Freshwater Stateline Plaza, at 130 Elm St. in Enfield, was evacuated because of the smell of gas on Friday morning.

Officials said they had not located the smell, so the shopping center was evacuated.

View Larger Map

Bridgeport firefighters battled a series of suspicious fires within close proximity of each other Monday and now a reward is being offered to help solve the case.

Firefighters responded to six fires in four locations around Bridgeport. including Olive Street, Center Street, Madison Court and George Street. All of the homes were vacant and two on the same street.

Firefighters found the body of a man inside a burning home on Madison Court that began shortly after 3 p.m. The cause of his death is currently unknown. He has not been identified.

The most recent fire was reported early Christmas morning.

There is no indication that the early morning fire on Knowlton Street is related to the recent string of fires. According to officials, they are not ruling the possibility out.

Police considered the areas surrounding the fires as crime scenes and kept streets blocked off for most of Monday.

Donn Cabral, an Olympic Steeplechase runner from Glastonbury, will be in his hometown on Friday to sign autographs and raise money for the Newtown Memorial Fund.

He will sign autographs at Monaco Ford from noon to 2 p.m.  and the suggested donation is $5 to go to the fund created to provide a memorial for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Cabral, who finished in eighth place in the 3,000 meter Steeplechase, is also hosting a silent auction and will raffle what he calls “a few sweet pieces of classy Ralph Lauren Olympic sweaters, jackets and hoodies.”

Cabral will be in the showroom at the dealership, located at 767 New London Turnpike in Glastonbury.

Metro-North will raise fares, effective New Year’s Day and many who use it to travel into and out of New York City will be paying more than an addition 5 percent for the ride.Fares for Shoreline East are also going up.

"In these times, it's kind of tough," said Kevin Mckeithen, who takes the train daily to his job in East Norwalk.

He said he feels the train is much more convenient than driving and didn't know about the fare hikes until NBC Connecticut told him about them.

"Everybody is struggling. Everybody is trying to earn a decent dollar and the continuous fare hikes are not fair for the average working person," Mckeithen said.

According to the state Department of Transportation, the 5 percent increase will happen January 1.  It is the second increase in eight years.

“During that time, operating expenses grew by 12 percent due to inflation. While it is never easy to raise fares in economic times such as these, the alternative – a reduction in service – would have been more difficult for Connecticut commuters,” DOT Commissioner James Redeker said in a news release.  

"It's ridiculous. I think it's out of control," said Dee Monte, who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico now but used to ride daily from Stratford to Grand Central. "It’s not fair because people take the train to save money and how could they save money when it goes up that much?"

Before the increase, the monthly fare between New Haven and Grand Central was $415. Now it will be $436. A weekly pass will increase from around $133 to $140.

"The market is there," said Alani Kuye, who lives in Meriden but commutes to the city from Union Station. "We will always use the service, but given that the cost is going up and you don't have a choice, what else are you going to do? There's no ferry. There’s no helicopters. You can’t go into traffic. 95 is a nightmare. The Merritt -- you know how that is."

In addition to the Metro North increase, subway and bus tickets in the New York City area are also going up. Also if you plan on driving into the city, you should expect to pay an extra dollar for tolls at most bridges.

You can check the MTA Web site to see how much more it will cost you. 

Shoreline East fare increases are posted on their Web site.
 

Farmington police have arrested a 31-year-old Avon man accused of threatening to shoot his ex-girlfriend, her 11-year-old son and referencing committing crimes similar to those committed in Newtown and Columbine.

Farmington police arrested Darnell Jerome Davis at his house on Thursday, took him into custody and he is being held on $2.5 million bond.

The investigation began in Hartford on Dec. 27, when Davis’ ex-girlfriend complained of receiving threats while she was at work. She told officers she feared for her safety as well as for her coworkers' safety.

Police investigated and learned Davis had sent several threatening text messages to the victim on Dec. 17, while she was at home in Farmington, police said.

