Deflated- Environmental Protestors Accidentaly Make Case for Fossil Fuels in Ill-Advised Demonstration

Some of us like staying warm during the winter months. Those of us who don't apparently nag companies about replacing a proven reliable energy source such as coal with renewables like solar or wind.

For instance, a Wisconsin environmental group decided that Madison Gas and Electric [NASDAQ- MGEE] should no longer use coal and instead try to keep people warm through the harsh winter months with unreliable wind, solar or biomass.

To make their case, the set up an inflatable coal plant during a protest in front of the headquarters of Madison Gas & Electric, powered by renewable energy.



As the embedded video shows, the activists couldn't even keep their inflated coal-fired power plant for the duration of the protest with renewable energy. Yet they want Madison Gas and Electric to power southern and central Wisconsin with the same forms of energy that could even keep their prop inflated for fifteen minutes.

While Madison Gas and Electric does utilize wind turbines in Wisconsin and northern Iowa and solar panels in Madison, the company also utilizes both coal and natural gas fired power plants in Portage, Madison and Oak Creek, WI.

South Beach Sports Chowdah Update- AFC East Tightens Up as 'Fins Thwart Patriots Late Rally; Sabres Metrics- Bruins Split Home & Away Series With Buffalo

J Pat Carter- AP

NFL- Well....the late drive giveth, the late drive taketh away.

After a fairly low-scoring first half in which the Patriots headed to the locker room with a 10-7 lead over the Dolphins, the second half of Sunday's contest opened up in the 4th quarter. After a Caleb Sturgis FG in the 3rd to tie the contest up at 10-10, Miami took the lead to open up the 4th quarter thanks to a quick 2 yard TD pass from Ryan Tannehill to RB Danny Thomas to make it a 17-10 game. New England would then take the lead thanks to a short Gostkowski FG and a 24 yard TD pass and run from Brady to Julian Edelman to give New England a 20-17 lead with just over 4 minutes to go in regulation.

After getting the ball back on their own 40, Miami seemed to sputter when DT Sealver Silliga sacked Tannehill for a 6 yard loss on 2nd and 10, bringing up 3rd and 16. While it was definitely 4 down territory for Miami, it was made a little easier by an 11 yard completion to WR Brian Hartline to bring up 4th and 5. On 4th down, Tannehill found TE Charles Clay for a 6 yard pickup to keep the drive going [and Clay's only reception of the day, no less- NANESB!] and with 1:15 to go, the Dolphins hit paydirt on a 14 yard TD reception from Tannehill to RB Marcus Thigpen, putting New England behind 24-20.

After starting out on their own 20, the Patriots were able to move the ball as far as the Dolphins 14, setting up a 4th and 5 with 0:07 seconds remaining, Brady's pass was intercepted by Miami safety Michael Thomas in the end zone to salt the game for Miami.

The win adds new life to Miami's once-fading playoff hopes and throws the outcome of the AFC East playoff picture into doubt and makes the come from behind wins against Denver, Houston and Cleveland all the more significant....but it was only a matter of time before the last-second heroics would come up short. The last minute rally make one wonder what might've been if only the Patriots still had Gronkowski at TE or Gronkowski's 48 yard FG attempt in the 3rd quarter had been good.

For the second straight week, the Patriots will face a team struggling to make the postseason- the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens in a rematch of last year's AFC title game. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:25 ET from M&T Bank Stadium and the game will be televised on CBS.

Winslow Towson- AP

NHL- The Boston Bruins are back from their western road trip and came into Saturday night's game having dropped two out of their last three games, including a 6-2 blowout in Vancouver and 4-2 loss against the Sabres.

Reilly Smith put the B's on the board thanks to a 1st period power play goal before Buffalo's Zemgus Girgensons got the Sabres on the board with just over a minute to go in the first. This would end up being the only goal that Rask would allow on the night [although Buffalo had a few 5 on 3 power play opportunities- NANESB!]. David Krejci would get what would be the game winner less than two minutes into the second period before Milan Lucic would make it a 3-1 game in the 3rd before Smith would get his second tally on the night, an empty-netter with 22 seconds left in regulation.

Interestingly, there was no Ryan Miller in net for Buffalo although it was most likely a night off as opposed to preparations for a blockbuster trade. Instead, it was Jhonas Enroth who turned aside 25 of 28 shots faces while Rask stopped 33 of 34 shots faced.

The Bruins have one more game before Christmas- they travel to the Music City to take on the Nashville Predators on Monday night. Puck is scheduled to drop at 8:00 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

NCAA VOLLEYBALL- It was an all Big 10 matchup for the NCAA Volleyball finals as Penn State took on Wisconsin for the 2013 NCAA Women's Volleyball championship. Penn State would go on to defeat the Badgers 3 sets to one

Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Figure Out Max (Scherzer) Factor; Patriots Wrap Up Preseason, Cut Tebow; FCS Schools Come Up Big In College Football's Opening Weekend

Elise Amendola- AP

RED SOX- After another hard luck John Lackey loss on Labor Day [i.e. where he pitched reasonably well, but the Red Sox were shut out- NANESB!], the Red Sox had the even more formidable task of trying to figure out a way past Detroit's Max Scherzer for Tuesday night's game.

The difficulty of this endeavor was compounded when the Tigers got out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a Jose Iglesias RBI double against his former team in the top of the second, although Brayan Peña made an ill-advised decision to try and come home and was thrown out by a relay that arrived at the dish 6 or 7 paces ahead of him.

Although Boston starter Jon Lester wasn't working as efficiently as Scherzer, he was still pretty effective- limiting Detroit to just the one run over seven innings of work. In the bottom of the fifth, Jonny Gomes hit a 1-out single followed by a Stephen Drew ground-rule double to deep right center [that actually took a run off the board for the Red Sox at the time- NANESB!]. David Ross then struck out swinging and it was up to Will Middlebrooks to bring the runners home with two away in the bottom of the 5th, which he did with a 2-RBI single to center field before Victorino struck out to end the inning.

Lester would end up striking out nine before leaving the game in the 7th inning and turning the game over to the bullpen. Workman, Breslow and Tazawa would hold the Tigers scoreless and Koji Uehara would get all three batters he faced in the 9th out [including striking out Peña and Iglesias to end the ballgame.

Wednesday night's series finale will feature Ryan Dempster [7-9; 4.75 ERA] going up against Rick Porcello [11-7; 4.44 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and the game will be televised locally on NESN and nationally on ESPN.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- Red Sox announcer and former second baseman Jerry Remy announced that he will not return to the broadcast booth for the remainder of the 2013 season. Remy has been absent since August 15th, the night his son Jared Remy allegedly murdered his girlfriend, Jennifer Martel.

The 34 year old son of the former Red Sox second baseman, a bodybuilder with a lengthy domestic violence rap sheet is accused of stabbing Martel to death on the patio of their home.

EVEN MORE RED SOX NEWS- Clay Buchholz threw 3⅓ innings for the Paw Sox at McCoy stadium over the weekend in what's supposed to be his second of three rehab starts. Buccholz allowed one earned run and struck out two after throwing 53 pitches against the Syracuse Chiefs on Aug 31st.

Assuming Buchholz makes his third rehab start with Pawtucket, it will most likely be on the road in the International League playoffs against the Rochester Red Wings starting this week.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES- The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired former Twins first baseman Justin Morneau via a waiver trade over the weekend. The Bucs will send outfielder Alex Presley to the Twin Cities in exchange for the 4-time all star.

Although Morneau had reportedly been battling concussion-like symptoms, he's been hitting .259 with 17 home runs and 74 RBI in 2013- 10 of those homers coming after the All Star break this season.

