In a huge blow for the sky blues, Juninho will miss Friday night’s crucial A-League match with Newcastle Jets at Sydney Football Stadium, the visit of Perth Glory and the trip to leaders Central Coast Mariners after scans revealed a chipped bone in his shin from a fierce tackle he copped against the Galaxy. The Brazilian playmaker was crunched by LA’s Kevin Harmse at Telstra Stadium nine days ago in an apparent attempt at revenge for an earlier tackle by a Sydney player on Galaxy star David Beckham. Sydney sit four points outside the top four and a finals spot with seven games to play, though they do have a game in hand, and Kosmina is viewing Friday night’s home match as must-win. In-form Joel Griffiths looms as a real threat for Sydney, with the Jets striker scoring seven goals this year. More Christmas

[Tags]the, a, in, sydney, for, as, christmas[/Tags]

Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights . PARTNERS USA Today | Gannett Co. More Christmas

[Tags]of, privacy, agreement, and, california, co, christmas[/Tags]

It’s late afternoon on the mazelike Hollywood set of TNT’s The Closer (special two-hour episode airing tonight at 8 pm/ET on TNT), and Kyra Sedgwick is filming a scene that would feel familiar to any fan of the show. More Christmas

[Tags]the, of, on, 8, a, afternoon, christmas[/Tags]

Justin Jones, 24, and James Castrission, 25, left Forster, on the NSW mid north coast, on November 13 and hope to reach Auckland by December 25. They have paddled more than 1,000 km in their custom designed double kayak but their electric desalination pump and their cabin bilge pump have failed. If successful, the pair will be the first Australians to achieve the feat but a series a mechanical faults, unfavourable winds and fatigue are wearing on them. Headwinds are expected to persist until at least Wednesday, when a change is forecast to bring westerly winds to help push their craft towards New Zealand. The pair report three indicators each night to their support team to gauge their current stamina. On a scale of one to 10, they each rate today their physical fitness as a seven but their mental toughness and fatigue levels have dropped to five and below. More Christmas

[Tags]the, their, to, and, a, on, christmas[/Tags]

Please check to make sure it is correct. If you have any further questions, please email support at prolexic. More Christmas

[Tags]please, any, at, check, correct, email, christmas[/Tags]

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he hoped to set an example for the tens of millions of New Yorkers and tourists who see the tree every year. Using energy saving bulbs reduces the energy consumption of the holiday display from 3,510 to 1,297 kilowatt hours per day. Millions of New Yorkers and tourists are expected to come to see the tree during the holiday season. After the holiday season, the tree will be milled, treated and returned to Rockefeller Center as “green” lumber and made into symbolic door frames that will be used in select HFH building programs in New York City, the Gulf Coast, India and Brazil.

[Tags]the, and, tree, to, in, new, christmas[/Tags]

The singer was reportedly granted custody of two-year-old Sean Preston and 14-month-old Jayden James for Christmas Day during a closed Los Angeles court hearing yesterday, according to TMZ. Also discussed at yesterday’s hearing, which was attended by Britney’s lawyer Anne Kiley and Kevin’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan, was the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services’ request for access to the former couple’s case file - in particular documents, which have been sealed. A lawyer for the county was present in the courtroom, and requested all media be removed before he addressed the court. The shoot will begin at 8am at Los Angeles restaurant Social Hollywood and will be directed by Wayne Isham, who created the video for her 2002 hit, I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman. The insider revealed that as Britney has a scheduled visit with Sean and Jayden today she will only be available to film for two hours, between 12pm and 2pm.

[Tags]the, and, for, a, her, of, christmas[/Tags]

Please check to make sure it is correct. If you have any further questions, please email support at prolexic.

[Tags]please, any, at, check, correct, email, christmas[/Tags]

A fiberglass copy in front of the new town hall is “dedicated to the children of the world” and in memory of Carl A. Now at its fourth location at the north end of the Kringle Place mall, the world’s only post office bearing the name of Santa Claus receives more than a half-million pieces of mail a year — about 10,000 of them from children addressed to Santa and the rest from adults wanting the Santa Claus, Ind. But with the support of Robert “Believe It or Not” Ripley, who sent Brown a 4-foot-wide postcard carrying the Santa Claus post office cancellation, and The Indianapolis News, which asked its readers to send letters of protest, Santa Claus was saved. Exhibits in five rooms detail the history of the town and its post office, and the evolution of Santa Claus Land to today’s award-winning Holiday World theme park, which draws a million customers a year. Veer slightly to the left on 245 and travel a tenth of a mile to the town’s original 22-foot-high Santa statue, dedicated “to the children of the world” in 1935.

[Tags]the, and, of, to, a, santa, christmas[/Tags]

Christmas tree shoppers should expect to pay more this season because of rising freight and fuel costs, according to the manager of a Christmas tree auction that bills itself as the country’s largest. About 200 bidders, most of them buying trees in lots for retailers in the Northeast, attended the auction. A six- or seven-foot-high Fraser fir of the most common grade sold at auction for $20-$24 and will probably retail in urban areas for $45-$65, he said. Most of the trees Courtney auctioned off were harvested from within 300 miles of the auction site in central Pennsylvania, with some Fraser firs originating in North Carolina.

[Tags]the, in, of, for, to, trees, christmas[/Tags]