Today's train of thought takes us to the north central corner of Land of Lincoln with Ominitrax's Illinois Railway. The railway operates just over 100 miles of track over three disconnected lines in northern Illinois, but more notably the line serves as a sort of test track or proving ground for motive power destined for other Omnitrax lines throughout the US and Canada.
Traffic for the Illinois Railway includes steel, paper, fertilizer and other agricultural commodities, but most noticeably in recent years, frac sand. Much of the sand originates from the US Silica mine near Ottawa, IL and moves in unit trains of anywhere from 60 to 100 cars before being handed off to the BNSF in Aurora, IL. In fact- if the Ottawa sand trains aren't running with BNSF power, then chances are that they're using the Hudson Bay SD50s.
Here, railpictures.net contributor Steve Smedley caught Kettle Falls International GP38-3 #2256 is seen leading a local on the former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy tracks outside of Mt. Morris, IL in May 2010 with the IR's Oregon job. The geeps had recently replaced some former Santa Fe GE B23-7s.
As for the Kettle Falls International Railway, they operate more than 130 miles of Y-shaped former Great Northern trackage in north central Washington State and southern British Columbia, hauling lumber, forestry products and chemicals with four axle geeps.
A representative from Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents the firefighters, met for an hour with Chief Bronaugh Tuesday afternoon, with the union hoping Chief Bronaugh would modify his order. Instead, he ordered the firefighters sent home immediately, pending disciplinary action.
Union spokesman Adam Rosen said he is “shocked” that an agency of first responders would enforce such an order the week of Sept. 11.
The four firefighters said they were told that the order was issued because of racial discord on the department. The four, who include two white firefighters, a black firefighter, and a fourth firefighter who is a Cuban émigré, said no such problems exist.
Instead, they trace it back to a decision by several firefighters to replace a tattered American flag last month in one of Maywood’s firehouses. The new flag mysteriously disappeared early Aug. 23. The order on decals was issued last week.
Maywood has had no such order in the recent past. One of the four firefighters, Dave Flowers Jr., inherited his locked from his father when his father retired from the Maywood Fire Department and has stickers dating back several decades that Rosen calls “irreplaceable.” One is a U.S. Marine Corps insignia issued to Vietnam veterans.
The Maywood fire chief told CBS 2 the order rose out of a need to banish inappropriate messages and gave an example of a photo that could be seen as racist.
The image in question was reportedly a picture of a chimpanzee smoking, which town officials could be construed as racist. However, that picture had been removed nearly 8 years ago by a firefighter that has since retired. Former Maywood firefighter Michael Hess said put up the picture to 'jam up' a colleague who was smoking.
Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Land of Lincoln, although the focal point is somewhat lost among the urban landscape of one of Chicagoland's biggest suburbs. Aurora, IL is probably best known for being the home of the fictional public-access cable show Wayne's World- a Saturday Night Live skit that would evolve into two movies.
The Illinois Railway (formerly Illinois Rail Net) has been in operation since purchasing 113 miles of former BNSF track throughout northern Illinois in 1997, including the former CB&Q Ottawa branch. By 2005, the line was acquired by Denver-based shortline holding company Omnitrax.
Not too long after Omnitrax entered the picture, locomotives from other Omnitrax properties began showing up on IR property- most noticeably SD50s from the Manitoba-based Hudson Bay Railway painted in a striking green, white and gold scheme.
Here, railpictures.net contributor Chris Guss caught Hudson Bay Railway SD50 #5008 leading a former Burlington Northern/BNSF SD40-2 leaser with a northbound IR unit frac sand train from Ottawa, IL through the heart of Aurora on August 28, 2011. But the train is seemingly dwarfed by some of the buildings in the scene- one notices the marquee for the Paramount Theater or faded 'shoes' sign off on the left immediately. The train soaring across the overpass or cars waiting at the stoplight seem almost secondary.
The train is actually on BNSF trackage rights between Montgomery, IL and the BNSF's Eola yard not too far from downtown Aurora.
With the advent of hydrofracture drilling (or "fracking") in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale natural gas reserves or North Dakota's Bakken oil fields, the sand mined around Ottawa and other northeastern Illinois towns has been in big demand in recent years. This has led to near-daily unit trains of frac sand for lines like the Illinois Railway or Wisconsin Northern, so it's not surprising that to learn that these massive unit trains on these smaller railroads continue to this very day.
A face only a mother could love- and even then, that's kinda iffy. Monkfish- also known as known as goosefish- apparently tastes better than it looks.-Photo courtesy of Katrinshine
With new regulations set to cripple New England's traditional commercial fishing industry, an unlikely group of fishermen, environmentalists and restaurateurs are attempting to come up with new concepts to keep fishermen working and seafood on the menu as limits are placed on cod and haddock.
One such solution is the marketing of 'trash' fish- fish that was once considered a nuisance and undesirable by fishermen- to consumers throughout the east coast.
