There are a few reasons I’d like to thank Plaxico Burress for turning the gun on himself and putting a slug in his leg.  First and foremost, this incident has shed light on just how uncapable of being a functional person in society Plaxico is.  Lets paint the scene here and look at just how mind blowing this incident is.  Plax goes to the club, gun stashed away (which wasn’t registered), in a state where it’s illegal to carry firearms.  Not only was the gun loaded at this point, the bullet was already in the chamber and the safety wasn’t on.  What the hell else did he think was going to happen?  Might as well pull the pin on a grenade and stash it in your back pocket while you’re at it.  Better yet, lets carry around some butcher knives in our pockets without any sheaths or means of covering them.  All of these scenarios will probably have favorable outcomes.  Okay, no they won’t.

Now lets talk about the legal aspect.  If he Plaxico gets pinned with carrying a firearm illegally (which if he didn’t would be the second best lawyer performance next to Ray Lewis getting off clean) he will face a minimum mandatory sentence of 3 and a half years in federal pound me in the ass prison.  But that’s not all, right?  There’s no way Plax was rollin to the club alone.   Sure enough, linebacker Antonio Pierce was there with him and Pierce is being investigated for potentially moving the gun.  Tampering with the weapon of a crime is a misdemeanor within the state but if Pierce happened to take that gun to, say, New Jersey, then he’s looking at a federal crime as well.

Finally, the best part about this whole situation.  The hype.  This incident has people talking; media, players, people who think Plaxico is a moron.  Violence with athletes is becoming a more and more prevalent issue.  Hell, last week Giants wide receiver Steve Smith was robbed at gun point.  Should athletes be carrying weapons?  That’s not for me to say.  It’s easy for me to sit here and bark out opinions on what guys should and shouldn’t be doing with their lives at night because I’m not in those shoes.  But is it really that hard to put yourself in a position where you aren’t going to run into the homies at 3 am and gunshots might be exchanged?  I don’t think so.

I’m sure Tom Coughlin loves this news out of New Jersey. Some of you may remember reports of a large New York Giants contingent frequenting strip clubs and leaving without tipping. But this news surrounds Plaxico Burress. According to AOL Sports Blog and Deadspin, Burress angrily left a New Jersey bar without paying a $2,000 tab. The reason? Plax wasn’t getting any play.

Sources say New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress insulted female patrons there and “left the club without paying his $2,000 tab.”

It seemed that Burress was upset Wednesday night because “no women were paying any attention to him.”

What an offseason this has been for the Giants. First, their franchise running back walks away at the peak of his career. Then their career sack leader gets punked by his wife in a divorce hearing. And now there’s Plaxico Burress, a receiver that, while supremely talented, doesn’t know when to shut up and play football. All night long, Plax and his crew downed Grey Goose and bottles of Dom Perignon. And all night long, Plax was unable to escape the cockfest that was his posse.

It’s hard to believe a professional athlete could strike out at a bar in New Jersey but that’s the case we have here. It may have helped matters if Burress didn’t act like a complete jackass all night. Reports say that a male fan raced home to retrieve his Burress jersey, only for his autograph request to be snubbed by #17. Next time Plax, just make it rain. That’ll attract the hoes. Just don’t slam their head into the stage.

There’s not many games that are more intriguing than the Sunday Nighter between the Giants and Bears. Some people are already calling it an NFC Championship preview. I’d say that’s a bit premature when Seattle will soon be healthy, Carolina seems too talented to possibly be out of the running, and when the Saints are in the running in their own right. I really liked the Giants on Sunday Night, I thought they’d win because they’ve played so well at the Meadowlands all season. And then Plaxico Burress opened his mouth.

“I don’t think they’re the best corners I’ve played against or we’ve played against this year. By far, no,” Burress told the Newark Star-Ledger. “Those guys make plays [on] the balls that are thrown straight to them, but they’re not just covering guys straight up and just shutting them down. I haven’t seen any of that.

“They’re very beatable.”

I’ll be the first in line to doubt the Bears as a whole unit. But I’m sure not going to doubt their defense. They were the best in the league last year and they’re the best in the league this year. Sure, they gave up 31 points to Miami. But six turnovers and an intercepted returned for a touchdown do that to you.

Why is Plaxico giving this team bulletin board material? The Bears take pride in their defense. It starts with their coach Lovie Smith and continues all the way down to the fanbase. As if they weren’t motivated enough after the shocking home loss to Miami.

Burress needs to realize it’s not just the cornerbacks that make a defense. An average cornerback (which the Bears CBs are not, they’re both Pro Bowlers) can look really good when he has safety help and a good pass rush. The Bears have all of that. They were inspired before this game, and now they’re even more inspired.

Burress has been known to run his mouth. He’s already called Terrell Owens a coward this season. And now he’s starting to bash opposing defenses. But he needs to work on his timing. The Bears defense is a lethal unit. And not only are they lethal, they’re also pissed off. Plaxico just gave them more motivation. If the Giants could only put up 14 on Houston, what are they going to do against Chicago?