NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Giants are returning from their Super Bowl win to a celebration the likes that only New York can throw: a ticker-tape parade in the Canyon of Heroes on Broadway, where the city has honored stars for almost a century.

Members of the Giants will be showered with a mile of confetti as they travel up Broadway from Battery Place. Then, in a ceremony at City Hall Plaza, the team will be presented with symbolic keys to the city.

Thousands of fans poured out of the subways and headed to the streets, dressed in head-to-toe Giants jerseys, hats and sweats. Some waited since 6 a.m. to catch a glimpse of their favorite players. About half of a Long Island high school class skipped school to see “a whole nation coming together in one place – this parade,” said Mike King, 16, of Wantagh, N.Y.

King and seven school friends got up at dawn, arriving by subway in lower Manhattan to join the crowds packed behind police barricades lining Broadway. He attributed the win to the stellar performance of quarterback Eli Manning and the hold-your-breath catch by Mario Manningham that led to the game-winning drive.

“It was one small step for the Giants, and one giant leap for the fans and the nation,” King said.

Frank Capogrosso, 11, from Staten Island, with friends, standing at this beginning of parade route, leaning against the barricade with a grin on his face.

“This is better than TV. I love the cop cars, the toilet paper, and the ecstatic fans.” He added: I’m ecstatic. I love the Giants, I love their style: They play, they don’t talk.”

The parade for the Super Bowl champions will have an estimated economic impact of up to $38 million for the city, depending on the number of spectators, Bloomberg said. As many as 1 million are expected – about a third of them from outside New York.

After the parade, the team will travel to New Jersey for a 3 p.m. rally at MetLife Stadium.

This will be the second Super Bowl championship parade for the Giants in four years. They also beat the Patriots in the NFL title game in 2008.

But it’s hard to imagine a victory more exciting than the Giants’ last-minute, 21-17 victory over the Patriots. The hero of this year’s parade undoubtedly will be Super Bowl MVP Manning. Manning and Manningham connected on the clutch play, as the receiver made the over-the-shoulder catch along the sideline.

Even before the parade started, city Sanitation crews with hand-held vacuums were ready to suck up the piles of confetti that would rain on Broadway.

New York City Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said he expected to see about 40 tons of paper showered down. That’s a lot but not one for the record books. The city threw 5,438 tons of ticker tape on returning veterans at the end of World War II in 1945.

The second-highest amount of paper was thrown to honor astronaut John Glenn in 1962 – 3,474 tons. The actual ticker tape from those days has been replaced by recycled paper that’s shredded into confetti.

Sanitation spokeswoman Kathy Dawkins says the department picked up 34.2 tons of paper after the Giants’ last parade in 2008.

The streets Tuesday were a mass of metal police barricades, and security was tight with helicopters flying overhead and police command centers parked nearby.

The parade ends at City Hall. On Monday, 250 fans nabbed pairs of tickets to the festivities at City Hall. About 50,000 people entered sweepstakes for a place at the ceremony. Three large screens around City Hall will allow members of the public to watch the ceremony. Streets will be closed between Broadway and Church Street from Canal to Pearl streets, as will Brooklyn Bridge access to and from Park Row.

New York has feted its public heroes since 1919, with the first parade for World War I General John Pershing and his victorious troops.

They were followed by more than 200 parades honoring everyone from aviator Charles Lindbergh to scientist Albert Einstein, Pope John Paul, South African leader Nelson Mandela and pianist Van Cliburn. Their names are chiseled into the Broadway sidewalks.

New York to fete Giants with parade up Broadway is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

NEW YORK (AP) — For the third consecutive year, the Super Bowl set a record as the most-watched television show in U.S. history.

The Nielsen Co. said Monday that an estimated 111.3 million people watched the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots on Sunday night. That narrowly beat the 111 million who watched Green Bay’s win over Pittsburgh last year.

NBC was blessed by a competitive game between two teams that played in one of the Super Bowl’s most memorable contests four years ago, with one of them representing the largest media market in the country.

The game wasn’t over until Tom Brady’s last-second heave into the end zone dropped onto the turf. That play itself had the biggest audience of any play in the game, according to the digital video recorder maker Tivo. Nielsen said 117.7 million people were watching during the last half hour of the game.

The last two Super Bowls, along with the 2010 game between New Orleans and Indianapolis and the finale of “M-A-S-H” in 1983, are the only programs to exceed 100 million viewers in U.S. television history.

