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Dolphins’ QB Pennington will have shoulder surgery (PA SportsTicker)

The law won’t be doing anything to punish Plaxico Burress for toting a gun into a nightclub and firing a round into his own leg; at least not before the 2009 football season comes and goes.  

So other than finding an employer, which won’t be a problem , there’s only one thing standing between Burress and playing ball this season. That would be commissioner Roger Goodell, who started reviewing Plaxico’s situation this weekend .

I say the smart money is on Burress eating a pretty healthy suspension, judging from Goodell’s past behavior in handing out punishment. How long of a suspension, though? Well, how does one year grab you?

That might seem excessive for a crime where the only victim was the perpetrator himself (an argument I’m sure someone from the Burress team will make to Goodell), but there’s a way you can look at it in which a full year would be completely justifiable. Consider the Donte Stallworth suspension.

They’re not entirely dissimilar cases. Stallworth didn’t have any malicious intent when he got behind the wheel of his car, but when he did so drunk, he put the health and safety of others at risk. Burress also didn’t have any malicious intent when he walked into that nightclub, but when he did so with a gun tucked into the waistband of his sweatpants, he put the health and safety of others at risk.

Both showed poor judgment, both broke the law, and both endangered innocent people. Really, the only difference between the two is dumb luck.

Stallworth, as you know, has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL, courtesy of Goodell, even though a court of law gave him only 30 days in the clink. When it comes to trying to predict Roger Goodell’s punitive behavior, though, you can forget all about the law. He isn’t concerned with what the legal system does, and he doesn’t have to be. His responsibility is not to dictate right or wrong, moral or immoral. It’s to protect the NFL and its image, so that corporate interests and the general public will feel comfortable supporting them.

That’s why Stallworth got the big suspension. The public wanted it, and Goodell gave it to them. I don’t think the public would be opposed to Burress getting suspended for a year, either. In fact, I’d expect another round of columnists and sportscasters everywhere praising Goodell for ruling with an iron fist.

That’s my official prediction for a Plaxico’s punishment. A full one year suspension. Please share yours in the comments.

Without Adam Vinateri, the New England Patriots wouldn’t have won three Super Bowl titles. Without Tom Brady , Adam Vinatieri wouldn’t have been in a position to give the Patriots those titles. Without Bill Belichick, Tom Brady’s quarterbacking wouldn’t have set-up Adam Vinateri to hit the kicks to win those titles. And without Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick wouldn’t have been in New England to help both Brady and Vinateiri win those titles. And without Michael Jackson (yes, that Michael Jackson), Bob Kraft wouldn’t have bought the New England Patriots and the dynasty that was may never have been. 

As Forbes described in a 2005 article, Michael Jackon’s 1984 Victory tour was directly responsible for Kraft purchasing Foxboro Stadium in 1988 , a transaction that eventually led to him being able to buy the team in 1994.

In 1988 Kraft and a partner put up $25 million to buy the Foxboro stadium from the Sullivan family, besting a $16 million offer from the Pats’ owner, Kiam. (Kraft would buy out his 50-50 partner for a small premium five years later.) [Former Patriots owner, and current Foxbor Stadium owner] Charles Sullivan had used the stadium as collateral to fund [Michael Jackson's] Victory Tour back in 1984. Overleveraged, Sullivan went bankrupt and was forced to sell the arena. To this day Kraft’s collection of photos and mementos includes a poster from the ill-fated tour.

Basically, Sullivan got in over his head funding Michael Jackson’s Victory tour (something that those concert organizers in London can commiserate with now) and was forced to sell the stadium because of the bad investment, a move which furthered Bob Kraft’s quest to own his hometown Patriots. (Because Kraft owned the stadium, the team couldn’t be sold without his approval. When new owner Victor Kiam wanted to sell to a St. Louis businessman intent on re-selling the team or moving it, Kraft stepped in and bid 50 percent more, buying the Patriots for $172 million in 1994.

It was a transaction that began a run toward three Super Bowls, a perfect regular season and the career of one of the greatest coaches and quarterbacks that the league has ever seen. And to think, it was all set in motion by the guy with the glove moonwalking across the stage. "Wanna’ Be Startin’ Somethin’" indeed.

The New York Giants announced on Wednesday that linebacker Michael Boley will be out of action for eight-to-ten weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip, Profootballtalk.com reported.

The arthroscopic procedure was conducted Wednesday, by Dr. Bryan Kelly at the New York Hospital for Special Surgery.

Boley, a weakside linebacker, joined the Giants earlier this year as a free agent after spending four seasons with the Falcons. Last season, three different players started at weakside linebacker for the Giants: Gerris Wilkinson , Bryan Kehl , and Chase Blackburn .

Entering his 14th NFL season, New England Patriots lineback Tedy Bruschi admits it could be his final professional season. He also admits it may not be his swansong, according to the Boston Globe.

Bruschi, whose contract expires after the 2009 season, is leaving his options open.

"I have to give them everything I have this year and only think about what’s next. I’m going to prepare myself for this season, only think about this season, and when the season is over, which is a long ways away, then you think about delving into those decisions.”

