These were practice sessions on a level most had never experienced. Riley, preaching the notion of dedication, was a man whose workouts regularly ran more than three hours. Most other teams worked out for ninety minutes, or two hours, tops. A number of players contend that New York’s shootarounds—held the morning of a game and designed to help players loosen up as they walk through their game plan—were more involved than other clubs’ full-scale practices. Riley shootarounds often went two hours and were full contact. Riley had his players get their ankles taped up for the sessions, like they
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