Results tagged “antoniopierce”

With former Giants star Plaxico Burress indicted on gun charges, his lawyer Benjamin Brafman said, "Although disappointed, we are not surprised, as the facts of this case have not been in dispute since the date of the incident. When you have the mayor and the district attorney both publicly demanding a maximum prison sentence, it was perhaps too much to hope for the grand jury to conduct a sympathetic review of the unique facts of this sad case."

The Plaxico Burress case is now in the hands of the grand jury, who will decide what charges (if any) are coming against the receiver. The News reports that the end of proceedings saw three Giants staffers share their accounts of the fateful November night—Director of Development Charles Way, VP of Medical Services Ronnie Barnes and Coach Jesse Armstead. And before any decision is reached, the Times tries to sift through all of the media gamesmanship on both sides to get at just what actually would be a fair punishment for Burress. One criminal attorney familiar with the standard plea tactics of the DA's office said one year's jail time usually would have been the norm for these sort of charges (Plax's lawyer Benjamin Brafman's offer of one year was allegedly rejected by his former boss, Robert Morgenthau.) Brafman is still whining to the press about the unfairness of the DA's hard stance against his client, now saying he is "deeply saddened by (their) lack of compassion." The grand jury, acting as "the conscience of the community," could decide as early as today if they found a similar sympathy in Plax's testimony. Update: That was fast: Burress was just indicted!

Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce completed his testimony before a grand jury yesterday, concluding two days recounting his involvement in the Plaxico Burress shooting mess last year. Pierce's lawyer sounded confident that the star's defense was as strong on the stand as it is on the field, recounting his testimony that he was helping "save the life of his teammate" by concealing the gun Burress shot himself with and returning it to the receiver's home after getting him to a hospital. His attorney seemed unconcerned with DA Robert Morgenthau's allusions that charges may be coming for Pierce as well, saying, "It was really clear once all the testimony came out that no one could have acted any differently." While the linebacker didn't talk to reporters, he's been all over Twitter discussing the case, saying he would "Draw a line in the Stand and see what side PEOPLE are on." Immediately after testifying, Pierce asked for directions to Giants training camp with bravado, tweeting, "Which way to ALBANY? someone just told me." Naturally the Post's Andrea Peyser was disgusted, thinking about the trip up I-87 bumping K-Ci and Jojo.

Eight months after accidentally shooting himself in the leg (with his own gun) at a Manhattan nightclub, Plaxico Burress is going to testify in front of a grand jury tomorrow. According to the Post, his "attorney, Ben Brafman, hopes that his client can convince the grand jury assembled in Manhattan Supreme Court to forgo an indictment." Brafman said, "Mr. Burress is going to ... tell the truth about what happened that night... He's [also] going to ask [the grand jury] to believe that this unfortunate incident should not be used to ruin his life." The Manhattan DA's office, which wants the former Giants player in to go to jail, is also going to seek charges against Burress's teammate Antonio Pierce, because Pierce took Burress's unlicensed gun back to Burress's NJ home. Giants co-owner John Mara called charges against Pierce "unwarranted."

Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau made it clear today that his office has no plans to let former Giant receiver Plaxico Burress off lightly for the pending gun charges from his November shooting incident. The DA told the Post, "We've always taken the position that he's going to have to go to jail, whether by trial or by plea."

The logic goes something like this. Because the Eagles won a huge game to get into the playoffs and then won a tough road game in the playoffs, they are the equivalent of the 2007 Giants. And because the Giants lost three of their last four games, they are the equivalent of the 2007 Cowboys. So, the Eagles will beat the Giants tomorrow just like the Giants beat the Cowboys last January.

Antonio Pierce's wife and Mets sportscaster Jocelyn Maldonado was having none of it when a Post reporter showed up at her house for a comment about her husband's alleged hijinks. See, before Pierce and Plaxico Burress went to a nightclub (where Burress shot himself), they went to Head Quarters strip club where Pierce was taped canoodling with a mysterious woman. Maldonado slammed the door in the reporter's face after saying, "That's not even him." Still, the Post claims it was—and that the woman later drove Pierce and Burress to the hospital on the fateful night. The strip club video is also given more romance novel treatment in today's Post, which recounts the play-by-play of how the Giants lineman "leans in to kiss her while briefly stroking her buttocks." We wonder if he tried that move on Maldonado at their Maui wedding in May while '90s R&B group Jodeci played their hit "All My Life" as the couple's first dance.

