CSN: Reid lost his way in urgency to win title

December 31, 2012, 6:15 pm

Fourteen years ago, Jeffrey Lurie mined a diamond in the rough. He hired a no-name assistant from Green Bay to coach his football team and watched his dark-horse hire build the Eagles into annual championship contenders.

Fourteen years later, Lurie?s diamond had lost its luster. Lurie announced on Monday that Reid, the franchise leader in regular-season wins and playoff wins, wouldn?t be back to coach season No. 15 (see story).

Calling Reid ?a gem of a man,? Lurie discussed his decision to part ways with Reid and what led to the coach?s downfall.

"It's a great question,? he said. ?I don't think there's a short answer. It's a complicated one.?

Lurie explained how Reid had lost his way after the 2010 season, stockpiling some of the biggest names in the industry -- on his coaching staff and his roster -- and then watching the toxic mix corrupt a foundation once built on homegrown talent.

"[When] you're so close to winning a Super Bowl, at some stage you have an opportunity to think that the next move, even if it's not consistent with all of your previous moves, will be the one that gives you the chance to win the Lombardi Trophy,? Lurie said, ?and I think that in the last year or so, last couple of years, we've done things that have not been as consistent. They?ve been more scattered in terms of decision-making.

"When you start to reach for short-term panaceas or short-term solutions that are not consistent with your culture and your football program, that's when you end up 4-12."

Lurie didn?t mention specific names but spoke candidly about the urgency Reid felt to win the franchise?s first Super Bowl in the home stretch of his Eagles career and how that seizing of the moment led to risky decisions that backfired.

Among those decisions include the hiring of underperforming assistants Jim Washburn, Bobby April and Howard Mudd; the promotion of Juan Castillo from offensive line coach to defensive coordinator; and the atypical free-agent spending spree that brought in Nnamdi Asomugha, Jason Babin, Vince Young and other disappointments.

?You notice it with any organization that has had a lot of success that you will start to reach, thinking, ?That?s the thing that?s going to [get us over the top], that?s the player, that?s the method, that?s the mechanism, that?s the coach, that?s the thing that is going to put us over the top,?? Lurie added. ?At the same time you?re dealing with a franchise quarterback [Donovan McNabb] that was descending and therefore you?re even more motivated before a player hits rock bottom or you?re without a franchise quarterback, that you?re going to reach and do certain things.

?So I think we lost some of the exact nature of the method that we?ve all shared that created the success, which was discipline, strategic thinking, and don?t do necessarily what is popular but do what?s right. It?s kind of a human thing and I take some responsibility for that because I was right out in the forefront for [the thought of], ?Let?s do anything we can to try to win a Super Bowl for the city and our fans.?

Lurie said he spoke with Reid about the team?s direction on Friday before the season finale --? a 42-7 loss Sunday to the Giants -- and then again early Monday morning. The conversation was an honest one, Lurie said, adding that Reid understood the situation.

All of Reid?s assistants are still working under contracts that Lurie said will be honored for now. The coaches will carry out evaluations of current players on the roster and work until their fates are decided upon by the next head coach.

Lurie flatly denied that he had offered Reid another job within the company, refuting an Associated Press report.

?I think Andy is an outstanding football coach. That?s what Andy wants to do,? Lurie said. ?He doesn?t want to transition to other aspects of football operations. He?s a football coach. He wants to coach right now. He was very excited about the future of this team and this franchise. He wanted to stay.

?We spent some time on Friday going over exactly what his plans would be for the team, knowing that there was a very good chance that he was going to be let go. And yet, I can?t tell you how excited he is about a lot of aspects of the team and what needs to be done to both turn it around, and return to the excellence and go further. He?s really energized and excited and someone is going to get one heck of a football coach.?

Six head coaching vacancies opened on ?Black Monday,? with firings also taking place in San Diego, Kansas City, Chicago, Buffalo and Cleveland. The Chargers are reportedly not interested in Reid and you can rule out the Browns, whose CEO Joe Banner earlier this year lost a power struggle with Reid and left his post as Eagles president.

Whatever owner hires Reid will know that the Eagles won just 12 of their past 32 games under Reid and went 4-12 in 2012 with a season-opening roster that boasted eight different players who had made at least one Pro Bowl.

It?s a roster and coaching staff that Lurie felt confidently about going into the season even after last year?s 8-8 mark.

?I think, as you know, I stood up here last year and went through some of the arguments for making a change, and decided not to,? Lurie said. ?One of the key arguments, for me, for not making a change at the end of last year was that every time our team under Andy Reid was 8-8 or less -- and it wasn?t very often -- but every single time after that the next season we were a double-digit [win], playoff team.

