In Los Angeles, LAist most definitely celebrated Thanksgiving like no other. After all, one has to keep up all the energy to keep on walking the line at the Writers Strike and fighting the unfortunate return of the wildfires in Malibu, which single handedly destroyed over fifty homes within the first 24 hours. National outlets may be covering the fires, but CNN also found it is easier to buy a gun than fruit and......

In news that isn't coming as a surprise to anyone, Alex Rodriguez, the former and probably future Yankees 3rd baseman, was named the American League Most Valuable Player today. It was the third time Rodriguez was named the MVP, winning previously in 2003 with the Rangers and in 2005 with the Yankees. This past season, A-Rod set career high marks in runs scored (143) and RBI (156). He also led baseball with 54 home runs......

Yankees 3 Kansas City 2: It wasn’t always pretty and it was too close for comfort, but in the end the Yankees got the job done. Alex Rodriguez got things going in the second with his 49th home run of the year and Jorge Posada added his 19th to put the Yankees up 2-0. But, Ian Kennedy struggled with his command, walking three in the first and then allowing four hits in the second to......

With the local baseball teams off, tennis took center stage in New York on Thursday, at least among those not watching the NFL season kick off. Novak Djokovic, 20, beat Carlos Moya, 31, in the last men's quarterfinal at the U.S. Open. When Super Saturday rolls around, Roger Federer will face Nikolay Davydenko and Djokovic will take on David Ferrer. On Friday, the women play for a spot in the final when Svetlana Kuznetsova battles......

Yankees 10 Seattle 2: A-Rod didn’t want to go for a MRI and while the results were negative, he had to talk Joe Torre into putting him into the lineup. Good thing he did, because A-Rod hit two home runs in the seventh as the Yankees exploded for eight runs in inning. A-Rod’s home runs and the Yankee explosion will overshadow a great start by Phil Hughes, but they shouldn’t. Hughes was brilliant over six......

Tigers 16, Yankees 0: Needing a win to salvage a split in Detroit, the Yankees instead got a beating and left having lost three of the four games to the Tigers. Boston awaits New York for a three-game series that starts Tuesday, and the Yankees can't be blamed if they feel a sense of urgency. Mike Mussina has felt that way for a while now. The results, including Monday's performance against Detroit, haven't been pretty.......

While the literary set continues to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, the fashionistas are joining in on the fun. Neatly tucked in to every post-college kids backpacking across Europe adventure bag -- and most likely on your bookshelf -- the dharma bum bible just keeps on giving. Now it's giving the tres chic SoHo shop, Hogan, a new way to cash in on nostalgia. The store, an Italian leather company,......

Tigers 5, Yankees 4: Joe Torre says the Yankees are "all right," and that's a good description. They're not in great shape, but they're not quite foundering. Phil Hughes allowed three early Tigers home runs -- while going in a pitchers' park -- and the Yankees couldn't make it up against Detroit's bullpen. After the Red Sox swept the White Sox, the Yankees sit 7 1/2 behind Boston in the American League East. That wild......

Mets 4, Dodgers 3: The performance of the Mets bullpen and of Carlos Delgado haven't exactly inspired fear recently, so when Orlando Hernandez pitched deep into the game and Delgado actually hit, things were going pretty well. Hernandez threw for 7 great innings, allowing only 2 runs by the Dodgers and retired 12-straight at one point. Delgado used the game to break out of a 0-19 slump at the plate. Dropped all the way down......

Yankees 7, Royals 1: Kansas City has looked tough against some other teams in the American League, but the Yankees haven't had any trouble with the Royals. Robinson Cano's homer started things off in a way his teammates have been used to. Then the Yankees got the rest of their runs through less explosive means. Joe Torre's lineup worked out well -- Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon combined to go 5-for-9 with a walk in......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a person struck by a police car at Canal St. and Broadway in Manhattan, an escaped prisoner at West 110th St. and 7th Ave. in Manhattan, and an amputation on Brewer Blvd. in Queens. A downturn in the markets will hurt more than those that work on Wall St. Mayor Bloomberg warns that a bear market will hurt the whole city as reduced tax revenues necessitate spending cuts. Woody......

Yankees 8, White Sox 1: Jorge Posada predicted Tuesday after the Yankees went deep eight times that Alex Rodriguez would hit two homers Wednesday. Rodriguez didn't come through -- he went 0-for-4 -- but Posada did. The underappreciated Yankees catcher hit two of five Yankees blasts as the Yankees won their third straight game. Rodriguez, on the other hand, can't seem to join the party. He's gone 0 for his last 21 to tie the......