Madonna has some bragging rights, too. Her halftime show was seen by an estimated 114 million people – a higher average than the game itself – and was the most-watched Super Bowl halftime entertainment show on record, Nielsen said.

“I was rooting for Madonna as much as I was for the Giants,” said Tara Maitra, senior vice president of Tivo, which also monitored viewership trends during the game.

The good news continued after the game for NBC, when the heavily-promoted season premiere of “The Voice” kept 37.6 million people in front of the television.

Its fans were disappointed, but Boston had its highest rating ever for an NFL game on Sunday. It was the second highest-rating ever in the New York market, behind only the Giants’ first Super Bowl in 1986, Nielsen said.

Super Bowl draws record 111.3M viewers on NBC is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The New England Patriots’ three star receivers couldn’t make the big plays when they needed them. Neither could their superstar quarterback.

There was plenty of blame to go around in the Patriots’ second Super Bowl loss in four years, both to the New York Giants.

“We had opportunities to put this team away and we didn’t,” wide receiver Deion Branch said after Sunday night’s 21-17 loss. “All the plays were big.”

From the Patriots’ first offensive play – Brady’s deep pass from the end zone to nobody that resulted in a safety for intentional grounding – to their last – a desperation heave into the same end zone – they made mistakes and wasted opportunities.

None, however, loomed as large as Brady’s pass up the left side to a wide-open Welker at the Giants 20-yard line with the Patriots ahead 17-15 and just over four minutes left.

The throw wasn’t perfect. Welker had to twist his body to reach it. But he did get two hands on it as he was falling backward and blamed himself for failing in a critical situation.

“It’s one of those plays I’ve made 1,000 times,” he said. “It comes to the biggest moment of my life, and (I) don’t come up with it.”

On the next play, Brady threw behind Branch over the middle.

“Every play is important,” Branch said. “Had I made the catch that was behind me, that could have been a key third down (conversion) but we didn’t connect on it.”

So the Patriots punted and Eli Manning led the Giants on an 88-yard drive with Ahmad Bradshaw going in from 6 yards for a 21-17 lead with 57 seconds left. The defense let him score so Brady could get the ball back with enough time for a long shot comeback. He did get the ball to his 44-yard line with 5 seconds left.

Time enough for one pass into the end zone.

Hernandez and Gronkowski were there with three Giants. The ball was tipped and fell to the ground away from a lunging Gronkowski. The Giants celebrated as purple confetti fell. Brady removed his helmet and walked off the field.

“I felt like I was close,” Gronkowski said. “But close isn’t there.”

It was quite an ending for a team that had the second-ranked passing game in the NFL.

Welker led the league with 122 receptions, Gronkowski set a single-season record with 17 touchdown catches by a tight end and Hernandez had 79 catches while operating out of the tight end, wide receiver and running backs spots. And Brady threw for 5,235 yards, second most in NFL history.

But Gronkowski was hampered by a high left ankle sprain and had two catches for 26 yards, his second lowest totals of the season.

“He came out to our practice on Thursday and it’s hard to believe he could play the game with the way he was feeling,” Brady said. “He really toughed it out.”

Had the All-Pro been healthy, the Patriots certainly would have had a better chance.

But they still believed that Brady could lead them to a winning touchdown in the final minute.

“Any time that we get a chance to get our offense on the field, we think we have a chance to score,” said Danny Woodhead, whose 4-yard touchdown catch gave the Patriots a 10-9 lead just before halftime.

Hernandez caught a 12-yard scoring pass that made it 17-9. He also led the Patriots with eight receptions, including an 11-yarder that put the ball at their 44-yard line with 17 seconds left. But Brady’s next three passes on the game’s last three plays all fell incomplete.

“It always comes down to one or two plays in this game and if you make it, you’re celebrating,” Brady said. “If you don’t, then you don’t sleep for a week.”

Plenty of Patriots should be tossing and turning for a while.

They forced three fumbles, but the Giants recovered two of them and the third was nullified because they had 12 men on the field.

The missed chance that got the most attention was the drop by Welker on a catchable, if not accurately thrown, ball. Had he caught it, the Patriots would have had a chance to make it a two-possession game.

“There’s a lot of opportunities to miss out on,” he said. “We definitely had ours and didn’t take advantage. I’m right there at the top of the list.”

But Brady is confident that he and Welker will be a successful pairing again.

