Supporters of religious exemption bill say debate isn't over

Supporters of religious exemption bill say debate isn't over

ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal's plan to veto a "religious freedom" bill has supporters vowing that the issue isn't going away.

Groups that supported the bill, including the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, plan a news conference Tuesday morning to discuss their next steps.

"We're not going to quit," said Mike Griffin, spokesman for the Baptist organization. "We definitely don't want to have Gov. Deal listening to Wall Street and Hollywood over the citizens of the state of Georgia who expect him to support religious liberty."

Within days of its passage, Coca-Cola and other big-name Georgia companies joined prominent Hollywood figures urging Deal to reject the proposal. The Walt Disney Co., Marvel Studios and Salesforce.com threatened to take their business elsewhere. The NFL said it would be a factor in choosing whether Atlanta hosts the 2019 or 2020 Super Bowl.

What remains to be seen is whether there's enough support among lawmakers to call a special session to revisit the proposal this summer or whether it will have to wait until the 2017 legislative session convenes in January.

Sen. Josh McKoon, a Columbus Republican who's one of the issue's key supporters, said lawmakers may barely be able to scrape together the votes needed to reconvene at the Capitol this summer. But he said it would be tougher finding the votes necessary to override the governor's veto.

Lawmakers have already left the Capitol for the year, adjourning Thursday. They would need a three-fifths majority of both houses to ask the governor to convene a special session, and even then, vote totals on the bill suggest they lack the two-thirds vote in both chambers to override his veto.

"It's more likely we'll continue this debate for the next nine months and have a bill introduced in January and fight it out again," McKoon said, adding that he's willing to author a new bill if necessary.

Deal will remain the state's top officeholder through two more legislative sessions. He's term-limited and has said he doesn't plan to run for political office after leaving the governor's mansion in 2018.

Republican legislative leaders portrayed the bill that Deal plans to reject as a compromise, developed after years of sparring over the issue.

Neither House Speaker David Ralston, a Blue Ridge Republican, nor Republican Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle called for a special session Monday. Cagle, who's considered a top candidate for the GOP governor's race in 2018, did say the bill struck "the right balance."

"I've always advocated for Georgia's status as the number one state to do business, but as we move forward I will never lose sight of the importance of an individual's right to practice their faith," he said. "This principle will continue to guide my actions going forward."

The bill enumerated a list of actions that "people of faith" would not have to perform for other people. Clergy could refuse to perform gay marriages; churches and affiliated religious groups could have invoked their faith as a reason to refuse to serve or hire someone. People claiming their religious freedoms have been burdened by state or local laws also could force governments to prove there's a "compelling" state interest overriding their beliefs.

All but 11 Republicans in the Georgia House and Senate voted in favor; all Democrats voted against it.

Another round of debate won't be welcome news to companies and economic development groups that resisted this year's proposal, said Eric Tanenblatt, a GOP strategist who served as chief of staff to former Gov. Sonny Perdue.

"From an economic development standpoint, it was not helpful having news stories across the country talking about this issue in Georgia," Tanenblatt said. "... If there's a spirited debate like this again, that will all resurface."

Georgia's largest gay-rights advocacy group vowed to push instead for legal protection specific to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents in employment, housing and other services. State law currently offers none, and Georgia Equality's Executive Director Jeff Graham said Deal's veto doesn't end the group's work.

"While we're enjoying today's hard-fought victory, we'll continue working to ensure every single Georgian is protected from discrimination," Graham said Monday.

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The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Installing Traffic Lights

 The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Installing Traffic Lights

When people think about a traffic light, there is usually the immediate association with a 3-lamp light with red at the top, yellow in the middle, and green at the bottom. However, public transport often uses a different kind of traffic light. This is in order to make sure that private traffic and public transport will not meet with a collision in terms of safety and priority. The shapes of public transport lights can vary in terms of letters and arrows, and contain different colored bars.

Traffic lights have a long history and the authorities experimented with various types of things until something was found to be of a superior focus. Nowadays, it is impossible to find a traffic light that does not have an arrangement of LED light bulbs. Halogen or incandescent bulbs were the most common ones found earlier, but the recent trend shows that the number of LED is steadily increasing everywhere each year. Halogen or incandescent lights are known to work for a shorter period of time and the intensity of the light is not as powerful as the LED. However, when LED was first introduced, there appeared one significant problem. In the midst of a heavy snowstorm, people in traffic might have problems to see which color is shining, since LED does not produce enough heat to melt the snow, unlike halogen or incandescent lights. Nevertheless, the advantages of LED are too great to go back to the predecessors. This is why a special heating element was created to ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians.

There exists a huge difference between each region regarding how they mount or position traffic lights for the visibility of drivers and pedestrians. Some prefer to have traffic lights that are wire-mounted or have them installed in long gantries. The most common way is probably the traffic light which is mounted vertically or horizontally.

Some people are of the opinion that these lights do as much harm as good. It's understandable as to why someone would be saying that. Quite a few engineers expressed their opinion and said that the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians is influenced by traffic lights but they can often be a reason for traffic delays. Moreover, some stoplights have detectors and these often do not function when a motorcycle, scooter, or a bicycle passes by. Since these types of vehicles do not have the same mass as a car, the sensors fail to detect them. This problem might cause a very serious traffic accident.

It is rather common among drivers to speed through red lights. Often, the penalty for this illegal action is quite harsh. It varies, depending on the country or state, but those who do not have the patience to wait will be fined or put in jail.

These lights have been developed to match the needs of the modern world, and it seems that the system we have now prevents accidents, and ensures the safety of people. However, some people still claim that there is room for improvement, and plan to push their ideas to improve the traffic system in the future.

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The Development of Traffic Lights and Their Mighty Importance

The Development of Traffic Lights and Their Mighty Importance

The traffic light has many different names like a traffic signal, stop lights, etc. They are placed out there to control the traffic. The first traffic light appeared in the mid-1800's and consisted of two lamps, a red and a green one, like it is still commonly used nowadays in most countries. However, there existed no way to render it automatic back then and a person had to be present all the time to operate it. Traffic officers would turn the lantern to make sure the right light was facing the traffic. Even though this method of traffic control was believed to be successful, it did not last for a very long time. After about one year, the traffic light exploded, and it is believed that an operating officer was killed in the explosion. Everyone then started doubting the safety of the invention, and decided to stop using it until the early 20th century when an electric alternative was introduced. Since then, this method of traffic control has begun spreading throughout the world, and it is currently hard to find a place on the planet without them.

Nowadays, the traffic light is one of the best, if not the best way to ensure the safe flow of traffic anywhere. Even though the most common colors in traffic signals are red, yellow, and green, their meaning might vary, depending on the particular country we are referring to. The red color is associated with the word "stop" and this is the case almost everywhere. The color could also mean something like a closed road. The yellow, which is commonly found between red and green, means that you should get ready for the green color about to turn on, and it will be your turn to move. The green color gives you permission to drive ahead or cross. Red and green colors are usually the ones that last for a longer period of time, compared to yellow. In some cases, you might have to stay at the stop light for five minutes or more when the red light is shining. This is usual when construction work is done around the road. Some countries have the practice to turn off the red and green in the night until the morning, and leave everything to the yellow light and the traffic signs. This is effective in towns and cities with smaller populations and less traffic.