?That was the history. I really believed that this season, with our talent, that we would be a strong contender and a double-digit win team. Nobody is more disappointed or crushed than myself because I fully believed that that?s exactly where we were at in August as we started the season.?

E-mail Geoff Mosher at gmosher@comcastsportsnet.com.

Source: http://www.csnphilly.com/12/31/12/Urgency-to-win-Super-Bowl-caused-Reid-to/nbcsportseagles.html?blockID=818907&feedID=692

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NHL lockout: Union makes proposal, talks Tuesday

NEW YORK (AP) ? The NHL and the players' association will start the new year right where they ended the old one ? at the bargaining table.

The sides got together Monday for the first time since Dec. 13, and the union brought along a counterproposal in response to the 288-page contract offer the NHL presented on Thursday. There were some discussions between the negotiators inside the league's midtown Manhattan headquarters and some time spent apart in internal caucuses.

"This discussion was for us to respond and for them to ask questions and us to explain a number of the points we made," union executive director Donald Fehr said. "We covered the range of subjects that their document included."

After several hours passed, the NHL said it would be going over the players' new contract offer on Monday night and would get back to the union in the morning. Commissioner Gary Bettman said he expected negotiations would restart Tuesday afternoon.

"There was an opportunity for the players' association to highlight the areas that they thought we should focus on based on their response," Bettman said. "That's something we've now got to look at very closely in addition to the myriad other issues."

Neither side chose to delve into details of what was offered in either of the proposals nor characterize any of the discussions that Fehr said "weren't terribly long."

The fact that neither offer was quickly dismissed could be taken as a positive sign that perhaps the gap has closed between them.

"I'm out of the prediction business," Fehr said. "You get up every day and you try to figure out how to make an agreement that day, and if it fails you try and do it the next day. That's exactly where we are."

Bettman also reserved judgment when asked if progress was made.

"I think it would be premature for me to characterize it and not particularly helpful to the process," he said.

A crowd of people heading toward New Year's celebrations in New York gathered around the large throng of reporters and television cameras focused in on Bettman and Fehr as the two leaders spoke separately on the busy sidewalk. Clearly, both men would rather have the attention back on the ice instead of themselves.

This was the first meeting in nearly three weeks since the last round of negotiations with a federal mediator on Dec. 13. After presenting their proposal, union representatives stayed in the building in case there were further discussions ? later, with talks done for the day, the union said it expected a response from the NHL on Tuesday morning.

The New Year's clock ticked down while the window to reach a labor agreement to save the season was rapidly closing. Bettman said a deal needs to be reached by Jan. 11 to allow the season to begin by Jan. 19.

That leaves a little less than two weeks to reach an agreement and hold one week of training camp before the puck would drop on a 48-game campaign.

So far, a deal has proved elusive and well out of reach.

The league and the union had informational discussions ? by conference call and in meetings ? with staff members that lasted much of Saturday and ended Sunday. Those talks were spurred by the extensive contract proposal the NHL made on Thursday.

All games through Jan. 14 have been canceled, claiming more than 50 percent of the original schedule.

Bargaining sessions with only the NHL and union hadn't been held since Dec. 6, when talks abruptly ended after the players' association made a counterproposal. The league said that offer was contingent on the union accepting three elements unconditionally and without further bargaining.

The NHL then pulled all existing offers off the table. Two days of sessions with mediators the following week ended without progress.

The NHL is the only North American professional sports league to cancel a season because of a labor dispute, losing the 2004-05 campaign to a lockout. A 48-game season was played in 1995 after a lockout stretched into January.

It is still possible this dispute could eventually be settled in the courts if the sides can't reach a deal on their own.

The NHL filed a class-action suit this month in U.S. District Court in New York in an effort to show its lockout is legal. In a separate move, the league filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, contending bad-faith bargaining by the union.

Those moves were made because the players' association took steps toward potentially declaring a "disclaimer of interest," which would dissolve the union and make it a trade association. That would allow players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL.

Union members voted overwhelmingly to give their board the power to file the disclaimer by Wednesday. If that deadline passes, another authorization vote could be held to approve a later filing.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nhl-lockout-union-makes-proposal-talks-tuesday-001933850--nhl.html

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Stock index futures up as 'cliff' talks go on

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures rose on Monday, setting up Wall Street to snap a five-session losing streak as talks continued in Washington over resolving the "fiscal cliff".

* Negotiations were set to continue on Monday between lawmakers and the White House on how to deal with the $600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that kick in at the start of January and could drag the economy in recession.

