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The Good, Bad and Ugly of the Jets Loss

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We'll get to the actual football involved in the Jets' 27-17 loss to the Chargers at the Meadowlands on Sunday eventually. 

First, though, we must discuss the latest saga involving Tim Tebow. A report from ESPNNewYork.com on Sunday night indicated Tebow told the Jets that he did not want to play for them in the Wildcat after the team decided to start Greg McElroy at quarterback instead of him. 

Later reports indicated that was basically true, with the caveat that Tebow came back to Rex Ryan on Friday to say he'd play and that Ryan said Tebow would have played if asked. That's a distinction without much of a difference, especially from a player who has never done anything but the right thing publicly through his stops in Denver and with the Jets. 

Tebow has every reason to be frustrated by the way the Jets have chosen to use him (not use him, really) this season. He's been a glorified fullback, a role considerably less than Tebow should have expected, and then basically gave lie to the idea that he was ever the backup quarterback by going with McElroy.

That said, Ryan should have deactivated Tebow if he wasn't going to be using him at all on Sunday. There's no point in continuing the charade that anyone on the coaching staff was interested in having him on the roster and he's proven to be nothing but a distraction to a team that never should have traded for him in the first place. 

Tebow chose the Jets over Jacksonville with the full knowledge that the Jaguars quarterback job would be easier to come by, which leads us right back to another wrong in a situation that extends the old two wrongs don't make a right maxim to its most absurd levels.

At the end, the whole saga lays bare the complete inability of the Jets franchise to function in a successful manner. Trading for someone of Tebow's stature and then never using him because of well-known limitations to his game are not mistakes a professional organization can make and, on another team, would be more than enough to force general manager Mike Tannenbaum from his job.

With the Jets, though, the feeling has never been that Tannenbaum, Ryan or anyone other than the owner wanted this deal. Given that, it is hard to see how more mistakes are avoided since no one is minding the shop on the football side of things.

An appropriately ugly end for a Jets team that ended last season sniping at one another in the huddle. Here's the football-related good, bad and ugly for the Jets.

UGLY: Giving up 11 sacks to a good team would be embarrassing. Giving up that many to a Chargers team that's been used as a whipping post time and again this season is humiliation that gives lie to any argument that the Jets offensive line remains a strength.  

GOOD: Jeremy Kerley's work as the Wildcat quarterback featured passes and unusual formations that confused the defense before plays more creative than simple dives. Kerley's been one of the few Jets to play well this season, so it's good to see the Jets find ways to get the ball into his hands more often. 

BAD: Having said that, what took so long for Tony Sparano to call plays with some ingenuity? Maybe we're supposed to feel bad now that there's no element of surprise left for the Bills next week. 

UGLY: Special teams coach Mike Westhoff's final home game before retirement featured a 63-yard punt return for a touchdown by Micheal Spurlock. It was just the latest in a series of special teams blunders that reflects even more poorly on the team's ability to evaluate and acquire talent at all levels of the roster. 

GOOD: Kerley's been joined by Muhammed Wilkerson and Quinton Coples on the list of players with little to be ashamed about this season. The two young defensive linemen each flashed more of their talent-laden potential Sunday. If the Jets can multiply it tenfold, they'll be getting somewhere. 

UGLY: There are a million excuses for the way the game went, but Greg McElroy proved just one thing on Sunday. He wasn't lying when he said he learned everything he knows from Mark Sanchez. 

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



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Gun Control Takes Center Stage at Violence Prevention Program

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There is a national conversation now over gun control in the wake of last week’s deadly school shooting in Newtown.

Emotions ran high Sunday evening as dozens gathered at St. John’s Episcopal Church to discuss violence prevention and gun control.

People there were still reeling from the deadly shooting at the elementary school that killed 20 children.

“I’m horrified at what has happened in Newtown,” said Rev.
Joseph Pace.

“The root cause of why [Adam Lanza] did this, had nothing to do with assault rifles. He would have found another way to do this,” said one man.