Some traffic lights are improved via sound effects. This is done to ensure the safety of pedestrians who have vision problems or are blind. The practice is that when the color is red, a sound will beep slowly, indicating that you cannot cross. If the light becomes green, a continuous sound indicates that it is safe to cross. These pedestrian crossing panels are usually disabled at night to ensure that the nearby residents are not disturbed by the annoying sounds.

It is no surprise then that traffic lights became very popular and have been used for over 100 years now. They prevent many traffic accidents and ensure the safety of the people. Something that hasn't changed in such a long time is surely here to stay on and on.

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Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy dismissed in quick succession in India vs South Africa 2015 4th Test, Day 5

Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy dismissed in quick succession in India vs South Africa 2015 4th Test, Day 5

India will look to pick up a few more wickets before tea © AFP

Ravindra Jadeja dismisses Faf du Plessis for 10 off 97 and then JP Duminy was trapped in front by Ravichandran Ashwin for a duck. in India vs South Africa 2015 fourth Test, Day Five at Delhi. Du Plessis like his partner AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla kept blocking most of the deliveries with no intentions of scoring. He got off the mark of his 55th delivery and managed to score just one boundary in this innings. DUminy would have expected to get through the session without further damage, but now Dane Vilas has to do that. The visibility at the Feroz Shah Kotla is pretty low and play could be called off before time. Full Cricket Scorecard: India vs South Africa 2015 4th Test at Delhi

India had set South Africa a target of 481. India declared their second innings at 267 for 5, thanks to a century by Ajinkya Rahane and 88 from skipper Virat Kohli. This was Rahane’s second century of the match and he became only the fifth Indian to do so. India managed to dismiss Amla for 25 before the lunch break and have successfully removed du Plessis, who has not had a good series. Considering the low visibility, India will have to do get wickets at a quicker pace, if they want to win this match. Full Cricket Updates: India vs South Africa 2015 4th Test, Day 5 at Delhi

India had scored 344 in the first innings and bowled South Africa out for 121, thereby taking a first innings lead of 213. Kyle Abbott was the star with the ball for South Africa, picking up five wickets in the first innings. Off-spinner Dane Piedt to chipped in with four wickets. For India, Jadeja picked up five wickets in the first innings. In the second innings, Morne Morkel picked up three and for India, Ravichandran Ashwin has two and Jadeja has one for now. India on the toss on Day One and elected to bat first. India lead the series 2-0

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Upstate N.Y. sheriff urges all people with permits to carry a gun

Upstate N.Y. sheriff urges all people with permits to carry a gun

“I want to encourage citizens of Ulster County who are licensed to carry a firearm to PLEASE DO SO," Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum wrote on the department's official Facebook page.


Next, he’ll round up a posse.

The sheriff in upstate Ulster County is asking residents with carry permits to arm themselves in the wake of mass shootings across the country and other world events.
“In light of recent events that have occurred in the United States and around the world I want to encourage citizens of Ulster County who are licensed to carry a firearm to PLEASE DO SO,” Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum pleaded on the department’s official Facebook page.

“I urge you to responsibly take advantage of your legal right to carry a firearm. To ensure the safety of yourself and others, make sure you are comfortable and proficient with your weapon, and knowledgeable of the laws in New York State with regards to carrying a weapon and when it is legal to use it.”

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Sources: PSG wants superstar Ronaldo to lead new Parisian project

Sources: PSG wants superstar Ronaldo to lead new Parisian project 

Real Madrid visits Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in what is the first major exam for the Rafa Benitez project in Europe. It comes after two tough tests in Spain - an important win at San Mames and a draw at Atletico Madrid that felt more like a loss. But there is another added ingredient in this fixture: the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo at the home of one his biggest admirers.

If Ronaldo has ever been curious about what life would be like at the Parisian club, Wednesday will provide him with an accurate idea. And, who knows, that could ultimately be one of the factors behind a possible departure from Real Madrid.

There are many people who suggest that an exit could be closer than ever, especially now that Ronaldo has managed to etch his name into the club's history books by surpassing Alfredo Di Stefano (307 goals) and Raul Gonzalez (323) to become Madrid's all-time top scorer. Just over a year ago, Goal was alerted to the possibility of such a move away from the Bernabeu after speaking to sources close to the player himself.

"Cristiano talks about Manchester United all the time," the source said. "The club had a difficult time last season (in 2013-14), but he expects them to return to the top very soon. He is seduced by the idea of finishing his career at Old Trafford. He has great memories - it was his happiest time as a footballer."

Ronaldo also loves Madrid, of course, and he wants to be remembered as not only the club's greatest goal scorer but as the best-ever player. Throughout this year, though, Goal has learned that many within the club believe that Ronaldo may move on sooner rather than later; whispers of a hypothetical departure for the Portuguese forward are widespread behind the scenes at Real.

There is certainly some evidence to support that belief. Ronaldo's contract runs out in 2018 and there is no sign of another renewal, while his affinity with former coach Carlo Ancelotti and captain Sergio Ramos upset the player in the summer after both were badly treated.

There is also the lack of trophies to go with his individual awards, Madrid's sudden support of his theoretical heir Gareth Bale, the alleged meeting between Florentino Perez and PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi in France (denied by both parties) and the fact that time is taking its toll on Ronaldo. At almost 31, his physique is not what it once was and he is participating much less in overall team play, even if the goals are still flying in.
These are only voices that circulate around both Real Madrid and the player, but they have led many to believe - as the old proverb goes - that "there is no smoke without fire." Perhaps as a response to all the rumors, there have been several declarations of love between the club and Cristiano. President Perez, for example, confirmed that Ronaldo's exit would only be possible if another side paid his buyout clause while revealing that he hopes Ronaldo "continues to give joy to the team for much longer."

Especially striking was the tribute paid by Florentino to the Portuguese during the last Members Assembly when the club chief singled the forward out for high praise, with Ronaldo responding positively in an interview with Marca soon after.

"I dream of retiring at Real Madrid," he said. It was a statement with a firm intention that has not been seen in recent times, with the Portuguese usually opting for the postscript: "You never know what can happen in the future."

So recent developments would suggest that Madrid and Ronaldo are more connected than they have been for some time. Given the previous history of disagreements between player and club, however, PSG will not give up hope of landing the Portuguese forward sooner rather than later; indeed, Goal can confirm that the Ligue 1 leaders have remained in fluid and constant contact with Ronaldo.
in the meantime, Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes has already been introduced to the Parisian club through Angel Di Maria, one of Cristiano's former Madrid teammates and a big summer signing for PSG. There have been many meetings between Mendes and Al-Khelaifi since then, with a view to building an even stronger relationship and Ronaldo always at the forefront of their talks. 

In Paris, Ronaldo's recent declaration of love for Madrid has been interpreted rather differently: more as an invitation to a renewal of his contract (which ends in 2018) than a specific desire to end his career with Los Blancos. That is, as a means of safeguarding his future while offers come in from elsewhere - PSG among them.

Goal also understands that the Ligue 1 club is reluctant to wait until 2017 for a 32-year-old Ronaldo, and are increasingly confident they can do a deal in eight months' time. It could, therefore, be 'now or never', and while the relationship between Ronaldo and Real seems stronger than before, the same can also be said for Cristiano and PSG.

On Wednesday, then, the Portuguese will inevitably be the main attraction for both teams in their Champions League clash at the Parc des Princes. It is a position Ronaldo is used to being in.

