We hope you still love Mike Lowell and David Ortiz. Because the slow tango between the Red Sox and Mark Teixiera came to a sudden crash yesterday, as the Yankees showed up on the dance floor with a briefcase full of $1000 bills and took the slugger back to New York.

So Tex (and we'll have to come up with a derogatory nickname soon, something like "A-Fraud"...we're open to ideas) got his payday - 180 million clams over eight years. And now the Yankees have the four largest contracts in baseball history. The Sox' yes-maybe-no-OK-please offer, and the Washington Nationals' tempting offer of paying Tex a lot of money to disappear off the face of the earth, just weren't enough. And it will be a merry Christmas in the Scott Boras household, if he gave anybody presents, which we doubt he does. Any way you slice it, it's a hell of a lot of money for a guy who's won one playoff game in his life.

While our springtime team was thrown into turmoil, both our local wintertime teams did what they do - win. The Celtics toyed with Philly for their 19th straight win (wasn't it like six weeks ago that they lost 18 straight?) , and got saluted with the obligatory "Beat LA" chant as they prepare to go play the Lakers tomorrow. (Also, one more time, "Beat LA" began as a congratulatory chant to the Sixers, who were about to finish off the Celtics to go to the Finals and were widely seen here (and still are) as the lesser of two evils. Many people seem to have forgotten this, or never knew.)

And the Bruins... wow. The Devils were on a 12-2-1 streak, but there's hot and then there's hot. The B's just can't lose right now. Milan Lucic broke a scoreless tie seconds into the third period, and David Krejci sailed the puck the length of the ice for the empty-net clincher. The only bummer (besides the Teixiera deal we've already discussed) was that Phil Kessel was scoreless for the first time in forever. So it's time to start a new streak Saturday at Carolina.

Image from Wikipedia.

The Bruins and Celtics took a much-deserved day off yesterday, which allowed Boston sports fans and athletes alike an opportunity to make sure their holiday preparations (for those celebrating Christmas) or celebrations (for our Hanukkah-celebrating readers) were well underway. An inadvertent side effect of this day off? We got to know a little more about a man named Todd.

Todd Kobus, the 31-year-old Attleboro man who managed to land a tackle on Junior Seau during Sunday's game at Gillette, appeared in Wrentham District Court on Monday to be arraigned on charges of assault and battery and trespassing. Kobus told the Herald that he wasn't really trying to tackle Seau, Kobus' favorite player, he was just trying to hug the guy.

We have to applaud Kobus for finally shedding light on this aspect of the game. When it comes to New England football, it's never about inflicting pain or trying to cause discomfort. It is about LOVE. Our team is really all about trying to hug the whole NFL. And with this philosophy now recognized, we believe it casts the unfortunately villainized Vince Wilfork (the big ol' misunderstood teddy bear of the Pats roster) in an entirely different light. He's just trying to share that love, people, come hell or high fines.

It's a Christmas miracle that we all now understand.

Image by flickr user cheetah100 used under terms of Creative Commons License

BREAKING NEWS REPORT: Teixeira Signs with Yankees: ESPN and the Globe are among the media circuits reporting that Mark Teixeira has signed an 8-year, $180 million deal with the New York Yankees.

We will discuss this in tomorrow's Redux, but want to open it up readers. What are your thoughts on the report?

Golden State's record (9-22 as of today) might not be much to look at, but those Warriors have, for whatever reason, figured out how to make the Celtics tick. Leading into Friday night's game in Oakland, the Warriors had beaten the Celts four times in a row at Oracle Arena. So while Friday night's (late) showdown on the West Coast might have seemed like a foregone conclusion, even up and into the first half, the Celtics were required to bring a full game of solid play to the table.

Which is precisely what they didn't do. With what might seem like a healthy 12-point lead at halftime, the Celtics entered the second half of play and encountered what a Warrior offense can do once they start connecting on shots. And what they can do is beat the Celtics, 99-89.

What does this mean for Boston? That they're having a rough road trip. That they've this week doubled their total losses on the season. That the guys have to step up. That Paul Pierce can't be the only guy putting significant numbers on the board. But also that a really bad week for Boston basketball now has the team with a record of 27-4. Which goes to show that Boston basketball is incredibly awesome.

