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NASA senior managers wrapped up the two-day flight readiness review on Nov. 29 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At a press conference immediately following the review, William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations, announced Dec. 7 as the launch date for the STS-116 mission to the International Space Station. The launch window for the STS-116 mission extends through Dec. 17. The seven-member flight crew will arrive for launch at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility the afternoon of Dec. 3. Primary payloads on the 12-day mission are the P5 integrated truss segment, SPACEHAB single logistics module and an integrated cargo carrier. The STS-116 mission will be the 20th flight to the station.

The Patriots welcome the Detroit Lions to Foxborough this week for the final game in a three-game stretch against NFC North teams for New England. Detroit, making its first regular-season appearance in Foxborough since 1993, will make its first visit to Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots have a 19-4 record against first-time opponents. This week's game will be broadcast by Fox.

On Nov. 28 and 29, NASA managers will hold the traditional Flight Readiness Review at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The review is a two-day assessment of preparations for Discovery's mission and is designed to produce a number of key decisions about the assembly flight, including selection of an official launch date. If the decision is made to proceed for the opening of the launch window, the seven-member crew will arrive for launch at the Shuttle Landing Facility the afternoon of Dec. 3 for launch on Dec. 7.

Junior Seau was lured back to the NFL by Bill Belichick in August after a brief retirement of a little under a week. But the 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker didn't make it to December. The New England Patriots on Monday placed Seau on injured reserve, ending his season. Seau suffered a broken right arm after tackling running back Cedric Benson in the second quarter of the Patriots' 17-13 win over Chicago on Sunday. Seau's right arm was dangling and was clearly broken above the wrist. The Patriots' medical staff immediately put Seau's arm into an air cast, but Junior walked off under his own power to the cheers of New England fans.
This was Seau's 17th season and it represented a chance for him to win his first Super Bowl. That is what inspired Seau to sign a one-year deal with the Patriots on August 18, four days after he announced his retirement. The 37-year-old Seau paired with Bruschi in the middle of the team's 3-4 defense and recorded 70 tackles in 11 games. He recorded a season-high 15 tackles in a loss against the New York Jets on November 12. After Seau's injury, the Patriots moved Mike Vrabel from outside linebacker to inside next to Bruschi. Tully Banta-Cain took Vrabel's spot at outside linebacker. Seau played the first 13 years of his career with the San Diego Chargers and is the franchise's best defensive player. He spent the last three seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who released him last March to save $2.1 million under the salary cap. Last year, Seau played in just seven games before suffering an Achilles tendon injury. In 2004, Seau started eight games for Miami before suffering a torn pectoral muscle. Seau was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade Team for the 1990s and was named to the Pro Bowl 12 straight years from 1992-2003. Some have said that this is a career ending injury, but the word is that Seau said he would like to return for one more year. I wish him well on his recovery and hope it is a speedy one. I, for one, would love to see him back next year as a Patriot.