According to the warrant, Davis' texts included: 

"Imma shoot ur son school U leave me" and "Adam Lanza did God's work," referencing the man who shot and killed 20 first graders and six staff members of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. 

The ex-girlfriend told police that "Davis had threatened to shoot up her son's school," and said it would be worse than the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 first graders and six staff members were killed.

The arrest warrant application states that the victim told police that there were photos on Facebook showing Davis holding a shotgun and an assault rifle.

The investigation became a joint effort between Hartford and Farmington police and Farmington officers found Davis at his residence on Dec. 27.

When they questioned him, David said he did not remember the texts, but then began to cry, said he used a lot of marijuana and it has an affect on his memory, according to police. 

Davis told police that he never had intentions of killing his ex-girlfriend or her son, but that he was angry and wanted to hurt her emotionally, according to police.

Officers did not find guns at Davis’ residence and police do not believe he owns any guns.

Davis was charged with two counts of criminal violation of a protective order, breach of peace in the second degree, threatening in the second degree and harassment in the second degree.

Police said Davis had been arrested six times for incidents related to the relationship and there was a protection order in place when the messages were allegedly sent on Dec. 17, but the restraining order and GPS bracelet from a prior domestic incident were removed on Dec. 18. 

Court records show prior convictions for second-degree stalking and drug possession charges out of Bristol, harrassment charges in Farmington in 2008 and a violation of a protective order in Farmington in November.

Earlier this week, Giants coach Tom Coughlin said that he hoped his team would play with pride and honor against the Eagles even though winning isn't enough to get them into the playoffs all by themselves. 

He should have made that point to his coaching staff as well because one key member of it seems to be more interested in covering his own rear end than he does in anything having to do with the accountability that one normally associates with pride and honor. Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said Thursday that the problems with the defense this year are entirely on the players because his schemes were above criticism. 

"We've prepared better than what we’ve played. I think if you look at the tape we’re in position to make plays. We haven’t made plays, " Fewell said. "We’ve been in position. We haven’t made a football play for the last couple of weeks. We’ve been in position to make football plays, but it hasn’t gone our way."

Anyone who watched Fewell run a 4-4-3 alignment out there against the Ravens last week will likely have a nice chuckle at the idea that he's some kind of misunderstood genius being let down by underperforming players. Taking a look at Fewell's full two years as the defensive play caller finds mostly terrible performances redeemed by the pass rush showing up in living color for six weeks at the end of last season. 

There wasn't anything particularly exotic about the way they were doing it as the Giants just lined up their front four and turned them loose on offenses every week. Fewell was more than happy to take the credit for that, so he should be a bigger man about taking the blame for this week. 

Fewell hasn't been the only Giant trying to cover for his own failures this week. Every where you look, there's a Giant player or coach saying they simply don't know how this season has gone so wrong which makes you wonder if Coughlin should can the five minute early rule for meetings and start using the extra time to actually come up with answers for why the team has produced results well below the talent on hand. 

The Giants have to bring everything they have left on Sunday. They need the Bears, Vikings and Cowboys to lose in order to wind up in the postseason, but that only matters if they show up and beat the Eagles.

The issue of not showing up is one of the first ones that needs to be addressed, simply because it has happened far too often over the course of Coughlin's tenure to be treated as some temporary blip during an otherwise consistent run. It would be nice if some of the team's supposed leaders took the reins on that front. 

Eli Manning is who he is and, even after this season, the Giants don't need to make any significant changes to their quarterback on the field. We'd love to see something more like what Tom Brady did after last week's victory over the Jaguars off the field, though. 

Brady ripped the Pats to shreds in the locker room for their complacency during a 23-16 win over one of the worst teams in the league, something you could never imagine Manning doing since he treats wins and losses of all stripes with the same even keel. Someone needed to light a fire under the Giants this season, though, and it's clear that Coughlin, who normally plays that role, wasn't able to reach this particular team. 