In other news, there are reports of temperatures dropping in Hell, because when we heard that Tom Brady may or may not officially be engaged to Gisele Bundchen, our first thought was, "Why should we care? Why aren't we knowing more about how Matt Cassel's doing today?"

Well, the Bruins won. That shouldn't be a surprise - after all, they've won 18 of their last 21, and 13 in a row at home. Phil Kessel had an assist - another non-surprise, as he's notched a point in 17 straight games (he also had a goal waved off because of a high stick). That's the good part.

The bad part is that Patrice Bergeron, who'd finally gotten back into rhythm after missing almost all of last season with a concussion, slammed into Carolina defender Dennis Seidenberg and went down hard on the ice. The air got sucked out of the Garden. It was last year all over again, except Seidenberg didn't come up and hit him from behind like that jackass Flyer last year (the Bruins, to a man, allowed that it was a clean collision). Finally, Patrice got on his feet and swerved to the tunnel, but he didn't come back and nobody's sure when he will. The Bruins, without him, are off to St. Louis tonight.

The Patriots' road to the playoffs got a lot tougher last night. Dallas suffered epic fail in its quest to beat Baltimore and give the Pats the inside track to the wild-card spot (and get themselves into the playoffs, but they won't be missed). Now we either have to hope for the Jaguars to beat the Ravens next week, or for both KC and Seattle to rise from the depths of suckitude and beat Miami and the Jets, respectively, because we're still conviced that if only one of them loses, there will be a massive tank job next week to deny Bill Belichick his greatest coaching coup ever. If nothing else, there will be some excitement today as the guys from Arizona try to get their act together in a howling snowstorm.

The Celtics go for #18 in a row tonight, which would tie the best record ever to begin a season (27-2, set by the '67 Sixers and the '70 Knicks). It's the Knicks in town tonight, which brings up the "rivalry" with New York's Quentin Richardson and his ill-advised big mouth. New York has to be reeling by the news that LeBron James is thinking of resigning with Cleveland, which means the Knicks' half-cocked plan to ignore the next two seasons has to go back to the drawing board.

Lorianne DiSabato caught Bergeron down.

Two shiny pins can get you and a friend into First Night Boston, a conglomeration of cultural and crazy events on New Year's Eve. The pins also get you discounts at various retailers in the days leading up to New Year's. What a deal!

First Night offers a dizzying array of family-friendly activity, including Improv Boston performances, the Flying Linguinis, an ART staging of Aurelia's Oratorio, Shakespeare performances, a variety of puppet shows, and more. There's also plenty of music, from Project STEP to Girls Guns and Glory, and film events include Roxbury Film Festival and New England Anime Society selections. Copley Square and the Common will feature ice sculptures. Most activity happens on or near Boylston, though there are events up toward Faneuil, down at the WTC, and at the Aquarium as well. Fireworks at 7pm can separate your afternoon from evening. Basically, there's far more going on than we could ever list, so check out the site to decide your own schedule for the day.

What: First Night Boston
When: December 31, noon to midnight
Where: Mostly downtown-ish
How much: $15 per button online, $18 at retailers
More info: First Night

So far, the Twelve Days of New Year's have brought us:

Two Shiny Pins
One Last Time in JP

Someone told us a story recently of a four year old who looked her straight in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it is for a little boy to wait a whole year for Christmas?!"

Fortunately for him, the media and the commercial world are in league with the children and are working their hardest to get the holiday spirit (read: "shopping") off the ground as quickly as possible.

Fear not! The Bostonist Locavores are ready to push back against the plastic and tinsel with a little local action. Remember paper chains? How bout stringing some local cranberries with some popped local corn?

In the burgeoning local holiday spirit, this week's locavore offering is a bit of a twist on an old favorite: pumpkin pie? How about pumpkin cheesecake instead?

