Dec 15 Giants lose to the Cowboys 20-14  |  GAME PHOTOS      GAME PHOTOS

On The Game: Game 14 Recap Gamegirl... "... Things couldn't have started off much better. On the Cowboys first possession, the Giants stopped Marion Barber for no gain. Tony Romo threw incomplete to Jason Witten and then to satisfy Terrell Owens cravings, he threw to him next and T.O. botched the catch letting it pop out of his hands. Yes, it started off just fine with the Cowboys going three and out, but then there was the rest of the game. Their defense held the Giants rushing game to just 72 yards and Eli Manning was sacked a total of 8 times (that's not a misprint) in this game. It was amazing that he completed 18 of his 35 passes while trying to get rid of the ball to receivers who couldn't put much distance between themselves and the coverage. ...." Mikefan.... "...One thing is for sure after watching this game - the Giants desperately need to have Brandon Jacobs on the field. Without him cracking things open for the offense, it's near impossible for the Giants to have an effective passing game. The old one-two punch that made the Giants offense dominant for most of the whole season was being able to combine a power runner and a deep passing threat and both were missing for this game....."

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ESPN - Defense dominates as feuding Cowboys grab much-needed win.
Giants.com - Giants fall to Cowboys, 20-8.
StarLedger - New York Giants will not miss Texas Stadium.
StarLedger - Time for Giants to be concerned in wake of 20-8 loss to Cowboys.
StarLedger - New York Giants' Webster cashes in with five-year contract extension.
Newsday - Giants need to right the ship vs. Panthers.
Newsday - Dallas defense pounds Manning, Giants.
Newsday - Giants stuffed on the ground.
NYDailyNews - Eli Manning sacked 8 times as Giants fall flat against Cowboys, 20-8.
NYDailyNews - Giants' star dims in Dallas after dismal 20-8 loss.
NYDailyNews - Cowboys conquer chaos, control fate.
NYDailyNews - Giants linemen now sad sacks.
NYDailyNews - The Greatest Giants: Quarterbacks.
NYDailyNews - Domenik Hixon drops the ball as Plaxico Burress fill-in.
NYPost - Giants lose to the Cowboys , 20-8.
NYPost - Big 'D' turns Eli (8 Sacks ) and Co. into Texas toast.
NYPost - Giants can't Ko Team Turmoil.
NYPost- Cowboys cause trouble for the Giants.
TheRecord - Cowboys sack Giants.

Game 14 Preview - Giants (11-2) vs Dallas (8-5).
The Cowboys had everything going their way last Sunday in chilly Pittsburgh. They knew the Giants had already lost their game and they were on their way to closing the win-loss gap that stood between them and the division leader. The Cowboys took their 13-3 lead halfway into the fourth quarter where it quickly evaporated, and they went on to lose 20-13 when Tony Romo's third interception of the game was returned for a touchdown with 1:40 left to play.
As we said, earlier on the Giants had lost only their second game of the season to the Eagles 20-14. Donovan McNabb was just too elusive for the Giants defense and he kept the chains moving (12 of 18 on 3rd down plays). Meanwhile the Giants offense had nothing going for them. It was Justin Tuck blocking a fieldgoal attempt and Kevin Dockery returning it 71 yards for a touchdown that gave the Giants their first score and cut the Eagles lead to 10-7 at the end of the first half. Later with the game well in hand, the Eagles basically awarded the Giants a so-what touchdown to run out the clock and win 20-14. A few hours later the Cowboys awarded the division title to the Giants when they lost their game to Pittsburgh.

Dec 14 The Giants could take the field tonight at Texas Stadium knowing they already have clinched a bye in the first round of the playoffs. If the Vikings lose to the Cardinals and the Falcons lose to the Buccaneers, the Giants are assured of finishing no worse than the No. 2 seed in the NFC and would earn a bye. The same holds true if the Vikings lose and the Panthers beat the Broncos. If those scenarios do not happen, the Giants can take care of their own business by beating the Cowboys.

The road to the Super Bowl through the NFC will at least partially go through Giants Stadium, and there are probably only a few teams good enough to come to the Meadowlands in January and steal a playoff win. The Dallas Cowboys are one of those teams. That's why it's so important for the Giants to dispose of them now. "No question," running back Brandon Jacobs said. "A team like that could be dangerous in the playoffs."
The Giants(11-2) already are the NFC East champions and are looking to secure their grasp on a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Cowboys (8-5) at the moment are the sixth and final team in the NFC postseason mix but realize their next loss can put them on the outside looking in. "Last week the Cowboys were desperate, this week they are doubly-desperate," running back Derrick Ward said. "They're going to throw everything at us. We just got to see how much we can take on the chin and keep fighting."

Welcome to another wacky week with the 8-5 Cowboys, who enter tonight's NFC East game against the Giants teetering on the brink. A win over the Giants, and Dallas' playoff hopes remain intact. With a loss and the chaos that will surely follow, the team that was such a trendy Super Bowl pick might not even make the playoffs. The mess was to be expected. Jones created such a volatile mix in the locker room, what with so many strong and divergent personalities, that the bickering was predictable. Now it remains to be seen if the Cowboys can rise above the madness, win out and make the playoffs. With games against the Giants, Ravens and Eagles, that's no lock.

Cowboys cornerback Terence Newmanhad a phone interview with ESPNFirst Take on Friday morning, when he said there is not enough accountability by players, as well as the coaching staff. "When coaches make mistakes around here, there is nothing said about it," Newman said. "They just go and usually try to defuse that and try to put that blame on somebody else. That is one thing that's hurting us as a team, players not owning up to it as well as coaches."
Early in the week, three fools pulled up a stool in Jason Garrett's office, and they sat a while, complaining about mistreatment. Tony isn't playing fair. He likes Jason Witten better. I'm gonna tell my mommy. Eldorado Owens, of course, was the captain of this whine squad. The man runs mystery meat routes and has hands of glass, but it's never his fault. By Friday, Owens and Witten reportedly had to be separated in the locker room to prevent flying fists.

Tony Romo has quickly gone from a cute and precocious, rags-to-riches quarterback who is in regular company with Hollywood and pop star celebrities, including former gal pal Carrie Underwood and current girlfriend Jessica Simpson, to someone who supposedly crumbles under pressure and can’t win the big game. And instead of becoming the heir apparent to the Cowboys’ championship quarterback throne Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach sat on, people are wondering if he’s the second coming of Danny White. White threw for a lot of yards and set a lot of records, but was never able to take his team to the Super Bowl.

A look at some of the most significant games between the Giants and Cowboys ever played at Texas Stadium. To reach the top of the list, you don't have to go back very far. The detonation cords will nearly be in place when the Giants take the field and look up through the hole in the roof for one last time tonight. The final Cowboys game ever there will be played Thursday against the Ravens and then . . . kaboom! It will be replaced by a new $1.3-billion stadium, and the Giants will play there next season when the NFC East schedule once again brings them to Dallas.

The decision by Jerry Jones to sign Terrell Owens three years ago was the best thing to happen to the Giants. It was just a matter of time before T.O. ripped apart the Cowboys. He's now accomplished the mission by taking on Tony Romo, the most popular guy in town. Plaxico Burress may be the Giants' most talented player - they would not have made it to the Super Bowl and then won it last year without him. But when he accidentally shot himself in the thigh 17 days ago, ending his season when the Giants suspended him and placed him on the non-foot-ball injury list, it also put his buddy Antonio Pierce and the organization under tremendous scrutiny and created a circus atmosphere that rivals the Cowboys'.

Tiki to Eli: 'I was wrong' Tiki Barber admitted he was "wrong". Actually, he will be admitting it tomorrow evening in front of the nation, when NBC airs an interview that Barber did with Giants quarterback Eli Manning for the Football Night in America pre-game show that airs right before Giants-Cowboys.

