NEW YORK – Police are expected to file criminal charges against Plaxico Burress this morning for the incident over the weekend when Burress shot himself in the leg with a gun while out clubbing in New York.

The incident occurred at a nightclub called The Latin Quarter located on Lexington and 48th, just a few blocks from NFL headquarters.

According to the New York Times, police were searching for Burress on Saturday and went to his home at 4:35 pm to question him about the shooting. They were greeted by Burress’ wife Tiffany who told them, “You can’t come in. You can’t talk to my husband”.

After 37 minutes, they left and returned about 7:30 pm and again left after no one answered the door.

Since then, Burress has hired an attorney to represent him.

Felony charges are likely. In the state of New York, if a person possesses a loaded, unlicensed handgun in a place other than his residence or business, it is a felony.

The bad news for Burress is, the days of brushing celebrity and athlete criminal incidents under the rug, is long over (Google Paris Hilton and Michael Vick).

Burress does have an expired Florida concealed permit but even if it were not expired, it would not be recognized in New York.

During the NFL Network pregame shows on Sunday, ex-players explained how the league offers security contacts and information for players to hire legally-armed security guards in their home town or any time they travel on the road. This is in place in an attempt to discourage players from carrying weapons or having members of their entourage packing heat.

If the loaded weapon is proven to be Burress’ and he discharged it, even accidentally, while out for an evening of alcohol and clubbing, he deserves repercussion from this.

Burress is a professional with the monetary means and league resources to hire qualified armed security to accompany him at any time.

To set his own rules while ignoring the laws and policies while placing himself and every patron in that club in jeopardy, he has asked for a day in court, and chances are, he will get it.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

NEW YORK – Step aside Mets and Yankees, it’s NFL football season and it appears your rivalry, as intense as it may be, may be sitting on the back burner until after the New Year.

The intercity rivalry between the first-place New York Giants (10-1) and, this is NOT a typo, first-place New York Jets (8-3) has found new life since Brett Favre jumped into the fray, joining the Jets after their underachieving season last year.

While the Jets struggled last season, the Giants were putting together a win streak that took them all the way to their Super Bowl upset victory over the undefeated New England Patriots.

Trash-talking in the parks and cafes are picking up steam since the first place Jets defeated the Titans last week who came into that game with a 10-0 record.

The Giants in the meantime are continuing where they left off and have only lost one game all year and are a favorite to make a return trip to the Super Bowl.

I spoke to several fans from both sides of the fence over this Thanksgiving weekend and clearly the passion for this rivalry has elevated. I discovered when you bring up the words ‘Giants’ and ‘Jets’, everyone is willing to drop their sandwich to jump into the discussion.

Giants fans believe if the two teams met, Favre would be running for his life and buckle from the pressure of the Giants defense and the Giants would “cakewalk” through a “blowout”.

Jets fans laughed that off and were still excited about Favre leading the Jets to the blowout of the previously undefeated Titans 34-13. They challenged the Giants fans, “Bring it on” and said their Jets look unstoppable now and that Eli Manning would need to be “scraped off the turf when the game was over if the two teams met”.

It’s great to see the passion Favre and the rejuvenated Jets have injected back into this rivalry.

Today’s week 13 schedule puts the Giants in
Washington and the Jets at home against the Broncos.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

Donovan McNabb again responded to adversities with a stellar performance Thanksgiving night, leading his Philadelphia Eagles to a 48-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals.After being benched for the first time in his career last week, McNabb, the five-time Pro Bowler, completed his first six passes and threw for 260 yards and four touchdowns in front of his hometown fans. After turning over the ball seven times in the past two games, McNabb kept the away from the red jerseys opposition with no turnovers.

McNabb showed great poise and class through the benching that followed him admitting not knowing the “tie rule” for OT games in the NFL. That’s like a real estate agent not knowing there are closing costs in a real estate transaction; like a NCAA basketball player in a championship run not knowing something as simple as how many timeouts remain (Google-Chris Webber).

We all make mistakes including people like McNabb and Webber but what matters is how we respond to them.
Webber responded to the time out ordeal by facing the cameras like McNabb did and admitting the mistake making no excuses. He was later selected #1 overall in the NBA draft, was a five-time NBA All-Star and actually utilized the exposure of his blunder to create The Timeout Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s mission was to
provide positive educational and recreational opportunities to youth.

It’s hard not to cheer for a guy like McNabb who manages to keep his sense of self in check in a sports world overflowing with over-inflated egos.

Eagles coach praised his QB after yesterday’s win over the Cardinals, “He was under some scrutiny and he was able to block everything out and he went about his business. That’s a credit to him and the kind of person he is.”

McNabb added, “I don’t focus on what people may say on the outside or how one may feel about me. When it’s all said and done and I decide to hang the shoes up, how do you want to be remembered? This is all important to working on your legacy.”

It’s time for Philadelphia fans to stop living up to their reputation and stop emotionally stoning a player to death like they do McNabb. After completing his first six attempts, the seventh pass fell incomplete and the fans booed and let the QB have it.