Rep. John B. Larson (D-CT) hosted the forum. The democratic congressman is co-sponsoring a bill that would ban assault weapons and high-capacity clips.

“We will persist in making sure that we stay after this legislation in a comprehensive manner,” said Rep. Larson.

Some think mitigating violence lies with stricter gun control laws and more mental health services.

“Guns kill people. Access to guns will allow somebody to kill people,” said Alberto Cohen-Abbo.

“I certainly support a ban on assault weapons and also much more attention, funds and support given to those who are mentally ill,” said Rev. Joseph Pace.

However, others said taking guns away from law-abiding citizens is not the answer.

“If you want to prevent crime, get the criminals off the street and keep them off the street,” said Ed Peruta.

But, Congressman Larson said lawmakers must act to make sure massive shootings, like what happened in Newtown on December 14th, don’t happen again.

“If we don’t stand up now…whether you’re a member of congress or you’re a member of any community…aren’t we then complicit for not having done [anything]?”

Congressman Larson is optimistic that gun control legislation will pass, but the question is whether it’ll have the votes it needs in congress to be approved.
 

FEMA Deadline Extended for Storm Sandy Assistance

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Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced Sunday in a press release that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) extended the deadline to register for Storm Sandy disaster assistance from December 31, 2012 to January 28, 2013.

“With more than $20 million in federal aid approved already, there is clearly a need for many residents for assistance,” said Governor Malloy. “Extending this deadline will ensure that any resident or business affected by Storm Sandy has ample time to apply for assistance.”

More than $20 million in federal disaster assistance has already been approved to help Connecticut residents with disaster-related expenses.

Residents in Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex, and New London counties as well as businesses across the state who suffered damage from Storm Sandy are encouraged to register with FEMA before visiting the recovery center by either calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or through www.DisasterAssistance.gov<http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov.

For those with speech or hearing disabilities, the TTY number is 1-800-462-7585.

Residents seeking additional information are encouraged to download the fact sheet available at www.ct.gov/sandy<http://www.ct.gov/sandy.

Free Christmas Trees at Home Depot

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The Home Depot in Manchester is offering free Christmas trees today to anyone who needs one.

The trees are available on a first come, first serve basis. The store at 80 Buckland HIlls Drive is open until 5 p.m. today.



Photo Credit: AP

Volunteers Keep 24 hour Newtown Candlelight Vigil Burning

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     NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) -- Volunteers are keeping watch over a candlelight vigil scheduled to last all Christmas Day in the Connecticut town where 20 children and six educators were gunned down at an elementary school.  
       Twenty-six candles, one for each victim, were lit at midnight Monday near a huge sidewalk memorial filled with teddy bears, flowers, candles, posterss and other tributes to the dead.
       Volunteers are taking three-hour shifts Tuesday to ensure they remain burning.
       Police officers from other communities are filling in for Newtown police so they can have the holiday off.
       And well-wishers from around the country continue visiting the town to pay their respects.
       At Christmas morning services, congregants were told that good always overcomes evil. 
 

Xmas Eve Netflix Outage Disrupts Plans

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A Christmas Eve outage at Netflix Inc.s’ digital TV and movie streaming service disrupted holiday plans for thousands of families Monday night, and showed how deeply ingrained online viewing has become in just a few years.

“Christmas Eve tradition ruined,” viewer Tom Moccia complained on Twitter.

“Maybe I should just get cable,” groused Benjamin Kerensa on the messaging service.

Netflix, which is based in Los Gatos, sent out a message on its Twitter feed apologizing for the outage at about 4 p.m. Monday.

“We’re sorry for the Christmas Eve outage,” the company said. “Terrible timing!”

The company's video streaming service was not back up until Christmas morning.

“We’re back to our normal streaming levels,” the company tweeted at about 9:30 a.m.

The outage—the result of an outage at Amazon Web Services' Virginia cloud computing center—was felt by customers from Canada to the U.S. and Latin America, spokesman Joris Evers told Reuters.

