May 19, 2002 By John Mehno 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Maybe the Steelers can get Plaxico Burress a library card. Perhaps a stack of DVDs would do the trick.

Volunteer work could be a worthwhile option.

Whatever the case, they’d better find something to occupy the free time of their young receiver, who seems to wind up interacting with police in his off hours.

Burress was arrested in his hometown of Virginia Beach, Va. on a public intoxication charge. Burress indicated last week he will contest the charges rather than pay a $67 fine.

Burress and his brother were part of a group of nine or 10 people who were out early Saturday morning. Arresting officer Richard Klepach alleges they were using profanity and picking fights with people.

Less than six months ago, Burress was cited on another alcohol-related charge in Cleveland.

Burress said the Virginia charges are false and suggested he’s being picked on because of his celebrity status.

Could be. If that’s the case, it’s all the more reason to avoid getting into situations where the possibility of trouble exists.

Burress is young and wealthy. He doesn’t want to live like a recluse and he shouldn’t have to.

But wealth comes with a trade-off. Burress isn’t just another person. The average public intoxication charge doesn’t make national headlines.

Like it or not, he’s a celebrity and that carries a different standard of accountability.

Here’s the difference: When the average citizen misbehaves in public, people say, “Look at that jerk.” When a celebrity does the same thing, people say, “Hey, do you know who that jerk is?”

Burress has to realize that his name is known and his behavior reflects on him and the Steelers.

Which means if he even sniffs trouble might be in the air, he ought to be running a fly pattern in the opposite direction.

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George Steinbrenner started his own TV network this year. The year-round cable channel is showing New York Yankees games and also offers New Jersey Nets coverage.

Why should anyone in Pittsburgh care?

Because the new YES Network gives Steinbrenner a great opportunity to hide Yankees-related revenue.

When baseball starts talking about revenue sharing, the biggest issue is local broadcast money. Since Steinbrenner is both the rights holder and buyer for the lucrative Yankees games, he can tilt the numbers in whatever direction suits his purposes.

YES can get the Yankees games at a bargain price. That makes YES wildly profitable and has the Yankees with much less revenue to share.

For Steinbrenner, it’s just a matter of what pocket he uses for the money.

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What was Herb Brooks thinking? What were the New York Rangers thinking?

The Rangers were set to hire Brooks as their coach just as he decided to withdraw from consideration.

When Brooks came back to replace Kevin Constantine with the Penguins in 1999, it took about two weeks before he got fed up with the players. The playoffs energized him but Brooks spent most of the regular season counting the days until he could go home.

Why, at age 64, would he consider taking on the Rangers’ mess in a high-stress setting?

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Need proof that the Steelers own the town?

Backup quarterback Tommy Maddox is doing radio commercials for a mustard.

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Reading the wrong newspaper produced these two headlines over columns written by the same person:

“Major Flaws in Minors for Pirates” – May 7.

“There Is Some Hope For Pirates in Minors” – May 17.

Glad they got that straightened out in 10 days.

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Jose Canseco alleged last week that up to 85 percent of baseball players use steroids.

Steroids and related drugs are definitely prevalent but Canseco’s estimate seems awfully high. That would mean 21 of every 25 players on a roster are taking steroids.

If Jimmy Anderson is using them, he needs to adjust his dosage.

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Just two more days of Ed Rendell and Bob Casey campaign commercials.

Then the “UPN 19 Nightly Sports Call” reclaims its title as the most annoying thing on local television.

(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehno@lycos.com)