New England survived five turnovers, coming up with four of their own and came away with a 17-13 win over the Chicago Bears at Gillette Stadium. Asante Samuel was the defensive star of the game with three interceptions of Rex Grossman. As a whole, the Patriots defensive squad did not allow Chicago to really take advantage of their opportunities, holding them to only one touchdown despite the running of Thomas Jones (23 carries, 99 yards) and Cedric Benson (10 carries, 46 yards). On offense Ben Watson had 6 grabs for 89 yards and a touchdown while Tom Brady was 22 of 33 for 269 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions on tipped balls. The first quarter began less the defensive struggle many predicted and more a series of miscues by both teams. New England went three and out on the game's opening drive while Samuel picked off Grossman on the Chicago's first series. Although the turnover set the Patriots up first and 10 at the Bears 39, it was just the first of four that kept both teams off the scoreboard in the first quarter. The second one came during the series after Samuel's pick. New England had a third and 8 from the Bears 24 and Brady looked down the middle to Watson. The ball was on the mark and it looked like Watson was going to come down with the catch at the 1-yard line but Bears safety Todd Johnson made the hit just as Watson's feet hit the ground and the ball popped up into the air. Charles Tillman came down with it at the 5-yard line. Just like New England, the Bears looked like they might convert their turnover into points. While the Patriots defense was doing a good job against the run, Grossman was passing his way downfield using Desmond Clark for 9 and 13 yards and then Bernard Berrian (5 catches, 104 yards) for 21 yards to the New England 25. The Patriots held from there and kicker Robbie Gould set up for a 40-yard field goal. The kick was good but the Bears were flagged for a false start. That moved the ball back 5 yards and this time, Richard Seymour got a hand up and blocked the attempt to keep the game scoreless. New England took over at the 35-yard line and Brady went to work hitting Troy Brown for 13 on third and 5 from the 40. On the next play, Dillon broke free through the right side for a run of 26 yards. Another 10 yards were tacked on after Danieal Manning of the Bears hit him out of bounds. Now with a first and 10 at the Chicago 11, it looked like some sure points for New England. The turnovers continued, however, when Maroney took the ball up the middle on the next play and was met by Lance Briggs. Briggs not only made the stop, he stripped Maroney of the ball on his way down and recovered the fumble. The Bears threatened to score first once again after the Patriots second turnover. Grossman began the series with a 13-yard completion to Benson followed by a Benson run for 14 to the Bears 45. Two plays later, Grossman looked deep to Berrian and connected for a 47-yard gain. On the play, with Samuel in coverage, New England challenged that Berrian did not have possession but the play stood. Turnover number four happened three plays later when Grossman, on third down at the 5-yard line, fumbled the snap. Seymour made his second big play of the day by coming up with the recovery and New England escaped. This time New England was able to convert as play moved into the second quarter. A huge pass down the middle to Daniel Graham for 25 yards moved the chains to the New England 46. Graham made a beautiful diving catch to come down with the ball. Brady stayed hot two plays later with a 15-yard pick-up to Reche Caldwell who made a sliding catch along the left sideline. From there it was the Laurence Maroney show. He had runs of 6 and 8 yards, caught one for 12 to the Bears 1 and then plowed through the line for the touchdown on the next play. Chicago answered with a 46-yard field goal and a good mix of run and pass to get into scoring position. Benson had another good run, this one 16 yards, but once inside the Patriots 30, New England stiffened and got good pressure on Grossman on a third and 4 situation forcing an incomplete and the field goal with 4:04 left in the first half. Unfortunately, during that Bears series, Pats veteran linebacker Junior Seau sustained a right arm injury while tackling Chicago running back Cedric Benson only two plays after Maroney ran in the Pats first touchdown. Seau fell on his right arm, which landed on the back of Benson’s ankle. The arm flexed severely above the wrist, and Seau left with it in what looked like an inflatable splint, tears welling up in his eyes. His return was originally listed as “Questionable,” but was later downgraded to “Out.” It looked like a bad break. Lets just hope it's not career ending. Both teams traded punts and at the two-minute warning, New England had the ball back after Mike Wright got a hand on the punt by Brad Maynard and the ball only traveled 24 yards to the Patriots 39. Brady went to the air and hit Kevin Faulk on consecutive plays for gains of 3 and 8 yards. Maroney chipped in with a 9-yard catch and Faulk was good for 6 more yards. With 12 seconds left, Brady looked downfield on third and 10 from the 35. He connected with Watson but after review, it was determined the ball hit the ground. Earlier in the drive a Caldwell 9-yard catch was reviewed and also nullified. The end of the half came down to a 52-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski that he had two chances to make. On the first attempt which was wide right, Bears head coach Lovie Smith called timeout just before the snap. Given the second life, Gostkowski made good, just sneaking the ball over the crossbar for a 10-3 Patriots lead at the half. The turnovers continued into the second half, two of them coming on one play. On the Patriots second series of the third quarter, Brady completed what looked like a 23-yard pass to Watson around the Bears 20. From behind, Briggs punched the ball loose and into the air. Caldwell came down with it but he too was stripped by Manning with Manning making the recovery as well. A roughing call on Charles Tillman, who hit Watson after double-fumble play, gave the Bears first and 10 at their 7. Grossman hit Mushin Muhammed for 18 yards to get some breathing room and then proceeded to start handing off to Jones. Jones ran seven times to the New England 29 but from there, Grossman looked to Clark and Samuel read it perfectly for his second interception of the game.Three plays later it was yet another turnover. This one went off the fingertips of Troy Brown and got batted around until Tillman grabbed it giving his team first and 10 at the Chicago 47. Next, a huge and perhaps questionable pass interference call on Artrell Hawkins moved the Bears from their 49 to the Patriots 6. On the play, Hawkins was step for step with Berrian and looked to be making as much a play on the ball, if not more, than Berrian. That's not how the refs saw it and Chicago was first and goal at the Patriots 6. Four plays later, Benson took it in from 2 yards out to tie the game with 14:53 left to play.
Watson got his chance to make amends on the Patriots next drive and he didn't miss the opportunity. His 40-yard grab gave his team first and 10 at the Bears 26. Three plays later it was Brady of all people making Brian Urlacher look silly has he ran by him en route to an 11-yard gain. The drive ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Watson to give New England back its lead at 17-10. New England was in excellent shape to force the Bears to give the ball back when Grossman dropped back on third and 7 from his 48 and threw up a prayer under pressure. The ball dropped well short of where Ellis Hobbs and Berrian were downfield. But flags flew and Hobbs was called for pass interference at the 18. Unlike the Hawkins call, there was no question on this one as Hobbs ran into Berrian, blocking him from the ball had it been on target. New England's D held tough, stopping the Bears in their tracks and forcing another field goal, a 32-yarder to make the score 17-13 with 3:31 left. An extended drive would end the game but at the same time, New England had to take care of the ball. That didn't stop Brady from opening up with a 22 yard completion to Caldwell up to the Patriots 48. On third and 9 from midfield, it was Caldwell again as Brady got rid of the ball in the face of a Bears blitz for 20 yards. Heath Evans and Dillon runs brought about the two minute warning and a third and 5 from the Bears 25. When play resumed the call was to Dillon and exactly what the Patriots needed to prevent, happened. Dillon coughed it up and the Bears recovered at the 22-yard line. With 1:48 left but no timeouts, the Bears needed to make up some quick ground. Grossman immediately looked deep to Rashied Davis but Samuel was in perfect position for his third interception of the game to end the contest. The Pats walked away with their first home win this season.