Urgency was never something the Giants seemed to feel this season, even as they talked about playing with it when their backs were against the wall. That makes it hard to imagine we're going to see a great performance from them on Sunday. 

After four straight years of traveling down pretty much the same road, it's hard to see where next year is significantly different without someone stepping up to try doing things a different way. 

Josh Alper is also a writer for Pro Football Talk. You can follow him on Twitter.

Bridgeport police have arrested two men accused of a shooting that killed Gary Gullap, 17, and wounded a second person in August.

Gullap and the second victim were shot while walking on Hallett Street near Ogden Street during the late afternoon of Aug. 2.

Police secured an arrest warrant last week charging Tysaaun Anderson, 18, with murder and had been searching for him.

On Thursday, Sgt. Pasquale Feola saw Anderson walking in the area of the Beardsley Terrace Apartments and arrested him, police said.

The second suspect, Kyle Brodie, 18, is incarcerated at the Manson Youth facility and was charged on Friday morning with the homicide. Bonds for both were set at $1 million.

Anderson was scheduled to be in court on Friday morning for an arraignment.

“It’s a heinous crime and these are two very violent individuals,” Police Chief Joseph Gaudett Jr. said in a news release. “The message to these gang members has to be if you are going to commit these violent crimes you’re going to jail for a very long time.”

Police said patrol officers found the suspects’ van abandoned in the Green Homes minutes after the shooting.

The homicide was the city’s 15th of the year and additional arrests are anticipated in the case.
 

On Friday, the state Department of Public Health was accused of putting kids at risk.  A new report showed it had not done enough to make sure daycares were safe.

Two daycares just caught the state auditor’s attention.

Officials there said one was the Imagine Nation Preschool Learning Center in Bristol.  The other was Roscco Stamford Schools Community Organization. 

“It's a concern,” said auditor John Geragosian, who released an audit for the Health Department, the agency that oversees daycares across Connecticut. 

The report shows it gave those two daycares a license to open in 2009, before criminal background checks for three workers were completed. 

“It doesn’t mean they had any blemishes on their record. It means the department didn’t do the due diligence it was supposed to do,” said. Geragosian.

That auditor told NBC Connecticut it was possible those workers were never even screened.

“In the cases of those three employees, I don’t believe they've ever gotten the results,” Geragosian said.

No one from the Department of Public Health would comment on camera, but the agency responded in the audit.  It disputed any problem, and said it screens every worker.  The agency also admitted it has granted licenses to daycares, even when some screenings weren’t complete.  In the documents, the agency said background checks often take a long time, so it has let daycares open if enough workers passed the test. 

“They should have better procedures in place to make sure that no kids are put in danger,” Geragosian said.

The auditor said he would look at other new daycares to see if screening problems happened elsewhere.  He wanted the Connecticut Department of Public Health to strengthen guidelines, and told NBC Connecticut there could be penalties if more issues were found.

Both of the daycares in question were still in operation.  The auditor wanted to emphasize those businesses have done nothing wrong.

 

Ex-convicts in New Haven have a new incentive to stay on a straight and narrow path.
 
The Housing Authority of New Haven is extending section 8 housing vouchers to 20 ex-convicts and their families.
 
"It'll allow them to find affordable housing within the city, while they're trying to get their life back on track after returning from prison," said Evelise Ribeiro, from the New Haven Housing Authority.
 
This new effort is part of the city's larger plan to reduce crime and recidivism by granting former prisoners job training and a home when they're released. However, some doubt the program will be a success.
 
"You never know the mind of a criminal. They might revert," said John Thomas.
 
Applicants interested in receiving a voucher will be screened.
 
"Once they determine that this person is compliant and in need of housing, then they would do the referral," said Ribeiro.
 
As an ex-convict, Gary King argued this program might be what New Haven needs to reduce crime, since people leaving jail would need help staying out of trouble.
 
"Most people that come out of jail are homeless, and they go through a tough time finding someplace to live," said King.
 
Convicted arsonists or sex offenders won't qualify for the program. The Housing Authority hopes to start handing out vouchers by early next year.

