THE PLAXICO P.R. EFFORT COMMENCES

Last Sunday, Jay Glazer of FOX explained that Giants receiver Plaxico Burress, who currently faces felony weapons charges and a mountain of evidence pointing to a conviction, is hoping that the firestorm arising from the firing of a Glock in a Manhattan night club will subside by March or April, at which time lawyer Benjamin Brafman hopefully would be able to cop a plea to a charge that entails no jail time for Burress. On Friday night, the broader “Make Plaxico Look Like A Great Guy” effort commenced in earnest, with Burress attending a charity fundraiser for the homeless. “I’m just here to support this event, it’s a great event, and I thought it’d be a great chance to get my wife out, and my son out, and support such a great event where it helps kids, homeless kids,” Burress said. “This is a wonderful thing for us to come out and be able to help people and we can lend a helping hand. I have a child, I have a son, I couldn’t imagine him being in that situation, so that’s why I brought him also.” Possible translation? “Here’s my son. I have a son. If I go to jail, it will harm my son. So think of my son and don’t send me to jail. I’m saying this not for me, but for my son. Did I mention that I have a son?” Frankly, we doubt that any amount of dogs and ponies and/or smoke and mirrors will reduce the zeal previously demonstrated by New York City officials regarding this situation. Mayor Michael Bloomberg doesn’t want people getting shot by guns in Manhattan, and letting Burress go with a slap on the wrist and a mark on his permanent record won’t do much to persuade the populace that carrying a gun without a permit will result in a trip to, as Bloomberg called it, the slammer.