“He’s a hell of a player,” Brady said. “I’ll keep throwing the ball to him for as long as I possibly can. He’s a phenomenal player and teammate. I love that guy.”

Mistakes cost Pats in Giants’ 21-17 Super Bowl win is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tom Brady was one of the last ones out of the shower, perhaps hoping some extra hot water would help take the sting out of a crushing Super Bowl loss. In a nearly deserted New England Patriots locker room, he sat wearily pulling on his boots, the pained look on his face never changing.

A few moments earlier, Joe Montana had walked down the hallway just outside, but there would be no meeting of Super Bowl greats. Nor would Brady join Montana in another way, as a four-time NFL champion – something he seemed destined to be at one point in the fourth quarter.

This was not a night when legacies would be debated. That will have to wait for another time, another place, another Super Bowl. For the second time in the last five Super Bowls, Brady had come up oh-so-short, beaten late once again by the New York Giants and another quarterback starting to make a pretty good name for himself, too.

Brady wasn’t going to come out and say it, but he was blaming himself. Had to, because he had the ball in his hand to win the game with 57 seconds left and couldn’t deliver the long touchdown drive that Patriots fans and even his teammates thought would be forthcoming.

“It’s Tom Brady,” said Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington. “A lot of people were thinking whoever had the ball last was going to win.”

Not on this night.

The two-point safety on the Brady’s first play of the night turned out to be costly. Without it, the Patriots would have needed just a field goal to win, not a touchdown.

Then there was the catch Wes Welker always makes that he failed to make. It came on a Brady pass with 4 minutes left when it appeared the Patriots were ready to drive for a score that might have put the game away.

It’s a team game, Brady kept repeating afterward. It was the team, he kept saying, that came up short.

“We all wish we could have done a bit more,” he said. “That’s what it comes to in football. It always comes down to one or two plays. If you make them you’re celebrating. If you don’t, you don’t sleep for a week.”

Brady looked like he surely would be having some sleepless nights. The celebrity quarterback with the celebrity wife sat at a podium afterward, a few days growth of beard on his face and his hair nowhere near perfect. He tried to be philosophical, tried to say all the right things, but there was a certain hollowness to the words and he looked like he would like to be somewhere, anywhere, else.

“We fought to the end and I’m proud of that,” he said. “Then we got to the 50 or so and we just ran out of time.”

Not before trying one final desperation pass that was batted down in the end zone, just barely out of the reach of Rob Gronkowski. So close – again.

No one even brought up the 16 straight passes Brady completed, breaking the record of 13 straight set by Montana in the 1990 Super Bowl. It was a nice run in the second and third quarters, but nice runs don’t always win games and on this night it was a record Brady would probably just as soon forget.

The one he wanted was four Super Bowl wins by a quarterback, something that would have put him in the elite company of Montana and Terry Bradshaw. Not just for himself, but for a team he has now led to a remarkable five Super Bowl appearances in 11 years.

The safety call for intentional grounding on a pass from the end zone on the first play of the game got the Patriots off on the wrong foot, though Brady wasn’t going to second-guess the official on a ball thrown long over the middle. The Welker play late stung the most, though Brady wasn’t going to second-guess a receiver who usually makes it look so easy the pair often seem to just be playing catch on the field.

Still, it’s got to be the one running through his head as he tosses in bed through the sleepless nights ahead.

Had Welker caught the ball, thrown just a bit high and behind him, the Patriots would have been around the Giants 20 with a two-point lead and the game in hand. Had he caught it in stride, the game likely would have been over right there.

“It came down to one play at the end of the game,” Brady said. “If we make it we’re world champions.”

A few minutes earlier, Welker had been in the same room, staring straight ahead with reddened eyes. If Brady wasn’t blaming him he was blaming himself, saying that it “comes to the biggest moment of my life and (I) don’t come up with it.”

But his quarterback still had his back.

“Wes was running down the field and it looked like they messed the coverage up a little bit and I threw it to him,” Brady said. “(He) went up to try and make it, as he always does, and we just couldn’t connect. He’s a hell of a player. I’ll keep throwing the ball to him for as long as I possibly can.”

Four years ago in Phoenix, Brady lost his first Super Bowl in four tries in a game that was agonizingly similar to this one. Now he’s lost his last two and, instead of wondering how many he’ll win in his career, people will be wondering if he can win another one – and finally reach that Montana-Bradshaw plateau.

“I’d rather come to this game and lose than not get here,” Brady said. “I won’t stop trying to get here.”