Dec 13 All week, as Brandon Jacobs sat on the stationary bike during practice and the team talked about making the "smart" decision on if he'd play Sunday night, it seemed less and less likely that he would. Friday, the Giants made it official, ruling their starting running back out with a knee injury for the game against the Dallas Cowboys in Irving, Texas.
That means Derrick Ward will start at running back for the defending champions in their final visit to Texas Stadium. It also probably means a little more action for little-used running back Ahmad Bradshaw, and it could mean the offensive debut of never-used running back Danny Ware.
Ware thinks he will fit in with the backfield's persona. "I call myself "Water,' " he said. "I think I can be slippery and break away from tackles a bit. Then again, if I need to run up somebody, I can turn into a solid. Maybe, maybe, (I can) evaporate and fly away from somebody. I have all three qualities."
If Ware is dressed, the Giants might as well let him return kickoffs. He can't do much worse than the other options. "I think coach [Tom] Quinn has a trust in me [from the preseason]," Ware said of the special teams coach. "I really don't get many reps, but if all of a sudden he asks me to go back deep, he has faith I will catch the ball and run north and south." Ware sounds excited that this might be his first chance to get his hands on the football since August.

Behind Ward and Bradshaw on the Giants' depth chart are Danny Ware, the second-year former Jet, and nine-year veteran Reuben Droughns, who twice rushed for more than 1,200 yards in his career (2004 with Denver, 2005 with Cleveland) and last year led the Giants with six rushing touchdowns. These days relegated to special teams, where he is second in tackles with 11, Droughns has not played one offensive down this season and admitted, "I do miss it." He called his new role "physical and exciting and my chance to be a defensive player." But if someone were to ask him to carry the ball Sunday ... "If they did that?" he said. "I'd be there faster than you could say, 'Achoo!"'

It wasn't that long ago that Eli Manning was supposed to be the worst quarterback in the NFC East and Tony Romo was supposed to be the best. It wasn't that long ago - just over a year - that most Giants fans looked to Dallas with a little bit of jealousy as Romo, smiling all the while, was scoring with his wide receivers and scoring with Jessica Simpson. A year ago all the questions were about Manning. He wasn't leading the team, wasn't delivering the numbers, wasn't nearly worth the draft-day trade that brought him here.
Wouldn't ever get the respect from the locker room. Wouldn't ever be as good as his brother. Today those doubts feel laughable. And it is Romo, not Manning, who comes into tomorrow night's game in Texas with the questions looming over him about dissension among his teammates, a season spiraling away and a wavering sentiment over his ability to someday actually win a big game..

Eli Manning shocked teammates and reporters during training camp in 2007 when he responded sharply after Tiki Barber questioned his leadership skills in Barber's then-new role as an NBC analyst. On Thursday, the former Giants running back asked Manning about that episode as part of an interview that will air before Sunday night's Giants-Cowboys game. "Clearly, I was proven wrong," Barber said. "But what was your reaction when you heard?"

THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED Saturday at 9 p.m., ESPN
Cris Snee found it interesting to watch films of a game played nearly 25 years before he was born with men who actually played in that game. Snee will be part of tonight's (9 o'clock) ESPN premier showing of "The Greatest Game Ever Played," a documentary of the 1958 overtime game between the Giants and Colts that helped catapult professional football into the national spotlight. Snee watched the game with former Giant defensive tackle Rosey Grier and guard Al Barry.
Concerning the New York Giants' football match against the Baltimore Colts on Dec. 28, 1958, however, ESPN is not the only entity or commentator to label it the greatest game ever played. On that specific question, Giants halfback Frank Gifford notes here, it certainly wasn't the greatest pure football game ever. It was sloppy, with many turnovers, and neither team could hold a lead.

Dec 12 Earlier this week, when Justin Tuck's sack of Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was officially changed to a rush for minus 4 yards, he wasn't too surprised. "I don't think it should have been a sack," Tuck said of the play, on which McNabb slipped and Tuck tagged him down. "Obviously I would have loved to have it, but it just makes me a little bit more hungry this week."
In the last five games, the Giants' pass rush has been limited to a total of six sacks, with four of them coming in one game - against Washington two weeks ago. "Obviously, we've been down as far as sacks and putting pressure on the quarterback," defensive end Justin Tuck said. "And that's something we've been known for doing, so I'm looking forward to seeing it come back. I'm going to go out on a limb and say outsiders are, too."

Defensive end Justin Tuck was limited in yesterday's practice after missing Wednesday's workout entirely. But if he's looking for sympathy for his mounting aches or the fact that other teams are double- and even triple-teaming him, he'll have to go beyond the locker room. "He's drawn the interest," coach Tom Coughlin said of schemes designed to keep him in check. "And that's the way this game goes." Linebacker Antonio Pierce was more direct when asked if he thinks Tuck is wearing down. "Michael Strahan did it for 15 years," he said. "He wanted to fill those shoes, so welcome to him." Pierce also said the extra attention is a compliment to Tuck
Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo quickly built a reputation as an NFL innovator, a man seemingly able to draw up quarterback pressure at will. "We all know Spags is the king of blitzing schemes," defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka said. However, Spagnuolo isn't bunkered in his office cooking up a new-fangled formula for his defensive ends. Like his players, he believes strongly that better execution is all it's going to take to get more pressure.

The 8-5 Cowboys will be fighting for their playoff lives on Sunday, while the 11-2 Giants will be trying to re-establish themselves as the team to beat. NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth says he's not ready to abandon the Giants' Super Bowl bandwagon - yet - following Big Blue's 20-14 home loss to the Eagles this past Sunday, the team's first defeat since finding out Plaxico Burress was out for the season.
Plaxico Burress, one of the top wide receivers in the NFL, likely is going to prison - and the Giants still have reason to feel fortunate. The Dallas version of one of the top receivers in the game isn't going anywhere, but Texas Stadium for Sunday night's game, which to the Cowboys has become the more festering distraction. Terrell Owens isn't getting the ball often enough from quarterback Tony Romo, same as T.O. didn't get it often enough from Jeff Garcia in San Francisco and Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia. And of course, it has to be a conspiracy. .

It isn't easy being Antonio Pierce, who is trying so very hard to become the next Charles Barkley. You know what I mean about Barkley. He always had immunity from public prosecution, somehow. He could throw a bar patron through a plate-glass window, spit on a girl at the Meadowlands, and still get a good broadcasting gig while talking about running for governor of Alabama. Everybody always forgot and forgave. "That's just Charles," they would say.
So here we have Pierce, who is also great fun much of the time, a wonderful, playful quote and an impact middle linebacker. But he isn't Barkley. Nobody is. Pierce is in more trouble than he thinks right now, and it is probably time for him to put aside the macho performances for a few months; to start acting his age, which is 30, and his marital status, which is not single.

Dec 11 Since Carolina's DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart ran all over Tampa Bay Monday night -- with 100-plus yards and two touchdowns apiece -- they've been the talk of the NFL. That was the Giants a month ago, the team with the seemingly unstoppable run game that racked up 200 yards three weeks in a row. After a few slower weeks on the ground, the Giants' running backs don't mind someone else getting the attention -- but they do mind that they haven't been able to run at will over opponents.

There's no denying how impressed a few of the Giants were when they hit the remote Monday night and watched the Panthers' running game totally obliterate a quality Buccaneer defense. "It was outstanding," running back Derrick Ward said. "I've been in the league five years and I've never seen that before from two running backs in the same game. It was nice to see what running backs can do in this league."

No question Sunday night's game against Dallas in Texas Stadium is a big one for the Giants, a chance to lock up a postseason bye against a traditional NFC East rival. Yet in the playoffs' big picture, the Dec. 21 game against Carolina might be even greater. It could be for the No. 1 NFC seed and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. With that thought, while the Giants would like to see running back Brandon Jacobs on the field against the Cowboys, they apparently aren't going to push it. If his troublesome left knee is not full-go, there is the distinct possibility he will be held out in hopes he's 100 percent for the Panthers and their two-man running back show of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.
Brandon Jacobs wants to play against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night. But he wants to play in the playoffs even more. That puts the big running back and the Giants in a tough spot this week, because Jacobs is still feeling the effects of a lingering injury to his left knee. It's an important game, because the Giants are trying to lock up a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. But he knows the only thing that would really help his knee right now is rest.
Although Jacobs and coach Tom Coughlin have been vague on exactly what the problem is, multiple sources told me yesterday that Jacobs has a slightly damaged posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. It is not expected that he will require offseason surgery; however, the Giants are doing everything possible to make sure the injury doesn't get worse. Thus, the cautious approach for Dallas Week. A person close to Jacobs said, "The injury is not that serious, and Brandon should be fine when they need him this season."