Yankees 16 White Sox 3: Is it really possible that the Yankees could tie a club record by belting eight home runs, yet somehow Alex Rodriguez would be about the only person not to get one? Somehow, that’s exactly what happened Tuesday as every starter except for A-Rod, Jeter and Andy Phillips went deep and Hideki Matsui did twice. Shelly Duncan continued his Shane Spencer imitation by belting his 4th home run in 21 AB’s.......

Brooklyn 7 Lowell 2: Jacob Eigsti kept up his great hitting, going 3-for-5 with 2 rbi’s and Jason Jacobs added a double and a home run for 4 RBI’s. Nicholas Carr went five innings for the win and was helped out by four shutout innings from the bullpen. Staten Island 3 Oneonta 2: The Baby Bombers gave up two runs in the top of the eighth, but got them back for the win in the......

Boston 11 Yankees 6: It was a bunch of little things that proved the Yankees undoing in a disastrous seventh inning. Bobby Abreu showed once again that he is afraid of walls by completely botching a flyball to start the inning. After an intentional walk to Manny Ramirez, Scott Proctor, not wanting to come anywhere near Kevin Youkilis after last night, walked him to load the bases. Then Robinson Cano half-assed a throw to Jeter......

Now that Law & Order has been renewed for four more seasons, shakeups to the cast have been expected. And the most notable one is that Fred Thompson, who plays District Attorney Arthur Branch, is leaving the show to pursue a presidential campaign. We hope the writers work that in! Law & Order producer Dick Wolf said, "I've spoken to Fred today, and although he told me he has not made a firm decision about......

New York has a small Cambodian community. The Fordham and University Heights sections of the Bronx are home to about 2000 Khmer immigrants. One of the more recent immigrants is Ratana Veth, Cambodian actress and karaoke star. (Note: The Times refers to the her as Ratana Veth but her internet fans invariably call her Veth Ratana). Veth married Tek Vandy, owner of the Battambang II grocery store on East Kingsbridge Road, last year and moved......

-Mets 7, Padres 3: As hard as it might be to believe, the Mets hadn't swept a three-game series at home until the beat the Padres on Thursday. And no, they hadn't swept a four-game series either. Orlando Hernandez is not to be forgotten, and the Mets lead their division by 14 games. According to baseballprospectus.com, the Mets have a 99.4 percent chance of making the playoffs. Wow. -White Sox 5, Yankees 4: The Yankees......

-Yankees 7, White Sox 6: Randy Johnson threw six no-hit innings, and the Yankees didn't blow a six-run lead to take the second game from Chicago. Bobby Abreu hit a homer, and, besides Kyle Farnsworth's allowing four runs, Johnny Damon's leaving the game with a groin injury was the Yankees' only bad news. Boston lost again to Kansas City, so the Yanks are up by three over the Red Sox. If they can carry that......

-Yankees 6 Orioles 1: It has been a great week for New York, adding big names, going 5-1 and taking a two-game lead in the AL East. The Yankees latest victory was powered by solo homeruns from Damon, Jeter, Cabrera and Giambi combined with a shaky start from Jaret Wright. Wright only lasted his usual six innings while walking four and giving up five hits, but Baltimore could never come up with a big......

[Belated spoiler alert because we cannot believe that people weren't glued to their TV sets last night to see this crazy finale - many apologies] Attractive young actresses who look great in a suit, beware: If you're cast as the new assistant district attorney to work with Jack McCoy, your character might come to some sort of strange end. Last year - yes, just January 2005 - Elisabeth Rohm(bot) left the show and uttered those......

It looks like the quest for a big bat in the middle of the lineup is coming close to for the Mets. Newsday is reporting that the Mets and Marlins have agreed to a trade for Carlos Delgado. The Mets would ship minor-league pitching prospect Yusmeiro Petit and 1st baseman Mike Jacobs for Delgado and $7 million to help cover the remaining $48 million over 3 years. The players involved in the deal still need......

News that Elisabeth Rohm, Assistant D.A. Serena Southerlyn on Law & Order, will probably leave the show after the first 13 episodes in the 2004-2005 seasons is a relief. Sure, it makes the show seem unstable, what with the departure of Jerry Orbach and introduction of Dennis Farina's world weary cop this fall, but, in Gothamist's own opinion, Southerlyn has been personalityless and, frankly, a pain in the ass. The best A.D.A's have been Richard......

Laurie Woolever, Cook/Food Writer...

Lowell Massachusetts native Jack Kerouac is getting bobbleheaded - Boston Red Sox single-A affiliate Lowell Spinners will be giving out 1000 Jack Kerouac bobbleheads on August 21, as part of Jack Kerouac night. The bobblehead doll itself is about 8 inches tall. The figurine sports a full head of black hair and stands on a copy of On the Road, pen and notebook in hand. And, lest you think, this is blasphemous, his executor thinks......