Ex-NFL Star Plaxico Burress Gets 2 Years in Prison in NYC Nightclub Gun Incident

AP

March 31: Plaxico Burress, center, leaves the criminal courts building with his wife, Tiffany, second from right, and his lawyer Benjamin Brafman, right. A gun possession case against Burress has been adjourned until June 15. Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg with an unlicensed gun at a n

March 31: Plaxico Burress, center, leaves the criminal courts building with his wife, Tiffany, second from right, and his lawyer Benjamin Brafman, right. A gun possession case against Burress has been adjourned until June 15. Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg with an unlicensed gun at a n

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NEW YORK — Ex-NFL star Plaxico Burress was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday as part of a plea deal struck after accidentally shooting himself in the leg with a gun he carried into a New York City nightclub.

The former New York Giants wide receiver was sentenced Tuesday morning in Manhattan's state Supreme Court as part of a plea deal on weapons charges reached last month.

Burress tearfully told his family goodbye as he surrendered to begin his prison stint for attempted criminal possession of a weapon.

Burress was indicted on two counts of weapon possession and one count of reckless endangerment and pleaded guilty Aug. 20. He had faced a minimum sentence of 3 1/2 years on those charges if convicted at trial. He pleaded to the lesser charge and agreed to the two-year term.

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With time off for good behavior, Burress likely will serve 20 months. He will be monitored an additional two years after he is freed from prison, which could come as early as the spring of 2011.

The Giants released Burress in April, but the 32-year-old told ESPN he hopes to resume his NFL career when he completes his sentence.

Before the hearing began, Burress played with his preschool-age son, Elijah. Then he hugged and kissed his wife, child, father, grandmother and stepmother.

Burress was so soft-spoken during his apologetic courtroom address that onlookers could not understand him.

Defense lawyer Benjamin Brafton said, "This is a very real tragic case in many, many ways." He called Burress "a fundamentally decent man."

Burress, who caught the winning touchdown for the Giants over the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the final minute of the 2008 Super Bowl, and former teammate Antonio Pierce were at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan last November when a gun tucked into Burress' waistband slipped down his leg and fired, wounding him.

The gun was not licensed in New York or in New Jersey, where Burress lived. His license to carry a concealed weapon in the Florida had expired in May 2008.

Pierce, who drove Burress to a hospital after the shooting, was not indicted.

Brafman previously said Burress was thinking of his family in taking the plea, but the attorney questioned the recommended prison sentence.

"This was not an intentional criminal act," Brafman said the day of the plea. "In my judgment, a two-year prison sentence is a very severe punishment."

Gil Brandt, an analyst on NFL Sirius Radio and the former head of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, said Burress won't be too old for a comeback when he's released from prison.

"First of all, Plaxico is a guy who keeps himself in pretty good shape," Brandt said. "Lots of times guys get heavy in the off-season. He is not a guy who has done that."

But Brandt intimated it could be difficult for Burress to reacquire his football skills after so much time on the sidelines.

"It's like a person who has gone to college or high school and drops out of school for two years," he said. "It is hard to reacquire your study habits. I think it is hard to reacquire the work habits you need to be successful when you have been away from the game for two years or so."

Real Housewife' Kim Zolciak Has a Secret Stripper Past?

Bravo

Kim Zolciak wnet byt the name "Barbi" in the early 2000s, an insider tells Pop Tarts.

'Real Housewife' Kim Zolciak Has a Secret Stripper Past?

"Real Housewives of Atlanta" starlet Nene Leakes recently came forward and admitted to having been a stripper, but could it be that her co-star Kim Zolciak profited from the same profession?

According to sources close to the Bravo babe, in 2003 she spent around three months "making a lot of money" as a stripper at Atlanta’s premiere gentleman’s establishment The Cheetah Club under the stage name "Barbi."

PHOTOS: Click for hot shots of Kim through the years.

"She didn’t do it for long, but was very popular among the crowd," said our insider.

The Cheetah Club declined to comment, but according to a rep for Zolciak, she did indeed work at Cheetah, but "as a cocktail waitress."

However Zolciak herself has now come forward to say she never worked the stage.

"I've never stripped," she tells Tarts. "[My former rep] is a loose cannon spreading lies. I am not affiliated with him whatsoever."

The controversy comes as the reality starlet recently took her career to new heights by releasing a surprisingly successful dance single "Tardy for the Party" and even earned herself a role presenting on VH1 "Divas in New York" last week. We’re also told that "everyone is coming after her" to release a full-length pop album, so while things are looking up professionally, the single starlet is taking time out to improve her personal life too.

Zolciak met with "The Millionaire Matchmaker" Patti Stanger this past Wednesday and apparently Stanger is going to her hook her up with a nice, wealthy fellow, our source says (but, again, Zolciak denies).

Just like in fairy tales. Sigh...

Linda Bollea Withdraws Motion to Sue Hulk Hogan

Just a few weeks ago Linda Bollea was up in arms that ex hubby Hulk Hogan hadn’t given her the money and Harley Davidson she said he agreed too in their divorce settlement, so she filed a motion for enforcement and/or contempt against him in the Pinellas Superior Court.

Now it looks as though she got her bike and her bank.

Bollea withdrew the motion on Friday, asserting that the former pro wrestler finally honored his word.

