Less than two months ago, the basketball season seemed lost—but on Sunday, the NBA returns! It's going to be an exciting Christmas day to herald in the condensed 66-game season, with marquee matchups between several title contenders, including the Knicks/Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks/Miami Heat, LA Lakers/Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder/Orlando Magic and LA Clippers/Golden State Warriors. But the real question isn't who to support—everyone who cares already has a team they're loyal to—it's who to hate. And it seems there's a new villain in the league: Kris Humphries. more ›

How quickly a year goes by: The Westboro Baptist Church, paramours of a particularly hysterical brand of hatred, are back in town tomorrow, protesting at synagogues, Jewish centers and LGBT events across the city. Along for the ride with their anti-semitic, anti-homosexual rhetoric will be plenty of counter-protests; hopefully they will be able to liberate Ozzy Osboure's songs from their clutches. In case you're in the area and are interested in joining the counter-protests, Westboro are expected to be protesting outside these locations in Brooklyn—Chabad of Kensington (1:30-2:00PM), Yeshiva Torah Temimah (1:30-2:00PM), Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin (2:15-2:45PM)—and Manhattan—Hebrew Union College (3:30-4PM) and Tribeca Rooftop (5:15-6PM—the PFLAG awards are being held there). more ›

The Westboro Baptist Church hates Catholics, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Michael Moore and homosexuals. But you know who they seem to not mind so much? Ozzy Osbourne. The hate group was in Washington yesterday, where the Supreme Court was hearing arguments on whether the church's practice of picketing military funerals with anti-gay placards is protected under free speech. While protesting outside the court, the Westboroians launched into a slightly re-worded version of Osbourne's classic, "Crazy Train," updated to fit their anti-gay rhetoric: "You're going straight to hell on your crazy train." more ›

Our favorite Kansans are coming back to Brooklyn this Monday! No, not Kerry Livgren and Steve Walsh, whose indelible prog rock riffs carried "Carry On My Wayward Son" and "Dust In The Wind" to the uppermost reaches of the charts—The Westboro Baptist Church, who are making their annual Jew-hating sojourn as part of their "Godsmack Tour." The only question: will Limp Bizkit be opening for them, or will they be opening for Limp Bizkit? more ›

Patriots QB Tom Brady was involved in a car accident early this morning. Brady was described as "pretty banged up" and "shaken" after a red minivan struck his black Audi near his home in Boston's Back Bay area around 6 a.m. more ›

Juror 11 in the John Gotti, Jr. racketeering trial cannot stand Juror 7, and the enmity between the two has gotten so intense that legal experts think it could result in a hung jury—which would be the fourth time federal prosecutors have been derailed by the jury. Yesterday Judge Kevin Castel intervened to try and make peace, but Juror 11, who works as a city procurement-contract analyst, seems to be at the end of her rope. more ›

Yesterday, the zany zealots of Kansas's Westboro Baptist Church were in Brooklyn, bringing their brand of hate to a few synagogues. And, like at Westboro's earlier protests, there were many more counter-protesters present (example: dog wearing a "Dog Loves Fags" sign vs. Westboro's "God Hates Fags" sign). more ›

A small but well-publicized group of homophobic, anti-Semitic Baptist zealots from Kansas brought their dumb message of hate to Manhattan this weekend, standing around with inflammatory signs like "The Jews Killed Jesus" outside a West Village synagogue that caters to gays and lesbians. But instead of straightening out the gays and bringing the Jews to Jesus, these hateful hayseeds actually succeeded in helping out one of their targets, the Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, which turned the demonstration into a fundraiser! more ›

After an Ecuadorean immigrant was stabbed to death, apparently by a group of teens looking to "f--- up" Hispanics, in Patchogue, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy denounced the crime but later claimed it was a "one-day story," suggesting it was getting media attention because of his immigration policies. more ›

On a brutally hot day like this, it’s not too hard to appreciate this priceless rant from the late author Henry Miller as he tears into “that old shithole New York where I was born… the ugliest, filthiest, shittiest city in the world.” The clip comes to light today thanks to Save Vs. Death (via Boing Boing), and it’s excerpted from Henry Miller Asleep & Awake, a short film made in 1975 by Tom Schiller that takes place almost entirely in Miller’s bathroom.

In writer-director Noah Baumbach*'s 1995 film, Kicking and Screaming (about college graduates, not to be confused with the Will Ferrell's children's soccer movie), the protagonist tries to tempt his girlfriend to live with him in Brooklyn: "And not just Brooklyn, A-list Brooklyn. Park Slope. Division 2 Manhattan.” more ›