New England

Down … Set … What? The New England Patriots lost star tight end Rob Gronkowski to a broken arm because they left him on the field for a meaningless point after touchdown, the 59th point in their 59-24 blowout of Indianapolis? The Philadelphia Eagles lost their best offensive player, running back LeSean McCoy, to a concussion because he was still in the game in the final two minutes of a 31-6 loss to Washington? As the NFL season heads into its stretch run, the injuries are piling up, and some of them are more senseless than others.

The New England Patriots moved to shore up their shaky secondary Thursday by obtaining cornerback Aqib Talib from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Patriots traded their fourth-round pick in next year's draft for the former first-round choice, who is coming off his second NFL suspension, and a seventh-rounder in 2013. Talib, who has 18 interceptions since being taken by Tampa Bay with the 20th pick in 2008 from Kansas, will be eligible to play in the Patriots' next game on Nov. 11 after serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances.

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake likened to an off-balance washing machine shook New England as far south as Connecticut on Tuesday evening. No damage or injuries were immediately reported.  The earthquake occurred at 7:12 p.m., the  U.S. Geological Survey  said. The epicenter was four miles from Hollis Center, which is about 20 miles west of the state's largest city, Portland.   Initially, the USGS put the magnitude at 4.6, but later downgraded it to 4.0. Either way, New England is not used to the earth shaking.

The first day of fall -- which happens to be today -- leads many people to think of the changing leaves. But in New England, the leaves have been turning colors for weeks now, signaling an early autumn and suggesting that "leaf peepers" will get their fill of spectacular, brilliant foliage. Blink, though, and you might miss it. "This summer, we didn't have the extreme drought conditions that the rest of the country had," said Jim Salge, a nature photographer, a writer for New England travel guide Yankee Magazine and one of the area's foremost foliage experts . "We had a mild drought; we also had a very early spring.

Light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones made an unprecedented stand against the Ultimate Fighting Championship last month - he declined to fight a last-minute substitute, prompting the first-ever cancellation of an entire UFC card. His mother, Camille, beamed with pride. "That was so Mama," she said. "I would be miserable if I was being forced to do something I didn't believe in. He's not only an athlete, but a businessman and a thinker. " It turns out the three sons of "Mama" Jones and her husband, Arthur, have had a major impact on American sports - and they will be on full display this weekend.

Kellen Winslow Jr. has agreed to a one-year contract with the New England Patriots, according to a report Tuesday morning on ESPN.com. Winslow is an eight-year veteran tight end who made the Pro Bowl with the Cleveland Browns in 2007, when he caught for a career-high 1,106 yards to go with 82 receptions and five touchdowns. He has hit the five-touchdown mark two other times, in 2009 and 2010 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After catching 75 passes for 763 yards and two touchdowns for the Bucs last season, Winslow was traded to Seattle during the off-season but was cut by the Seahawks earlier this month.

When: 6 p.m. Where: Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara On the air: TV: NBC Sports. Records: Chivas USA 7-10-7, San Jose 15-6-5. Record vs. San Jose: 0-0-1. Update: After scrambling back from a three-goal deficit to tie one of the league's worst teams, New England, Chivas USA goes back on the road Sunday to meet the best team in Major League Soccer. The Earthquakes lead MLS with 52 goals and a goal differential of 19. San Jose's Chris Wondolowski leads the league with 18 goals, two fewer than Chivas has scored as a team.

Chivas USA didn't get the result it needed on the field Wednesday, rallying from a three-goal deficit to tie the New England Revolution, 3-3, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. And although that left the team's playoff hopes in doubt — Chivas is nine points out of the Western Conference's final postseason berth with 10 games left — that was nothing compared with the uncertainty the team faces off the field after Mexican businessman Jorge Vergara and his wife, Angelica Fuentes, assumed control of the franchise Wednesday by buying out partners Antonio and Lorenzo Cue. Vergara, founder of the nutritional supplement company Grupo Omnilife and owner of the Mexican first-division club Chivas de Guadalajara, joined the Cues to found Chivas USA in 2004.

Chivas USA, seven points out of a postseason berth with seven games to play, made an attempt at bolstering its playoff run Wednesday when it acquired New England Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph. A four-time Major League Soccer all-star, Joseph will be counted on to jump-start an offense that ranks last in the league with 14 goals in 20 games. “He has been one the most consistent players in this league," Chivas General Manager Jose Domene said. "He brings his experience and he will help us make that final push for the playoffs and hopefully MLS Cup.” To get the 34-year-old Joseph, who has one goal and three assists in 18 games in this season, Chivas sent midfielder Blair Gavin, a SuperDraft second-round pick in 2013, and undisclosed allocation money to New England.