"We are investigating exactly what happened and how it could have been prevented," Evers said. "We are happy that people opening gifts of Netflix or Netflix-capable devices can watch TV shows and movies and apologize for any inconvenience caused last night."

 

From 3D Printing to a New Superman: A Look Ahead to 2013

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2013 will be a year of more rapid advances in technology, lingering worries about the economy and a search for solutions about climate change. Here's a look at what to expect in the coming 12 months:

Technology

We’ve come to expect a constant flow of new and exciting pieces of technology: faster and more powerful smartphones, applications that help us solve our personal problems, more ways to share our lives online, the ability to watch TV just about anywhere. That will continue to happen in 2013, with another new iPhone, dirt-cheap tablets, apps that perform electrocardiograms and read fingerprints instead of passcodes, the emergence of social-media storefronts and watching television on your Xbox.

Next year will also likely see a wave of innovations moving into the mainstream. That includes 3D printing, virtual grocery stores, and ultra high-definition TVs and an ingestible sensor that checks whether you’re taking your medication correctly.

But what happens after that? In laboratories, board rooms and test areas around the country, visionaries are preparing a new generation of devices that seem Utopian but are on the verge of becoming not only viable, but, like the many recent breakthroughs we now take for granted, could forever change the way we interact with the world.

Patrick Tucker, deputy editor of The Futurist magazine, views 2013 as the precipice of a monumental leap forward in which we use technology to cull and share so much data about our behavior, travel and thoughts that “the randomness of human life begins to evaporate in a perfect organized system of units in movement.”

Among the “off the radar” developments that Tucker finds most compelling is telepathic headgear – known as EEG helmets – that use brain waves to move objects by remote control. Researchers have already used them to move Roomba vacuum cleaners and model airplanes, but the military is also exploring ways to deploy them. The goal is for soldiers to communicate through “synthetic telepathy” on the battlefield or stealth missions, possibly by Morse code. “No one is yet sure how we’re going to use it, but if you look at how quickly the capability is ramping up, you can see it coming in 2013 in a surprising way,” Tucker said.

Tucker is also excited about a device that can detect a variety of illnesses and bacteria. The goal is to ultimately develop a real-life version of the Tricorder like the one used by Dr. McCoy on Star Trek.

The day isn’t far off, Tucker says, when epidemiologists will be able to track the spread of illnesses. More distant, but very possible, is the ability to have smartphones to predict your chances of getting sick, and steer you away from potential threats. “This will be a big part of our lives in the next 10 years,” he said.

Also poised for breakthrough is the automated car – one that doesn’t require a driver. The federal government has embraced the technology, under development by automakers and Google, and testing is underway in Nevada, California and Florida. Early versions would require someone to be inside the car, but researchers are working on prototypes that run by themselves. Once the crash rate is brought to levels below those of traditional cars, the legislative impediments will disappear and automated cars will become a part of mainstream life, allowing people to drive into the city, park it in a remote location and have it pick them up at the end of the day, Tucker said. “As long as safety records continue to improve, 2013 could be a real watershed year,” he said.

The Economy

Is 2013 the year when the American economy finally begins to turn around? For now, much of the answer lies with the president and Congress, who are trying to negotiate out of the fiscal cliff, which will determine who'll bear the burden of tax increases and federal spending cuts. After that come the the thornier issues of getting a handle on the federal budget deficit, rewriting the tax code and cutting entitlements.

Washington has yet to prove that it's ready to tackle those problems.

Many analysts, including members of a CNBC panel, believe that the unemployment rate won't change much in 2013. "The unemployment rate will likely stay around 8 percent, if not get worse, particularly if we go over the fiscal cliff," Maria Bartiromo predicted.

Jim Cramer said he worried about the possibility of mortgage rates rising in 2013. But he also sees a silver lining in the year's worst natural disaster: The tens of billions of dollars in damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy could in the end help the economy by boosting the need for new construction and infrastructure fixes.