Most people have only ever seen a scorpion fish in an aquarium. Unless they dine at Carolina Crossroads Restaurant in Chapel Hill, N.C., where they’ll find the spiny, venomous creature on the menu.
It’s called trash fish dining, and it’s catching on with chefs around the country searching for fresh ways to fill their menus with sustainable — and delicious — seafood.
“The fishermen would be like, ‘This is all trash, junk,’ but I said, ‘I’ll pay fair price for it if you’ll bring it back to the dock,’” says James Clark, the restaurant’s executive chef. “Eat some butter-poached scorpion fish and you’ll swear it’s lobster.”
Chefs such as Clark go beyond the usual recommendation to eat small, lower-food-chain fish like sardines, and instead delve full force into little-known local catches that many anglers regard as nuisance or “trash” fish. Clark’s menu also offers triggerfish, drum, white grunt and other obscure species.
Meanwhile, New Haven, Conn., sushi restaurant Miya’s features invasive species such as shore crabs and moon snails. At San Francisco’s Incanto, chef Chris Cosentino serves sea slug, tuna spines and roasted fish heads. And at Arrows restaurant in Ogunquit, Maine, award-winning chefs Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier built a “Trash Fish Dinner” around whiting, mackerel and other less desirable species.
Besides introducing the public to lesser-known fish, these top chefs also are promoting a broader concept of how to eat sustainably from the ocean, a concept that conservation experts say could help secure the world’s seafood supply. Just three fish — shrimp, canned tuna and salmon — account for more than half of all U.S. seafood consumption, according to the trade association the National Fisheries Institute.
Invasive species like the Asian Carp along the Mississippi River are getting similar treatment. Although there isn't much market for the carp in the Midwest, the state of Illinois signed into a contract with China to sell 30 million pounds of carp the Chinese back in 2010. Although there is carp available in China, the rivers there are notoriously polluted. The carp from the Illinois and Missisiippi Rivers, however, are marketed as fresh and clean offerings for upscale Chinese restaurants
Federal prosecutors want Jackson to be sentenced to four years in prison.
According to the new memorandum, two psychiatrists who have treated Jackson, 48, for mental health problems have written letters to the court on his behalf. But the memorandum does not name the doctors nor make public their letters. New are representations from Jackson's lawyers about the psychiatrists' views and Jackson's condition.
Similar defenses were used by the lawyers for former Illinois governors George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich. The previous two governors of Illinois are currently in prison on charges of extortion, racketeering and fraud.
While still in office, Jesse Jackson Jr spent several months at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota undergoing treatment for what he claimed was 'exhaustion' starting in June 2012. Despite not being in office for several months, Jackson handily won re-election in his south Chicago Congressional district. Critics note that Jackson's 'mental health' problems weren't documented until a federal investigation into misappropriation of campaign funds began.
In late February, Jackson and his wife- Chicago alderwoman Sandra Stevens Jackson- pleaded guilty to mail fraud, wire fraud and making false statements. Sandra Jackson resigned from her office in late January. Prosecutors have accused the two of using nearly $750,000 in embezzled campaign funds for a number of personal purchases and home renovations. Items purchased included furs, a $43,000 Rolex as well as Bruce Lee, Jimi Hendrix and Michael Jackson memorabilia and plane tickets for Jackson's mistress, Giovana Huidboro.
Federal prosecutors detailed their charges against former Illinois Democrat Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr late last week as he was charged with conspiracy to commit false statements, mail fraud and wire fraud as he allegedly misappropriated more than $750,000 in campaign funds. The money was reportedly used to buy high-end merchandise for himself and his wife and renovations on their Chicago home.
The court filing was a clear signal that Jackson, who was first elected to the House of Representatives in the mid-1990s, intended to plead guilty to the charge, which has a maximum penalty of five years in prison. No court date has been set.
Jackson’s expected plea would be another mile marker in his slow political and personal collapse, which began shortly after President Obama’s 2008 election. That had seemed to open up possibilities for Jackson, considered a likely successor to Obama in the Senate.
Instead, FBI agents arrested then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) and charged him with trying to sell the interim appointment to the Senate seat from Illinois to the highest bidder, and Jackson was implicated in the scandal. Though not charged, he would never recover politically.
According to the documents released Friday, Jackson used campaign funds to buy a $43,350 gold Rolex watch along with almost $10,000 in children’s furniture that he had delivered to his home in the District.
Among other allegations, prosecutors say Jackson made direct expenditures of about $57,793 from the campaign’s accounts for personal expenses. The documents say he and a co-conspirator used a campaign credit card to make $582,773 worth of purchases for their own use.
Jackson’s wife, former Chicago alderman Sandra Stevens Jackson, was not named or charged in that case, but the description makes clear that she was the co-conspirator.
