Jets stars booed by MSG crowd

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NEW YORK -- The Mark Sanchez-Santonio Holmes friendship tour continued Wednesday night when the two New York Jets attended the New York Knicks game together and were booed loudly by the Madison Square Garden crowd.

Sanchez and Holmes sat next to one another in the front row and seemed to shrug off the boos, which came after both were shown on the Garden JumboTron during the first quarter.

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AP Photo/Frank Franklin IIMark Sanchez, left, and Santonio Holmes attended the Knicks game together and were booed loudly.

Cornerback Antonio Cromartie also was sitting next to Sanchez and Holmes but was introduced separately.

All three Jets declined comment at halftime.

Sanchez and Holmes are just the latest Jets to be jeered by New York sports fans. Quarterback Tim Tebow, who joined the Jets via trade in late March, was booed lustily by the crowd at Yankee Stadium on April 15.

Sanchez and Holmes have been attempting to mend a relationship that became strained during the 2011 season.

The relationship started to fray early in the year, when Holmes, a team captain, made publicly critical remarks about the offense. Sanchez called a team meeting, imploring teammates to keep issues in-house, but Holmes continued to tweak the offense.

It unraveled during the final week of the season, when Holmes refused to attend after-hours classroom sessions that Sanchez had organized for the quarterbacks and receivers. The situation imploded in the final minutes of the regular-season finale, when Holmes started jawing with teammates in the huddle and almost came to blows with tackle Wayne Hunter. Holmes was benched.

Holmes was frustrated throughout the season because of his lack of involvement in the offense. He finished with only 51 receptions for 654 yards, his worst statistical season as a starter.

After the season, Sanchez said he had dinner with Holmes near the wideout's Florida home. Later in the offseason, Holmes invited Sanchez and other teammates to work out with him in early April in Florida.

Holmes didn't want to talk about the Week 17 benching during the Jets' offseason workouts, insisting the team focus on the upcoming season.

Sanchez's role this season is one of the key storylines as Tebow adjusts to being a backup quarterback.

Coach Rex Ryan has said Sanchez will remain the team's starting quarterback and Sanchez earlier this month praised Tebow as a "great addition."

Information from ESPNNewYork.com's Rich Cimini contributed to this report.

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