Wake-up call: More on Plaxico Burress, the Lakers and Teixeira fallout

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-- Plaxico Burress’ self-inflicted off-season took another turn Tuesday night when authorities in the New York area searched his home and came away with a cache of weapons and ammunition.

Burress, who shot himself in the thigh when a concealed handgun he was carrying in his sweatpants went off in a Manhattan night club Nov. 29, was suspended for the season by the Giants. He is facing two felony gun-possession charges.

-- The echoes of the Yankees’ signing of Mark Teixeira continue to reverberate around the world of baseball. In Boston, Bob Ryan columnizes that the $180-million deal sends a loud message to the Red Sox and everyone else that the Yankees are back. In New York, Mike Lupica analyzes the Yankees’ free spending. He says:

And in Philadelphia, what does Phil Sheridan think of the way the Yankees operate? He simply says: ‘The New York Yankees represent the very worst of America.’

Love them or loathe them, they sure make good copy.

-- Meanwhile, on the Lakers front, the Christmas Day showdown with the Boston Celtics is drawing plenty of attention around the country. Former Times staffer Robyn Norwood in USA Today has a look at some of the weak spots in the Lakers’ attack heading into the biggest game of the NBA season so far.

-- Jimmy Clausen is coming up on a big moment in his career at Notre Dame tonight in the Hawaii Bowl, according to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Greg Couch. Clausen, the former Westlake Village Oaks Christian quarterback who has guided the Irish to their mediocre 6-6 season, needs a big game for his own legacy ... and Charlie Weis’. Game time for the next small step in the Fighting Irish’s battle to return to relevance is 5 p.m.

-- Mike James