Jackson’s wife was charged with filing false income-tax returns from 2006 through 2011, according to a separate criminal information in her case. That charge has a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
The criminal documents outline a series of illegal expenditures from the former congressman’s campaign account, including more than a dozen purchases of pop-culture artifacts that firmly establish him as someone who came of age in the 1970s and ’80s:
●$10,105 worth of Bruce Lee memorabilia, including four separate purchases of items associated with the late martial-arts film hero.
●$14,200 in random Michael Jackson memorabilia.
●$4,000 for a “Michael Jackson and Eddie Van Halen” guitar.
●$4,600 for a Michael Jackson fedora.
In mid-November, when he announced his resignation from the House, Jackson signaled that he was in plea negotiations.
“I have made my share of mistakes. I am aware of the ongoing federal investigation into my activities and I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with the investigators,” he wrote in his resignation letter.
In the Blagojevich case, Raghuveer Nayak, who worked as a fundraiser for [convicted former Illinois governor Rod] Blagojevich and Jackson, told investigators that Jackson instructed him to raise as much as $6 million for the governor’s campaign.
If found guilty, Jackson will also lose his federal pension. Observers also indicate that prison time would an increasingly likely outcome for the 10-term congressman [no word on whether or not it will be at that nearly vacant prison outside of Rock Island, IL that President Obama, Gov Quinn and Sen Durbin were so keen on using to house Al Qeada detainees- NANESB!]. Despite checking himself into the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota back in June, Jackson Jr won re-election by a 63% margin in November before announcing his resignation a few weeks later.
Donne Trotter, a 62 year old Chicago Democrat, claimed it was an innocent mistake and that he forgot to unload he pistol and magazine with live rounds from a garment bag after reportedly finishing up a shift as a security guard.
It all started on Wednesday morning at O'Hare, when Transportation Security Administration officers say they spotted a gun in Trotter's carry-on bag. [Trotter] said he forgot it was in his bag from the night before, when he told authorities that he had worked a security guard shift for a South Side company.
According to state records, All Points Security and Detective Company currently has more than 50 employees licensed under it to work as armed guards, among them Donne Trotter.
Although many of the state licensees on this list appear to have law enforcement backgrounds, Trotter is not known for that. His bio and campaign disclosures do not list his employment as a security guard, and he has declined to answer any questions about the matter.
All Points has not responded to questions either and has offered no explanation, context or proof of Senator Trotter's actual employment.
Public records reveal the firm has had government contracts, including a $5 million deal to provide armed escorts for CTA cash collections.
The gun was identified as a .25 cal Beretta- a much more compact, small caliber pistol from the manufacturer of the military's M9 9mm sidearm [Just an observation on my part, but unless that was some sort of 'backup' piece, a .25 cal pistol is woefully underpowered for security or protective work of any kind- NANESB!]. During the bail hearing, prosecutors said that although Trotter had an Illinois state Firearms Owner Identification Card for the gun, the Beretta was not registered with the city of Chicago as required by municipal ordinance. The city of Chicago has among the strictest gun control laws in the nation for decades, but that has done nothing to stem the skyrocketing murder rate in the Windy City.
Trotter, who has been in office since 1988, voted against a measure that would allow Illinois residents to carry concealed weapons in 1995 and voted in favor of a ban on high capacity magazines in 2007.
Jackson Jr's wife- Chicago Alerwoman Sandi Jackson- may also be facing jail time for her role in redirecting campaign funds. An estimated $20,000 went towards renovations on their Chicago home and many have speculated an increased willingness to cooperate with investigators on her part upon learning about the Rolex and plane tickets.
According to Jenky, the new Health and Human Services (HHS) contraception mandate has put the country on a dangerous path for religious freedom.
“[N]o Catholic institution, under any circumstance, can ever cooperate with the intrinsic evil of killing innocent human life in the womb,” he explained.
“No Catholic ministry — and yes, Mr. President, for Catholics our schools and hospitals are ministries — can remain faithful to the Lordship of the Risen Christ and to his glorious Gospel of Life if they are forced to pay for abortions,” Jenky went on to say.
“The church will survive the entrenched corruption and sheer incompetence of our Illinois state government, and even the calculated disdain of the president of the United States, his appointed bureaucrats in HHS and of the current majority of the federal Senate,” he continued. “May God have mercy on the souls of those politicians who pretend to be Catholic in church, but in their public lives, rather like Judas Iscariot, betray Jesus Christ by how they vote and how they willingly cooperate with intrinsic evil.”
Jenkey recalled in detail other leaders that have “tried to force Christians to huddle and hide,” including Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
“Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services and health care,” he said. “In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama — with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda — now seems intent on following a similar path.”
Jenky's criticism of the Administration and HHS is the harshest yet from the Catholic Church. Earlier this month, Cardinal Timothy Dolan stated that the Obama Administration and HHS mandates were a radical intrusion into the lives of the faithful in an interview with CBS News' Face the Nation.
