Historical French Château Largely Destroyed By Fire

Sad news to report today.

The Château de Bayon, which is located near Lunéville in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department (in France) was tragically largely destroyed a few days ago. It caught fire during the early hours of November 11th. The historical building was completely engulfed in flames by the time that firefighters arrived.

Pictures have shown that the building was largely destroyed, both inside and out. Part of the exterior walls still stand. But not much. 

Take a look at the link below (in French):

Meurthe-et-Moselle Incendie du château de Bayon : le bâtiment n’était pas assuré contre le feu by Xavier Collin, avec notre correspondant local de presse Teddy Hanotin - 11 nov. 2026 à 17:14 | mis à jour le 12 nov. 2026:

Le château de Bayon a été ravagé par les flammes dans la nuit de mardi à mercredi. Un important dispositif des secours a permis de circonscrire le sinistre rapidement et éviter une propagation à l’école et à l’église voisines. Une veille du site est prévue jusqu’à ce jeudi matin. Le propriétaire prévoit déjà de reconstruire. Article réservé aux abonnés   Toute l'info à partir de 1€ le premier mois 

https://www.estrepublicain.fr/faits-divers-justice/2026/11/11/incendie-du-chateau-de-bayon-le-batiment-n-etait-pas-assure-contre-le-feu

Meurthe-et-Moselle. Incendie du château de Bayon : le bâtiment n’était pas assuré contre le feu

Nationwide Emergency as Flight Delays & Cancellations Continue Even Following FAA Lifted Thursday's Ground Stop

The nation went through a national emergency where flights across the country were at least temporarily grounded as a result of an apparent glitch from an outdated computer system. Some passengers were stuck on the tarmac for hours.

In short, it was a disaster pretty much across the board.

What was President Trump doing during all of this?

Surprisingly, the answer was not playing golf. Yet, it was pretty damn inappropriate anyway. Hint: it had nothing to do with the national emergency going on precisely at that moment.

People may claim that criticizing the Trump administration specifically, and MAGA Republicans more generally, for the emergency that grounded all flights across the nation yesterday is piling on to their woes while they are already down. After all, they just got wiped out by the blue tsunami in the recent election. Maybe people should lay off, right?

Nah. Screw that. 

Instead, let's hold the incompetent morons responsible for this accountable for their actions, which largely led to yet another disaster. Yet another thing which had never happened before like this in the nation's history. Yes, we have seen complete flight groundings before. But remember, flights were grounded after September 11th as a result of that emergency, and not an internal emergency that should have been completely avoidable like this one. That was entirely different than this time around. Let's never stop reminding people even after the election of just how badly Trump and his Mindless MAGA Moron Cult political dominance have utterly and completely failed this country every single time. From the disastrous and highly costly (in every way) war with Iran, the unbelievable grifting and blatant acts (and even gloating) of corruption at the very highest levels, the tariff policy that led to disastrous results, the failure to do the main thing he promised to do in lowering the price of gas and groceries, and on and on and on.

Let's be clear here: this was a result of the Trump administration's actions. Remember, they were the ones who cut funding for the FAA early on. And we saw the results almost immediately, with a shocking number of aerial accidents within the first couple of weeks of Trump taking over in January of 2025. Also, there were record delays for incoming flights which had not existed before.

Now this.

Was Trump concerned about this? Did he demonstrate leadership during a moment of crisis?

Nope. Instead, he posted about Hollywood.

Let me repeat that, because it bears repeating: while the nation found itself in a crisis in which all flights were temporarily grounded, President Trump was instead focused on the entertainment industry. On bringing back movies to Hollywood. 

It is just the latest proof that this president is completely out of touch and focused on things which Americans generally are not focused on. Like his ballroom, and his arch, and renaming the Reflecting Pool after himself, and renaming an ocean after himself, and all of those other things. All of his vanity projects. You know, the things which Trump himself never seems to tire of talking about and trying to enact, but which the rest of us are sick and tired of hearing about. 