The Morneau trade comes just days after the Pirates acquired Marlon Byrd from the New York Mets. Byrd- who's also done time with the Red Sox, Nationals, Phillies, Rangers and Cubs- was batting .285 with 21 homers and 71 RBI for the Mets this season. Ironically, the Mets dealt Byrd on what was scheduled to be Marlon Byrd T-shirt night at Citi Field.

The Pirates currently lead a very tight NL Central pennant race by a game and a half while Cincinnati and St Louis are going head to head this week. The Pirates are in search of their first winning season and playoff berth in 21 years.

NCAA FOOTBALL- As it turned out, Wofford's road victory over UConn was just the beginning.

For opening weekend, more than a half dozen NCAA FCS [formerly division I-AA- NANESB!] teams left the home crowds in stunned silence as they would go on to beat their hosts.

Defending FCS champion North Dakota State opened up their season against the Kansas State Wildcats in Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, KS, defeating the defending Big 12 champions by a 24-21 final on Saturday.

Perhaps the biggest upset of the entire weekend was Eastern Washington's 49-46 win over #25 Oregon State at Corvallis- the first time a FCS/Division I-AA school beat a ranked FBS opponent since Appalachian State upended #5 Michigan by a 34-32 final in the Big House for the opening game of the 2007 season.

Other victories included McNeese State trouncing South Florida by a 53-21 final, Northern Iowa getting past Iowa State by a 28-20 final, the Eastern Illinois Panthers thumping the San Diego State Aztecs 40-19, Samford getting by Georgia State 31-21 and Southern Utah beating South Alabama 22-21 [although Georgia State and South Alabama are making their respective Sun Belt conference debuts and not that far removed from the FCS themselves- NANESB!].

With more than 30 FCS teams scheduled to take on FBS opponents this weekend- including #7 Texas A&M, #4 Clemson and #8 Louisville- we'll see if this opening weekend was an aberration or a sign of things to come.

TEXAS A&M- Heisman-trophy winning QB Johnny Manziel was suspended for the first half of Saturday's season opener against the Rice Owls. Manziel reportedly violated NCAA rules after reports circulated he was receiving monetary compensation for signing autographs. Instead, Manziel was found in breach of a minor NCAA bylaw and given a lighter suspension.

Hardly coming across as repentant or apologetic, Manziel instead spent the second half of Saturday's 52-31 win over the Owls by taunting players with money-counting or autograph signing gestures after completing big plays.

The Aggies will host FCS Sam Houston State this upcoming weekend

BOSTON COLLEGE- The Eagles are already halfway towards their 2012 win total after taking the home opener against Villanova on Saturday. Boston College trailed 14-7 in the first quarter, but would go on to score 17 unanswered points against the Villanova Wildcats [which some polls have as ranked 9th in the FCS- NANESB!] of the FCS Colonial Athletic Association in the second half. QB Chase Rettig tied the contest up on a 50 yard catch and carry to WR Alex Amidon for a TD on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter before RB Andre Williams gave Boston College their first lead of the day with a 26 yard TD run to make it 21-14 Boston College.

The Eagles would get some insurance with a Nate Freese 39 yard FG to make it 24-14 late in the 3rd, and that would be the final as the Eagles win in their season opener.

The Eagles will host their first ACC opponent of the season on Friday night when the 1-0 Wake Forest Demon Deacons head to Chestnut Hill. The game kicks off at 8:00 ET and will be televised on ESPN2.

UMASS- While there were a number of massive upsets in the works, UMass beating #23 Wisconsin wasn't one of them as the Badgers shut out the Minutemen by a 45-0 final. Even though UMass made the transition to FBS last season, Saturdays game still had the air of a hapless FCS/Division I-AA opponent being served up to a vastly superior opponent...which is kind of reflected in Saturday's final.

This weekend, the Minutemen will host former Colonial rival Maine in the UMass 'home' opener. The Black Bears are coming off a 23-6 win against Norfolk State to open their season.

NFL- Are you ready for some Football? Now that the games will actually count, I think I am.

The regular season kicks off Thursday night with the Broncos hosting defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore in Denver. The game will be televised on NBC and kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 ET.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- The Patriots wrapped up their preseason with a 28-20 win over the New York Giants. Brady had the night off, so the QB duties were split between Mallet and Tebow. Mallet went 10-16 with 116 yards, a sack, a TD and an interception while Tebow went 6-11 with 91 yards, two TDs, four sacks and an interception.

However, Tebow was saving his best for last, with a 9 yard TD pass to WR Quentin Sims with 6 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter to give the Patriots a 28-20 lead.

As it turned out, this would be Tebow's final play as a Patriot, with the team cutting the former Broncos and Gators QB on Saturday. Coach Belichick was non-committal when asked about the possibility of the quarterback returning to the Patriots roster later on this season.

The Patriots will open the regular season on the road in Buffalo this Sunday with a 1:00 ET kickoff. The game will also be televised on CBS.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update/Reminder- Bowl Season Kicks off This Weekend.

It's been nearly a week since the Bowl schedule was released, but I've fallen behind on that and couple of other things.

Even though I have no strong rooting interest in this year's slate of Bowl games, here is the complete game and TV schedule. Pretty much all games aside fromt he Cotton Bowl and Sun Bowl will be televised on the ESPN family of networks.

Gildan New Mexico - Nevada vs. Arizona

University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Saturday, December 15, 1:00 p.m., ESPN

Famous Idaho Potato - Toledo vs. Utah State

Bronco Stadium, Boise, Idaho

Saturday, December 15, 4:30 p.m., ESPN

S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia - BYU vs. San Diego State

Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

Thursday, December 20, 8:00 p.m., ESPN

Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg - UCF vs. Ball State

Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida

Friday, December 21, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

R+L Carriers New Orleans - East Carolina vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Saturday, December 22, 12:00 p.m., ESPN

MAACO Las Vegas - Washington vs. Boise State

Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada

Saturday, December 22, 3:30 p.m., ESPN

Sheraton Hawaii - Fresno State vs. SMU

Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii

Monday, December 24, 8:00 p.m., ESPN

Little Caesars Pizza - Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan

Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

Wednesday, December 26, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman - San Jose State vs. Bowling Green

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Thursday, December 27, 3:00 p.m., ESPN

Belk - Cincinnati vs. Duke

Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Thursday, December 27, 6:30 p.m., ESPN

Bridgepoint Education Holiday - Baylor vs. UCLA

Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

Thursday, December 27, 9:45 p.m., ESPN

AdvoCare V100 Independence - Ohio vs. Louisiana-Monroe

Independence Stadium, Shreveport, Louisiana

Friday, December 28, 2:00 p.m., ESPN

Russell Athletic - Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech

Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida

Friday, December 28, 5:30 p.m., ESPN

Meineke Car Care of Texas - Minnesota vs. Texas Tech

Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas

Friday, December 28, 9:00 p.m., ESPN

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces - Rice vs. Air Force

Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas

Saturday, December 29, 11:45 a.m., ESPN

New Era Pinstripe - West Virginia vs. Syracuse

Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

Saturday, December 29, 3:15 p.m., ESPN

Kraft Fight Hunger - Navy vs. Arizona State

AT&T Park, San Francisco, California

Saturday, December 29, 4:00 p.m., ESPN2

Valero Alamo - Texas vs. Oregon State

Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

Saturday, December 29, 6:45 p.m., ESPN

Buffalo Wild Wings - TCU vs. Michigan State

Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Saturday, December 29, 10:15 p.m., ESPN

Franklin American Mortgage Music City - North Carolina State vs. Vanderbilt

LP Field, Nashville, Tennessee

Monday, December 31, 12:00 p.m., ESPN

Hyundai Sun - USC vs. Georgia Tech

Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Monday, December 31, 2:00 p.m., CBS

