Chargers keep playoff hopes alive with wild OT victory

1. Eerily reminiscent of the Week 13 comeback victory over theRavens, Philip Rivers and the Chargers saved their playoff livelihood in unlikely fashion. Capitalizing on Colin Kaepernick's brain cramp of running out of bounds in the four-minute drill, Rivers completed a pair of fourth downs leading to the game-tying touchdown with less than 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. After fumble luck that included one that went for a touchdown, one on the goal line and another that would have ended the game in the 49ers' favor, the Bolts converted Quinton Patton's ill-timed overtime fumble into the game-winning field goal. A sloppy San Diego squad that turned the ball over three times, committed head-scratching penalties and missed a slew of tackles will take on the Chiefs for a potential wild-card spot in the season finale.

2. From the better-late-than-never department, the 49ers finally got their power-running game working with the return of road-grading right tackle Anthony Davis. In addition to the most rushing yards in 49ers history, it was the franchise's first game with a pair of 100-yard rushers since 1977. A hard-charging Frank Gore slashed his way to a season-high in rushing yards by halftime. Kaepernick's 90-yard touchdown was the second-longest by a quarterback in NFL history, staking the 49ers to a 14-point lead late in the third quarter. It was a big play coming on the heels of a 14-point swing when the Chargers converted a Kaepernick fumble into a score one play after Vernon Davis' long touchdown reception was nullified. Kaepernick's lack of game-management skills continues to haunt his team.

3. Give Rivers credit for taking over the game in crunchtime. Down to a fifth-string center and minus star tailback Ryan Mathews and No. 1 receiver Keenan Allen, Rivers leaned on ageless wonderRonnie Brown and relative unknown Dontrelle Inman with the game on the line. Undrafted out of Virginia, Inman caught the first seven passes of his career, five of them coming on a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives.

4. Hard-hitting 49ers safety Eric Reid sustained his third concussion in two NFL seasons. Despite promises to adjust his tackling style, Reid remains one of the game's most reckless hitters. It has to be a concern for the team that one of their best young players is accumulating head injuries with regularity.

5. With Michael Crabtree nursing a knee injury and donning a baseball cap on the sideline, wide receiverBruce Ellington became the first 49ersrookie since Amp Lee in 1992 to produce rushing and receiving touchdowns in the same game. Crabtree's contract-year push has fizzled out, which could lead to an exodus from San Francisco and a bigger role for Ellington in 2015.

6. With one more touchdown in the season finale, Antonio Gates can reach the century club for his career while tying his single-season career high (13). Not bad for a 34-year-old widely viewed last offseason as having entered the twilight of his career.

7. Antoine Bethea added a pick-six to his All-Pro résumé. He has been one of the league's best playmakers at safety all season.

The latest Around The NFL Podcast discusses Jay Cutler's benching and what it means for his future with the Bears. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.

'The Legend of Korra' is Proof Good Television Can Survive Anything

After a yearlong game of tug of war over the airing schedule and delivery system, today marks the series finale premiere of Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra on Nick.com. Unfortunately, what started as a simple sequel series to the beloved Avatar: The Last Airbender became something much more important. It became a sign of the state of television and how reactionary networks can be in the face of adversity – the adversity in this case being – most likely but not officially – leaked episodes that ruined premiere plans for the third season, thus causing a rapid summer release in response with zero marketing, followed by a rushed move up of the final season to the original third season slot, but only online. However, there’s something else The Legend of Korra will go down for, something that’s perhaps much more important, and that’s the enduring power of audience loyalty.

There are very few shows that boast as vocal a fan base as The Legend of Korra. Game of Thrones, Orphan Black, Arrow,Hannibal, none of them can compete with the level of fandom that comes with Niceklodeon’s half-hour, animated drama. From debates over its merits among the likes of Japanese anime, to the business nature of Nickelodeon’s ultimate choice to place the show online due to a mixture of ratings and content, one constant has remained: the viewers.

