For the Giants, the opening of free agency saw them lose three players. Kawika Mitchell went to the Bills, Reggie Torbor to the Dolphins and Gibril Wilson to the Raiders. The loss of Wilson will hurt the most, but remember he was once a fifth-round pick. GM Jerry Reese proved last year that he is very good drafting players and won’t overpay in the free agent market, so don’t panic the Super Bowl champs will......

In the past few days, some young teenagers have been arrested for some alarming crimes. Yesterday afternoon, a 13-year-old girl allegedly set fire to some papers in a classroom, causing a fire that injured six people. And a few days before that, a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old were arrested for killing an 18-year-old! The fire at Brooklyn's I.S. 228 was called in around 5:30PM. Investigators say the girl had been "playing with a cigarette lighter"......

Late night television is back, with two hosts not crossing the picket line (David Letterman and Craig Ferguson), and three still getting WGA picketers outside of their studios (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel). Only two hosts were willing to grow, and keep, their strike beards -- and we want to know whose you like best! We added a Photoshop-bearded Leno (because we wanted to know what it would look like), so your......

Last week everyone from writers on the picket line to bored couch potatoes were abuzz with news that the late night heavyweights would be returning with all new shows. Last night was the big night (Letterman, O'Brien, Kimmel, Ferguson and Leno all returned), and both Conan O'Brien and David Letterman took the stage showing solidarity with strike beards intact. Letterman threatened to shave his later on Conan's show, saying that he'd probably be helping his......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on 20th Ave. and 37th St. in Queens, a hate crime on East 9th St. and Ave. H in Brooklyn, and a missing child on Decatur Ave. in the Bronx. Hyperactive performer Robin Williams is David Letterman's guest tonight, in his first new show in weeks. Letterman, as well as Craig Ferguson, have worked out pacts with the Writers Guild of America, allowing writers to come......

As we previously mentioned, the late night heavyweights have been angling to make a return in early '08. Letterman has been leading the pack by working on a deal with the WGA through his own production company, WorldWide Pants Inc. Yesterday they reached an agreement which will allow his show to return to the air next week, writing staff and all. The independent agreement he made with the WGA "included provisions to pay writers for......

Sick of watching reruns? Nervous you'll only get 8 episodes of Lost next season? Well, The NY Times reports on the first break in the writers' strike.David Letterman is pursuing a deal with the Writers Guild of America that would allow his late-night show on CBS to return to the air in early January with the usual complement of material from his writers, even if the strike is still continuing. Executives from Mr. Letterman's company......

This week in the Times, Bruni two-stars Allen & Delancey. Loves the atmosphere; says “the food at Allen & Delancey is at once sophisticated and accessible, reliant on fail-safe luxuries deployed in a modestly creative and occasionally playful manner.” Says that in some ways it’s similar to what he did uptown (at Gordon Ramsay at the London) but it works much better in this context. In $25 and Under, "> Peter Meehan goes to Food......

THEATER: As Steve On Broadway notes, Chicago’s stellar Steppenwolf Theater Company, which launched the careers of Gary Sinise and Little Johnny Malkapee, is back on Broadway for the first time since 2001, when their production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest won the Tony for Best Revival. This time they’ve delivered playwright Tracy Letts’s August: Osage County, and after reading today’s rave reviews, you can count on more Tonys flying back to the Windy......

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Sam Mason’s Tailor. Loves the design of the place, and—along with everyone else—the pork belly, the arctic char and the drinks. Overall? “[Mason’s] infatuation with his own imagination doesn’t leave room enough for a self-appraisal of the results… a duck-and-eel terrine in a chocolate consommé tastes like cat food splashed with Yoo-hoo.” Hee. In Dining Briefs, Bruni goes to Toloache. Calls the upscale Mexican restaurant a “welcome addition”......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Alex Ureña’s Pamploma, gives the restaurant two stars. “Pamplona is Ureña [the chef’s former restaurant] with an attitude adjustment,” he says. “His best dishes are more than memorable enough to redeem Pamplona’s shortcomings.” In the Post, Cuozzo goes to BLT Market, where he finds “Tourondel’s first fully-composed dishes since Cello.” Says the restaurant revives the corner of Sixth Ave and Central Park South, and “What BLT Market......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Alto and L’Impero, both now run by chef Michael White (formerly of Fiamma Osteria). He finds Alto “better than ever” and bumps it up from two stars to three. “Alto is now a full throttle dining experience, no matter where on the menu you turn,” he says. L’Impero doesn’t fare so well, and receives two stars (down from the three it received from Eric Asimov in 2002).......

It was supposed to be an afternoon on the football field during a match-up between the Wadleigh Harlem Hellfighters and McKee/Staten Island Tech Seagulls. Unfortunately, it turned into a terrible day, as the Harlem team found the message "Y'all n-----s suck MSIT" written in black marker on their sideline bench. The NYPD and Department of Education are investigating the incident. The Hellfighters' coach, former Seattle Seahawk Duke Ferguson, says that he felt "hostile environment" since......

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. The whispers are growing louder......

Tonight, the Yankees will face off against the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium, and many hope the Bronx Bombers can avoid the sweep (and mayflies) and claw their way back to winning this first round of playoff games. Since things are so nerve-wracking, we thought some Yankees fans - and even haters - might be find this Village Voice story funny. Found amongst the paperwork that showed how the Yankees were basically billing the city......

It’s hard to believe that both of these teams were in the playoffs last year. Entering Sunday’s edition of this strange rivalry the Jets and the Giants are a combined 3-5 and have given up a combined 203 points on defense. For the Jets, their inability to get to the quarterback (only 3 sacks) has exposed their secondary. Opponents are completing over 70% of their passes against them and converting 48% of the time on......

NYC Noir Film Forum Every now and then living in this teeming modern city, we get a glimpse down a side street or inside a dilapidated old joint and can see "what was." Starting tonight a five week series devoted to New York City Noir at Film Forum is also looking backward through New York's movie history to a time when women were dames, men were gumshoes and everything on the mean streets just seemed......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a power outage on Beach Channel Drive in Queens, a shooting on Hale Ave. in Brooklyn, and a shooting at East 157th St. and Cortland Ave. in the Bronx. The Gowanus Lounge has a post on the giant inflatable water slide that Thor Equities intends to erect at Coney Island. The slide manufacturer's web site advertises that when it comes to entertaining children "size does matter," so good luck......

Craig Ferguson, host of CBS's The Late Late Show, is coming to Comix to perform stand up and, while he's in town, will make a Letterman appearance and will promote the paperback edition of his book, Between the Bridge and the River. Gothamist sat down to discuss his Scottish upbringing, his take on comedy, and why bullies seem to ruin everything. How often do you perform stand up outside of the Late Late Show? A......

Grindhouse (directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino): Directors and friends Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez really love old movies, particularly the exploitation B movies of '70s with their silly fake violence and boobs galore. They've crafted a three hour, double feature homage to their favorite genre called Grindhouse, which starts with Rodriguez's chemical weapon zombies on Planet Terror, takes a brief intermission with some fake "prevue" shorts and ends with Tarantino's car chase/girl's revenge......

Mike Nugent's field goal with 10 seconds remaining helped the Jets squeak by Miami, 13-10, during a rainy Christmas night in South Florida. The messy game looked like many others this season; it was defensive and sluggish. Who cares about style? With a win against Oakland on Sunday, the Jets will make the playoffs. Not too shabby for a team most thought would be dreadful. Chad Pennington wasn't dreadful, but he wasn't much better.......

The big holiday weekend is upon, and the pickins are slim, here are some things to keep you busy while you start your holiday vacation... MUSIC: The Mooney Suzuki and The Pierces play Maxwell's tonight. The Pierces are just back from a UK tour with Albert Hammond Jr., the duo is backed up by a pretty solid band consisting of: Russell Simins (drums – Jon Spencer Blues Explosion), Sammy James Jr. (bass – lead singer......

Last night, the family and friends of Sean Bell were joined by hundreds for Bell's funeral in Queens. Bell was killed during a chaotic confrontation with police officers last weekend. The Reverend Al Sharpton spoke during the service. From the Daily News:"We must give Sean a legacy, a legacy of justice, a legacy of fairness, not a legacy against police. We don't hate cops. We don't hate race. We hate wrong. We dislike wickedness......

THEATER: The Mint Theater, which has earned a formidable reputation by yanking old, forgotten plays out of oblivion, has struck gold again with their latest production of John Ferguson, an intense melodrama about a poor Irishman who will lose his farm unless his daughter marries some creepy tool. A 1919 edition of The Times called it a “smashing play”; 87 years later the Gray Lady stays regular with “thoroughly engrossing”. 7:00 p.m. // The Mint......

The short answer is: not much. With a new coaching staff and an oft-injured quarterback, the Jets will keep the pain in growing pains. Their offense includes more holes than the defense, so if improvement comes under first-year head coach Eric Mangini, it will come on that side of the ball. But in a division including two playoff-caliber teams in New England and Miami, the Jets may find it hard to show progress this......

After last year's mess of an awards show and this year's joke of nominations (where is love for Lauren Graham, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences?), we were going to swear off this year's Emmys. But then we realized Conan O'Brien was hosting, so we must watch and liveblog. And there's the hope of a good Steve Carrell bit, not to mention awkward reaction shots of Candy and Tori Spelling during the Aaron Spelling tribute.......

Sometimes we really love it when the Daily News goes back to old stories. For instance, remember back in February when a Police horse got "spooked," ran a red light and crashed into a car and an SUV? After the accident it was clear that both the officer and the horse were going to make a full recovery and that the officer would be back on duty soon enough, but what of Ferguson the horse?......

Comedian Laurie Kilmartinhas been on Comedy Central, wrote for The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and is a nationally touring headlining comedian. What sort of role did comedy play in your life growing up? I wasn't aware of stand up comedy growing up. I watched a lot of Carol Burnett with my mom. My mom was very funny. I wasn't a class clown. I was pretty shy. Are you able to think of one......

Comedian Brent Weinbach has developed an establish following in San Francisco and has come to New York for his first performance at Mo Pitkins on July 7th. Tell me about your experience with the Craig Ferguson show. I got booked on the show. We spent a some time looking through a thirty-minute tape of mine and put together a five-minute set that would work. We taped the show, the audience responded very well, the staff......

Anytime you can walk away with two players who are rated #1 at their position, you have had an excellent draft and that is exactly what the Jets did. D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold will form the nucleus of their offensive line for the next decade. Kellen Clemens has a great arm and while he will need time to develop, could challenge Pennington and Ramsey for the starting job by the end of the year.......