The Senate on Friday approved a $60.4 billion emergency spending aid package for victims of Hurricane Sandy that had been backed by Senate Democrats.

Democrats had to turn back Republican efforts to cut programs such as $150 million in fisheries aid that Republican lawmakers said was unrelated to the storm that hammered the East Coast late in October.

The measure cleared the Senate on a 62-32 vote, with 12 Republicans supporting the bill. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., was the only Democrat to vote against the bill, but he later switched his vote to support the measure.

The bill faces uncertain prospects in the House, where GOP leaders appear reluctant to move quickly on a big spending bill in the final days of a lame duck session.

Congress' attention is focused on talks over the so-called fiscal cliff of tax hikes and automatic spending cuts.

Sandy was blamed for at least 120 deaths and battered coastline areas from North Carolina to Maine.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were the hardest hit states and suffered high winds, flooding and storm surges. Sandy damaged or destroyed more than 72,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey.

In New York, 305,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed and more than 265,000 businesses were affected.

Senate Republicans failed on an amendment for a smaller package of about $24 billion in aid for Sandy, which was the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and one of the worst storms ever in the Northeast.

House GOP leaders have not said how they plan to proceed. But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers of Kentucky has said Congress should probably begin with a smaller aid package for immediate recovery needs and wait until more data can be collected about storm damage before approving additional money next year.

Rep. Paul Ryan, the 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee and a leading House fiscal conservative, has criticized the Democratic bill as "packed with funding for unrelated items, such as commercial fisheries in American Samoa and roof repair of museums in Washington, D.C."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., urged House leaders to "put this bill on the floor quickly and allow a vote." If the House balks, Schumer said, the Senate bill provides "very good groundwork" for seeking Sandy aid next year.

The measure includes $11.5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's chief disaster relief fund and $17 billion for community development block grants, much of which would help homeowners repair or replace their homes.

Another $11.7 billion would help repair New York City's subways and other mass transit damage and protect them from future storms. Some $9.7 billion would go toward the government's flood insurance program.

The Army Corps of Engineers would receive $5.3 billion to mitigate flood future risks and rebuild damaged projects.

Senate Republicans said much of the spending in the Democratic bill was for projects unrelated to Sandy, such as $150 million for fisheries disasters that could go to Alaska as well as Gulf Coast and New England states.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., sought to strip the fisheries funding, but his amendment failed.

To court votes, Democrats last week broadened some of their bill's provisions to cover damage from Hurricane Isaac, which struck the Gulf Coast earlier this year.

A provision was added to the $2.9 billion allotted to Army Corps of Engineers projects to reduce future flooding risks; the coverage area for that program will now include areas hit by Isaac in addition to Sandy.

Democrats also shifted $400 million into a community development program for regions suffering disasters, beyond areas struck by Sandy.

A Coburn amendment to reduce the federal share of costs for the Army Corps of Engineer projects to reduce future flooding risks also failed.

Most of the money in the $60.4 billion bill -- $47.4 billion -- is for immediate help for victims and other recovery and rebuilding efforts.

The aid is intended to help states rebuild public infrastructure like roads and tunnels, and help thousands of people displaced from their homes.

"It will actually put people to work in their own communities, rebuilding their own communities," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.

GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Coburn, two frequent critics of government spending, targeted what they called "questionable" spending in the Democratic bill, including $2 million for roof repairs at Smithsonian Institution museums and $58 million in subsidies for tree planting on private properties.

A McCain amendment to strip the tree subsidies failed.

Republicans also criticized $13 billion in the Democratic bill for projects to protect against future storms, including fortifying mass transit systems in the Northeast.

Republicans said however worthy such projects may be, they are not urgently needed and should be considered by Congress in the usual appropriations process next year.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that only about $9 billion of the $60.4 billion proposed by Democrats would be spent over the next nine months.

The Democratic bill included many large infrastructure projects that often require years to complete, but Republicans said the CBO estimate of such drawn-out spending undercuts the urgency of the Democrats' aid package.

