Following their insanely early bye week, the Giants take to the field Sunday against the Seahawks without star wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Plax went AWOL last Monday (neglecting to call the team to say he wouldn't be at practice) and was slapped with a two week -- but only one game -- suspension as a result.

So what effect will Burress' absence have on the G-men? NONE. That's because the Giants have the deepest receiving corps in the NFL; and that's not even counting Super Bowl hero David Tyree. The players fill us in after the jump.

So... If you are Hank and Hal and George S. from Tampa, you have to feel like the baseball gods have turned on you... Not only hasn't your team won a World Series since 2000... But your playoff streak has ended at 13... Add to that... The arch rival Boston Red Sox are still in the dance after beating an Angels team that beat your team every which way but Sunday... And the new thorn in the side Tampa Bay Rays are also still dancing... If the Tampa S's would like to go to games 1 and 2, I'm sure they can get great seats at the Trop... Not that they would go... Oh... And another reason for consternation... There's a certain gentleman who's club plays out West and wears a lot of Blue... Strangely enough... They are still playing as well... And did you hear the thinly veiled swipe Mr. Torre took at the S's over the weekend... It happened late on Saturday so the Tampa folks might have missed it... But we didn't... Listen in...

Hockey Season is upon us, it's time to lace up the skates and hit the ice. Last we left the Rangers they were taking another early exit in the playoffs, being dumped in the second round by the Pittsburgh Penguins, for the second year in a row. Now, two team leaders are gone in Jaromir Jagr and Sean Avery, and new leadership is stepping up. Our sports anchor, Sal Marchiano made a visit to the Rangers practice facility in Greenburg, NY to get a feel for this year's team. Video after the jump.

Let me say this first, my name is Matt, and I am I band wagoner. It feels so good to say that, I don't have to lie about my fan hood any longer. When I grew up in Tampa, baseball didn't even exist. The Devils Rays first took the mound on March 31, 1998. I was in 7th grade. Even after that historic day, Tampa still didn't care about baseball. The Bucs reigned supreme at the new sombrero, and since the Devil Rays were terrible anyways, they went unnoticed.

Taking a look at the Jets, to paraphrase Dennis Green-they are where we thought they’d be. The Jets are 3-2. You’d expect them to lose to San Diego and (or so we thought) New England. Now, the AFC East, and the conference itself, is wide open. Yesterday, a 26-14 win over the pesky but winless Cincinnati Bengals. With Carson Palmer out, Cincy’s backup Ryan Fitzpatrick is proving a Harvard education is great in most fields. Playing QB in the NFL is not one of them. Watch all the locker room interviews after the jump.

Yes... The Giants looked bad last night in their 35-14 loss to the Browns. Yes ... Giants Cornerback Aaron Ross got burned twice by Braylon Edwards. One for a 70 yard bomb, the other for an 11 yard touchdown. Yes... Eli Manning looked like the pre-Super Bowl run Eli with 3 interceptions. But this is only ONE game.

For the past 29 years, the Women's Sports Foundation has been recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of female athletes. Earlier this evening at the Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Dinner held at the Waldorf Astoria, the foundation paid tribute to today's top-female athletes and their accomplishments. Over 70 remarkable female athletes, were in attendance representing 43 different sports. The night kicked off with a stroll down the red-carpet. After the jump, see who we caught up with.

Week six of the NFL season is in the books and the race for first in the NFC East is closer than ever. This powerhouse division may have three of its four teams make the playoffs. But which has the edge?

Before Monday night, the New York Giants had not lost a game and seemed poised to take a commanding division lead. But a disastrous loss to the Cleveland Browns (2-4) has left the Super Bowl champs in a tough position. The Giants (4-1) face a grueling second half of the season, which means they have to regain their early season form in their next two games against the San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers. Their last nine games will include five division match-ups as well as meetings with the Carolina Panthers and red-hot Arizona Cardinals.