* The Senate reconvenes on Monday after the open of equity trading with only hours to find some sort of stop-gap deal that would also have to be passed by the House of Representatives.

* Despite the gains in futures market, stocks still could fall on Monday when the cash markets open if there is no sign lawmakers are making progress.

* While hope for a broad deal has largely evaporated, the lack of panic on markets shows that investors still expect officials to find a solution to the budget problems early in the New Year. The measures that kick in on January 1 will have only a gradual impact.

* While midnight on Monday marks the deadline for a deal, the government can pass legislation in 2013 that retroactively prevents the United States going over the fiscal cliff, an option that is viewed as politically easier.

* S&P 500 futures rose 3 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures added 25 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 2 points.

* European markets were slightly down on Monday morning, although trading was muted as markets in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were closed while UK, French, Dutch and Spanish markets were only open for half a session. <.eu/>

* U.S. stocks dropped on Friday, with significant losses in the last minutes of trading, as prospects for a deal worsened at the beginning of the weekend.

* The S&P 500 closed at 1,402.43 at 4 p.m. ET on Friday, down 1.1 percent, but futures continued to fall before closing 15 minutes later with a loss of 1.9 percent. S&P futures and the S&P cash index do not match point-by-point, but the size of the disparity on Monday points to a weak opening in stocks.

* On Sunday, President Barack Obama, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," said investors could begin to show greater concerns in the new year.

* Investors have remained relatively sanguine about the process, believing it will eventually be solved. In the past two months markets have not shown the kind of volatility that was present during the fight to raise the debt ceiling in 2011.

* Rather, equities have largely performed well in the last two months despite constant chatter about the fiscal cliff, though the last few days shows a bit of increased worry. The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 each lost 1.9 percent last week, after stocks fell for five straight sessions, which marked the S&P 500's longest losing streak in three months.

* The CBOE Volatility Index <.vix> rose to its highest level since June on Friday, closing at 22.72.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-futures-edge-higher-cliff-talks-continue-004506710--sector.html

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Deal to avert fiscal cliff appears within reach

Vice President Joe Biden emerged from talks with Senate leaders saying he feels, "very good about how this vote's going to go" following an apparent deal to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff."

Updated at?9:46 p.m. --???An agreement in principle to avert broad tax increases and spending cuts appeared imminent Monday night.

A senior Democratic source told NBC News that an accord had been reached.?A senior GOP source said it "looks good" and that the outcome in the Senate would be clearer after Vice President Joe Biden conferred with Senate Democrats. Biden arrived at the Capitol to meet with Democratic senators Monday night.

Although a Senate vote later Monday night was possible, it?s not clear how an accord would fare in the House.

The interim New Year?s Eve tax deal negotiated by Biden and Senate Republican Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky would raise income taxes on single earners with annual incomes above $400,000 and married couples with incomes above $450,000.

MSNBC's Milissa Rehberger talks with contributor Ezra Klein and outlines the potential Senate deal that avert the Fiscal Cliff.

As of mid-afternoon Monday, the sticking point involved the "sequester," the cuts to spending ? about $100 billion to start in 2013 -- that were mandated by the Budget Control Act which President Barack Obama signed into law last year. Republicans have signaled they might let the sequester take effect unless it was offset by other spending cuts; the GOP has also said it might accept a delay, but only for a few months.

The Obama administration, however, is pushing for a longer delay in implementing the sequester. Otherwise, the president said, replacing those automatic cuts must be "balanced" ? shorthand for a combination of new taxes and other spending cuts.

Obama tried to push talks over the finish line earlier in the afternoon with a statement from the White House.

"Today, it appears that an agreement to prevent this New Year's tax hike is within sight," the president said at the White House. "But it's not done."

In the absence of a broader agreement to resolve the sequester, McConnell appeared in the Senate floor to request a vote only on the tax element of the fiscal cliff.

"Let's pass the tax relief portion now," he said. "Let's take what's been agreed to and keep moving."

NBC's Chuck Todd explains that a fiscal cliff deal has been difficult to reach because President Obama and Speaker Boehner don't want to appear to be caving to the other.

But it's not clear that Democrats, who were led in negotiations by Vice President Joe Biden, would agree to de-link the tax debate from other fights over the sequester and extending expiring unemployment benefits past Dec. 31.

House Republicans were careful to note that it was still possible for them to add votes late on New Year's Eve. But they also argued that there was no Senate-passed legislation on which they could schedule a vote, making the prospect of avoiding the cliff all the less likely.

Democratic and Republican sources in the House told NBC News that a final vote on any deal would now most likely wait until afternoon on New Year's Day, or even on Jan. 2.

