Many hearty souls joined the Welcome to Coney Island Polar Bear Club for the annual New Year's Day dip into the Atlantic. Lucky for us, some Gothamist readers were on the scene and have taken some great photographs. Here are a few. The Coney Island Polar Bear Club's Q&A; answers the question, "Are you folks nuts?" with:Not particularly. We're just a group of people from all walks of life who deeply enjoy the activity......

Their day in the sun ocean is just around the corner, but the Polar Bear Club of Coney Island may be in too deep with one donation they recently accepted. The Brooklyn Paper reports that in spite of the club "growling in the anti-Thor procession during the Mermaid Parade," the Polar Bears have "made peace" with Thor. Polar Bears president Lou Scarcella explained that when Thor took condos out of their plans for Coney Island......

It is hard to imagine a worse night for the Giants than what they actually went through on Sunday. In a 22-10 loss, Eli Manning had 34 incompletions, Jeremy Shockey broke his leg and they forgot how to catch a football. Ugly doesn’t even begin to describe this performance. And yes, the weather was bad with the wind whipping around the stadium, but that affects both teams and Washington didn’t seem to have a......

The Giants head into Week 14 with a remote chance to clinch a playoff spot, but a win over their hated-rivals would be reward enough at this point. Coming off of a great win against Chicago, Eli Manning will hopefully show some confidence and the defense, while unsure if they can duplicate their previous effort, dominated the Eagles the last time they met. Beating Philadelphia means containing Brian Westbrook. Westbrook didn’t play the first time......

Admit it, sometime early in the fourth quarter yesterday you finally had enough. Enough of watching Eli throw behind his receivers, enough of him committing awful turnovers. You were ready to throw in the towel, give up on Eli and go find another quarterback. And then an amazing thing happened. Eli suddenly became the QB you thought he could be. Down 16-7 with just under 12 minutes in the game the Giants rallied for two......

On the surface, this one has loss written all over it. Start with last week’s debacle, throw in a Bears team coming off a huge comeback win, subtract Plaxico from the mix, add a potentially cold and wet day in Chicago and the odds look bleak for the Giants. But, there are a few reasons for optimism. First and foremost is the opposing quarterback, Rex Grossman, who can make a big turnover on any play.......

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers market......

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom......

There was a fuss - and VitaminWater truck - at the FDNY's Ladder 20 Engine 13 firehouse on Lafayette Street. With good reason: Mets third baseman David Wright was filming a commercial for vitaminwater. Wright, New York's hottie come lately athlete, plays a vitaminwater delivery man - see how his uniform says "David"? Firefighters were taking photographs with their cellphones and Wright seemed to be having a good time. We just hope he's well-rested......

MUSIC: You know summer is just around the corner when the Seaport Music Festival has their first show of the season. Tonight Animal Collective, Danielson and XXXChange (Spank Rock) will all be on Pier 17 for a FREE show! Come, drink, listen. Friday // 7pm // South Street Seaport, Pier 17 // Free THEATER: Critics are loving Passing Strange and now it’s extending its run at The Public Theater to July 1st. The sly yet......

Holy Cow! We actually didn't even know that VitaminWater was made in Queens until Coca-Cola decided to buy the company for $4 billion. The Queens-based owners weren't the only people getting a fat pay-out from the purchase. David Wright, the Mets third baseman who endorses the product, accepted a small slice of equity in the company in lieu of payment last year. Now Wright's small stake in the company is worth $20 million.Days after inking......

It's opening day on Coney Island's boardwalk and there's still time to hop on a D,F,N, or Q train to Stillwell Avenue before things get started. 11 a.m. marks the Blessing of the Rides at Deno's Wonder Wheel with a ribbon cutting and live music. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will break the ceremonial egg cream at 11:30 a.m. to open the rides and the first 100 people on the Cyclone get to ride free.......

Sonics 100 Knicks 99: Don’t blame this one on Stephon Marbury. Yes, he missed the tying free throw with under a second left, but after scoring 40 points, the blame for this loss lies elsewhere. Start with the defensive effort by the entire team, which was nonexistent until Malk Rose showed up in the third quarter. Seattle shot 52% for the game, which is inexcusable. You can also point the finger at Eddy Curry who......

Puppy Bowl III (Sunday, 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m. Animal Planet) Puppies from shelters drink water, pee, and play for three hours is someone's idea of something to go up against the Super Bowl. Broadway: The American Musical (Sunday, 5:00 p.m. WLIW 21) Counter programming the Super Bowl, WLIW shows this 2004 documentary that chronicles the history of American musicals. Super Bowl XLI: Chicago Bears vs. Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, 6:30 p.m. WCBS 2) Three......

Indianapolis' defenese has played much better in the playoffs, Peyton Manning hasn't put to bed his playoff demons, but he has played better. Of course, that storyline has been blown out of proportion for years. Watch how quickly the media will turn based on the game. Monday's stories can be written now, and the editors can simply choose late Sunday night. Manning will have cemented his place in history with a win or moved one......