AutoZone Liberty - Iowa State vs. Tulsa

Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tennessee

Monday, December 31, 3:30 p.m., ESPN

Chick-fil-A - LSU vs. Clemson

Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

Monday, December 31, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

TaxSlayer.com Gator - Mississippi State vs. Northwestern

Everbank Field, Jacksonville, Florida

Tuesday, January 1, 12:00 p.m., ESPN2

Heart of Dallas - Purdue vs. Oklahoma State

Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Tuesday, January 1, 12:00 p.m., ESPNU

Outback - South Carolina vs. Michigan

Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Tuesday, January 1, 1:00 p.m., ESPN

Capital One - Georgia vs. Nebraska

Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida

Tuesday, January 1, 1:00 p.m., ABC

Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio - Wisconsin vs. Stanford

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Tuesday, January 1, 5:00 p.m., ESPN

Discover Orange - Northern Illinois vs. Florida State

Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida

Tuesday, January 1, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

Allstate Sugar - Louisville vs. Florida

Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Wednesday, January 2, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

Tostitos Fiesta - Oregon vs. Kansas State

University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Thursday, January 3, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

AT&T Cotton - Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma

Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Friday, January 4, 8:00 p.m., FOX

BBVA Compass - Pittsburgh vs. Ole Miss

Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama

Saturday, January 5, 1:00 p.m., ESPN

GoDaddy.com - Kent State vs. Arkansas State

Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama

Sunday, January 6, 9:00 p.m., ESPN

Discover BCS National Championship - Notre Dame vs. Alabama

Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida

Monday, January 7, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

[Hat tip- Austin Chang]

It's also worth noting that the NCAA Women's volleyball championship between Texas and Oregon will also take place on Saturday night at the Yum!/KFC Arena in Louisville, KY at 7:00 PM ET

Quickie Iron Horse Roundup- Conrail Freight Derails, Spills Chemicals in New Jersey; Canadian National Begins Testing LNG-Fueled Locomotives

AP Photo

CONRAIL- Officials from the NTSB are investigating the Friday morning derailment of a Conrail Shared Assets freight train in Paulsboro, NJ that sent several tank cars tumbling into Mantua Creek [a video of the bridge in action before the derailment can be viewed here- NANESB!].

The Conrail freight was pulling 84 cars and heading southbound along a branchline when the derailment occurred Friday morning. At least one of the cars ruptured, sending a cloud of vinyl chloride into the air and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents nearby- 70 people were also hospitalized with respiratory problems.

Conrail and investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are focusing on the 139 year old bridge- a movable 'A Frame' type span. The bridge was manually operated and had a bridge tender on site until the last decade or so. There was reportedly a minor derailment along the same bridge in 2009 and Conrail was investigating problems with trackside signals near the bridge in the week or so before Friday's derailment.

The swing bridge opens and shuts to accommodate boat traffic along the river and crews were reporting that the signals leading up to the bridge would remain yellow instead of turning green.

The veteran two-person crew operating the CSX train Friday was familiar with the route and had run it the three previous nights. They had started their shift at 3 a.m. in Camden and were surprised to get a yellow signal when they approached the bridge at about 7 a.m. They used a keypad device, similar to a garage door opener, to try to get a green light, to no avail. The pair then stopped the train for several minutes, examined the tracks, and got permission from a dispatcher to proceed, Hersman said.

The two locomotives and five tanker cars made it across before the crew looked back to see the bridge “collapse” and a pileup of cars in the creek. The one that ruptured had been struck by another tanker, she said.

Recordings of various data so far support the crew’s account, investigators said. However, authorities are not yet sure whether the bridge deck actually collapsed or shifted.

Officials are also considering tidal surges from the passing of Super storm Sandy may have factored into the derailment, undermining the 1873-built bridge. However, NTSB investigators can't do a thorough on site examination until the remaining chemicals are cleaned up.

Bracketing a Liquified Natural Gas tank car, rebuilt SD40-2s #5262 and #5258 are seen in handout photo from Canadian National Railways. CN is experimenting with rebuilding locomotives to run on LNG

CANADIAN NATIONAL- Canadian National Railways [NYSE- CNI; TSX- CNR] has begun testing a pair or LNG-powered locomotives to determine the feasibility of using natural gas instead of diesel fuel.

The conversion kits was supplied by Energy Conversions, Inc of Tacoma, WA and Calgary-based natural gas producer Encana [NYSE- ECA; TSX- ECA] will be providing the fuelling and the maintenance. Officials with Canadian National and Energy Conversions say that the move could cut carbon dioxide emissions by 30%. While Alberta is a leading energy producer thanks to crude oil and the oil sands, the province also sits on top of considerable natural gas deposits. However, the current glut has driven natural gas prices down- although this would put CN at an advantage should the prices persist as it expands the LNG-powered locomotive program.

Canadian National's LNG project is similar to an earlier natural-gas powered locomotive project from Energy Conversions. Between 1991 and 1996, the Burlington Northern Railroad ran coal trains between Wyoming's Powder River Basin and the midwest with a duo of SD40-2s bracketing an LNG tanker/tender modified by Energy conversions. Although the Burlington Northern program stopped around the same time as the merger with Santa Fe to form BNSF, Energy Conversions would do similar work for the Napa Valley Wine Train, the state railways of Thailand and Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce's [NYSE- VALE, BOVESPA- VALE3 & VALE5] rail operations.

The locomotives used for CN's LNG pilot program are a pair of 1975-built SD40-2Ws that are now sporting flared radiators- like the SD40-2s Burlington Northern used 20 years ago. Both locomotives and the LNG tanker/tender will be assigned to the 480km Canadian National line between Edmonton and the Athabasca oil sands hub of Ft McMurray, AB. Built in the 1920s, the line was originally part of the Northen Alberta Railway until NAR was taken over by CN in 1981. By 1994, CN ceased operations and the line was acquired by Rail Link's Lakeland & Waterways- who were brought into the Rail America fold by 1999. In the summer of 2000, Rail America halted operations on the Ft. McMurray line and within a few months, Canadian shortline operator CANDO contracting acquired the line outright from CN, only to have CN repurchase the line at the end of 2007.

Presently, the Canadian National hauls construction materiel, pipe and heavy machinery up to Ft McMurray and brings oil sands extraction byproducts like petroleum coke and sulphur south.

Wisconsin Southern E9A #101 seen hauling the Toys for Tots train cross the Rock River east of Edgerton, WI on November 3rd, 2012. photo- Brian Allen

WISCONSIN- Just a quick update out of the Badger State. I had earlier reported that Soo Line 2-8-2 Mikado #1003 was scheduled to haul a Toys for Tots holiday train over the Wisconsin & Southern last month.

However, shortly before the scheduled November 3rd departure, the #1003 was sidelined with an unspecified mechanical problem. Wisconsin & Southern E9A #101 handled the Toys for Tots train between Milton and Middletown, WI.

The #1003 was pulled from service two years ago in order to under to undergo her FRA-mandated 15 year boiler inspection. Due to rising costs, there were some concerns from the preservation community that the #1003 would never return to service again.

OHIO- Two Ohio-based preservation groups have announced plans to begin restoration of a 100 year old ALCo steam engine to service.

Colombus-based American Steam Railroad Preservation Association has reached an agreement with the Cleveland-based Midwest Railway Preservation Society to house the restoration of former St Louis-San Francisco 2-8-2 Mikado #1352 at the MRPS' former Baltimore & Ohio roundhouse in Cleveland.

The #1352 was built by ALCo in 1912 and operated on the Frisco for nearly 45 years before her 1956 retirement. The Frisco donated the #1352 to Kansas City where she was on display at Swoop Park, but soon fell victim to neglect and vandalism. A group of concerned preservationists eventually purchased the 1352 and moved her into storage in rural Illinois.