The Patriots welcome the NFC's top team to Foxborough this weekend as the 9-1 Chicago Bears come to town. The game will feature the NFL's top two defenses - the Bears lead the league, allowing just 12.0 points per game, and the Patriots rank second, allowing 13.1 points per game. Both defenses will be put to a strong test, with the Patriots coming off of a 35-point output in Green Bay and Chicago averaging 28.2 points per game, a mark that ranks second in the NFL. This week's game will be broadcast by Fox. This is a big game for the Pats. They need to win this and I think they will. My pick, Pats 24 Bears 16

Gillette Stadium unveiled its brand new FieldTurf playing surface to the media today.

The Patriots had never beaten the Packers in Lambeau Field. Then again, the Packers had never been shut out twice in a season on their historic home turf. The scene at that hallowed stadium on Sunday was of total Patriots domination. The defense preserved a perfect, scoreless game and the offense was clicking on all cylinders. The final score was 35-0. The Patriots defense made Brett Favre look like a quarterback in the twilight of his career and then put an early end to his day, knocking him from the contest after a second quarter sack. Ty Warren returned to action and had a solid game with a sack and a half and the unit as a whole played almost flawlessly despite missing Eugene Wilson, Asante Samuel and Rodney Harrison from its backfield. Laurence Maroney had a very workmanlike day with 82 yards on 19 carries and another 34 yards on catches with a 19-yard touchdown. Better yet, it was a good stats day for Tom Brady, something he needed after his four interceptions last week. By the time he gave way to Matt Cassel in the fourth quarter he was 20 of 31 for 244 yards and 4 touchdowns without a pick. Leading all Patriots receivers was Ben Watson with 5 catches, 74 yards and a touchdown. It turned out to be a seemingly easy win as the Patriots moved to 7-3 on the season. After forcing Green Bay to a three and out on the first series of the game, New England went right down the field and hit paydirt on its first try. Brady connected with Ben Watson streaking over the middle after play-actioning to Maroney. Watson's catch was good for 36 yards down to the Packers 11. After a 4-yard Dillon run, Troy Brown caught a little pass for 5 yards to set up a fourth and 1 situation from the 2-yard line. New England went for it and Brady found Daniel Graham dragging across the end zone for the score. Green Bay attempted to get three points back when Brady and Corey Dillon, still in the first quarter, botched a handoff and the Packers recovered at the Patriots 30. The Patriots defense only allowed 3 yards in three plays and Dave Rayner of the Packers missed wide right on his field goal attempt allowing the Patriots to maintain their touchdown lead into the second quarter.
With 10:54 left in the first half, New England extended the lead on a 12-play drive ending in a 1-yard Dillon touchdown. Brady chipped his way downfield with short passes and Maroney runs until he went over the top to Graham on first and 10 from the Packers 23. Brady Poppinga of Green Bay was flagged for pass interference on the play and the Patriots had first and goal from the 1. Brady looked to Mike Vrabel, in at tight end, on the first play and Vrabel just missed coming up with the touchdown after he hauled down the pass with one foot in bounds but the other coming down just after his elbow touched out of bounds. Dillon took it in on the next play for the 14-0 score. Meanwhile, the Packers offense was listless. Ahman Green was getting nowhere on the ground and even when he had receivers open, as he did a few times on third down, Favre was missing badly. The one-sided affair grew even more so when Brady hit Reche Caldwell for 54 yards on first and 10 from the New England 46 just before the first half's two minute warning. Caldwell was wide open behind everyone and Brady was perfect with his throw to put his team up 21-0. Before the half was completely over, a Tully Banta-Cain and Tedy Bruschi sack of Favre forced him to the sideline holding his right elbow. His numbers were indicative of the day for Green Bay: 5 of 15 for 73 yards. He was replaced by Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers stayed at quarterback as the second half opened but did not provide the type of spark for his team that many of the back-up QBs around the league have this season. Adding insult to injury, the Patriots tacked on another seven as the third quarter neared an end. Chad Jackson started things off with a 21-yard catch to the Packers 39. Maroney ran for 2 and then Watson caught his third ball of the day for 13. A Maroney run for 11 two plays later set up a first and goal at the Packers 8. Brady dropped back and looked left. He fired a bullet that an outstretched Watson snared, keeping both feet in bounds for the score along the left side of the end zone. It was a great pass and an even better catch. More importantly, it made the score 28-0. Later, Kevin Faulk had a 36-yard punt return to the Packers 23 to set up the Patriots fifth touchdown on the day. Then, on third down from the 19, Brady hit Maroney on a little swing pass and Maroney made a nice move to elude Nick Barnett on his way to the end zone untouched. After Cassel came in during the fourth quarter, it was newly-acquired Vinny Testaverde taking the final knees of the game. :)

The Patriots begin a stretch of three straight games against teams from the NFC North division when they travel to Green Bay to play the Packers on Sunday afternoon. New England will look to snap its first losing streak since 2002 against a Green Bay team that has won three of its last four games. This week's game will be broadcast by CBS at 1:00. I think the Pats will rebound this week and have a great running game as well. My Pick Pats 24 Packers 17.

The seven-member Space Shuttle Discovery crew is at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to participate in the terminal countdown demonstration test. On Wednesday the astronauts took part in several morning briefings, then spent the afternoon at Launch Pad 39B for emergency egress training and a visit to Discovery's payload bay. A standard part of prelaunch training, the test allows the astronauts to try on their launch and entry suits, learn emergency procedures at the launch pad, and a variety of familiarization activities and briefings. The highlight of the training schedule is a simulated countdown, set for Thursday morning. Space Shuttle Discovery is in launch position at Launch Pad 39B, and the mission's primary payloads, the P5 integrated truss segment and the SPACEHAB module, have been installed inside the orbiter's payload bay. The launch window opens Dec. 7 for the STS-116 mission to the International Space Station.