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It’s Back to the Future Day, So What Are the Next Future Predictions?

It’s Back to the Future Day, So What Are the Next Future Predictions? 

The movie got some predictions right on what Doc and Marty would find when they arrive in the “future” today. But what could they find if they took another 30 year leap into the future?

When Doc and Marty traveled forward in time from 1985 and landed the DeLorean on October 21, 2015, they found a world of flying cars, hover boards and 3D holographic technology.

Some of the technologies predicted are now a reality of sorts, but the world of Back to the Future II is not quite what we see around us today. The moviemakers didn’t envisage the abundance of smartphones and other technologies that dominate our lives today.

But Hollywood is always a little hit or miss when it comes to future predictions. So let’s see if the tech experts of today are any better. A number of analysts were asked what they would predict for the technologies in use 30 years from now, on October 21, 2045.
Michael Cowling
Back to the Future II envisioned a connected future that is almost here, but it didn’t go far enough.

By the year 2045, the word “computer” will be a relic of the past, because computers as we know them will be built so seamlessly into every facet of our lives that we won’t even notice them anymore.

Every device around us will become a possible input and output device for us to access a seamless computing experience customized to our own particular needs, and fed from our own personal repository of information stored privately and securely in what we today call the “cloud,” but in the world of 2045 might simply be our digital essence.

It’s hard for us to imagine it now, surrounded by individual devices like our phone, tablet and laptop that each require separate configuration, but by 2045 those devices will be much less important, and we will be able to move away from these individual “personal” devices toward a much more ubiquitous digital existence.

The world of 2045 will be a world of truly ubiquitous, continuous computing, with the personal smartphone and tablet as much of a novelty as the paper sports almanac was to Marty in 2015.
Philip Branch
The video conference where Needles goads Marty Snr into participating in a scheme that gets him fired got things about right; although Marty would be more likely to use Skype or something similar today. So, what might telecommunications look like in another 30 years?

Perhaps Doc Brown’s brain-wave analyzer will be perfected, making telepathy a feasible network interface. This technology is surprisingly advanced. It has been possible for some time to control machines through brain control.

Perhaps we will have those contact lenses from Torchwood that transmit everything the wearer sees. There have been some developments that might make them possible.

But perhaps change will continue at a much slower pace than the past few decades. Maybe we will see a return to evolutionary rather than revolutionary change and the technologies we have now will still be around—much faster, more sophisticated and ubiquitous of course, but still recognizable. Or maybe some combination of economic, social and environmental apocalypse will cause the collapse of existing infrastructure and telecommunications will be back to pencil and paper or something even more primitive.

As many people have pointed out, it is hard to make predictions, especially about the future.
Hamza Bendemra
Flight vehicles are mostly represented in the form of flying cars—as opposed to commercial aircraft—in Back to the Future II. Looking forward to 2045, commercial aviation is likely to have seen significant changes between now and then thanks to breakthroughs in several industries, including electronics, software engineering, materials research, jet propulsion and automated manufacturing.

Cutting-edge technology being researched today—in many cases with Australian researchers involved—will have matured by 2045. Advances in fly-by-wire and computer software will likely have made pilots obsolete in 2045. Flying will become a hobby as opposed to a profession, the same way that today we ride horses for fun rather than transport.

Airplanes will be lighter with structures consisting of composite materials and embedded with sensors that will allow “smart” aircraft structures to monitor their structural integrity and repair themselves in the case of damage. The use of petroleum-based gasoline will be considered primitive, if not illegal, and sustainable biofuels will have emerged as a widely used clean alternative.

Jet engines will reach new heights in efficiency, making flying cheaper and more accessible to the masses. The mega-rich of 2045 may have scramjet-powered airplanes that can break the sound barrier multiple times over and result in a London-Sydney flight taking less than one hour.

The price of oil may also increase to record levels and result in the collapse of the aviation industry as we know it. The price of crude oil has a significant impact on airlines’ bottom line as fuel costs typically makes up about 30% of an airline’s operating costs. Hence, the major driver of reduced profitability for airlines is the rising price of oil. Finding alternative fuel sources will be key for a greener and safer future for the commercial aviation industry.
Thas Nirmalathas
Our world in 2045 will be fully connected: constantly and autonomously keeping us in sync with the people in our lives, the places where we live and work, and the things we control. These connections enable people to concurrently engage with a multitude of different people, places and things, with people becoming digitally ever-present.

Each individual will have a unique global digital identity containing dynamically adjustable privacy-transparency settings. These settings can be adjusted depending upon the level of trust within the environment. Individual lives will be captured digitally and security platforms will actively protect against unauthorized digital access.

Data will be owned by the individual who creates it. There will be a property right within data allowing individuals to trade, share and volunteer their data for personal gain—such as providing data to receive targeted advertising and product discounts or, in aggregate, providing demographic information to assist in policy development.

Digital ever-presence will disturb existing political systems, enabling individuals to transcend territorial boundaries and wield digital influence outside of the nation state. Ever-present personas will disrupt domestic political orders transforming the Earth.
Justin Zobel

Interfaces will have become seamless by 2045 and are accessed continuously through familiar, unconscious actions.

During your morning run, body radar triggers a gentle vibration against your skin; someone is approaching around a blind corner.

In the kitchen, active contact lenses create the illusion that your friend is with you, by generating an image and overlaying it on the room. The image is stable, no matter how your head and eyes move. In conversation, she is present but also thousands of kilometers away.

At your desk, the contact lenses create the illusion of a screen in front of you. Its actions are controlled by finger gestures, while your rapid, subtle muscle movements are interpreted as a stream of text to be captured in an email.
Through your neural implants, you are aware of activity in your networks. These are not sounds, images or touch, but some mingling of them into a new form of sensation. You try to contact your mother, but she is offline, perhaps sleeping. No matter, her house can sense her and assures you that she is well.

You decide to go offline yourself for a while, and your sensors fall quiet. As always, it feels like a kind of blindness—like closing one’s eyes for sleep, but so much more acute. You are surrounded by just the peaceful emptiness of reality.
Robert Merkel

Where we’re going, we won’t need roads—at least, not all of the time.

By 2045, the much-mocked flying car (or, more accurately, a flying taxi) is likely to be widely available. Furthermore, my own discipline of software engineering is key—perhaps even the key—to making it happen.

Even today, we could mass-produce personal helicopters at an affordable financial cost, but at a terrible human one. Helicopters are extremely difficult to learn to fly, and even with extensive pilot training are arguably the riskiest form of transport we use.

The science of a solution is already to hand. We don’t walk the family dog with a drone mini-helicopter, as depicted in the 2015 of Back to the Future II, but drones are a widely available commercial product.

Developing the software that controls these miniature flying cars to the point where it is both reliable and robust enough to control much larger vehicles in real-world conditions—including handling hardware failures—will take years of testing and revision. Convincing conservative air safety regulators will probably take years more.

But my educated guess is that these problems will be overcome by 2045. The result won’t look like a hot-rodded DeLorean, and it certainly won’t double as a time machine. But, finally, humanity just might have the freedom of the skies.
Toby Walsh
My background is in artificial intelligence (AI), so I’ll stick to predicting where AI might be in 2045.

In 2030, Apple releases the latest version of its platform wide operating system, iOS 20, which delivers true artificial intelligence in all the major languages of the world to our phones, tablets and computers. Google responds with its latest version of Android, which offers similar capabilities but has a cheekier sense of humour.