More than $2 billion in federal funds has been spent so far on relief efforts for 11 states and the District of Columbia. FEMA's disaster relief fund still has about $4.3 billion, and officials have said that is enough to pay for recovery efforts into early spring.

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are receiving federal aid.
 

Associated Press/NBC Connecticut

Lower electric generation rates take effect Jan. 1, 2013 for residential and business customers of Connecticut Light & Power Co. and United Illuminating Co., according to Attorney General George Jepsen and Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz.

Under changes approved recently by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, CL&P’s generation service rate for residential customers will drop by about 0.7 cents to 7.615 cents per kilowatt hour and UI’s rate for the same service will fall by a little more than a cent to 7.697 cents per kilowatt hour. Business customers will see similar reductions.

For the average residential customer who uses CL&P as their electricity supplier, monthly generation service charges could drop by about $5 a month. Similar UI customers could see a drop of approximately $7.50 per month.”

“This is a good time for Connecticut residents to carefully examine their electricity bill and to compare generation service providers for the best rates,” said Attorney General Jepsen. “Investing a little time now in comparison shopping could reduce monthly electric bills in the year ahead.”

Consumers who are shopping among competitive electric suppliers seeking the lowest possible rates should compare the CL&P and UI standard offer rate to competitive supplier rates. UI’s rate is firm for 2013; CL&P’s rate is firm for six months and will likely be adjusted slightly for the second half of the year.

“There are many competing providers of electric generation services offering both fixed and variable rates. Consumers should re-examine the terms and conditions of their current service before renewing their contract in light of the new lower standard offer service rates being offered by CL&P and UI,” Consumer Counsel Katz cautioned.

Generation supplier services account for about half of a customer’s total electric bill. Delivery services account for the remainder.

The Attorney General and Consumer Counsel also cautioned consumers to be informed about terms and conditions imposed by alternative generation suppliers who may advertise a lower short-term or variable rate or impose termination fees on customers who seek lower prices elsewhere.

“Be especially cautious if a supplier cannot or refuses to explain clearly how you will be charged after the expiration of any introductory rate, and for the duration of the contract, so that you can compare rates,” Katz said. “Be sure to ask about terms and conditions such as early termination fees before you sign a contract.”

Jepsen urged consumers to file a complaint with PURA about any supplier that misrepresents its prices, terms or conditions of service.

More information about electric generating rates and choosing an electric supplier can be found at www.ctenergyinfo.com and selecting “Choosing an Electric Supplier,” or by calling PURA at 1-800-382-4586.

 

Between mid-day Saturday and midnight, much of the state will get 3 inches to 6 inches of snow.

Light to moderate snow will develop between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday, according to NBC Connecticut chief meteorologist Brad Field, and continue well into the night.

The shoreline could receive a wintry mix at first, but the storm will turn to snow. 

Parts of eastern Connecticut, including parts of Windham and Tolland counties, and upper New London County, could get more snow, according to NBC Connecticut meteorologist Bob Maxon.

The storm will moved from west to east. If you are traveling, expect it to be challenging by mid-afternoon.

This will be the second storm of the week. Snow on Wednesday evening caused slick driving conditions statewide, then turned to rain on Thursday morning, causing minor flooding in parts of the state.

See the radar here.

Get the forecast here.

Send your snow photos here.

A 31-year-old Bronx woman has been charged with murder as a hate crime for pushing a man in front of an oncoming No. 7 train at a Queens subway station Thursday evening, prosecutors said.

According to the Queens district attorney's office, Erika Menendez confessed to the crime, saying she pushed 46-year-old Sundando Sen onto the tracks because she has hated Hindus and Muslims since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

“The defendant is accused of committing what is every subway commuter’s worst nightmare – being suddenly and senselessly pushed into the path of an oncoming train," said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. "The hateful remarks allegedly made by the defendant and which precipitated the defendant’s actions can never be tolerated by a civilized society.”

Menendez was charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime Saturday. She was awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court.

Authorities said Menendez was seen walking back and forth on the platform of the 40th Street station and talking to herself before sitting down, alone, on a wooden bench near the north end of the walkway. When the train pulled into the station shortly after 8 p.m., she allegedly got up off the bench and pushed Sen.

The suspect then fled the platform, running down a flight of stairs to the turnstile area and down a second flight to Queens Boulevard, witnesses said.

Police said Menendez was taken into custody Saturday in Brooklyn after a passerby recognized her from a surveillance video that captured her leaving the station. Menendez was later identified by witnesses in a lineup.

According to prosecutors, Menendez told detectives, “I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I’ve been beating them up.”

Sen, a native of Calcutta, had been in the country for more than 20 years and was part owner of New Amsterdam Printing on Amsterdam Avenue, according to his three roommates. Sen had opened the business six months ago and worked seven days a week, commuting by subway daily, his friends and roommates said.

Naeem Davis, a 30-year-old deli worker, was recently arrested and charged with second-degree murder for allegedly pushing Ki-Suk Han, 58, off a midtown subway platform to his death on Dec. 3. Han was struck by a southbound Q train at the 49th Street station in Manhattan.

One-hundred six days after Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun retired and Kevin Ollie was named interim coach, and 47 days after Ollie recorded his first win, the University has rewarded him with a five-year contract. ESPN.com's Andy Katz first reported the news.

Ollie, a former player for Calhoun in the mid-1990s, had originally been signed through the spring. The uncertainty -- coupled with UConn being ineligible for the 2013 NCAA Tournament because of low Academic Progress Rates -- made it difficult to compete with other high-profile programs for top recruits. Now the 40-year-old coach can devote his focus to all things basketball without having to worry about his future.

We've written previously that it was in everyone's best interest for the school to sign Ollie as soon as possible.

“I think the world of Kevin,” Connecticut athletic director Warde Manuel told the New York Times in November. “I love what I see. But I want to continue to watch him and watch the team. At the appropriate time, I’ll make a decision.”

Our response from a December 17 post:

The problem with that thinking: recruits don't want to hear that "I may or may not have my contract extended at some point in the foreseeable future" from a prospective college coach. Especially when the Rick Pitinos and Jim Boeheims of the world aren't going anywhere.

Not only that, but the university isn't exactly in a leveraged position. With all the upheaval going on in the Big East and beyond, the basketball program is one of UConn's few bargaining chips. If Manuel drags his feet, whose to say the Huskies would be able to land a high-profile coach anyway?

That's no longer a problem; UConn landed the best man for the job and the basketball team gets a late Christmas present.

Last week, Ollie admitted that “I care about (it) because you’d like to have a contract,” he said, “but I’m not losing sleep over it. … These kids are giving me their all. They’re working and playing for me like I’m going to be here forever and I’m doing the same thing.”

Now the 9-2 Huskies can worry about the upcoming Big East schedule, which begins in earnest on Jan. 1 against Marquette.

Saturday's snowstorm made driving conditions dangerous all around Connecticut.
 
Many motorists reported slippery conditions on the road.
 
Nikita Greczkowski was driving her vehicle, when it slid, veered off the road and got stuck. A tow truck had to pick it up.
 
"It was my first time driving in the snow....I had no idea it didn't have all-wheel drive, so I was pretty freaked out."
 
Drivers all over Connecticut reported similar stories.
 
"Coming home from work, I saw somebody plow into a pole....the car didn't look good," said Robert Turner.
 
Paul Jordan, a tow truck driver, often rescues people during severe weather. He said people should stay off the roads.
 
"It's dangerous. They need to stay home. I don't know why people aren't home already."
 
The Department of Transportation advised people to slow down on the roads.
 
"It's really dicey. I have to...just keep it real easy. Go about 20 miles an hour-- tops," said Robert Turner.
 
