I've been playing slower and more low-ley and meditative pop music all nite on Serendip as their DJs offered stuff I thawt I might like, and I did like most of it too, but there was one Nirvana song (I had never heard them before, at least never listened, and I had heard they were fairly nawty, but I decided to try them out ... and I was shocked by what I heard ... of course, rockers don't necessarily have the best English pronunciation and I wasn't sure I had actually heard what I thawt I had ....
But in other musings on the Internet before it hits Midnite here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, I happened on this performance recommended by Jonathan Muñoz Vásquez, a seminary director in Chile. I'm not sure they even know what "Flogging Molly" means .... (8-). Any way, freely expressing international Christian solidarity, here is the band so named playing in its usual lively style, a song performance of "The Devil's Dancefloor" ...
— Musikos, refWrite Backpage music newspotter, analyst, columnist
But let's take on another of FM's peformances recommended by Jonathan.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Music: Jazz: Retro to Christmas just past for Presbybob's JazzNoel, coudn't resist
Hat Tip to Byron Borger
"Our friend Bill Carter is a Presbyterian pastor, author, and his band, Presybop, is smokin'. What musicianship! This Christmas show was recorded live during Advent and aired on their local PBS station. Watch it for the next few days, free. Merry Christmastime." — Borger on Facebook
— Musikos, refWrite Backpage music newspotter, analyst, columnist
YouTube (Dec31,2k12)
"Our friend Bill Carter is a Presbyterian pastor, author, and his band, Presybop, is smokin'. What musicianship! This Christmas show was recorded live during Advent and aired on their local PBS station. Watch it for the next few days, free. Merry Christmastime." — Borger on Facebook
— Musikos, refWrite Backpage music newspotter, analyst, columnist
YouTube (Dec31,2k12)
Sports: National Football League: Standings and yesterday's Sunday games
Huffington Post (Dec31,2k12)
NFL Playoffs 2013: Broncos Get Top Seed In AFC; Vikings, Redskins Clinch NFC Playoff Spots
By BARRY WILNER 12/30/12 11:52 PM ET EST 
RG3 and the Washington Redskins are heading to the playoffs as NFC East champions.
By winning their seventh straight game, the Redskins rolled to their first division title in 13 years with a 28-18 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. Next up for Robert Griffin III & Co.: a home playoff matchup next Sunday with the Seahawks – the third straight postseason game for Washington against Seattle.
"It's just a mindset change," the rookie quarterback said. "When you have all these guys coming to work every day, putting it on the line, we knew we couldn't afford to lose one game, we made sure we didn't"
Thanks to Houston's late-season slump, Denver and New England will have byes when the AFC playoffs begin next week.
The Texans fell from first to third in the conference Sunday when they lost 28-16 at Indianapolis, which welcomed back coach Chuck Pagano after nearly three months of treatments for leukemia.
AFC West champion Denver won its 11th straight game, 38-3 over Kansas City to secure the top seed. New England blanked Miami 28-0 for the second spot.
Minnesota edged Green Bay 37-34 to grab the final NFC wild card, sinking the Packers to the third seed. Those teams will meet again next Saturday night at Lambeau Field.
The other NFC matchup will have Seattle (11-5), which beat St. Louis 20-13, at Washington on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Cincinnati (10-6) will be at Houston on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET, and Indianapolis (11-5) goes to at Baltimore (10-6) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the AFC wild-card rounds.
The divisional round games will be hosted by Denver on Saturday, Jan. 12, followed by San Francisco (11-4-1) at night. On Sunday, Jan. 13, Atlanta (13-3) will host the early game, followed by New England (12-4).
Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns as Denver (13-3) routed the Chiefs. New England got the second seed despite having the same record as Houston because it beat the Texans, who lost three of their final four games.
Adrian Peterson had 199 yards against the Packers, finishing with 2,097 – Dickerson's single-season rushing mark in 2,105. But it was rookie kicker Blair Walsh who won it with a 29-yard field goal as time expired.
"Ultimately we got the `W,'" Peterson said. "I told myself to come into this game focused on one thing, and that's winning."