Isn't that just classic Trump?

Isn't that merely the latest example of precisely why Trump indeed was de facto on the ballot in the election, and why the Republicans got completely humiliated and lost in a historical landslide? 

Isn't that still more proof of just how out of touch this "leader" is while the American people he supposedly leads suffer from the consequences of his actions/inactions, depending on the specific situations?

When Trump did finally come around to addressing the disaster, King Con Don did what he does best: spinning his web of lies in order to blame someone else. Anyone else, really. Sure enough, Trump posted on his Truth Social that these air traffic issues were caused by the "incompetent Biden Administration" even though they have been out of power now for nearly two years, and without offering proof (another of King Con Don's specialties). In the same post, he described Pete Buttigieg as a "total novice and political hack," then typically promised to fix everything himself. No mention of how one of the first things that Trump himself did almost as soon as he was in power was to slash the funds for the FAA and fire some 400 employees. And no mention of how his own Republican party voted against a bill that would have provided funds to upgrade air-traffic control across the nation. Below is a picture of the post, with a rebuke along these lines underneath from someone calling themselves Agent Self FBI:

Marylyn Pettit's Facebook page, November 14, 2026:

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=29659452660316082&set=a.481296088558460

Facebook

Yeah really, sit this one out. 

Of course, that will not stop the Mindless MAGA Moron Cult from believing Dear Leader.

Did Trump ever accept responsibility for some of the failures regarding the FAA which sure seemed like a direct result of his cutting funding?

Hah. That's a laugh. Has Trump ever actually accepted any responsibility at any time for anything that he might regard as politically or personally toxic? Has he ever admitted to any failings, or even to a single mistake that he has ever made?

Keep dreaming.

It's the same old same old with King Con Don. A web of lies and disinformation, with always some convenient scapegoat at the ready to point his finger of blame. This from the man who brought you they're eating the dogs and the cats and that climate change is a gigantic "Chinese hoax." This from the man who ran on the promise to "drain the swamp" and then ushered in an era of staggering, blatant corruption and grifting and accepting things like the $400 million "gift of love" luxury jet, which is his private property, although that did not stop him from upgrading the whole damn thing at the expense of the American taxpayer. 

Trump is same tired scam artist that he has always been. He panics and reaches for anything and anyone else to blame or shove under the bus, or lashes out at reporters and claims that they are "terrible" or "fake news" whenever he feels the heat of being exposed. It's pretty much the same reality show that this nation has been watching now for well over a decade of Trump and Mindless MAGA Moron Cult political domination in this country.

Can we finally switch the damn channel and watch something else? These repeats have grown more than a little tiresome and overly repetitive now.

At least they should - and I emphasize should - serve as a reminder to the American public why this guy was already soundly rejected by American voters - twice!

Like a bad virus, he keeps morphing into something else and then plaguing the nation, and the world, with the same horrible symptoms. Maybe the second time around, we have collectively learned out lesson and can finally, finally move on from this absurd chapter in our nation's history. 

One can hope.

Yet, we need to proceed with caution. After all, the American public has proven itself to be highly susceptible to accepting obvious bullshit in the past.

At some point, though, it's time to grow up.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that outages of the U.S. air traffic control system were caused by an overload of an old, analog system. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin called for further funding to improve the system.   

'Utter incompetence': Trump sparks fury with unexpected post amid national emergency Story by Erik De La Garza

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/utter-incompetence-trump-sparks-fury-with-unexpected-post-amid-national-emergency/ar-AA2hoDZU?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=6af7dc74c43b48c7b4efa0201bab6dc9&ei=14

'Utter incompetence': Trump sparks fury with unexpected post amid national emergency