Hixon knows how to forget. Hixon was a safety in college at Akron, so he knows something about having a short memory and not allowing a bad play to get him down. That experience should serve him well this week after his key drop of what could have been an 85-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the 20-14 loss to the Eagles. "That's the tough thing in football, life in general, is getting over the negative," Hixon said yesterday."

Plaxico Burress was due a $1-million installment on his signing bonus yesterday, but the Giants did not pay him, according to the NFL Players Association. "We will file a claim in the appropriate forum to enforce his right to receive and keep the moneys entitled to him under his player contract," union spokesman Carl Francis said in an e-mail statement.

Tony Romo knows what the critics are saying about him. He's heard all about how he has yet to win big games, especially in December and January. Since he became a starter in 2006, he has gone a combined 4-7 while throwing a total of 14 interceptions in regular season and postseason games played in December and January.

Former Giants
Mark Ingram, former wide receiver, Giants Super Bowl hero knows what it means to go long. The feds say he's taken that to an extreme by skipping out on the start of a jail term. An arrest warrant was issued Monday for Ingram, who bailed out on a 71/2-year sentence set to begin in a Kentucky federal prison last Friday.

Dec 10 The Giants' Week 16 matchup at home with the Carolina Panthers on Dec. 21 was flexed Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. The game, which replaced Chargers-Buccaneers, has huge implications for home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs. the Giants (11-2) currently hold a one-game lead over the Panthers. If both teams win this weekend, the Giants would be able to clinch home field with a victory over Carolina.
If Carolina beats Denver at home this week, regardless what the Giants do in Dallas, a win over Big Blue would give them the top spot in the conference heading into the final week of the season. The Giants did clinch the NFC East title, despite their 20-14 loss to the Eagles on Sunday. And some possible playoff matchups are becoming clearer.
Why does that all suddenly seem so onerous for the Giants? Four days ago, they were 11-1, hadn't lost since mid-October and were widely acknowledged as the best team in the league. But cracks in the ice have suddenly appeared, and the Giants could be in danger of falling into the frozen waters below. Nothing ahead is easy; in fact, everything is exceedingly difficult. The Cowboys are talented and desperate and the Giants saw what that combination can muster last week in their disturbing 20-14 loss to the more desperate but less talented Eagles.

After logging 30 sacks in the first eight games of the season, the Giants have just seven in the last five. Four of those came in one game against the Redskins. "We've been one step away," Tuck lamented earlier this week. Or maybe they are one player away? This is where they miss Osi Umenyiora. It wasn't early in the season when they were taking down quarterbacks like Douglas Firs on a Christmas tree farm. It's now, almost all the way through a season, without a break since September. Last year it was a rotation of defensive ends that had the Giants sacking through the playoffs and Super Bowl. This year, they could use an extra pass rusher to give some of the guys a rest." .

The NFL Players' Association can't get Plaxico Burress back on the field this season, but it is trying to help the troubled receiver recover some of his $2 million in lost wages and fines. The union filed a non-injury grievance on Burress' behalf Tuesday, claiming the Giants' decision to place him on the non-football injury list, suspend him for four games and fine him an additional week's salary was "excessive," NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis said in an e-mail. The grievance also claims the Giants' actions are "in violation of the CBA," although Francis declined to specify how.

A top doctor at prestigious New York-Cornell Hospital said he doesn't know who at the facility is legally responsible for notifying the cops when they treat a gunshot victim - an issue exposed after Giants receiver Plaxico Burress left hours before the NYPD knew he was there. The startling admission by Dr. Philip Barie, chief of critical care and trauma, raises questions about why his subordinate, emergency-room Dr. Josyann Abisaab, was the only employee sanctioned by the hospital.

NFL News
Economic slump causes NFL to cut staff. Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday that the league is cutting more than 10 percent of its staff in response to the downturn in the nation's economy that could put a dent in ticket sales for next season.
Retired players to get new Medicare benefit. The program begins Jan. 1 for ex-players over 65 who are vested in the league's pension plan. The money will go toward the monthly premium of the player's coverage.

Dec 9 When the Eagles pressured Manning, and they pressured him enough, the quarterback sorely missed his best friend - namely, a 6-foot-5 receiver with the reach and athleticism to make a perfect pass out of an up-for-grabs lob. "That's not the case," Manning said when asked if Burress' absence made his job more difficult. It was an absurd claim contradicted by the stat sheet -- Eli went two quarters without a single completed pass -- and by coach Tom Coughlin, who conceded, "I think you're going to miss a player of [Burress'] magnitude any time."
The game changes for the Giants with Plaxico Burress gone and no one to draw double coverage, so don't expect them to run for 200 or more yards in a game anytime soon (see Eagles game).Big Blue's Super Bowl hopes and dreams will come down to Pass/Fail. They will dare Manning to beat them from here to Super Bowl XLIII, especially given January in East Rutherford if and when the Giants clinch that No. 1 seed, and he will relish taking that dare.
The Giants need Manning's characteristic unflappability now more than ever. They are facing a potential crisis. Plaxico Burress is gone for the rest of the season, his punishment for an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. His replacement, Hixon, dropped a 50-yard Manning second-quarter bomb that hit him square in the numbers. Neither Domenik Hixon nor any of his fellow receivers was ever able Sunday to give Manning relief in the face of relentless Eagles' pressure, not the way Burress and his 6-foot-5 frame usually do. Yet there Manning stood afterward, barely raising an eyebrow. He refused to hang Hixon out for the dropped pass on the first play of the second quarter, a downfield shot the Giants took as soon as they had the wind at their backs and one that should have resulted in a 7-3 Giants' lead.

"No party hats," is the way Eli Manning put it yesterday. "But for kind of a bad day, ended it on a good note." Manning admitted the turn of events was "weird." It was a strange day for the Giants. Tom Coughlin started his Monday morning briefing with the team. First, he congratulated the players for clinching the division title, something that was accomplished when the Steelers came back to beat the Cowboys three hours after the Giants couldn't do the job themselves, losing 20-14 to the Eagles for the end of a seven-game winning streak. The congratulatory portion of the presentation was brief. Coughlin quickly shifted gears and got down to evaluating the tape of one of the Giants' poorest performances of the season.
There is no need for the Giants to panic, but it is now clear that they are going to have to finish out the regular season, then be forced to participate in the NFC playoffs and the Super Bowl in order to be handed the Vince Lombardi Trophy. For most of the last two months, the Giants looked unbeatable, and all the next two months would seem to determine which AFC team was going to lose to them in Super Bowl XLIII. One loss to the Eagles and the invincible aura is gone. That's how the NFL works.

"It is a weird feeling," Eli Manning said. "We're 11-2 and we're proud of the way we've played. But we've gotten used to winning and that winning feeling. We've only felt that losing feeling twice this year. It's not fun." "It's a great feeling in itself to win a division," added linebacker Danny Clark. "But of course we wanted to do it on our own terms." On the day after, though, Manning said "Guys are disappointed, but we're not hanging our heads, we're not moping around here." That's because the big picture is still pretty good. With a win in Dallas on Sunday night, the Giants can clinch a much-needed bye in the first round of the playoffs. They're also still the favorites to earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
There was disappointment that the Giants did not get to celebrate the division title on the field and with their fans, some of whom likely purchased the "NFC East Champs" gear that was sold in the parking lot before the game. Others took it for what it was worth. "It's always nice to call yourselves division champs, but at the same time, what did we miss out on?" Shaun O'Hara asked. "High-fives, a few hugs? A T-shirt and a hat? Really, after you get that, it's back to business, because being division champs doesn't really mean a lot in the grand scheme of things."
Sunday's game served as a warning. The Giants didn't match the intensity level of the Eagles, who were fighting for their playoff lives. They face the Cowboys (8-5) this weekend, who are in a similar spot after losing to the Steelers on Sunday. After that, it's the Panthers (9-3) and Vikings (8-5) -- two teams who appear destined for the postseason but haven't yet wrapped up playoff berths. Given their final three games, the Giants know they must start acting as desperate as they were last season.

