NFL New York

New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress has a new book out in which he addresses the rumors that his former teammate with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kordell Stewart, is gay.

Burress says that while he doesn't personally know or care if Stewart is gay, he does think that the rumors affected Stewart. From Pro Football Talk:

"People were talking about [Kordell] being gay," Burress writes in Chapter 5. "The players heard that, but we never talked about it. I don't know if Kordell is gay or not. It was none of our business. If ever we would have talked about it, it would have made everybody uncomfortable. If some player was gay, I don't think he could come out while he was still playing. It would be real hard. It would mess a team up mentally and it wouldn't be good for that person."

If Burress is right that a player couldn't come out while he was active in the NFL, that's a sad commentary on the NFL. I'd like to think that we're enlightened enough as a society that in most workplaces, coming out to a co-worker wouldn't be a big deal. Burress seems to think NFL locker rooms are among our society's least-enlightened workplaces, and I fear he's right.

It's the Fourth of July, which for many Americans, is a wonderful excuse to get drunk and stuff your face, all under the guise of celebrating freedom.

And if you're a competitive eater, you can actually make a few bucks in the process. It's not exactly glamorous, but, hey, everybody's good at something, and for Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, it's all about chugging hot dogs (video proof here).

Ah, yes, the ol' "cannonball technique." (Actually, what I know about competitive eating consists of the few seconds each year I tune into the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, before puking and changing the channel. Maybe the cannonball technique is banned in many states.)

By the way, I love how ESPN has an on-scene reporter quizzing the contestants after the Chestnut pulls out the overtime victory (this seems like an event tailor-made for Heidi Watney; I'm guessing Jerry Remy agrees), and even better, Kobayashi has his own interpreter.

In case you're wondering, Kobayashi says he wasn't quick enough in the five-dog overtime eat-off, but he plans on being back in '09. Oh, and with the victory, Chestnut is still the No. 1 ranked eater. Don King would be proud.

Previously on FanHouse
Joey Chestnut Beats Takeru Kobayashi at Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest
Kobayashi vs. Chestnut Hot Dog Live Blog

American Joey Chestnut retained his world hot dog eating title today, beating Japan's Takeru Kobayashi in the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island.

Kobayashi had won the event every year from 2001 to 2006 before Chestnut dethroned him last year. Now Chestnut is the champ again, after an epic battle that had to go to a five-dog eat-off after they were tied at 60 hot dogs apiece following the 10 minutes of regulation time.

"It's just incredible," Chestnut said afterward. "It was a little bit messier than I wanted it to be, but I got them in me and I got them down. That's what I wanted to do."

Chestnut added: "I love to eat, I love the competition. It's the Fourth of July."

Pete Prisco of CBS Sports came out with a list of the top 50 players in the NFL last week. Some of it was predictable (Tom Brady and Peyton Manning first and second), some of it was surprising (Kevin Williams in the top 10), and all of it was designed as a springboard for off-season arguments.

One of those arguments took place on ESPN Radio this morning, where Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora (No. 42 on the list) was a guest. When asked what about that list surprised him, Umenyiora said, "Mario Williams at No. 6." He then added, "This guy right here at No. 6 is just absolutely ridiculous."

It's easy to see why Umenyiora feels that way. Williams, the Texans' 2006 first overall pick, did have one more sack than Umenyiora last season, but is he really so much better than Umenyiora that he deserves to be 36 spots ahead?

Maybe, maybe not. But, again, these lists are really nothing more than conversation-starters, and if the list got Umenyiora to express a strong opinion, it did its job.

Monday loomed as a deadline for a Jet fan to show reason why his lawsuit against Bill Belichick and the Patriots should go forward. The lawsuit had languished with no movement for nine months and the U.S. District Court in Newark said the plantiff had until June 30th to make progress or have the whole thing thrown out. Carl Mayer wrote a letter asking for more time, however, and a judge has given it to him.

Mayer claims that his co-counsel was sick and that new revelations coming to light have forced him to amend the lawsuit. He didn't specify what the revelations were but it seems that Arlen Specter's involvement in the case has sparked some litigious ideas in Mayer's head.

Mayer has not specified what other defendants or issues might be included in an amended lawsuit. But he has said the new allegations relate to the efforts of Specter, the Judiciary Committee's ranking Republican and a critic of the National Football League's response to what has been called "Spygate."

Mayer now has until August 30th to amend the lawsuit and serve notice on the defendants. The suit is seeking $184.8 million in damages under federal rackeetering and New Jersey fraud statutes. He filed the suit on behalf of all jets ticket holders because the Patriots taping of signals deceived customers who thought they were seeing an honest competition.

Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress wants a new contract. Tight end Jeremy Shockey wants a new contract. Running back Brandon Jacobs wants a new contract. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora wants a new contract. More Giants than you know want new contracts.

One Giant just got a new contract: Chris Snee, who signed a deal worth about $7 million a year, which will make him one of the five highest-paid guards in the league.

Snee is a good player and an important part of the defending champion Giants. He's also head coach Tom Coughlin's son-in-law. (That's Snee with wife Kate Coughlin Snee and son Dylan, the coach's grandson.) There must be a few Giants wondering if being the coach's son-in-law helped Snee get his deal done first.

Wouldn't that be an issue where you work? If the company dramatically out-performed expectations, and a lot of employees thought they deserved a raise, and most of them didn't get those raises but the boss's son-in-law did, wouldn't that raise eyebrows? I wonder what Burress, Shockey, Jacobs and Umenyiora think.

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated is reporting that Fox has hired former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan as an NFL studio analyst.

Strahan will join the cast of FOX NFL Sunday, where he'll spar with analysts Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson, along with host Curt Menefee. Also on FOX NFL Sunday: reporter Jay Glazer, who got the exclusive scoop when Strahan retired.

Strahan was one of the smartest and funniest players in the NFL over the last 15 years, and he'll no doubt be a good addition to the Fox pregame show cast. My biggest concern with the Fox show is that Strahan won't get a word in edgewise with Bradshaw, Long and Johnson around. Strahan is at his best when he simply sits down in front of a microphone and starts talking spontaneously. Let's hope Fox gives him the freedom to do that.

As fans of football teams with new stadiums from coast to coast are well aware, the personal seat license is here to stay. Owners see how much money their brethren bring in through PSLs and feel they owe it to themselves to juice revenues as much as possible. Argue about it if you like but they aren't going anywhere so long as fans are willing to spend through the nose to get them.

I just wish teams could be more up front about their desire for the money. John Mara of the Giants made it seem like he needed the money from PSLs to pay for emergency surgery for his daughter, for example. There must be something about the Meadowlands because now the Jets are playing the same game. Erik Boland of Newsday got his hands on a "survey" the team sent to "help the Jets determine the best way to sell tickets to the new stadium." It reads more like a PR piece for PSLs.

"The Jets are surveying different types and terms of Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs) as one of the ways to help achieve this requirement. A PSL is an asset, like a taxi medallion, that is purchased in addition to the ticket that gives the holder ownership of the seat. This holder can then sell the seat license in the future, including for any profit, to someone else if the holder no longer wishes to purchase season tickets."

To quote The Outlaw Josey Wales, don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.

Michael Strahan is such a charismatic guy that despite announcing his retirement from the New York Giants and walking away from a 2008 salary of $4 million, he'll undoubtedly find a job on TV that pays him almost as much as he made in the NFL.

But whatever that TV job is, it won't be following in the footsteps of other NFL players Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith and Jason Taylor on Dancing With the Stars. Strahan made that clear to the New York Daily News:

"I would never do 'Dancing with the Stars,' " Strahan says, trying to stifle a laugh. "I just picture Emmitt Smith as a football player, and he was a tough player. Then I look and he has some freakin' tassles around his biceps. It's not the same, it's just not the freakin' same."

My first inclination is to agree with Strahan there: It does nothing for the tough image of an NFL player to see him dancing around on TV.

And yet, Dancing With the Stars is such a popular show that does so much to help players reach a broader audience that really, can you blame a guy for doing it? I'm sure there will be an NFL player on Dancing With the Stars every year, even if Strahan refuses to appear.

Geoffrey Pope, a cornerback who played in two playoff games for the New York Giants this year, was arrested and faces felony charges after he was accused of hitting a man over the head with a champagne bottle in a Detroit club Friday night.

The victim was the son of longtime Detroit newscaster Carmen Harlan. The assault opened up a gash that required 28 stitches to close.

Pope, a Detroit native, attended Howard University and had an unexceptional career, but he became a pro prospect with a blazing 4.29-second 40-yard dash. He spent time on the Dolphins' and Giants' practice squads in 2007, but never played in a game until he got on the field for the Giants in the divisional playoffs against the Cowboys.

He returned home this weekend to show his Super Bowl ring to his grandmother and celebrate his 24th birthday, which is today.

Via PFT.