LEHIGH VALLEY SPORTS

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The latest nonsense with Plaxico "Annie Oakley" Burress can just be added to the laundry list of drama and off-field distractions the New York Giants have overcome:

1. Jeremy Shockey ran his mouth and had turf toe injuries every other week, so the Giants shipped him to New Orleans.

2. Tiki Barber, one of the greatest running backs in team history, retired and trashed the team, trying to stir up controversy now that he was a hot shot on NBC.

3. Michael Strahan went through a tough divorce and didn't show up for training camp in 2007 because he was contemplating retiring.

Continue reading "The New York Giants, like usual, will overcome off-field drama" »

Around my office, there's been a lot of the "EWWW" factor when it comes to this story I have been working on about cooking venison.

My freezer's been filled with deer meat since Pennsylvania archery season. Honestly, I won't be eating any of it. But the three guys I live with, (a husband and two teenage sons) love it. Deer chops and steaks on the grill, and cheesesteaks -- yes deer cheesesteaks -- are some of their favorite meals.

Continue reading "Attention deer hunters: Vension works in recipes from easy to elegant" »

Bangor won its first girls basketball league title in 25 years last season. The Slaters are eyeing a bigger prize this season, a trip to the PIAA playoffs.

Senior forward Sarah Colton knows the Slaters will have a target on their backs.

"Everyone is gunning for us," she said of her team, which dropped down from Class AAAA to Class AAA this season. "but if we stay focused we'll be fine."

The Slaters are predicted to be the favorite to win the Colonial League again this season.

Returning starters, key returnees, promising newcomers, a quote from the coach and a season outlook are available in our team capsules.

Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress is done for the year.

The New York Giants fined and suspended Burress on Tuesday for four games -- the rest of the regular season -- after he accidentally shot himself in the right thigh over the weekend at a Manhattan nightclub. The team also placed him on the reserve non-football injury list, which means the wide receiver couldn't come back for any playoff games, either.

The team punished Burress a day after he was charged with illegal weapons possession, which carries a penalty of 3½ to 15 years in prison if he's convicted. Burress is due back in court again on March 31, unless he reaches a plea agreement.

Burress arrived Tuesday morning at Giants Stadium, and met individually with Giants president John Mara, general manager Jerry Reese and coach Tom Coughlin. He left for a medical test and returned in the afternoon for another brief session with team officials.

Seems like a slow time in the local sports world. Actually, the time between the fall and winter seasons is one of the busiest times of the year. Only the elves work harder around now.

So what's up. The staff is putting the finishing touches on our all-area packages which kick off Sunday with the All-Area field hockey. The schedule includes girls tennis on Dec. 9, girls cross country on Dec. 10, boys cross country on Dec. 11, girls volleyball on Dec. 12 and boys soccer on Dec. 14. Football will come out a week later because of Phillipsburg and Liberty's participation in the state playoffs. Players and coaches of the year come out with each team.

Previews and feature stories for Liberty and Phillipsburg also are on the agenda. Sounds like North Penn and Rahway will give our two powers all they can handle and more. Liberty must beat a team it's already lost to and Phillipsburg must bounce back from a lackluster effort on Thanksgiving.

Continue reading "Express-Times staff as busy as ever" »

Some people look forward to Christmas morning. Others prefer the first day of deer season.

Me? I can never wait for the start of the high school wrestling season. (Well, OK, that's a little bit of a lie, but it is my job, so I'll fake it -- sorta like pro wrasslin'!)

Anyway, the wrestling season starts Saturday with, among other events/matches, the Wilson and Nazareth Invitationals. Unfortunately, I won't be able to cover either event, since Liberty High School's football team is playing North Penn in the PIAA state semifinals Saturday afternoon.

But for those hardcore grapplin' groupies -- and there are aplenty in the Lehigh Valley -- Saturday is the start of their favorite time of the year.

Who's gonna be good?

Continue reading "It's almost GRAPPLIN' season in the Lehigh Valley" »

Plaxico Burress arrived at Giants Stadium today, one day after the New York receiver was charged with illegal gun possession stemming from a weekend incident during which he accidentally shot himself in the thigh at a nightclub.

He was required to report with the team, as he's on the active roster and injured.

This Associated Press report describes the Giants' options about the star receiver's immediate future with the team.

The Moderate Voice calls him a problem child and says it's time for the Giants to "put Burress out with the trash."

"If you really have nothing better to do on a Friday night and can't sleep, might you not be reviewing game tapes of the Redskins? ... Maybe just stay in and read a good book if you refuse to put in the effort to justify the five-year, $35 million contract you blackmailed the organization into this year?"

Continue reading "New York Giants have options for dealing with Plaxico Burress" »

Bulletin ..

Since I'm on a prediction roll -- see Easton over Phillipsburg last week -- here's my three cents on the BCS championship picture:

Alabama will beat Florida in the SEC title game. Bama's defense will be the deciding factor.

Oklahoma will beat Missouri in the Big 12 title game. Big 12 North champ couldn't win the Patriot League.

Alabama will beat Oklahoma in the BCS championship game. Nick Saban and Bama's defense outweights whatever the Sooners and Bob Stoops can bring to the table.

Now, back to your regular scheduled programming.

COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL -- Both games 7 p.m.: Saint Joseph's at Lehigh, East Stroudsburg at Nyack.

COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL -- Lehigh at Syracuse, 7 p.m.; College of New Jersey at Moravian, 7 p.m.; Haverford at Muhlenberg, 7:30 p.m.

SKYLAND SWIMMING -- North Hunterdon at Hillsborough, 3 p.m.

Coming off of an 18-win season and the loss of only one player to graduation, you can excuse Notre Dame senior co-captain Max Hughes if he is eager to get the 2008-09 season started.

"I'm really excited this year," said Hughes, who averaged nearly 13 points per game last season. "I definitely think we can improve on our record from last year. It was disappointing losing in the first round of the league and districts, but I'm hoping we can make a run at both this year."

Tom Hinkel counts the Crusaders as the favorite to capture the Colonial League crown.

Information about who is coming (6-3 forward Brian Smith to Bangor) and going (Pen Argyl guard Zach Williams to Pius X), as well as season outlooks from the coaches themselves, are available in our team capsules.

Mario Williams, Steve Slaton and the Houston Texans put on quite a show in their Monday Night Football debut. Williams had a season-high three sacks and forced a fumble and Slaton ran for a pair of touchdowns to lead the Texans to a 30-17 win over the slumping Jacksonville Jaguars.

Andre Johnson added a TD reception and Kris Brown kicked three field goals in the win, a highlight in Houston's disappointing season so far.

Continue reading "Houston Texans tame Jacksonville Jaguars 30-17" »

New York Giant Plaxico Burress posted $100,000 bail today and was not required to enter a plea on gun possession charges, the Associated Press reports.

Burress did not speak in court. He is due to return March 31 to face two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, which could result in a minimum 3 1/2-year prison sentence.

Continue reading "Plaxico Burress, facing gun charges, is free on bail" »

The date, site and time for Liberty High School's PIAA Class AAAA state semifinal football game against District 1 champion North Penn was changed today.

PIAA Assistant Executive Director Melissa Mertz announced the Liberty-North Penn game will be played 1 p.m. Saturday at Coatesville Area High School's Red Raider Stadium.

The playoff originally was scheduled 7 p.m. Friday at William Tennent High School in Warminster, Bucks County. Mertz cited the facilities' inability to adequately host the expected turnout of fans and media for the Class AAAA Final Four matchup.

Continue reading "Liberty High School's PIAA Class AAAA state semifinal football game moved to Saturday" »

On a week when everything is on the line against a top-division rival that's dealing with all kinds of adversity in the wake of the gun incident involving Plaxico Burress, Eagles guard Shawn Andrews strode into the NovaCare Complex for the first time since mid-September following back surgery.

Andrews was stranded for more than a month in California, where the surgery took place, due to some relatively minor complications.

He won't be playing this Sunday against the Giants and may not play at all again this year after suffering the injury in Week 2, but Andrews appeared cheerful, optimistic, trim and anything but the clinically depressed person he was diagnosed to be before training camp, which led to him reporting late.

Continue reading "Eagles' Shawn Andrews makes first appearance in more than two months" »

New York Giant Plaxico Burress arrived at a police station this morning to be charged with a weapons offense after he accidentally shot himself in the thigh Friday night at a Manhattan nightclub.

The star wide receiver arrived in a black Cadillac Escalade wearing jeans and a black coat. He did not appear to be limping, and he did not speak to the media, according to an Associated Press report.

Burress intends to plead not guilty to a weapon possession charge this afternoon, his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said outside the police station. If convicted, he could serve at least 31/2 years in prison.

Continue reading "New York Giant Plaxico Burress plans to plead not guilty to weapon possession charge" »

The 22nd-ranked Lehigh wrestling team continued to play giant killers as they knocked off the nation's seventh-ranked team, Oklahoma State, 18-13 at the Journeyman/Brute Northeast Duals in Troy, N.Y., on Saturday.

"It was a very good day," said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "The guys wrestled hard and they're continuing to get better."

The Mountain Hawks went 4-0 at the duals and are now 8-0 on the season. In addition to defeating the Cowboys, Lehigh also defeated UNC-Greensboro, Binghamton and Appalachian State.

Continue reading "Lehigh University wrestling on a serious roll at 8-0" »

Denver quarterback Jay Cutler shook off the cold and wet conditions to throw for 357 yards and two touchdowns as the Broncos defeated the N.Y. Jets 34-17 at the Meadowlands.

The defeat ended New York's five-game winning streak and wasted a fine performance from running back Thomas Jones, who rushed for 138 yards and two long touchdown runs.

Denver rookie Peyton Hillis also ran for 129 yards and a score against a Jet defense that had given up less than 20 points in five of the previous seven games.

New York remains a game ahead of New England and Miami in the AFC East division.

The Lehigh women's basketball team improved to 5-1 for the first time since the 1995-96 season with a 63-43 victory over Princeton.

Sophomore guard Erica Prosser led the way with 15 points as the Mountain Hawks struggled from the field but held the Tigers under 25 percent from the field with an aggressive defense.

Tricia Smith chipped in with nine points, four rebounds and four steals for Lehigh. Jessica Berry topped Princeton with 12 points.