You want to go out for dinner? You simply tell your smartphone: “Book me a table for 8pm at that restaurant I read reviewed in the paper last weekend and let my wife know.” Problem solved.

And by 2045, Apple and Google’s AI operating systems are competing to control seamlessly our cars, homes, phones and offices.

In the morning, you walk to your car, which is already nice and cool as the front door said you were on the way. The car then drives you to work autonomously. But due to heavy traffic en route, your calendar pushes back your first appointment 15 minutes. The technology is pro-active, anticipating requests, and smoothing your life.

But then some robot digger repairing the road digs up the NBN cable by mistake and the cloud goes down.

So, you walk home and kiss your wife on the cheek. “Shall I see if we can still fire up the barbecue?”

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Giants were bound to play a game like this -- and lose it

Giants were bound to play a game like this -- and lose it

PHILADELPHIA -- This had to happen eventually. The New York Giants weren't going to go through an entire season without playing any really bad games -- without turning the ball over, without giving up any sacks, without a slew of bad penalties. Every team has at least one real stinker (and usually more) during the course of the season, and until Monday Night's 27-7 loss to the Eagles, the Giants hadn't had one.

"We just didn't play well," guard Geoff Schwartz said on his way out of the locker room early Tuesday morning. "It was bound to happen at some point, I guess."

The Giants turned the ball over three times Monday night. They committed 12 penalties for 92 yards. They were 4-for-13 (30.8 percent) on third down. Eli Manning got sacked three times. These are not 2015 New York Giants numbers.

During their first five games, the Giants turned the ball over a total of three times. They committed an average of seven penalties for 59 yards. They converted 44.4 percent of third downs. Manning was sacked a total of four times.

But while this game appears to have been out of character for this year's group, the way the Giants lost it should give you pause. The fact is, the Eagles weren't a whole lot crisper. They turned it over four times, committed nine penalties for 72 yards and converted only 38 percent of their first downs. They only gave up one sack, because the Giants can't pressure quarterbacks, but the point is they didn't exactly play a brilliant game either.

And yet they won it by 20.

The Giants limited mistakes and played very tough football in their first five games and still managed to win only three of them. They blew double-digit fourth-quarter leads in Weeks 1 and 2. They fought off fourth-quarter comebacks in Weeks 3 and 4. They gave up three long second-half touchdown drives to the 49ers in Week 5 only to have Manning bail them out with a final-minute drive. The point is, they'd been walking a tightrope, and Monday night they fell off.

"From the second quarter through the second half, we just got outplayed," Manning said.

They started off blue-hot, racing down the field for the game's first touchdown, getting a three-and-out on defense and racing back down the field looking like a team headed for big things. But then Eagles linebacker DeMeco Ryans ripped a ball out of Larry Donnell's hands, Damontre Moore got whistled for a roughing-the-passer penalty that extended an Eagles drive, and before anyone knew it the Eagles had the game in their pockets. Philly's a front-running team, and once they were in front they were able to pin their ears back on defense, harass Manning, cover Odell Beckham Jr. and leave the Giants impotent.


"We were pretty much stagnant," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said.

They were handled badly by the Eagles on both lines -- physically dominated in the most physically important aspects of the game. It's not that this hadn't happened yet this season -- it's that when it did, they were able to minimize the damage by playing well elsewhere and taking good care of the ball. They did not do those things Monday, so their deficiencies flared up in more obvious and damaging ways.

And the fact is, that's probably going to happen again. This isn't a great Giants team, and outside the locker room I don't think anyone ever really thought it would be. Prior to Monday, they'd played hard and tough and scrappy and fundamentally sound football, and really kind of overachieved and maximized what they have on their roster. But compared to most other teams in the league -- especially when they show up minus three or four defensive starters -- their roster doesn't have all that much. Which means they operate with no margin for error. And when they show up and play a bad game... well, they're probably going to lose by 20.

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UFC Fight Night Barnett vs. Nelson: 5 Reasons to Watch

UFC Fight Night Barnett vs. Nelson: 5 Reasons to Watch

Whenever this type of event pops up on the calendar, you’re always faced with the usual barrage on social media – hyper-critical snark from observers that refuse look for the redeeming qualities of a fight card if they’re not readily apparent upon first glance.

Of course, I suppose you could flip that and say that I’m the eternal optimist, willing to dig deep to find compelling stories and angles to watch on just about any fight card, even one as lacking in star power as this one.

Whichever stance you want to take, here are 5 Reasons to Watch UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. Nelson on Saturday night.

“The Warmaster” Returns

After nearly two years, Josh Barnett returns to the Octagon on Saturday to take on Roy Nelson in a heavyweight clash that somehow could still have some impact on the division. I don’t say that as a knock on either fighter, but more as a reminder that the heavyweight ranks are the Bizarro World of fighting because a 37-year-old Barnett could put himself back into the mix heading into 2016 with a dominant win over “Big Country” this weekend.

There have been (rightful) questions about how prepared Barnett will be for Saturday’s engagement, given that he hasn’t fought since losing to Travis Browne at UFC 168 and has been working on movie projects, but having spoken with the former Pride standout last week, I don’t think there is much to worry about on that front. Is he going to look like a Greek god? Of course not, but even when he’s sporting his classic Dad Bod look, you can always count on Barnett to hunt for a finish and cut a quality promo in the Octagon if he’s victorious.

Plus – and I say this on the off chance that it happens, not based on any inside information – what if this is Barnett’s last appearance? He’s someone that has experienced a great deal of professional success in Japan and going out on a high note in that country might be a cool way to exit the sport and if things happen to play out that way, I definitely want to be tuned in to see the heavyweight mercenary ride off into the sunset.

An Enigma, Wrapped in a Puzzle, Wrapped in Nonchalance

It’s so difficult to get an accurate read on Gegard Mousasi because (a) he shows zero emotion and seems completely meh about just about everything and (b) he keeps getting matched up with guys that he should dominate.

Initially scheduled to face Roan “Jucao” Carneiro in another “Really? That’s who Mousasi is facing?” match-up, the former Strikeforce champ and No. 6-ranked middleweight will instead face Uriah Hall, who steps up on short notice after registering a first-round win over Oluwale Bamgbose last month in Nashville. It’s another fight where the 30-year-old Mousasi should encounter very few issues, but that doesn’t make it any easy to figure out where he fits in the middleweight division.

Now, his losses to Lyoto Machida and Jacare Souza make you lean towards “Not quite Top 5, but definitely Top 10” territory, but then you see him dispatch Dan Henderson like it’s nothing and sleepwalk through an easy decision win over Costas Philippou and it sends you right back to the days of thinking Mousasi was going to be the next big thing. That upside has probably evaporated, but without seeing him in tough match-ups against top-tier opponents, there is no way of know for sure.

Additionally, the dude seems content to keep stacking victories and grinding out a living in the middle of the division, which is both reasonable and really frickin’ annoying since he’s clearly a tremendous talent and capable of doing so much more than facing the Uriah Halls of the world.

The Continued Development of Kyoji Horiguchi


People will want to say he got trucked by Demetrious Johnson (he did) and not care about the young Japanese flyweight for a while, but I honestly think this is a crazy-important fight for Horiguchi.