And a few minutes later he walked out of the stadium with his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, the dour look still on his face.

Not to worry, though. Even after a loss as heartbreaking as this, the odds still are pretty good that Brady and the Patriots will be back.

Column: Brady will get another chance at legacy is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Back in August, back before the season began, Eli Manning was asked whether he considered himself an “elite” quarterback a la Tom Brady.

Manning replied simply that he belonged “in that class.” He was questioned and criticized for that, and – shocking, right? – it all became quite a big deal in New York.

Hard to imagine anyone arguing about his status now.

Perfect at the beginning, cool and calm on a closing drive to the go-ahead touchdown, Manning won his second NFL championship in a four-year span – and second Super Bowl MVP award, too – for steering the New York Giants to a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday night.

Right now, no one, not even his older sibling Peyton, is as good in the clutch right now.

Right now, no one, not even New England’s Tom Brady, is as adept at erasing deficits.

“We’ve had a bunch of them this year. We’ve had some fourth-quarter comebacks,” said Manning, 30 for 40 for 296 yards, with one touchdown pass and zero interceptions. “We’d been in those situations, and we knew that we had no more time left. We had to go down and score, and guys stepped up and made great plays.”

Led, as usual, by Manning himself.

He opened the game by becoming the first quarterback to complete his first nine attempts in a Super Bowl. And he finished the job by directing the nine-play, 88-yard TD drive that put New York ahead with 57 seconds left.

“That was quite a drive that he was able to put together,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “He deserves all the credit in the world, because he really has put his team on his shoulders all year.”

This late drive, so reminiscent of the way New York beat New England in the 2008 Super Bowl with Manning as MVP, started on the Giants’ 12, with a little more than 3 1/2 minutes left and the Patriots ahead 17-15. It closed with running back Ahmad Bradshaw easing into the end zone from 6 yards out. The Patriots decided not to contest the run, trying to save some time on the clock for a final drive – a risky and desperate decision by Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

But New England couldn’t get the ball back in the end zone, with Brady’s final heave from his 49 falling barely beyond the grasp of tight end Rob Gronkowski.

“We had this goal to finish, finish, finish,” Coughlin said, “and win the fourth quarter.”

That’s precisely when Manning takes over.

In the regular season, he threw an NFL-record 15 TD passes in the final period.

He also led six game-winning drives to bring New York back from fourth-quarter deficits.

“He’s become confident over time; kind of grew into it,” Manning’s father, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie, told The Associated Press after Sunday’s game. “I always felt like you have to experience those situations before you become confident. He’s certainly had his share.”

That’s true. Manning’s even done it before in the Super Bowl.

Four years ago, he took home his first MVP award after a scoring pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left allowed New York to upset Brady and New England, ruining the Patriots’ bid for a perfect season. Back then, Manning got a boost from David Tyree’s Velcro-helmet grab on the go-ahead drive. This time, the key play was Mario Manningham’s 38-yard, over-the-shoulder catch between two defenders along the sideline, which held up after the Patriots challenged it.

The Giants had trouble putting up points Sunday despite getting into New England’s territory on every drive except a kneeldown at the end of the first half.

But Manning kept at it, using eight receivers, led by Hakeem Nicks’ 10 catches for 109 yards.

“We just tried to be patient,” said Manningham, who finished with five receptions for 73 yards. “Got to be patient with this game. We knew big plays (were) going to come. We just had to take advantage of them.”

Manning now is one of only five players in NFL history with multiple Super Bowl MVP awards. He joined the guy he got the better of in the big game yet again, Brady, along with Terry Bradshaw, Bart Starr and Joe Montana (the only player with three). And Manning did it in the House that Peyton Built, the stadium where his Big Bro – a four-time regular-season MVP but owner of only one Super Bowl title – has starred for the Indianapolis Colts.

“It just feels good to win a Super Bowl. Doesn’t matter where you are,” said Manning, 10 for 14 for 118 yards in Sunday’s fourth quarter.

As he spoke, he clutched the silver Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Once again, he’d outdone Brady, who was 27 of 41 for 276 yards, with two TDs and one interception. In one stretch, Brady completed 16 consecutive passes, breaking Joe Montana’s Super Bowl record of 13.

All Brady could do after the game was praise Manning.

“He made some great throws there in the fourth quarter,” Brady said.