A Chicago native, Jenky was appointed as the 8th Bishop of Peoria in 2002. Jenky's homily appears over at the Catholic Post in its entirety [lest anyone think the Bishop is too quick to go Godwin, keep in mind that the Obama Administration is basically demanding that the Catholic Church no longer adhere to their beliefs in order to fall into compliance with the 0bamacare mandate- NANESB!].
Coincidentally, the pivotal vote in 2010 for Obamacare came from supposedly pro-life Catholic Democrat Representative Bart Stupak. The Administration assured the Northern Michigan Democrat that federal money wouldn't be used to fund abortions or contraceptives at the time. Within weeks of 0bamacare passing, Stupak announced he wouldn't seek re-election as a number of potential challengers emerged from the woodwork. A surgeon from the upper peninsula named Dan Benishek eventually won Stupak's former seat.
Investigators are looking at whether controllers' confusion delayed first responders as the plane was on its final approach, 9NEWS Aviation Analyst Greg Feith, a former NTSB investigator, said.
Only one of the 21 people on board the plane was taken to the hospital after the incident.
Tuesday morning around 8:30, United Express Flight 5912, operated by ExpressJet, declared an emergency landing during its final approach to DIA after being cleared to land, according to a control-tower recording provided by an FAA source. The emergency landing was because of smoke in the cockpit.
The controller then went on to continue directing traffic before Flight 5912 made another emergency call announcing the had already landed and were evacuating the aircraft.
The NTSB was investigating the Embraer 145's right engine failed on approach to Denver. According to an FAA report of the incident, firefighters extinguished a small fire located behind the instrument panel.
“Cuts to the FAA would likely result in more flight cancellations, delays, and the complete elimination of air traffic control services in parts of the country,” Obama said in a speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors on Tuesday.
So even without Ryan's budget plan being approved, these dire scenarios Obama is predicting regardin the FAA are already happening. Apparently that's how evil, draconian and sinister the Ryan budget plan is.
BNSF freight train cresting the Cascade Range in Washington state. Photo- Mike Bjork
According to a recent report in Bloomberg, Warren Buffet's BNSF Railroad and parent company Berkshire Hathaway [NYSE: BRK-A] stand to gain more traffic and revenue after President Obama declined approval of the proposed KeystoneXL pipeline from Canadian firm TransCanada [NYSE: TRP/TSX: TRP] that would transport oil from Alberta' Abathasca Tar Sands to Gulf Coast refineries.
A BNSF spokeswoman stated that if the KeystoneXL Pipeline "doesn't happen, we're here to haul".
With modest expansion, railroads can handle all new oil produced in western Canada through 2030, according to an analysis of the Keystone proposal by the U.S. State Department.
The rail option, though costlier, would lessen the environmental impact, such as a loss of wetlands and agricultural productivity, compared to the pipeline, according to the State Department analysis. Greenhouse gas emissions, however, would be worse.
Investors such as John Stephenson, who helps manage $2.7 billion for First Asset Management Inc. in Toronto said he anticipated the project would move forward next year. Pipeline shipping costs remain lower than rail, and a lack of readily available tanker cars may create a bottleneck.
The availability of tank cars may create a temporary “hiccup” in transport capacity, according to Tony Hatch, an independent railroad analyst in New York. Rail cars are “a pretty hot commodity,” as a result of demand from oil producers in North Dakota, he said.
Rail car production is already at a three-year high as manufacturers such as Greenbrier Cos Inc. [NYSE: GBX] and American Railcar Industries Inc. [NASDAQ: ARII] expand to meet demand for sand used in oil and gas exploration, according to Steve Barger, an analyst at Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. in Cleveland, citing Railway Supply Institute statistics.
Oil and natural gas moving to refineries by train is hardly a novel concept. Between 1983 and 1997, the Southern Pacific Railroad ran a daily 70+ car train from the oil fields around Bakersfield, CA over the Tehachapi mountains to the refineries in Long Beach, CA. The train- sometimes known as the Oil Can- ceased its daily run after a pipeline over the mountains was completed in the late 1990s. Over in Big Sky Country, the Montana Rail Link runs a daily 126-mile gas train between Missoula and Thompson Falls, MT to bypass a section of Conoco-Phillips' [NYSE: COP] Yellowstone Pipeline after a section of the gasoline pipeline in the Flathead Indian Reservation was shut down following a 1993 spill.
However, both of the aforementioned measures described were primarily stopgaps and seemingly inadequate for the scale and distances involved with the Abathasca Oil Sands. With a dedicated pipeline, TransCanada wouldn't have to worry about the tank cars sitting idle in a rail yard somewhere, crew changes every 200 or so miles or moving empty tank cars back to the oil fields.