Though Congress could still conceivably act after New Year's to preserve existing tax rates ? thereby limiting any lasting effect on consumers ? their inability to reach an agreement until the very last minute could still threaten to rattle the economy and markets.

Vice President Joe Biden has reached a deal with Senate Republicans to avoid the massive tax hikes and spending cuts set to begin on January 1st. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.

The House did act late Sunday, though, to clear the way for emergency consideration of Senate legislation if leaders are able to reach an agreement. The House Rules Committee convened with the purpose of dispensing with a rule instilled by Republicans in the early days of 2011 to require that legislation be posted online for a full 72 hours before a vote in the House. GOP leaders had sought that rule to showcase their own transparency, and in reaction to actions by the previous Democratic majority to quickly pass legislation during the health care reform battles of 2010.

Republicans' move to sidestep their own rule underscores the urgency of fiscal cliff talks in the final hours of 2012. There were few ironclad assurances, though, that any Senate agreement would necessarily win the support of the House.

The lurching nature of legislating has been characteristic of the Congress during the last two years, and that's a phenomenon that may well continue into the next Congress, when Democrats will continue to retain control of the Senate, and Republicans will hold a slightly slimmer grasp on the House.

"We're about to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory," says CNBC's Steve Liesman, who warns that higher unemployment may be ahead.

Source: http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/31/16268297-deal-to-avert-fiscal-cliff-appears-within-reach?lite

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So that was 2012?. ? Tom&#39;s Cruise Blog

So that was 2012. It was an eventful and interesting year for us. I suppose it?s traditional around this time to review the year that?s just gone by, so here goes. This being a personal blog, this is a personal review ? this is what seemed important, memorable or significant to us.

• First on any list has to be the sinking of the Costa Concordia, on 13 January. 30 people are known to have died and another two are missing, presumed dead, which brings the total of dead to 32. A further 64 people were injured to various degrees of severity. The investigation is still on-going, as are the trials ? the Captain has been charged with manslaughter, together with lesser charges ? and the hulk of the ship still lies in the water off Isola del Giglio. There was palpable shock throughout the cruise industry, indeed throughout the leisure travel industry, at these events ? how could a modern ship, incorporating the latest safety features and built to the highest standards, sink? Well, any floating object will cease to float if a big enough hole is punched in it below the waterline, and that?s what happened to Costa Concordia. The principal question is: exactly how did that come to happen? ? we still await the official report. Two more superlatives about this tragedy: first, she is by far the largest passenger ship to sink; and second, she may also be the most successful rescue operation, in that over 4,000 people got off her to safety. That said, I must also recognise that it was most fortunate that the sinking occurred so close to shore ? many people were able to swim to safety, and some people still in the water were picked up by local boats. Had the sinking occurred further out, or had she not come to rest on the shelf of rock, the death toll would have been much higher.
• Next was the P&O Grand Event on 3 July. Not surprisingly in this record-breakingly-wet year it was raining during the Event itself and that did take some of the edge off it, but it was still fun in a very British masochistic way.
• Third would be our long cruise this year, on Arcadia to the Canaries. It wasn?t the best cruise we?ve ever had but it was still enjoyable and we certainly found a lot to enjoy on Arcadia.
• Finally would be the introduction by Cunard and P&O of the new fare schemes. P&O calls them ?Vantage? fares: once you?ve booked such a fare you?ll get some recompense (probably?in the form of on-board credit) if the fare is subsequently reduced. There have been a lot of negative comments about this initiative, and I do recognise the way it could be abused ? for example if the cruise line labels all reduced fares as ?Getaway? fares then that doesn?t count as a reduction to the Vantage fare, so no compensation would be due. However I think it should be welcomed. US passengers have enjoyed protection like this for years, and now we may get it as well.

That?s about it. There were a lot of other stories in what was I think a tight year for UK cruising, and there are some indications that 2013 will be even tighter. But the stories for this year have not yet emerged; when they do, and if they seem interesting, I?ll blog about them here.

And finally, I?d like to wish all my readers a happy and successful New Year.

