reason. "They're on the right path,'' he said, "but probably a long way from the excitement of the 1990s.''

Garrett's father was an urban cowboy

Jason Garrett adopted a serious mien in his first week as interim head coach of the Cowboys, but he has far to go to match his father's intensity, thankfully.

In one of New York's most memorable coaching meltdowns, Columbia's Jim Garrett, making his debut with the Lions, fired his punter, Pete Murphy, and called his players "drug-addicted losers'' after a 49-17 loss to Harvard in 1985.

He also said Wall Street firms such as Merrill Lynch or Smith Barney would not put up with the likes of Murphy. I was there when the late, great Newsday sports editor Dick Sandler then assigned John Valenti to call those companies for comment.

"On Wall Street, of all places in this world, we understand bad days and often consider them a good opportunity because they often allow you to learn something positive,'' a Merrill spokesman said.

Garrett finished 0-10 and was gone, taking his three football-playing sons, including Jason, with him. They transferred to Princeton.

In 2008, Merrill Lynch was acquired by Bank of America after a few too many bad days.

Aikman still a voice of Cowboys

It has been a decade since Troy Aikman played for the Cowboys, but the Fox analyst remains a media go-to guy for observations about the team.

That can be a busy job, especially when America's Team fires its coach midseason.

"I accept it and I understand it,'' he said, acknowledging he does have insights into the "mind-set'' and marketing savvy of owner Jerry Jones, who has turned even a 1-7 flop into a compelling saga.

"When we were 1-15 in '89 or when the team was 3-13 the year before, I don't think a lot of people were talking about the Cowboys. The franchise didn't draw the attention it currently does. And the reason it does is because of the owner.''

Lombardi kept Summerall awake at meetings

Pat Summerall was back in the news indirectly this past week when ESPN axed its lead baseball team of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan after 21 seasons, leaving them tied in longevity with Summerall and John Madden, who did NFL games together from 1981-2001

Their secret? "He respected me and I respected him and that's the real answer,'' he said.

Madden retired before the 2009 season but Summerall, 80, has called the past four Cotton Bowls and hopes to do so again in January.

He also wrote a book, "Giants: What I Learned About Life From Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry,'' based on working with them when they were assistants for Big Blue.

As a tight end and placekicker, he sat in on meetings with both.

"You saw how confident they were in their philosophies, the confidence they had in what they were saying, even though they presented it differently,'' he said. "You hated for meetings to be over.

"At least I did. Usually you try to keep the players awake."