The MRPS is also home to another, slightly newer ALCo 2-8-2 Mikado- former Grand Trunk Western #4070. The #4070 was built in 1918 and most recently operated in 1990 on the nearby Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

Quickie, Steamy Iron Horse Roundup for October 21, 2012

Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 #261 seen passing a farm in Plato, MN with an excursion in May 2008. Robert Butler photo

MINNESOTA- After a lengthy custody battle between preservation groups, a movie cameo with Johnny Depp and an FRA-mandated boiler inspection, Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 Northern #261 appears ready to go back into service for the Friends of the 261 non-profit.

The 1944-built ALCo was successfully test-fired at the end of September and a number of shakedown runs are scheduled for the next several weeks. The locomotive last ran on a BNSF employee special between the Twin Cities and Winona, MN in September 2008. Within a year, the Friends of the 261 and the 261's owner- the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, WI- were at odds with each other over the lease agreement. After advertising the locomotive for sale in the middle of it's 15-year FRA inspection, the Friends of the 261 and the National Railroad Museum eventually came to an agreement after a rumored sale to a 3rd party in California fell through. In May 2010, the National Railroad Museum announced that it had sold the 261 to the Twin Cities based non-profit for $225,000. While this gave Friends of the 261 sole ownership of the locomotive, funds allocated for the completion of her boiler inspection were used to complete the purchase.

The Friends of the 261 were able to raise funds by operating charter luxury railcar excursions using restored Milwaukee Road Hiawatha varnish behind Amtrak or Canadian Pacific. Prior to its 'final' run [before the FRA mandated boiler inspection, at least- NANESB!] the 261 made its way to Chicago for the filming of the Depression-era Dillinger biopic Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. Curiously, the 261 wasn't built until a decade after Dillinger was gunned down, although similar locomotives were used extensively at the time.

The 261 also holds the distinction of operating every year between 1993 and 2008. Besides holding down at least one excursion out of the Twin Cities every year up until 2008, the big Northern has even ventured as far afield as Scranton, PA and the New River in West Virginia in the 1990s.

Soo Line 1003 getting ready for a photo freight at Fairwater, WI in October 2008. Daniel Simon photo.

WISCONSIN- Speaking of steam locomotives in the upper Midwest, Soo Line 2-8-2 Mikado #1003 will reportedly be going back into service less than two years before she was withdrawn for her mandatory 15 year boiler inspection.

Stored at the Wisconsin Automotive Museum and successfully test-fired earlier this year, the Steam Locomotive Heritage Association announced that the #1003 was ready for service and would be hauling the 2012 Toys for Tots train over Wisconsin Southern rails between Milton and Middleton, WI on Saturday, November 3rd.

The 1913-built Mikado last ran on November 13, 2010 and some expressed doubts whether or not there would be enough funding to return the 1003 to steam.

Presumptive GOP Nominee Mitt Romney Chooses Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as Running Mate

GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced his VP selection at a campaign event in Virginia over the weekend. An announcement from the Romney campaign that a VP decision would be made over the weekend led to a flurry of rumors on social networking sites like twitter and unsubustantiated media reports on Friday night. Romeny introduced Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan [R- WI 1] as his running mate in front of the battleship USS Wisconsin at Norfolk, VA on Saturday.

Some analysts theorized that the former Governor Mitt Romney would've been reluctant to nominate somebody who is more charismatic or could outshine him on the campaign trail. Pundits had speculated that other potential nominees included New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, former Minnestoa Governor Tim Pawlenty, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, Ohio Governor Rob Portman or Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell [notice the abundance of governors and complete lack of community organizers! NANESB!].

Ryan, who chairs the House Budget Committee, had a number of high profile clashes with the Obama Administration over the federal budget, entitlement reform and the debt ceiling since 2010 when the GOP became the majority in the House after a number of Tea Party swept into office.

Romeny's Ryan pick has reportedly energized a conservative and Tea Party base who were wary of Romney's credentials as a moderate, with the selection garnering praise from a number of Tea Party affiliated PACs. The pick also puts the focus of the 2012 Presidential campaign squarely back on the economy.

The duo appeared before large and enthusiastic crowds in the swing states of Virginia, North Carolina and Ryan's native Wisconsin over the weekend. Like the Supreme Court ruling that upheld 0bamacare as a tax, the Romney campaign enjoyed a massive surge in donations shortly after the Ryan announcement was made- reportedly collecting as much as $3.5 million in the 24 hours after the two appeared in front of the USS Wisconsin.

Democrats, the media and Obama-alligned PACs reacted fairly predictably, claiming that the Ryan pick was a sign of 'desperation' from the Romney camp and struggled to portray the two as being out-of-touch Washington insiders who sought to take away entitlement programs from the elderly and women. However, the fundraising and large crowds turning out in battleground states to see both Romney and Ryan belied such claims from the Democrats. Also, the nominee could've been Pawlenty, Jindal, Chrisite or Portman and I imagine the left, the media and the Obama campaign would've been saying the exact same things about them, only altering the name for the script.

After appearing at a campaign event in Waukesha, WI, on Sunday the Romney camp announced that he and Ryan would be campaigning seperately until the Republican convention in Tampa at the end of the month. Ryan was slated to appear at the Iowa State Fair on Monday while Mitt Romney is supposed to head to Florida.

Six Killed After Gunman Opens Fire on Worshippers at Sikh Temple in Wisconsin

Police in suburban Milwaukee were called to a Sikh temple where services were underway when a gunman barged into the grounds and opened fire on worshippers on Sunday.

The gunman, identified as 40 year old Wade Micheal Page, entered the grounds of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin on Sunday and began shooting at the gathered congregants, killing six and wounding two. When local police arrived, Page shot officer Brian Murphy nine times as he attended to one of the victims in the Temple's parking lot. As more officers arrived, Page began shooting at them after being ordered to drop his weapon. Oak Creek PD Officer Sam Leda returned fire with a police-issue rifle, fatally wounding Page.

Page had served in the US Army up until the late 1990s and worked as a truck driver until two years ago when he was pulled over for driving while impaired in North Carolina. In addition to his alcohol abuse and financial problems, Page was also active with white supremacist organizations. This included playing bass guitar with white supremacist heavy metal bands and travelling to a Georgia festival known as 'Hammerfest' which the Anti-Defamation League has called "a virtual Woodstock of hate rock".

Among some of the unlikely heroes from Sunday's rampage are the temple's president, 62 year old Satwant Singh Kaleka, who reportedly confronted Page with nothing more than a kitchen knife before being shot twice. Kaleka's actions were said to have bought enough time for other worshippers to flee to relative safety.

Some worshippers were also warned of Page's arrival by two children who were playing near a window in another part of temple while waiting for their parents to return from a nearby market with bread and juice for a communal lunch when they saw Page walking outside. They heard a popping that they thought might've been firecrackers until they saw people outside crumpled over. The two unnamed children then ran to the temple's communal kitchen where they warned the women there that there was a man with a gun outside. Although they were skeptical at first, everybody in the kitchen took shelter inside the kitchen's pantry when they heard what sounded like gunfire coming from inside the building.

Those killed in the attack include Sita Singh, 41; Ranjit Singh, 49; Suveg Singh Khattra, 84; Prakash Singh, 39; Paramjit Kaur, 41 and 62 year old temple president Satwant Singh Kaleka.