From Reddit to Tumblr to Twitter TWTR +0.95% and everywhere in between, what never changed for Korra was its highly excitable fan base. Why? Because of its well constructed and non-simplified character work. As usual, what this comes back to is the running theme of these posts: audiences will show up for anything but only stay for character, and Nick’s animated sequel has some of the best in the business. Whether playing with the ideals of changing the gender of the main character or expanding the series from a single-focused mini-event to an expanded ensemble, The Legend of Korra was never content with simply painting by the numbers – even if they were numbers originally painted by its predecessor, and it was rewarded for that.

In the original series, we saw an adventure play out through the eyes of children, inKorra, we got to see what happened after that adventure ended and those children grew up. At no point did creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko sugar coat the reality of their word: Aang and his friends were often splitting their time between being civil uniters and being parents, which left a residual feeling of fracturedness among their descendants, and we got to explore those themes through a new set of characters, many of whom came from torn families of an untraditional sense – no one was divorced, but everyone was really busy. Korra remained compelling by keepings it characters ever evolving, and by doing so, it didn’t matter when or where it aired as long as it aired – and this is where the rubber meets the road.

Most shows in Korra’s situation would have been outright dumped by their network and forced to remain in the dark until an eventual DVD release or streaming deal was made. However, Nickelodeon realized very quickly that would never fly with a fan base that just wanted to see an end to the story its invested two years of its life into. So, instead, the network chose to follow an untraditional release method in order to have its cake and eat it too. Fans got what they wanted – an opportunity to see the final episodes – while Nickelodeon got what it wanted – the series off the mothership network, and its slot re-opened to a show that might do better business with a specific set of advertisers.

Will there ever be another situation like The Legend of Korra’s? Perhaps. Perhaps not. It really doesn’t matter because what this comes back to is a television theme that will never cease. In order to be successful, in order maintain longevity, series – animated and live action alike – need to be focused on creating characters, not premises and words, that will compel viewers to come back week after week. Do that, and a fan base will stay until the bitter end no matter what hurtles are thrown at them.

7 Great Podcasts To Get Hooked On Now That Serial’s Over

Serial is over (for now)—but there’s no reason to kick your addiction to downloadable stories.

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You Asked: What Are Podcasts?

Anyone who’s ever heard a public radio pledge drive knows that a “driveway moment” is when the show you’re listening to is so good, you’ll sit parked in your car until it’s over. Now, with great podcasts flooding the digital airwaves, downloadable stories have spread “driveway moments” all over the world — to gyms, subways, kitchens, and, well, more driveways.

POPULAR AMONG SUBSCRIBERSSerial, the weekly podcast that explored the murder of a young Baltimore woman, was the most recent show to capture everyone’s ears. The last episode of Serial’s first season dropped Thursday, but there are a lot of other great podcasts worth a listen.

Slate’s Serial SpoilersHere are seven podcasts to tide Serial fans over until the show returns for a second season:

Can’t get enough of Serial? Neither could the folks at Slate Magazine, who created a complimentary podcast to discuss and dissect the details of each week’s episode. Designed to be listened to following the corresponding episode of Serial, this show is also weekly, and features hosts David Haglund and Katy Waldman nit-picking over the case’s finer points, as well as how Serial’s producer Sarah Koenig has crafted the narrative. (Warning: Spoilers, obviously).

Welcome to Night Vale

Part Twilight Zone part A Prairie Home Companion, this fictional, bi-weekly podcast takes the form of radio broadcasts to the Southwestern desert town of Night Vale, where eerie (and often humorous) occurrences pop up all the time. Performed by a central narrator (or news reporter) named Cecil, the show has periodic guest voices, winding, recurring storylines, and — even better, for new listeners — almost 60 episodes under its belt (and counting) to binge on before you get throttled by its first and 15th of the month broadcast schedule.

Criminal

Digging deep into the areas where the law doesn’t dare tread, this podcast talks to everyone from cooks to coroners in its pursuit of the story. From tales of the mysterious — like the Venus flytrap kidnapping ring — to cold-blooded drive-by shootings, these episodes, which last around 20 minutes each, will keep you on the edge of your seat, while locking you in with masterful, expert-level audio production. It’s true crime at its finest.