Blame it on Mick Jagger, 300-pound linemen or 150-pound soccer players. While you're at it, throw in the weatherman. The 100-yard long strip between the hash marks of the Patriots field is a mess, a slippery mixture of sand, green dye and dirt. It had so little grass - even unfertilized suburban lawns have more - that the team had to re-sod the section between the yard number markings before its home game Nov. 5th against the Colts. The Kraft family, owner of the Patriots and Gillette Stadium, opened the field for the 2002 season as a multi-purpose venue. The New England Revolution of MLS and the Rolling Stones also have played there. Athletes who dodge divots and shorten their strides to stay upright aren't satisfied. New England is one of the toughest NFL venues in which to grow grass in autumn. That, combined with all those events, presented a challenge to the Patriots. The Revolution had their 17th home game since April 30. The Patriots played two exhibition games there in August and, so far, three regular-season games before facing Indianapolis in three weeks. There was a Kenny Chesney concert July 16 and a Rolling Stones show Sept. 20. And early this month, filming began on the field for "The Game Plan," a movie with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kyra Sedgwick. Any major repairs have been undone by all that activity. Thus, two days after the Patriots and Jets tore up the muddy Gillette Stadium playing field, team officials took the matter one step further: They had the entire field torn up for good. Utilizing a two-week window between home games, owner Robert Kraft and president Jonathan Kraft moved quickly to replace the natural grass field with a synthetic surface, FieldTurf. The surface is expected to be ready for Nov. 26, the date of the next home game, against the Bears. Mounds of dirt were hauled out of the stadium yesterday, as the sound of beeping trucks and tractors, and workers communicating on site, created a busy atmosphere on an otherwise quiet day at the stadium. Team officials deferred comment until today on the change, which had been under consideration for months, although there was a feeling among high-ranking Patriots officials that every option had been explored before moving away from grass. The team had resodded the field each of the last four years, and while the preference was to stick with the natural surface, the sloppy conditions Sunday reinforced their growing belief that the best option was to install synthetic grass. A spokesman from the NFL had previously stated that the league prohibited teams from changing the playing surface in the middle of the season, but that proved to be incorrect. NFL vice president of public relations Greg Aiello said yesterday that the league's Competition Committee had suggested that policy as a possible rule, but it was never adopted. Aiello added that the Patriots' change was a team decision, not a league mandate. "It was a club decision, we were notified, and we understand the Patriots' concerns," Aiello said. "We'll continue to monitor the field conditions at Gillette Stadium." The Patriots had resodded a significant portion of the middle of the field and both end zones prior to their Nov. 5 game against the Colts. The new sod showed significant wear after that game and after Sunday's contest, in which quarterback Tom Brady lost his footing several times. Asked about the field conditions after Sunday's loss, nose tackle Vince Wilfork described it simply as "terrible." The Krafts had considered installing a synthetic surface when Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, but expressed a preference for natural grass. A special drainage and heating system was installed beneath the surface in hopes of extending the life of the grass. But Jonathan Kraft said recently that one unanticipated aspect made the grass field difficult to maintain. "We knew having a very busy, multipurpose stadium, in the Northeast, would make it difficult to keep a natural grass surface in place," "We spent a lot of time, money, and energy researching a system to do this, and we developed a system under that field, and spent millions of dollars on it. "But unfortunately, the amount of sunlight the field gets after August isn't enough, because the stadium is tall. So the grass doesn't have a chance to recover after being used aggressively in April straight through January. No matter how good the system is underneath it, no one perfected a way to replace Mother Nature unless you go to an artificial surface. We haven't wanted to do that historically." The decision continues a pattern in the NFL, especially in the Northeast, as Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium and Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., were recently converted to synthetic surfaces. In all, 13 other NFL teams have synthetic playing surfaces, nine of which are FieldTurf. The decision was met favorably by the NFL Players Association, which has held player surveys on field conditions in recent years. In the most recent survey in 2004, the Gillette Stadium field ranked 21st out of 31 NFL fields. "We think it's important, and a really good sign that we see all NFL teams taking playing surfaces very seriously, and for the New England Patriots to take this position," said NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis. "I think it's a positive step toward player safety and health." One added benefit to the switch: Tom Brady is 19-1 on artificial surfaces.