Nationwide flight delays and cancellations continue after FAA lifts ground stop   Edited By  CARLEY PETESCH, NELL CLARK, ANJALIE TANDON and CHRIS BLAKE Updated 11:03 PM EST, November 13, 2026

https://apnews.com/live/ground-stop-aviation-flights-news-updates-11-13-2026

Flight delays and cancellations continue after FAA lifts ground stop | AP News

November 14th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history 

On this day in 1380, King Charles VI of France was crowned at the age of 12. In 1524 on this day, Francisco Pizarro began his first great expedition, near Colombia. In 1833 on this day during his obviously fateful trip to South America, Charles Darwin departed by horse to Montevideo in modern day Uruguay. On this day in 1851, Moby Dick was published. In 1914 on this day during the Great War (World War I), the Ottoman Empire declared a holy war. In 1942 on this day, the last of the Vichy-French troops in Algeria surrendered. Onn this day in 1982, Polish Solidarity chairman Lech Walesa was freed. Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returned to Phnom Penh after thirteen years of exile on this day in 1991.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

Royal France

• On this day in 1380, King Charles VI of France was crowned at the age of 12. 

• In 1524 on this day, Francisco Pizarro began his first great expedition, near Colombia. 

• Pope Julius III proclaimed new seat on Council of Trente on this day in 1550. 

• In 1666 on this day, Samuel Pepys reported on the first blood transfusion (between dogs). 

• On this day in 1675, Pope Clemens X declared Gorcumse martyrs divine. 

• In 1680, Gottfried Kirch discovered the Great Comet of 1680 (Kirch's Comet/Newton's Comet). 

• Spanish king Carlos appointed grandson prince Jozef Ferdinand as heir on this day in 1698. 

• In 1732, the first professional librarian in what would be the United States, Louis Timothee, was hired in Philadelphia. 

• On this day in 1755, Henry Fox appointed British 'Secretary of State for the Southern Department'. 

• In 1775 on this day and lasting until the 15th, floods ravaged Dutch coastal provinces. 

• On this day in 1792, Captain George Vancouver became the first Englishman to enter San Francisco Bay. 

• In 1832 on this day, the first streetcar (horse-drawn) (John Mason) debuted in New York City; with a fare of 12 cents, and which rode on 4th Avenue between Prince and 14th Street. 1832 - The first streetcar went into operation in New York City, NY. The vehicle was horse-drawn and had room for 30 people.   

British Botanist Charles Darwin

• In 1833 on this day during his obviously fateful trip to South America, Charles Darwin departed by horse to Montevideo in modern day Uruguay.

1834 - William Thomson enters Glasgow University at 10 yrs 4 months

• On this day in 1851, Herman Melville's novel "Moby Dick" was first published in the United States. 

• 1863 - Nathan Bedford Forrest is assigned to command of West Tennessee

1863 - Skirmish at Danville, Mississippi

1881 - Charles J Guiteau went on trial for assassination of President Garfield

1881 - Leon Gambetta forms French government

1888 - USC Trojans (then Methodists) play their 1st football game

1889 - New York World reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) began her attempt to surpass fictitious journey of Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg by traveling around world in less than 80 days She succeeded, finishing the trip in January in 72 days and 6 hours

1893 - Gerhart Hauptmanns "Hanneles Himmelfahrt" premieres in Berlin

1894 - Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of Golden Pince-Nez" (BG)

1896 - Power plant at Niagara Falls begins operation

1905 - David Belasco's "Girl of Golden West" premieres in NYC

1906 - President Theodore Roosevelt visits Panama

Bust of Albert Einstein in Princeton, New Jersey, where he lived his final years.

• 1908 - Albert Einstein presents his quantum theory of light

1908 - Oscar Strauss' musical "Der tapfere Soldat" premieres in Vienna

1910 - 1st airplane flight from deck of a ship, Norfolk, Va

1914 - Billy Mallett of Hamilton Tigers kicks 10 singles in a game

• 1915 - Thomas Masaryk demands independence for Czechoslovakia

• 1918 - Republic of Czechoslovakia created with T.G. Masaryk as president

1919 - Red Army captures Omsk, Siberia

Theoretical Physicist Albert EinsteinTheoretical Physicist Albert Einstein 1920 - American Pro Football League's Chic Tiger Joe Guyon punts 95 yards

1921 - The Communist Party of Spain is founded.