Another positive sign: Housing prices in much of the country appear to be rising, and vacant homes are filling, the Economist pointed out.

There is an encouraging development in American manufacturing, which has long been in decline. With oil prices rising and a boom in domestic energy production, along with more pliable unions and increased productivity, North America could become a destination for companies looking to innovate. An example is GE's long-dormant Appliance Park in Louisville, which the company has revamped as a place to foster new product development, such as energy-efficient water heaters and high-tech refrigerators. The practice of outsourcing work is no longer a viable business model, GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt said. Similar discoveries are being made by the Whirlpool appliance company, the Otis elevator maker and Wham-O, maker of the Frisbee.

The Environment

In early December, Brad Werner, a geophysicist at the University of California at San Diego, gave a presentation at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting entitled "Is Earth F****d?" The title caused a stir, but not the contents. Because, in the earth science world, that question underlies all serious conversations about the environment.

What does it mean when Arctic polar ice recedes to record levels, when heat waves last two weeks and rain storms pack heavier wallops? Is the climate changing? Can we stop it? Can we adapt? Those questions will likely get more attention in 2013, particularly in the context of Hurricane Sandy and the record drought that decimated farms across the nation's midsection.

"There's a sense that things are getting away from us," said science writer Andrew Freeman, who attended the AGU conference, but not Werner's lecture. "The debate in the community isn't, 'Is it happening or not?' but between people who think it will be somewhat manageable and people thinking that unless we do something in the next 10 years we're, well, we're F'd."

Freeman, an analyst at Climate Central, which tracks the effects of climate change, is of two minds: He's uneasy about these developments but excited by the prospect of learning new things about how weather works.

Freeman says it appears that the loss of sea ice in the Arctic is adding so much heat to the atmosphere that it's affecting the jet stream in a way that causes weather events, like heat waves and storms, to become stuck. "That's one of the questions we're going to be asking this year: What will be the results of having by far the lowest sea ice extent observed in our records going back a century," he said.

For the winter, that may mean more snow. For the spring and summer, it may mean longer heat waves. But no matter what happens, Freeman said, people will be asking the same question: "How can we prepare our infrastructure and society to deal with this?"

For New York and New Jersey and other places wrecked by Sandy's storm surges, that means changing land-use plans and considering building natural and man-made barriers. In Chicago, engineers have come up with a "permeable pavement" to deal with heavy rainfall. In San Francisco, where water levels in the bay are rising, officials are exploring new shoreline development regulations.

Entertainment

Fans of Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Pink, One Direction, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood have good reasons to look forward to 2013, when all will go on tour in support of new albums.

If you miss the HBO series Sex and the City, which ran from 1998 to 2004, you may -- or may not -- want to tune into the CW Network's attempt at reviving the brand with The Carrie Dairies, which follows a teenaged Carrie Bradshaw through the 1980s.

This may also be the year that Justin Timberlake ends a prolonged detour into television and movies and returns to music, said Brody Brown, a reporter for Us Magazine. Timberlake, whose last album came out in 2006, won't say for sure. "We're waiting on a confirmation, but he's been hush hush," Brown said.

The year's first expected blockbuster comes in March, with the release of The Great and Powerful Oz, starring James Franco. The 2013 summer season will begin relatively early, Brown said, with Ironman 3, with Robert Downey Jr. back in the title role. The blockbuster with perhaps the most risk, and arguably the most anticipation, is Man of Steel, a remake of the Superman franchise starring a relatively unknown actor named Henry Cavill. It comes out in June.

The entertainment world is as much about celebrity watching as it is about actually getting entertained, and at this point there is no bigger celebrity story to unfold in 2013 the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy. Forecasting abounds in all aspects of the impending birth. BoyGirlTwins? NamesNanny? Expect those discussions to dominate the celebrity magazines for the next eight months.