Green Bay would have been seeded second in the NFC by beating Minnesota.
"The road got a little tougher having to play on opening weekend, but we've got a home game and that's why you win the division," Aaron Rodgers said. "We get to go back home, and the game will be different. They won't have home-crowd advantage, and hopefully that will make a difference."
Baltimore Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed is looking forward to a reunion with Pagano. He wishes it would come a little later in the postseason.
"Chuck's like a dad to me," Reed said "He means a lot to me. I would have much rather seen them in the AFC championship game than the first game."
But Reed will see him next week at Baltimore.
The Ravens had a chance to move up to the AFC's third seed with a win and a New England loss. But Baltimore lost at Cincinnati as both teams played backups for much of the game.
Pagano coached the Ravens' secondary for three seasons and was promoted to coordinator last year. Players and coaches in Baltimore have kept in touch, offering encouragement as he fought through the cancer treatments.
"Going back to Baltimore, obviously there's some familiarity there," Pagano said. "We had four great years there as a family. It's a top-notch organization, you know, really good football club. It's a great challenge and they have a great team and they have great players all over the place."
The Colts were 2-14 last season and chose quarterback Andrew Luck with the top selection in the draft. Luck and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, who stepped in as interim coach with Pagano sidelined, led the turnaround.
Next week, Pagano goes up against former boss John Harbaugh.
"I love his family, and he's one of my closest personal friends in coaching," Harbaugh said. "What he's been through is phenomenal, but we're all competitors so that gets set aside."
Houston beat Cincinnati in the opening round of last year's playoffs.
"I think it will be good," said Bengals QB Andy Dalton, who grew up in suburban Houston. "We played there last year and know the atmosphere and what it's going to be like. The experience last year will definitely help us."
The defending Super Bowl champion Giants are out of contention. When Chicago beat Detroit 26-24, the Giants (9-7) were eliminated, even though they routed Philadelphia 42-7.
"It hurts," said Eli Manning. "Each year you want to make the playoffs to give yourself an opportunity to win a championship; 9-7 last year was good enough. It wasn't good enough this year and we knew it wouldn't be."
Minnesota's win eliminated Chicago.
Sports: Basketball pro: Los Angeles Clippers win 17th straight games 107 vs Utah Jazz 96
Have I ever heard of a team winning 17 games in a row without a single loss? Don't think so. But LA's Clippers seem to have done it, and in this game (with one more to go in the series against this opponent) they've outdone Utah's Jazz by 11 points — which isn't a dumbfounding lead in basketball. So it was no runaway victory from the outset. The Clippers had to fite for their points, and they did.
— Sportikos, refWrite Backpage sports newspotter, analyst, columnist
Clippers 107 vs Jazz 96 — that's 17 wins in a row for Los Angeles
Los Angeles improved to 11-3 at home. ... The Jazz fell to 6-13 on the road. ... Clippers F Ronny Turiaf says his right elbow is "messed up." He said he hurt it a couple games ago when he felt discomfort while boxing out. ... Odom's ankle is bothering him. ... The Clippers haven't lost since Nov. 26 at home against New Orleans.
— Sportikos, refWrite Backpage sports newspotter, analyst, columnist
Clippers 107 vs Jazz 96 — that's 17 wins in a row for Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES -- After their 17th consecutive victory gave them a perfect month, the Los Angeles Clippers finally paused to admire their achievement.
"We got something extremely magical going on," said Caron Butler after the Clippers beat theUtah Jazz 107-96 on Sunday night to become the third team in NBA history to record a perfect month.
"When we win we usually jump up and down once or twice," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Tonight we let them jump and down three or four times, so everyone had their fill."
The Clippers went 16-0 in December to join the 1995-96 San Antonio Spurs, which included Del Negro, and 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers as the only teams to go undefeated in a month. Their franchise-record winning streak is the longest since Boston won 19 in a row four years ago.
"I am amazed because I haven't done it since I've been in the league," said seven-year veteran Chris Paul, whose 19 points and nine assists helped his team maintain the league's best record at 25-6.