Walking briskly around one of the corners in the Giants' locker room, Brandon Jacobs saw a crowd clogging his escape route. So he did what any running back would do. He stopped short, put on a spin move and headed for daylight through another exit. His injured left knee looked fine on that maneuver. But whether he'll be healthy enough to elude Cowboys defenders Sunday the way he did reporters yesterday remains in question.
Brandon Jacobs' left knee was "sore" Monday, but the Giants have their fingers crossed that it'll feel better in time for Sunday night's game in Dallas. "This is an ongoing thing," Tom Coughlin said. "Hopefully he can get it under control and he'll be ready to go. But he's sore." Jacobs' left knee has been sore since Oct.5, when he first injured it against the Seattle Seahawks. He's only missed one game this season, at Arizona on Nov.23, and that was because of a sprained ligament in his other knee.

Dec 8 Giants lose to the Eagles 20-14  |  GAME PHOTOS      GAME PHOTOS

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On The Game: Game 13 Recap Gamegirl... "... The Giants seemed to be about a half second off on either getting to McNabb or making a big tackle, play after play. The Giants offense looked sick and they couldn't continue their drives. Meanwhile the Eagles were able to control the ball and make just about every third down play they came up against...." Mikefan.... "...Brandon Jacobs was the most effective offensive player, averaging about 5 yards a carry, but he had to leave the game with a knee injury after eight carries. The other running backs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw couldn't pick up the yards like Jacobs did, and the usual sure-handed receivers were dropping passes on Eli Manning that walk-ons could catch...."

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ESPN - Eagles stun Giants to keep hopes alive.
Giants.com - Giants fall to Eagles, 20-14 .
Giants.com - Postgame Notes.
StarLedger - Giants fall to Philadelphia Eagles, 20-14.
StarLedger - Eagles' Westbrook keeps Giants' Pierce guessing.
StarLedger - Absence of Burress not the cause of New York Giants' meltdown against Eagles.
StarLedger - New York Giants win NFC East title despite 20-14 loss to Eagles.
StarLedger - Hixon unhappy with struggle in New York Giants' 20-14 loss to Eagles.
Newsday - Eagles' small-ball strategy outfoxes Spagnuolo.
Newsday - Eli struggles in Giants' loss to Eagles.
Newsday - Giants not themselves in loss to Eagles.
Newsday - Brandon bruised but OK.
Newsday - Giants must refocus after loss to Eagles.
Newsday - Asked to step up, Giants' Hixon makes big drop.
NYDailyNews - Giants salvage lost day with NFC East title.
NYDailyNews - Eagles, not Plaxico Burress, are a Giant obstacle for Big Blue.
NYDailyNews - Win streak over as Eagles ground Giants.
NYDailyNews - Eagles go right after distracted Antonio Pierce.
NYDailyNews - The Greatest Giants: Quarterbacks.
NYDailyNews - Domenik Hixon drops the ball as Plaxico Burress fill-in.
NYPost - Big Blue Butterfingers shoot selves in foot.
NYPost - Back into East title despite flop vs. Philly.
Philly.com - Giants deny effect of distractions.
Philly.com - Birds shove Giants aside.
Philly.com - Westbrook is back.

NFC East News
Cowboys toss title to Giants It was monumental, epic and plain amazing when the Cowboys, in complete control of an often-ugly game, blew a 10-point lead in the final 7:30 and lost, 20-13, to the Steelers Sunday, handing the NFC East to the Giants in the process.
Washington would be fortunate if it might be another four years before they have to face the Baltimore Ravens again. If the Redskins are lucky, maybe Ed Reed will be retired by then. Reed set up a touchdown with an interception and scored on a 22-yard fumble return, part of a stifling effort by the Baltimore defence in a 24-10 victory Sunday night.

Game 13 Preview - Giants (11-1) vs Philadelphia (6-5-1).
The Eagles really enjoyed Thanksgiving this year. They played at home and feasted on the Cardinals 48-20. Donovan McNabb threw four touchdown passes and Brian Westbrook tied a team record by scoring four touchdowns. Playing on a Thursday gives them a few extra days to prepare for their next game against the Giants. If the players didn't go easy on their holiday leftovers, they may have gotten a small dose of indigestion watching the Giants smoothly defeat the Redskins on Sunday 23-7. Eli Manning threw for 305 yards, without Plaxico Burress, completing five passes each to three different receivers, and the defense held Clinton Portis to a season-low 22 yards.
Donovan McNabb - Still going. He's up. He's down. One week Andy Reid is benching Donovan McNabb and the next awarding him the bench as an early exit to a game that was well in hand. Did the benching inspire McNabb or serve to wake up the team playing around him? Does McNabb mostly take the rap for an inefficient offensive line and a group of so-so receivers?
Eli Manning - Still going strong. He was selected as the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for November. Eli completed 93 of 148 passes for 1036 yards and ten touchdowns with four interceptions, leading the Giants to a 5-0 record. His passer rating for the month was 94.9. Sure it gets nerve-racking to see the playclock winding down on the offense and Eli gesturing wildly but by now you must have faith that it's all for a reason. The fact is that Eli Manning has quarterbacked his team to 15 wins in their last 16 games.

Dec 7 It's a message the Giants and other NFL teams pound into their young players' heads: In a jam, call us first. "Why would you call the police?" former Giants cornerback and retired player representative Jason Sehorn told The Post. "They're not paid to help you. They're paid to arrest you, to book you." "If I got into trouble, I'd call my security guy right away," said ex-Giant Sean Landeta, a punter on two Super Bowl-winning teams. Most teams employ at least one "security guy," and send a clear signal to players to call that go-to guy, even before cops, in a crisis, insiders say.

With Sunday's weather forecast predicting 30 mph winds and possibly snow, this could turn into a battle between run games -- in which the Giants would have the upper hand. Their run game is best in the NFL, while the Eagles are averaging just 102 yards per game on the ground, 24th in the league. The running backs have had success against Philadelphia, racking up 217 yards on the ground in Week 10. But watch out for the Giants' ball security, because that was also a game when the backs got the fumbles.
Now that every opponent knows Burress isn't in the plans, the way defenses attack the Giants likely will change. All those rolled coverages to Burress' side are no more, putting the onus on Hixon, Amani Toomer and Steve Smith to break free without anyone commanding extra attention. "Definitely going to have more pressure to make plays, but we all welcome that," Smith said. "Teams are trying to stop the run. They feel they'll stop the pass because Plax is not here. We welcome that if you want to play us like that. .

In a division in which the Cowboys have only recently settled into stability at quarterback and the Redskins always seem to be shuffling their signal-caller, facing McNabb twice a year has become about as regular and predictable as the phases of the moon. But a very real question lingers today as the Eagles come into Giants Stadium for a must-win game against the defending Super Bowl champions: Is this the last time the Giants will face McNabb in an Eagles uniform?

In this NFL, the 11-1 Giants are as sure a bet as any team. But it doesn't guarantee they will beat the Eagles, who clearly are the more desperate - and rested - team. If the Giants do lose, the D word - distraction - immediately will rear its ugly head. The ultimate referendum on whether the Giants have been distracted comes in the playoffs, when they will be expected to make another run and get to another Super Bowl. What the events of the past week have reinforced is the Giants are lucky to have this head coach and this quarterback steering the ship. Coughlin never blinked when his job was in the crosshairs two long years ago. Manning never blinked amidst all the questions about whether he would become Phil Simms, much less Big Brother Peyton.