Steamy Iron Horse Roundup For July 2011

Iowa Interstate's Chinese manufactured 'QJ' 2-10-2 #6988 is seen passing the former Rock Island Iowa City, IA depot on the return leg of its round trip excursion between Cedar Rapids, IA and Rock Island, IL on June 19th, 2012. Erik Rasmussen photo

IOWA- For the second year in a row, the Hawkeye state and regional Iowa Interstate played host to a large gathering of rail enthusiasts and historians with their 2012 convention in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Like last year's Trainfest in Rock Island, IL, this year's NRHS convention featured steam and diesel powered rare mileage excursions on former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific and Milwaukee Road lines that only see freight traffic these days.

In addition to a day out at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion at Mt Pleasant, IA where attendees got to see restored trolleys, interurbans and steam as well as vintage steam powered tractors and farm machinery, the convention featured a steam powered excursion between Cedar Rapids and Rock Island, IL with IAIS Chinese QJ #6988 doing the honors.

Cedar Rapids and Iowa City MP15DC #122 seen powering an excursinon on the original interurban line between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City at Cou Lake, IA on June 22nd. FJ Grizel photo.

Attendees also got to ride behind rare mileage excursions over Dan Sabin's Iowa Interstate and former interurban Cedar Rapids and Iowa City- also known as the CRANDIC and owned by Alliant Energy [NYSE- LNT]. In addition to Iowa Interstate's Chinese made QJ, excursions were also powered by F40PH's from Iowa Northern's Hawkeye Express passenger trains that shuttle football fans to and from University of Iowa home football games and some of CRANDIC's yellow and grey EMD endcab switchers.

Interestingly, a few days before the NRHS excursions, the Iowa Interstate operated a series of trips between West Liberty, IA and Durant, IA to benefit those towns' respective fire departments.

The 2013 NRHS convention is scheduled to take place in September 2013 in Anchorage, AK.

Alaska Railroad's former Army 2-8-0 steam locomotive seen returning home from the lower 48 in January at Anchorage, AK. Michael Dinneen- Alaska Business Journal

ALASKA- Speaking of Alaska, the restoration of the Alaska railroad's last steam locomotive got a huge assist thanks to a $350,000 grant.

The Rasmuson Foundation announced the grant to the newly-formed non profit Engine 557 Restoration Company in early July. This is the first substantial donation that went towards the full restoration of Alaska Railroad #557. The unit last saw service in the early 1960s running shuttle trains to the Alaska state Fair before being sold to a scrap dealer in Washington State. However, instead of cutting up the former Army steamer, the scrap dealer took a shine to the Baldwin and displayed it in front of his business. As it turned out, the cool and relatively dry climate of east-central Washington State was almost ideal for preserving a steam locomotive.

Restoration is currently estimated to cost between $600,000 and $700,000. Major costs include initial tooling, asbestos removal and abatement, replacing galvanized steel cladding, new insulation, boiler and tubing replacement and repair, gear inspection and repair, painting and positive train control electronics.

In order to establish a funding mechanism, project supporters recently turned to The Alaska Community Foundation (ACF), which oversees and has helped establish nearly 300 funds and endowments that support philanthropic endeavors that benefit Alaskans. ACF agreed to establish and administer a new fund to accept donations, while the Restoration Company will coordinate the project, including fund-raising, hiring subcontractors, recruiting volunteers and overseeing the restoration work.

While the narrow gauge White Pass & Yukon continues to operate a pair of steam locomotives out of Skagway, Alaska #557 would be the first operating standard gauge steam engine in the Last Frontier on nearly 50 years. While one time roster-mate #556 remains on static display in an Anchorage park, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum has a sister locomotive to Alaska #557 & #556- former US Army #610, which was one of the last American steam locomotives made for an American customer.

Soo Line 2-8-2 #1003 seen crossing the Rock River in Edgerton, WI in August 2000 on the Wisconsin Southern. Barry Moore photo.

WISCONSIN- Reports of Soo Line 1003's demise are apparently premature, as the 1913-built Baldwin underwent a series of test-firings in May. The locomotive last operated pulling a Santa Train in November 2010 before her mandatory 15 year FRA boiler inspection.

After being taken out of service, the venerable ALCo steamer was kept on the grounds of the Wisconsin Auto Museum in Hartford, WI. Returning #1003 back to service carried an estimated pricetag of around $400,000, although some of these costs were reportedly picked up by Wisconsin Southern President and CEO Bill Gardner. When in operation, the Soo Line #1003 had operated almost exclusively on the Wisconsin and Southern.

Badger State Beatdown- Scott Walker Becomes First US Governor to Survive Recall; Obama's Bad Week Continues

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker surivived Tuesday night's union-backed recall effort by a considerable margin. The results marked the first time that a sitting governor had survived a recall- a campaign that was about 18 months in the making and gained national attention for possible nationwide implications. Walker had earned the ire of organized labor and the left for legislation introduced curtailing the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions like the SEIU and AFSCME in 2011- prompting Democrat state senators to flee the state to prevent a quorum on such legislation.

Interestingly, the network who's 'personalities' were the most emotionally invested in seeing Walker unseated were the first ones who called the race for Walker. Less than an hour after the polls closed in the Badger State, MSNBC called the race for Scott Walker.



In the week prior to the election, the consensus among the media and punditocracy was that it would be an extremely close contest with Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett reportedly closing a significant gap with Walker. However, when the polls closed on Tuesday night, the results of the recall wasn't anywhere near as close as anticipated.



Not only did Walker handily surivie the recall effort, but Republican Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch retained her office by a similar margin against challenger Mahlon Mitchell. Kleefisch is the first ever Lt Governor in the USA to face recall.

Yay Wisconsin!

Three of the four state senators (all Republicans) also successfully held off challengers from the Democrat party in their respective state Senate districts. GOP State Senator Van Wanggaard [Senate District 21, which covers most of Racine county aloing the Illinois state line- NANESB!] was unseated by Democrat challenger John Lehman, giving the Democrats the majority in the Wisconsin State Senate. However, that majority would only be theoretical and may be short-lived- the Wisconsin State Senate has already adjourned for the year and the seat is up for re-election in November of this year- before the Senate re-adjourns. It's possible Lehman could serve out his entire term without the Senate ever being called into session.

Not surprisingly, some organizations did their best to spin the outcome in their favor, despite overlooking the agonizingly obvious in the process.

Win or lose, Scott Walker has joined ignominious company in suffering the humiliation of a recall election. 3rd ever. #wiunion
— AFL-CIO (@AFLCIO) June 6, 2012

Many of the same pundits, media figures and politicians who were emotionally invested in seeing Walker voted out of office before completing his first term could only point to the exit polls showing President Obama leading over presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney as a bright spot. However, these same exit polls showed that the race between Walker and Barrett was a dead heat- so their reliability is suspect at best.

Perhaps one of the most intruiging breakdowns of the recall is that Walker recived more than ⅓ of the vote from union households. Even before the polls closed, prominent Democrats such as former President Bill Clinton and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney began circulating the talking point that the only reason Walker could win was because of out-of-state support from the Tea Party and wealthy donors such as the Koch Brothers [rather conventiently ignoring the $20 million unions and Democrats spent on the recall, the margin which candidate Obama outspent candidate McCain in 2008 or President Obama's lavish Hollywood fundraisers this year- NANESB!].

I pointed out that Obama was conspicuously absent from Wisconsin just days before the recall voting despite fundraising in neighboring Illinois and Minnesota- one of the first bad omens for the Barrett campaign. Despite recent GOP gains in the Badger State, Obama was still considered a favorite to win Wisconsin in the November 2012 presidential campaign until Tuesday night. However, if the Obama camp decided to stay away from the Wisconsin recall as a pre-emptive means of damage control, it didn't do them any good.

Walker’s win prompted Democratic and Republican strategists to reassess Wisconsin’s political landscape and the role the state will play in the presidential race. Until earlier this week, target states listed by President Barack Obama’s campaign didn’t include the state, which has voted Democratic in the past six presidential elections, albeit narrowly at times.

