This whole Plaxico Burress saga has me befuddled and bemused. Why you ask? First, that anyone would be foolish enough to (allegedly) bring an unlicensed gun to a nightclub. That takes stupidity beyond the average human's comprehension. Second,like it or not, the Plaxico Burress story has reached outside the domain of just sports. Our Sports Anchor Sal Marchiano likes to say that sports is the candy store of news. Sadly, that's not nearly as true as it used to be.

In today's instant information world. the Burress saga is hyped as a 'news' story. It is, but it isn't. Yes, the public is interested in the Burress story, but it does not affect the average person's life. Even Mayor Mike Bloomberg asked that Burress be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. There's the pot calling the kettle black. His desire to do away with term limits no matter the cost or desire of the voter makes Burress' incident seem minor.

To help you better understand my point, Monday night we ran a story on a crossdressing bandit in Florida ahead of potential fare hikes on the New Jersey Turnpike. Which story do you think affects the average Tri State viewer more? The fare hike is more meaningful to consumers in the long term. But a crossdressing bandit is 'compelling video', so it runs first. Edward R. Murrow would roll in his grave. Then again, Murrow claimed that we 'always overestimate the intelligence of the American public.' With crossdressing bandits parading around for airtime, Murrow may have had to rethink that quote.

Don't get me wrong: Plax is a story. What saddens me is that this case, steroids in baseball, drug arrests-they take away from what is supposed to be entertainment. Sports is too much like real life instead of the 'candy store' that it should be. It's just sad that the games we watch and play are now bundled up iwth eight minutes of weather and a live shot (that you see every year) on the 9.000 floats and balloons for the Thanksgiving Day parade. Too bad sports just can't be about bats, balls, sticks, goals, pucks and drop shots.

Here's another point: Will news organizations care if for some reason Plax is found innocent? That's not as compelling to news types. Years ago, outfielder Derek Bell, then with the Padres, was charged with solicitation when the Mets and Padres were playing a series at Shea. It got lead play on all major newscasts. But months later, Bell was acquitted when it was learned he was set up. But TV types and newspapers barely did a followup. Not interesting enough. Let's see what happens this time around.

This afternoon Big Blue placed Burress on the 'non football injury list' and fined him for conduct detrimental to the team. Burress' season is rightly over. The Giants did the right thing for his well being and the sake of the team. Will news organizations care about the human interest if 5 years from now, Burress is enjoying his life with no problems? We'll see.

While we wait for the next shoe to drop in the Plaxico Burress saga and the Knicks and Stephon Marbury drag out their soap opera, there's a nice story developing across the river. It doesn't have the sex appeal that these other stories have, but they told me to blog about whatever I want so here goes. Devin Harris is fast becoming the go to guy for the Nets.

You know it's not your normal Monday when I'm writing about OFF the field stuff instead of on following a Sunday chock full of local NFL tidbits. The Jets with a major letdown, and the Giants, without Plaxico Burress, breezed by the Redskins. Instead, we have to hear about Burress and the possible involvement of linebacker Antonio Pierce in an assanine incident Friday night.

I guess when you realize you have the city by your little finger, as Mayor Bloomberg seems to think he does with NYC, doing a little bargaining for a better seat doesn't seem so harmful. And for a guy who prides himself on riding the 4 train down to city hall, maybe he thinks his little luxury grab will go unnoticed, or maybe he wasn't aware of the emails his aides were sending to the Yankees executives.

In a story that was originally reported on by the NY Times this weekend, it seems that aides to the Mayor were so intent on getting the administration the best luxury suite accommodations possible and they were willing to use tax exemptions & favors to get what they wanted. And they did indeed get what they wanted, or at least that's what a bunch of just-released emails seem to show. When your options are incompetence or corruption, it's not a great choice.

Crying foul is NY Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky (D-Westchester) who wonders if taxpayers were appropriately protected in the city’s suite deal. In fact, Brodsky obtained & released the emails before publicly questioning the administrations motives & commitment to protecting the public's best interest & trust. The Times article states, "Mr. Brodsky said what emerges from the e-mail correspondence is a sense of entitlement ingrained in Bloomberg officials."

Funny, you'd think a guy running for an historic 3rd term as mayor, who already is being seen as someone who played fast & loose with the term limits laws, might be a little more circumspect in his high-profile dealings during times of public scrutiny.

Wait, what is that I hear? Could that be a door to the mayor's office creaking open a bit, just enough for someone else to get his or her foot in? I hear Anthony Weiner's pretty good with his feet, and he certainly proved that when he played goal against me & my team at Sky Rink...

Jets may be suffering from a big win hang over after last weeks win over the Titans, check out post game interviews from this weeks game against the Broncos after the link.