For what it's worth, there is a dangerous Eagles team in the Giants' way - a desperate team that has been through its share of turmoil and is clinging to its last thread of hope for a playoff berth. There has been plenty of speculation that this could be the final few weeks of either Donovan McNabb's or Andy Reid's tenure in Philadelphia, too. And this is still a team that gave the Giants quite a fight in Philly four weeks ago, when the Giants came away with a 36-31 win. Plus, the Giants are now facing the reality of a long-term future without Burress, their No. 1 receiver, though they are secure in the knowledge that they've gone 3-0 and scored 104 points in the three games he missed before.
The Giants wouldn't have made it to the Super Bowl last season and then won it without Plaxico Burress, who put on a legendary performance in the frigid NFC Championship Game in Green Bay and then caught the game-winning touchdown with 35 seconds left to beat the Patriots. But they have a better chance of finishing off their title defense now that they are without him for the rest of this season. Burress was the lone holdout in their team-first locker room and was providing almost no production on the field.

Domenik Hixon has done a terrific job filling in for Plaxico Burress. And in three games without Burress, the Giants have averaged 34.7 points. They have a strong running game and defense, too, and that all gives them confidence as they begin life without their No. 1 receiver. Then again, there's no escaping this one truth: "I don't think you really replace somebody like Plaxico," Amani Toomer said. As deep as the Giants are at wide receiver, they simply don't have another 6-5 target with long arms and soft hands and an uncanny ability to get open in double coverage.

With Plaxico Burress suspended for the rest of the season and facing felony weapons charges, Toomer's role on the team is certain to become even more significant. The Giants have five wide receivers on their roster, but the other four combined don't come close to approaching Toomer's numbers or longevity. He's the lone voice of experience in a room filled with second- and third-year players.
Plaxico Burress has left the Giants and Eli Manning without a No. 1 receiver for the rest of the season and perhaps beyond. What is a quality quick fix to this problem? Trade a first-round pick and a little more for Arizona's Anquan Boldin, who was unhappy the Cardinals didn't upgrade his contract before this season and could be even unhappier if they turn their back on him again.

Former Giants
Jesse Palmer was a quarterback with the Giants and was best known for two things. The first was that he became only the second Canadian (behind Mark Rypien) to start an NFL game when he finished out the 2003 season for an injured Kerry Collins. The second is that he is the only NFL star to compete on "The Bachelor," the reality television show that had eligible women vying for his affections.

Dec 6 Antonio Pierce says he didn't know Plaxico Burress had a gun. A "contrite" Antonio Pierce met with cops and prosecutors Friday and told them he had no idea his Giants teammate Plaxico Burress was packing heat at a Manhattan nightclub. "He almost had a heart attack when the gun went off and he realized what happened," a law enforcement source told the Daily News.
Pierce, police sources said, drove off in his Cadillac Escalade with Burress and the gun and hid the weapon for a short time in his New Jersey home before Burress retrieved it. Pierce as a result could face criminal charges, though sources say it appears he will be treated as a cooperating witness as authorities build their case against Burress. Burress has been charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony, and could spend at least 3 1/2 years in prison.

We interrupt our continuing coverage of the Plaxico Burress/Antonio Pierce saga to bring you pertinent information about a key Giants player. Defensive tackle Fred Robbins, who sat out Sunday's victory over the Redskins because of an injured shoulder, practiced all week and is listed as probable for Sunday's game against the Eagles. The ninth-year veteran has played more than a month with broken bones in both hands -- something he's finally revealed after at first denying there were any breaks.

Giants fans sick and tired of the Plaxico Burress mess and trying to focus on tomorrow's game against the Eagles can rest easier now that cornerback Corey Webster is back on the field. The Giants' best defensive back did not practice Wednesday or Thursday because of stiffness in his lower back, but he was in action yesterday on a limited basis and is listed as questionable. The cold weather doesn't help as Webster deals with the first back problem of his career. Early last Sunday against the Redskins at FedEx Field, Webster twisted his back and remained in the game but his back stiffened during the flight home.

There were a lot of players and coaches breathing a sigh of relief when perhaps the strangest week in team history finally wound down. Sure, the police investigation into Antonio Pierce's involvement in the Plaxico Burress shooting and a possible coverup will continue. And the media swarm that's smothered the team this week isn't expected to completely go away. But for the moment, most of the Giants are free to concentrate on the Philadelphia Eagles, and their opportunity to clinch the NFC East.

The Giants this season already have played three games without Plaxico Burress, but in many ways this is a new beginning without their fallen shooting star. The Eagles tomorrow do not have to spend one minute planning for Burress, because he's suspended. Domenik Hixon replaces Burress in the starting lineup, Steve Smith retains his role as the slot receiver and Sinorice Moss moves from someone who barely plays to someone who can't help but play. "It's not the first game he's been out," Amani Toomer said. "I think a lot of guys have gotten kind of comfortable with the new roles of people put in new situations. We've all come in and picked up the slack.:

It seems as if the Giants go into every week with the same idea: Stop the run. Whether it's Brian Westbrook or Clinton Portis or even Tim Hightower, their primary goal is to clamp down on opposing running backs and eliminate the yardage on the ground. How are they doing? Well, considering that in three of the last four games, the leading rusher against them has been the quarterback, pretty good. "Essentially, most teams' offenses are started by the run," Giants linebacker Danny Clark said. "We understood that [the Redskins'] offense gets going with [Portis] running the ball well, so by limiting him and containing him, we felt that we had an opportunity to put their offense behind the eight ball a little."

Dec 5 It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Knucklehead receiver Plaxico Burress was acting like a Giant jerk at the Latin Quarter even before he shot himself and ended up on the floor shaking and bleeding, employees at the Midtown club said. "Burress was an ass," said a female bartender about his conduct last Saturday. "He was rude and disorderly and didn't acknowledge anyone unless they were in the VIP section. He didn't treat anybody with respect. "I'd rather work with regular customers. Celebrities like Plaxico just cause more problems. He gives the club a bad rep," the bartender said.

For the most part, Antonio Pierce's teammates have left him alone regarding Plaxico Burress' self-shooting at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan early Saturday morning. They have been reading and listening to reports about Pierce's involvement in the Burress situation, so it would seem they'd be eager to question their defensive captain every day about the latest developments in the case. Not true. "It's taboo," linebacker Danny Clark said Thursday. "We don't bring it up at all." Which is not to say Pierce hasn't brought it up, enough so that the rest of the Giants are ready to move on.

Antonio Pierce was still wearing his practice clothes when he stepped up to a microphone Thursday afternoon at Giants Stadium. And come Sunday afternoon, the embattled Giants' linebacker insists he'll be wearing his uniform.
A resolute and at times defiant Antonio Pierce refused to answer any questions Thursday about his involvement in the Plaxico Burress shooting. However, the linebacker made it clear that he plans on starting Sunday against the Eagles and that nothing will distract him from doing his job as the team's defensive captain.
Antonio Pierce, the party of the second part, the key witness, the lookout, the driver of the getaway car, Luca Brasi, the second banana, the friend to those who need a friend, is in front of a full house in the media room. Practice is over and he wants to talk about the next game. He's the only one.
Antonio Pierce, "I would like to open this conference up obviously by stating that 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."
Kickoff cannot come soon enough for Antonio Pierce. The Giant middle linebacker might never be as anxious for a game to arrive as he is this week. His involvement in the Plaxico Burress affair has been a nightmarish experience - and it's far from over. How will the Giants respond to all this? How will Pierce? "We are not worried about if somebody else thinks we are focused," Pierce said yesterday.

Eli Manning shouldn't need these last four regular-season games to be a frontrunner for the NFL Most Valuable Player award. But if the 11-1 Giants run the table, engrave the trophy. Just give it to Eli already. All that talk about how Manning is merely a caretaker of the Giants' offense is about to evaporate again. Now that Plaxico Burress is gone from the Super Bowl champs, joining Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Jeremy Shockey, anyone still questioning which Giant is the real rock of the NFL's best team shouldn't need to see how Manning does the rest of the way. He already gave an answer last Sunday against the Redskins.
Except for one series, Plaxico Burress has not been on the field for the Giants the past two weeks, and in those games, the passing yardage has spiked. When he was suspended for a game earlier this season? Eli Manning had the highest passer rating of his career against Seattle. Strange as it may sound, the Giants are a better passing team without Burress in their lineup. Why? Well, because opposing teams simply think they aren't. Without Burress split out wide drawing the attention of a safety and occupying the mind of a defensive coordinator, the last two teams to face the Giants have brought eight and sometimes nine players up to the line of scrimmage to stop the league's top running attack.