No, this is not a joke! Vinny Testaverde has been lured back to the NFL by one of his former coaches. Testaverde, who came out of retirement last season to help out the New York Jets, was signed on Tuesday by New England. The move came after the Patriots lost two straight for the first time since 2002 as Tom Brady played two of his poorest games. Until signing Testaverde, New England had only one other quarterback on its roster, second-year pro Matt Cassel. Testaverde, who turned 43 Monday, was the first overall pick by Tampa Bay in the 1987 draft. He has played 19 NFL seasons and has 269 touchdown passes, eighth in NFL history, and is sixth with 45,252 yards passing. Brady has been listed as probable on the injury report every week for last season and this season, but hasn't missed a game. On Monday, after a 17-14 loss to the New York Jets dropped the Patriots to 6-3, coach Bill Belichick was asked if Brady's throwing shoulder, the reason he's been on the list, affected him. "I think he's been able to play in every game, so you'd have to ask him that," Belichick said of Brady, who only meets with reporters on Wednesdays. "There probably isn't a player in the league that plays every week that's 100 percent today. He's probably in that category." Asked if Brady has seemed hampered in his performance, Belichick said, "I think that Tom has had good days, good weeks of practice. I just think overall, we collectively as a team -- coaches, players, everybody -- we just have to do a better job. I think we all feel that way. That includes everybody." In Testaverde, joining his sixth NFL team, the Patriots get a player whose experience is at the opposite extreme of Cassel. The Patriots drafted Cassel in the seventh round in 2005 after he threw just 33 passes at Southern California as the backup to Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. As a rookie, he played only in the final regular-season game. This year, he appeared only in a 31-7 win at Minnesota, but didn't throw a pass. That was Brady's best game of the season. He threw four touchdown passes, completed 67.4 percent of his passes and had a 115.6 passer rating. In a win at Buffalo the previous week, he had a 112.4 rating and completed two-thirds of his passes for two touchdowns and no interceptions. But since the Minnesota game, Brady threw four interceptions and had a 34.0 rating in a 27-20 loss to Indianapolis, then had an 84.9 rating with one touchdown pass and one interception against the Jets. He's completed 59.2 percent of his passes this season for 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions, a few of which were tipped. Testaverde has played for Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Baltimore, Dallas and the Jets. He retired after playing with the Cowboys in 2004, but last season rejoined the Jets, for whom he played from 1998-2003, after starter Chad Pennington and backup Jay Fiedler were injured in the same game. Testaverde, who started four games for the Jets last season, became the first player in NFL history to throw at least one touchdown pass in 19 straight seasons. He completed 60 of 106 passes for 777 yards with one touchdown and six interceptions. He was subsequently replaced by Brooks Bollinger, who had started the season as the team's third stringer. Testaverde reunites with coach Bill Belichick. The two went to the playoffs together with the Cleveland Browns in 1994.

After fruitlessly trying to keep the grass playing surface at Gillette Stadium in suitable condition, the Patriots have decided to install FieldTurf in time for the Nov. 26 game against the Chicago Bears. After Sunday’s driving rain that turned the new sod at Gillette Stadium into a quagmire, Patriots Football Weekly has learned that the Patriots finally decided to pull the trigger and do away with natural grass and will install FieldTurf. Work crews were on hand Tuesday morning bulldozing what was left of the mangled surface with the intention of installing FieldTurf, a synthetic grass surface used in roughly half of the NFL’s stadiums. The new surface will be ready for the team’s next home Nov. 26 against the Chicago Bears. Incidentally, as part of the NFL's new flex scheduling plan, kickoff of that game has been switched from 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. The playing conditions at Gillette Stadium have long been the cause of much consternation in Foxborough. Late in the 2003 season the NFL ordered the Patriots to re-sod the area between the hashmarks before New England hosted the Tennessee Titans in a divisional playoff game. Ever since then the conditions have been periodically called into question. But the debates heated up this season when a heavy offseason concert load, the New England Revolution’s home schedule and the filming of the Disney movie “The Game Plan” left the field in abysmal shape. Even the opener against Buffalo was played on a chewed up field that more resembled midseason. By the time the Miami Dolphins left town after an Oct. 8 defeat, even Bill Belichick commented on how bad things had gotten. “The field is in terrible condition,” he said. “I don’t think anybody in this organization is happy about it or thinks it’s in good condition. We’ll see what we can do about it.” The first plan was obviously to try to re-sod the field in an attempt to improve things. The field actually held up reasonably one in the first game – a 27-20 loss to Indianapolis Nov. 5 – but Sunday’s rain evidently left the organization no alternative other than a synthetic surface. There were reports last month that indicated switching playing surfaces during the middle of the season was forbidden by the NFL, but Patriots President Jonathan Kraft said recently on an 890 ESPN Radio Boston interview that no such rule exists.

