In a post I wrote earlier this week, I talked about the New England Patriots back in 2002. The Patriots squeaked their way into Super Bowl XXXVI with the infamous “tuck rule” game against the Oakland Traitors in the snow of Foxborough and barely surviving the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. First-year starting quarterback Tom Brady was hurt in the game against the Steelers forcing veteran Drew Bledsoe off the bench to lead......

Sen. Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have spent the past couple days traipsing around the Golden State uncomfortably responding to allegations that their campaign is connected to a lawsuit brought last week by the Nevada teacher's union that would prevent casino workers from caucusing on the job. Many casino workers and hotel employees are members of the powerful Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which endorsed Barack Obama. The Nevada Democratic......

Apparently, a liver transplant is "experimental." 17-year-old Nataline Sarkisyan was fighting leukemia when a bone marrow transplant from her brother failed. Doctors at UCLA Medical Center told CIGNA Healthcare that she needed a liver transplant on December 11. CIGNA denied funding the operation, citing the procedure was experimental and outside the scope of coverage. In an e-mail statement before she died, the health care company said "there was a lack of medical evidence showing the......

If you like songs that are fast, heavy and noisy, then LA trio Icebird may just be up your ear-splitting alley. Comprised of Barry Monahan (guitar and lead vocals), Kate Wise (drums and vocals) and Mike Monahan (bass and vocals), Icebird brings an energy and exuberance to rock that shines with each pounding performance. The band recently released a follow up EP titled "Championship Bloodline." Looking back at the tour earlier this fall, lead man......

So, you know how MTA is considering ridding our freeways of carpool lanes? One outraged blogger blames Bush because, "local officials in the MTA are being forced to take a more free-enterprise approach to freeway management in order to qualify for federal transportation dollars." In a move designed to empower local Iraqi municipalities, the US Army is planning on concentrating its forces in Baghdad as the army continues to draw down its forces after......

But first - Kobe vetoed a trade! Baseball in the Coliseum - Just after it was announced that the Red Sox will open the exhibition season against Oakland in Japan, the Dodgers confirmed that the defending World Champs would play three games against the Blue Crew. The cool part? One of the games will be in the Coliseum as part of the Dodger's 50th anniversary in Los Angeles. Yes, it can be configured that way......

As California transplants, my family home up north has been a revolving door for visitors ever since we arrived in the Bay Area. While the constant influx of visitors can sometimes get a little tiring, it has had its benefits, primarily that my family has gotten to know NorCal's tourist destinations pretty well, particularly the Napa Valley and Sonoma County. For some reason I always seemed to miss out on wine tasting excursions when......

Would you pay $85 for truffle mac n' cheese? Or would you rather enjoy the cheaper, classic versions at Larkin's or Lucky Devil's? The Glutton over at the LA Times samples the goods for you. What do we want? Conservation programs, access to healthy food, and promotion of renewable energy! When do we want it? Whenever the Senate gets around to voting on the Farm Bill. There's still time to make your voice heard.......

Southwest Chamber Music The season opening concert will feature Southwest Chamber Music’s percussionist Lynn Vartan, the Grammy-nominated Tambuco Percussion Ensemble (an LAist pick of the week earlier this summer) and the soloists of Southwest Chamber Music in a colossal program of the "Encounters, part 1" by one of Los Angeles’ most important composers and percussionists William Kraft, who was an LA Phil member (percussion, timpani), composer-in-residence, and conductor for three seasons. Monday, October 15 @......

Doomed to repeat - if not exceed - the failures of their previous generations, the youth of today are spreading sexually transmitted diseases at an alarming rate, the LA Times reported yesterday. In fact the next time a college girl giggles when, in the heat of the moment, you pull her hair and call her a dirty dirty girl - the joke might be on you, holmes. About 1 million Californians between the ages......

Ducks 4, Kings 1 - After Los Angeles shocked Anaheim 4-1 in Saturday's season opener in London (yes, London), the defending champs showed who really is king. Despite 10 goals in two days, British fans were reportedly most excited about a good ol' fashioned hockey fight. Welcome back, NHL. Welcome back. A's 3, Angels 2 - The AL West champion Halos hit a skid when they clinched the pennant, but they saved face in their......

Rockies 10, Dodgers 4 - Los Angeles was swept by Colorado. Again. At home. Where's the heart? Where's the effort? When we looked at the schedule before the season, it looked like LA would be able to propel itself into the playoffs with a bunch of late games against the lowly Rockies. Instead, the Rockies have made a wild card charge on the shoulders of the Boys in Blue. They've won 11 in a row,......

Feeling lucky punk? Well, are ya? LAist hopes you are: Win a pair of VIP passes to LA Weekly's Detour Festival on October 6 and a pair of tickets for The Crystal Method at The Roxy next Tuesday. Good luck! Prosecutors plan to refile charges against Phil Spector. Jeez, what's a murderer brutha gotta do to walk free? Britney Spears "dined" at Acapulco in Burbank last night and the paparazzo’s freaked. It's like they'd......

Rangers 16, Angels 2 - Welcome to opposite day; Cellar dweller Texas plastered playoff-bound LAnaheim and completed a three game sweep. A day after resting several stars, the Angels showed that they're still struggling with injuries. They got a couple runs in thanks to small ball (both were scored on sac flies), but gave up a whopping five home runs. One was hit in the first by Sammy Sosa. (You remember him, even if he......