In a campaign video released June 4 -- the day before the recall -- Obama campaign manager Jim Messina listed Wisconsin as “undecided,” along with Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Virginia.

So not only would Obama be facing an energized Republican base in Wisconsin come November, but a demoralized liberal and union base who won't forget that he had abandoned just before to the recall.

If that wasn't enough, the same day Walker cruised to an easy win, Bill Clinton questioned Obama's economic proposals of allowing the Bush-era tax cuts to expire.

Incredibly, Bill Clinton – the man the White House sent to represent the President during the election – compounded the result by admitting that the country was in a recession and by urging Congress to extend the Bush tax cuts. That makes him the most senior liberal in the nation to cast doubt on Obama’s economic strategy.

In recent weeks, prominent Democrats such as Clinton, former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and Newark, NJ mayor Corey Booker have cautioned the Obama camp that they should back off their attacks on private equity as a means of attempting to attack Mitt Romney's tenure at Bain Capital.

Wisconsin Recall-A-Palooza Update- With Walker Up in Polls, Democrats Getting Desperate; Walker Supporter Detained at Barrett Rally

With Wisconsin's June 5th recall election looming, the Democrat party and their union allies seem to be pulling out all the stops in their bid to unseat Gov. Walker. Running against Walker is Milwaukee's Democrat mayor Tom Barrett in what is basically a rematch of the 2010 Gubernerorial campaign.

Well.....almost all the stops. You see, just days before the voters were slated to go to the polls in Wisconsin President Obama hosted six fundriasers on Friday- dividing his time between the Twin Cities and Chicago. Yet Obama was conspicuously absent from that state that takes up real-estate between Illinois and Minnesota. If the Democrats on the national level were at all confident of a Barrett win, Obama likely would've made an appearence in the Badger State while on his Midwest fundraising trip (disguised as official business). Yet President Obama avoided Dairyland like it was a discussion on the most recent jobless numbers report.

Barrett has been trailing in nearly every poll in recent weeks. Although some polls had Walker up considerably in the last few weeks, Barrett was gradually closing the gap and while still behind Walker in some polling, he was within the margin of error.

Further telegraphing desperation is an early 'October surprise' liberal bloggers attempted to spring on Scott Walker over the weekend, citing anonymous and secondhand sources that Scott Walker fathered an illegitimate son with a classmate while attending Marquette University. The love-child story, floated by an outlet called "Wisconsin Citizens Media Co-op", unravelled in about an hour after a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter confirmed that the Scott Walker in question had a different middle name than the governor.

Around the same time, a left-leaning think tank began sending out mailers identifying individuals who did and didn't vote in prior elections.

When many Wausau voters checked their mail this past weekend, they got a glimpse of something unusual -- their neighbor's voting record.

"I had no idea that was a part of the public record," said Bryan Mergen, who lives in Wausau.

The mailer -- put out by the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund -- shows a list of people who live near you and whether they voted in two recent November elections. It doesn't show who you voted for, but even so, some voters said it's an invasion of their privacy.

Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board spokesperson Reid Magney said voter records are public records. With a name and a birth date, you can find election records right on their website. And some voters said they don't mind the exposure.

"My first reaction is, what's this?" said Mary Dominski, who lives in Wausau. "And then I thought, well, it's okay. I had no problem with it because I have no problem with my voting record."

Magney said many groups buy a copy of the statewide voter list. But he said this is the first time a group has used the voter information this way.

"I think it probably was not the smartest political move, because I think there's a lot of antagonism and a lot of people thought there was more information than there really is," said Dominski.

Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, a counterdemonstrator was detained by police at a Barrett rally that President Clinton was speaking at.

Particularly damning was the gathering crowd of Barrett supporters and union activists gleefully chanting 'Lock Him Up!' for the high crime of holding up a pro-Walker sign in a public park. The man identified himself as Dave Willoughby and in addition to being a former Marine, is reportedly the son of a prominent Florida Tea Party activist.

Attendees of the rally accuse Willoughby of acting in a belligerent and confrontational manner towards them and Milwaukee police cited him for disturbing the peace before booking him before getting released [During last year's protests against Scott Walker's budget proposal, union members and Democrats occupied the Wisconsin state capitol building, damaging doors, blocking traffic and threatening lawmakers- so even if the pro-Barrett crowd's version of events is 100% accurate, its pretty mild in comparison to what SEIU and AFSCME-affiliated protesters inflicted on the state capital last year- NANESB!]

Wisconsin Democrats Kill Union-Backed Mining Legislation That Would Allow Iron-Ore Mining in Badger State

One year after fleeing the state to prevent Governor Scott Walker's bill that would curtail the collective bargaining ability of public employee unions from being voted on in the state Senate, Badger State Democrats have dealt a blow to private-sector unions.

Assembly Bill 426, which would've overhauled the regulatory and permitting for the mining of ferrous minerals in Wisconsin, was narrowly defeated by a 17-16 margin in the State Senate- 16 Democrat state Senators and GOP State Senator Dale Schultz, who represents the 17th District in Southwestern Wisconsin, voted against the measure.

Wisconsin’s mining laws were developed to regulate sulfide mining, which utilizes chemicals in its mining and refining processes. The ore deposit in Iron County is a ferrous (i.e., iron) deposit, not a sulfide deposit. The process relies on water and magnets rather than chemicals. Additionally, the Department of Natural Resources would have issued a permit for the mine only after it had confirmed that the mine would operate in an environmentally responsible manner.

The bill not only had support from Governor Walker, the Wisconsin GOP and businesses, but also labor unions including the International Union of Operating Engineers, Iron Workers District Council of the North Central States, the Wisconsin Pipe Trades Association, North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters; and the Wisconsin Laborer’s District Council.

Florida-based Gogebic Taconite had reached a Memorandum of Understanding with the unions that the company would use union labor and Wisconsin-based contractors while the mine was under construction and continue using labor once the mine was up and running. Gogebic had begun the exploratory process in Iron and Ashland counties in northwestern Wisconsin [see map above- NANESB!]. Once the anticipated deposits of taconite iron-ore were located, Gogebic estimated the mines and processing facilities could be operating for up to 35 years and create as many as 3000 jobs once the mine was up and running.

The anticipated job growth would not have been limited to northwestern Wisconsin. Two large mining equipment manufacturers- Joy Global [NYSE- JOY] and recently-acquired Caterpillar [NYSE- CAT] subsidiary Bucyrus International both operate out of the Milwaukee area and also employ union labor.

However, after the State Senate killed AB 426, Gogebic announced that they would be pulling out of Wisconsin altogether. Other mining companies are unikely to step in and fill the void unless the issue of overhauling regulations for mining ferrous minerals in the Badger State is revisited.

Since Gov Walker is facing a recall election this year, there is a school of thought that public employee unions like the AFSCME and SEIU pressured the Democrats to vote unanimously against AB 426 to deny Walker any sort of victory or good publicity heading into the recall campaign.

While some green activists claimed concern about environmental degradation or harm to adjacent wetlands, similar mining operations have been taking place for over a century just to the west in Minnesota's Mesabi range without the widespread environmental devestation activists claim is inevitable.

Today's Train of Though- The Many Faces of Soo, January 20, 2012

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Frozen Tundra of Dairyland on a chilly winter day.

Here, railpictures.net contributor and Heartland Rails webmaster Ray Peacock found something of a rare catch making its way north through Astico, WI in January 2008.

