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Plaxico Burress' Wife Opens Up About Release, Says 'I Love The Giants'

NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- Former Giants Super Bowl star Plaxico Burress is set to get out of prison on June 6, a date that brings his wife to tears at just the thought.

"I just get tears in my eyes, happy tears," Tiffany Burress told the New York Post's Steve Serby. "(Plaxico will be) a free man and be able to come home back to this family."

Burress, 33, caught the winning touchdown for the Giants over the New England Patriots in the final minute of the 2008 Super Bowl. But his fortunes turned in November of that year, when he went to a Manhattan nightclub with a gun tucked in the waistband of his track pants; he later said he had been concerned for his safety because a teammate had been held up at gunpoint days before.

Burress' weapon slipped down his leg and fired, injuring him in the thigh. The bullet narrowly missed a security guard, prosecutors said.

The gun wasn't licensed in New York or New Jersey, where Burress lived, and his Florida concealed-weapons permit had expired. He also failed to report the incident to authorities.

He pleaded guilty in August 2009 to attempted criminal possession of a weapon.

"I'm not angry with Mayor Bloomberg because I feel like you should divert your energy in a positive way, but I do definitely feel that Mayor Bloomberg did make an example of him," said Plax's wife.

Held in protective custody at an upstate prison because of his notoriety, Burress was turned down twice in bids for work release. Tiffany said she ran into Eli Manning recently, and Big Blue's star QB had some encouraging words for her family.

"He just said ... he couldn't believe that [Plaxico] was actually in there for all this time," she told Serby. "He told me to tell him that he asked about him."

Giants general manager Jerry Reese has said the team will keep its options open with Burress.

For now, "we are grateful that Plaxico and his wife, Tiffany, and their children now know when they will be reunited and able to get on with their lives together," team spokesman Pat Hanlon said in March. "As we have stated many times in the past, we feel that day is long overdue."

"I love the Giants," said Tiffany. "I just want to see him happy. Wherever he wants to go, I'll just support that 100 percent."

Giants placekicker Lawrence Tynes recently said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that he thinks of Burress often because his sons attend the same school as Burress' son.

"He deserves to be back in the NFL and if that opportunity comes from the New York Giants then he will be welcomed back with open arms from us in the locker room," said Tynes, who was on the Super Bowl championship team with Burress. "I've always personally wondered why the Giants never issued his No. 17 jersey to anyone over the past two seasons. If it happens to be with another franchise then I hope he has nothing but good health and success."

Should the Giants give Plaxico a chance at redemption? Sound off in the comments below...

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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