Bruschi, who turned 36 June 9, is coming off a 2008 season in which coaches credited him with 71 tackles, fourth on the team. He started 12 games before a knee injury ended his season Dec. 7 against the Seahawks. Throughout the year, Bruschi was mostly utilized on first and second down, coming off the field on third down, according to the Globe.

Source: Boston.com

After making a career of shoving his own quarterbacks into the woodchipper, I sort of hoped that eventually, someone would do the same to Terrell Owens . What I didn’t figure was that it would be model Joanna Krupa.

ABC’s got this new show called "The Superstars" where a celebrity pairs up with an athlete in a series of athletic competitions. The winner gets … I don’t know, to be on television more, I guess. Last night was the first episode, and Terrell Owens and Joanna Krupa, probably the favorites, were the first couple eliminated. 

From there, Joanna turned into Terrell Owens, and she turned Terrell Owens into Jeff Garcia .

Oh, that’s fantastic. My favorite part is right at the end when she throws in a forceful little "Shut up." I think I’ve watched it about 843 times.

Did Owens deserve to be yelled at like a little boy? No, probably not; the poor guy’s foot got caught in the net. Tough break. But Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb probably didn’t deserve the treatment they got from Terrell Owens, either.

It happened, though. Miss Krupa is probably used to having everything in the world she wants, and probably has a pretty healthy ego of her own. That doesn’t make her right, of course, except in the grander, karmic scheme of things.

Maybe, in the end, it’ll be good for Owens to experience what it’s like to be on the wrong end of a media tirade. Joanna Krupa may have just done Trent Edwards a huge favor.

The 72 x 160-foot LED wall at the center of the new Cowboys Stadium is certainly impressive enough when it’s showing game highlights or concert footage, but no giant screen ever truly earns its credentials until it’s been put to some real use: playing video games. Thankfully, Jonas Brothers video director Steve Fatone somehow pulled himself away from concert preparations to do just that earlier this week, and apparently became the first person to ever play Xbox 360 on the display in the process. As you can see above and in the gallery below, the two certainly seem to be made for each other, although it looks like the controller can get a tad touchy if you stray too far while trying to play it.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Terrell Owens was not going to be a dominant part of the team’s offense and he had to be let go so younger players — like Sam Hurd , Miles Austin and veteran Roy Williams — could find comfortable roles in the Dallas offensive scheme.

Jones told the Dallas Morning News: "Frankly, the most basic reason that I changed my mind regarding Terrell Owens was the ability to maximize the potential of Roy Williams, Miles Austin, Sam Hurd, the running backs and our tight ends. That was the most fundamental thing.

"We wanted to take advantage of where we are with the talent we have on offense. You shouldn’t have Terrell unless he’s a dominant part of your offense or you’re trying to put him in that kind of role in your offense.

"If for any reason you want to come off of that and spread it around or use different parts of your offense, then you shouldn’t have him because that’s not the best use of having Terrell Owens on your team.”

Their first step toward eliminating the lines between sports and business for the New York Giants took place Wednesday in their sparkling new practice facility, which was renamed the Timex Performance Center, according to the New York Daily News. 

As a result of their 15-year naming rights deal, worth a reported $35million, a small Timex patch will appear on both their blue and white practice jerseys this summer, the Daily News reported. It’ll be placed on the front of the left shoulder, where the Super Bowl XLII patch was two years ago.

NFL owners voted to allow such patches at the league meetings back in March. The Denver Broncos , Detroit Lions , Green Bay Packers , Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans are among the teams expected to wear sponsors’ patches, too. The NFL does not allow corporate logos on game jerseys — at least not yet, according to the Daily News.

Word on the street is that the UFL’s Vegas franchise (they don’t have a nickname/mascot yet; I’d like to suggest the Galifianakises ) is close to agreeing on a contract with former Buffalo Bills quarterback J.P. Losman .  

I always wonder if that makes a guy like Losman happy or sad. Sad, I’d imagine, because he’s no longer in the NFL, but happy because the UFL plays up the fact that he’s a former first round pick, and no one in the NFL was ever going to think of him that way again.

Here’s a snippet of the report from UFL Access , a UFL news site, which is kind of amazing in and of itself.

Now word has spread that J.P. Losman, formerly of the Buffalo Bills and the NFL 1st Round, is scheduled to sign with the Las Vegas team headed by Jim Fassel. The rumors began swirling this morning and UFLAccess.com tried to track down the facts. One well-placed source pointed out that roster spots have dried up on virtually every NFL depth chart at QB. The league declined comment with their spokesperson saying that “as of yet no ink has hit paper.”

Interesting. Five years into his career, and J.P. Losman can no longer find a spot on anybody’s three-deep at quarterback. Maybe I’m wrong — and believe me, I’m not telling you that J.P. Losman is a great quarterback — but it seems to me that there are guys out there worse than J.P. Losman who have NFL jobs. I guess I can’t name any of them off the top of my head, but Losman at least has some degree of youth to him. I’d think that added a little value.

The same article reports that Tim Rattay is on his way to the UFL, and that Ken Dorsey would love the opportunity. It also says of Michael Vick , "rumors have spread that [he] and his agent have papers in hand that if signed would start the Vick redemption tour in Orlando."