Burress gets two years in prison

Former Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress apologized to his family and tearfully kissed his pregnant wife and young son goodbye Tuesday before he was led away to prison in New York to begin serving a two-year sentence on a weapons charge.

Burress, at the time a star receiver with the New York Giants, was at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan in November when a .40-caliber gun tucked into his waistband slipped down his leg and fired, wounding him in the thigh.

Burress arrived in the courtroom Tuesday wearing jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, a stark contrast to the dark blue suit he wore last month when he entered his guilty plea.

He was accompanied by his pregnant wife, Tiffany; his 2-year-old son, Elijah; his father, grandmother and stepmother.

Burress told Judge Michael Melkonian before sentencing: “I want to apologize to my family.”

With time off for good behavior, Burress, 32, probably will serve 20 months. He could be released from prison as early as the spring of 2011 and will be monitored an additional two years after he is freed.

Michael Strahan, a former Giants teammate who is now an NFL television analyst, used his Twitter account to support Burress: “My Thoughts and Prayers are with my man Plaxico and his family today!!!”

The Giants, through spokesman Pat Hanlon, said, “This has been a tragic, sad, disappointing situation from the beginning. Our concern has always been for Plax’s welfare, and for his family, and that continues to be our overriding feeling.”

Burress’ big moment with the Giants was when he caught the winning touchdown pass against the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the last minute of the 2008 Super Bowl.

The Giants released Burress in April, but he told ESPN he hopes to resume his NFL career when his sentence is over.

“When I get out, I’ll be 33, not 43,” Burress said in an interview broadcast in August. “I’ll still be able to run and catch. I’ll still have the God-given ability to snag footballs; that’s what I love to do. Of course, I want to play again.”

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Buccaneers’ Phillips out for season

Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Jermaine Phillips will miss the rest of the season because of a broken left thumb.

The Buccaneers announced that the eighth-year pro, hurt during Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, would be put on injured reserve.

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Washington signs with Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys signed running back Chauncey Washington to their practice squad, two days after starter Marion Barber suffered a quadriceps injury.

Washington played in six games for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2008 as a rookie seventh-round draft pick out of USC. He had four carries for nine yards and one catch for nine yards.

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Brady and wife sued by photographers

Two photographers sued New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bundchen for $1 million, saying they were shot at during a post-wedding party in Costa Rica.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New York alleged that the photographers, Yuri Cortez and Rolando Aviles, weren’t hit by the shots but they suffered physical and mental harm from the attack in early April at Bundchen’s holiday home.

It said Brady and Bundchen hired improperly trained security guards for the party, two months after their wedding, even though they had to know their activities were a media magnet.