Expect McNabb to handle questions about those boos with class to make up for the Philly fans lack of it.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

NFL back judge #59 Phil Luckett is the incompetent zebra who made an ass out of himself on national television during the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers Thanksgiving Day game in 1998.

Lined up for the overtime coin toss, Steelers captain and running back, Jerome Bettis was hooked up to an audio sound system and called “tails”.

Everybody at the stadium and at home heard Bettis’ call over the audio; everyone except for the dumb f**k who flipped the coin.

After Bettis called “tails”, the coin landed tails up, Luckett said, “Heads is the call; he said heads. It’s a tails.”

Bettis was shocked and yelled:

“I called tails!”

Luckett responded:

“No you didn’t”

Then the ref awarded the ball to the Lions.

The Steelers were up in arms, Luckett pushed them away and the rest is history. The Lions drove down the field on their first possession, Jason Hanson booted a 43 yard game-winner and Luckett would go on to add a laundry list of officiating blunders during his NFL career.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

VIRGINIA – After an appearance in a Virginia state court on Tuesday, Michael Vick’s journey through the criminal court system might have gotten a bit shorter.

Under an agreement with Virginia prosecutors, Vick agreed to plead guilty to one of two charges against him. He was given a three-year suspended sentence from the judge and knows that the last piece of his quest for an early release from federal prison is now in place.

The Commonwealth of Virginia had charged the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback with similar but different crimes that resulted from the dog fighting operation he and his family conducted on the property in Surry County, Virginia.

At the time the charges were brought it felt like a grandstand move on the part of the Virginia authorities.

Those crimes could have easily been folded into the federal case, but Commonwealth prosecutors said the citizens of Virginia were outraged at what they saw and deserved to have their voice heard.

Vick has now performed his public penance by being brought from Kansas to Virginia to personally take his plea and make his apologies to the people of Virginia.

With this resolved, Vick can apply for an early release from Leavenworth where he is still serving out his 23-month sentence. His official release date is July 2009 and as a result of today’s events he can apply to serve some of what is left in a halfway house.

While waiting for final sentencing in 2007, Vick tested positive for marijuana and after his incarceration began at Leavenworth he entered a drug rehab treatment program.

After successful completion of that and the resolution of the pending Virginia charges the path is clear for him to ask for an early release date.

If that happens early enough in 2009, he will certainly apply for NFL reinstatement. Let the discussions begin now about where he would he land if Commissioner Goodell is ready to board the Vick merry-go-round again.

Tired of the same old sports page? Then check out Paula Duffy’s insightful (and often humorous) take on the sports day at her Examiner.com page! The popular co-host for Sports Journey Radio is also a contributor to the Huffington Post and founder of the sports learning site Incidental Contact. In her spare time, Duffy practices law in Los Angeles. But don’t hold that against her.

ATLANTA – There’s a buzz around the city of Atlanta . . . the buzz?

The Atlanta Falcons have been put back on the NFL map.

The unexpected early success of the Falcons, (6-4 overall and 4-1 at the Georgia Dome) is lifting the fortitude of the city. Many predicted this young team with a rookie head coach to be a cellar-dweller.

That is certainly not the case and sports chatter is picking up steam at the local coffee houses and on the streets. The sports aura that hovered over the city had been depressing lately with the Falcons imploding.

Michael Vick was in shackles, the Falcon’s head coach Bobby Petrino like the ‘Cowardly Lion’ snuck out of town with his tail between his legs and many of the Falcons’ star players abandoned ship or were traded away for pennies on the dollar.

So much has changed in such a short time. The Falcons, under the leadership of rookie head coach Mike Smith and rookie-of-the-year candidate QB Matt Ryan continue to find ways to overcome the underdog role and win. In fact they have become favorites in some of their recent games.

The NFL has taken notice of the Falcons. The league pushed the November 23 Falcons/Panthers kickoff to 4:15 and upgraded the matchup to a national game.

Coach Smith commented on that compliment from the league, “It’s an honor for our football team for that to take place.”

Full story in The Sunday Paper-Atlanta

A lot is happening in the Cowboy’s camp this week. There is a buzz about Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones returning to the team, QB Tony Romo, who is throwing without a splint on his broken finger, spending the day at the movies with a homeless guy named, ‘Doc’, T.O missing practice with an illness, the list goes on and the media eats it up.Maybe too much.

While we columnists scramble to be the first to report the latest ‘news’ on the ‘Boys, the pertinent items, like performance on the field, find a way to make it to the back burner.

Pertinent items, like the fact these same ‘Boys have lost more games before Thanksgiving Day that they lost all last season and sit three full games behind the New York Giants.

Jerry Jones was quick to cheese in front of the cameras to tell the world his troubled player ‘Pacman’ was being reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell but here we are days later and there is still no official word from the NFL. Is Jerry jumping the gun here? Maybe he should borrow Romo’s splint and put it on his tongue and let the league do the press releases.