Butler led the Clippers with 29 points despite not playing in the fourth quarter and made all six of his 3-pointers, including five in the opening period.Jamal Crawford scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. Blake Griffin piled up five fouls and was held to seven points after getting double-teamed.
"That shows our depth," Paul said. "Our bench stepped up amazing. On any given night it can be another guy."
The streak isn't talked about among the players and coaches. But it's a popular topic among everyone else.
"That's an incredible record to have," Utah's Derrick Favors said. "They've got 17 straight wins and they're playing hard. I know there's a lot of pressure on them to try to keep it up, and they're going to keep coming out and keep playing the same way."
Actually, it's just the opposite, according to Griffin, who said the last month "is the most fun I've ever had playing basketball."
"You don't really think about it that much. We're having a blast," he said about the streak. "It's not like it's one of these things where it's so much pressure."
Al Jefferson scored 30 points -- one off his season high -- to lead Utah, which fell victim for the third time during the Clippers' streak. The Jazz lost 116-114 on Friday when the Clippers rallied from 19 points down, and they were beaten 105-104 on Dec. 3, both times at home.
"It's frustrating," said Gordon Hayward, who had 16 points. "Knowing that they're a good team and knowing that we're always right there with them, knowing that we need to keep on playing good for 48 minutes."
The Jazz lost their third in a row and seventh in the past nine games.
"We can't make any mistakes against them, especially on their home floor because they make you pay for it," Jefferson said.
Crawford keyed a 10-5 run to open the fourth, highlighted by a 3-pointer and a fast break pull-up jumper that helped the Clippers extend their lead to 89-81. Paul and Griffin didn't join the second unit until 5:55 remained and Utah had closed within four on a basket by Favors.
That was as close as the Jazz got. The Clippers made 9 of 10 free throws down the stretch and their defense held Utah to one field goal in the final 3:38.
"It was a grind-it-out game, nothing pretty about it," Crawford said. "We got us a nice thing going and we got to keep it going."
Los Angeles stretched its lead to 71-59 in the third quarter, when Butler scored 10 of their first 17 points.
From there, the Jazz closed on a 17-8 run to pull to 79-76 going into the fourth. Utah briefly took its first lead since early in the game when Jefferson scored over Lamar Odom, but the Jazz committed two costly turnovers in the final 49 seconds.
Paul got fouled and made both free throws, and then Matt Barnes stole the ball from Jamaal Tinsley and fed Paul on the break. He missed but Crawford was there to tip it in and restore the Clippers' lead.
"We haven't been playing our best basketball the last few games," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. "We're playing hard, but we've got to be a little smarter and not make the kind of mistakes we made down the stretch."
The Clippers shot 62 percent en route to a 54-45 halftime lead, with Butler scoring 17 points in the first quarter. Utah led briefly to start the game when Jefferson scored eight of their first 13 points.
Game notes
Los Angeles improved to 11-3 at home. ... The Jazz fell to 6-13 on the road. ... Clippers F Ronny Turiaf says his right elbow is "messed up." He said he hurt it a couple games ago when he felt discomfort while boxing out. ... Odom's ankle is bothering him. ... The Clippers haven't lost since Nov. 26 at home against New Orleans.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Sports: England: Premier League has busy weekend where "goals rained down"
Am I getting this right? Gareth MacAuley shinned the ball into his own goal ... Mark Bunn "inadvertantly deflected .. a shot into his own net" ... a Carlos Cuellar own goal drew Spurs level ... to the opposing team, was that too an inadvertancy? What does "own goal" quite mean, lads?
— Sportikos, refWrite Backpage sports newspotter, analyst, columnist
Have a good look at a preview that can serve as a backgrounder to Sunday's action here
.
Hurriyet, Istanbul (Dec30,2k12)
Goals rained down on the Premier League on Saturday, with Arsenal beating Newcastle United 7-3 and champions Manchester City edging Norwich City 4-3 to keep pace with leaders Manchester United.
Manchester City's win prevented Manchester United from extending their seven-point lead at the summit, after they overcame West Bromwich Albion 2-0 to take their MU tally for the season to 50 goals.