To the south of the Abathasca oil sands, both BNSF and Canadian Pacific have been working to improve capacity and track speed on some of their North Dakota lines in order to better serve the Bakken Oil Shale that straddles the US/Canada border. In addition to the traffic generated from the Bakken shale, it would also be worth pointing out that BNSF would've also benefited if the pipeline was approved, as it is virtually the only Class 1 carrier that runs through the projected KeystoneXL pipeline route and almost certainly would've been called upon to deliver much-needed equipment and supplies for the construction and maintenance of KeystoneXL.
Obama mentioned numerous times that Buffet's secretary pays a higher tax rate than her billionaire employer while in his repeated calls for higher taxes. Buffet's secretary was present for Tuesday night's State of the Union address, sitting with first lady Michelle Obama. However, that little bit of political theater could backfire now that it's been learned that Buffet's secrtary could make anywhere from $200,000 to $500,000 annually. It's entirely possible that a sympathetic Bloomberg could've temporarily spiked the article to avoid any bad publicity while one of Buffet's employees was going to be used as a class-warfare prop from the President during Tuesday's state of the Union.
OMG! ThEh st00pid! It burns! IT BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURNS!!!!!
It was a brief snippet, to be sure, and I thought that perhaps with the benefit of some context, the Congresswoman was merely saying that she was skeptical that the project would create 20,000 jobs [I ardently support the project but even I find that number a little optimistic- NANESB!]. So I found a longer snippet, and not only does the suburban Chicago democrat say exactly I thought she said, she goes on to promote the Obama Administration's massively failed Green Jobs agenda and blames Republicans for Obama's veto, even though most Republican Congressmen, Senators and governors support the project.
"Twenty thousand jobs is really not that many jobs and investing in green technologies will produce that and more. But I'll tell you what, you know it seems to me that the Republicans would rather have an issue than a pipeline" [emphasis mine- NANESB!]
Why do I bring this up? Because in many cities across the country, including Chicago, gang-bangers, thugs and felons often attempt to continue their criminal activities under the guise of do-godding and yes.....'community organizing'.
The former chieftains, several of them ex-convicts, represented some of the most notorious gangs on the South and West Sides, including the Vice Lords, Gangster Disciples, Black Disciples, Cobras, Black P Stones, and Black Gangsters. Before the election, the gangs agreed to set aside decades-old rivalries and bloody vendettas to operate as a unified political force, which they called Black United Voters of Chicago. “They realized that if they came together, they could get the politicians to come to them,” explains Baskin.
The gang representatives were interested in electing aldermen sympathetic to their interests and those of their impoverished wards. As for the politicians, says [former gang leader] Baskin, their interests essentially boiled down to getting elected or reelected. “All of [the political hopefuls] were aware of who they were meeting with,” he says. “They didn’t care. All they wanted to do was get the support.”
Politicians and organized crime working together is nothing new in the city that gave us Bugs Moran and Al Capone. Technically, there are no local or state ordinances to prevent politicians from meeting with gang or organized crime leaders. Still, the willingness of some aldermen and state lawmakers to forge an alliance with Chicago's gangs should raise all sorts of ethical questions- even in America's most ethically challenged city.
Typically, candidates backed by gangs such as the Vice Lords or Gangster Disciples can expect manpower for a get-out-the-vote effort on election day as well as campaign contributions of ambiguous and opaque origins. In exchange, the gangs typically expect to have jobs steered to friends and family, lucrative contracts to be awarded to shell companies controlled by them as well as government grants directed to non-profits started by members who insist the thug life is behind them [i.e. 'community organizers'].
Without naming names, some incarcerated gang members also claimed they and their associates routinely provided narcotics and prostitutes to either aldermen or members of their staff.
Perhaps most disturbingly, the candidates and officeholders who actively solicit support from various gangs will either turn a blind eye or actually aid their ongoing criminal activities, tipping them off about impending raids or ongoing police surveillance while balking at passing any significant ordinances meant to curtail gang activity in their districts.
And just think- currently in the White House is somebody who began their political career in just such an amoral setting!
NFL: Q- What's the difference between Tim Tebow and Barack Obama?
A- One is a phony Messiah who fooled a bunch of people after some convincing performances in Denver. The other plays football for the Broncos.
Marc Piscotty/Getty Images
New England came into Mile High Stadium this week looking to clinch the AFC East and snap the Broncos 6-game winning streak on Sunday, which for awhile was looking like a tall order after barely holding off the Washington Redskins last week. Even before Tebow-mania, recent history hadn't been particularly kind to the Patriots at Mile High.
Starting at their own 20, the Broncos methodically marched down the field on the game's opening possession and hit paydirt when QB Tim Tebow rushed into the end zone from the Pats 9 yard line, although the point-after was blocked and returned as far as mid field before the play was blown dead- making it a 6-0 contest.
