Congrats, Rutgers football on the Texas Bowl victory!

Sophomore running back Ray Rice (No. 27 above) rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown to help lead the No. 16 Rutgers to a dominating 37-10 win over Kansas State in the inaugural Texas Bowl held at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Freshman wide receiver Tim Brown, who was making his first collegiate start, caught a pair of touchdown passes, including a 49-yard scoring strike, for the Scarlet Knights (11-2), who won a bowl game for the first time in the program's 137-season history. Rutgers also reached the 11-victory mark for the second time in team annals.

Tight end Clark Harris reeled in seven catches for 122 yards while Brown finished with 101 yards on four receptions in the victory. Mike Teel completed 16-of-28 passes for 268 yards and a pair of touchdowns without an interception.

Brian Leonard (No. 23 above) capped off a brilliant career at Rutgers with 44 yards on 11 carries and a pair of catches for six yards. The three-time First Team All American fullback, who is Rutgers' all-time leader in receptions with 207, made at least one catch in all 47 career games with the Knights.

On the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Rutgers linebacker Quintero Frierson intercepted a pass thrown by Wildcats quarterback Josh Freeman and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown.

Frierson's play was the featured highlight for a Rutgers defense that held Kansas State (7-6) to a mere 162 yards of total offense--just 31 rushing yards--while registering three sacks and a pair of interceptions.

Meanwhile, the Scarlet Knights racked up 479 yards of total offense, including 211 on the ground.

Rice, who ran for at least 100 yards for the 10th time during the season and the 15th time in 25 career games, was named Texas Bowl Most Valuable Player for his efforts.

Read the full story from ScarletKnights.com.

(Photo courtesy of ScarletKnights.com.)

Fly Eagles Fly...on the road to victory! (The Christmas edition!)

E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!

Well, once again the jolly, fat man delivered on Christmas.

No, not Santa. I'm talking about Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid, who delivered to me and all Eagles fans a HUGE and impressive 23-7 win over the despised Dallas Cowboys today that clinched a playoff spot for the Birds.

The victory gave the Eagles a 9-6 record and pulled them into a tie with Dallas for the lead in the NFC East. However, since the Eagles swept the Cowboys this season, Philadelphia owns the tie-breaker and the No. 1 spot in the division.

The Eagles only need to beat the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on New Year's Eve to wrap up their fifth NFC East title in six years.

(Photo: Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook carries the ball against the Dallas Cowboys in the Eagles' 23-7 Christmas day victory. Courtesy D. Hallowell/PhiladelphiaEagles.com.)

The real "Transformers" teaser trailer is here!

Yahoo! Movies has the first look at the full teaser trailer from Michael Bay's upcoming live action/CGI film adaptation of "Transformers."

Yeah, the Autobots and Decepticons may not be like the ones we grew up with, but this looks really freakin' cool. Click the link below to watch the trailer at Yahoo! Movies...

Yahoo! Movies' "Transformers" page.

...or watch it right here, thanks to YouTube!

Eagles fan beaten by son of late Giants owner...on NYSE trading floor

Wow!

It appears Stephen Mara, son of the late Wellington Mara, has more fight in him than the team his father owned until his death in October 2005.

On Tuesday, just two days after the Philadelphia Eagles went into the Meadowlands and beat the New York Giants, 36-22, in an important NFC East showdown, Mara assaulted Eagles fan and fellow stock broker Bob Tomasulo on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

From CNNMoney.com (citing a New York Post report)...

The paper quotes Bob Tomasulo, 57, as saying that he had been joking back and forth with Mara about the Eagles and the Giants for years, and he was surprised when his comments Tuesday provoked an angry reaction.

Another, unnamed broker told the Post that Mara started screaming, "I'm gonna f- - -ing kill you! Don't f- - - around with my family! Don't insult my family!"

That broker told the newspaper that Tomasulo responded, "Hey, what is your problem? It's just a game!" But the broker said Mara yelled back, "No, it's not just a game, it's my f- - -ing family!" and then charged at Tomasulo.

Tomasulo told the paper that Mara just seemed to snap.

"He charged me like an animal," Tomasulo told the newspaper. "He charged me like he wanted to sack me. At first, he got me in a bear hug and bent me over a trading post. At first, I thought it was a joke. Then he proceeded to choke me. I passed out for a minute."

Now, I just want to say Wellington Mara was one of the NFL's founding fathers, as far as I'm concerned. Much like Lamar Hunt, the Kansas City Chiefs owner who recently passed away, Mara helped make the league as strong as it is today.

That said, Stephen Mara illustrates an irrefutable fact of life...the Giants suck!

Actually, the only thing that sucks more than the Giants...that's right...the Eagles' next victim: the Dallas Cowboys...and that stinkin', spittin' loser weasel T.O.

E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!

YouTube: Yves Rossy-The Swiss Jet Man

I would really like one of these for Christmas...although the parachute landing is rather crude. I wonder if some kind of landing gear could be adapted for this...but I wouldn't want to be the test pilot trying that out.

Goodbye and good luck, A.I.

I had an up-and-down fan relationship with Allen Iverson, who was traded today by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Denver Nuggets.