Closer to home, speculation abounds about the marital plans for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and Pitt ex-wife Jennifer Aniston and her boyfriend, Justin Theroux. They're considered rivals, and the people who care about these sort of things are watching to see who ties the knot first.



Photo Credit: AP

A White Christmas for Parts of Connecticut

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A small system brought snow to most of Connecticut Monday night, providing a white Christmas for many across the state.

Frozen precipitation began to fall around 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve.  A winter weather advisory was issued for most of the state through Tuesday morning.

The snow created slick roads for drivers returning from Christmas Eve festivities.

The snow was expected to be light and intermittent but  was forecast to coat the ground with up to an inch or so of accumulation by Christmas morning.

The weather will begin to improve Tuesday morning with partial clearing by afternoon. 

A second, and larger, storm will move in by Wednesday night with a wintry mix of rain, sleet, and snow. A winter storm watch has already been issued for Litchfield County. 

Check the radar here.

See the forecast here.


1 Dead in Series of Suspicious Bridgeport Fires

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Bridgeport firefighters battled a series of suspicious fires within close proximity of each other Monday.

Firefighters responded to six fires in four locations around Bridgeport. 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., in the 2 1/2-story home. The cause of his death is currently unknown.

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.

Bristol Police Search For Suspect in Armed Robbery

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Police in Bristol are searching for a man who robbed a convenience store Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, at approximately 4:22 p.m., a man entered the Cumberland Farms convenience store on Center Street and displayed a handgun.

The cashier opened the register and the suspect grabbed money and fled the scene. It is unknown how much money was taken.

The suspect was described as a white Hispanic male, approximately 5'3" wearing a green hooded sweatshirt, blue wool cap and a blue scarf over his face.

Anyone with information should call Officer Dan O'Reilly at 860-584-3011.

Two Children Stabbed at Hartford Holiday Party

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A holiday party gone bad in Hartford put two children in the hospital with stab wounds on Christmas night.
 
Hartford Police responded to 27 Winchester St. around 11 p.m. Tuesday night for a report of a large fight. Upon arrival they discovered that a large crowd of adults at a holiday party had started fighting on the front porch.
 
According to police, Vincent Motley, 50, began to fight with a woman at the party.  The woman's children, ages 9 and 14, stepped in to protect her, police said.  Another person grabbed a knife to come to the woman's aid and during the altercation, both children suffered lacerations from the knife.
 
The children were not the intended targets, police said.  Both children were treated for non life-threatening injuries.
 
 Police arrested Motley, and 32-year-old Monique Woodson.  Another arrest is pending.
 
The Hartford Major Crimes Division is handling the investigation.

 

 

Bridgeport Police Officers Hospitalized After Crash

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Two Bridgeport police officers were injured in a crash with a car fleeing police on Christmas Day.

The crash occurred on Park Avenue near University Avenue by the University of Bridgeport on Tuesday evening. The officers were responding to assist on a call after a driver took off as other officers tried to pull him over. The fleeing car broadsided the police cruiser, injuring both officers inside.

Officer Roderick Doda, a 10-year-veteran of the force, suffered the most serious injuries.  He was admitted to the ICU at St. Vincent's Hospital with head injuries and a fractured vertebra, according to police.

Officer Eric Schneider, who has been with the Department for nearly two years, was also admitted to St. Vincent's Hospital with cuts to his head and other injuries.

According to police, officers responded to the 400 block of Wood Street Tuesday evening on an unrelated call when they saw a silver Honda driving at a high rate of speed.  The driver ran red lights and stop signs as police tried to catch up to the car, investigators said.

The Honda collided with the police cruiser occupied by Officers Doda and Schneider on Park Avenue.

Police identified the driver of the Honda as Josue Jimenez, 18, of Bridgeport.  He suffered facial injuries and a right leg injury in the crash, police said.

The passenger in the Honda was identified as Antonio Lostaunau, 21, of Bridgeport.  He suffered a left leg injury in the crash. 