New England responded in kind, with a quick drive that saw Pats QB Tom Brady connect with TE Aaron Hernandez for a 46 yard catch and carry (most of those yards coming after Hernandez shed some tacklers and started running laterally to pick up some blockers) before Brady completed a 33 yard pass to WR Chad Ochocinco for #85's first TD pass of the season. Gostkowski's PAT was good and New England took a 7-6 lead.
Denver responded to New England's quick, efficient 2:25 scoring drive with an even quicker one of their own, starting from their own 18. Two minutes and 18 seconds later, Broncos RB Lance Ball rushed 32 yards for paydirt and the Broncos went for the pont-after to make it a 13-7 contest. The Patriots would do nothing when they got the ball back (they did get a 1st down thanks to a Denver penalty, but nothing came of it).
The Broncos started on their own 29 and get the ball as far as the Patriots 8 yard line before settling for a short Matt Prater FG to take a 16-7 lead. Curiously, after scoring so swiftly and with such ease to open up the game, that would be the last time the Broncos would find the end zone or split the uprights until the 4th quarter. New England would close the gap to 14-16 on the following drive after Wes Welker was ruled down at the 1 instead of in the end zone on a 19 yard pass from Brady, but Brady was able to connect with Hernandez for paydirt.
On the Broncos next possession, Lance Ball fumbled on the first play and Pats LB Rob Ninkovitch recovered it at the Denver 19 yard line. Althought they got the ball as tantalizingly close as the Broncos 3, they decided to play it relatively safe and opted for a short Gostkowski FG instead of trying to punch it in on 4th down, with New England taking the lead for the first time on Sunday by a 17-16 score.
Denver's next possession would be even more disastrous after Tebow was sacked and Pats DE Mark Anderson came up with the ball. With the short field, New England was able to move inside the Denver red zone and punch it in to make it a 24-16 New England lead.
After Denver's first three and out of the day, New England got the ball back with 40 seconds left in the half. That also turned out to be a 3 and out and with 14 seconds left in the half, Zoltan Mesko punted to Broncos return man Quan Cosby, who fumbled the punt with Dance Fletcher recovering for New England at the Broncos own 17 yard line with 3 seconds remaining. With no time to run a play, the Pats trotted out Gostkowski for a fairly short FG attempt which split the uprights as time expired in the first half, making it a 27-16 game at halftime.
After a halftime show that included a monkey riding a border collie (no- seriously!)the second half was seemingly all New England, with Tebow getting sacked and the Pats adding to their lead on a Danny Woodhead TD run to pad the lead to 34-16. Although Tebow would rush for another TD in the 4th, it was a case of too little too late. New England would get a 4th quarter TD of their own when Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis punched it in on 3rd and goal with 4 minutes and 10 seconds left to put the game away 41-23.
The Broncos haven't lost since October 30th against the Detroit Lions, but even with Sunday's loss, still retain first place in the AFC West.
Their sixth consecutive win, coupled with the New York Jets loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, means that New England clinches their 3rd straight AFC East title and ninth since the 2001 season.
New England will next host Miami on Christmas Eve (day) at 1:00 PM on CBS.
OTHER PATRIOTS NEWS: DE Aaron Carter will require season-ending surgery on his leg. Carter injured his leg in Sunday's contest against the Broncos and had to leave the field on a cart.
OTHER NFL NEWS: In a fairly surprising development that had members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins popping corks, the defending Superbowl Champion Green Bay Packers were handed their first loss of the season by the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
This loss was Green Bay's first regular season (or postseason) loss since December 19, 2010 in Foxborough, MA against the Patriots- nearly a year ago to the day [Altho' there was no Aaron Rogers starting for the Packers that night- NANESB!].
Sunday also marked Romeo Crennel's coaching debut in Kansas City after the Chiefs fired head coach Todd Haley.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: On the flip side of the win/loss ratio, the Indianapolis Colts won their first game of the season on Sunday, defeating the Tennessee Titans by a final of 13-27.
The win actually would put them in jeopardy of losing out on what many are calling 'The Andrew Luck Sweepstakes' [Assuming the #1 overall draft spot in the NFL goes to the Stanford QB- NANESB!], as they are now only a game behind the St Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings.
NHL: What was billed as a clash of the titans for first place on Saturday in the Eastern Conference it turned out it wasn't much of a battle.
The Bruins jumped all over Philly early and often, roughing up the Atlantic Conference-leading Flyers 4-0 by the first intermission before adding two more- one in the 2nd and one in the 3rd. Tim Thomas turned aside all 31 shots he faced on Saturday afternoon in Boston's very convincing 6-0 win.
However, on Monday night the Bruins opened up the scoring with a goal from Benoit Pouliot at the 12:13 mark of the 1st before the Habs got the equalizer off the stick of Tomas Plekanec not even a minute later to make it 1-1 heading into the 1st intermission.