Thrilling Adventure Hour

This highly entertaining, live recorded podcast evokes the golden age of radio through a variety of segments, including fictional ads, one-off sketches and periodic updates from recurring stories, like the tales of diva detective Desdemona Hughes, the campy adventures of Captain Laserbeam, and the story of a time-traveling Amelia Earhart who faked her death.

Packed with cameos by voices you’d no doubt recognize, like Joe Mantegna, Neil Patrick Harris, and Alison Brie, it’s a great way to see (well, listen to) your favorite actors in a whole new light. But get it while you can — sadly, after 10 years of monthly shows, the Thrilling Adventure Hour will be ending in April 2015.

Here Be Monsters

Unpredictable, dark, and absolutely enthralling, this podcast sets out to explore the unknown and does so with a great staff of radio producers from literally all over the world (one even lives in Antarctica). In its most popular episode, the show follows a woman who, in the wake of losing her daughter, seeks alternative treatment for her extreme grief by taking highly powerful hallucinogens that can only be found in the Amazon rainforest. Other episodes are also strange trips, from explorations of white supremacist churches to covering the ways that crows mourn their dead, they take listeners down unexpected avenues, to places where they’d never venture otherwise.

This American Life

Arguably the radio show that launched the entire genre of podcasts, this public radio show launched Serial as a spin-off, but had considerable success on its own for more than 15 years. In that time, it’s put out more than 500 episodes and given the world fantastic stories by Ira Glass (the show’s host), David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell, Mike Birbiglia, Jon Ronson, and others. Its top-notch audio production has been aped by many podcasts since, but none have ever matched its popularity. In fact, while weekly episodes of This American Life are available for download, past episodes can be accessed through the show’s official app, something few other podcasts can boast.

How Did This Get Made?

A bit off topic from the true crime and great story podcasts listed above, this weekly comedy download takes an up-close, highly-critical, and wickedly funny look at terrible flicks that Hollywood pumps out, and rips them to hilarious shreds. Hosted by Paul Scheer and packed full of guests like Adam Scott, Dan Harmon, and Amy Schumer, the host and guests dissect films like Pamela Anderson’sBarb Wire, Miley Cyrus’s LOL, and even Sylvester Stallone’s classic,Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. And since there’s no stopping the movie industry from making bombs like these, you can’t expect this podcast, soon to be in its fifth year, to quit any time soon.

Rapper Bobby Shmurda Arrested at New York’s Notorious Quad Studios

Brooklyn musician Bobby Shmurda, whose ‘Shmoney Dance’ went viral, was arrested today on ‘gang conspiracy’ charges, police said.

Rising Brooklyn star rapper Bobby Shmurda was led out of the notorious Quad Studios in midtown Manhattan wearing cuffs and facing a “gang conspiracy” indictment Wednesday, pinned to a series of shootings that devastated the city, law-enforcement sources told The Daily Beast.

Shmurda, 20, was brought into custody during the predawn hours by narcotics detectives who subsequently attained a warrant and searched the recording studio and his car parked nearby—turning up three guns, sources said.

Further sweeps of Shmurda’s associates by cops hauled in as many as 16 guns, sources said.

Cops rounded up several of Shmurda’s pals and all reportedly face conspiracy charges, which remain sealed.

The Miami-born rapper (whose real name is Ackquille Jean Pollard) is believed to be tied to a rash of gang-related shootings, drug-related crimes, and “acts of violence,” police sources said.

The arrest is another blemish for the Quad Recording Studios, which is where, a decade ago, the rapper Tupac Shakur was ambushed by a trio of shooters.

The rapper survived the attack, where he took five slugs.

Shortly after coming to, Tupac publicly fingered rival East Coast rapper Biggie Smalls and his crew for ordering the assassination attempt.

Further sweeps of Shmurda’s associates by cops hauled in as many as 16 guns, sources said.

On Sept. 7, 1996, Tupac was targeted and killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. He was 25-years-old and his murder remains a cold case.