Police expect to charge Jimenez when they wrap up their investigation into the crash.  Lostaunau was issued a misdemeanor summons for interfering with a police officer and failure to wear a seatbelt.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Better Know the Enemy: Buffalo Bills

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Every week during the season, we’ll scout out the Jets' next opponent. This week, that opponent is the Buffalo Bills.

What a difference 16 games makes. 

When the Jets last saw the Bills, it was the first week of the season and absolutely anything was possible. After they blew out Buffalo, it actually felt like only the positive half of that equation was in play. 

It didn't take long for things to go the other way, of course, and now the Jets are preparing for the second totally meaningless game of the Rex Ryan era amid much discussion of which way to go in the future. The Bills present a pretty decent cautionary tale for the Jets to take to heart as they get ready for a crucial offseason. 

Buffalo's wrapping up it's fourth straight year with 10 or more losses. Despite all that losing, the Bills have never gone the route of radically overhauling their club in hopes of building a winner from the ground up. 

They've chosen to go the route of half measures instead. Decent players like Fred Jackson, Stevie Johnson and Ryan Fitzpatrick got new contracts, coach Chan Gailey stuck with veterans over younger players in the hopes of maximizing wins in the short term and the team went for big splashes in the free agent market as if they were a player or two away from winning the Super Bowl. 

It's brought them no closer to that goal and essentially looks like they favor the comfort of mediocrity over the risks involved with making a bid for something bigger. It's a good lesson for the Jets to keep in mind as they decide just how much of a reaction to make to the last two seasons. 

They can't argue that they're moving in the right direction and they can't point to more than a few young players who could be considered part of the core of a good team moving forward. You have to be realistic about the players and team you have, something that's dismaying given the Jets' habit of building every OK player into the second coming of Jim Brown and the easy line to draw from that habit to the Bills' current predicament. 

With this game existing mostly for Vegas, we'll skip the players who will try to beat the Bills and look instead on what the Bills do now. 

Keep 'Em - Running back C.J. Spiller never got a long look until Jackson was injured, but he has only looked back to see defenders futilely trying to catch him since then. He should be in the Pro Bowl and might have been the best back in the AFC this year.

Cornerback Stephon Gilmore has had the usual rookie ups and downs, but the ups have been promising enough to give the team another building block. Safety Jarius Byrd is going to need a new contract this offseason, but it is one that's actually deserved as opposed to some of the other ones. 

Dump 'Em - Fitzpatrick rode half of a good season into a contract extension he should have never gotten since it isn't all that hard to find a guy whose upside is competent game manager. He should be gone and so should Gailey and G.M. Buddy Nix since they are the ones who judged Fitzpatrick worthy of that extension. 

Needs - They pay Johnson like a top receiver, but he's a No. 2 at best and they need someone better to make their offense click. Mario Williams took half a year to start living up to his contract, so he needs a more brisk start to the season. The linebackers and cornerbacks other than Gilmore are also in need of assistance if the Bills want to avoid another year with double-digit losses. 

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



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Better Know the Enemy: Philadelphia Eagles

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Every week during the season, we’ll scout out the Giants' next opponent. This week, that opponent is the Philadelphia Eagles.

You never wish injuries on any player, even the most hated opponent, so there's no happiness about the broken hand that will keep Eagles quarterback Nick Foles off the field on Sunday. 

But it is nice to get one last game between the Giants and the Andy Reid/Michael Vick Eagles before they go away for good. Reid's going to be fired once the regular season ends and Vick's almost certain to follow him out the door as the Eagles start trying to put their team back together again after the indignities of this season. 

When they leave, a robust chapter of the Giants-Eagles chapter will go with it. At various points during Reid's long tenure, the Giants held the upper hand in the rivalry but all of the biggest wins belong to Reid. 

The Eagles knocked the Giants out of the playoffs after the 2006 and 2008 seasons and DeSean Jackson's epic punt return as time expired in 2010 left the Giants without a playoff berth even though they finished with a 10-6 record. Vick starred in that last game as well and he played his best game of this season in the first meeting of the year between the teams to lead the Eagles to another win that could very well keep the Giants out of the playoffs once again.

