NEW YORK – While visiting the Big Apple all week, it’s hard not to concentrate on covering the sports news coming out of America’s biggest sports town-there’s a lot of it.

The New York Giants’ Plaxico Buress’ weapon charges and legal woes has saturated the news here and nationally all weekend but there’s another New Yorker demanding some of the attention.

The New York Knicks’ Stephon Marbury who was suspended after refusing to go into a game, walked out of a meeting with Knicks President Donnie Walsh and NBPA lawyer Hal Biagas after only 15 minutes yesterday. The meeting was called to discuss the anticipated buyout of Marbury’s contract.

Fifteen minutes sounds like a really short time to spend trying to agree on a buyout plan for a $20.84 million a year contract. By bolting out of that meeting minutes after the parties barely pulled their chairs up to the table, Marbury is making the impression he is not truly committed to resolving the matter.

You would think even an athlete with an attitude like Marbury would realize when you are talking about not having to make another dribble or attempt even one layup again with the team, it takes more than a half of a Bugs Bunny cartoon to come to terms on how much of that $20.84 million dollars his team should have to wire to his bank account.

Biagas remained with Walsh attempting to resolve the issue but the parties seem to have hit a brick wall. Biagas responded to questions afterward, “We feel the discipline imposed by the Knicks is baseless. We plan to file a grievance.”

Marbury slammed Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni in an interview with the New York Post last week, “We need to separate from the relationship. The marriage is over, it’s a done deal. I wouldn’t trust him to walk my dog across the street.”

Knicks teammate Quentin Richardson hasn’t had many kind words for Marbury lately, “He hasn’t played with us all year. Regardless of what you have going on with the organization or what you have going on with your coach or whatever — you’re not going to allow your teammates to be left out there the way we were basically being left out there. I don’t pay attention to Marbury because I don’t look at him as a teammate anyway.”

The trash-talking in this organization has gone from being directed at opponents on the court to being directed at each other in the media.

The Knicks (8-8) have dumped a few of their high-salaried players and with this attempt to buyout Marbury’s contract, it’s obvious they are positioning themselves for the upcoming Lebron sweepstakes.

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