United manager Alex Ferguson was the focus of pre-match attention at Old Trafford for an outspoken attack on Newcastle United coach Alan Pardew, but his side got down to business quickly and went ahead inside nine minutes.
The scorer wore a blue and white shirt, however, with West Brom defender Gareth McAuley inadvertently shinning the ball into his own goal after Ashley Young drove a low cross across the face of goal.
The hosts were not able to breathe easily until substitute Robin van Persie curled a glorious shot into the top-left corner in the last minute, before unveiling a T-shirt that paid tribute to a personal friend who recently died.
"We're in a good position," Ferguson told the BBC.
"We're halfway there. We've a game on Tuesday away from home at Wigan and we've got a few players to freshen it up. We'll look forward to the next game and try and win it." City lost Samir Nasri to a first-half red card at Norwich but edged an open-ended encounter thanks in no small part to Edin Dzeko, who scored twice and might have had a hat-trick.
The Bosnian, who has had to become accustomed to a role on the substitutes' bench this season, struck twice inside the opening four minutes to put City in control at Carrow Road.
But Norwich hit back through a deflected Anthony Pilkington free-kick, and the visitors were then dealt a blow when Nasri was sent off for aiming a head-butt at Sebastien Bassong.
Sergio Aguero's deft, lobbed finish made it 3-1, but City were indebted to an own goal by Norwich goalkeeper Mark Bunn, who inadvertently deflected Dzeko's shot into his own net, after Russell Martin had twice hit back for the hosts.
"I don't know why (Nasri was sent off) as the linesman was there and I don't know what he saw," said City manager Roberto Mancini, whose side lost 1-0 at Sunderland on Wednesday.
"We saw the video -- both players touch heads. With 10 men it was difficult. The guys played very well." A day bursting with goals -- 35 in total -- concluded in an extraordinary game at the Emirates Stadium in which Theo Walcott claimed a hat-trick as Arsenal overcame Newcastle 7-3 to climb to fifth.
Arsenal took the lead three times, through Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski, only for Newcastle to hit back each time through Demba Ba, Sylvain Marveaux and Ba again.
Arsene Wenger's men finally killed the game off in the latter stages, with Walcott completing his treble and substitute Olivier Giroud claiming a quick-fire brace.
"I've been saying for the past few weeks that I want to play up front and I am showing the manager what I can do," said Walcott.
Wenger paid tribute to Walcott.
"He has done very well, it typifies what I think he can do. He can play through the middle, he will only get stronger," said the Arsenal manager.
Tottenham had earlier overturned a half-time deficit to win 2-1 at Sunderland and provisionally move into third place.
John O'Shea scored against the run of play to put the hosts ahead at a rain-sodden Stadium of Light, but a Carlos Cuellar own goal drew Spurs level before Aaron Lennon completed the comeback with a composed 51st-minute strike.
Andre Villas-Boas' side have taken 19 points from a possible 24 and are now a point above third-place Chelsea, who have two games in hand and visit Everton on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa's recent miseries continued as they sank 3-0 at home to Wigan Athletic.
Goals from Ivan Ramis, Emmerson Boyce and Arouna Kone put paid to Paul Lambert's young team, who have now shipped 15 goals in three games after losing 8-0 to Chelsea and 4-0 to Tottenham Hotspur.
Villa would have slipped into the relegation zone had third-bottom Southampton not been denied victory in a 3-3 draw at Stoke City by a sensational 25-yard strike from Cameron Jerome.
Southampton had led 3-1, and played against 10 men following the 71st-minute dismissal of Steven N'Zonzi, but second-bottom Reading did a better job of defending a lead in a 1-0 home win over West Ham United.
Fulham's dismal form continued, meanwhile, as they lost 2-1 at home to Swansea City.
— Sportikos, refWrite Backpage sports newspotter, analyst, columnist
Have a good look at a preview that can serve as a backgrounder to Sunday's action here
.