I might as well get this over with...The heavily favored Patriots lost to the Jets 17-14, the first time New England has lost two in a row in 57 games. The loss drops the Patriots to 6-3, only one game ahead of the now 5-4 Jets in the AFC East. The numbers for the Patriots offense were deceiving. Tom Brady was a respectable 25 of 37 for 255 yards, a touchdown and one interception. On the ground, Corey Dillon had 98 yards on 11 carries with Laurence Maroney adding another 37 on 12 tries. But two key turnovers, the Brady pick and a Doug Gabriel fumble deep in Jets territory hurt the Patriots chances. On the other side of the ball, Chad Pennington and his offense stayed on the field converting third downs at just under 50 percent while New England was only 3 of 12. A bright note was the game put forth by Reche Caldwell who had 9 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. The first quarter ended with Tom Brady being sacked for an 8 yard loss on third down but the good news was that it happened on the Jets 14 yard line and resulted in a Stephen Gostkowski 31-yard field goal to put the Patriots up 3-0 to start the second quarter. Both teams were unable to score during a wet first 15 minutes. New England's scoring drive to end the frame was a result of pounding the ball with Corey Dillon breaking free for a 50-yard romp to the Jets 23. In all, New England ran for 77 yards on the drive.
Artrell Hawkins gave the Patriots a prime opportunity to open the game up when he intercepted Pennington on the Jets next drive. On first down, Pennington overthrew Laveranues Coles and Hawkins, playing over the top, was in perfect position to make the catch. New England took over and after a 10 yard pick-up by Caldwell, Brady hit Doug Gabriel down the left sideline and the big receiver broke free for 22 yards. On the end of his run, however, he had the ball knocked free. Kerry Rhodes of the Jets recovered and New York made New England pay for the turnover. Pennington proceeded to put together a huge, 16-play, 81-yard drive that ended in a Kevan Barlow touchdown from 2 yards out. The drive lasted 9:12 and somewhat exposed the Patriots run defense with Ty Warren out of the lineup and with Barlow running the ball nine times en route to the score. Down 7-3, New England had the ball at the two-minute warning and was on the good end of a big break made possible by the refs. On first and 20 from the Jets 46, Brady threw under pressure and the floating ball was picked off by Erik Coleman. The break came because just as Brady released, he was planted in the ground by Victor Hobson. Hobson was called for an unnecessary tackle. Replay showed there was no way for Hobson to even know the ball was released, much less let up on Brady, but that's today's NFL and New England benefited. New England continued on offense, first and 10 on the Jets 31 after the 15-yard walk-off. Eventually, the half ended with Gostkowski hitting a 21-yard field goal to pull his team within a point at 7-6 to end the half. Jabar Gaffney contributed to the scoring drive with catches of 19 and 13 yards. The Jets put together another long drive, this one 15 plays, but only netted 45 yards, settling for a 34-yard Mike Nugent field goal late in the third quarter. A false start penalty on Brandon Moore hurt the Jets chances when they were second and goal at the Patriots 3. That was followed by a 7-yard Rosevelt Colvin sack to stall the drive. At this point in the game, the Jets offense was successfully mixing pass and run with the Patriots defense looking winded. Still, keeping New York out of the end zone kept the Patriots a touchdown away from taking the lead. That bid looked promising on the Patriots next series that started late in the third quarter and extended into the fourth. Brady got his team to the Jets 31 after converting a fourth and 3 with a 6-yard pass to Ben Watson. But loose turf and a relentless Jets rush accounted for two straight sacks and New England had to punt on fourth and 23 from the 44. On both sacks, Brady tried to avoid pressure but slipped with huge chunks of turf kicking up beneath his cleats. The New England defense forced the Jets into punting just short of midfield but Brady's problems were about to continue. After getting the ball back and on second and 8 from his own 35, he threw well behind Watson and right into the hands of Coleman. Four plays later, Pennington put the ball up from 22 yards out and Jerricho Cotchery came down with it over Ellis Hobbs. The Jets now had a 17-6 lead with 4:46 left to play. Thirty-two seconds later, the Patriots were within a field goal. Maroney took the ensuing kickoff to the 39 where Brady, first and 10, hit Gaffney for 33 yards to the Jets 28. Troy Brown caught the next pass for 13 yards to the 15. After an incomplete, Brady hit Caldwell on a tipped pass and Caldwell broke a tackle on the way to the end zone for the score. Down by five, New England went for two. Brady hit Watson for the conversion to make the game a field goal spread with just over four minutes left. By the two minute warning, the Jets were third and 11 at the Patriots 41. New England had used all its timeouts and its only chance was to force the Jets into punting on the next play. The Jets went with the odds and ran Barlow up the middle for 2 yards and then proceeded to let the clock tick. By the time Jets punter Ben Graham kicked, there was only 1:15 left to play. He angled the ball and Brown fair catched it at the 12-yard line. After throwing incomplete to Watson, Brady hit Kevin Faulk for 14 yards to the 25. He then went back to Watson for 10 yards and then Caldwell for 19 to the Jets 46. The problem was those passes were to the middle of the field and with no timeouts, New England was powerless to stop the clock. On first and 10, Brady spiked the ball stopping the clock with nine seconds left. He dropped back on his next attempt looking for a sideline play to get in field goal range but was sacked just as he set up to throw by Shaun Ellis ending the game.

The Patriots will return to divisional play this week when they host the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. New England holds a two-game lead over New York for the top spot in the AFC East and has recorded a 4-0 record in the division so far this season. This week's game will be broadcast by CBS. It's the early game. I like the Pats big this week. Brady will rebound after last week. Pats 31 - Jets 14.

Space shuttle Discovery was moved to the launch pad Thursday to await a launch that could be as early as December 6, an effort to avoid potential New Year's Eve computer glitches. The worry is that shuttle computers aren't designed to make the change from the 365th day of the old year to the first day of the new year while in flight. NASA has never had a shuttle in space December 31 or January 1. "We've just never had the computers up and going when we've transitioned from one year to another," said Discovery astronaut Joan Higginbotham. "We're not really sure how they're going to operate." Starting December 6, launch opportunities would be available as late as December 17 or 18. With a 12-day mission, that would mean the shuttle is back on Earth before New Year's Eve. However, NASA was quick to say that even if the shuttle crew finds itself still in space on January 1, procedures could be devised to make a transition if necessary. "Under some weird circumstance ... if we have an 'Oh my god,' and we have to be up there, I am sure we would figure out a way to operate the vehicle safely," said Steve Oswald, a vice president for Boeing Co., the parent company of the builders and designers of NASA's shuttles. "It just wouldn't be flying in the normal certified mode that we are used to flying." If Discovery gets off the ground next month, it will be the third shuttle flight of the year, and only the fourth since the 2003 Columbia disaster. It also will be the first night launch in four years. NASA required daylight launches after Columbia to make sure engineers had clear photos of the shuttle's external fuel tank; falling foam from Columbia's tank damaged its wing, dooming the shuttle and its seven astronauts. NASA managers believe illumination from the space shuttle's booster rockets should allow for photos at night during the first two minutes, and radar should be able to detect any falling debris. Astronauts also are able to inspect the shuttle for damage while in flight. During the 12-day mission, the astronauts will take three spacewalks to add an $11 million addition to the international space station and rewire the space lab's electrical system. The shuttle will also drop off U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams and bring home German astronaut Thomas Reiter, who has been at the space station since July.