Commissioner David Stern has announced that the NBA will cut around 80 jobs (about 9%) from its U.S. staff. The reason? The NBA is preparing itself to be hit by the economic downturn and it's hard to blame them. A decline in ticket sales is the only thing to be expected in this type of downward, roller-coaster economy. In large market areas, corporations and businesses alike will most likely cut back on unnecessary expenditures… meaning that luxury suites and courtside seats may be left empty; small market teams will see families saving their money for more pressing needs.

NBA Commissioner David Stern, shown at a news conference Sunday in London, said the economy was affecting season-ticket renewals.

While Stern claims that "sports tickets are very much disposable income," the NBA still believes that their overall revenue will increase from last year's mark. Lucrative television contracts with ABC/ESPN and TNT are expected to garner an estimated $7.5 billion in the coming 8 years alone, and the most recent NBA Finals match-up between the Lakers and the Celtics could only be described as a dream come true for NBA execs. Read more after the jump.

TV executives and MLB advertisers are trembling at the prospect of a Phillies-Rays World Series. But as much as I and the rest of the Mets fans hate the Phils, you can’t help but admire them. They have scrappy, hungry players with guts that I WISH the Mets had. Rollins, Utley, Victorino and crew hustle and charge their way through each day. Cole Hamels is a big game bulldog. Ok, the rest of the staff doesn’t scare you, but Charlie Manuel holds it together. Brett Myers has gone from starter, to pen and back again just to help the team. Brad Lidge scares you as much as Billy Wagner, but hasn’t blown a save this season.

I had the pleasure of interviewing three members of the US Olympic Softball team, winners of the silver medal in the 2008 Games. It is the last Games these ladies and for that matter any softball player will participate in...FOR NOW.

It's been almost 70 years since the International Olympic Committee voted a sport out of the Olympics...until now. Despite the fact that the International Softball Federation boasts 131 member countries...softball was "punched out". The IOC made the decision during a secret ballot in Singapore back in July 2005.

The Jason Kidd era in New Jersey is over. The Nets don't look anything like the club that made the playoffs for 6 straight years. In the off-season they traded Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee. They have 8 new players on the roster and only 3 members of this year's club were on last year's training camp roster.

Plaxico Burress heads to the bench after being called for offensive pass interference in the first half. (David L. Pokress, Newsday / October 19, 2008)

The New York Giants are a formidable 5-1, for the first time since 1993, after yesterday's sloppy win over the 49ers, but what may surprise you is where they are doing it. Last year, the Giants dominated on the road winning 7 out of 8 games. This year, Big Blue has split their two road games, with an embarrassing loss to the Browns last Sunday night and a win in St. Louis. The Giants are undefeated at the Meadowlands this year, however, and love the idea of winning in front of the home crowd. Eli Manning, Michael Johnson, and Coach Tom Coughlin break it down for us after the jump.

Sure, the Giants are the defending champs, but what I saw at Giants practice today was off-putting and something I believe to be cause for concern. The team that prided itself on selflessness in 2007 is becoming infiltrated with a "me first" attitude, and the epicenter is Plaxico Burress.

After watching the Jets eek out a 28-24 win against a downright awful Chiefs team, you have to wonder if Gang Green is a playoff contender or pretender. During a span of three games against the doormats of the NFL – Cincinnati, Oakland, and KC – the Jets played down to their competition. Clichéd as that may sound, there’s no denying this team has yet to show the killer instinct characteristic of ACTUAL playoff contenders.

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria watches the final outs of his team's 10-2 loss in game three of the World Series. (Gary W. Green / Orlando Sentinel / October 26, 2008)

The Rays did not win the World Series….but you know what, it’s ok. Thinking about how far the Rays have come in just one year makes it more than ok. It was a year of firsts for the bay area, first world series, first playoff birth, first winning season! Through out the roller coaster ride that was the Ray’s historic season, a city was swept off its feet, and made to fall in love with the game of baseball.

Is this the end of Stephon Marbury's Knicks career? Sure looks like it. Before Friday night's 116-87 loss against the 76ers in Philadelphia, he was put on the team's inactive list. Coach Mike D'Antoni said that it wasn't anything that Steph has done, adding that the team is going in a different direction. That may or may not be the case.