Or it could be an Eagles win this week that does the trick. While Vick and the rest of the Eagles have had a dreadful season, there's something about rivalry games that brings out the best in teams.

There's even more about finding a new job that brings out the best in players and Vick is in just that position with his time just about up in Philly. A big win is a good way to do that, particularly one that completes the Giants' total collapse from 6-2 to 8-8. 

That's a lot on the line for the Giants and one imagines they'd rather see just about any other team across the field from them even if they are clearly superior to this Eagles team in terms of talent. If there's any spirit left in the Philly bones, it will come out in hopes of sending Reid out a winner. 

Here's the rest of the lay of the land on the Eagles heading into the final game of their season. And, without a lot of help, the final game of the Giants' year as well. 

Another Old Frenemy: LeSean McCoy returned to action last week after a long absence with a concussion, just in time to get his feet under him before trying to embarrass the Giants defense again. McCoy destroyed the Giants in the first matchup, an early warning sign of the problems with the Giants defense that were ignored because the team was convinced they would just flip a switch and start winning games. 

Future Isn't Now: It's hard to say what the Eagles will look like next year, but defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and linebacker Mychal Kendricks will be part of whatever tableau they create. They aren't likely to play in this game after suffering concussions against Washington, however. 

One More Goodbye?: When cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha signed in Philly, some thought he was the final piece of a championship team. He's turned out to be the poster boy for the misguided moves of the last two years, though, and his salary could be too rich for an Eagles team moving in a very different direction. 

Offensive Line: Whoever takes over for Reid is going to have to do something about an offensive line that's been a sieve this season before and after injuries to many of the team's starters. Their play has been, well, offensive and no quarterback can thrive taking the abuse Vick took this season. 

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



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Site Collecting Donations for Newtown Teachers

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People looking to help in the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School have a new way to donate that will help teachers and students recover.

A donation website has been established that is dedicated to supporting the classroom efforts of teachers in Newtown. Money raised through DonorsChoose.org/Newtown will go directly to Newtown teachers to fund classroom projects and help purchase needed materials, according to a release from DonorsChoose.org.

"The selfless spirit of the teaching profession is currently on display throughout the Newtown school district," said Stefan Pryor, Connecticut Education Commissioner. "The teachers of Newtown know the needs of their students best. We hope that efforts such as this will aid Newtown educators -- modestly but meaningfully -- as they return to and restart their classrooms."

The funds may be used for anything fro art supplies, books and shelves, or even seeds and soil for a memorial garden.

"The outpouring of support bestowed on the Newtown community over the past week has been overwhelming,' said Newtown Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson. "We are immensely grateful for this opportunity for donations to be directed straight into the classrooms to support the courageous and inspiring work of Newtown's teachers."

You can find out more about how to donate here.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Wrong-Way Crash Kills 2 in Meriden

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Two people were killed in a wrong-way crash on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Meriden early Wednesday.

According to state police, Michael Heeks, 22, of Mansfield, was driving a 2011 Honda Accord northbound in the southbound lanes of Route 15 just after 2 a.m. when he hit a 2004 Hyundai Elantra head on near exit 66, by the Meriden town line with Wallingford.

Heeks' car rolled over and landed upside down in the median.

Heeks died in the crash, as did the driver of the Hyundai, 37-year-old Patrick Cimato, of Lisbon Falls, Maine. Cimato was driving in the proper direction when he was hit by the car driven by Heeks, police said.

Cimato's two passengers, Nicholas Cimato, 47, of New York City, and Ashley Robinson, 30, of Brooklyn, New York, both survived the crash.

Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to call Trooper Petralito at Troop I in Bethany at 203-393-4200.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Snow Causes Travel Troubles Statewide

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Snow began falling across Connecticut Wednesday evening, causing slick driving conditions statewide.