1922 - BBC begins domestic radio service from 2LO at Marconi House

• 1922 - German Reichs Chancellor Joseph Wirth term ends

1923 - Kentaro Suzuki completes his ascent of Mount Iizuna.

1927 - Worlds largest gas tank in Pittsburgh Penn explodes; 28 die

1931 - Ottawa Mint Act is proclaimed in Britain

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C.

• 1935 - FDR proclaims Philippine Islands a free commonwealth

1935 - Nazis deprive German Jews of their citizenship

1936 - Bradman scores 192 for S A v Vic before a MCG crowd of 21000

1938 - Dutch DC3 crashes at Schiphol, 6 die

1939 - Oil refinery fire kills 500 & destroys Lagunillas, Venezuela

1940 - During WW II, German planes destroy most of Coventry, England

1941 - British aircraft carrier Ark Royal sank in Mediterranean, having been torpedoed by a German submarine the day before

1941 - Gov-Gen Wouters of Dutch Antilles refuses Jews refuge

32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1942 - -Nov 15th) Japanese/US sea battle at Savo-Island in Guadalcanal)

• 1942 - Last Vichy-French troops in Algeria surrender

1943 - Chic Bear Sid Luckman passes for 7 touchdowns vs NY Giants (56-7)

1943 - J Postma, C Schalker, D Goulooze arrested for leading illegal CPN

1945 - H Lindsay & R Crouse's "State of the Union," premieres in NYC

1945 - Java: Sutan Sjahrir appointed as forming government

1946 - Dutch Dakota flight to Schiphol crashes, kills 11

• 1952 - Greek general Papagos wins elections

1952 - First regular UK singles chart published by the New Musical Express.

1953 - WCIA TV channel 3 in Champaign, IL (CBS) begins broadcasting

1954 - Egyptian pres Naguib fire, state of emergency declared

• 1956 - Hungarian revolt put down by Soviet invasion

1957 - Dick Hutton beats Lou Thesz in Toronto, to become NWA wrestling champ

1957 - Henry Aaron wins NL MVP

1957 - The Apalachin Meeting outside Binghamton, New York is raided by law enforcement, and many high level Mafia figures are arrested.

1959 - "Girls against the Boys" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 16 perfs

1959 - Kilauea's most spectacular eruption (in Hawaii)

1960 - 2 passenger trains collided at high-speed killing 110 (Czech)

Flag of Belgium

• 1960 - Belgium threatens to leave UN due to criticism on its policy on Congo

• The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) formed on this day in 1960.

Musician Ray CharlesMusician Ray Charles 1960 - Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind" reaches #1

1960 - Riot due to school integration in New Orleans

1964 - "Fade Out-Fade In" closes at Mark Hellinger NYC after 199 perfs

1964 - "Follies Bergere" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 191 perfs

1964 - "Oliver!" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 774 performances

1964 - Detroit Red Wings Gordie Howe sets NHL record 627th career goal

1965 - "Baker Street" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 313 performances

1965 - George Abbott Theater (Adelphi, 54 St) at 152 W 54th NYC, demolished

1965 - KCST TV channel 39 in San Diego, CA (NBC) begins broadcasting

1965 - Marlene Hagge wins LPGA Alamo Golf Open

1965 - US government sends 90,000 soldiers to Vietnam

1966 - Muhammad Ali TKOs Cleveland Williams in 3 for heavyweight title

• 1967 - The Congress of Colombia in commemoration of the 150 years of the death of Policarpa Salavarrieta, declares this day as "Day of the Colombian Woman".