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Posted in Cruises, Cunard, P&O | Tagged cruises, Cunard, P&O, P&O Grand Event, Vantage Fares | Leave a Comment

Source: http://tomscruiseblog.co.uk/2013/01/01/so-that-was-2012/

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Obama says fiscal cliff deal close, not done

President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks about the fiscal cliff, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, in the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington. The president said it appears that an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff is "in sight," but says it's not yet complete and work continues. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks about the fiscal cliff, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, in the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington. The president said it appears that an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff is "in sight," but says it's not yet complete and work continues. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama smiles and gestures as he speaks about the fiscal cliff, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, in the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington. The president said it appears that an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff is "in sight," but says it's not yet complete and work continues. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The moon rises behind the U.S. Capitol Dome in Washington as Congress works into the late evening, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012 to resolve the stalemate over the pending "fiscal cliff." (AP Photo/J. David Ake)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Agonizingly close to a New Year's Eve compromise, the White House and congressional Republicans agreed Monday to block across-the-board tax increases set for midnight, but held up a final deal as they haggled away the final hours of 2012 in a dispute over spending cuts.

"It appears that an agreement to prevent this New Year's tax hike is within sight," President Barack Obama said in an early-afternoon status report on negotiations. "But it's not done."

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell ? shepherding final talks with Vice President Joe Biden ? agreed with Obama that an overall deal was near. In remarks on the Senate floor, he suggested Congress move quickly to pass tax legislation and "continue to work on finding smarter ways to cut spending" next year.

The White House and Democrats initially declined the offer, but several officials said they could reconsider.

While the deadline to prevent tax increases and spending cuts was technically midnight, passage of legislation by the time a new Congress takes office at noon on Jan. 3, 2013 ? the likely timetable ? would eliminate or minimize any inconvenience for taxpayers.

For now, more than the embarrassment of a gridlocked Congress working through New Year's Eve in the Capitol was at stake.

Economists in and out of government have warned that a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts could trigger a new recession, and the White House and Congress have spent the seven seeks since the Nov. 6 elections struggling for a compromise to protect the economy.

Even now, with time running out, partisan agendas were evident.

Obama used his appearance to chastise Congress, and to lay down a marker for the next round of negotiations early in 2013 when Republicans intend to seek spending cuts in exchange for letting the Treasury to borrow above the current debt limit of $16.4 trillion.

"Now, if Republicans think that I will finish the job of deficit reduction through spending cuts alone ? and you hear that sometimes coming from them ... then they've got another thing coming. ... That's not how it's going to work at least as long as I'm President," he said.

"And I'm going to be President for the next four years, I think," he added.

Officials in both parties said agreement had been reached to prevent tax increases on most Americans, while letting rates rise on individual income over $400,000 and household earnings over $450,000 to a maximum of 39.6 percent from the current 35 percent. That marked a victory for Obama, who campaigned successfully for re-election on a platform of requiring the wealthy to pay more.

Any agreement would also raise taxes on the value of estates exceeding $5 million to 40 percent, as well as extend expiring jobless benefits for two million unemployed, prevent a 27 percent cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients and likely avoid a near-doubling of milk prices.

Much or all of the revenue to be raised through higher taxes on the wealthy would help hold down the amount paid to the Internal Revenue Service by the middle class.

In addition to preventing higher rates for most, any agreement would retain existing breaks for families with children, for low-earning taxpayers and for those with a child in college.

In addition, the two sides agreed to prevent the Alternative Minimum Tax from expanding to affect an estimated 28 million households for the first time in 2013, with an average increase of more than $3,000. The law was originally designed to make sure millionaires did not escape taxes, but inflation has gradually exposed more and more households with lower earnings to its impact.

To help businesses, the two sides also agreed to extend an existing research and development tax credit as well as other breaks designed to boost renewable energy production. Details on those provisions were sketchy.

Obama's remarks irritated some Republicans.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona they would "clearly antagonize members of the House."

There was no response from Speaker John Boehner, who has been content to remain in the background while McConnell did the negotiating.

Some Democratic officials said that with his comments, Obama was hoping to ease the concerns of liberals in his own party who feared he had given away too much in the current round of talks over taxes.

Obama campaigned on a call for higher tax rates on income over $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples, far lower than the $400,000 and $450,000 that Biden and McConnell have set.

Similarly, the pending agreement on the estate tax would allow more large estates to escape taxation than many Democrats prefer.

By late afternoon, the two sides remained separated by a stubborn dispute over spending cuts scheduled to take effect on the Pentagon and domestic programs alike.

Officials familiar with the talks said the White House has been seeking agreement to stop the cuts from taking effect, either for a period of months or a year, and wanted to count higher taxes created elsewhere in the legislation to offset the cost.

Republicans have said they are willing to delay the across-the-board cuts, but only if Obama and Democrats agree to targeted savings from government programs to take their place.

_____

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Alan Fram and Ben Feller contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-31-Fiscal%20Cliff/id-44540dc48b514adebbe20f2fe781d1c0

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Christopher French: Dating Ashley Tisdale!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/christopher-french-dating-ashley-tisdale/

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