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup local butter
3 T sugar

Filling:
2 packages local cream cheese (16 oz total) at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 local eggs
1 cup local pumpkin pulp (see preparation below)
1 t each nutmeg and allspice
1 T cinnamon

To prepare pumpkin pulp, cut pumpkin in half, from the stem to the bottom, removing stem, and scraping out the seeds inside, which you can separate from the icky stuff, toss in olive oil and salt, and roast for 10 minutes at 350 for snacking on.

Place the two halves, cut side down on a baking sheet and pour 1/4 cup of water around them. Roast for 1 hour at 350, or until the tops fall in. Allow the pumpkins to cool, then scoop out the roasted flesh and mash. Save the extra in the freezer for pies or future cakes.

For the crust, mix together the three ingredients and press, firmly, in the bottom of a 9" spring-form pan. It is very important to push the crust into the seam of the pan, all the way around the bottom edge, so that the filling will not leak out.

Pre-bake the crust in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes to harden it.

While it is baking, place the cream cheese and the sugar in a mixer bowl and whip it very, very well- for at least 5 minutes- at full speed, scraping the sides down to make sure it is all whipped.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing between each one.

Finally, add pumpkin pulp and spices, and mix.

Pour the filling into the cooled crust.

Reduce the oven heat to 325.

Place a pan of hot water in the oven under the cheesecake, to keep up the moisture level

Bake for 1 hour, or until the center is almost set (but still a little jiggly)

Remove the cheesecake to a wire rack to cool. While it is still hot, carefully run a knife around the outside edge, so that as it cools and contracts it does not slump in the center.

When the cheesecake is cooled place it in the refrigerator and allow it to set for at least 6 hours before serving.

You can serve this cake untopped, or simply stir some sour cream until it is smooth to use as a frosting, and decorate with a sprinkling of nutmeg or cinnamon.

This recipe makes one cake, and is easily multiplied.

Post contributed by JJ Gonson, a locavore and personal chef. Read her blog at Cuisine en Locale.

Image tagged "Bostonist" by Flickr user Oberazzi.

Well, the Patriots did their part. On a snowy nasty day in Foxboro, the Pats did all they could to help the Cardinals get back to the airport and back to sunny Phoenix in record time, pasting Arizona 47-7 and allowing them to have the buses warming up at halftime. Matt Cassel threw for 345 yards, Lamont Jordan ran in two scores, and the Pats pulled everything shy of the Flutie drop kick to embarrass the NFC West "champs".

As far as the help the Pats needed, well...they got some. Baltimore and Miami both won when a loss really would have helped us out. So the road to the wild-card hinges on Jacksonville beating the Ravens. But the road to the division title (which we prefer) makes for strange bedfellows indeed. What the Patriots want - need - is a win by the Jets against Miami on Sunday. And what the Patriots probably need to do is beat Buffalo (obviously) but keep it close, so the Jets spend most of Sunday afternoon thinking that they can still win the division. In other words, we'll be rooting for the Jets, while we're hoping the Pats don't blow the Bills out early enough that Eric Mangini can look up at the scoreboard, call off his troops, and hand the playoff spot to Anyone But Bill Belichick. For what it's worth, New York has turned on the Green already, so we may be the only ones rooting for them. It's a weird game. Go Jaguars?

Speaking of inept New York teams, the Celtics, on the surface, had a fairly close game with the Knicks last night. But it was never in any real doubt. The C's sprinted to a 40-point first quarter, relaxed a little, and let the Knicks fire up more 3's than you'd really like to see (and Quentin Richardson has officially accepted the Ricky Davis Torch as the guy who's just honestly more comfortable scoring 30 points in a blowout loss than having to make a big shot in a close game). The C's pulled away thanks to (drum roll) Rajon Rondo, who blew by NY "defenders" over and over again in the second half en route to a career-high 26. The worst part of the day for the Celtics was finding out that Glen Davis got into a car crash on his way to the game and went to the hospital with a concussion and whiplash. Maybe the C's should look into sending a car for Louisiana boys who don't know how to drive in the snow.

We feel for the Bruins, who are just as hot as anyone and are still relegated to third-star status. But we can sense that they don't mind. They just nod grimly and go to work. And they did yesterday, as the offensive explosion continued with a 6-3 thumping of the Blues in St. Louis. Blake Wheeler scored twice, Phil Kessel got two assists to extend his scoring streak to 18, and most happily, Patrice Bergeron is out of the hospital after Saturday's concussion.