1968 - "National Turn in Your Draft Card Day" features draft card burning

1968 - 1st European lung transplant

• 1968 - Yale University announces it is going co-educational

1969 - 2nd Vietnam Moratorium Day in US

1969 - Apollo 12 (Conrad/Gordon/Bean) launched for 2nd manned Moon landing

1970 - DC-9 crashes in West Virginia, 75 killed

1970 - Marshall U football team wiped out in air crash at Kenova WV

1971 - Enthronment of Pope Shenouda III as Pope of Alexandria

1972 - Dow Jones closes above 1,000 for 1st time (1003.16)

1973 - "Good Evening" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 438 performances

Flag of the Olympics

• 1973 - Canada begins production of Olympic coins

1973 - Jim Palmer is named AL Cy Young winner

1973 - Reggie Jackson wins AL MVP Award unanimously

• 1975 - Spain, Morocco & Mauretania sign accord about Spanish Sahara

1976 - "Don't Step on My Olive Branch" closes at Playhouse NYC after 16 perfs

1976 - Cleveland Browns' Jerry Sherk sets club record with 4 sacks

• 1976 - War criminal Pieter Menten captured 1 day after fleeing

• 1977 - Egypt Pres Sadat repeats willingness to visit Israel to Cronkite

1979 - California's Don Baylor, wins AL MVP

• 1980 - Guinee-Bissau premier Vieira fires president Luis Cabral

1980 - Kimberley Santos, 19 of Guam, crowned 30th Miss World

1980 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1981 - 2nd Space Shuttle Mission-Columbia 2-returns to Earth

1981 - Old Dutch Windmill in Golden Gate Park repaired & working again

1981 - Pakistan all out 62 v Australia at WACA, Lillee 5-18

1981 - Paul 'Bear' Bryant ties Amos Alonzo Stagg with 314 football wins

• 1982 - Polish Solidarity chairman Lech Walesa freed

1983 - 1st cruise missile placed at Greenham Common England

1984 - Astronauts aboard "Discovery" pluck a 2nd satellite from orbit

• 1984 - NASA launches NATO-3D

1984 - Zamboanga City mayor Cesar Climaco, a prominent critic of the government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, is assassinated in his home city.

1985 - Brewers release 39-year-old pitcher Rollie Fingers

1985 - Holmfriour Karlsottir of Iceland, 22, crowned 35th Miss World

1985 - Volcano Nevado del Ruiz Colombia erupts, 1000s killed

1986 - Doubleday Publishing sells NY Mets to Nelson Doubleday & Fred Wilpon

1986 - FCC issues Notice Of Apparent Liability to WYSP Phila

1986 - SEC imposes a record $100 million penalty against Ivan Boesky

1987 - "La Cage aux Folles" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 1761 perfs

1987 - Sam's Town National Bowling Pro-Am won by Debbie Bennett

1989 - Padres reliever Mark Davis wins NL Cy Young Award

1990 - Doug Drabek (22-6) wins NL Cy Young Award

1990 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island

1990 - Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1990 - Michael Heseltine contests Margaret Thatcher's leadership of party

1990 - Philippines hit by typhoon, 110 die

King of Pop Michael JacksonKing of Pop Michael Jackson 1991 - Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video premieres on FOX TV

1991 - Pittsburgh Steelers guard Terry Long loses his steroids appeal & is suspended without pay by NFL for 4 weeks

• 1991 - American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103.

• 1991 - Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returns to Phnom Penh after thirteen years of exile.

1992 - Actress Peg Phillips (Northern Exposure), falls & breaks 3 fingers

1993 - "Kentucky Cycle" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 34 performances

1993 - "Twilight of the Golds" closes at Booth Theater NYC after 29 perfs

1993 - 23rd NYC Women's Marathon won by Uta Pippig in 2:26:24

1993 - 24th NYC Marathon won by Andres Espinosa in 2:10:04

1993 - Don Shula becomes winningest coach in NFL history

• 1993 - Puerto Rico votes against becoming the 51st US state

• 1994 - 1st trains for public run in Channel Tunnel under English Channel

Picture of the space shuttle at Expo Park in Los Angeles, California

• 1994 - Space shuttle STS-66 (Atlantis 13), lands

1996 - "Chicago" opens at Richard Rodgers Theater NYC

1996 - Texas Ranger Juan Gonzalez wins AL MVP

King of Cambodia Norodom SihanoukKing of Cambodia Norodom Sihanouk 1997 - Colo Rockie Larry Walker wins NL MVP

1997 - Disney's "Lion King" sets Broadway record of $2,700,000 daily sale

2001 - War in Afghanistan: Afghan Northern Alliance fighters takeover the capital Kabul.