Early in the second, David Krejci would break the deadlock to make it 2-1 and later in the 3rd, the Bruins would get the insurance goal from Brad Marchand to make the score 3-1. As it turns out, the Bruins would need that insurance goal as Erik Cole got a late tally for the Habs with less than 3 minutes to go to make it a 1-goal game. However, the Bruins would hold on to win their 5th in a row, with two out of their last three wins coming against opponents in the Northeast Division.
Tim Thomas stopped 33 of 35 shots faced while Montreal's Carey Price made 28 saves on the 31 shots he faced Monday Night. Neither team scored on the power play, with the Bruins failing to capitalize on a double-minor earlier in the game.
Boston will have most of the week off, not playing again until December 23rd [Christmas eve eve? NANESB!] at home against the Florida Panthers. The puck drops at 7 PM and the game will be televised on NESN.
OTHER BRUINS NEWS: Bruins F Milan Lucic received a 1-game suspension for his hit on Philadelphia Flyers C Zac Rinaldo, despite reports citing Rinaldo himself as saying the hit wasn't deserving of additional punishment. Lucic also forfeits more than $22,000 in wages for the hit.
NCAA FOOTBALL: The Bowl season got underway Saturday starting with the 2011 Gildan New Mexico Bowl, where Temple rolled over Wyoming by a 37-15 final [reportedly ratings were down on that one and the organizers were trying to line up a new sponsor from the area- NANESB!].
Later on in the day was the Famous Idaho Potatoes Bowl from Boise, ID. The Utah State Aggies led for most of the game in that one, but trailing 17-23 and with less than 20 seconds to go, Ohio Bobcats QB Tyler Tettleton ran the ball in for the game-tying TD and the point-after attempt was good (not always a given, particularly in the NCAA) to give the Bobcats the 24-23 victory and their first-ever Bowl win.
To cap off Saturday's slate of bowl games was the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl from the Superdome between the San Diego State Aztecs and Louisiana-Lafayette in what was almost literally a home game for the Ragin' Cajuns.
This was Lafayette's first bowl appearance since getting promoted to Division 1 football (now FBS). After entering the 4th quarter trailing 17-26, the Aztecs managed to put together some consistent drives and keep the Ragin' Cajuns out of the end zone before taking a 30-29 lead thanks to an 11 yard reception by Colin Lockett with 53 seconds remaining in the game.
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Starting from their own 18 and with 35 seconds remaining, the Ragin' Cajuns got the ball as far as the Aztecs 38 yard line before San Diego State committed a 5 yard offsides penalty with 4 seconds left on the clock. This would put the Ragin' Cajuns a 1st down and more importantly 5 more yards for Lafayette Kicker Brett Baer to split the uprights and give the Ragin' Cajuns their first ever FBS Bowl win by a final of 32-30.
Bowl Week continues with the Beef O'Brady Bowl from St Petersburg, FL featuring Florida International and Marshall on Tuesday night, the Poinsettia Bowl from San Diego between Louisiana Tech and #16 Texas Christian on Wednesday followed by the MAACO bowl from Las Vegas which pits 6-6 Arizona State against #8 Boise State Thursday night.
Photo: San Antonio Express-News, MICHAEL MILLER
NCAA VOLLEYBALL: First of all, I have to thank the NBA owners and players association for their labor dispute.
Why is that, Fenway? you might be asking- and with good reason. Under normal circumstances, the NBA season would've gotten underway in late October. Instead, with the protracted labor dispute there were no games for various regional sports networks such as Fox Sports West or Comcast New England to televise. So what other sport played on the hardwood was televised instead? NCAA Women's volleyball.
Although I've long considered volleyball a fast-paced and involving sport, the fact that there are so many attractive young women playing the game for any number of schools is further incentive to watch- not just the proverbial cherry on top- more like another sundae on top. [Let's see.....if given the choice of professional floppers, loudmouths and thugs versus fit, attractive college-aged women nimbly jumping around in short-shorts patting each other on the tucchus every five minutes- guess which one I'll be dedicating the majority of my time to?- NANESB!]
Sad to say, despite volleyball being invented in New England, schools from New England don't really fare too well in the NCAA Division 1 Volleyball tournament. This year, out of all the schools in New England, only Sacred Heart and Yale qualified for the 2011 Volleyball tournament and neither one of them advanced very far.
This is not due to cold weather neccesarily- Penn State and a number of schools from the midwest show up in the NCAA Finals on a fairly regular basis. In fact, Penn State holds the most Women's Volleyball Titles in the NCAA.
This year was no different, as the Illini advanced to their first ever Divison 1 Women's Volleyball match, pitted against UCLA for the title at San Antionio's Alamodome. For it's part, UCLA hasn't won a title in 20 years, although it did make a few Finals appearences in in the 1990s.
After getting off to a 1-0 lead, the Bruins found themselves knotted up 1-1 after the Illini went on a tear in the second set, but UCLA rallied late to take the 2-1 lead and went on to win the final set from there by a 3-1 final.
