POSTED: Monday December 1st 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Football Night ' s Barber reports that Ahmad Bradshaw was the third Giant present with Burress

HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK 13 OF NBC’s “FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA”

       “It was originally reported that Derrick Ward was the third
player involved in the situation, in fact it was Ahmad Bradshaw.” –
“Football Night’s” Barber




       “They have proven they can win without Umenyiora, they can
win without Strahan, without Shockey, so they certainly can win without
Plaxico Burress.” – “Football Night’s” Collinsworth




       “I’d like to have somebody show me one time when an athlete
was out in a public place and by having a gun, he either averted harm
to himself or other innocent people.” – “Football Night’s” Costas



“I was an idiot for believing in the Jets.” – “Football Night’s” Collinsworth



NEW YORK – Nov. 30, 2008 – Following are highlights from NBC’s
“Football Night in America” studio show, as host Bob Costas, co-host
Cris Collinsworth, co-host Keith Olbermann, co-host Dan Patrick,
analysts Tiki Barber and Jerome Bettis, and reporter Peter King of
Sports Illustrated take a look at the day’s top storylines in the NFL:



COLLINSWORTH ON THE GIANTS: “Another statement day for the New York
Giants. They have proven they can win without Umenyiora, they can win
without Strahan, without Shockey, so they certainly can win without
Plaxico Burress.



“I think they looked even better as a football team today simply because they distributed the football. They looked great.”



BARBER, REPORTING FROM WASHINGTON D.C., ON THE PLAXICO BURRESS
SITUATION: “It was originally reported that Derrick Ward was the third
player involved in the situation, in fact it was Ahmad Bradshaw. He was
not involved with the shooting but he was at the scene. Also, the NYPD
has taken an interest in this case because they’re not sure this was
originally reported as a gunshot wound. In New York City any gunshot
would, regardless of the circumstances, has to be reported to the
police department.”



BARBER ON ANTONIO PIERCE: “At first he wasn’t cooperating with police
but when faced with an obstruction charge, he decided to cooperate. And
going forward, we think he should be clear of all charges.”



BARBER ON THE MOOD OF THE GIANTS TEAM: “The mood in the locker room was
pretty jovial and upbeat because these guys feel like they can win
without him and they have a lot of young guys who are eager to play.”



BARBER AND COSTAS DISCUSSING THE BURRESS INCIDENT:



BARBER: “Last week, Steve Smith, one of Plaxico’s fellow receivers, was
attacked at gunpoint and robbed in front of his house so his mindset is
‘I have to protect myself, I’m a target.’”



COSTAS: “I’d like to have somebody show me one time when an athlete was
out in a public place and by having a gun, he either averted harm to
himself or other innocent people. Show me one time as against the
dozens of times people came to grief for carrying guns.”



BARBER: “I’m in complete agreement with you. But a lot of these players
grew up in neighborhoods that we’re not familiar with. They grew up
with gangs. This what they know. When they feel threatened, their
thought is to protect themselves and not rely on someone else to do it
for them. I’m not saying it’s right but you have to understand the
mindset.”



KING ON BURRESS’ CONTRACT: “This was a $23 million gunshot wound for
Plaxico Burress. Twenty-three of the $27 million he got in his contract
was all based on the future. There’s $1 million guaranteed money in
signing bonus that’s due on December 10. The first real test of the
Giants love of Plaxico Burress is whether they pay him that bonus in 10
days. I think he’ll play someplace in 2009 but I do think it’s highly
unlikely that he’ll ever play for the Giants again.”



COLLINSWORTH ON THE JETS: “I was an idiot for believing in the Jets.”



ADRIAN PETERSON, TURNING THE TABLES IN AN INTERVIEW WITH JEROME BETTIS:



PETERSON: “You’ve been to the Super Bowl and played against a lot of great teams, what do the great teams have in common?”



BETTIS: “The key was the stars were the ones willing to do whatever it
took. You’ve got to let them know that you’re willing to do whatever it
takes to win because if you’re willing to do whatever it takes to win
then those other guys will do whatever it takes.”



PETERSON: “I’m going to take that advice and use it.”



BETTIS ON PETERSON: “I got to see a lot of Walter Payton and he reminds me of Payton because he likes the physicality.”



COLLINSWORTH ON ‘STAR CAP’ SUPPLEMENT SITUATION: “You’re responsible
for what you put in your body and I cannot imagine those players being
anything but suspended.”



PATRICK ON THE BENGALS: “You could stop them. You could contain them.”



OLBERMANN ON MARK BULGER: “Renaldo Hill said after the game, ‘Bulger
was telegraphing his throws. We knew where the ball was going.’ Well
that makes one of you.”



PATRICK AND COLLINSWORTH ON CAROLINA:



PATRICK: “That’s an ugly 9-3 team.”



OLBERMANN: “I’m from Cincinnati. There’s no such thing as an ugly 9-3 team.”



COLLINSWORTH ON THE CHARGERS: “This is one of the great disappointments
we’ve seen in several years in the National Football League what the
Chargers have done this year.”



FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA:

Michael Weisman is the executive in charge of production, “Football
Night in America,” Sam Flood is coordinating producer and Bucky Gunts
serves as director.




       Members of the media can get more information about NBC
Universal and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web
site at www.nbcumv.com.

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Keywords · NBC · NFL · football · Bob Costas · Keith Olbermann · Dan Patrick · Tiki Barber · Jerome Bettis · Peter King

Name: Brian Walker
Organization: NBC
Email:
Phone: +1.212-664-5533
URL: http://www.nbcuni.com

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