2002 - Argentina defaults on an $805 million World Bank payment.

• 2002 - The United States House of Representatives votes not to create an independent commission to investigate the September 11 attacks.

2007 - the last direct-current distribution by Con Edison was shut down.

2012 - A series of protests against austerity measures occur across Europe including Spain, Portugal, and Greece

2012 - CFBDSIR 2149-0403 is discovered, the closest rogue planet to earth (100 light-years away)

 1881 - Charles J. Guiteau's trial began for the assassination of U.S. President Garfield. Guiteau was convicted and hanged the following year.   1889 - New York World reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) began an attempt to surpass the fictitious journey of Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg by traveling around the world in less than 80 days. Bly succeeded by finishing the journey the following January in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes.   1922 - The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began domestic radio service.   1935 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed the Philippine Islands a free commonwealth after its new constitution was approved. The Tydings-McDuffie Act planned for the Phillipines to be completely independent by July 4, 1946.   1940 - During World War II, German war planes destroyed most of the English town of Coventry when about 500 Luftwaffe bombers attacked.   1943 - Ernie Nevers of the St. Louis Cardinals became the first professional football player to score six touchdowns in a single game.   1951 - The first telecast of a world lightweight title fight was seen coast to coast. Jimmy Carter beat Art Aragon in Los Angeles.   1956 - The USSR crushed the Hungarian uprising.   1968 - Yale University announced it was going co-educational.   1969 - Apollo 12 blasted off for the moon from Cape Kennedy, FL.   1969 - During the Vietnam War, Major General Bruno Arthur Hochmuth, commander of the Third Marine Division, became the first general to be killed in Vietnam by enemy fire.   1972 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 1,000 (1,003.16) level for the first time.  1972 - Blue Ribbon Sports became Nike.   1973 - Britain's Princess Anne married a commoner, Capt. Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey. They divorced in 1992, and Princess Anne re-married.   1979 - U.S. President Carter froze all Iranian assets in the United States and U.S. banks abroad in response to the taking of 63 American hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran.   1983 - The British government announced that U.S.-made cruise missiles had arrived at the Greenham Common air base amid protests.   1988 - Israeli President Chaim Herzog formally asked Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir to form a new government.   1989 - The U.S. Navy ordered an unprecedented 48-hour stand-down in the wake of a recent string of serious accidents.   1990 - Simon and Schuster announced it had dropped plans to publish Bret Easton Ellis novel "American Psycho."   1991 - After 13 years in exile Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returned to his homeland.   1994 - U.S. experts visited North Korea's main nuclear complex for the first time under an accord that opened such sites to outside inspections.   1995 - The U.S. government instituted a partial shutdown, closing national parks and museums while most government offices operated with skeleton crews.

1851 Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick was published. 1889 Nellie Bly set out to beat Jules Verne's fictional Phileas Fogg's time of 80 days to travel around the world. She did it in 72. 1922 The British Broadcasting Corporation began its domestic radio service. 1969 Apollo 12, the second manned lunar expedition, was launched. 1995 The U.S. federal government began a partial shut down of government services after the U.S. Congress could not pass a budget. 2002 Nancy Pelosi of California became the first woman to lead a party in Congress. 2003 The most distant object ever found in our solar system, named Sedna, was discovered by astronomers at the Mount Palomar Observatory.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/nov14.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

2026 NFL Season Week 10 Thursday Night Football Review: Commanders Avenge Earlier Loss to Giants

    

Washington Commanders 24, NY Giants 21

Gotta say, that the meeting earlier between these two teams which resulted in a tie, and felt at the time more like half a win, now feels more like it was half a loss.

The Giants looked great on the field wearing those vintage away uniforms from the 1980's and 1990's. But that is pretty much the only way that they looked great in last night's game.

Big Blue's offense was fairly good statistically. Statistically, JJ McCarthy did not come across as awful. He completed 23 of 36 for 293 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Isiah Likely grabbed 9 of those for 127 yards and the touchdown that McCarthy threw. Cameron Skattebo ran 8 time and picked up 78 yards and a touchdown. 

Not bad.

However, they did not look good when it counted the most. Particularly in the fourth quarter, with the game hanging in the balance. Suddenly, the G-Men could not hang onto the ball and kill the clock when they had the lead. Then Washington's offense looked explosive and amazing, going down the field in no time and scoring what felt like an all too easy touchdown for the lead. When the Big Blue offense went out again, they had managed to turn the ball - and the game - over in no time, giving Washington the revenge win that they were looking for.  

So yeah, while the Giants offense looked decent at times, and statistically, they floundered and were lifeless when it counted the most.

Meanwhile, the Commanders played their very best when it mattered the most. That was particularly true with the end of both halves, when Washington scored touchdowns in their last meaningful drives. That included a first half touchdown with seconds left to take a 10-7 lead into the locker rooms. And it especially included the already mentioned touchdown drive that seemed to take just seconds, and left the G-Men too stunned to respond, apparently. Quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 23 of 33 for 249 yards and three touchdowns, although he also had two INT's. Stefon Diggs nabbed six catches for 83 yards, including that final touchdown at the end of the game which proved to be the dagger in the heart which killed Big Blue on this evening. 

That means that Big Blue also squandered an opportunity to effectively knock Washington out of the divisional race, and to stay comfortably ahead of the Cowboys, who are in second place. It make the NFC East look like a weaker division more generally. Nobody in the division can win with any measure of regularity.

With the win, Washington improves to 3-5-1 on the season. Meanwhile, the Giants fall to 5-3-1 on the year, and the NFC East no longer looks like it is systematically theirs for the taking.

My pick: Inaccurate

Some Pictures of New York City in the Rain

Yesterday, I went to New York City. It was a dreary, cold, rainy day. If I could have put it off for another, more accommodating day, likely I would have. But this would pretty much have to be the day, so I made the best of it. 

Since I do not often go to New York City when it rains - or got much at all anymore these days, admittedly - it seemed like a good opportunity to take some decent pictures of one of my favorite parts of New York: the Village.

For years, the idea of New York City in the rain brought yo mind the lyrics from a Five for Fighting tune, NYC Weather Report. There are the lyrics:

"Sit back New York City

You're not cute but you're oh so pretty

When the rain comes you fall up again... "

Of course, I have been to the city during the rain before. Probably a number of times, in fact. But I rarely have been there with the time and circumstances ripe for picture taking. But yesterday was one of those days. Technically, in fact, it was the first day of my last real stretch of vacation days for this calendar year. So in a sense, I really was kind of playing tourist.

Also, that Five for Fighting tune kept playing in my head throughout the day, particularly while I was in the city. It actually made me get in the mood to see the prettier parts of New York City, particularly Washington Square Park and the arch that is there. It was always one of the smaller landmarks of the city which I have enjoyed.

Yet admittedly, it was also a bit more difficult than perhaps it otherwise would be to get in the mood for such things. After all, this was not light rain. Despite hearing weather reports that the rains would get heavy late in the day, like late afternoon and evening, it really was pouring down heavily by the time I got there, which was right around lunch time. So it was cold and dreary and wet, and the rain was coming down in sheets. I was cold and even miserable, at times, with the water having seeped through my shoes, and my pants being soaked so thoroughly that they were sticking to my legs, because the rain seemed to be coming sideways and directly at me at times.