Soo Line SD60 #6021 leads an eclectic lashup of power (SD60/MP15AC/SD60/GP38-2/SD60M/SD60) on a Twin Cities-bound mixed freight as every paint scheme from the last 25 years on the Soo Line is represented. The lead unit (as well as two others) are painted in their as-delivered white with red trim and black lettering, while the trailing unit- an MP15 switcher- is still in its Milwaukee Road orange and black paint scheme (Soo Line acquired the Milwaukee Road outright in 1986). The two trailing units are SD60s, sporting their as-delivered candy-apple red paint scheme. The only thing really missing from this scene to establish that it was taken under Canadian Pacific is the presence of a CP Rail unit powering the train shown above.

A diminishing number of Soo Line locomotives still in Milwaukee Road orange and black continue operating into early 2012, more than a quarter century after the railroad itself ceased to exist.

While Canadian Pacific is likely to keep the SD60s around for the foreseeable, a number of them are slated to be rebuilt and overhauled in Quebec and will receive CP Rail paint once finished.

Monday Night Sports Chowdah for Dec 5th- March on the Penguins; Pats Barely Avoid Indy Trap; Colonial Football's Maine Event; Spartan/Badgers Redux

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

NHL: The Bruins winning ways continue as the calendar flips over from November to December, with Boston beating the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Garden for Game 2 of the home and away series over the weekend.

The Bruins won by a 4-1 final with Tukka Rask turning aside 21 of the 22 shots he faced from the team that drafted him on Saturday night. Currently the Bruins are 4-0 against the Maple Leafs and won't be seeing them again until March 2012.

Saturday's win was a preamble to an important matchup on Monday night that would pit the Bruins against the top team in the Eastern Conference- the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were in the lineup for the Pens on Monday and had gone 5-1-1 since Crosby's return.

After a scoreless 1st period, Greg Campbell got the Bruins got on the board with a goal at about the 3 minute mark in the 2nd period, beating Marc Andre Fleury.

However, shortly after taking the 1-0 lead, the Bruins would find themselves having to kill a 5-on-3 penalty for 50 seconds- a power play that Pittsburgh ultimately was unable to cash in on.

Benoit Pouliot would then score for the Bruins to give them a 2-0 lead, but late in the second, the Pens would have another 2-man advantage as Pouliot went to the bin for goaltender interference and Rich Peverly would get two minutes for hooking. Once again, the Bruins were able to successfully kill both penalties, shutting out the Pens 2-0 and heading into the 3rd period with a power play on a Jordan Staal interference penalty.

The Pittsburgh penalty would lead to Boston's 3rd goal of the night, this time off the stick of Tyler Seguin. The Pens would end Thomas' shutout bid with about 11 minutes to go in the 3rd period, but Boston would go on to win by the 3-1 final. Tim Thomas stopped a season-high 45 of 46 shots, Thomas' 10th consecutive win between the pipes. The Bruins went 1 of 5 on the power play for the night as well.

Monday night's win pulls the Bruins to within one point of the Eastern Conference leaders- which at this time is still the Penguins.

From Pittsburgh, the Bruins will be heading to Manitoba for the first time December 1995 to take on the Winnipeg Jets. This will be Boston's first-ever visit to the MTS Centre. Currently, Winnipeg has an 11-11-4 record and is riding a 2 game win streak.

MLB: Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine's departure from ESPN created an opening on that network's Baseball Tonight program. Within days, that opening was filled by Valentine's Red Sox predecessor, Terry Francona.

ESPN announced on Monday that Francona would be joining the network as a baseball analyst for Baseball Tonight, Sunday Night Baseball as well as contributing to shows on the ESPN radio network and ESPN.com.

NCAA FOOTBALL: Well, the Army/Navy game notwithstanding, the regular season pretty much wrapped up this weekend with various championship games and a few belated 'rivalry' games.

Championship weekend kicked off with the inaugural PAC-12 championship game on Friday night, pitting #Oregon against UCLA. This one was pretty much all Oregon as the Ducks blew UCLA out of the water by a 49-31 final.

In a much closer but more overlooked contest on Friday night, Northern Illinois rallied late, scoring 23 unanswered points in the second half to win the Mid-America Conference Title Game by beating the Ohio Bobcats 23-20.

Things got off to a pretty turbulent start on Saturday, with Southern Mississippi upsetting #7 Houston in the Conference USA championship, upending the Cougars by a 49-28 final.

After trailing for most of the first half, the #1 LSU Tigers came back strong in the second half and ran roughshod over the #12 Georgia Bulldogs, winning that one by a 42-10 margin.

Over in the ACC title game, the Clemson were matched up against the #5 Virginia Tech Hokies after the Tigers lost three out of their last four contests (including a 37-13 drubbing by NC State and a 34-13 beating from in-state rival South Carolina). After a 10-10 tie at halftime, Clemson went on to score 28 unanswered points against the Hokies to runa away with the ACC Title.

The closest Championship contest on Saturday afternoon was no doubt the inaugural Big 10 Championship Game, which was pitted Wisconsin against Michigan State. This was a rematch of a regular season game that saw the Spartans win on an improbable Hail Mary from QB Kirk Cousins as time expired back in October.

Although the Badgers got out to an early 21-7 lead in the 1st at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the Spartans came right back on two TD Passes from Cousins and another TD from RB LeVeon Bell to make it 29-21 Spartans at the half.

With the Spartans leading 39-34 in the 4th, the Badgers got to start from their own 36 after a good return. The Badgers started a 10-play drive, including converting on a 4th down and 6 to take the 42-39 lead (the 2 point conversion was good).

After a 3 and out by the Spartans, the Badgers would get the ball back with just under 3 minutes left and bleed away the clock, getting a pivotal first down on a Michigan State penalty. Badgers win the first-ever Big 10 football title game by a 42-39 final, avenging the earlier loss to Michigan State.

AP Photo

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL: It wasn't Championship Saturday everywhere, though. There were still some regular season games to be played in the Big East, Mountain West, Big 12 and Western Athletic Conference.

UConn was playing for bowl eligibility while the Cincinnati Bearcats were positioning themselves for a share of the Big East title in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon.

The Bearcats took advantage of some early UConn errors to get out to an early 14-0 lead thanks to fumbles and interceptions by Huskies QB Johnny McEntee. It would be a 28-6 halftime lead for the Bearcats at the half, with Uconn getting on the board thanks to two David Teggart FGs.

UConn would start to make a game of it in the 2nd half, ultimately closing the gap to 35-27 thanks to a pair of Teggart FGs in the 3rd and two TD passes from McEntee in the 4th, but Cincinnati would go on to win by the 35-27 final.

This leaves UConn with a 5-7 record meaning that just one year after going to the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona, UConn Football will be staying put for Bowl season. This also sets up a curious scenario where Cincinnati, West Virginia and Louisville are all co-titleholders in the Big East.

AP Photo

NCAA FOOTBALL- FCS: The FCS championship got underway in late November, and heading into the weekend, two New England schools from the Colonial conference were still very much in the hunt.

At first, the Maine Black Bears looked like they had a tall task of taking on the Appalachian State Mountaineers on the road in Boone, NC. However, after taking a 13-6 lead into the half, the Black Bears broke the game wide open in the second half, with RB Pushuan Brown's 31 yard TD run serving as the exclamation point in Maine's 34-12 win over Perennial FCS/Division I-aa favorite App State.

The victory eliminates the Mountaineers and sets up a showdown with the Georgia Southern Eagles in Statesboro, GA at 2 PM ET on Saturday. Georgia Southern had already beaten the Old Dominion Monarchs (another CAA team) to advance and face the winner of Maine/App State.

