Jeter's childhood house could be yours for $140,000

A Yankees fan can now own the ultimate in Derek Jeter memorabilia— ever.  Only problem is,  you'll have to pull up stakes and move to Kalamazoo, Mich. to enjoy it.

The Yankee captain's split-level childhood home, where Jeter grew up and developed his double-play throwing arm on the side of the house, is being put up for sale by the owners for $140,000.

The owner of the house, Kelly Mohamed, paid $110,000 for the modest blue and gray house in 2001.  The supermarket clerk has lived at 2415 Cumberland St. in the quiet middle-class neighborhood with her husband, Mikael, since then.  It will be going on the market in a matter of weeks, she told The New York Post.

Besides being able to walk in the same backyard that Jeter played catch with his dad, Charles, it seems like a good investment too.

"I loved it from the first time I walked through the door, but I want something warm now; we're moving to Georgia," Kelly said.

The quaint house still has the garage where the future Hall-of-Famer worked on his sweet swing with a contraption his father built.

The 2,000-square-foot structure is a far cry from Jeter's current $8 million, 31,000 square-foot water-front Tampa mansion or his Trump Tower apartment with sweeping views of Manhattan.

The house borders Kalamazoo Central High School's baseball field which was only a jump over a chain-link fence away from where baseball scouts sized up his skills before the Yankees signed the young shortstop to an $800,000 contract.

Someone might buy the house just to say they slept in the same bedroom as Derek Jeter but not the current owners— even though Jeter already had four World Series Championships under his belt by the time they purchased it.

"The people that sold us the house were really excited to tell us that he had lived here as a boy," said Kelly.

"Honestly, at the time, we didn't even know who he was."

Her husband was just as non-starstruck.

"I'm more of a football fan," said Mikael.  "49ers all the way!"

Plaxico: Giants are 'always a great possibility'

Another off-season and another possible Plaxico Burress return to the New York Giants.  Haven't we gone through this routine before?

It's that time of year when Burress— the former Giants receiver who caught the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII, shot himself in the leg, spent 20 months in jail then signed with the New York Jets— tells everyone about the prospect of his return to the Giants.

He's at it once again.  Burress, in an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, today with Rich Gannon and Adam Shein, said he wouldn't mind re-signing with the Giants next week when free-agency begins.


"It's always a great possibility," Burress told the hosts.

Too bad the optimistic wide-out has probably used up his three wishes with the Big Blue genie.

Last summer— after his release from prison for weapons charges— Burress spurned the Giants after a much-ballyhooed free-agent visit to the Timex performance Center in the Meadowlands for dinner with the owners and Tom Coughlin.

The Giants offered him an incentive-based contract which Burress turned down; then promptly grabbed a guaranteed deal with the Jets.

Afterwards,  he said he never wanted to play for the Giants and had nothing but distain for head coach Tom Coughlin.

Now it sounds like the 34-year-old Burress has changed his tune... again.  The Lomabrdi Trophy can do that to a person.

"Playing in Kevin Gilbride's system is definitely one of the best," said Burress.  "You see the production those guys are having at wide receiver position.  Victor Cruz obviously with the year he had, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham.  You just look at some of the plays that those guys are making out there on the edge.  And Eli [Manning] has really just become a man of his position, leading those guys the last few games of the season, the last five or six winning, and obviously the Super Bowl."

Is there a spot for Burress on the Giants?  Probably not.

The Giants are preparing themselves for the loss of free-agent Mario Manningham but still have Cruz, Hicks and a re-signed Domenic Hixon.  There are high hopes for Jerrel Jernigan and Ramses Barden and Burress didn't exactly do anything with the Jets.

The free-agent has bandied about the names of the Giants, Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles as teams he would like to join.

Burress told a Philadelphia radio station that "Nothing would make me happier" than playing for the  Eagles, but he said that last summer too.

The Giants got over the loss of Steve Smith to the Eagles without any complications.  Burress would be a no brainer.

"I haven't been able to talk to any teams as of yet obviously because it's not free-agency time," Burress said today.  "But I'm looking at all offers , I'm just looking for an opportunity to go into an offense, have fun, make some plays these last few years and the goal is always to win a championship."

Too bad he gave up that chance last season.

Kris Humphries' sister Kaela signs plus-size modeling contract

Kris Humphries older sister Kaela is stepping out from the shadow of her former sister-in-laws and into a spotlight of her own.

The 29-year-old sister of Kim Kardashian's ex-husband and New Jersey Nets basketball player Kris has signed a contract as plus-size model with Ford modeling agency.

The six degrees of Kardashian keeps spreading down another avenue of exploitation.

Ford confirmed the signing of the blue-eyed model to its roster of other curvy women.

"A true size 16-18, Kaela will be in a league of her own," a spokesperson told People Stylewatch.

"So excited to be working with the team @fordmodels," Kaela tweeted on Tuesday.  "This is going to be a great 2012!  Stay tuned."

The voluptuous model has some experience on the catwalk and worked with Wilhemina Models in Los Angeles.

The former-Minnesota native has also appeared on "Kourtney and Khloe take  New York"— the reality show which features her former sister-in-laws.

On that series, Kaela was witness to the rise and fall of her brother's doomed marriage with Kim K.

Tricycle Drifting; Not your daddy's Big Wheel

Check out this video of these daredevils on three wheels.  These New Zealand youths have combined the tricycle with "drifting" and come up with what look like a lot of fun.

The trike's rear wheels are modified with large PVC pipes like sled-runners and the peddles removed.

To get launched, the riders hold a long rope or strap and are towed down a hill by a car before releasing their grips and sending them on their way.  That's when the extreme sport action starts.

