Plaxico Burress Expected to Be Arrested

Twenty-four hours later and Plaxico Burress is still dumb. Yesterday, we learned that he accidentally shot himself in the leg on Friday at a Manhattan nightclub. And while that’s almost impossible to fathom — billions of people manage to make it through life without ever putting a bullet into their thigh — the details of exactly how it happened are, well, stupefying.

The New York Daily News reports that Burress, “who was sporting flashy jewelry and carrying loads of cash,” was initially turned away from the LQ nightclub because he was packing heat, but explained that he needed the weapon for protection. Presumably because he was sporting flashy jewelry and carrying loads of cash.

[UPDATE: The Star-Ledger reports that Burress will surrender to authorities as soon as tomorrow. Hooray, U.S. justice system.]

And from there it just got worse:
The mercurial Giant was waved inside the crowded Latin-themed club on Lexington Ave. about midnight. He downed several drinks, making already jittery security guards more nervous about his weapon.

As Burress was being led into a VIP area, with a drink in his hand, the gun slipped down his pants leg. He reached for the weapon, but fumbled it and it went off, sources said. The bullet tore through Burress’ already injured right thigh, police said.
Oh, and did I mention that linebacker Antonio Pierce was with Burress when he fired a bullet into his leg? And after ripping the Giants wideout for carrying a gun, he tried to hide the weapon somewhere in New Jersey.

So, to recap: Burress could face felony charges for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and Pierce now also has own legal troubles:
Burress is expected to be arrested on felony weapons charges in the coming days, while Pierce’s attorney was in frantic discussions with cops last night to stave off criminal charges, police sources said.
The Giants are 10-1 and have a huge division game against the Redskins today. Pierce will play while Burress, obviously, will not. In fact, his career in New York is probably over. And it only cost the organization $11 million for 13 weeks of mediocre football.

Football Star Shoots Himself

Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himslef in the right thigh and spent a night in the hospital, another dramatic turn in a tumultuous season for the New York Giants star receiver.

The Giants said the shooting happened Friday night and he was released from the hospital on Saturday afternoon. The team did not say where the shooting took place, what hospital Burress went to or how badly he was injured.

Plaxico Burress had been ruled out of Sunday’s game with the Redskins due to a hamstring injury.

However, a team official told The Associated Press that Burress shot himself in a nightclub. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the team was still trying to sort out all the facts.

The Giants called the incident an “apparent accidental shooting.”

“Our primary concern is for Plaxico’s health and well-being, and given the circumstances, we are relieved to say he was released from a New York City hospital,” the team said in a statement.

New York City police said they were investigating whether the incident took place at Latin Quarter, a sprawling 15,000-square-foot, two-story restaurant and club located in the Radisson Lexington Hotel in midtown Manhattan.

Phone messages and an e-mail left at the nightclub were not immediately returned.

Police added that they have not spoken to Burress or recovered the gun used in the shooting.

The NFL also is likely to investigate whether Burress violated its Personal Conduct Policy, which might lead to a suspension.

The Giants first confirmed the incident on Saturday morning, saying they had been in contact with the 31-year-old receiver since the shooting and have discussed the matter with NFL security.

“This incident could become a matter for law enforcement officials, and because of that we have no comment on any of the details,” the team said.

Repeated phones calls to Burress’ home and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, were not immediately returned.

“We are gathering information, just like everyone else,” NFL spokesman Joe Browne said.

Burress injured a hamstring two weeks ago against the Baltimore Ravens. The Giants said Friday he would not play Sunday against the Redskins in Washington.

Earlier this season, the 31-year-old receiver was suspended for a game and fined $117,500 for missing a team meeting and failing to notify the team of his absence. He said he had a family emergency.

He also was fined $45,000 by the NFL for his conduct during a game against the 49ers in October when he abused an official and tossed a ball into the stands.

Burress caught the winning pass in the Giants’ Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots. He signed a five-year, $35 million contract hours before the season opened in September.

The signing came after an unsettling offseason during which Burress was fined $25,000 for refusing to practice during a mandatory minicamp in June. He also missed most of training camp at the University at Albany with a sprained ankle. He insisted the injury — not his contract — kept him off the field.