The New England Patriots took on their AFC rivals, the Colts Sunday night in a prime-time showdown. It was a hard-fought, but fairly sloppy battle and it may well have been the most exciting game the Patriots have played all season, but the Patriots couldn’t overcome the five turnovers they gave up in the 20-27 loss. The Colts move to 8-0 and continue their undefeated streak, while the Pats fall to 6-2. It looked like this one might turn into the shootout many predicted when both teams quickly racked up two touchdowns each in the first half. But as the game progressed, turnovers, penalties and three missed field goals, one by Stephen Gostkowski and two, yes, two, by Adam Vinatieri kept both teams from establishing any type of momentum. Peyton Manning found his main targets Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne early and often. Harrison, in particular was a handful for the Patriots defense with 8 catches for 145 yards and 2 scores. On the Patriots side of the ball, Tom Brady had a rough night with four interceptions and only 201 yards on 20 of 35 passing. Laurence Maroney ran well but not enough. His 63 yards on 13 carries came in spurts. In the end, while the game was close, it was not the well-played affair expected from two of the elite teams in the NFL.
New England shook off an early Reche Caldwell offensive pass interference call and a second and 21 situation to drive well into Indy territory on the first drive of the game. The Patriots ground game was rolling but on first and 10 from the Colts 34, Brady looked long down the left sideline to Doug Gabriel and threw into heavy coverage. Antoine Bethea came up with the interception and ran the ball out of the end zone to the 32 where the Colts began their first drive of the game. That drive looked in jeopardy when Manning threw two straight incompletes and Tarik Glenn was flagged for a false start. On third and 15, Manning scrambled away from Richard Seymour and looked downfield, connecting with Marvin Harrison for a 44 yard completion to the Patriots 29. That play sparked a 9-play, 68 yard touchdown drive capped by a 5-yard pass to Harrison that made him the all-time career Colt touchdown leader. During the drive, Rodney Harrison was hurt(arm)and did not return. Brady and the offense bounced back. On third and 20 from the New England 22, Brady this time connected with Gabriel for 39 yards. The play was set up by one of the worst taunting calls ever made by a referee. Troy Brown had just caught a 6 yard pass on first down. After falling out of bounds with the ball, he flipped the it back in the direction of the sideline judge. Apparently, the judge thought Brown was tossing it in the direction of the Colts Rocky Boman and threw his flag. Besides pointing out the bad call, Brown's catch is worth mentioning since it tied him with Stanley Morgan as the Patriots all-time leader in receptions. This was one of several bad calls made by the officiating crew that went against the Patriots. Back to live action on the Colts 39, New England again pounded the ball with Dillon and Laurence Maroney down to the Colts 19. Faced with a fourth and 3, the Patriots went for it and Kevin Faulk came up big with a quick slant over the middle for 14 yards. Two Dillon runs, a 5-yarder and a 1-yard touchdown, tied the score at 7. It didn't stay that way long. Manning was 4 for 4 on his next drive with Reggie Wayne feasting on Patriots coverage. He was good for catches of 18, 16 and a 33-yarder down to the Patriots 2. From there, Joseph Addai ran it in up the middle and Indy had its touchdown lead back with 9:56 left in the first half. The fireworks continued with the Patriots tying the game right up. After a 21-yard completion to Caldwell started the drive, New England took to the ground with Maroney. He ran five straight times to the Colts 20. On third and 4 from there, Brown broke Morgan's reception record, notching his 533rd career catch. Four plays later it was Dillon again, from 4 yards out for the score. New England's coverage team didn't do any favors by allowing a 70-yard return to Terrence Wilkins on the ensuing kickoff. That gave the Colts first and 10 at the Patriots 29. A pass interference call on Chad Scott moved the ball to the 9-yard line. After Addai was stopped for a 1-yard loss, Junior Seau broke into the backfield for a 9-yard sack of Manning. That set up a third and goal from the 17 but Asante Samuel was called for an illegal contact to change the scenario to first and 10 from the 12. Manning hooked up with Wayne for 7 yards as the two-minute warning with Indy second and 3 from the 5. Manning looked to Wayne twice more but came up empty and Vinatieri was good on a 23-yard field goal to make the score 17-14 with 1:46 remaining. The Patriots had one last shot before the half. At around the minute mark, Brady was faced with a fourth and 1 that his sideline decided to try for. He ran a keeper and was lost in the pile-up in the middle of the field with the refs giving him the spot and the first down. The Colts challenged but the ruling on the field stood. Despite the play, Brady's second interception of the game, this one to Bob Sanders on a ball intended for Ben Watson, ended the first half. Manning opened the second half with a 36 yard completion to Harrison down to the Patriots 33. The Colts sputtered from there and on came Vinatieri for a 37-yard attempt which he missed wide right to the delight of Patriots fans in attendance. Any benefit from holding the Colts off the scoreboard on that drive was negated when Dillon fumbled on the very next play from scrimmage. Raheem Brock picked up the loose ball and ran it into the end zone while Patriots looked on, thinking the play was over. New England challenged the play believing at the very least, Brock was down by contact where he recovered the fumble when Matt Light fell on him. That's the way the ref saw it after the review as well. The result was Indy getting the ball right back, first and 10 from the 31. Once again, however, the Patriots defense came up big with Rosevelt Colvin registering a 9-yard sack on second and 10 and Manning throwing incomplete on third forcing the first punt from either team in the game. The Colts got the ball back after the Patriots were forced into their first punt after four plays and this time Manning got back on track. Two big plays, a 29-yard pass to Harrison and a 35-yarder to Dallas Clark as Manning rolled to the right, brought up first and goal at the 5. Two plays later, Harrison made a beautiful grab on a 4-yard touchdown, just keeping his toes in bounds, to give Indy a 24-14 lead with 6:56 left in the third quarter. New England got three points back on a 49-yard field goal by Gostkowski. Despite a pass interference call on the Colts Marlin Jackson that gave New England first and 10 at the Colts 31, Brady went incomplete on three straight passes to bring on the attempt. Terrence Wilkins fumbled the return that followed on a play forced and recovered by Artrell Hawkins. What should have been a big break for New England ended in a missed 36-yard field goal attempt by Gostkowski with the game late in the third quarter. The Colts were on the verge of opening their lead up and in Patriots territory after starting the drive on their own 26. But a 7-yard sack by Colvin and Mike Vrabel brought up a second and 17 from the New England 30. Manning then looked to his right and threw right into the arms of Chad Scott who returned it to the Patriots 46 where Brady took over first and 10. New England could not take advantage of the turnover. After an incomplete on first down, Brady had his ball tipped by Robert Mathis and Cato June came up with the pick. It was Brady's third interception of the game and it gave the Colts their 10-point lead back at 27-17 as the drive ended with a Vinatieri 31-yard field goal. Brady and the offense got back on track and drove from their 39 to the Colts 8 but failed come up with six. Maroney had a nice 17-yard run along the way but the most the Patriots could make out of the drive was a 26-yard field goal by Gostkowski to pull back within a touchdown with 6:01 left to play. The three points seemed to be hardly enough as Manning brought his troops right back into scoring position with a 10-yard pass to Harrison and another 13 yards to Ben Utecht on his following series. At the two-minute warning, Vinatieri lined up to make it a two score game with a 46-yard field goal attempt. Incredibly, the ex-Patriot who had lined up so many times before at this stadium missed for the second time in the game. New England had a last chance to tie the game with just under 2 min on the clock and send it into overtime but it was not to be. After a 25-yard completion to Watson to get things rolling, Brady looked over the middle to Faulk. The ball deflected off Faulk's fingers and into June's hands for his second interception and Brady's fourth in the game. The final score was 27-20.