I’m a huge Chicago Bears fan, and my friends saw the terrible pain I was in watching the Superbowl this year. After that loss it pained to me to make the prediction that the Bears would be in a lot of trouble this season. The fact that it has come true makes me feel like I’m passing a kidney stone. Just like Grady Little was obstinate in keeping Nomar Garciaparra at first base this......

That opening game of the NFL was a kick in the nuts, wasn’t it? The Indianapolis Colts proved their defense wasn’t a mere fluke in last season’s playoff by only allowing the New Orleans Saints offense to only score a field goal in their 41-10 blowout. At least I was right about the Saints having a pretty porous defense. With the exception of the Reggie Wayne fumble that was taken for a touchdown, no......

Cubs 8, Dodgers 2 - There goes that winning streak. The Blew Crew committed three errors, but only allowed one unearned run. That left an average of one earned for each of the seven pitchers used by Los Angeles. Juan Pierre was responsible for one of the errors, but also picked up his 55th stolen base of the year. A's 6, Angels 2 - Garret Anderson has been en fuego. He extended his RBI streak......

Could you do the 100 Yard Diet? Oakland blogger YourCityFarmer spent the entire month of July eating only things she grew, raised, and made herself: and that includes meat. New Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food, coming in November! Also, he shares some of his favorite reads with Newsweek. EaterLA is reporting that the kitschy German restaurant Lowenbrou Keller will be closing "when the food runs out" - but the owners plan to reopen......

After the 2000 season, then Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone offered pitcher Darren Dreifort a five-year $55 million contract. Dreifort had come off of a 12-9 season with a 4.16 ERA. Contract in hand Dreifort made 26 starts, 60 relief appearances and 15 trips to the operating table. He did not pitch for the last two years of his contract. This past offseason GM Ned Colletti signed free agent pitcher Jason Schmidt to a......

In an attempt to shore up holes in their pitching staff, the Dodgers claimed right-hander Esteban Loaiza, 36, off waivers from the Oakland A's today. ...

I don't care if the Golden Gate Bridge gets all of the attention. It's actually an orange vermillion anyways, as folk-rocker David Dondero reminds us. I have much love for the Oakland Bay Bridge, with its geometric patterns, sweeping lines and panoramic view of the city. By the way, they will be closing the bridge down for the long weekend, so beware. Cyberspace has given me the virtual ability to drag the entire world down......

Don't forget to head out to the LA Tofu Festival and Sunset Junction Street Fair this weekend! Several large Japanese corporations are working with Japanese American community organizations in L.A. to bring a massive float to the U.S. for the first time. The very "principled" Republicans senators in the California legislature are citing fiscal sanity and their constituents as the primary factors driving their continued stalling on the budget bill. A man was hit......

Lest we forget. 13 reasons to love the season. PRIDE. TRADITION. UCLA. Bruin football has started practicing for the coming season this week. The opener will be at Stanford on September 1st, just four weeks away (FSN). The first at-home game will be against BYU on September 8th. The Bruins clock in as the most experienced team in the PAC-10 (25 seniors) including 10 returning starters. Bruin defense was shown to be a powerhouse......

Angels 4, A's 3 - The NorCal-SoCal rivalry is heating up in the junior circuit. Oakland and LAnaheim split the four game series, but not without a some players getting beaned (or close to it). In the final game, the Angels got three of their RBIs from Garret Anderson, who is not one of the three Halos to get hit this year. Vladamir Guerrero almost became the fourth victim on Sunday on a pitch that......

We at the Gothamist network would like to express our heartfelt wishes to the people of Minnesota in the days after their tragic bridge collapse. We're not trying to discount the severity of the accident by making note of it in opposition to our usual -Ist lightheartedness - we just wanted to take a moment and recognize those affected last week. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Bostonist did a little research and found that Massachusetts......

Gee, I wonder what tipped them off: California transportation officials will immediately inspect 69 of the state's most vulnerable steel-deck bridges. And the frozen yogurt wars rage on... A man, believed to be a property caretaker, was fatally mauled by a dog on Ving Rhames' property. How desperate can you get? Fox News is offering Republicans $15 to attend an upcoming taping of the "Half Hour News Hour" - a right-wing (and shoddy) version......

Giants 4, Dodgers 2 - Maybe it's better this way. If Barry had tied (or passed) Hank Aaron in Chavez Ravine, it would have been the second time the Dodgers gave up the record breaking shot (yup, Hammerin' Hank hit 715 against the Boys in Blue). That's not to mention the riot that would have ensued. This isn't exactly the most hospitable town for any Giant, much less that Giant. It was a bigger game......

USC plans on selling comic Jack Oakie's historic estate in the San Fernando Valley to a developer. A UCLA police officer guilty of repeatedly shocking a student with an electric Taser was accused of violating department rules in a recent report. Things aren't looking too good for the King-Harbor Hospital. ESPN X Games 13 begins today at The Home Depot Center and Staples Center. What would our City Council members look like if they......

Dodgers 6, Giants 4 - Barry Bonds didn't make any headlines on Wednesday, which was good news for Dodger faithful. Los Angeles needed an eigth inning comeback featuring a home run by Nomar Garciaparra. Nom-ahh also was one of four Dodgers with a stolen base. Russell Martin nabbed one of those bags, matching the team record of 18 stolen bases by a catcher (first set by Con Daily in 1892). For the first time this......

Wilson Betemit was just traded for Yankee reliever Scott Proctor...