In his first bout since that April drubbing at the hands of “Mighty Mouse,” the twice-beaten 24-year-old returns to take on cagey veteran Chico Camus, who gave everyone’s new favourite future vanquished challenger Henry Cejudo all he could handle in Mexico City back in June. Camus is the type of guy that can give you fits and ruin your day if you’re not prepared and on-point and coming off a last-second submission loss to the champ, Horiguchi could go one of two ways: either he comes back even better, having gained a ton of experience and confidence from going 25 minutes less a second with one of the most talented fighters on the planet or he takes a step backwards and throwing him into a title fight turns out to have stalled his progress.

My guess is that we see the former – a hungry, improved, aggressive fighter eager to get back into the win column and make an impression the same way he did last time he fought at the Saitama Super Arena, when he starched Jon de los Reyes inside the first five minutes.

Is Diego Brandao Finally Turning a Corner?

Everyone has that one fighter that they irrationally continue to believe in despite boatloads of evidence that indicates that you should just cut bait and move on. For my podcast co-host Paul Chapman, it’s Uriah Hall. For me, it’s Diego Brandao.

Listen, I’ve seen the fights with Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor where he basically packs his bags and calls it a day the second he gets hit with something heavy. I remember him fading hard in his post-TUF debut against Darren Elkins. I see his 4-3 record since submitting Dennis Bermudez to win the featherweight competition on Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter and think, “Really? Is that it?”

And yet I still want to believe.

Brandao returns to action against veteran Katsunori Kikuno after earning a stoppage win due to cuts over Jimy Hettes in April. When he’s aggressive and focused, Brandao can still look scary, but there are also those times where he seems completely overmatched mentally and physically and it’s hard to know which one you’re going to get on a fight-by-fight basis. Only 28, he feels like a guy that could still figure it out, but his window of opportunity is closing and a loss here would likely slam it shut.

But until that happens, I’ll continue to hold out an irrational hope that the Brazilian featherweight figures it out and reaches his full potential.

Canadian Content with Kajan Johnson

Any time I get the chance to watch Kajan Johnson step into the cage and compete, I’m interested.

The veteran Canadian lightweight is always entertaining and has a deep arsenal to draw from in this match-up with Naoyuki Kotani, who enters on a two-fight losing streak, while Johnson comes in off his first UFC victory. Plus, we’re going to have to wait until December 10 when Elias Theodorou returns to action in Las Vegas before we see another Canuck step into the Octagon, so showing some support to the British Columbia product this weekend fulfills your Can-Con requirements for the next three months.

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Dominant in polls, Donald Trump still sniping at rivals

Dominant in polls, Donald Trump still sniping at rivals

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is boasting about keeping his lead in the polls, but that isn't deterring him from sniping at rivals and complaining about the media.

Eclipsed this week by Pope Francis' tour of the U.S., the billionaire developer and former TV reality show star spent Wednesday slinging insults.

He said in a question-and-answer session with reporters that Sen. Rand Paul was not adequately representing his constituents in Kentucky because he spends so much time campaigning for president.

"I think they're being taken advantage of by Rand Paul," he said. "You should either run for the Senate or run for president."

Trump also took a jab at Marco Rubio, calling the Florida senator a "lightweight" for criticizing him on his lack of foreign policy experience.

"He sits in the Senate, and I'm out creating jobs," Trump said.

Earlier, at a session in North Charleston, Trump said Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush "hate each other, but they can't say it."

"I'm so tired of this politically correct crap," he said.

He tweeted Wednesday that he's boycotting Fox News, even though the network said officials there had canceled a Trump appearance first. Trump has been feuding with Fox since the first Republican primary debate, when he objected to moderator Megyn Kelly pressing him to explain insulting comments he's made about women.

One woman who has been the target of Trump insults is former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina.

Trump suggested that Fiorina, who is surging, might be broke. And Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton is "shrill," he said at another, adding that her campaign "is coming down like a really, really sick rocket."
At the North Charleston event, Trump cast Fiorina — another "outsider" candidate trying to appeal to anti-establishment Republicans — as another politician looking for donors who will ultimately control her.
"Carly is out there fighting to raise money," he said. "She doesn't want to spend her own money. Maybe she doesn't have it."

Fiorina suggested Tuesday in a stop at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, that she is making Trump "nervous."

Trump repeated his assertion Wednesday that Clinton, during the 2008 presidential campaign, started the discredited "birther" movement whose members falsely claim that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. There's been no evidence tracing the charge to Clinton or her campaign.

In an interview on The Tom Joyner Radio Show earlier Wednesday, Clinton called Trump's assertion that she started the birther claims "ludicrous." She told guest host Don Lemon: "You know, I have been blamed for nearly everything. That was a new one to me."

At an event in Columbia, Trump denied opponents' comments that he had been a Barack Obama supporter.

"I helped John McCain. He did a bad job. He didn't get elected," Trump said, adding later that he felt "even Abraham Lincoln" couldn't have won against Barack Obama in 2008. "I helped Romney, he didn't get elected. I said, 'This time I'm going to do it myself, OK?' "

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Giants rule Victor Cruz, Rodgers-Cromarite out for Redskins game

Giants rule Victor Cruz, Rodgers-Cromarite out for Redskins game

The New York Giants have listed wide receiver Victor Cruz and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie as out for their Week 3 game against the Washington Redskins.

Cruz has not practiced in weeks and missed New York’s first two games with a calf strain he suffered in August. Cruz has not played a game since last October, when he tore the patella tendon in his right knee.

Rodgers-Cromartie will miss Thursday’s game with a concussion he suffered in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons. Rodgers-Cromartie is currently in the NFL’s mandated concussion protocol.

Last season, Cruz caught 23 passes for 337 yards and one touchdown before his injury. Rodgers-Cromartie signed a five-year deal with the Giants in 2014, and has missed only four regular season games in his career.

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Destiny. Players Are Finding Hidden 'Taken King' Exotics In The Strangest Of Places

'Destiny' Players Are Finding Hidden 'Taken King' Exotics In The Strangest Of Places

For anyone who has played Destiny’s new Taken King expansion, it’s no secret that the DLC is full of a ton of mysteries, from endlessly chaining quests to unopenable chests. But now things are getting downright crazy.

Today was supposed to herald the arrival of the first “Armsday,” a new weekly Destiny event where players can pick up ordered weapons from the Gunsmith, and test out new ones. But instead it’s a different kind of holiday, one where a new Taken King exotic has been unearthed that no one knew existed.

The first recorded finding of the Black Spindle, an Exotic variant of the popular sniper rifle Black Hammer, was from a redditor who stumbled into it by accident. During today’s Heroic story mission on the moon, he and his friend took a wrong turn and found themselves boarding the Ketch where the Taniks strike normally takes place. As it turned out, the place was infested by Taken, and they had a countdown timer of 10 minutes to clear them out, including a difficult Taken boss at the end which is a super version of Taniks himself. They just made it, and were awarded the 310 light level exotic sniper as a result, a weapon no one even knew existed.

Debate is raging about how exactly this is triggered, as the door to the side-quest is open or shut, depending on when you get there. Is it only in this specific mission and one specific difficulty you can get there? The jury is still out.

