If the playoffs started Sunday, the Jets would be in as the No. 6 seed and set for a date with the Patriots. That worked out well last season. But the Jets have three games remaining and their schedule, while not impossibly difficult, includes no freebies. They are three-point underdogs at the Eagles on Sunday, and they finish with a home game against the Giants and a trip to Miami to face the surprisingly decent Dolphins. more ›

A little after 9:00 am this morning, Plaxico Burress, the former star receiver for the New York Giants, was released from prison. Burress had been serving 21 months for criminal possession of a weapon: Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg when his not-registered-in-NY gun discharged in his pants while he was at a Midtown nightclub. He can now spend time with his wife, son and his daughter, who was born while Burress was incarcerated. It's widely believed that Burress still has some playing years left in him, so naturally, speculation about where Burress will play has already begun. more ›

With the Eagles-Vikings game postponed from Sunday to tonight, due to the inclement weather, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell declared, "We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything... If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down." (He also said, "This is football! Good lord, Vince Lombardi would be spinning in his grave that we canceled the football game for the snow.") more ›

The NFL announced this afternoon that the Eagles-Vikings game set to take place tonight in Philadlephia will be postponed until Tuesday night because of the blizzard that is currently hitting the East Coast. Essentially, the city of Philadelphia sounds terrified of and unprepared for the snowattack that has yet to reach them (albeit, with good reason). It was the second time this season that the NFL has postponed a game because of snow, a rare occurrence in the league, and the third straight week of shuffled games for the cursed Vikings. To add to their bad luck, this delay may give Brett Favre a chance to throw three interceptions and leave the game early with a shoulder injury start at QB. more ›

To be honest, the photo of the bald eagle we posted last week near Fairway was just kind of depressing. There he was, pondering existence over icy waters, looking lonely, and actually balding. But the blogger who spotted that one, spotted two more this week on an ice flow in Harlem; "a huge female adult eagle finishing up a fish as another adult and juvenile begged for scraps!" If you want to see one of these in real life, they're being spotted up and down Riverside Park... just watch out for the packs of coyotes. more ›

Now that the World Series will see at least a Game 6, we have another day to enjoy Yankees fans talking smack about the Phillies and Phillies fans ridiculing the Yankees. Last night, the Daily Show tackled the rivalries that New York and Philadelphia fans have with each other in the Clash of the Cretins (yes, there was a woman with a Jagermeister thong outside her jeans—and she also had a "tramp stamp"). more ›

Michael Vick might get thrown into the lion's den for his return to NFL action—speculation is that his first snaps back might come at Giants Stadium when the Eagles take on the Jets in the final preseason game of the season. Last night WCBS 2 asked Jet fans there to see Mark Sanchez's debut last night what their thoughts were on Vick's landing in Philly. Reaction was mixed with one fan saying, "I think what he did is completely heinous, but you can't crucify someone forever," while most took the predictable route of "Glad he's with the Eagles. I hate the Eagles!" As for Vick's new division rivals, the Giant defenders seemed to welcome the added competition of facing the speedy QB. Justin Tuck said "hats off to (the Eagles)" and Osi Umenyiora even said he was "proud of that franchise" for having the "cojones" to sign the tarnished superstar. Vick was on the field for the first time today practicing with the Eagles, who may utilize him in the "Wildcat" formation. Coincidentally Big Blue spent yesterday practicing their defense against the Wildcat. more ›

With the winds swirling at Giants Stadium, New York made the odd decision not to take the wind and instead took the ball off the coin toss. It was a stupid decision and one that would come back to haunt them throughout the day. They kicked a field goal on their first drive, but an Eli Manning interception into the wind led to a Philadelphia touchdown and they fell behind 7-3. more ›

The logic goes something like this. Because the Eagles won a huge game to get into the playoffs and then won a tough road game in the playoffs, they are the equivalent of the 2007 Giants. And because the Giants lost three of their last four games, they are the equivalent of the 2007 Cowboys. So, the Eagles will beat the Giants tomorrow just like the Giants beat the Cowboys last January. more ›

This Sunday, the NY Giants will face off against the Philadelphia Eagles to see who heads to the NFC Championship game. And the divisional playoff game has brought out forth some "friendly" wagering from Mayor Bloomberg and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. more ›

The NYC Parks Dept. is requesting that the Dept. of Justice return two sculptures of American eagles that were stolen from a war memorial to city employees back in the 1970s. The memorial itself is a flagpole located in Central Park across from the Naumberg Bandshell. It's called the City Employees War Memorial and was installed in the park in 1926 to commemorate the heroism and sacrifices that city employees made in all the wars of the nation's history to that point. more ›

Image credit: Nature abhors a vacuum more ›

Win and they are in. That is the simple truth for the Giants heading into Sunday’s game. A victory and they will make the postseason for the third year in a row, a feat they haven’t achieved in twenty-one years. more ›

The Giants head into Week 14 with a remote chance to clinch a playoff spot, but a win over their hated-rivals would be reward enough at this point. Coming off of a great win against Chicago, Eli Manning will hopefully show some confidence and the defense, while unsure if they can duplicate their previous effort, dominated the Eagles the last time they met. Beating Philadelphia means containing Brian Westbrook. Westbrook didn’t play the first time... more ›

Rudy Giuliani better check his sports allegiances. While campaigning in Boston, a reporter asked the former mayor which team he would be cheering for in the World Series - the Colorado Rockies or the Boston Red Sox. To our surprise (and Bostonist's), he went with the Red Sox, "I'm rooting for the Red Sox. I'm an American League fan, and I go with the American League team, maybe with the exception of the Mets. Maybe that would be the one time I wouldn't because I'm loyal to New York." Last time we checked, the Yankees and Red Sox were bitter rivals. We're betting that you won't catch a Mets fan rooting for the Braves or Phillies in the World Series or a Giants fan rooting for the Cowboys or Eagles. more ›

If a change in clothes doesn't help the Jets, what will? Despite looking snazzy in their New York Titans throwbacks, the Jets looked anything but sharp on the field in a 16-9 loss to the Eagles on Sunday. Some creative playcalling, including a reverse, got the Jets deep inside Eagles territory as the fourth quarter wound down, but Chad Pennington couldn't get the ball to Laveranues Coles on fourth-and-one fade. more ›

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a child shot on Kingsborough Walk in Brooklyn, a person under a train at Kingston Ave. and Lincoln Pl. in Brooklyn, and a pedestrian struck at 12th St. and 8th Ave. in Manhattan. John Mayer performed an impromptu set at the Mercury Lounge to the surprise of attendees last night. John Galt Corp., the contractor doing the demolition work at the Deutsche Bank Building where two firefighters were killed,... more ›

The Jets and the Eagles have plenty in common. They both made the playoffs last year and had expectations of returning. Slow starts have made those aspirations appear less likely. The Jets' season, without a bye to arrest its fall, has taken the sharper downward turn. They're 1-4 and have not looked good the past two weeks in losses at Buffalo and "at" the Giants. more ›

It was a tale of two halves at the Meadowlands on Sunday. In the first half, the Giants did everything they could to hand a game to the Jets, in the second half, they woke up and took control of the game. more ›

John Madden said it best on the air, “Osi Umenyiora made the Pro Bowl in one night tonight”. Umenyiora turned in one of the greatest games by a defensive end ever, sacking Donovan McNabb six times officially and just missing out on a few other opportunities. And it wasn’t just Umenyiora, the defense had a dominating night. recording 12 sacks and holding the Eagles to only three points in the 16-3 win. Aaron Ross added some coverage to the secondary, Michael Strahan broke LT’s sack record, Kawika Mitchell had a fumble return for a touchdown and Antonio Pierce was everywhere. more ›

They saved their season last week with an inspired second half performance against Washington, now the Giants defense has to prove that it can play for four quarters against a very good quarterback. Donovan McNabb may not run like he once did, but his arm looks great. So far, McNabb has completed 61% of his passes and has thrown five touchdowns to one interception. Stopping him will be the key to this game and it doesn’t help that the Giants’ new defensive coordinator came from Philadelphia and has installed an Eagles-style defense in New York meaning McNabb should recognize a lot of the packages the Giants run. more ›

Hold the casket, cancel the flowers, the Giants aren’t dead yet. Faced with a 17-3 halftime deficit, the Giants showed a lot of heart and some very good defense for a change as they rallied to win 24-17. more ›

The Mets don't get a reprieve as they travel to Atlanta for a weekend series. In the span of four days, they managed to let the Phillies right back in the division race. September doesn't look as fun as it did on Sunday. more ›

This is a relatively minor incident, but the photograph from the Post elevates this story to a new level. James Monroe Campus High School had ordered a new 7' by 9' scoreboard to replace their current, barely working 50-year old one. But when the scoreboard arrived, there was no door big enough for it to fit through! The Post reports that deliveryman spent four hours trying to find an entrance at the Bronx school accommodating enough to no avail. more ›

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. more ›