Space shuttle Discovery was hoisted by a crane and outfitted with its external fuel tank and twin booster rockets in preparation for another flight next month. NASA plans a week of tests to make sure the electrical and mechanical connections are intact before the ship is hauled out to the launch pad. The shuttle, which is due to return to space on December 7, will be taking another section of the half-built International Space Station's metal truss, or frame, into orbit. It will be the second space station assembly flight since the U.S. space agency resumed flying the shuttles after the 2003 Columbia disaster. NASA needs 14 more flights to complete construction of the orbital research outpost. Discovery made the quarter-mile trek from its processing hangar to NASA's massive Vehicle Assembly Building on Tuesday night after last-minute inspections of a cracked bracket on a door covering the main landing gear. Crane operators raised the 122-foot-tall spaceship into a vertical position, lifted it up and over a support beam and gently set it down on the mobile launch platform. Several hours later, Discovery was hooked up to its external fuel tank, which was previously outfitted with a solid rocket booster on each side. Discovery's next move is a 4.2-mile ride to the seaside launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. During the shuttle's planned 11-day mission, astronauts will install the station's new truss segment and rewire the station so it can make use of solar arrays installed by the last shuttle crew in September.

Watch how a Bell 427 is made.

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/how-its-made-helicopter

More information on the 427 is available at Bell's site

http://www.bellhelicopter.textron.com/en/aircraft/commercial/bell427.cfm

The Patriots will face their toughest challenge of the 2006 season to date when the undefeated Indianapolis Colts travel to Foxborough for a primetime showdown on Sunday night. The interdivisional AFC rivals will face each other for the fourth straight season at Gillette Stadium, following memorable clashes in Foxborough during the 2003 and 2004 playoffs and during the 2004 and 2005 regular seasons. This week's game will be broadcast by NBC. Forget about the Super Bowl people, this is the game we wait to see each season! After Monday nights game I feel the passing game is back with Brady and the Receiving corps clicking. And there's no doubt the Pats running game will cut through the Colts D like it didn't even bother to show up for the game. The only problem, an it's a big one, is that damn Peyton Manning! So my pick - Pats 31 Colts 28. It's gonna be interesting. :)