But what’s clear is that The Taken King is a layered experience that is going to be unveiling secrets for weeks, and possibly even months to come. I was already planning on writing a grand “secrets list” about the game, based on what’s been discovered so far, then something like this comes along to top everything else. It’s kind of insane.
This isn’t a chest sitting around on the Dreadnaught demanding a mystery key to open it. This is someone who accidentally went the wrong way during one story mission and did it in just enough time to trigger this event. The mind boggles at what else the game is hiding if that’s the kind of specific criteria that is unlocking new exotics. I’ve already heard anecdotal reports of other players saying they’ve stumbled into a strange, incredibly hard bosses during other story missions they didn’t think much of, but now it’s starting to make sense. There might be a lot of these hidden quests out there, and this could only be scratching the surface. My favorite new running theory is that exotic Pulse Rifle, No Time to Explain, might be hidden somewhere in the Vault of Glass during one of the final story missions.

Warning, Tangent Approaching! – Mandatory Group Play

But as much as I love a good mystery, the discovery of the Black Spindle continues a worrying trend I’ve noticed with many of these exotic questlines. Like so many other things in the game, they’re activities that are almost impossible to complete alone.

 The Black Spindle encounter would seem to be almost impossible to solo, from what I’ve seen of it. Overlooking the fact that you can simply be overwhelmed and die by difficulty of the mission itself, it’s incredibly hard, if not impossible, to put out enough damage to kill all these things in the requisite amount of time, or to whittle down a boss’s huge health bar by yourself.

This is something I’ve found elsewhere in the world as well. Just trying to do the Petra questline to get the Boolean Gemini, an exotic Scout Rifle, I’ve been forced to travel to Earth, Venus and Mars , killing Taken Champions in the wild, a public event that is almost impossible to complete by yourself, again because of DPS concerns. I’ve had to luck out to find other groups in the area trying to get the same thing done, but for some unpopulated zones (the Rocketyard) I’ve had to assemble a random fireteam to get it done. In both this instance and with the Black Spindle, the insertion of a time limit all but guarantees your failure as a solo player as it’s impossible to do the amount of damage you need to do within the allotted time, no matter if your tactics are on point. I have beaten some hard solo missions to date (the last few Taken War ones are insane),  but a ticking clock makes a fireteam mandatory.

Also today I’ve learned that the final part of my exotic sword quest is also pretty much impossible to solo, despite the fact that I’ve done the entire quest by myself up until this point. I’m tasked with killing two bosses within 30 seconds, something that is just not going to be doable unless I’m with a team. Granted, there is matchmaking in this instance, but I’m relying on two random strangers who actually understand the encounter to be able to beat it properly. And the strike is recommended 300 light level, a metric that itself is really only achievable if you’ve done the Raid with five other people.

The same is also true for the exotic Scout Rifle, a Touch of Malice, which requires completion of the Raid as well. And while other listed exotics like No Time to Explain or Sleeper Simulant haven’t been found yet, I would not be surprised to learn if they also contained activities that required a group to beat.

For those with the good fortune to play Destiny in a clan, I guess this is great, but I don’t think that’s the experience of most players, so these new exotic quests are frustrating. I was having a great time trying to track down my sword, for example, but now I’ve hit this wall where I’m forced to rely on two strangers to help me, and if I don’t, I’ll just never complete the quest. The same is true for many exotics, it seems, as lord knows I’m not going to clear that Taken ship by myself today to land me a Black Spindle.

I guess this is supposed to make me more “social” and get out there and be involved in the community, but I really hate that the game pushes so hard for this kind of thing. Trying to play Destiny solo at higher levels is like trying to sprint up a hill of sand, and I’m disappointed that with each new mystery that’s uncovered, it seems like another piece of content that’s inaccessible unless I’m forcibly paired with strangers.

Update: I just spent the better part of two hours trying to get the Black Spindle with LFG fireteams, failing each and every time. We can kill the boss, but die to the arena swarming with other enemies, or we can clear a good amount of enemies and not put out enough damage to kill the boss. Those seem to be the only options. At light level 295 I still feel way, way underleveled for this, and I’ve had exactly zero fun running these attempts because the first ten minutes is spent pointlessly running around the story mission before you can even try the actual Taken run. Time for a break, and lord knows I’m not even going to attempt the exotic sword quest anytime soon if this sniper mission has been this frustrating.

Update 2: After ragequitting for a while, I jumped back in only to find DestinyLFG buckling under the weight of a million people trying to find a group for this. When I finally did get one together, We got locked in the chamber with the single orb because the orb just refused to spawn so we had to quit. The process of running 90% of the story mission before each attempt just makes this exhausting. In other news, it has been confirmed that the Black Spindle is only available when this mission is the Daily Heroic, but it’s supposed to be in rotation pretty often. That implies other missions on other days might have secrets of their own, so expect to see everyone going all National Treasure on whatever mission is up that day. People will lose their mind if the Vault of Glass one comes up.

While I really like how this was hidden (dismantling the Black Hammer gave a rune that actually hinted at this secret mission, it turns out), I’m really not a fan of how it’s going in practice. This is the first time I’ve ever come across content in Destiny that’s made me want to throw my controller. This isn’t “oh let’s figure out the raid mechanics by dying 50 times,” this just has really irritating restrictions like forcing you to run an entire story mission beforehand, inserting a timer into the mission, and clearing all enemies even after the boss is dead. Like any single one of those would be annoying by itself, but all three together is just making this a nightmare. I suppose this is the price you pay for a 310 exotic Black Hammer replacement, but I have not enjoyed this pursuit in the least, and between group finding awfulness, game glitches and straight up failure, I’m about read to call it a day.

Update 3: Whoa, what on earth? According to Bungie itself, Black Spindle is accidentally dropping at 310 instead of 290, and it will be retro-fixed so all current 310s are reduced to 290. Needless to say, folks that have spent all day going through one of the toughest challenges in the game’s history to get one are not pleased, though I suppose this makes my decision to walk away from this (ridiculously irritating) mission quite a bit easier.  I’m guessing they’re doing this out of potential balance concerns, but still, this is definitely ending what was a pretty exciting day on a sour note.

Now…were those exotic swords supposed to drop at 310 too, or will that be another bug to be “rectified”?

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Watch Kenan and Kel Reunite at Good Burger on The Tonight Show

Watch Kenan and Kel Reunite at Good Burger on The Tonight Show

Welcome back to the most famous fictional fast food restaurant of the 1990s

Comedy these days has no shortage of riotous duets: Key and Peele; Amy Poehler and Tina Fey; John Mulaney and Nick Kroll. But years before any of these acts, Generation Y was watching Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, who starred on the Nickelodeon sketch program All That during its heyday in the mid-1990s, and whose eponymous television series was one of the most popular shows targeting the youth audience during its run from 1996 to 2000.

On Wednesday night’s episode of The Tonight Show, host Jimmy Fallon reunited the pair, to the abject delight of his audience. It was, after all, the first time they’ve appeared onscreen together since All That‘s 10th anniversary special in 2005.

The seven-minute sketch riffs on their 1997 film Good Burger, the tale of two delightfully inept fast food workers that is now a cult classic in the nostalgia canon. This time, though, Fallon joined Mitchell — whom the public has largely forgotten, with the exception of a 2006 death hoax on MySpace — behind the Good Burger counter. Thompson, now a 12-season stalwart of the Saturday Night Live cast, plays a construction worker who comes by to order a Double Good Burger and some Good Fries.

It is as deliciously absurd as you’d expect.

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Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has strained hamstring; Ivan Nova to face Blue Jays instead

Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has strained hamstring; Ivan Nova to face Blue Jays instead

NEW YORK, N.Y. - So much for that pitching plan the Yankees had for Toronto.

