05/22 — Before Eric Mangini’s second annual Charity Bowl came to a close Wednesday night at Chelsea Piers, Chad Pennington stormed the stage during a live auction and wrestled the microphone away from Jets play-by-play man Bob Wischusen.

Pennington, equipped with a southern drawl fitting for an auctioneer, began to work the crowd. The veteran quarterback, who will compete for the starting QB position on the field in 2008, was determined to give his head coach a little help for a good cause.

“At our charity bowling event in West Virginia, I’ve heard a couple of auctioneers get after it. It’s all about emotion, playing on people’s emotion and trying to get 'em to up that bid a little bit,” Penny told me. “Then you have to have some secret bidders in the crowd who take the price up.”

The particular bid Pennington acted on was for a four-person QB camp with No. 10 himself. In a matter of moments, the price jumped from $2,000 and closed at nearly $3,000. The winner will have the opportunity to learn some techniques from the most accurate quarterback in NFL history.

“You always have a good time when you can raise money for good causes and raise money for people who want to do good things with it. That’s what’s it all about,” Pennington said. “I think there are a lot or players and coaches out there who do a lot of good things in their communities and people don’t know about it.”

Proceeds from another spectacular event will benefit three non-profit organizations committed to providing athletic and academic opportunities to deserving children: the Carmine and Frank Mangini Foundation, the Chelsea Piers Scholarship Fund and PlaySmart Inc.

“Last year we raised $150,000. We’re trying to exceed that this year,” Mangini said this morning. “I won’t really know the numbers for a little while here, but it’s a great event.”

Before Wischusen got caught in a Penny headlock, I talked to the Jets’ voice before the festivities began.

“Let’s just say I can’t bowl anywhere close to my weight,” said the man who wouldn’t bowl on this night because he was providing entertainment over the PA system. “I don’t even know if I could bowl close to my wife’s weight, and she’s very svelte.”

Fresh off a trip from Disney World with his ever expanding family (he’s got three already and twins on the way), "Shoes" was in good spirits last evening. So was David Bowens, who carries a 221 average, just moments before the balls were rolled.

“I think 233 is the score to beat," Bowens said. "That’s what Curtis [Martin] got last year.”

Was the son of Frank Williams, who competed on the Pro Bowlers Tour, the man to beat?

“I’m ready. There is some other competition out there,” said Bowens while downing a chicken wing and a coke. “I used to room with Bubba Franks in Green Bay and I know he’s pretty good.”

But when I saw D-Bo a couple of hours later, it was evident he didn’t come through with an overwhelming performance.

“Awful, man,” he said on his way out the door. “It’s the lighting in here. It’s just too dark in here.”

We’re still attempting to track down which player got the high score. We know that Lane 17 knocked down the most cumulative pins. That was the Jets lane as rookie DE Bryan Mattison; tight ends coach Mike “I Can Showboat with the Best of Them” Devlin; Bruce “Bad News” Speight, our wonderful PR director; two community relations stalwarts in Jesse Linder and Charles Wande; Charles’ older brother, Freddy Wande; Michael Alperstein, a special events/game ops manager, and yours truly brought home a championship. Erik Ainge didn’t bowl but hung around the winners throughout most of the evening.

When I rolled in this morning, a pin, which had been autographed by all the players, sat on my desk. It was a nice present for a mediocre 145 (including a horrible 10th frame) but also for a terrific night. And with another great turnout and successful silent and live auctions, let’s hope Mangini exceeds the $150,000 as he continues to help give athletic and academic opportunities to deserving kids.