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      Plax rejected Giants’ grievance settlement offer

      April 4, 2009 /

      According to the Newark Star-Ledger, the Giants offered receiver Plaxico Burress the opportunity to earn $29.5 million (which was the remaining amount left on his contract) over the next four years, but he apparently rejected it in efforts to try and recoup the $1 million in bonuses and guarantees that the team withheld from him last season because of his gun charge.

      Well, I’ve gotten the details of the offer and it turns out it was a pretty sweet deal for Burress. And the fact that he turned it down shows you how much he really didn’t want to be a Giant anymore.

      According to someone familiar with the negotiations, the team offered Burress the chance to earn all of the money that was written into his contract from here on out. All he had to do was end his fight for the money he forfeited over the last four weeks of last season (base salary, roster bonus and signing bonus) during which he was suspended for “conduct detrimental to the team” and start playing by their rules.

      It’s unclear if the full $1 million signing bonus payment the Giants withheld would have been considered part of the defaulted money or if the team would have held on to only the prorated portion for the four weeks he was suspended (a little more than $200,000) and paid him the rest.

      I’m confused. Why did Burress want to get out of New York so badly? Because they withheld $1 million from him since they thought he breached his contract by shooting himself in the leg after being an idiot in a club? Or was it because they extended his contract for him in September of 2008 when he bitched that he wasn’t making enough money following their Super Bowl victory?

      This guy hauls in the winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl and he feels as though the team owes him a debt of gratitude for the rest of his life. The Giants clearly did the right thing when they released him and put an end to the charade.

      NFL

      Judge rejects Michael Vick’s bankruptcy plan

      April 4, 2009 /

      A judge told suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick to come up with a reasonable bankruptcy plan so that he can start getting out of the enormous debt that he owes from bad investment deals and legal fees. But apparently Vick’s plan wasn’t good enough because the judge rejected it.

      Judge Frank J. Santoro called Vick’s plan unworkable Friday, saying it would leave the suspended NFL star with up to a $9 million “hole” on top of the payments he would have to make to his creditors. As of December, Vick had $16 million in assets and $20.4 million in debts, court records show.

      The judge added that some of Vick’s plans to make money once he gets out of prison are speculative — including a $600,000 proposal for him to star in a documentary. And Santoro suggested that Vick should consider selling more of his assets, including one of the two houses he wants to keep for himself and his mother in Virginia.

      “I am going to give you one more chance to come up with a workable reorganization plan, but that is your last chance,” Santoro told Vick, who wore a gray suit and white dress shirt to the two-day hearing. “I think it would be important for you to make the best of it.”

      Santoro ordered a hearing on the status of Vick’s next bankruptcy plan for April 28. Vick’s attorneys, meanwhile, complained they have been handicapped in working with Vick because he has been imprisoned in Leavenworth, Kan. They asked Santoro to allow him to remain in a local jail here until the April 28 hearing. Santoro said he did not have the authority to do that but would consider ordering his appearance at the April 28 hearing.

      If you read the entire article, you’ll get a good sense how unbelievably careless Vick was with his money. Hopefully making six cents an hour working as a prison janitor or $10 an hour working construction will teach Vick the value of money. But considering he thinks he’s going to do a documentary for $600,000, it’s clear he still has a warped sense of reality.

      NFL

      Final Four Preview & Picks

      April 3, 2009 /

      The Final Four is set. Heading into the Sweet Sixteen, it looked like we might end up with three or four Big East teams heading to Detroit, but Syracuse was blown out by Oklahoma on Friday and Louisville was upended by Michigan State yesterday. So while the Big East has two teams (UConn and Villanova), both the Big Ten (MSU) and the ACC (North Carolina) are represented.

      What do these four teams have in common?

      They all have a good point guard — North Carolina’s Ty Lawson, Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds, UConn’s A.J. Price and Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas.

      It’s often said that guard play is a key component to NCAA success, and this year’s Final Four supports that thinking. Louisville, Missouri and Oklahoma all had some backcourt issues throughout the season (and the tournament) and it’s no coincidence that they ultimately lost to teams with a great point guard.

      Let’s take a closer look at each of Saturday’s games…

      UCONN VS. MICHIGAN STATE

      Tip-Off: 6:07 PM
      Sagarin Ratings: UConn (94.40), Michigan State (89.39)
      Line: UConn -4

      With Hasheem Thabeet, Jeff Adrien and Stanley Robinson, UConn might have the most imposing front line in the country. Thabeet averages 4.3 blocks per game, while Adrien and Robinson are two strong forwards who can score inside and rebound like crazy. A.J. Price anchors the backcourt, but the lightning-quick freshman Kemba Walker is the reason the Huskies survived a scare against Missouri. The Huskies are deep and talented, and other than a few minutes against Purdue and Mizzou, they have looked dominant and focused.