If the snow this weekend proved anything, it's that it's definitely the season for comfort food. And pizza and fried foods are on many people's comfort food lists. Galleria Umberto, a no-frills cafeteria-style restaurant in the North End, is one of the most perfect places in the city to find hot and filling treats to make your stomach happy.

Galleria Umberto specializes in Sicilian-style fast food at amazingly cheap prices. Square slices of pizza ($1.35) are better than anything you ate at school as a kid, with a springy and yeasty dough, sweet tomato sauce, and cheese that is just this side of the golden/burnt divide (despite the poor lighting in the picture above). The arancini ($2.50), fried rice balls stuffed with ground meat, cheese, and peas, are the size of a fist and have a crispy exterior and a creamy interior. The panzarotti ($1.25) are giant potato croquettes, studded with flavorful parsley and with a little bit of cheese at the center. Galleria Umberto also offers a variety of personal-sized calzones, with both meat and vegetarian filling options. Beer and wine are available, which always make lunchtime a little more fun.

Galleria Umberto is located at 289 Hanover Street in the North End. They are open Monday through Saturday, 11am until food runs out (usually sometime after 1pm). And don't forget to bring some patience - it can take a little while to get to the head of the line.

For more local food writing from Pam Aghababian, check out Cave Cibum.

Movies

-- It's the final installment of the Nagisa Oshima retrospective and your last chance to see a movie in the Carpenter Center until 2009. Taboo (2000), which Oshima made after a debilitating stroke, might be his last film. It's also the most homoerotic samurai movie you are likely to see this year. Featuring Takeshi Kitano. Harvard Film Archive, Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, 7 p.m. $8/$6.

Dancing Hipsters

-- While other dance nights are taking a holiday, Beat Research can't stop and won't stop. Tonight's featured guests are Ripley, a globetrotter with a bucket of beats from the four corners of the world, and Rizzla, a newcomer to Boston's dancing hipster scene. The Enormous Room, 567 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, 10 p.m. Free.

Rock

-- Cambridge band Tristan da Cunha sounds like hippies or punks or the unholy hybrid of both. Playing with Tom Fitzgerril and Neptune. Great Scott, 1222 Comm. Ave., Allston, 9 p.m. $5.

Still from Taboo courtesy Harvard Film Archive.

Okay, so there probably won't be any actual circus tents, but Privus is calling its New Year's Eve event Circus for some reason or another. Clowns, maybe? Regardless, it looks like a classier way to spend New Year's than puking into a pitcher at the Silhouette, so give it some consideration if you'd like to dress up but don't want to go downtown. There will be a "chic Japanese buffet" for the sushi-lovers, a champagne toast, and of course DJs to help you dance the night away. We imagine the crowd will look pretty fine, so dust off your good duds for the occasion and leave your sweatpants at home.

What: Circus @ Privus New Year's
When: December 31, 8pm-2am
Where: Privus (165 Brighton Ave, Allston)
How much: $25
More info: 617-787-7483 or Privus Lounge

The Twelve Days of New Year's have so far brought you:

Three Circus Tents
Two Shiny Pins
and One Last Time in JP

Hanukkah

-- There isn't much to do in Boston on the 24th of December, for reasons that we cannot fathom. Upstairs on the Square is the place to go if you need a latke hook-up. (No, we are not overcompensating for our prior lack of Hanukkah coverage.) The prix fixe Hanukkah menu is a legitimately good deal. Get a mess of latkes and beef brisket to boot. Upstairs on the Square, 91 Winthrop St., Cambridge. $52.

Image of latkes by Flickr user Sam Felder, used under a Creative Commons license.

View image With the final day of the NFL's regular season fast approaching, Bostonist has been having trouble keeping the AFC East straight. We know that the playoff possibilities are as gnarly as a Gordian knot, but, thanks to Flickr user Plutor, we now have a handy flowchart to clear things up. Print it out and keep it with you Sunday, if you can manage the stress of watching the games in the first place.