The biggest turnaround of all this season for Manning was the way he brought the Giants back from a 1-5 slump that left them 7-7 and in serious danger of missing the playoffs. But from there, he took them on a season-closing, six-game winning streak.

He finished the postseason with nine TDs and only one interception, solid as could be the whole way.

“I never doubt Eli,” Giants safety Kenny Phillips said. “I don’t think anyone on this team doubts Eli.”

No one – anywhere – possibly could doubt him now.

Eli’s elite, for sure, after 2nd Super Bowl MVP is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tom Brady let his final pass fly toward the scrum of players in the end zone, hoping for an incredible finish.

Uh-uh, Tom. Not in this city, and not in this game.

Indianapolis is a Manning town, whether it’s Peyton or Eli pulling out the wins. And the Super Bowl is suddenly the province of the New York Giants, who have figured out how to topple Brady and the New England Patriots in the biggest moments.

Eli Manning led another fourth-quarter touchdown drive and won his second Super Bowl MVP on Sunday night, leading the Giants to a 21-17 victory that provided a pulsating finish to an NFL season that started with turmoil and a lockout.

“It’s been a wild game,” said Manning, who now has one more Super Bowl title than his older brother. “It’s been a wild season,”

A wild finish was certainly fitting.

The Giants (13-7) almost didn’t make the playoffs, needing a lot of help at 7-7 with two games left. Their defense finally came together, and Manning gave them a chance in every game with his penchant for comebacks – a league-record 15 touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Of course, his greatest career comeback was in that Super Bowl four years ago, when the Patriots were undefeated and Manning led a late scoring drive that included an enduring Super Bowl moment – the incredible catch David Tyree made by trapping the ball against his helmet.

The Patriots (15-4) had a chance to avoid more such history on Sunday. Brady, trying to match boyhood hero Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw with four Super Bowl titles, had New England in range to put it away late in the fourth quarter.

Wes Welker dropped a pass at the 20-yard line with 4 minutes left, forcing a punt that gave the Giants another chance trailing 17-15.

“It comes to the biggest moment of my life, and (I) don’t come up with it,” said a red-eyed Welker. “It’s one of those plays I’ve made a thousand times.”

Manning’s turn for more Super Bowl magic.

He threw a spot-on 38-yard pass down the sideline to Mario Manningham, fitting the ball perfectly between two defensive backs barreling down on the receiver. Manningham got both feet down before getting smacked out of bounds in front of the Patriots’ bench, a catch that was upheld on replay and reminded the 68,658 fans at Lucas Oil Stadium – one in particular – about that other catch four years earlier.

“In those situations, you are always looking to see who is going to be the guy,” Tyree said, in the Giants locker room.

Once Manningham came down with it, the Giants sensed things had turned their way, just like four years earlier.

“I think they are both spectacular catches,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “I think with Mario’s earlier tonight, the way he kept his feet inbounds and held onto the ball (while) going out of bounds was a remarkable thing.”

The Patriots were thinking the same thing, too.

“I thought that play they made on our sideline was a phenomenal throw and catch,” Brady said. “That got them going.”

They got down to the 6-yard line with just over a minute left and the Patriots down to one timeout. New York could have run the clock down to a few seconds and kicked a field goal.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick did the math and decided on a trade-off: Give up a touchdown for some time. New England pulled up and allowed Ahmad Bradshaw to run the final 6 yards with 57 seconds left.

Once Bradshaw realized what was happening, he tried to stop at the 1-yard line to keep the clock going but ended up falling backward into the end zone.

Brady would get one last chance with the Giants defense bearing down on him, as it always does. Defensive end Justin Tuck huddled the New York defense after a touchback on the kickoff left the ball at the 20-yard line.

“I think a lot of guys had their eyes lit up,” Tuck said. “This is what we’ve been working for all year, and we’ve got 57 seconds left to be world champs.”

Brady set a Super Bowl record by completing 16 consecutive passes earlier in the game, topping Montana’s record. When he needed several quick completions to get moving in the last minute, he couldn’t do it.

The Patriots got only as far as midfield with 5 seconds left. Brady threw a desperation pass into the end zone, where the ball was batted around in a scrum before falling incomplete just beyond the reach of All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski, bringing the spray of confetti from above.

“You come down to one play at the end,” Brady said. “If we make it, we’re world champs. If we don’t, we’re wishing we were.”

Brady’s had a tough time against this Giants defense. During the regular season, it pressured him into mistakes during a 24-20 New York win in Foxborough, Mass. The Patriots went on to win their next 10, a streak that ended when Brady faced that same defense on Sunday.