We forget sometimes that these hulking guys who play football for three hours on Sundays are human. They may make more money than us, drive fancier SUVs than us, are certainly more pampered than us, but faster than a speeding bullet we were sadly reminded this week that even Superman bleeds. We talk all the time in sports about finding out what a team is made of, and this is that time for the Super Bowl champion Giants.

Even Tom Coughlin occasionally slips up. Earlier this week, while discussing the possibility of rookie receiver Mario Manningham getting more playing time because of the Plaxico Burress suspension, Coughlin said that while Manningham did not play against the Redskins, "We had a couple of things in for him that we just didn't get to." The release of that seemingly innocuous information caught one of Coughlin's top assistants by surprise. "I wish he hadn't said that, to be honest with you," offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said playfully yesterday."
When offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride is game-planning this week, and every week for the rest of the season, there won't be pages of the playbook he'll rip out because Plaxico Burress isn't on the roster. But there might be pages he'll turn to more frequently. Gilbride obviously wouldn't give away specific adjustments the team will make. But he did say he could identify routes players like Domenik Hixon and Sinorice Moss run well, call them three, four or five times, and build a game plan off that. The plays better suited to Burress, meanwhile, might be used as "complementary" or "supplementary" plays, Gilbride said.

Former Giants
Tiki Barber has watched his former team, the Giants, excel despite several key departures and injuries, starting with Barber himself before last year's Super Bowl season. Now they have an entirely different issue to deal with - the Plaxico Burress fallout. Barber tells The Post's Justin Terranova that Big Blue is up to the task.
Mark Ingram is feeling Blue. His old team is likely heading toward a Super Bowl. His son is playing for a potential college national champion. Life should be sweet for retired Giants hero Mark Ingram. It is not. The good times are over for the star of Super Bowl XXV, with hard time looming. Ingram is scheduled to surrender Friday to start a jail term of nearly eight years in a drug-money laundering sting.

Dec 4 Police probe Giants for delay of game in Plaxico Burress shooting. Giants brass admitted Wednesday they knew Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself minutes after it happened - but the team didn't report the incident to police for at least eight hours. The Giants acknowledged for the first time that Pierce - who was with a bleeding Burress at the Latin Quarter - called Ronnie Barnes, the team's vice president of medical services, moments after his teammate's illegal gun accidentally went off around 1:50 a.m.       - - -  Teams involvement early Saturday. - - -
Why didn't Ronnie Barnes, who had been with the Giants since 1976 and is one of the most respected trainers in sports, instruct Pierce to call 911 for an ambulance? And why didn't Barnes call the police himself on his way to the hospital or at the hospital? When Barnes got to the hospital, he asked for Burress by name and was taken to his room. The statement said Barnes later learned Burress had been issued a hospital ID with a fake name.
Police still want to interview the people at the hospital who treated Burress and did not report the shooting, as required by law. Authorities are trying to determine whether Pierce tried to cover up the shooting. Unlike Burress, who's charged with illegal weapons possession, Pierce has yet to be charged - or talk to police.

It will be a far more important day for Antonio Pierce than the day he chased Tom Brady and Randy Moss with the whole world watching and became a football champion. Sometime between now and game day, Pierce will be asked to come clean to the district attorney, come clean about what he saw and what he knew and when he knew it the night his teammate, Plaxico Burress, shot his New York football career, and maybe a piece of his life, to hell.
It was Pierce who drove the wounded Burress to New York-Cornell hospital early Saturday. Then Pierce drove his own SUV, with the unlicensed Glock in the glove compartment, home to Totowa, NJ, sources say. Burress' wife, Tiffany, who went to the hospital after the shooting, retrieved the Glock the following day from Pierce's residence and brought it to the Burress home, also in Totowa, where investigators retrieved it, sources say. Still to be sorted out is her role in the unfolding story - and its legal implications. It's not clear why Tiffany, a lawyer licensed to practice in New York, moved the illegal weapon from one spot to another. She has refused to speak with investigators, sources said.

Giants' coach should sit Pierce on Sunday. In the hours after Plaxico Burress blasted a hole through the Giants' charmed universe, Tom Coughlin sat down with a witness named Antonio Pierce. Rest assured the coach gave his linebacker a mouthful about his presence at the scene of the alleged crime. Now Coughlin should take this -- as they say in sports -- to the next level. He should bench Pierce for Sunday's game against the Eagles for conduct unbecoming a captain. For conduct unbecoming a member of Coughlin's cherished leadership council. For conduct unbecoming a Giant.

The media attention was postseason-like Wednesday at Giants Stadium in the wake of the Plaxico Burress suspension. At least three times the usual media contingent, including 13 television cameras, crowded into the pressroom to chronicle the day after. For the players, however, the only difference between this day and any other was about one minute of the morning meeting, which coach Tom Coughlin devoted to updating them on the Burress situation.
The morning started with Tom Coughlin addressing his team with a speech highlighted by two words. "Disappointment and sadness," Coughlin said. Then the Giants proceeded to have one of their sharpest practices of the season. "That was the most enthusiastic practice I've been around," said offensive lineman Chris Snee.
In typical Coughlin fashion, he did not belabor the point and quickly moved on to his presentation on the Eagles, Sunday's opponent. "Maybe we took one minute out of our usual preparation," guard Chris Snee said. "Normal" was the way Justin Tuck described the day. "He went about our business as we would have if Plaxico was here," he said.
And so it goes for the no-nonsense coach, who must find a way to blunt the biggest distraction in his Giants tenure. Coughlin has guided the team masterfully the last two seasons, winning a Super Bowl and now getting to 11-1 and in firm control of the NFC. But this situation is more complicated than all the rest. It's more serious than Michael Strahan's absence from training camp last year. Or Osi Umenyiora's season-ending knee injury. Or Jeremy Shockey's me-first moments.

Tom Coughlin yesterday walked into his weekly press conference at Giants Stadium and there to greet him was an inordinate amount of media members jammed-packed into the room. He looked up and said "Something new going on today?" Very new. The crowd was not gathered to hear Coughlin talk about the Eagles, the next opponent for the Giants.
Coughlin said he had a conversation with Burress on Saturday and "He was very humble, he was remorseful, obviously it doesn't change anything. What you have to understand is he is part of our team and our concern is with he and his family's well-being and the ability of him to get through this circumstance and also to be healthy once again." Coughlin laid down the law that he would answer no further questions about Burress. "Because," he said, "believe it or not we have a football game this weekend."

When Domenik Hixon had a chance to speak with Plaxico Burress recently, they didn't talk about guns or arrests or non-football injuries. They talked about running routes. "He started coaching me up," Hixon said. "As soon as I saw him he was talking about releases and going up against Philly this week and knowing what to expect."
Though Burress is facing legal troubles, he can help Hixon. "Hix has come through for us," Brandon Jacobs said yesterday, "every time he has had an opportunity to play." Hixon has started three games this season - vs. Seattle, Pittsburgh and Washington - and racked up 102 yards and a touchdown against the Seahawks. He had five catches for 71 yards last week against the Redskins. The week before in Arizona, Hixon, who also plays on special teams, totaled 269 yards in receiving, rushing and returning.

The NFL Players Association is planning to appeal the Giants' decision to punish Plaxico Burress, which could be the first step toward helping the troubled receiver recover some of his lost money. This is the second time the union has rushed to Burress' defense. Back in September, the NFLPA threatened a grievance when the Giants suspended Burress without pay for two weeks and one game.

Giants wide receiver Steve Smith was so traumatized by the armed robber he encountered outside his town house in a gated community in Clifton, N.J., that he is moving. Not just moving on emotionally. Actual box-packing, security-deposit collecting moving. "I was definitely shaken," Smith said yesterday in his first public comments on the incident since it became public knowledge Sunday night.
Smith said the incident did not transpire exactly as it has been reported but would not elaborate. Asked if he thinks he was targeted because he plays for the Giants, Smith said, "I think all athletes are." One theory is that Burress, after hearing about Smith's incident, decided he needed to carry his .40-caliber Glock when he went out late Friday night. Did Smith speak to Burress about the robbery? "I don't know if I can answer that," Smith said.