A Quad Recording Studios rep told The Daily Beast that the company was in the dark regarding Shmurda’s alleged brush with crime.

“Right now we’re waiting for the investigation to unfold and that’s all we can say,” said the rep, who refused to give his name.

Shmurda’s uncle told The Daily Beast he was unaware of the most recent bust.

“We don’t know what is going on,” Garfield Pollard told The Daily Beast in a phone interview from his Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, home. “We haven’t talked to him yet.”

The talented musician is being held at the 71st Precinct in Brooklyn and due to be arraigned Thursday morning.

Shmurda, who reps Brooklyn, was signed by Epic Records after the release of his videos “Hot N—” and the catchy “Shmoney Dance”—which drew more than 7 million views and inspired boldface superstars like Rihanna to mimic the dance steps to its catchy hook.

Before this latest brush with the law, the rapper was facing pot-bust and unrelated gun charges.

On the pot bust back in October, the rapper was allegedly puffing dope while double parked and the arrest forced him to miss a gig.

On his Instagram account, Shmurda blasted NYPD cops with a video captioned, “So da bum ass cops locked me up yesterday Fa some bullsh— made me miss [a show].”

Back in June, a month before he signed his Epic $1 million record deal, Shmurda, who spits lyrics like: 

“We keep 9 millis on my block, n—s/Known to get busy with them Glocks, n—,” was booked on June 3 for concealing a loaded 9mm Glock pistol in a couch inside a Brooklyn apartment. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and faced 15 years prison time.

It’s unclear if either of the pot or gun charges were adjudicated.

Spoiler Alert! Who Is the Season 7 Winner of The Voice?

The stage lit up as Jennifer Hudson and Jessie J serenaded the crowd with number one hits during The Voice Season 7 finale Tuesday night, but all eyes were on the four finalists who sang beside them, battling it out to win the competition. 

Matt McAndrew, Damien Lawson and Chris Jamison of Team Adam Levineand Craig Wayne Boyd of Team Blake Shelton sang their hearts out from the start of the blind auditions down to the moment the winner was revealed. 

In the end, only one star could walk away with The Voice title and it was Craig Wayne Boyd from Team Blake. 

Boyd, the 35-year-old singer from Nashville, Tennessee, hooked the country's vote and proved he had what it took to become America's next musical superstar after belting "Sweet Home Alabama" on stage with the iconic Lynyrd Skynyrd. 

"There has never been a more deserving person to hold that trophy than Craig Wayne Boyd," Shelton said after the show as he stood next to Boyd. 

On Monday night, Boyd awed America as he performed original song "My Baby's Got a Smile On Her Face" – gifted to him by his coach. 

Shelton had been "carrying the song around in his back pocket for years" not knowing what to do with it, and even admitted that he didn’t record it himself because of the difficulty level. 

"You know, looking back, I don't know if I'm really one of those guys that believes in meant to be's," said Shelton, about the song. "This may have been one."

Lions' Waddle out for season with knee injury

Detroit Lions right tackle LaAdrian Waddle's injury-riddled season is over.

Waddle suffered a partially torn ACL in his left knee in Sunday's 16-14 win over the Minnesota Vikingsand will miss the remainder of the year.

Lions coach Jim Caldwell would not divulge details of Waddle's injury at his news conference today, but he acknowledged, "It doesn't look good."

The Lions plan to place Waddle, who should be ready by the start of 2015 training camp, on season-ending injured reserve.

"That's a big loss," center Dominic Raiola said Sunday. "That's our guy out there. It sucks for him, and we're going to hurt for him. But we're totally confident in (Cornelius Lucas). He's had game experience this year. We look at him as a starter. He goes out there and he transforms into the starter. I'm happy for him, for his opportunity. It sucks for L.A."

Lucas, an undrafted rookie out of Kansas State, will take over as starting right tackle for the 10-4 Lions, who can clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Chicago Bearsthis weekend.

Lucas has started one game at left tackle this year, in place of Riley Reiff, and has filled in several times for Waddle on the right side.

