[b]"Ex-Giants superstar Tiki Barber has dumped his 8-months-pregnant wife, Ginny, for sexy former NBC intern Traci Lynn Johnson, sources told The Post last night.

The football star-turned-"Today" show-correspondent left his wife of 11 years, Ginny, for the 23-year-old blonde, who also worked at 30 Rock, the sources said.

Ginny, who is expecting twins, found out about the relationship late last year, after the run-around running back moved out of their Upper East Side home.

Johnson, a model-thin bombshell, was photographed sitting next to Tiki last month at a Washington, DC, screening of a documentary on Senegal that he hosted for the Travel Channel. Sources believe Johnson also accompanied Tiki to Senegal for the filming late last year, when Ginny was three months pregnant.

The affair is particularly stunning in light of Barber's long-standing disdain for his philandering father.

"I don't give a [bleep] that the relationship didn't work," he said of his parents' split in a 2004 Post interview. "Not only did he abandon her, I felt like he abandoned us for a lot of our lives. I have a hard time forgiving that."

Barber's confidants were shocked.

"He was always the nice guy with a million-dollar smile," a Barber family friend told The Post.

"We were shocked to find out that he could walk out on his wife of 11 years while she's pregnant with twins. He was with this girl in Senegal while Ginny was three months pregnant.

"And we believe she was also with him in Vancouver while he was blogging about the Winter Olympics for Yahoo.com."

Barber, who is believed to have to have relocated to an Upper West Side bachelor paid, released a statement yesterday in response to a Page Six item announcing the split.

"After 11 years of marriage, Ginny and I have decided to separate," Barber said. "This decision was a painful one, but we are moving forward amicably and will continue to work together to raise our children with the love and dedication they have always known."

A Tiki Barber spokesman declined to comment.

Ginny is a former fashion publicist and full-time mom to the couple's two sons, A.J., 7, and Chason, 6. She, too, declined to comment.

But she's been known to tout her caretaking role for Tiki.

"I'm sort of a traditionalist where I don't mind taking care of him," she said in a 2006 interview.

Johnson can be seen posing with a smiling gal pal in a pic on her MySpace page. The two are wearing red short shorts and Giants jerseys emblazoned with Barber's No. 21.

Tiki and Ginny began dating 16 years ago when both were students at the University of Virginia.

Barber, who turns 35 today, was hired by NBC just after he retired in 2007 -- when sources say he first met Johnson, who was working there as an intern.

In his 10-year NFL career, Barber set nearly every career offensive record for the Giants, and made three Pro Bowls.

His end run on Ginny with the much younger Johnson runs counter to the all-American Barber persona that fans and TV viewers know.

During Giants games, Tiki used to blow a kiss to Ginny in the stands every time he scored.

In his 2007 memoir, "Tiki: My Life in the Game and Beyond," Barber described the example he wanted to set for his kids.

"I want to be an honorable man, because that's what I want them both to be," he wrote, noting, "My family is everything to me."[/b]

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/timing_tiki_plays_field_TMZxMDNXxvBbNgVBToZL8O#ixzz1X6cln7O7
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/timing_tiki_plays_field_TMZxMDNXxvBbNgVBToZL8O





[b]"When Tiki Barber told HBO that he was returning to football because he "needed the game," and because he "needed to prove to [himself] that he could be successful at something," I thought it sounded like a recipe for a personal mental health disaster.

Now that NFL rosters are set at 53, and Tiki Barber never got to sniff one, I hope that's not true. According to Peter King at Sports Illustrated, Tiki isn't taking it well.

    I tried to reach Barber on Sunday, but he wasn't talking. I hear he's devastated that no team gave him a chance. You might wonder if teams would bring him in after the first game of the season, so his contract wouldn't be guaranteed, and that could still happen. But with no team calling Lepselter with even a hint of interest, it's more likely teams would start with backs who've been in some football competition this summer.

    [Barber's agent Mark] Lepselter told me Sunday: "We are flabbergasted that Tiki has not had an opportunity with any team, especially when rosters were at 90 players this year. I certainly thought some team would be intrigued to see what he had left in the tank.''

Where this will leave Tiki Barber the person, I don't know. He's also recently proposed to his girlfriend, the one with whom he was involved while still married to his pregnant wife. So that's good news.

His football career, though, is dead, and it's not coming back. I know Tiki said he needed the game, but I doubt he needs it enough to consider trying to prove himself in the UFL, Canada or the Arena League.

For a guy truly desperate to get back into the league, that's really the only step left. Even if a team suffers a catastrophic string of injuries at the tailback position, it won't be Barber's phone that rings. It'll be someone younger, cheaper, who won't bring any media scrutiny, and will play with fearless abandon on special teams.

Sorry, Tiki. Good luck finding something else that makes you happy."[/b]
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Tiki-Barber-remains-unemployed-and-sad?urn=nfl-wp6443


[b]
" Tiki Barber's return to the NFL has seemingly seen it's chance come and go without any interest from NFL teams.

Barber came out of retirement from a five year hiatus after retiring in 2006. His retirement a year before his former team—the New York Giants—won the Super Bowl is likely something that he regrets.

His retirement came after a season when he posted 1,662 yards rushing with a 5.1 yard average. He was 31 at the time, and while that is old for a running back, his production made his decision a shock to most people.

A 10 year NFL career was followed by a career in broadcasting with NBC.

It was ultimately determined that Barber was better at playing football than analyzing it as his contract was not renewed after what was considered a disappointing tenure with the organization. Barber's life after football hasn't been a rewarding retirement as his career with NBC coincided with his personal life being embroiled in controversy.

Barber's attitude has always been in question and that is one of the reasons that no NFL teams have looked to take him on.

The probability is that there are some teams that would be willing to bring him in to compete but his chances would be slim to none because of his age and lack of experience on special teams.

As a 36-year-old running back, there are very few opportunities going to be coming your way in the NFL. Unless you are willing to play special teams or excel in a certain facet of the game to carve out a role, you have no hope of getting a job.

Tiki Barber isn't a guy with a reputation as being a team guy and probably isn't willing to do the dirty work to help a team win.

While Plaxico Burress is coming back at a similar situation, there is a reason why he has landed with the New York Jets and Barber hasn't found a home.

As a wide receiver Burress can continually play into his late thirties. With his height he will always have a role on a roster as a red-zone target. Guys like Jerry Rice, Hines Ward and Derrick Mason have continued to play as they moved towards their thirties while even Joey Galloway was on an NFL roster last season at 39 years of age.

Thirty-six-year-old running backs are not appealing when the position is so physically demanding and there is so much talent and depth at the position throughout the league.

Barber's best bet at making a living as a football player right now likely lies in the UFL. His NFL career ended five years ago and it's too late to change history now."[/b]
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/819121-tiki-barber-still-jobless-why-does-the-nfl-not-want-him-back

Tiki Barber