Call him the Rudy of the 21st century, David Vobora will be making his first career start at middle linebacker for the Rams this Sunday.

The news came down today. The Knicks suspended Stephon Marbury for a game and docked him nearly $400G in salary. The disgruntled guard tells NBC's Bruce Beck in an interview he never said he wasn't going to play, and he was "shocked" he was - in his words - "suspended for no reason." Of course coach Mike D'Antoni says differently. Check out the video.

The Jets return to the Meadowlands Sunday as conquering heroes, having knocked off the mighty Patriots and the even mightier Titans. Come Sunday, it will be 21 days between home games for Gang Green, and the Jets miss the ol’ swamp.

We caught up with the Jets’ all-world tackle and quote-machine Kris Jenkins to find out what he missed most about Giants Stadium these past few weeks. Take a listen, you might be surprised.

When it comes to Thanksgiving Day, we look forward to the football almost as much as the turkey (depending on who's cooking or providing for that matter, the football is better).

GQ

Christmas might be coming early for some Maria Sharapova fans. The tennis hottie will grace the cover of December's issue of GQ Spain...and she's serving up some sexy poses. Check out the pics and a behind the scenes video of her GQ photoshoot.

With the Jets in first place and the talk of a possible “Subway” Super Bowl with the Giants, is it time we retire (at least for this season) the phrase “same old Jets?” We went to Jets practice today and asked the players if this team is any different than the clunkers of the past.

Last night, LeBron James and the Cavaliers came to town. During a 119-101 blowout that wasn't even that close, Knicks fans treated the NBA's Chosen One as if he were already wearing #23. If Quentin Richardson is still with the team in 2010, would King James have to buy the uniform number? Once again, the Knicks are teasing their fans. They're probably thinking, "You've waited 35 years for an NBA Title, what's a few more years?"

If you missed Anthony Rieber's column yesterday in Newsday and Newsday.com, take a look. It is time for the Mets to rethink their dealings with Citigroup and the $400 million that they are expected to shell out to the team for the club's new "state of the art world class ballpark" (as we heard on every SNY and WPIX Mets telecast in 2008) for a few substantially important reasons:

You KNOW things are going bad for GM when they bail out on their advertising campaign with the most well known athlete on on the planet, Tiger Woods. With a year to go and $7 million due Eldrick, GM pulled the plug on having Woods as a spokesperson.

Eli Manning decks the cards. (AP Photo/November 23, 2008)

Dare we dream??? We had the Subway Series back in 2000 with the Yankees and Mets. Can we have an all New York Super Bowl??? It's not unrealistic to start thinking about it. Yesterday the Jets dismantled the previously undefeated Tennessee Titans. The Giants kept on chugging as they took care of the Arizona Cardinals in the desert, handing them their first home loss. So how might things shape up?

Brett Favre topples the Titans. (AP Photo/November 24, 2008)

Giants fullback Madison Hedgecock was the subject of a video profile HERE on wpix.com Wednesday. On Sunday in Arizona, the “anonymous superstar” scored the FIRST touchdown of his NFL career…coincidence??

(AP Photo/Kyodo News)

The knuckleball. It's considered one of the most difficult pitches to learn and even harder to throw with success. Maybe not for Eri Yoshida, who has used her unorthodox side-arm version of the pitch to make history. Earlier this week, the 16 year old, became the first woman drafted by a Japanese pro baseball team. Think she could strike you out? Check out the video.

New York Red Bulls midfielder Dave van den Bergh (11), of the Netherlands, celebrates his goal against Real Salt Lake during the first half of the MLS Western Conference Final soccer game Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008, in Sandy, Utah. (AP Photo/Steve C. Wilson)

After years of playing in relative obscurity, the NY Red Bulls are on Major League Soccer's premier stage for the first time this Sunday, facing the Columbus Crew in the MLS Cup.

Now I can't claim to be an avid soccer fan, but I can get excited about the World Cup, and tune in to the occasional Red Bulls game. I had no idea, however, until about a week ago when I saw a promo on ESPN, that the Red Bulls were in the Super Bowl of soccer. My question is, did anyone else know?

It's Official: The Knicks have acquired Elizabeth, New Jersey native Al Harrington from the Golden State Warriors Leading scorer Jamal Crawford heads to the West Coast. Shortly afterwards, the club traded Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins to the Clippers for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas.

While it's true that Donnie Walsh drafted Harrington in 1998 and loves his rebounding and versatility, these deals are all about the future-one that may not include ANY of the players the Knicks acquired today.

Giants practice took a painful turn yesterday, if only for a few brief moments...AND WE HAVE THE MUST SEE VIDEO TO PROVE IT!!! (Turn up your speaker volume for MAXIMUM effect).