Waddle got hurt on the Lions' third-quarter field goal drive Sunday, when a Vikings defender rolled into his leg. He couldn't put any weight on the leg as he stood up and was carted off the field.

Waddle also has missed time with two concussions, calf and ankle injuries this year. His backup, Corey Hilliard, was lost to a foot injury in Week 1.

Note: Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is among eight finalists for the NFL's new Sportsmanship Award. Also among the finalists are Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald; linebackers Thomas Davis of Carolina and Chad Greenway of Minnesota; safety Troy Polamalu of Pittsburgh; defensive end DeMarcus Ware of Denver; quarterback Alex Smith of Kansas City; and special teams ace Matthew Slater of New England. A panel of former players — Hall of Famer Curtis Martin, Warrick Dunn, Karl Mecklenburg and Leonard Wheeler — selected the finalists from 32 nominees, one from each team. The winner will be determined by a vote of current NFL players and announced during the "NFL Honors" program Jan. 31.

Highlights from Caldwell's news conference today

On what he believed he learned as a head coach in Indianapolis: "I'd say they're countless. I think you learn something every day and I try to make that a point throughout my life. I think if you stop learning and stop observing that pretty soon you become outdated, stale and ineffective. SO yea, I learned something every day there and I'm learning something every day here as well."

On what he specifically has learned: "You name it. I've learned things about strategy, about dealing with people. You learn a little bit more about the people that you're working with, which is invaluable. You learn about opposition for us, obviously being within this division now it's a little bit different. So, we have a lot to learn in that regard, so they're a lot of things."

On what he's learned about this group of guys on the team so far: "Quite a few things. I'll tell you the thing that jumps out at me about this group and what they've shown up to this point. They have grit. They are very rarely deterred when a big challenge comes they're way. They're able to hang in there and play with poise down the stretch and overcome some difficult circumstances. They play together, which is quite admirable."

On how much he incorporates the 'we control our own destiny' dialogue: "I've been saying that from the first day I got here. That's always been our mantra and always will be until it no longer exists so that's obviously still the case. Matter fact I mentioned it a couple weeks ago. … Remember that discussion, right? You do recall that, right? You guys probably notice I don't forget a whole lot. Old guy, but I still remember."

On his evaluation of Matthew Stafford's performance Sunday: "I think he did a nice job. He made some plays when we had to have them and it wasn't pretty. I think his numbers aren't going to jump off the wall at you. That position, there are going to be games where you're not going to be 75-percent or 76-percent and three touchdowns and that kind of thing. It was just one of those games. I think you can look across the spectrum of our league and you'll see a number of examples that jump right out at you. But I think he hung in there and did a nice job for us."

On Reggie Bush's performance Sunday: "I think he got what was there. I just don't think there was any great opportunity for him to get loose, but he got what was there."

Carlos Monarrez contributed.

Don Zimmer was truly a baseball man

Don Zimmer, a revered figure in his 66 years in Major League Baseball, died Wednesday, less than two months after undergoing heart surgery.

He was 83.

Zimmer's colorful personality and a deep love of the game prompted him to say he never worked a day in his life, and commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement Wednesday that Zimmer was "one of our game's most universally beloved figures."

He had a 12-year major league playing career, but rose to notoriety in more than 30 years as a coach, manager and advisor, most recently with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Zimmer was a senior advisor for the Rays and still suited up with the club during spring training.

He had been hospitalized since having heart surgery on April 16. His son Tom told theTampa Bay Times that Zimmer "went peacefully."

Zimmer's health was not far from the Rays' minds. Third base coach Tom Foley took to wearing a jersey with Zimmer on the back in tribute to the ailing icon.

Tampa Bay was but a final stop on a true baseball odyssey, where Zimmer bounced from franchise to franchise before gaining a greater measure of fame as Joe Torre's right-hand man with the great New York Yankees teams of the 1990s.

"I hired him as a coach, and he became like a family member to me," Torre said in a statement released Wednesday night. "He has certainly been a terrific credit to the game. The game was his life. And his passing is going to create a void in my life and my wife Ali's. We loved him.

"The game of Baseball lost a special person tonight. He was a good man."