It's from Cimini, but I actually thought this was a decent read... http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-je...ick-mangold-prepares-for-the-toughest-goodbye Emotional Jets C Nick Mangold prepares for the toughest goodbye They were drafted on the same day in 2006 and spent 10 years on the same offensive line, forging a bond that will last a lifetime. They share so many memories, on and off the field: games, practices, holiday dinners, weddings and play dates with the kids. Now they’re breaking up as New York Jets teammates, and Nick Mangold is struggling with the prospect of not having D'Brickashaw Ferguson around. “It was weird because I wasn’t ready for it,” Mangold said Wednesday in a phone interview, recalling a conversation last week in which Ferguson shared his plans to retire. “It caught me off guard, but it was neat being able to talk to him and hear how at peace he was with it, because I wasn’t at peace. To hear him, he kind of talked me off the ledge a little bit.” Certain players in Jets’ history will be forever linked. Joe Namath and Don Maynard. Emerson Boozer and Matt Snell. Wesley Walker and Al Toon. Mangold and Ferguson. Nick & Brick. They started 156 regular-season games together, including the first 82 without a miss. (The streak was disrupted when Mangold suffered an ankle injury in 2011.) When they hit the 75 mark, they made modern-football history, becoming the first two players who entered the league together to start that many games on the same line since 1970. It was Mangold at center, Ferguson at left tackle. There was always somebody between them on the field, but nothing came between them as friends. It all flashed in Mangold’s mind as he spoke last week to Ferguson in what he called an emotional conversation. “I always assumed -- this goes back to when we first got together at the Jets -- that I would always be done before Brick,” Mangold said. “I figured Brick would play for 20 years, and there was no way I could play for 20 years. I don’t know why I thought it or why it was in my mind, but when he was telling me he was retiring, it really threw me for a loop.” They became fast friends at the 2006 Senior Bowl and they got reacquainted a few weeks later at the scouting combine. Mangold told a funny story from their combine experience. “I was coming out of one of the interview rooms, and Brick was coming in,” he said. “He turned the corner and I’m standing there in ripped jeans and a polo shirt, and Brick comes along in a three-piece suit. I was like, ‘Brick, what are you doing?’ He said, ‘Well, it’s a job interview.’ I thought from that moment on I wasn’t getting drafted. He was wrong. Mangold was picked 29th overall in 2006, Ferguson fourth. “We’ve been together ever since,” Mangold said. They’d be great in the roles of a modern-day Oscar and Felix. Out of uniform, Ferguson projects a corporate look, dapper and nattily attired. Mangold has a bushy beard and likes to wear his cap backward, always looking a bit rumpled. Ferguson grew up amid the hustle and bustle of the Long Island suburbs. Mangold is a Midwesterner, born and raised in Ohio. Despite the obvious differences, they clicked from day one, probably because they share the same values -- the importance of hard work and team. “I think that’s been one of the most amazing parts of this journey that Brick and I have gone through,” Mangold said. “We’ve kind of grown up together through the years. I’ve seen him get married, he saw me get married. He saw me have kids, I saw him have kids. We spent a couple of holidays together. The kids have gotten together, our wives are friends. “It’s something neat to be able to say, from college on, we’ve grown together. To see that evolution ... Brick has seen me change over the years. I’ve seen Brick change over the years. It’s been something special.” Mangold is blown away that Ferguson never missed a game or a single play due to injury. “I can’t do it, and a lot of other people can’t do it,” said Mangold, who has missed only four games. “It’s something special that should be celebrated, because not only did he have good fortune -- some injuries just happen out of bad luck -- but he always took care of himself and really worked to prepare and be as healthy as he could be.” On Thursday, Ferguson will have a news conference at One Jets Drive to formally announce his retirement. Mangold will be there, and he suspects it will be emotional. Their time together in football is over, but they will remain friends. He already told Ferguson, “You’re not going to get rid of me.” But in a few days, the Jets' offseason program begins and his old friend won’t be there in the offensive line room. “I haven’t wrapped my brain around that part yet,” Mangold said.” I’m still trying to take it all in, but when we start off Monday and he’s not sitting in his chair, it’s going to be an odd feeling.”