And the NFL’s newest Boy Scout, Romo–is this guy for real or is this all a PR stunt? Helping an old couple change a tire on the side of a dark road then going to a flick with the homeless guy-it’s old-school, Boy Scout walking the old lady across the street stuff, and the timing couldn’t be better for the Cowboys.

With the team anxiously awaiting a confirmation from the league, the timing of this Good Samaritan act is somewhat interesting.

These may all be good-faith gestures but either way, it takes the media pressure off the ‘Boys concerning their lackluster performances. Has anyone asked T.O. and the team about Owens gaining less than 40 yards per game over the past four games?

PR. Gotta love it.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

It seems like Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, has created a part-time gig for himself called, “NFL spokesman.” The charismatic, scene-stealing owner of the Dallas Cowboys told the media, his troubled player Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones is returning to the field in a few weeks.

We should expect the NFL to verify this but why have they refrained from doing so and allowed JJ to run loose with it?

The league responded to Jones’ comments with an email from a real NFL spokesman Greg Aiello that read, “When there is a final determination, we will announce it.”

Pacman, who has an album full of mugshots and laundry list of court appearances, has completed the inpatient portion of his NFL-ordered alcohol treatment in the Boston area and had been awaiting word from Roger Goodell and the league about his immediate future.

JJ stated to the press that Pacman was “Being reinstated by Roger Goodell and will begin limited practice before returning to the field when the Cowboys play in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 7.”

JJ said, “He’s a long way, a long way from having clear sailing.” and that he would not have bodyguards for ‘Pacman’ in the future.

Is this insinuating the bodyguards were at fault for the “brawl in the stall?”

Pacman’s attorney, Worrick Robinson added this, “It all starts with him (Pacman) and his decision-making. He’s comfortable making decisions for himself.”

And there lies the problem.

Tom’s National Examiner sports column.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

Is Mike Singletary’s act of humiliation–dropping his pants to the floor in front of his entire team in the locker room–setting a trend?Probably not because the latest drawer-droppers don’t speak English and probably don’t follow American NFL football, but either way this act of child’s play needs to stop.

I’m talking about the recent futbol match between Catania and Torino on Catania’s home field on November 16, 2008. Three Catania players dropped their pants to block the view of the opposing goalie during a free kick. They actually scored on the play and won the game 3-2. Torino protested the move to no avail.

This move reminds me of NHL player Sean Avery waving his hands and blocking the view of New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur during a playoff game. It wasn’t officially against the rules but the NHL called an emergency meeting and made a rule against Avery’s unsportsmanlike, cheesy act the following day.

Let’s see how the European futbol league handles this one.

A Catania team spokesman said in a radio interview that the pants dropping, “is a strategy his coach practices . . .”

Can someone explain how answering the question, “Boxers or briefs” to 70,000 strangers on national television has to do with ‘strategy’ please?

Or why a Hall-of-Famer like Singletary could think exposing himself to a group of NFL players in the locker room is any kind of motivation.

Maybe Singletary’s performance was retaliation to his father who, according to answers.com, was “a strict Christian minister who preached against such sins as playing sports and wearing shorts” and a man who left Mike and his family hanging when he left them for another woman.

Hopefully this juvenile act goes away quick and doesn’t turn into a tacky trend that people find as a way to get ‘exposure’ . . . and please, T.O and Ocho Cinco, don’t even think about it during your next TD celebration on Monday Night Football.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

Is Detroit Lions’ coach Rod Marinelli finally losing it? How much can we expect one man to take. We’ve heard of train wrecks but Marinelli’s Lions are a train derailment.

It took him a little longer to get the “deer-in-headlights” look than some of the other ‘M’ coaches who were hired by recently-fired team CEO Matt Millen.

Millen, Mornhinweg, Mariucci, all are notorious for leaving the media scratching their heads while they stood at the mics with glassy-eyed glares, mumbling on like crazy homeless guys, trying to come up explanations on how and why they and their team were so incompetent.

One of Marinelli’s recent inarticulate rant sounded like a monologue out of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”.

Get the syringe ready, where’s the Valium!

Here’s Marinelli’s mumble-jumble at that press conference on November 12, 2008.

“You’re in this dark tunnel and you’ve got no way out,” he said. “You’re waiting for light, and you see that light, what do you do? What do you do?

You start digging and getting out. … I’ve always believed you stay in the tunnel and you keep digging when you expect no light.

“You have the same faith when you expect no light. You have the same belief in what you’re doing when you expect no light. … It’s dark and I’m going to dig through. My shovel is sharp and my pick is sharp and my will is outstanding.”

Sharp shovel, dull shovel, pick or no pick, Marinelli appears emotionally drained at this point.

After yesterday’s loss to Carolina, his team dropped further into the cellar to a league-worst 0-10 and he jumped in the face of one of the reporters during the post-game, “You go out there and find me guys on the street and bring them into Allen Park and I’ll inspect them”, referring to replacing his current players with anyone off the street.

Scary thing is, he sounded way too serious.

What can you say besides the stress of coaching the worst team in NFL history is capable of driving a man crazy . . . maybe literally.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax