Stupid Players
Journal #6 “P’legs’ico Burress”
Plaxico Burress is an NFL wide receiver who began his career playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2000. He was a first round pick and played a key role in the offense. After the 2004-2005 season, he was traded to the New York Giants. He also served as a lethal offensive weapon and helped lead the Giants to a win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 42. Later that year, November 2008, Plaxico Burress was in a nightclub in Manhattan, New York. He accidentally shot himself in the right thigh with a hand gun. Apparently, he had the gun tucked in his belt and it was moving out of position. When he touched it to move it, the gun fired a bullet in his leg. A witness saw the bloody pistol fall out of his pant leg and Burress said, “take me to the hospital.” He was treated and charged with two felony account of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree but later released on a $100,000 bond. Class C felonies normally range from 3.5 to 15 years in jail. Police investigated surveillance footage and gathered witness stories to put together a case. They also recovered the .40 caliber gun at Burress’ house. Burress went to court and pled for sympathy from the jury. They worked out a deal and he spent a year and eight months in jail. The NFL suspended him for two seasons. His gun shot wound was pretty minor and only left a scar on his leg. Plax, what the hell were you doing with a gun in a night club? You got enough money to hire security guards don’t you? And why would you be going out somewhere that you need a gun in the first place, especially in mid season? There was a lot of stupidity on his part, obviously. Coach Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants decided to release Burress, even though he had already been paid the majority of his salary for that season. Hopefully Plaxico learned his lesson and will straighten up. He returned to the league and got picked up by the New York Jets. Ironically, the Jets and the Giants share the same football stadium in the Meadowlands. Through his nine games this season, he has 26 catches for 361 yards and 6 touchdowns. Nothing really impressive and not really close to his career highs, but it is his first year back so we’ll see how he does in the rest of the season.
This link is statistics of Plaxico Burress’ career divided up by year. You can tell that he missed the part of the 2008-2009 and the 2009-2010 season from the stats. It also shows when he was playing in his prime and when he has played like crap. You can see that he is far behind the leagues leader’s for this year in yards and touchdowns.
The link relates to his incident because you can see the years that he did not play (wander why?) It also helped me remember when the Giants won a Super Bowl and gave me facts about how long Burress has been in the NFL and other good facts. The absence of football for him definitely hindered his performance, as you can see in the link.
This article from ESPN, the leading sports broadcaster in America, gives details about the process Plaxico Burress and police went through concerning the accidental gun shot wound sustained by Burress. It also talks about what his lawyers and teammates commented about the incident. Also mentioned is costs and other money related questions.
This article related to Burress’ accident because it is focused on the incident that took place and some of the immediate reactions of police, teammates, coaches and friends. It also answers curious questions about money spent on the whole deal and how much he had to dispose of. The article was more of an immediate response to the situation.
Another article from ESPN, this one talks about the longer term effects of Plaxico Burress’ accidental gun shot wound. It includes his words about going to prison and going through the whole ordeal and what all went down in the night club. The article gives more details on his thoughts on the courts and what he thought of the situation.
The article relates to my posting because it also talks about the events that transpired during the incident of Burress’ shooting. It includes Burress’ thoughts on the situation and talks more about the long term things on the case. The link is more recent than the other link, being posted/updated a few months ago so the information is more of a long term response to the accident.
Journal #7 “Chris Henry Paying the Ultimate Price”
Chris Henry, born in 1983 was drafted to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2005 at age twenty two. The young player was a slot receiver so his numbers weren’t huge but it was enough to make an impact on the game, having several touchdowns each season. Henry had the honor of playing with some of the league’s greatest players like Chad Ochocinco. He was engaged and had three children. Chris Henry was 26 years old when his life was cut short. One night, in Charlotte North Carolina, he got in an altercation with his fiancé. She was fleeing the scene of their argument, which was likely over the wedding plans they disagreed on, when Henry jumped on the back of the truck she was driving and later falling off. Witnesses say he lied motionless in the road. One heard him say, “If you take off, I’m going to jump off the truck and kill myself.” Less than a minute later, his words were true. 18 hours later, he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Police say the fiancé stopped the vehicle after he fell off to assist as others rushed to see if they could do anything. Henry was no stranger to the law. He was cut by the Bengals in April of 2008 after being arrested five times the previous few months, making him the second most arrested player in the NFL at the time. The charges varied, including drug possession but his coaches saw something in him and gave him a second chance. He was re-signed for the next season. Unfortunately, he had a season ending broken arm that gave him more time to get into trouble. His teammates say that he was headed in the right direction and was no longer trouble bound. Henry had turned his life around. He was going to help the Bengals make a potential Super Bowl run, with their first place spot in the AFC Central division. Why would you kill yourself over an argument about a wedding? It seemed like he was living the high life; NFL career, fiancé, children. And to end everything like that is stupid, it is blasphemy. His teammates attended his funeral in Los Angeles after playing the San Diego Chargers that week. Not exactly the spiritual lift needed to keep the first place spot in the division. The Bengals quarterback, Carson Palmer, called the team together and they decided to dedicate the rest of the season to Henry and one of the players’ mother who had also died earlier that year.
This article is about the death of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, Chris Henry and his death. It talks about his team’s initial thoughts and about how his death transpired. There are quotes from witnesses that called 911 included in the article about the incident immediately before and after it happened.
This article relates to my post because it gives the details of what happened to Chris Henry concerning his death and the events leading up to and after his death. The link gives a good guess as to why and how he died. It also talks about part of his football career and his history off of the field, concerning trouble with the police.
This link is just a statistics page on Chris Henry throughout his career in the NFL as a wide receiver. It shows his stats year by year and gives information like the number of catches, yards, touchdowns, etc. It also gives the basic information on Henry like age, birthplace, weight, etc.
It relates to my journal posting because it shows that he had an effect on the game for the Cincinnati Bengals and contributed to their winning. It also show when he came and “left” the league. You can also tell when he was in the prime of his career, which could have something to do with being in or out of trouble with the law.
This article is a response to the death of Chris Henry. It talks a little bit about his life and current situations when the incident occurred. He had three children and was about to get married. The article briefly explains what happened before the incident occurred and probable causes of his death.
This article relates to my blog posting because it also talks about the death of NFL football player Chris Henry. The article gave me information on what happened before Henry’s death and why he was in the back of a truck. It briefly describes the autopsy report showing that he died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Journal #8 “Who Let the Dogs Out? Oh, Michael Vick Did.”
Michael Vick was born in 1980 and attended Virginia Tech to play football. In the 2001 NFL draft, he was the first round, first pick of the Atlanta Falcons. Vick was an electrifying player with the ability to run the football like no other quarterback. He also had a decent throwing arm as well. He was pulling in about twenty five million dollars a year in salary when he lost just about everything. In 2007, it was discovered that he had been operating an illegal dog fighting operation for the past five years. The original nineteen page indictment alleged that Vick was highly involved in the operation across state lines and paid off bets when his dogs lost. He also took part in executing dogs that did not perform well in testing sessions, including hanging, drowning and slamming the bodies of the dogs to the ground. Vick bought property in Virginia his rookie year and used it as the main place for the dog fights and to train the pit bulls. Officials reported blood stained walls and carpets and removed roughly sixty dogs when they investigated the property. The NFL was waiting to hear whether or not he was guilty before they made any actions. Dogfighting is a federal crime in Virginia and forty seven other states. Police say that people brought dogs from six other states to fight. When originally asked about the dogfighting operation, Vick claimed he knew nothing of it and that it must have been his family members using his property. The police raided the property and removed a lot of the dogfighting equipment. Reports show that the dogs were chained up so that they could get close to each other but not contact each other, which is a dogfighting technique. Dogs were bathed before fights to remove poisons that opponents might have used to get an advantage on their opponent. Bets ranged from hundreds to thousands of dollars on the fights. The maximum term for Vick’s crimes is five years but the defense called for less. Vick served twenty three months in federal prison and the fines totaled out to forty eight million dollars. NFL commissions discussed Vick’s return to the NFL and decided after he showed remorse and signs of his life being turned around, to reinstate him in the NFL. He was picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009. I still have mixed thoughts and feelings about what he has done. He is a great football player but that’s about it. He lost all of his fans and respect for what he did and is trying to put it back together but there are just some things you can’t forget. I am a dog lover and I still despise the guy for everything he’s done. Really Mike Vick, what the hell were you thinking?
This link is a timeline on Mike Vick’s dog fighting operation from the beginning, when he first purchased the property and joined the dogfighting operation to when he was released from prison on his dogfighting term. It has all of the major dates of everything that happened in trial and when he was in prison, regarding the case and his football career.
The link relates to my journal because it is about the dogfighting operation that Mike Vick took place in, giving a timeline for when most of the major events took place as far as the court process goes. It also tells some of what the NFL commissioners said about the situation and when Vick went to prison and when he was released, etc.
This article, form ESPN is about Mike Vick’s indictment by the grand jury regarding his dogfighting operation. It gives responses form NFL commissioners and talks about what officials found when they raided the property. It was written when everything was going on so it talks about what Vick could have faced.
This article relates to my journal because it is about the dogfighting operation Mike Vick took place in his early years as an NFL quarterback. The link gave me a lot of information in regards to details of what went on on the property and the allegations made towards Vick. It also talks about what Vick had to do with the whole ordeal.
This article is not specifically about Michael Vick’s operation of dogfighting. It is an article about the stupidest things in sports history and Vick’s made it in the top five to no surprise. It briefly describes the whole case in a short paragraph and gives an overview from start to finish.
It relates to my journal because it talks about the stupidity and ignorance of Mike Vick. Why the hell would anyone do some of the things that he did? The dogfighting operation is really stupid and morally wrong for any being, and especially for a famous person, an athlete and a role model.
Journal #9 “Favre Gone Wild”
Brett Favre, one of the greatest football players of all time. Future Hall of Famer. Record holder for multiple passing records. This guy is awesome. He was born in 1969, got married and had 2 daughters, one of which had a kid, making Brett a grandpa. Brett Favre played for the Green Bay Packers for years, retired, then came back to the New York Jets. Conveniently, sideline reporter, and former playboy model, Jenn Sterger was on the Jet’s sidelines. She reported that Brett Favre had once sent her cock shots and was leaving her creepy voicemails inviting her to his hotel room. Woah Brett, you’re a grandpa. Your glory days of being a kid are over. She said he also sent her messages on Myspace wanting to hang out with her. The NFL and their commissioners reviewed the allegations and said they wanted to get all facts straight before making any actions. But seriously Brett, this is something that should not even be brought up, you are forty years old! You have been married for fourteen years and your wife has made a full recovery from cancer. Jenn Sterger waited almost two years to report any of the pictures and voicemails. Favre retired again and then came back, again, this time to the Minnesota Vikings. While none of the pictures show his face, whoever it is wears the same watch that Brett Favre wore in several press conferences. When a newspaper asked him about the issue, he said that he was not going to get involved in it and that the game of football was his priority at that point in time. A website posted that two other women made claims of Favre sending them “nasty stuff” as well. The NFL continued to look into the matter and Favre apologized to the Vikings for all of the distractions in regards to the scandal. I don’t know if he was ever found guilty or not and none of my sources that I have go into much detail on what happened afterwards. It seemed like everything was pointing to him being guilty and the voicemail sounds a whole lot like his voice. Brett finally retired from the NFL again for good after the 2010 season, so the NFL has no more worries about the scandal. Jenn Sterger is no longer a sideline reporter. Probably still a playboy model though. I mean, if you were a forty year old, legendary football player, would you not be attracted to her? She’s not a bad looking girl.
This youtube video is a recording of Brett Favre’s alleged voicemails to sideline reporter and former playboy model Jenn Sterger. The voice sounds exactly like Brett Favre’s but I don’t think there was ever any proof that it is him. Favre asked her to come visit him in his hotel room to “hang out.”
This video relates to my blog post because it features the possible voicemails left by Brett Favre to sideline reporter and former playboy model Jenn Sterger. Sterger did not release anything about the invited or harassment until about two years after in supposedly happened. The voice is nearly identical to Favre’s voice.
This article is about Brett Favre’s alleged pictures of his genitals and voicemails to sideline reporter and former playboy model Jenn Sterger. Favre’s pictures were released and believed to be him but there was no proof so no actions were taken by the NFL or police. It is pretty much forgotten about now.
This article is relevant to my journal posting because it is about how Brett Favre turned creepy and sent nude pictures and voicemails to a sideline reporter that he sort of stalked. The pictures didn’t actually show his face but showed other very similar characteristics as did the voicemails asking Jenn Sterger to come see him.
This article is about the believed pictures of Brett Favre’s genitals and his voicemails left on the phone of Jenn Sterger and later two other girls. The young girl was a former play boy model and was on the sidelines reporting at Jets games, when Favre played for the New York Jets.
This article relates to my journal posting about Favre’s scandal because it gives further allegations as to what he may have sent to sideline reporter Jenn Sterger and other girls via text message and voicemails. Brett Favre is believed to be the person in the pictures and the person talking in the voicemails.