As for Greczkowski, she hopes to be better prepared next time it snows heavily.  
"I think I'll have to get new tires."
 

Giants coach Tom Coughlin said this week that he wanted to see his team play with pride and dignity in Week 17 against the Eagles. 

They certainly pulled that off, intercepting Michael Vick on Philly's first possession and then scoring five times in the first half on their way to an easy 42-7 victory in what's almost certainly the last time they'll face an Eagles team coached by Andy Reid. Somehow, though, we imagine Coughlin will still be disappointed in his team at some point on Sunday night. 

Thanks to the blowout losses in the last two weeks, the Giants' overwhelming victory means nothing as their season will not include a trip to the postseason. The Bears beat the Lions 26-24 in Detroit, formally eliminating the Giants from a playoff race that they tapped themselves out of with their dreadful play against the Falcons and Ravens. 

As pleased as Coughlin might be that his team brought their best game with them this week, it has to be galling that they were so uncompetitive in two losses that wound up ending their Super Bowl defense after just 17 weeks of football. The offseason is sure to bring changes, a topic we'll cover plenty in the coming weeks, so we'll just take one last chance to talk about this particular Giants team. 

Ahmad Bradshaw ran with a furor we haven't seen in more than a month, picking up 148 yards from scrimmage and scoring a touchdown. David Wilson also got into the end zone and gained 90 yards of his own, heralding a future with more for him to do and less grind on Bradshaw's chronically injured body. 

Eli Manning was 13-of-21 for 208 yards and five touchdowns, lighting up the Eagles secondary for big plays all day and enjoying the kind of time in the pocket that hasn't been in evidence all that much over the second half of the season. How much of his performance was thanks to the Giants getting back in an offensive groove and how much had to do with the Eagles being terrible is up for you to decide, but it is certainly nice to have a laughable enough game that even Henry Hynoski scores a touchdown.

The defense also showed more spark, although, again, they were playing a thoroughly beaten football team that seemed totally uninterested in competing outside of the occasional post-play shoving match. Give credit to the Giants for treating a team like that like it deserved to be treated, but there wasn't any way for a blowout this week to be satisfying without the outside help the Giants were forced to rely on to make it to the postseason. 

It was an enjoyable way to end a season against a bitter rival, but not enjoyable enough to wash away all that went awry for the Giants this year. After all, pride and dignity are only things you play for when the real prizes are no longer on the table. 

Josh Alper is also a writer for Pro Football Talk. You can follow him on Twitter.

Police in New Haven are investigating a shooting that sent a teenager to the hospital.

According to New Haven Police, around 6:15 Sunday evening, a 14-year-old male was at a bus stop at the corner of Ivy Street and Winchester Avenue when he reported hearing a gun shot.

The teenager told police that he then felt a stinging in his arm and noticed that he had been shot. He found a police officer on foot and requested medical assistance.

He was taken to Yale Pediatric Hospital where he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Police say they do not have a suspect.

Police in Avon are currently in a standoff with a man who barricaded himself in his home on Lovely Street Sunday afternoon.

Around 2:00 p.m., police closed Lovely Street between Country Club and Old Wheeler after reports came in of a man barricaded himself in his home on 373 Lovely Street.  The man, who is in his 50s,  is believed to have at least one weapon, according to police.

There was also a roommate inside of the home with him. She has been released and is safe.

All nearby homes have been evacuated.

A Metro North Train collided with a car in Redding Sunday afternoon.

Emergency crews responded to the Long Ridge Road crossing around 1:20 p.m. The train was a non-passenger train, according to Sam Zambuto, a spokesperson for Metro North.

According to Zambuto, a car carrying four people was struck by the southbound train. All four occupants in the car were taken to Danbury Hospital. One person was pronounced dead at the hospital. The other three passengers are being treated for injuries.

There were no reported injuries to the train crew.

Metro North service between Danbury and South Norwalk has been suspended as a result of the accident. Bus service is running between those two locations, Zambuto said.

MTA Police are continuing their investigation of the incident.