      The wild card with this UConn team is how they handle the recruiting scandal of Nate Miles. It’s going to be interesting to see if the media presses the issue or if Jim Calhoun is successful in pushing off any further inquiry until after the tournament. Will the press take “no comment” as an answer? When a program is under attack, there is usually a “circle the wagons” mentality within a locker room, and depending on the makeup of the roster, it can bring a group of players even closer together.

      On the flip side, the NCAA tournament has been a pleasure for the Michigan State Spartans. I didn’t think they had the firepower to make it to the Elite Eight, much less the Final Four, but this team has something that many others don’t — chemistry. Every player knows his role but doesn’t shy away when he is asked to make a play. They have the Big Ten POY in Kalin Lucas and group of guys willing to the little things like defend and rebound. The Spartans are an interesting matchup for UConn because of 6’10” center Goran Suton. Since he can hit the long ball, he should be able to pull Hasheem Thabeet out away from the basket, limiting his shot blocking. UConn may counter by putting Robinson or Adrien on Suton and letting Thabeet defend one of Michigan State’s forwards that isn’t a good shooter like Raymar Morgan or Draymond Green.

      The Spartans are particularly adept at pulling up in the lane and hitting the 8- to 15-foot jumper which will be crucial if they hope to score consistently on the Huskies. It’s nearly impossible to take it to the rim when Thabeet is in the game, but the middle of the lane is usually pretty open since the Husky defenders are taught to feed their man to Thabeet. Defensively, the Spartans have shown the grit and effort necessary to stay with more talented foes, so Michigan State should be able to keep this one close. I don’t like the line, and I think UConn will ultimately triumph, but this has a good chance to be a game that is nip and tuck down the stretch. It doesn’t hurt that the Spartans will be playing about 75 miles from East Lansing. I’d expect a decent home crowd, though it’s tough to get any kind of home court advantage at the Final Four.

      Continue reading »

      College Basketball, March Madness

      Giants release Plaxico Burress

      April 3, 2009 /

      The Giants have officially decided to release wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

      The New York Giants released Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress on Friday, a little more than four months after the talented but troubled wide receiver accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a New York City nightclub.

      Burress’ four-year tenure with the Giants was highlighted by a game-winning touchdown catch in the Super Bowl 14 months ago but it was also dogged by fines and suspensions.

      Burress’ status has been uncertain since he shot himself on Nov. 29. He faces a felony weapons charge that could put him in prison for at least 3 1/2 years if convicted.

      Some fans will be upset by this news because of what Burress did to help the Giants win the Super Bowl two years ago, but what was the team supposed to do? Sit idle why he goes through a possibly messy trial and then have to wait to see if he’ll be available to play? Why not douse the fire now before it gets out of control?

      The only potential issue for the Giants (besides the fact that they now have one of the weakest receiver units in the league) is now they don’t have much leverage in trade talks. They apparently have already talked to the Browns about Braylon Edwards and if Cleveland was willing to make a deal on draft day, they’ll certainly ask for decent compensation knowing the Giants don’t have many options. The draft is pretty deep in receiver talent, but prospects like Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin and Darrius Heyward-Bey could be gone by the time New York selects in the first round (No. 29).

      It’ll be interesting to see if any of the Edwards-to-Giants trade banter starts up again after Plax’s release.

      News, NFL

      Friday MMA Review 4/3

      April 3, 2009 /

      Carlos ConditHere’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

      – Carlos Condit didn’t live up to the hype and Junie Browning didn’t live up to his mouth at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night show. You can check out some videos from the event here.

      – Word on the street is that jiu-jitsu phenon Demian Maia will get the next crack at Anderson Silva’s UFC middleweight belt…assuming Silva crushes Thales Leites later this month at UFC 97.

      – BJ Penn will finally return to the lightweight division at UFC 101 (August 8th, Philadelphia), where he’ll take on #1 contender Kenny Florian. It will be the first time in 15 months that the UFC’s 155-pound strap will be on the line.

      – The ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter debuted Wednesday night, as 16 British hopefuls were cut down to eight official members of Team U.K. We do not have high hopes for this lot.

      – After a rage-filled video-blog entry that saw UFC prez Dana White use the word “faggot” and call a female reporter a “fuckin’ dumb bitch,” White has issued a public apology. To the gays, at least.

      – Is DADA the next Kimbo Slice?

      – We counted down some quick ‘n’ ugly MMA knockouts.

      – Check out CagePotato.com on Monday morning for full results of WEC 40 (Torres vs. Mizugaki), DREAM 8 (Aoki vs. Sakurai), and Bellator Fighting Championships’ debut event.

      Mixed Martial Arts

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