Plaxico Burress Charged

Plaxico Burress, who is out on bail, faces at least 3 1/2 years in state prison on each of two counts.

The New York Time: Plaxico Burress, the New York Giants' talented but controversial receiver, helped his team win Super Bowl XLII last season with a game-winning touchdown catch, but he has also caused the team a series of headaches with his off-field behavior. Now, Burress faces charges for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit after he accidentally shot himself in the thigh on Nov. 28 in a Manhattan nightclub.

Burress, 31, came to the Giants as a free agent in 2005 and was re-signed to a five-year, $35 million contract in September. On the field, Burress has been productive. In the Giants' championship season, he played all 20 regular season and playoff games, despite an ankle injury that kept him from practicing most of the season, and led the Giants with 70 catches for 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns. Burress has led the Giants in catches (209), receiving yards (3,227) and touchdowns (29) in his first three seasons with the team. In his career, he has caught at least 60 passes in a season six times and surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in a season four times. Before joining the Giants, Burress played five seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But Burress has brought his share of trouble. The Giants fined him $25,000 for refusing to practice at a mini-camp in June, and he missed most of training camp with an injury. In September, he was fined and suspended for 12 days by the Giants for missing a team meeting without notifying them. Burress said he was attending to family matters. He was fined $45,000 by the N.F.L. for abuse of an official and for throwing the ball in the stands during an October game against San Francisco.

The latest episode came the day after Thanksgiving when he is alleged to have carried an unregistered gun into a Manhattan nightclub, the Latin Quarter, and the gun discharged. Police and N.F.L. officials are both investigating the incident. Burress surrendered to police in Manhattan on the morning of Dec. 1 on the gun charge and will plead not guilty to charges of criminal possession of a handgun.