The win is UCLA's fourth volleyball title, putting them third all-time behind Penn State (5 titles) and Stamford (six titles). Interestingly, UCLA upended Penn State in this year's semifinals.
Blagojevich became the second consecutive former governor of Illinois to be sentenced to prison in the last decade. Blagojevich's GOP predecessor, George Ryan, was sentenced to 6 and a half years for his involvement in the illegal sale of government liscences, contracts and leases while serving as Illinois Secretary of State.
Most famously, the ousted Democrat was accused of selling the appointment to Barack Obama's vacated senate seat to the highest bidder.
In the most notorious of the FBI wiretaps that sealed his fate, Blagojevich is heard crowing that his chance to name someone to Obama’s Senate seat was “f---ing golden” and he wouldn’t let it go “for f---ing nothing.” His lawyers claimed the comments were simply “musings,” but jurors and the judge agreed they were evidence of a crime.
Blagojevich responded to his Dec. 9, 2008, arrest with defiance, appointing Roland Burris to the Senate job and proclaiming his innocence with a media blitz.
The boyish-looking defendant continued pursuing the spotlight after he was removed from office, writing a book, appearing in reality TV shows such as “Celebrity Apprentice” and even appearing in a TV ad in which he opens a briefcase overflowing not with money, but with pistachios. “Rod Blagojevich does it innocently,” was the line.
In addition to selling off an appointment to the US Senate, Blagojevich also had reportedly demanded donations from the head of a Children's Hospital to the tune of $50,000 in return for increased support from the state. The convicted Democrat also extorted nearly $100,000 in campaign donations from a pair of horse racing tracks and the CEO of a racing company to fast-track legislation that would benefit them.
When one thinks of parts of this country that have an abundance of fall colors, one doesn't usually think of Iowa. But the northeast corner of the Hawkeye state features rolling hills and valleys as well as forests along the Mississippi River. And it's through this somewhat un-Iowa-like landscape that the former Milwaukee Road line between Minneapolis-St Paul and Kansas City traverses. There's a line to Chicago that branches off across the Mississippi river at Sabula, IA. Over the last 25 years, the line has seen no fewer than five different owners (Milwaukee Road; Soo Line; I&M Rail Link; Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern and Canadian Pacific) with the most recent change of ownership coming in 2008 when DM&E parent company Cedar American Holdings sold the combined DM&E/IC&E system to Canadian Pacific.
For the most part, CP doesn't seem to be in any particular rush to assert its corporate identity over its latest acquisition. While the blue and yellow EMDs of the IC&E and DM&E have occasionally been showing up on CP Rail's system as far east as the D&H in northern New York state, trains over this recently acquired part of the Canadian Pacific are for the most part powered by second generation standard-cab EMDs from both the IC&E/DM&E fleet as well as similar lease units.
Here, on a clear, gorgeous autumn afternoon in October 2010, railpictures.net contributor FJ Grizel caught a mixed freight decelerating after crossing the mighty Mississippi from Savanna, IL into Sabula, IA. The lead unit- SD40-2 #6367- is no stranger to these parts having started out life as Milwaukee Road #206 and having been dubbed 'City of New Ulm' by the DM&E.
Schilling learned of the threat against him in an email alert Tuesday night, according to his spokeswoman, Andrea Pivarunas. Sherriff’s deputies reportedly responded to the congressman’s district home, and have passed the matter on to the FBI and Capitol Police.
“After receiving a very concerning email alert Tuesday evening, Rep. Schilling and his family are taking recommended precautions while the situation is investigated by relevant authorities,” wrote Pivarunas in an email to The Hill.
“He is grateful for the professionalism of local law enforcement in responding to this situation,” she added.
The email threat against Schilling states, "I will pay $75,000 for ASSASSINATING Illinois Congresswoman (sic) Bobby Schilling and any US Congressman, US Senator and FBI, CIA and NSA DIRECTORS and their FAMILY MEMBERS regardless of their age,” according to local news reports.
In late September, a Google user offered up to $100,000 for killing the president and his immediate family, as well as George W. Bush, several members of his administration and Congress, The New York Times reported Thursday.
“KILL the MASS MURDERERS, TERRORISTS, SADISTS, PERVERTS and PSYCHOPATHS George Bush, [Donald] Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney, FBI director Robert Mueller III, NSA Director Keith Alexander, CIA Director David Patraeus, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and National Intelligence director Dennis Blair,” according to the posting obtained by the Hill.
The messages were posted by Google user FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer, and contain language parallel to that of the threat made against Schilling. Other messages included in the user’s profile include threats against FBI, CIA and NSA agents, as well as a $75,000 reward to assassinate Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.).
Schilling, a former pizzeria owner who enjoyed backing from the Tea Party during the 2010 midterms is a freshman who's western Illinois district includes the Rock Island Arsenal, the Illinois part of the Quad Cities and part of the state capitol of Springfield.