Masahiro Tanaka has a strained right hamstring and won't make his scheduled start for New York this week during a crucial series at the Blue Jays.

The right-hander got hurt running to first base after bunting Friday in an interleague game against the Mets at Citi Field. He pitched another five innings — pretty well, too — but an MRI on Saturday revealed a Grade 1 strain, the least severe.

"Our fear is that if he goes out there on Wednesday he could hurt it worse, and then you're in a whole lot of trouble," manager Joe Girardi said Sunday.

It's a considerable blow to the Yankees, who hope Tanaka will miss only one turn. They juggled their rotation specifically so he could face the Blue Jays, who held a three-game lead in the AL East over New York going into Sunday night's Subway Series finale.

Struggling right-hander Ivan Nova, recently removed from the rotation, will pitch in Tanaka's place Wednesday night.

"I'm not looking at it as something very serious," Tanaka said through a translator. "I feel it's getting better and better each day."

Tanaka has been the team's best starter lately. He is 12-7 with a 3.38 ERA, including 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in his last two outings against Toronto's powerful lineup.

He acknowledged he tried to persuade the Yankees to let him start Wednesday but said he understands the decision.

"The season's not over," Tanaka said. "I'll probably be able to pitch again."

Tanaka will stay in New York to get three days of treatment rather than travel with the team to Toronto. The starting rotation already was missing 14-game winner Nathan Eovaldi, expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season with elbow inflammation.

Adam Warren and rookie Luis Severino, slated to start the first two games of the Blue Jays series, were sent ahead to get some rest instead of flying overnight following Sunday night's game against the Mets.

Nova is 6-8 with a 5.11 ERA in 14 starts since returning this season from Tommy John surgery. He was moved to the bullpen after giving up six runs and seven hits in 1 2-3 innings of a 10-7 home loss to the Blue Jays on Sept. 12.

"It's not what you want to hear. You want to pitch every five days," said Nova, who did throw seven solid innings in a win at Toronto on Aug. 14.

Nova has not appeared in a game since the demotion. He threw a side session Saturday and said he thinks the time off will be beneficial.

"He hasn't been off starting that long, so that part shouldn't be hard," Girardi said. "He's had some good starts and bad starts the last month. We're just going to need a good start his next start.

"He's been through it before," the manager added. "He understands, and I think he's looking forward to the challenge."

It's not the first time a front-line Yankees pitcher has been hurt after getting a rare opportunity to bat in a National League ballpark. Back in 2008, Chien-Ming Wang sustained a serious foot injury running the bases at Houston — before the Astros switched to the AL.

St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright went down with a season-ending Achilles injury while batting early this year, prompting another round of commentary about pitchers at the plate and the designated hitter.
"It's frustrating," Girardi said. "You get concerned whenever your pitchers have to hit. You try to do everything you can to keep them from getting hurt. You try to prepare them, and (one thing) that you can't prepare is that sudden burst that they have to make, and I think it happened in (Tanaka) trying to beat the play to first on the bunt."

Still, Girardi is glad the American League uses the DH and the NL doesn't.

Tanaka said he enjoys hitting, too.

"I actually like the separation of leagues. My complaint as I mentioned yesterday is that they don't hit in the minor leagues and that makes no sense to me," Girardi said. "We tell our guys to take it easy in situations. But I've often said that one of the reasons they are successful is the competitive nature inside of them and they understand the importance of runs, and it's just hard."

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The Latest: Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright ejected in 4th

The Latest: Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright ejected in 4th

The Latest from NFL stadiums around the country on the second Sunday of the season (all times EDT):

11:32 p.m.

Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright has been ejected in the fourth quarter of the Seahawks' game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.

A skirmish broke out at the end of Packers running back James Starks' 8-yard run with 6:42 left.

Multiple infractions were called, and Wright was ejected for pulling a Green Bay player's facemask.

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10:25 p.m.

Green Bay running back Eddie Lacy has been ruled out for the rest of the Packers' game Sunday night against the Seattle Seahawks. He left in the first quarter with a right ankle injury.

Lacy didn't return to the sideline with the rest of the team after halftime. Receiver Davante Adams did come back after leaving with his own ankle injury. He was warming up on the sideline while the Seahawks opened the second half on offense.

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10:09 p.m.

The Packers lead the Seahawks 13-3 at halftime in a rematch of last season's NFC title game.

Green Bay thought it might have had a touchdown with 8 seconds left in the first half with James Jones' athletic catch of a scrambling Aaron Rodgers' pass to the side of the end zone, just as Jones was falling out of bounds with both feet inbounds.

But the play was overturned on review after it was determined Jones' body touched the ground out of bounds right as he made the reception. On the next play Rodgers couldn't connect with tight end Richard Rodgers, who was covered closely by linebacker Bobby Wagner. Green Bay settled for an 18-yard field goal.

Otherwise, the defenses have dominated. The Packers have had three players carted to the locker room in the first half with ankle injuries: running back Eddie Lacy and receiver Davante Adams were questionable to return, while defensive lineman Josh Boyd has been ruled out.

___
9:41 p.m.

The Packers say backup defensive lineman Josh Boyd is out for the game with an ankle injury.

Boyd appeared to be favoring his right leg, and had to be helped on to a cart to take to the locker room.

9:34 p.m.

Two more Green Bay players have been carted to the locker room.

Starting receiver Davante Adams left the game after a 13-yard gain on third-and-6 with about 10 minutes left in the second quarter. Trainers appeared to be looking at Adams' left ankle. His return was questionable.

About 2 minutes later, backup defensive lineman Josh Boyd returned to the locker room on a cart. Boyd appeared to have hurt his right leg.

Green Bay was already without starting running back Eddie Lacy, whose return was questionable after leaving in the first quarter with a right ankle injury.

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9:09 p.m.
Eddie Lacy was taken on a cart to Green Bay's locker room with about 3 minutes left in the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks. His return is questionable with a right ankle injury.

Lacy went to the sideline about 4 minutes into the game after a 1-yard gain on third-and-1 at the Seattle 24. He was tackled by K.J. Wright.

Lacy had his right ankle and foot taped outside the shoe. He got his helmet to get ready to go in for the next series before returning to the trainer's table, where his ankle was completely re-taped. He tested the ankle for several minutes before being taken back to the locker room.

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6:30 p.m.

Tony Romo has a broken left collarbone and is out of the game for the Dallas Cowboys.

Romo was sacked and his left shoulder was slammed into the turf late in the third quarter. X-rays on the shoulder revealed the broken collarbone. He was down for several minutes before he sat up and eventually walked off the field.

The Cowboys took no chances and sent Romo straight to the locker room. Philadelphia's Jordan Hicks sacked and stripped Romo of the ball.

The Eagles took over trailing 13-0. Brandon Weeden replaced Romo.

— Dan Gelston reporting from Philadelphia.

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5:42 p.m.

The linebacker Philadelphia got in a trade for career leading rusher LeSean McCoy is out for the game with a knee injury.

Kiko Alonso, acquired from Buffalo, left the game in the first half against the Dallas Cowboys. Alonso was hurt in the second quarter and headed to the locker room with a left knee injury.

That could be a big problem for the Eagles. Alonso missed all of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

— Dan Gelston reporting from Philadelphia.