From Britney to Plaxico: Hospital gives special treatment to celebrities A longtime emergency room staffer noted Wednesday the hospital routinely fast-tracks celebrities and big donors while lesser souls are left to wait. "The celebrities get seen right away," the staffer said. "And other people don't get treated as soon because of that."

If the doctor at the center of the Plaxico Burress nightclub shooting is prosecuted for not reporting the gunshot wound to police, she will be just the fourth person charged with such an offense since 2000 in New York State, according to authorities. Dr. Josyann Abisaab has emerged as a sidebar to the case in which Burress accidentally shot himself in the right thigh inside the midtown nightclub Latin Quarter early Saturday morning.

A stadium vendor has settled a lawsuit by the family of a girl paralyzed in a car accident caused by a drunken Giants fan for $26 million. The family sued Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp., Giants Stadium's concessionaire, claiming that employees continued to serve beer to Daniel Lanzaro of Cresskill even though he was visibly intoxicated. Lanzaro had a blood alcohol level of 0.226, more than twice the legal limit at the time, after the 1999 accident. Antonia, then 2, was paralyzed from the neck down.

Dec 3 Plaxico Burress' season is over. His Giants career may be over, too. The defending champions slammed their Super Bowl hero Monday when they suspended Burress for the final four games of the regular season for "conduct detrimental to the team" - his second such suspension this season. He was also placed on the "non-football injury list" due to the self-inflicted gunshot wound in his right thigh, which means he cannot return when the playoffs begin next month.
The Giants didn't stop there. In response to his outrageous behavior, they fined Burress an undisclosed amount and suspended him for four games, citing "conduct detrimental to the team for multiple and repeated violations of club rules." The Suspension means Burress is not allowed to step foot on the Giants' facility. Although the team has made no statement about his future beyond this season, consider this the beginning of the end for Burress. The Giants did not purge him from their roster, and he remains under contract through 2012, but don't expect to ever see him in a Giants uniform again.
To which we will add: Good riddance. Burress is done as a Giant, and probably done as an NFL player, too. They said goodbye to the receiver who caught the winning touchdown pass in one of the greatest games in franchise history, but who then fell as hard as any athlete in recent memory. It was the right thing to do for an organization known for doing the right thing in circumstances like this. The Giants needed to send a strong message in the wake of Burress' actions, and they did just that.

If ever there was a non-football injury, Plaxico Burress has one where the bullet hit his right thigh. But what is the non-football injury list? It is, as the name implies, for players who suffer an injury or illness unrelated to football. It prohibits a player from playing or practicing with his team for the remainder of the season. The club retains the option to pay him for the time missed or withhold his salary. While the Giants would not comment on their intention to pay Burress' salary, it seems unlikely given that they suspended him as well. Burress has $823,529 remaining on his $3.5-million salary for 2008. He's also owed $1 million Dec. 10 as part of his signing bonus, but the Giants may try to withhold that. Just like injured reserve, the non-football injury list prevents players from returning for the regular season or postseason.

The official story is that the Giants are the ones who ended Plaxico Burress' season Tuesday, that they are the ones who put him on the reserve/non-football injury list, then laid a fine and suspension of four games on top of that. The real story is that Burress put himself on that list. He is the one who thought the law about handguns didn't apply to him any more than Tom Coughlin's team rules applied to him. He did this to himself the way he shot himself.
Burress had to go. And that's basically what Giants co-owner John Mara, general manager Jerry Reese and coach Tom Coughlin said when they fined him, slapped him with a season-ending suspension and placed him on the NFL's non-football injury list - the first move in recovering or voiding the rest of the $35-million contract they gave him just three months ago. Burress needed exactly 21 days to make the Giants regret that show of faith by not reporting for work one day, a stunt that earned him a two-week suspension.

Burress arrived at Giants Stadium on Tuesday at 9:20 a.m., driving a silver GMC Sierra, and avoided the media staking out the players' entrance by parking right outside the tunnel at the West gate. He walked without any sign of a limp, and around midday was whisked to Manhattan for the medical check. He left the stadium at 3:20 p.m. through the East gate where a smaller media contingent watched as he drove away. He talked with Reese, coach Tom Coughlin and team president John Mara. "The decision we made today regarding Plaxico's roster status was based on the examination of Plaxico by our team physician," Jerry Reese said. "Dr. [Scott] Rodeo believes Plaxico would be out at least four to six weeks with the gunshot wound.
Though Eli Manning agrees on the Giants' decision to put Plaxico Burress on the shelf for the remainder of the season, Harry Carson thinks Burress should get another chance to step onto the field in a Giants uniform in the future. "I would like to see him come back and play, and I'd like to see the Giant organization hang with him. I think they should," the Hall of Famer linebacker said at the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year banquet last night in Manhattan. "Whether they will or not, that's another story. But I would hope that they will hang with him through this whole process and not jettison him."

Cops yesterday impounded Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce's SUV, in which receiver Plaxico Burress was taken to the hospital after he shot himself in the leg at a nightclub, sources said. The NYPD towed Pierce's black Cadillac Escalade from his home in New Jersey to an impound lot in Queens to look for any blood or gunpowder residue that might be inside, the sources said. Pierce once again did not meet with detectives for questioning yesterday, although his lawyer said he eventually would.
Police believe that Pierce put Burress' weapon, a .40-caliber Glock, in his Cadillac Escalade after the shooting at the Latin Quarter, a nightclub and restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, and held it at his home. Someone later retrieved the gun and brought it to Burress' house, according to Paul Browne, NYPD deputy commissioner of Public Information.

While there is a chance that Giants receiver Plaxico Burress could avoid prison after getting charged with carrying a loaded gun, most defense attorneys think he is destined for a stretch behind bars if convicted of illegal weapons possession. Burress has been charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. "If Plaxico Burress pleads guilty to felony possession of a loaded firearm he is going to jail, period. There is no question in my mind," said Brooklyn defense attorney James DiPietro, who handles a number of illegal gun possession cases.
Players get multiple chances at redemption, and the 31-year old Burress - as long as he doesn't serve a lengthy jail term and his always ailing ankles and knees hold up - could in the future play in the NFL. But not here. That the Giants, smartly, acted fast helps ensure this escapade does not have to derail the express train they're riding into the playoffs. They clinch the NFC East and a first-round bye with a victory on Sunday against the Eagles, a nice and very early accomplishment on the way to securing home-field advantage throughout the NFC postseason.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who Monday stressed in no uncertain times that Burress made a "a sham, a mockery" of the law and that he should be fully prosecuted, was less vociferous yesterday. But he did call on the State Liquor Authority to investigate the Latin Quarter, the Lexington Avenue hot spot that allowed Burress in despite knowing he was armed, police sources said.
The doctor who helped treat Giants star Plaxico Burress' self-inflicted gunshot wound was mysteriously summoned to the hospital in the middle of the night - and has been suspended for failing to alert police and signing off on medical papers identifying him by a phony name, sources said yesterday.

In his book, "Giant," Plaxico Burress writes about going to Sean Taylor's funeral. "We were all stunned. Just really shook up," Burress wrote. "Something like that can happen so fast and you could be gone. "We're football players and people look at us with jealousy. Usually the enemy is someone who doesn't like you just because they see you out or you drive a nice car or you got on jewelry or whatever it may be. Some people don't like you just because your financial status is better than theirs." Burress also said Taylor's death opened "my eyes even more to my situation, that I just got to take care of myself the best I know how. I can't relax for a minute." He said he had "several guns, and I had them before Sean got killed - a long time before that."
In the last 23 months, Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was murdered sitting in a limousine in Denver on New Year's Eve; Redskins safety Sean Taylor was shot and killed at his home in Miami and Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier was shot sitting in his car on a Jacksonville street. He is paralyzed and needed to have a leg amputated. "As far as being a figure like Plaxico, everybody knows who you are and you signed a new contract," Justin Tuck said. "I'm not making excuses, but it is something to think about." Tuck said he is not making any judgments on Burress' situation until he knows all the facts.

On the evening Mr. Fast Hands clumsily blew a hole in his leg at a Midtown nightclub, Plaxico did not dine at some Frenchified Manhattan cafe. Turns out, he was telling the truth - partly - when he told personnel at New York-Cornell hospital that the accident was set in motion at an Applebee's chain restaurant. Plaxico, who can afford any chop joint worth its Michelin star, chose to chow down in a down-market, family-friendly rib-and-chip emporium near the Jersey Meadowlands, where an entree can be purchased for under 12 bucks - along with his grinning teammate Domenik Hixon. I asked Hixon yesterday what he liked on the menu. "Everything!" he immediately gushed. "I'm a big fan of Applebee's!"
Unlike Plaxico Burress, who faces a gloomy future, Domenik Hixon spent a good part of yesterday spreading holiday cheer. Along with fellow Giant wide receivers Steve Smith and Mario Manningham, Hixon was signing autographs for sick children and promoting men's health at the Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital in Manhattan. "We're here to raise awareness about men's health," Hixon said before it was announced the Giants had suspended Burress for the rest of the regular season.

Derrick Ward is working toward a big pay day. Due to become a free agent at the end of this season after signing a one-year deal with the Giants during the offseason, Ward has seen his value continue to rise as he shows off a skill set that could make him coveted by teams looking for a No. 1 running back. His 630 yards are impressive enough, but what makes Ward even more attractive is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.

Dec 2 Plaxico Burress was not the only Giants player involved in a crime with a gun this past week. Second-year receiver Steve Smith was the victim of an armed holdup in the early hours last Tuesday morning. And some have connected the dots between the two incidents. The Smith robbery was first reported by former Giants running back Tiki Barber, now working for NBC. Barber linked the two incidents in on-air comments during Sunday night's broadcast. "Last week, Steve Smith, one of Plaxico's fellow receivers, was attacked at gunpoint and robbed in front of his house, so his mind-set is 'I have to protect myself, I'm a target,'" Barber said of Burress.

An irate Mayor Bloomberg demanded Monday that prosecutors throw the book at Giants star Plaxico Burress for bringing a loaded handgun into a crowded midtown nightclub and accidentally shooting himself in the leg. Bloomberg slammed New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell and the Giants for not immediately reporting the shooting to police - cops learned of it from TV - and said it would be an "outrage" if Burress got special treatment.
Yesterday Plaxico Burress was charged with two counts of felony possession of a weapon in the second degree. His attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said Burress plans on pleading not guilty. There is the very real specter of Burress never again playing for the Giants, as he might be incarcerated, suspended by the NFL or simply jettisoned by the team he helped guide to a championship nine months ago with the game-winning catch in Super Bowl XLII.

No. 17 walked out of the 17th precinct in Manhattan Monday with his hands cuffed behind him, but without any trace of a limp. Then his lawyer declared that Plaxico Burress, despite the gunshot wound to his thigh, is healthy enough to resume his NFL career.
As an injured player -- he had a hamstring injury in addition to the gunshot wound -- Plaxico Burress is required by the team to go to Giants Stadium today for treatment. If not, he's subject to yet another fine.
The Giants receiver was ordered to return to the Manhattan court on March 31, signaling that his legal and professional travails were only just beginning. The charges against Burress - for having a loaded gun with intent to use it and for having a loaded gun outside of his home or business - each carry a minimum sentence of 3 1/2 years in prison with maximums of 15 years. His attorney, Benjamin Brafman, who defended hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs on gun charges in 1999, urged the media, the NFL and the public not to prematurely convict his client.

A league source familiar with Burress' situation told Newsday that he is not expected to play in the team's final four regular-season games, although it is uncertain whether the team simply will deactivate him or if other disciplinary measures will be taken. The team could issue a suspension for violating the terms of his contract. The league is closely monitoring Burress' situation as well.

So what does Plaxico Burress stand to lose if the Giants place him on the non-football injury list and cut him after the season? Nearly $32 million, according to an agent who looked at his contract Monday and broke it down payment by payment. The salaries of NFL contracts are normally not guaranteed. And when they are, it's only the early part of a big contract.
The Giants knew Burress was not the most responsible character and made sure they were financially protected. There is $11.5 million in non-guaranteed base salaries in his contract, non-guaranteed roster bonuses of $3.5 million, non-guaranteed escalators of $5 million based on performance and $1.3 million in non-guaranteed workout bonuses. Basically, this is a make-good contract for Burress, who only cashes in if he remains healthy, productive and attentive.
No price tag can be put on the cost to Burress' sinking reputation or the loss of his freedom if he winds up in jail. How humiliating is the picture of him being led into a police car Monday, handcuffed behind his back? Contrast that with his hands in front of him just 10 months ago catching the winning touchdown pass from Eli Manning in the Super Bowl. Burress signed a new contract on Sept.4, hours before the Giants opened the season against the Redskins, even though he had three years and $10.5 million left on the six-year deal he signed as a free agent in 2005.

Antonio Pierce has always taken pride in being the ultimate teammate and leader during his NFL career. Now the Giants can only hope he didn't take that responsibility too far. We know this much for sure: Pierce is very much in the middle of this ugly incident, and until all the details from the criminal investigation surface, he is the one mystery remaining for this team. Paul Browne, an NYPD spokesman, said the gun ended up in the glove compartment of Pierce's car after the shooting, but it was unclear if the linebacker or club security had put it there. Browne said Pierce was under investigation for "his role, regarding the gun and the case itself, overall" -- possibly leading to an obstruction of justice charge.

Pierce told WFAN that he hadn't been arrested and doesn't "see myself being arrested."
According to sources, he's been cooperative with police and other investigating entities. Unlike Burress, who has a history of fines and suspensions from his teams, Pierce has been a relatively trouble-free player for the Giants. He was elected a team captain in each of the last two seasons. So why was he at a club with Burress (and his gun) after midnight the night before the team departed for a key NFC East game? "Things happen, man, things come up," he said. "I don't want to sit here and defend myself. The people that know me, the people that understand who A.P. is and have watched me throughout my whole career, known me my whole life, they know what I'm about. Those are the people I don't have to answer to."
Pierce, who has not been charged with anything, isn't hiding; he appeared on his weekly WFAN radio spot with Mike Francesa. "Let all the facts come out first before you rush to judgment," Pierce said. But he better cooperate with law enforcement quickly, because Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Paul Browne yesterday released this statement: "[NFL Security] promised Pierce at noon today. He was a no-show. Two trainers also knowledgeable about the incident who could be helpful," were also promised, but never showed up. The police were told they would cooperate but we see no evidence of it.

Amani Toomer discusses the Plaxico situation and if he's had any talks with the Giants about renewing his contract or getting a new one. "No, I haven't. Not that I know of. I haven't spoken to my agent in a couple of weeks just because I just haven't spoken to him. I don't know, maybe they have had some talks, but I don't know. This time of year I just want to focus on playing and with everything else, let the chips fall where they may, so to speak."

Bradshaw sidesteps report by Tiki Barber. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw whisked past a small group of reporters stationed outside Giants Stadium on Monday, and did not comment on reports he was the third Giant present at the Plaxico Burress shooting accident in Manhattan. Former Giant Tiki Barber reported it was Bradshaw, not running back Derrick Ward, who was at the Latin Quarter on Friday night. A source confirmed that, but also said Bradshaw was not in the same area of the club when the gun discharged into Burress' right thigh.
On Sunday, running back Derrick Ward vehemently denied reports he was with Plaxico Burress and Antonio Pierce at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan on Friday night when Burress accidentally shot himself in the right thigh. His agent, Peter Schaffer, went even further, saying, "I find it disgraceful and in very bad taste that a media outlet would accuse someone of being somewhere that they incontrovertibly were never at when they did not properly, diligently and accurately check the facts, sources and reliability of the information."

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