It just seems to have his number. On his first pass of the game, Brady was pressured by Tuck in the end zone and threw the ball to an open spot downfield to get rid of it, resulting in a safety.

By contrast, Manning didn’t make any big mistakes and, again, was at his best under the last-minute pressure.

“He’s become confident over time, kind of grew into it,” said his father, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning. “I always felt like you have to experience those situations before you become confident. He’s certainly had his share.”

And nobody will question anything he says again.

Manning was criticized for insisting before the season that he’s an elite quarterback. Then, with the Giants struggling, he was overshadowed by a different Manning drama.

Peyton and the Colts were hoping to reach a Super Bowl in their stadium. Instead, the quarterback had neck operations and the team came apart, prompting ownership to clean house. The week leading up to the Super Bowl was overshadowed in town by talk about Peyton’s future.

Eli insisted he wasn’t bothered by sharing the spotlight. In the fourth quarter on Sunday, he had it all to himself.

Manning was 10 of 14 for 118 yards in the final quarter with his seventh game-winning drive of the season. Overall, he completed 30 of 40 for 296 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions, leading the Giants to their fourth Super Bowl championship – two behind Pittsburgh for the record.

In the end, a Manning got to hoist the silver Super Bowl trophy in Indianapolis.

“It just feels good to win a Super Bowl,” Eli said. “Doesn’t matter where you are.”

Giants top Pats for 2nd Super Bowl in 4 years is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

DALLAS (AP) — Rangers outfielder and recovering drug addict Josh Hamilton had a relapse this week when he drank alcohol at a bar, The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday night.

The newspaper, citing unidentified “individuals familiar with the episode,” reported Hamilton was drinking at a Dallas-area bar on Monday.

In a statement to the newspaper, the Rangers said they were “aware of a situation, but we don’t have further comment at this time.”

Hamilton, 30, was suspended for more than three years for drug and alcohol use while in the Tampa Bay organization. He missed the entire 2004 and 2005 seasons. He won the AL MVP in 2010.

This was Hamilton’s second known alcohol-related relapse in three years. In January, 2009, he drank to excess in a bar in Tempe, Ariz. Before that, Hamilton said he hadn’t taken a drink of alcohol since Oct. 6, 2005.

When the Rangers acquired the 28-year-old outfielder from the Cincinnati Reds on Dec. 21, 2007, they were aware of Hamilton’s off-the-field problems and came out with a “zero tolerance” policy regarding his drinking.

He is tested for drug use three times a week and has had an accountability partner to support him in his recovery – though that job is now vacant.

The Rangers announced last month that Hamilton’s father-in-law had been hired as a staff special assistant to be the accountability partner for the slugger. But Michael Dean Chadwick has since decided against accepting that position due to “family considerations.”

Hitting coach Johnny Narron filled that role before he left in November for Milwaukee. Narron joined the Rangers when Hamilton was acquired four years ago in a trade from Cincinnati. His primary role was to support the former No. 1 overall draft pick, who rebounded from his substance-abuse problems to become one of the top players in baseball.

Hamilton can become a free agent after this season, and has said he will not negotiate an extension after he reports to spring training.

He said he plans to leave for spring training on Feb. 17, a full week before the full-squad reporting date in Arizona.

Report: Rangers’ Hamilton has relapse with alcohol is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey and … Sam Gagner?

The Edmonton Oilers forward matched a franchise record held by two of the NHL’s all-time greats Thursday night when he had eight points in an 8-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Gagner, who entered with five goals all season, broke loose for four goals and four assists – the first eight-point game in the NHL since Pittsburgh star Mario Lemieux did it on Dec. 31, 1988, against New Jersey.

Gagner fell two points shy of tying the league mark, set by Toronto’s Darryl Sittler on Feb. 7, 1976.

“I didn’t think I would ever be mentioned in the same breath as Gretzky or Coffey,” said the 22-year-old Gagner, selected all three stars of the game. “You never expect to do something like this.

“It’s a great lesson to never set limits. The great players who played here never did that. It was just one of those games where everything went in and just a great feeling.”

Taylor Hall, Ryan Whitney, Jordan Eberle and Cam Barker had the other goals for the Oilers (20-26-5), who have gone 3-0-1 in their last four games to move into a tie for 28th in the NHL with Anaheim.