Dodging oncoming traffic without helmets or even shoes is part of the risk as these maniacs careen down the asphalt spinning around and racing each other.

The VIDEO has gotten nearly 3 million hits on YouTube in less than one week..

I'm sure you'll see trike drifting as an X-Games sport soon.

Eli Manning rips Saints over Bounty-gate

Eli Manning has become the first prominent NFL player to publicly speak out against the Bounty-gate scandal threatening to take down his hometown team— the New Orleans Saints.

The New York Giants quarterback is no stranger when it comes to the violence in the NFL— he has memories of his father Archie get knocked around for 11 seasons in New Orleans and has taken his share of licks himself— but from the sounds of it, Manning is sickened by the suggestion of placing bounties on NFL player's heads and ripped into the Saints if they did it.

"Obviously, it's a big deal, what's going on," said Manning before the premiere screening of the Giants official championship video, "Super Bowl XLVI Champions: New York Giants" at a Times Square theater last night. "It's not good for football and can't be a part of football.  I know [commissioner] Roger Goodell will do a good job of figuring all this out and making sure this doesn't happen again."

The two time Super Bowl MVP— who grew up in New Orleans— went on to say he has heard his own head coach Tom Coughlin instruct the Giants defense to go after opposing quarterbacks in team meetings.

"I'm kind of sitting there and I say, 'I know the opposing teams are saying the same thing about me,'" said Manning.  But when you start talking about injuring a guy and carting him off and trying to end his season or career, that's not what the game is about.  I think we should have more respect for the game than that.  It can't be a part of football."

The Giants were hammered by the Saints, 49-24, on Nov. 28 in New Orleans but Manning said he can't recall any specific foul hits on himself, so he can't say if their defensive coordinator Gregg Williams actually put a bounty on him.

Williams has been accused of collecting money to be awarded to players able to get opposing players carted off the field with injuries.

There was one vicious hit by safety Isa Abdul-Quddus in the third quarter that knocked Hakeem Nicks out of the game with a rib contusion.  Abdul-Quddus got a 15-yard penalty for hitting a defenseless player.  Nicks returned to game but looks at the hit differently now.

"It's just part of the game,' said Nicks at the screening.  "He got a good shot on me.  It wasn't the last time I got hit that hard.  I took one in the Super Bowl too.  You can't be too scared to get hit."

Asked if he thought it was a cheap attempt to injure him Nicks responded," The way he was celebrating you would probably think that regardless."

Giants safety Antrel Rolle echoed his teammate's sentiments but insisted the Giants have no bounty system and said if the accusations against the Saints are true, the tactics are "not good character."

New York Giants to get "blue carpet" treatment at film screening

Super Bowl winners Eli Manning, Jason Pierre-Paul, Antrel Rolle, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks will be strutting down the "blue carpet' at tonight's screening of a new DVD that captures the New York Giants season leading up to their upset victory over the New England Patriots in  Super Bowl XLVI.

Some might even call the DVD a remake of the Giants Super Bowl XLII win because there are so many similarities between the two championship runs.

In both scenarios, the Giants' season seemed to be over before the underdog squad gets hot down the stretch and defies all odds by making the playoffs.  Combine that with freakish last minute catches and comeback wins— over the Patriots— in both Super Bowls and you can see how the two championship runs look alike.

The two-time Super Bowl MVP Manning and the other players will be getting front-row seats for tonight's event at the Regal Theater in Times Square for the V.I.P. showing of NFL Films and Vivendi Entertainment's "Super Bowl XLVI Champions: New York Giants" which will be released today.

According to a sneak peak by The New York Post, the DVD begins with clips of the Giants' stunning upset of the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII then fast-forwards to to reveal how "eerily similar" the first championship was to the second.

The game by game account of the season highlights themes like Manning's ascension to "elite" status, the emergence of Victor Cruz and the steady hand of head coach Tom Coughlin.

After the comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys, Coughlin exclaims to his jubilant players in the locker room, "Take the star down off the mountain, put the NYG on top."

There is a slo-mo replay of Cruz's game-breaking 99-yard TD catch and run against the New York Jets and, of course, Manningham's unbelievable catch in the big game.

If those scenes don't get tonight's crowd cheering, nothing will.

Sprinkle those season-turning plays in with poignant sideline shots like Brandon Jacobs, sitting next to Manning, saying, "You're a beast, man, I can't say that enough" and there won't be a dry eye in the house.

Especially Patriots fans who will give it two thumbs down.

Even Bill Belichick gets a supporting role.  The Pats' coach commands his defense to concentrate on Cruz and Nicks before Manning lands the perfect pass to Manningham on the winning drive.

The only problem with this movie is everyone knows the ending but— as the credits roll over shots of the Giants parading up Broadway with ticker-tape raining down— Big Blue fans will already be waiting for a third installment in the series.

70-year-old man qualifies for Olympics

A 70-year-old Japanese man has qualified for the London Olympics and — if he competes— would become the second oldest Olympian in history.

Equestrian Hiroshi Hoketsu qualified by winning an international dressage meet in France on Thursday.  Japanese equestrian officials said today they will make an announcement soon on whether or not the septuagenarian will mount up at the London games.

Hoketsu will turn 71 on March 28.

The oldest Olympian in history is Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn who won a silver medal at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics at the age of 72— his sixth medal in three games.

Hoketsu is already Japan's oldest Olympian after competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the age of 67.

At those games, Hoketsu finished ninth in the dressage team event and the individual competition.  He also qualified for the 1988 Seoul Olympics but was unable to compete after his horse was quarantined.

It sounds like Hoketsu is the Gordie Howe of the horsey set.