"Hulk Hogan resolved our demands and complied with the Confidential Marital Settlement Agreement and Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage," Bollea’s attorney told Tarts. "We are pleased that Hulk Hogan abided with the parties’ agreement and hope we will not need to file a similar motion against him in the future."

Charlize Theron Takes Swipe at Anna Wintour in Her Own Territory

Charlize Theron looks simply stunning as she graces the cover of the new issue of Vogue magazine, but did the actress take a deliberate swipe at Anna Wintour and her fur-lovin' ways?

Theron turned up to the interview donning a red PETA "Fight Breedism" shirt, which would not have gone down well with Miss Wintour, who makes no secret of the fact that animal skins are a must in her fashion bible.

"Anna would have been livid, I've know models that have met with her and the second they mention a passion for animals, they are completely blacklisted," snitched an inside source.

Rush Limbaugh Guest Stars on 'Family Guy', Sasha Baron Cohen Does 'Simpsons'

Seth McFarlane has made no secret of the fact he’s political views skew prominently to the left, but he was beyond honored to have recently welcomed Rush Limbaugh into the studio to record a guest role in his animated series "Family Guy."

"I don’t agree with his political views, infact I’m very much the opposite but I loved having him on the show," McFarlane told Tarts at his pre-Emmy party in Hollywood on Friday night. "But Rush is a great guy."

The premise of Limbaugh’s guest role involves the family dog Brian being weaned off his liberal ways and turning into Limbaugh’s greatest fan, following him around town, moving into his home and even attempting to take over his radio show.

On the topic of guest stars, "The Simpsons" recently shot an episode (set to air in March 2010) featuring Sacha Baron Cohen as a crazy tour guide who takes the dysfunctional family around Israel on their travels. We’re told Cohen’s character fights with Marge while Homer becomes convinced he is the messiah.

The Real Reason Women Have Sex

FNC

“Why Women Have Sex.”

Given the stereotype that women are never in the mood, it’s not surprising that this book title is grabbing people’s attention. Written by researchers Cindy Meston and David Buss, the work flushes out the results of a survey of 1,006 women.

And their findings are all over the board; the authors highlight 200 reasons.

RELATED: New Book Reveals the Real Reason Women Have Sex

So why do women have sex? The vast majority (84 percent) have sex to guarantee a quiet life or to persuade their men to do some housework. Some of the other reasons given in interviews include...

1. She’s alleviating boredom – it gives her something to do.

2. She wants to relieve a stress headache or migraine.

3. She’s trying to put an end to an argument.

4. She wants a better complexion.

5. She’s thanking her date for a nice dinner, a present, or spending a lot of money on her early on in the relationship.

6. She’s after a spiritual experience since sex is seen as “the closest thing to God.”

7. She’s refining her sexual skills.

8. She feels sorry for the fellow.

9. She likes that he has an extravagant lifestyle.

10. She’s in a long-distance relationship and wants action now versus later.

Ironically, romance and passion ranked low on females’ reasons for having sex. Instead, sex was viewed as being all about fun, with 60 percent of survey respondents admitting to regularly sleeping with a male friend who was not their boyfriend.

Attraction, too, apparently ranks low on a lady’s list. What’s interesting to note about this factor is that while most men find most women sexually attractive, researchers said that the gals don’t see the guys in quite the same way.

Women reported being attracted to men who were described as tall, having a deep voice, and smelling good. A male having a symmetrical body was also liked, indicating that he could give her strong children. Still, those men not living up to such visions can take comfort in her preference of men with lower levels of testosterone, since this suggests that he’s less likely to pursue others.

It’s important to take these findings with a grain of salt. The way that they’ve been presented largely reinforces the idea that women aren’t sexual by nature as much as capable of using sex as a bargaining tool. Writings cast women as using sex manipulatively or to put up with a partner and her relationship.

Then, muddling matters in terms of how to interpret results is the issue of women having sex versus wanting sex. These are two different factors in one’s sexual activity that aren’t being dealt with independently. Which reasons are ones where women desired sex or skin-on-skin contact? Which reasons felt instinctual?

The University of Texas study has also been criticized for focusing solely on university students at the UT Austin campus who were mostly young and white. We have to remember that these are the results of one group of women — they’re not representative of all women. Still, the book’s press release claims that the work is the “richest and deepest psychological understanding of female sexuality.”

Really?

Collectively, the reasons presented in this survey make all women look conniving, selfish, narcissistic, and shallow when it comes to sex. It paints us as using sex for bartering purposes or approaching it as a hobby or sport. And while that may be the case for these women to some degree, the original research and book actually misrepresent all women by claiming that these findings apply to all of us.

There are a lot more reasons why women are having sex — and they aren’t being captured in this book.

If you ask me, and lot of other women of all ages and backgrounds out there, the reason women have sex, they’ll tell you... They’re having sex to express affection, to get in tune with their sexual core and feel sexy, to make love, to feel close to another, to maintain a long-term relationship by keeping the passion alive, to relish a shared, special moment... and because they like sex when it feels good.

Dr. Yvonne K. Fulbright is a sex educator, relationship expert, columnist and founder of Sexuality Source Inc. She is the author of several books including, "Touch Me There! A Hands-On Guide to Your Orgasmic Hot Spots."