Hurriyet, Istanbul (Dec30,2k12)
Goals galore for City, Arsenal as United win again
Arsenal's Olivier Giroud (L) heads and scores his first goal past Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul (R) during their English Premier League soccer match at The Emirates stadium in London December 29, 2012. REUTERS photo
Manchester City's win prevented Manchester United from extending their seven-point lead at the summit, after they overcame West Bromwich Albion 2-0 to take their MU tally for the season to 50 goals.
United manager Alex Ferguson was the focus of pre-match attention at Old Trafford for an outspoken attack on Newcastle United coach Alan Pardew, but his side got down to business quickly and went ahead inside nine minutes.
The scorer wore a blue and white shirt, however, with West Brom defender Gareth McAuley inadvertently shinning the ball into his own goal after Ashley Young drove a low cross across the face of goal.
The hosts were not able to breathe easily until substitute Robin van Persie curled a glorious shot into the top-left corner in the last minute, before unveiling a T-shirt that paid tribute to a personal friend who recently died.
"We're in a good position," Ferguson told the BBC.
"We're halfway there. We've a game on Tuesday away from home at Wigan and we've got a few players to freshen it up. We'll look forward to the next game and try and win it." City lost Samir Nasri to a first-half red card at Norwich but edged an open-ended encounter thanks in no small part to Edin Dzeko, who scored twice and might have had a hat-trick.
The Bosnian, who has had to become accustomed to a role on the substitutes' bench this season, struck twice inside the opening four minutes to put City in control at Carrow Road.
But Norwich hit back through a deflected Anthony Pilkington free-kick, and the visitors were then dealt a blow when Nasri was sent off for aiming a head-butt at Sebastien Bassong.
Sergio Aguero's deft, lobbed finish made it 3-1, but City were indebted to an own goal by Norwich goalkeeper Mark Bunn, who inadvertently deflected Dzeko's shot into his own net, after Russell Martin had twice hit back for the hosts.
"I don't know why (Nasri was sent off) as the linesman was there and I don't know what he saw," said City manager Roberto Mancini, whose side lost 1-0 at Sunderland on Wednesday.
"We saw the video -- both players touch heads. With 10 men it was difficult. The guys played very well." A day bursting with goals -- 35 in total -- concluded in an extraordinary game at the Emirates Stadium in which Theo Walcott claimed a hat-trick as Arsenal overcame Newcastle 7-3 to climb to fifth.
Arsenal took the lead three times, through Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski, only for Newcastle to hit back each time through Demba Ba, Sylvain Marveaux and Ba again.
Arsene Wenger's men finally killed the game off in the latter stages, with Walcott completing his treble and substitute Olivier Giroud claiming a quick-fire brace.
"I've been saying for the past few weeks that I want to play up front and I am showing the manager what I can do," said Walcott.
Wenger paid tribute to Walcott.
"He has done very well, it typifies what I think he can do. He can play through the middle, he will only get stronger," said the Arsenal manager.
Tottenham had earlier overturned a half-time deficit to win 2-1 at Sunderland and provisionally move into third place.
John O'Shea scored against the run of play to put the hosts ahead at a rain-sodden Stadium of Light, but a Carlos Cuellar own goal drew Spurs level before Aaron Lennon completed the comeback with a composed 51st-minute strike.
Andre Villas-Boas' side have taken 19 points from a possible 24 and are now a point above third-place Chelsea, who have two games in hand and visit Everton on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa's recent miseries continued as they sank 3-0 at home to Wigan Athletic.
Goals from Ivan Ramis, Emmerson Boyce and Arouna Kone put paid to Paul Lambert's young team, who have now shipped 15 goals in three games after losing 8-0 to Chelsea and 4-0 to Tottenham Hotspur.
Villa would have slipped into the relegation zone had third-bottom Southampton not been denied victory in a 3-3 draw at Stoke City by a sensational 25-yard strike from Cameron Jerome.
Southampton had led 3-1, and played against 10 men following the 71st-minute dismissal of Steven N'Zonzi, but second-bottom Reading did a better job of defending a lead in a 1-0 home win over West Ham United.
Fulham's dismal form continued, meanwhile, as they lost 2-1 at home to Swansea City.
December/30/2012