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5:32 p.m.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota received treatment on his left ankle following Sunday's 28-14 loss at Cleveland. Mariota doesn't believe he'll miss any time. The Titans had to alter their game plan in the second half because the rookie was gimpy.

"I was incredibly impressed with how he handled himself," Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "The man's a fighter. He showed a lot of poise, he showed a lot of character in that second half. Obviously his ankle was bothering him a little bit and he still made a lot of plays."

— Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland

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3:23 p.m.

The Buffalo Bills honored former general manager Bill Polian by presenting him his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring at halftime against the New England Patriots.

Polian, who was inducted into the hall in August, was the GM and architect of the Jim Kelly-led Bills teams that made four consecutive Super Bowl appearances in the early 1990s only to lose them all. He was with the Bills from 1984-92. During the ceremony, he was joined by the Bills' Hall of Fame players he drafted: Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, defensive end Bruce Smith and receiver Andre Reed.

—John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York

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3:13 p.m.

Houston Texans right tackle Jeff Adams has been carted off the field in the second quarter Sunday after trainers put an air cast on the right leg.

Adams was locked up in a block with Carolina Panthers defensive end Kony Ealy when his leg gave out and he fell to the ground in obvious pain. Teammates immediately yelled for the trainers and took a knee around him.

—Steve Reed reporting from Charlotte, North Carolina

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3:12 p.m.
Philip Rivers' 10-yard touchdown pass pulled San Diego within a point of Cincinnati and moved him ahead of Dan Fouts for the franchise record with 255 career touchdowns.

Fouts is at Paul Brown Stadium as the TV analyst. Rivers is now 15th all-time in NFL history.

— Joe Kay reporting in Cincinnati

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3:04 p.m.

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has left Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals because of a hamstring injury.

Cutler walked to the locker room after Tony Jefferson returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown late in the first half.

Cutler was stiff-armed and landed on his right shoulder. The Bears said he injured his hamstring.

Jimmy Clausen finished the half and started the third quarter for Chicago.

— Andrew Seligman reporting from Chicago

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2:49 p.m.

The New York Giants' secondary has taken another hit.

Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was knocked out against the Atlanta Falcons with a concussion, further depleting the Giants' secondary plagued by injuries.

— Barry Wilner reporting from East Rutherford, N.J.

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2:29 p.m.

The NFL wanted to make things more interesting after touchdowns. The Pittsburgh Steelers are cooperating.

Pittsburgh opted to go for 2 after scoring their first two touchdowns against San Francisco, and converted both times.

After Roethlisberger hit Heath Miller for a 2-yard score, the offense stayed on the field. Roethlisberger then found a wide-open Antonio Brown to put the Steelers up 8-0.

The Steelers went for 2 again after second TD after lining up to kick only to have the 49ers penalized for a neutral-zone infraction that pushed the ball to the 1. Roethlisberger connected with Miller for a 2-point pass that put Pittsburgh up 16-3

After a third touchdown, the Steelers actually attempted a kick, but Josh Scobee hit the left upright. Scobee got another chance to kick and made the extra point to give the Steelers a 29-3 late in the first half against the 49ers.

— Will Graves reporting from Pittsburgh

___

2:02 p.m.

After a "perfect" pro debut, Marcus Mariota's second NFL game has been anything but for Tennessee's rookie quarterback.

He has been harassed by Cleveland's defense, and ended the first quarter by being sacked. Mariota tried to scramble, slipped and was hammered by Browns linebacker Paul Kruger and John Hughes, who knocked off the QB's helmet, a shoe and caused a fumble that was recovered by Cleveland.

Mariota was 3 of 6 for 31 yards in the first quarter. Last week, he went 13 of 16 and recorded a perfect 158.3 passer's rating.

— Tom Withers, reporting from Cleveland.

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1:45 p.m.

Carolina Panthers veteran wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery was carted to the locker room with a right ankle injury in the first quarter against the Houston Texans.

The team is listing his return as questionable. Cotchery was struggling to put weight in his ankle on the sideline. Cotchery accounted for Carolina's only offensive touchdown in last week's 20-9 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Panthers did add an extra wide receiver, Kevin Norwood, to their active roster.

— Steve Reed reporting in Charlotte, North Carolina

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1:43 p.m.

Philip Rivers' streak of consecutive completions ends at 22, two shy of Donovan McNabb's NFL record.

The San Diego quarterback completed his first two throws at Cincinnati before missing the mark on a high throw with a third-down pass to Stevie Johnson.

Rivers' 22 straight is a Chargers record and ties for third-longest in NFL history. Peyton Manning completed 23 straight. Joe Montana, Mark Brunell, David Carr and Matt Ryan had also streaks of 22 completions.

— Joe Kay reporting from Cincinnati

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1:33 p.m.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has moved past Dan Marino for third all-time in completions with a short pass to Brandin Cooks early in New Orleans' game against Tampa Bay.

It was Brees' 4,968th completion and he's had several since. He trails only Brett Favre (6,300) and Peyton Manning (5,977).

— Brett Martel reporting from New Orleans

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1:23 p.m.

What a start! Arizona's David Johnson set a club record by returning the opening kickoff 108 yards against the Chicago Bears. Johnson burst through the middle and turned up the left side untouched, quickly silencing the crowd at Soldier Field. The longest kickoff return by a Cardinals player before that was a 106-yarder by Roy Green against Dallas on Oct. 21, 1979. It was also the longest by a Bears opponent.

— Andrew Seligman reporting from Chicago

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1:14 p.m.
Call him Johnny Lightning.

Johnny Manziel threw a 60-yard touchdown on his first pass Sunday, hooking up with wide receiver Travis Benjamin. Manziel faked a hand-off and hit a streaking Benjamin, who got behind Titans cornerback Coty Sensabaugh, who was starting in place of Jason McCourty.

Manziel is making his third NFL start, taking over for Josh McCown, who sustained a concussion last week. Manziel came off the bench last week and threw one TD but had three turnovers.

— Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland.

___

12:10 p.m.

Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III was inactive, just like last week, but the difference is that he was coming off a concussion for the opener, while he's healthy enough to play against the Rams.

He lost his starting job to Kirk Cousins during the preseason; now he is down to No. 3 on the depth chart, behind backup Colt McCoy.

Rams rookie running back Todd Gurley, coming off left knee surgery, practiced this week and was thought to have a chance to make his NFL debut on Sunday, but he was inactive.

—Howard Fendrich reporting from Washington

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11:55 a.m.

Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe will make his Cleveland Browns debut against the Titans.

Bowe, who missed last week's game with a hamstring injury, should be one of the top targets for Johnny Manziel.

Cleveland signed Bowe, formerly in Kansas City, to a 2-year, $12.5 million contract — $9 million guaranteed — in the offseason.

—Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland

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11:50 a.m.

Bills running back LeSean McCoy will play against the New England Patriots despite aggravating an injury to left hamstring in practice this week.

McCoy had been listed as questionable. He's been bothered by the injury and missed the Bills final three preseason games after being hurt during a joint practice with the Cleveland Browns on Aug. 18. McCoy complained of being rusty after managing just 41 yards on 17 carries in Buffalo's 27-14 season-opening win over Indianapolis last week. He also had three catches for 46 yards.

The Bills still managed a combined 147 yards rushing against Indianapolis — Buffalo's best total since gaining 193 at Chicago in last year's season opener.

— John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York

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