ELSEWHERE IN THE FCS: The Montana State Bobcats survived a late scare from the UNH Wildcats in Bozeman, MT on Saturday. Montana State's Darius Hones intercepted a pass from UNH's Mark Becker at the Bobcat 3 yard line. A shanked punt then gave the Wildcats the ball back with 17 seconds remaining in the 4th, Becker connected with WR Justin Mello to make it a 26-25 game with 7 seconds to go in regulation. However, instead of tying the game up on the point after, Mike MacArthur's kick clanged off the upright, allowing Montana State to squeak by.

This sets up a meeting between the Bobcats and Sam Houston State university in Huntsville, TX this weekend.

NFL: Altough they got out to an early 31-3 lead over Indianapolis, the Patriots ended up sneaking by the hard-luck Colts on Sunday. With no Manning in sight, Indy nevertheless managed to put up 21 unanswered points in the 2nd half, including two TD passes from current Colts QB Dan Orlovsky to WR Pierre Garcon. Still, New England managed to hang on for the 31-24 win.

Tom Brady went 29-38 with 289 yards and 2 TDs while Orlovsky went 30 for 37 with 353 yards, 2 TDs and an interception.

Boston Hearld Photo

An interesting side note to Sunday's game was that injured Colts QB Peyton Manning showed up at Gilette Stadium before the game and briefly chatted with rival QB Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick before talking with fans and some of the minutemen in period cosutmes along the sidelines.

“I signed a tons of autographs for Patriots fans before the game and they couldn’t had been nicer,” Manning said. “They were all wishing me a healthy recovery and missed seeing me out there and I really do appreciate that. I’ve been getting a lot of support from my Colts fans and people across the country. But when it comes from fans of probably your biggest rival, and I’m sure some of them have probably said stuff that wasn’t so nice over the years, I thought it was pretty classy.”

[I could've told you that, Peyton- but then again, I'm incredibly biased- NANESB!]

Of course, anybody in Foxbourough on Sunday could see for themselves that the Colts/Patriots rivalry had lost much of its luster without the Colts MVP quarterback.

The Patriots have one more NFC East opponent in the regular season- the 4-8 Washington Redskin, who they'll take on this Sunday at 1 PM ET on CBS.

Sports Chowdah Update- Napoli Ever After, Texas 1 Win Away From Word Series; Ain't Over 'Til the Fat Lady Lansings;

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

WORLD SERIES: Well damn- it looks like I owe you not one, not two but three World Series updated.

Saturday night's game brought the World Series to Arlington, TX for the second time in two seasons. It was a pretty one-sided blowout with the 16-7 Cardinals win being more reminiscent of the final for a Cowboys-Rams game. However, the contest was noteworthy in that Cards 1st baseman Albert Pujols put himself in some very distinguished company (i.e. Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson) by becoming the third ever player to belt 3 home runs in a World Series game. Pujols went 5-6 with 6 RBI on the night in the St Louis rout.

The following night, however, Rangers starter Derek Holland would go 8 and ⅓ shutout innings allowing just two hits (both of them off of Lance Berkman who was in the DH role) while a 1st inning RBI double from Josh Hamilton would be all the run support Holland needed- altho' he would get more insurance in the form of a 3-run Mike Napoli blast off of Cards reliever Mitchell Boggs in the bottom of the 6th. Texas would go on to win by the 4-0 final on Sunday.

For Game 5 on Monday night, the Cards would get out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second, thanks to a Yadier Molina RBI single and Skip Schumaker groundout with a runner on 3rd.

Texas would cut the lead in half with a solo homer from 1B Mitch Moreland and another one from that 3B Adrian Beltre hit from his knees off starter Chris Carpenter to knot the game at 2-2. Then, in the bottom of the 8th with the bases loaded and 1 out, C Mike Napoli scalded a double to deep center field where it bounced off the wall and drove in two more runs for Texas.

Neftali Feliz would then come on in the top of the 9th and after the leadoff batter, got Pujols to stroke out and cut down Allen Craig as he attempted to steal 2nd base. Matt Holliday was walked and Lance Berkman struck out to end the game and give Texas the 3-2 World Series lead.

The World Series heads back to St Louis on Wednesday night, although the forecast calls for extended rain showers throughout the day, so this must-win game for the Cardinals might be postponed for another day.

OTHER MLB NEWS: The Philadelphia Phillies have declined to pick up the 2012 options on starter Roy Oswalt and closer Brad Lidge. Both pitchers are coming off of an injury plagued 2011 season. Although both are free agents, Phillies brass hasn't ruled out either one of them returning under a new, renegotiated contract.

RED SOX: Boston GM Ben Cherington announced that starter John Lackey will miss the 2012 season after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his elbow. Lackey was 12-12 with a 6.41 ERA this season- the second year into his 5 year, $85 million contract.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS: The Toronto Blue Jays issued a statement in which they announced they "would not grant permission for lateral moves", a reversal of the previous policy where the organization permitted any employee from talking to any organization about any job.

The announcement came amid speculation that manager John Farrell was being sought after by the Red Sox as a replacement for Terry Francona. Farrell spent four years as Boston's pitching coach and led the Blue Jays to an 81-81 record his first season as Toronto manager.

CHICAGO CUBS: Theo Epstein was officially introduced by the Cubs as their newest president of Baseball Operations on Tuesday.



NCAA FOOTBALL: Man oh man....what is it with Michigan State and these dramatic finishes?

With about 4 seconds to go in regulation against the #4 ranked Wisconsin Badgers, Michigan State Spartans QB Kirk Cousins heaved a Hail Mary Pass from mid field and after caroming off the facemask of Spartans WR BJ Cunningham found its way into the arms of Spartans WR Keith Nichol, who managed to break the plane of the goal line for the 37-31 Spartans win.

The win vaults the Spartans from #15 to #9 in the AP Top 25 poll.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL: Meanwhile, Boston College's futile quest for a win against a FBS opponent continued after falling 14-30 to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Saturday. The BC Eagles will next face Maryland at College Park, MD at 3:00 PM ET.

UMass, whis is the only team the Eagles have managed to beat this season, was defeated by the UNH Wildcats by a 27-71 final in the Colonial Clash at Gilette Stadium in Foxborough, Ma on Saturday. This could be a preview of 'home' games once the UMass Minutemen join the MAC starting in 2012.

UConnhad the weekend off, but plays Wednesday night against Pitt at 8 PM ET. The game will be televised on ESPN.

NBA: Speaking of UMass, Basketball hall of famer and UMass alumni Julius Erving is putting up his championship rings and MVP trophies up for auction after being sued for $200,000 by a Georgia bank.

Erving purchased an Atlanta-area golf course in 2006 and moved to the area a few years later. Using a Gwinnett county home as collateral, Erving secured a $1 million loan from Georgia Primary Bank in 2009. In 2010, the line of credit was reduced to $750,000 and the maturity date was extended to July 24th. However, the bank is suing Erving over the outstanding balance.

Among the items up for auction include his 1974 and 1976 championship ring from the ABA as well as a 1983 championship ring with the Philadelphia 76ers and 1980-81 NBA MVP trophy.

NHL: And just as quickly as Boston's offense showed up against Toronto, it seemed to abandon them as they hosted the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

Coming off a 4-3 shootout win against New Jersey, the Bruins hosted Joe Thornton for career game #1001, but it was Essex, MA native and former BC Eagle Benn Ferriero that would put the Sharks up on top after Tyler Seguin had managed to knot the contest up at 2-2 in the 3rd.

Ferriero managed to bury a rebound past Thomas late in the 3rd to make it a 3-2 contest before a Patrick Marleau empty-netter in the final minute would ice the 4-2 win for San Jose.

Interestingly, while Thornton was playing career game #1000 in New Jersey, Ferriero was being called up from the Worcester Ice Cats of the AHL for his NHL debut.

To mark the occasion of Thornton's return, the Bruins played a video tribute at the garden in the 1st period congratulating the San Jose center on the career milestone.