Despite a lack of practice, Burress started in the opener against Washington and caught 10 passes for 133 yards. The following week, he had five catches for 81 yards and a touchdown in a win over St. Louis.

The rest of the season has not been as productive. The most passes he has caught in any game since is four in a loss to Cleveland on Oct. 13, the game following his suspension.

Burress has 35 catches for 454 yards and four touchdowns in a season in which he has constantly drawn double coverage. His streak of receptions in 115 consecutive games ended last week in Arizona. He aggravated his hamstring injury during the first series and did not return.

It was the sixth-longest active streak in the league, dating to Nov. 26, 2000 against Cincinnati, Burress’ rookie season in Pittsburgh.

Signed as a free agent in 2005, Burress had caught a pass in all 56 previous games in which he had played for the Giants.

Game 5 of World Series Suspended

The fifth game of the World Series was suspended because of rain in the sixth inning Monday night with the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays tied 2-2 and the field already a sloppy, soggy mess.

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Poll – Who will win the World Series

Rays-Phillies World Series? No one can be right all the time

My friends, there are some outrageous charges being levied right now. Tampa Bay and Philadelphia are bringing change we all can believe in to the World Series beginning on Wednesday night, and yet there are those among you who insist on going negative.

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Well-rested Kazmir could get call in Game 1 vs. Phillies

A day after the Rays punched their World Series ticket, manager Joe Maddon wasn’t ready to reveal his starting rotation Monday afternoon as his club prepares to face the Phillies in Game 1 on Wednesday night.

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Phils-Rays matchup one of the youngest in postseason history

Many of the stars of this year’s Fall Classic can proudly proclaim, “I Love the ’80s,” because that’s the decade in which they were born.

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How long is Romo out?

Three days ago, the main question concerning Tony Romo was just how many games the Cowboys could survive without his services.

From the looks of things, they might not have to find out at all.

Romo has showed steady progress in the last two days. After throwing passes around after practice on Wednesday, including a few to none other than owner Jerry Jones, Romo was limited in Thursday’s practice, wearing a makeshift cast on his last two fingers of his right hand.

Head coach Wade Phillips said while backup Brad Johnson took the majority of the first-team snaps on Thursday, Romo did get a few reps with the first-team offense.

“I am not going to count him out as far as the game is concerned,” Phillips said. “Again, Brad did take most of the snaps and there are some other factors that we’ll see as we go along here. We still have a couple of more days.”

So while it seemed like Romo could be out for maybe a month after suffering a broken pinkie on his right throwing hand, now it appears as if it will come down to a game-time decision Sunday in St. Louis.

And whose decision would that be? Even Jones himself said that Phillips would make that call. The question now is when.

Phillips said he might not have a decision made before the team departs for St. Louis on Saturday afternoon, but does expect to decide on a starter before Sunday morning.

“Yeah, but I’m not going to tell anyone,” Phillips told reporters as he walked off from his press conference Thursday.

Phillips said Romo threw the ball “pretty well” in Thursday’s practice. However, it sounds as if the Cowboys are more concerned about the contact he might receive on his finger while taking the snap from center, making a handoff to the running backs or just getting hit by a defender.

Romo has not talked to the media all week about his injury. He reportedly received a phone call from Jets quarterback Brett Favre, who has started an NFL-record 258 consecutive regular season games, that offered words of encouragement to try and play this week.

Whether or not Favre has changed Romo’s mind or it was his intention to play all along, it definitely sounds like the chances of seeing No. 9 in uniform Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome will happen. Now, the question will be if he’s the starter or not.

“Well, it looks promising,” said Jerry Jones, who was encouraged fielding a few crisp passes from Romo.

“He got out and we were talking about how painful it was to him,” Jones said Thursday. “He did not practice yesterday but threw the ball. He said, ‘Well stop down there and let me throw you the ball and you can see if I’ve got velocity on the ball.’ He threw me several balls . . . and there was velocity on the ball. Plenty there to get it done.

Yeah, he threw me several balls. He was popping it in there pretty good.”