There were the good times (the run to the 2001 NBA Finals) and the bad ("We talkin' 'bout practice!"), but A.I. was a lot of fun to watch on a basketball court...and he has the heart of a warrior.

Good luck in Denver, Allen!

First "Technology & the Arts" podcast is up!

There are a few technical issues we need to work out and some production improvements we need to make, but the first "Technology & the Arts" podcast is up over at the Technology & the Arts blog.

I think it's pretty good for a first crack at podcasting. It will only get better as John LeMansey and I get the hang of being podcasters/show hosts.

Please take a listen. Yes, it's a bit long at nearly 34 minutes in length, but I won't mind if you skip through it and cut it down to 10 (we're going to try to get future installments down to a more manageable 25 minutes). Just give it a shot.

Thanks!

The Shadow returns!

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? THE SHADOW KNOWS!

The Shadow is coming back to the big screen...and it's about time. I have been waiting for a decent feature film version of The Shadow ever since...well...the end credits started rolling on the 1994 adaptation starring Alec Baldwin in the title role.

And there is a two-word reason why the new Shadow movie will kick ass: Sam Raimi.

Columbia Pictures has acquired the rights to The Shadow and Raimi has signed on to produce the film. Raimi is a big fan of The Shadow and reportedly sought the opportunity to make a movie based on the 1930s-era character when what became the 1994 production was getting off the ground in the late 1980s. In fact, Raimi also tried to get involved with the late 80s big screen version of "Batman." When Raimi missed out on a chance to work on both projects, he made the excellent "Darkman" movie, which came out in 1990 and was heavily influenced by The Shadow and the Batman, who was originally inspired by The Shadow.

The Hollywood Reporter adds that Siavash Farahani has been hired by Columbia to write the screenplay for the new Shadow film.

I'm not going to get into the complicated nature of The Shadow here, but this Wikipedia entry should do the trick if you're interested in reading about it. But it is this complicated nature that makes The Shadow my all-time favorite comic book-type character.

Actually, IGN is reporting that Raimi is hoping to produce either a series of movies or one movie that would unite The Shadow with other Street & Smith pulp heroes, including The Avenger and Doc Savage. However, Raimi has only talked about producing a new movie based on The Shadow at this time.

Here are more stories related to the new Shadow movie...

Columbia & Raimi Team on The Shadow
The Shadow Strikes Back
Exclusive: Sam Raimi's Pulp Fiction

"The weed of crime bears bitter fruit...crime does not pay...THE SHADOW KNOWS!"

UPDATED 12/13/06 (12:40 p.m. ET)
In a related story, actor Peter Boyle, who played Shadow agent/driver Moe "Shrevvy" Shrevnitz in the 1994 version of "The Shadow," died last night at 71. Boyle is best known for portraying the tap-dancing monster in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" and the father in "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Technology & the Arts: My new endeavor

OK...the podcast isn't ready yet, but it will be by next week, so I'm ready to announce on this blog the start of an exciting, new chapter in my life.

My friend John LeMasney and I have launched Technology & the Arts, a blog and podcast dedicated to exploring the connections between...well...technology and art.

The podcast is going to be a fun, informative 20-30 minute program. The first one should be ready by the middle of next week.

Please help spread the word. Your support will be greatly appreciated.

Crap!

Another tow for the VUE.

Only in Philadelphia...

So when is a smoking ban not a smoking ban? When it's in Philadelphia, which I have decided today is the most messed up city in the USA. Don't get me wrong...I still love Philly...but it's still a really f'd up city.

OK...here's the deal...Philadelphia City Council recently passed a smoking ban, but it allowed smoking to continue at outdoor cafes and restaurants. Well, some members of City Council thought that didn't do enough so it decided to close that loophole.

As is customary in these types of things, that required a trade-off...so another part of the smoking bill was widened to allow a few more smaller neighborhood taprooms to permit smoking.

Well, yesterday, City Council hammered out the adjustments, which are scheduled to take effect January 8, and sent the bill to Mayor John Street for signing. However, there's a catch. Once Mayor Street signs the revised smoking ban, the entire ban will be basically off the books throughout the city until it kicks in again with the adjustments January 8.

In other words, it will be smoking season again in Philadelphia...and just in time, too, because nothing spreads holiday cheer faster than second-hand smoke.

Here's an excerpt from the article...

Philadelphia City Council tweaked the smoking ban yesterday, widening one loophole for neighborhood bars but closing another that permitted smoking at outdoor cafes and restaurants.

If signed by Mayor Street, the bill also would have the odd effect of sending smokers a little holiday gift: re-legalizing smoking in all bars and eateries until Jan. 8, when it is scheduled to take effect.

The adjustments have been in the works since June, when Councilman Frank DiCicco helped win the votes needed for the original ban by introducing a companion bill that would make the exemption for neighborhood bars permanent. It was the companion bill that Council passed yesterday, 15-2.

I just hope Mayor Street does not sign the bill today because I will be eating at a restaurant in the Northen Liberties section of Philly and going to the My Morning Jacket show at The Electric Factory tonight. It's bad enough it's going to be windy and raining outside...I don't need to be spending my time indoors in a cloud of cigarette smoke.