State police reported dozens of accidents on state highways, including a tanker truck that rolled over on Route 3 in East Hartford.  The truck was carrying milk.  No one was injured in the crash.

 Several inches of accumulation are possible before the snow changes to a wintry mix and rain across most of the state.

A winter weather advisory was posted for Litchfield, Hartford, Tolland and Windham Counties through Thursday evening. Higher elevations in the northewestern part of the state could see as many as  8 inches of snow. Areas north of Interstate 84 could see 2-5 inches before the snow changes over to an icy mix and rain Wednesday night. Southern parts of the state could get two inches of snow before the precipitation switches over to rain.

High wind warnings have been posted for coastal Connecticut.  Wind gusts as strong as 60 miles per hour are possible.  Heavy rain will continue Thursday morning before finally coming to an end sometime after noon.

See the radar here.

Get the forecast here.

Send your snow photos here.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Snow Makes Travel Difficult in Torrington

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People in North Connecticut braced themselves for the full impact of this latest winter storm, as snow made travel more difficult.
 
"Even in four-wheel drive, it's pretty nasty out," said Misty Doherty.
 
Drivers along Route 8 in Torrington slowed down, as heavy snow reduced visibility and blanketed the road.
 
"It's a bit slippery...especially when you're going down the hills," said Christy DeCosta.

Plows from the Dept. of Transportation were out throughout the evening clearing the roads; but the snow kept coming down, making roads more treacherous.

"The ambulances are having a hard time. Cars are trying to get around them, almost causing me to go off the road in the way of the plows," said Doherty.

Other drivers said while the weather is unpredictable, all they can do to stay safe was to give themselves extra time to get around.

"We had planned to go out and do what we had to do...and drive slower, take our time," said DeCosta.

The Dept. of Transportation has more than 700 plow trucks clearing the roads across our state. They plan to stay out as long as the storm continues, to keep the roads safe.
 

Sandy Relief Center Looted on Christmas

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A relief center for storm-ravaged New Yorkers was looted and vandalized overnight on Christmas by thieves who stole donated supplies and destroyed items intended for Sandy victims.

The center on Staten Island has been an oasis of hope for those residents of the hard-hit borough who lost their homes in the storm nearly two months ago. The supplies are housed under a tent, blocked off with barricades and manned by volunteers, but the workers left the center unattended on Christmas night.
 
Thieves made off with baby gear, baby blankets, baby clothes, winter clothing and warm bedding.
 
Losing those items is "a punch in the stomach," said Mike Hoffman, who heads up the Staten Island volunteer team known as Boots on the Ground.
 
"I had a couple leftover propane stoves that were donated," said Hoffman. "One was just ripped open, they didn't even take it. They just ripped it open and destroyed it. So that's one less family now that can cook a warm meal."
 
And with a winter storm heading toward the area again on Wednesday, the center had been stocking crucial supplies.
 
"People are here struggling, suffering," said Sandy victim Eric Slick.
 
The people who busted into the center stole supplies from the shelves, ripped open bags of dog food and swiped jackets off hangers.
 
Volunteers running the site believe thieves plan to return the merchandise for money. They are now looking to relocate the relief center indoors. 

Four Killed in Crashes Over Holiday Weekend

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State police responded to three fatal crashes that killed four people over the Christmas holiday weekend and hundreds more crashes in which people were injured.

Two people were killed in a wrong-way crash Wilbur Cross Parkway in Meriden early Wednesday, according to state police.

Police identified the two people killed as Michael Heeks, 22, of Mansfield, and Patrick Cimato, 37, of Lisbon Falls, Maine. According to state police, Heeks was driving northbound on the southbound side of the highway and struck Cimato's vehicle.

State police said they charged 29 people with driving under the influence between Dec. 23 and 10 p.m. on Dec. 26.

Police responded to 364 crashes, including 38 with injuries. They charged 451 people with speeding; 17 with seatbelt violations; and 857 with hazardous moving violations, including following too closely and distracted driving.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut
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