Hopefully you’ve got your party stocked and ready to go for the game tonight. We’re getting ready to fake some real enthusiasm here, and we hope you can muster it, too. But if you really couldn’t care less about the game, hopefully you can put all that spirit into the food. If the holy trinity of chips, guacamole, and hot wings bores you, try fixing some more city specific dishes to help you and you're......

After a man suffered fatal injuries during this New Year's swim, the Coney Island Polar Bear Club has announced it will not be accepting new members. Further, the membership of Bears-in-training (the "Cubs") will be frozen. Polar Bear club president Louie Scarella explained to the Daily News, "I closed the membership just to cut down the number of people in the water. It has broken my heart and the heart of the board to......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

And by polar bears, we mean the human Coney Island Polar Bear Club, of course! The intrepid Homo sapiens will be taking their New Year's dip today at 1PM. The Coney Island Polar Bears, who have been around since 1903, has partnered with Camp Sunshine for this year's swim - you can pledge money to the Bears and Camp Sunshine here. The Polar Bears also have a FAQ that answers questions about their habits,......

Crossover in the entertainment industry is as prevalent as Dunkin' Donuts built next to Weight Watchers. You have music stars breaking in movies, actors releasing albums, sports stars invading reality TV and you know they’ve all released a line of clothing and a perfume or two. That being said we’re still not sure if we should be shocked that apparently the next frontier for these enterprising celebrities is the world of wine. Famous people......

- The experiment to have subway riders use their cell phones to pay for fares is ramping up. amNew York reports that one of the trial's sponsors, Citigroup, is looking for willing guinea pigs (suckers?) to participate. Here's how it works:The three-to-six-month trial is limited to people who are both existing Citi MasterCard holders and Cingular Wireless subscribers. Interested riders need to sign-up at www.nyctrial.com by Dec. 21, Semenchuk said. Several hundred people will......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a "boat in distress" at the 79th Street Boat Basin, several shootings in Brooklyn, including one at Brookdale Hospital, and a police officer stabbed at a diner in Queens. The funniest SNL short since Lazy Sunday: "D!ck in a Box". Warning, lyrics are as raunchy as the title. Sometime in the next 30 years, old people will outnumber school children in NYC. "According to police estimates, there are over......

THEATER: The Scene, a black comedy by Theresa Rebeck that premiered at this year’s Humana Festival in Louisville, is now in previews at Second Stage. The satire is about an out-of-work New York actor (Spenser: For Hire’s Tony Shalhoub) — married to a news producer (Alien Nation veteran Patricia Heaton) — who has an affair with a fresh-faced Ohioan ingénue. Rebeck’s stated intent with The Scene is to skewer America’s “cultural collapse into narcissism”. -......

The walking wounded head into Jacksonville tonight desperately seeking a win. New York will play this game without the following starters: two defensive ends, their left tackle, one wide receiver, two linebackers and a quarterback. In addition, their star running back has a sprained thumb. Luckily for the Giants, the Jaguars have problems of their own. David Garrard will start at quarterback with Byron Leftwich probably out for the season. Fred Taylor has a balky......

With no time to celebrate last week's upset over the Patriots, the Jets took the field Sunday against the NFC's best and spun their wheels. Their defense held the Bears' offense in check, but an impotent offense and questionable coaching decisions cost the Jets a shot at defending their home turf. At 5-5, the Jets are once again at .500. Looking for good news? Their schedule only gets easier from here. After both teams......

Today The Times reported on the youngins rocking the New York scene. Bands like Magnolia, Care Bears on Fire (pictured), Tiny Masters of Today, Fiasco and Hysterics are all part of this young band scene sprouting up in Park Slope, many are 10 to 17 years old. New York Magazine recently reported on Care Bears on Fire, who wrote a song called “Don’t Wanna Be Like Everybody Else” - these kids didn't want to be......

After stunning New England last Sunday, the Jets have given themselves a fighting chance at the playoffs. They've dropped some games they shouldn't have, but they've also rebounded when necessary. Their 5-4 record is a surprise given the lack of expectations around this team when the season began. And their remaining schedule is hardly daunting, except for this Sunday's home date with the Chicago Bears. At 8-1, the Bears have proven themselves to be the......

Many will point to a ridiculous decision to kick a 52-yard field goal on a wet and windy night and the subsequent 108-yard touchdown as the turning point of this game, but it happened much earlier. Facing a 3rd-and-22 and a dominant New York defense, the Bears got a first down off of a 26-yard running play. Three plays later, the Bears had a touchdown and the game had completely changed. Chicago came out......

When they lost in Cleveland two weeks ago, the Jets all but removed their margin of error for the rest of the season. They looked as impressive in this week's 17-14 win over the Patriots as they looked listless in that defeat in Cleveland. Chad Pennington played aggressively, made huge plays on third downs, and the Jets defense shut down the Patriots to hold on in the fourth quarter. Kevan Barlow capped a clinical......

The -ists this week had politics on the brain. And what goes better with politics? Partying-- that's two great tastes in one. Oh, and Kevin Federline...can't forget about Kevin Federline. That's three great tastes in one. -Chicagoist celebrated the election news but cried in their Beer of the Week as Da Bears lost for the very first time. And in continuing with our theme, previewed an actual K-Fed show! -DCist caught the President stumped......