The Cowboys’ training staff has been feverishly working on protecting Romo’s hand without sacrificing his comfort.

“He has a split that they’ve made for him that he felt comfortable with (on Wednesday),” Phillips said. “Then they added some things to it, it’s almost like a cast in some places certainly, protective wise. He said he cut his finger in college before and had games where his finger was wrapped up and he didn’t use that finger. It’s not involved as much as long as you can hold the football. It is a concern because it is a fracture.”

Last year, Romo suffered a bruised right thumb that certainly jeopardized his chances of playing in the 15th game of the season at Carolina.

Despite limited practice time and swelling on the thumb, Romo threw the ball 42 times, completing 28 for 257 yards with a touchdown and an interception. After that game, Romo admitted the Cowboys used a little more shotgun in the game to prevent the amount of snaps that jammed into his thumb.

As for his teammates, tight end Jason Witten, one of Romo’s best friends on the team, said he wasn’t sure what direction the Cowboys would go this week, but figured that all sides would make the best decision.

“He hasn’t really said a whole lot about it to us,” Witten said. “I know he’s been throwing some and trying to be ready to go. But we have to be ready to go with Brad, get our timing down. If Tony can go, that’s a plus.

“Obviously, he is a professional and he knows his body. He’s a competitor. He wants to play. I don’t know if he will be back this week or not. But it’s encouraging to all of us that he will be back sooner (rather) than later. Tony is smart. He is going to make the right decision. He is going to do what is best for him.”

As it stands, the Cowboys are still preparing Johnson to play and even getting Brooks Bollinger ready as well.

However, Phillips did not specify if Romo would be the No. Two or No. Three quarterback if he doesn’t start. If the Cowboys designate a third quarterback as the inactive third quarterback, and he plays in the game, neither of the first two quarterbacks are allowed back in the game.

So if Romo doesn’t start, but there is a chance he could play, it would likely make more sense to put him as the backup to Johnson.

“We’re trying to sort out a lot of things right now,” Phillips said. “We haven’t decided anything. Right now, we’re still figuring out if he could play.”

But that’s quite a change from a few days ago when Phillips wasn’t sure Romo would play in the next month, much less the next game.

Cowboys Injuries

Evidently when injuries rain around here, they absolutely pour.

Because when Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips was asked if he would have trouble coming up with his 45-man game-day roster, he sort of laughed and said, “I’m trying to get to 45. I’ve got about 42 healthy.”

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Conine to Retire a Marlin

Fittingly, Mr. Marlin will ultimately retire as a Marlin.According to a source, Jeff Conine, one of the most popular players in Florida history, will sign a one-day contract on March 28, and then retire as a member of the Marlins.

Nicknamed “Mr. Marlin,” the 41-year-old was a member of the team’s inaugural roster, and he enjoyed two stints with the organization. A versatile performer who mostly played first base and the outfield, he was a vital part of the franchise’s World Series titles in 1997 and 2003.

Conine, who resides year-round in South Florida in Weston, is scheduled to sign his one-day contract March 28, when the Marlins play an exhibition game against the Yankees at Dolphin Stadium.

The team also plans on honoring Conine during an on-field ceremony before their March 31 season opener against the Mets.

The Marlins, however, are not planning on retiring Conine’s number. He actually wore two. From 1993-97, he donned No. 19. When he returned in a trade from the Orioles on Aug. 31, 2003, he was given No. 18.

He remained with the Marlins through 2005.

Conine is currently training for an Ironman triathlon competition, which is consuming much of his time these days. The team is leaving open the option of bringing Conine back to the organization in an advisory capacity.

Conine enjoyed a 17-year big league career, breaking in with the Royals in 1990. He also played for the Marlins, Orioles, Phillies and Reds before he finished up last year with the Mets.

Respected for his hard-nosed style of play and his professionalism, Conine finished with a .285 career batting average. He added 214 home runs and 1,071 RBIs.

Conine ranks among the Marlins’ leaders in a number of categories. He is second in team history in games played (1,014), total hits (1,005), singles (688), RBIs (553) and total bases (1,579). He is the franchise leader in grand slams with six.