Lawyer: Giants' Pierce facing gun charges
NEW YORK, July 28 (UPI) -- New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce is facing gun charges stemming from an incident last year involving teammate Plaxico Burress, an attorney says.
Michael Bachner, a lawyer for Pierce, told Tuesday's New York Post that New York district attorneys will seek an indictment against Pierce from the same grand jury now hearing evidence against Burress on gun possession charges.
Authorities say Burress and Pierce were at a Manhattan nightclub in November when an unlicensed gun hidden in Burress' waistband accidentally discharged, hitting him in the thigh. The Post, quoting unnamed law enforcement sources, said prosecutors allege a club security guard picked the gun up off the club floor and put it in the glove compartment of Pierce's Escalade.
Police contend that Pierce, after taking Burress to the hospital, drove to his teammate's New Jersey home where he allegedly dropped the gun off. Sources told the Post the club security guard has "flipped" and will testify against the two Giants players.
"It's our position Antonio committed no crime whatsoever, and had no way of knowing that the weapon was anything other than properly licensed," Bachner told the newspaper.
Teen arrested in Antonio Burks shooting
MEMPHIS, July 28 (UPI) -- A teenage boy has been charged as an accessory in the Memphis robbery that left former NBA player Antonio Burks critically wounded, police said Tuesday.
Investigators hope the arrest will lead to more suspects, the Memphis Commercial Appeal said. Burks, 29, and another man were wounded July 20 when three armed robbers ambushed a group of men playing dice behind a vacant house in Memphis.
Burks remained in intensive care Tuesday at the Regional Medical Center, where his condition was listed as serious. Ken Bennett, a friend and founder of the Streets Ministries, said he was "up and talking" and hungry, because he is on a soft diet.
"I was with him this morning and he said, 'I want to go back to sleep.' I said, 'Are you tired?' He said, 'No, if I'm awake, I'm thinking about food,'" Bennett said. "He's a chicken-tender fanatic."
Burks was a star at Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis and at the University of Memphis. He played briefly in the NBA, mostly for the Memphis Grizzlies, and has since played for teams in Serbia and Bulgaria.
Zamboni to enter U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame
COLORADO SPRINGS, July 28 (UPI) -- The inventor of the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine is among inductees announced Tuesday to be enshrined in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
Frank Zamboni will be in the Hall of Fame 2009 class that includes NHL stars Tom Barrasso, John LeClair and Tony Amonte and the 1988 U.S. Olympic women's hockey team, USA Hockey said in a release.
Zamboni, who died in 1988, is already a member of the U.S. Figure Skating Association Hall of Fame, the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his development of the self-propelled machine that resurfaces ice and bears his name.
Barrasso won 369 regular-season games over 19 years as an NHL goalie. LeClair was the first American-born player to have three consecutive 50-goal seasons. Amonte amassed 900 points over a 15-season NHL career.
The U.S. women's hockey teams went 6
0 in the 1998 Winter Olympics. The Americans beat the powerful Canadian team twice, including 3-1 in the gold medal game.
Kuwait avoids IOC suspension
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, July 28 (UPI) -- Kuwait won't face suspension from the International Olympic Committee following a commitment to refrain from interfering with the country's sports officials.
The IOC in June said it would suspend Kuwait's Olympic committee unless Kuwaiti law is changed to become compatible with the principles and rules of the Olympic movement. The international officials said the country's leaders had interfered with the Kuwaiti Olympic committee's autonomy.
The IOC said in a release Tuesday that Kuwait had taken steps to address its concerns. Kuwait sent a letter to the IOC stating its intention to have the Kuwaiti Parliament make national sports laws and regulations compatible with the Olympic Charter.
The IOC said Kuwait's actions are to be finalized by Dec. 31 so it rescinded its suspension threat, which was to go into effect Saturday and would have barred Kuwait athletes form Olympic competition.
"We are very pleased that the Kuwaiti authorities are showing their willingness to implement satisfactory measures in order to avoid the suspension of the Kuwait Olympic Committee and Kuwait Olympic Movement," Pere Miro, director of the IOC's Department of NOC Relations, said in the release. "This is an important step forward."