Hall, who set a career high of his own with four points in the game, only wanted to talk about Gagner’s night.

“I feel like a bit of a pigeon with four points tonight,” he said. “It was just a crazy night. Every time we got the puck in the offensive zone, especially in the third period, it ended up on Sam’s stick and he made a great play with it. I’m really happy I was able to be on the ice with him. It’s a really cool moment.”

It was the second time this season that the Blackhawks have given Edmonton fans plenty to cheer about. Chicago lost 9-2 to the Oilers at Rexall Place in November.

“It was really fun for our fans to see something like that tonight,” Oilers coach Tom Renney said. “Sam was having the time of his life and so were his linemates and the entire team.

“It’s been one of those years where you are looking for things to hang your hats on and feel good about and it doesn’t get much better than this. It puts a smile on your face in a tough year.

“People will remember this game for a while.”

Patrick Sharp had a pair of goals while Jamal Mayers and Dave Bolland also scored for the Blackhawks (29-16-7), who have lost four straight.

“We really got away from our game plan and opened it up a little and they really made us pay,” Sharp said. “We need to be better in a lot of areas and we’re obviously not happy at all. We’ve gotten away from what makes us a good team.

“We got caught up in scoring goals and playing on the wrong side of the puck. It wasn’t good enough as a team. We need to play defense first and we’ll get our chances from there.”

Just 40 seconds into the second period, Chicago made it 2-0 when Patrick Kane fed the puck to Sharp, who found a clear lane to beat goalie Devan Dubnyk.

The Oilers responded less than 2 minutes later as Gagner earned his first point of the night. With a long pass, Gagner sprung Hall, who chipped in his 18th of the season past Chicago goalie Corey Crawford. Hall has scored in three straight games.

Gagner then tied it just more than 7 minutes later when he picked up his own rebound, circled behind the net and scored on a wraparound.

The Oilers took a 3-2 lead with 7 minutes remaining in the second as Whitney ripped a shot from the point while on the power play for his first of the season. Gagner earned the assist.

Chicago tied it 2 minutes later on a short-handed 2-on-1 as Dubnyk gave up a rebound to Sharp, who buried his second of the night.

Gagner made it 4-3 only 2 minutes into the third with his second goal of the night. Whitney’s shot sailed over the net but bounced in front for Gagner to put past Crawford.

The Oilers chased the Chicago goalie 2 minutes later when Barker fluttered a shot from the point that Crawford waved at as it went into the top corner. Gagner earned his third assist and Ray Emery replaced Crawford.

The Blackhawks got a goal back 6 minutes into the third as Bolland made a no-look backhand swat at a puck that squirted past Dubnyk.

Gagner completed the hat trick 30 seconds later to make it 6-4, as Hall spun around and found Gagner streaking down the ice for his sixth point of the game.

But he wasn’t done yet.

Eberle and Hall did terrific tic-tac-toe passing to get Gagner the puck, and he slapped his fourth goal of the game into a wide-open net as Emery slid to keep up with the play.

With their hats already thrown onto the ice earlier in the period, one fan resorted to throwing a shoe after the goal.

“I was hoping that would be the end of it because if he scored another one we might have seen other paraphernalia that we didn’t want to see,” Renney said with a laugh.

Gagner then added his eighth point of the game by making a prefect feed to Eberle, who scored his 20th of the season with 4 minutes left.

Dubnyk finished the game with 43 saves on 47 shots.

Crawford let in five goals on 28 shots. while Emery allowed three goals on 13 shots.

Gagner has NHL’s first 8-point game since 1988 is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

CAIRO (AP) — Police in Cairo fired salvos of tear gas and birdshot at protesters angry over a deadly soccer riot as fresh clashes on Egyptian streets killed three people on Friday, according to a volunteer doctor and health officials.

One man died just feet away from the Interior Ministry, which has become a target for demonstrators furious that the police failed to prevent a soccer riot that killed 74 people in the Mediterranean city of Port Said on Wednesday. It was the world’s worst soccer violence in 15 years.

Protesters angry over the deadly riot turned their rallies in Cairo and the city of Suez into a call for Egypt’s ruling military council to surrender power because of what they say is the army’s mismanagement of the country’s transition to democracy. More rallies were planned Friday.

A volunteer doctor said the man in Cairo died of wounds from birdshot fired at close range during clashes at dawn Friday. The doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals by the authorities, said his field hospital close to Cairo’s Tahrir Square was overwhelmed with the wounded overnight.

