GOOD MORNING
The 49ers withstood a furious comeback by the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
The Falcons and Texans both responded from last week’s losses with comfortable wins over the Giants and Colts, respectively. For Houston, the win clinched its second straight AFC South title.
Peyton Manning and the Broncos showed no signs of slowing down.
Before the thriller on SNF, Adrian Peterson made another case for MVP. Not enough can be said for the work A.D. has put in since tearing his ACL less than a year ago.
Kirk Cousins filled in honorably for Robert Griffin III and led the Redskins to a 38-21 win over the Browns. The rookie threw a pair of TDs and playoff hopes in D.C. are still intact.
Andrew Bynum said Kobe Bryant’s ball-dominant ways stunted the center’s development as a player. Bean mostly agreed. Then he poked fun at that situation on Bynum’s head, called him a “trendsetter.” Ha!
Pete Carroll is already apologizing for that fake punt when the Seahawks were up 30 on the Bills.
Damian Lillard’s buzzer-beater propelled the Trailblazers over the Hornets, who of course took Anthony Davis with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.
R.A. Dickey is headed to the Toronto Blue Jays, pending a contract extension with the team.
Jim Boeheim is closing in on 900 career wins.
FLASHING LIGHTS
Black Thought, Zoe Kravitz and Gabourey Sibide star in a new indie film, Yelling to the Sky, with screenings this week in New York City.
Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington, stars in a new Quentin Tarantino movie about slavery called Django Unchained, revisited the effects violence in movies has on violent crimes, in light of the tragic elementary school shooting in Connecticut. In Django Unchained, Washington takes a beating with a whip and called it a “tribute” to her ancestors (before the shooting in Newton). Tarantino, who also brought you Kill Bill, said he was tired of defending his violent movies.
Lindsay Lohan finally thanked Charlie Sheen for his generous $100,000 gift after he learned about her tax troubles. Just the image of these two discussing their problems in life is worth capturing.
DID YOU REALIZE?
AIG could raise as much as $6.5 billion from the sale of its remaining stake in AIA Group Ltd.
John Boehner appears to be serious about avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff. Over the weekend, the Speaker of the House put higher taxes on the wealthy and a year-long extension to the debt limit on the table.
President Obama is expected to name John Kerry to Secretary of State.
Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino’s pizza, is suing the federal government over mandatory contraception coverage in the health care law. Monaghan called contraception “gravely immoral.” Well OK, then.
A landmine explosion killed 10 girls and injured two others in eastern Afghanistan. Landmines continue to kill dozens of Afghans every year and harmless children are often susceptible to coming across one.
EVERYTHING I AM
A lot of folks across the nation spent the weekend extending thoughts and prayers to the Newton, Connecticut community as well as the families impacted by the tragedy. Both the NBA and NFL paid tribute to the victims with a moment of silence prior to weekend events. Funerals have already begun for the 20 children and six adults who lost their lives. President Obama has addressed the nation twice on this, but he probably said it best in his initial statement on Friday.
“As a country we’ve been through this too many times – whether it’s an elementary school in Newton, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods and these children are our children. And we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.”
GOTTA HAVE IT
In total contrast to the Domino’s founder, Cassidy takes a twist on the Gangnam Style hit and encourages safe sex with this track.