Besides criminal charges and the Giants' offense being less-than-stellar, the NY Post delves into another possible problem from Plaxico Burress and Antonio Pierce's night on the town: Surveillance video showing Pierce getting cozy with a woman who does not seem to be his wife. Before Burress and Pierce went to the LQ nightclub (where Burress accidentally shot himself with his own gun when it fell down his track pants), the pair went to strip club Head Quarters. The Post describes the video, "As she pulls away, he slides his paw across her breast, briefly grabs and tosses her hair, and then slides his hand down to briefly stroke her curvy bottom." Pierce was married to Joyce Maldonado, who is a model and sportscaster for the Mets, earlier this year; they are a pretty gorgeous couple.

Plaxico Burress had probably hoped that Super Bowl XLII would remain the most analyzed night of his life, but unfortunately for him that no longer appears to be the case. The latest details to come out of the saga that ended with Plax shooting himself in the leg two weeks ago come from the strip club that he and his teammates Antonio Pierce and Ahmad Bradshaw stopped by for a couple of hours before the infamous incident at Latin Quarter. Sources connected to Head Quarters club tell the Post that Burress is "cheap," "very rude" and "the most unpopular celebrity that's been there." Apparently the three Giants drank two bottles of Patron tequila (not often the suggested mixer with a firearm and sweatpants) and Burress ate some of the staff's Thanksgiving turkey with his bare hands, or as the Post puts it, "like an animal." Not only did the Giants not have to pay for any of the amenities, they apparently took off without even leaving a tip.

A week after Giants star Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg at a Manhattan nightclub, the Associated Press has put together a narrative of what happened. It starts Burress (pictured, at right, with lawyer Benjamin Brafman) and teammate Antonio Pierce's arrival to the LQ nightclub in a Cadillac Escalade:

Burress bypassed the line of patrons and got into the club despite the semiautomatic gun in his [track] pants and ordered a drink.

Continue reading "Week After Burress Shooting, Details and Deep Thoughts"

The Giants get to put an end to the Plaxico Burress talk and actually play some football on Sunday and it just might be exactly what they need. Everyone seems to think the distractions will hurt them, but maybe three hours of conflict with Philadelphia will provide them with a chance to escape this mess. The Giants knew some of the details of Plaxico’s troubles last week and that didn’t stop them from beating Washington, so why would this week be any different?

Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce spoke to the media today, but did not mention anything about last Friday night/early Saturday morning, when he was at a Manhattan nightclub where teammate Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself. Pierce said, "I am not speaking about any events that happened Friday or Saturday morning. If there are any questions about the New York Giants as a team and going forward and about the Philadelphia Eagles I will answer, but again I will repeat myself, I am not answering any questions or tell you anything that happened on Saturday." Pierce's SUV was impounded by the NYPD, because he drove Burress to the hospital.

Stephon Marbury must be smiling to know that in one of his likely final days as a Knick, he gets the day off from being the bullseye of the New York media's lambasting. That's because the details that have spilled out surrounding Plaxico Burress's accidental shooting of himself are nothing but embarrassing and incriminating for the Giants star wide receiver. Once police can obtain a warrant from the DA's office, they are likely to arrest Burress on felony weapons charges since the only permit Burress had expired in May and that permit was from Florida thus making it invalid in New York and New Jersey.

Everything is setup for the Giants. Tony Romo is out and Brad Johnson is in as quarterback of the Cowboys. Jason Witten hasn’t practiced all week and has a broken rib. In short, the team that Dallas brings to the Meadowlands tomorrow has little resemblance to the team most people thought would represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this February.

The Giants spent this past week thinking about missed opportunities. They blew a winnable game in Cleveland and blew the chance to open a huge lead in the NFC East. After tomorrow’s game, the Giants play their last 10 games against very good football teams, so getting another win this week is vital.

The latest craze for professional athletes is to intern in media. Ranger forward Sean Avery is headed to intern at Vogue this summer, while Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce spent today interning for the Howard Stern show. Bababooey!

We know that Giants co-owner and movie producer Steve Tisch has been trying to ramp up the star power for the Giants sidelines. After Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore and Cameron Diaz were seen at a game last fall, Tisch told the NY Times, he brings "the spices, the taste, the flavor" to the Giants (if the Giants experience were a soup; the other co-owners, the Maras, would bring the meat and potatoes).

The Giants are going to the Super Bowl! Thanks to a 47-yard field goal in overtime New York defeated Green Bay on the infamous “frozen tundra” 23-20 to advance to Super Bowl XLII.

The Giants were battered and bruised, but they refused to break and came away with a shocking 21-17 upset of the Cowboys in Dallas Sunday.

Have the Giants shaken off last week’s debacle? That’s the question as they head to Detroit to face the 6-3 Lions. The Lions are one of the surprises of the season as Jon Kitna has revitalized his career and leads a very good passing attack with four receivers who are capable of getting into the end zone. Teams that throw the ball well have given the Giants fits this year and New York may be...

In a 33-15 game, it is cliché to say that it was closer than the final score, but this game really was. It is even more cliché to say that this game turned on only a few plays, but again, it did. The fact is, San Francisco’s inability to hold onto the football was the key difference in the game.

John Madden said it best on the air, “Osi Umenyiora made the Pro Bowl in one night tonight”. Umenyiora turned in one of the greatest games by a defensive end ever, sacking Donovan McNabb six times officially and just missing out on a few other opportunities. And it wasn’t just Umenyiora, the defense had a dominating night. recording 12 sacks and holding the Eagles to only three points in the 16-3 win. Aaron Ross added some coverage to the secondary, Michael Strahan broke LT’s sack record, Kawika Mitchell had a fumble return for a touchdown and Antonio Pierce was everywhere.

This is a team that is clearly on the brink. The defense hasn’t shown up in the first two games and now the players are looking for someone to blame. Antonio Pierce picked on a female reporter yesterday by blowing an air horn each time she tried to ask about the defense. He may have been trying to be funny, but coupled with his suggestion that fans write to Giants.com with suggestions to fix the defense it came off as arrogant. (As a fyi here is the contact info on Giants.com)

Wellington Mara used to judge the success of a season based on whether the team was playing a meaningful game the last week of the season. Apparently his son and successor share that belief because Tom Coughlin will be back next year as Giants coach. Coughlin signed a one-year extension today, which could keep him as coach through 2008, but in reality it's just a way to keep him from being a lame duck next year. But he'll certainly be returning as a punching bag for the press.

Football is a game of momentum-swings and the Giants and Cowboys had plenty of those Monday night.

The Giants showed again yesterday that they are capable of a big comeback. Down 14-3, after surrendering a 90-yard run to Warrick Dunn, the defense tightened and the offense went to work and New York emerged with a 27-14 victory.

The Giants have had two weeks to stew over their humiliating loss to Seattle and plenty of time to hear and read about how bad they are. Two weeks to try and come up with a way to stop someone on defense and find their missing pass rush. Yes, this team should be motivated to play well. And two players on defense, Antonio Pierce and LaVar Arrington, both former Redskins, will definitely want to show their old team that they can play.

Once again Tiki Barber led the Giants to a victory. Tiki ran for a 95-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a total of 203 yards in the game as the Giants beat Oakland 30-21 Saturday. Barber’s performance capped off an amazing season where he finished with 2,390 yards rushing and receiving, the second highest total in NFL history.

The Giants had their chances, but they just couldn’t stop the Redskins when it mattered. Santana Moss went wild, scoring three TD’s, two of them on receptions over fifty yards, as Washington beat New York 35-20. The win keeps the Redskins in the playoff hunt and leaves the Giants facing a big game in Oakland next week if they want to win their division.