Earlier Friday, two protesters died by police gunfire in clashes with security forces in Suez, said health official Mohammed Lasheen. About 3,000 people had demonstrated in front of the city’s police headquarters and police fired tear gas and live ammunition, witnesses said. A third protester in Suez was in critical condition because of a wound to the neck. Suez city security chief denied the deaths there were from police gunfire.

In Cairo, rallies spiraled into violent clashes between the protesters and police late Thursday as demonstrators charged toward the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police. Thousands threw rocks, and police responded with tear gas and birdshot.

The clashes intensified overnight, with protesters pushing through the barricades erected around the fortress-like building and bringing down a wall of concrete blocks erected outside the ministry two months ago, after similar violence left more than 40 protesters dead.

The Interior Ministry urged the protesters in a statement “to listen to the sound of wisdom … at these critical moments” and prevent the spread of chaos.

Wednesday’s deaths of 74 people in a post-match stadium riot in Port Said fueled anger at Egypt’s ruling military generals and the already widely distrusted police force. The police were notorious as the key tool of oppression of the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in a popular uprising last February.

Many in the public and in the newly elected parliament blamed the new leadership for letting the soccer riot happen – whether due to a lack of control by the security forces, or as some allege, intentionally.

The soccer violence began after the Port Said club, Al-Masry, pulled out a surprise 3-1 victory over Cairo-based Al-Ahly, Egypt’s most powerful club. Al-Masry fans stormed the field, rushing past lines of police to attack Al-Ahly’s fans.

Survivors described a nightmarish scene in the Port Said stadium. Police stood by doing nothing, they said, as Al-Masry fans attacked Al-Ahly supporters, stabbing them and throwing them off bleachers. The parliament later accused the interior minister of “negligence.”

Youssef, an 18-year old Al-Ahly supporter who was being treated Friday by a field doctor in Cairo for birdshot splashed on his back and arms, said he had been throwing rocks at the police when he was injured.

“What can I do? I am here to get justice for my beloved brothers who died. I will either get it or I’d rather die like them,” he said, refusing to give his second name because he feared for his life.

Mohammed Gamal, a 32-year old unemployed protester who was outside the ministry overnight, said the police and the military have failed for a year to protect Egyptians or to realize any of the goals for the revolution that forced Mubarak out, including better jobs and social justice.

“They are of no use. They have done nothing in a year. Only people died,” he said.

3 die in Egypt clashes over deadly soccer riot is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Someday, Tim Tebow hopes to be playing in the Super Bowl rather than just visiting.

The Denver Broncos quarterback made the media rounds at the Super Bowl on Thursday, talking about everything from what he needs to work on before next season to his admiration for Eli Manning and Tom Brady to his video game rivalry with his brother.

“You play the game to be in a game like this,” Tebow said during a taping of “NBC Sports Talk Live from the Super Bowl,” which was to air later Thursday. “It’s definitely a dream to be in a game like this.”

Tebowmania swept the country after Tebow led the Broncos on five fourth-quarter comebacks and four overtime victories – each more improbable than the last. He spawned a new verb, “Tebowing” – the practice of kneeling on one knee, elbow perched on the other, fist to forehead – and everyone from skiing star Lindsey Vonn to high school kids was soon doing it. There was even a website devoted to the practice.

But a week after connecting with Demaryius Thomas on an 80-yard touchdown on the first play of overtime to beat heavily favored Pittsburgh in the wild-card round, Tebow and the Broncos were embarrassed by the New England Patriots.

“That Tom Brady is really good,” Tebow said when asked what he learned from the game. “And just to continue to work. … If we get better and continue to work, anything can happen.”

Tebow’s detractors have said he’d be better suited to play running back in the NFL than quarterback, with an unorthodox throwing motion. But Broncos boss John Elway has already declared Tebow the starter going into next season’s training camp, and the quarterback said he knows where he needs to improve.

“Definitely my footwork and drops,” he said. “Getting from receiver to receiver, my progressions. I continue to try and work on things and I was very blessed to have a good quarterback coach in Mike McCoy. But, ultimately, I’m just going out there and playing football.”

Asked whether he’d prefer to run or throw a pass if he had only one play to win a game, Tebow said he didn’t care.

“Probably the pass because I can get one more player involved in the game,” he said. “As long as we get a W, I don’t care how it happens.”

“Tebowmania” comes to Super Bowl is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV