Today's Train of Thought- This Ain't No Polar Express, Aug 14, 2010

With a name like Hudson Bay Railway, you'd think that today's rather convoluted train of thought might be the next best thing to The Polar Express. However, you would be off by more than 1500 miles.

In 1997, Colorado-based Omnitrax reached an agreement with the Canadian National to purchase and operate more than 800 miles of track in northern Manitoba between The Pas and the Hudson Bay port of Churchill. At the same time and about 1600 miles to the south, the newly-formed Burlington Northern-Santa Fe began divesting itself of some lesser-used branchlines in Illinois. North American RailNet would end up picking up four disconnected former BNSF lines in the Land of Lincoln. By 2005, the North American RailNet would sell their remaining American railroad properties to Omnitrax, including the Illinois Railway (formerly Illinois Railnet).

In recent years, Omnitrax has taken steps to improve capacity at the port of Churchill, including incrementally rebuilding the track between The Pas and Churchill and purchasing newer locomotives to operate over the line. Included as part of the new power is at least 10 former Union Pacific (nee Missouri Pacific) SD50s.

While the Hudson Bay SD50s were probably assigned to the Illinois Railway for test runs after being rebuilt and repainted in HBRY colors, the Omnitrax Illinois affiliate seems to have taken a liking to at least two of the 6-axle beasts as some of them have been on the property since at least late 2008.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Steve Smedley caught the matched pair of Hudson Bay SD50s #5009 and #5008 and a leased Helm GP38-2 as they crossed the Fox River in Montgomery, IL with more than 50 empty cars on their way back from BNSF's Eola yard in Aurora, IL on Mother's Day 2010.

The train is heading back to Ottawa, IL on home rails after traversing BNSF via trackage rights between Aurora and Montgomery and the cars are bound for US Silica's Ottawa plant. At Ottawa, the Illinois Railway interchanges with the CSX and Iowa Interstate while heading furhter south to Streator, IL where it interchanges with the Norfolk Southern and BNSF.

However out of place the two six axle beasts may be, they certainly do look sharp with their new green/white/gold paint scheme.

Pentagon Releases Names of US Servicemen Killed in Afghanistan Helicopter Crash

Funeral service for SEAL Team member Rob Reeves at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Shreveport, LA on Saturday August 14- Henrietta Wildsmith/Shreveport Times

On Thursday, the Pentagon released the name of all 30 American servicemen killed when their CH-47 Chinook was shot down by Taliban fire during a nighttime mission over Wardak province on Aug 6th.

The following SEALS have been identified as among the dead:

*Lt. Cmdr. Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, La.
*Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, Calif.
Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Ark.,
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Conn.
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minn.
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Mass.
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Mo.
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas.
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, La.
*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Mich.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, Calif.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, N.C.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Fla.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, Calif.
*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minn.

The five Navy special operations troops were:

*Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii.
*Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, W. Va.
*Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah.
*Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Neb.
*Cryptologist Technician Petty Officer 1st Class Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pa.

The five soldiers killed were identified as:

*Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo., who was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment in Aurora, Colo.;
*Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan., who was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment in New Century, Kan.
*Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb., who was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment in Grand Island, Neb.
*Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash., who was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, New Century, Kan.
*Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan., who was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment in New Century, Kan.

The three airmen who died were:

*Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Fla., who was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, N.C.
*Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, Calif., who was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, N.C.
*Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pa. who was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, N.C.

[Hat tip: And So It Goes in Shreveport]

Sports Chowdah Update- More than One Way To Skin a Cat: Pats Dominate Jags In Preseason Opener, Sox Sink Mariners in SafeCo Series Opener;

NFL: After much consternation and legal wrangling in the offseason, the NFL's preseason kicked off on Thursday night with a slate of games across the country, including Foxborough.

Tom Brady was the spectator for all of Thursday's matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gilette, with former Michigan State undrafted free agent Brian Hoyer calling plays for the first half and New England's 3rd round draft pick from Arkansas, Ryan Mallet, making the most of his time in the 2nd half.

Although Jacksonville got on the board first with a pair of field goals (one from Scobee and one from Swank, the Patriots would take the lead for good starting with a short TD run from RB Stevan Ridley. The Pats would have a 19-9 lead by halftime, and score two more touchdowns before Jacksonville even got on the board in the second half.

New England pretty much wins this one going away by a 47-12 margin. In the first half, Brian Hoyer went 15 for 21 with 171 yards and a TD while Ryan Mallet went 12 for 19 with 164 yards in the second half and one TD.

Next week, the Patriots will travel to Raymond James stadium in Tampa, FL to take on the Buccaneers for week 2 of the NFL preseason. Kickoff will be 7:30 PM ET.

OTHER PATRIOTS NEWS: Guard Logan Mankins and the club agreed to terms on a contract extension this week after acrimonious negotiations in the offseason. The deal is for 6 years and could reportedly be worth as much as $51 million.

The deal was made a few days after defensive end Shaun Ellis departed the New York Jets after 11 seasons and signed a one-year contract with New England. The two-time pro bowler had 36 tackles and 4 and a half sacks last season.


RED SOX: After taking two out of three from the Minnesota Twins in Target Field (where Wakefield missed another opportunity for win #200), the Red Sox travelled to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Mariners in a 3 game series this weekend.

John Lackey had something of a rough start, giving up two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but was eventually able to settle down and get some run support as the game went on. David Ortiz started off the Sox offense with a solo homer, followed by a Mike Aviles RBI sac-fly in the top of the 2nd.

Trailing by a 4-3 margin in the top of the 6th, Josh Reddick put the Sox up for good with a booming 2 run homer and Big Papi provided some insurance in the form of an RBI single in the top of the 7th. Papelbon allowed a 2 out baserunner but was able to close out the game, giving Boston the 6-4 win over Seattle.

The two teams will go right back at it tomorrow night with Felix Hernandez (10-10; 3.31 ERA) going up against Josh Beckett (9-4; 2.17 ERA) at 10 PM Eastern, 7 Pacific. On Sunday, Tim Wakefield will try and reach the 200 career win milestone.

Third Baseman Kevin Youkilis was a late scratch from Friday night's game reportedly due to stiffness in his back.

Federal Appeals Court Rules Obamacare's Individual Mandate Unconstitutional

A provision in President Obama's healthcare bill mandating that all citicizens purchase health insurance was ruled unconstitutional by a US Appeals Court in Atlanta on Friday afternoon. The decison was a review of an earlier and much more sweeping ruling by a US District Judge in Florida.

The divided panel of three judges sided with 26 states that were filing suit against the Administration to block the implementation of Obamacare. Friday's decision will likely pave the way for the supreme court to hear arguments for and against HR 3590 [possibly in time for the 2012 Presidential campagin- NANESB!].

The panel said that Congress exceeded its constitutional authority by requiring Americans to buy insurance or face penalties.

"This economic mandate represents a wholly novel and potentially unbounded assertion of congressional authority," the panel said in the majority opinion.

The majority also said that a basic objective of the law is to "make health insurance coverage accessible and thereby to reduce the number of uninsured persons." Without the individual mandate, the majority said, the law "retains many other provisions that help to accomplish some of the same objectives as the individual mandate."

The states urged the 11th Circuit to uphold U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson's ruling, saying in a court filing that letting the law stand would set a troubling precedent that "would imperil individual liberty, render Congress's other enumerated powers superfluous, and allow Congress to usurp the general police power reserved to the states."

The Justice Department countered that Congress had the power to require most people to buy health insurance or face tax penalties because Congress has the authority to regulate interstate business. It said the legislative branch was exercising its "quintessential" rights when it adopted the new law.

During oral arguments in June, the three-judge panel repeatedly raised questions about the overhaul and expressed unease with the insurance requirement. Each of the three worried aloud if upholding the landmark law could open the door to Congress adopting other sweeping economic mandates.

The arguments unfolded in what's considered one of the nation's most conservative appeals courts. But the randomly selected panel represents different judicial perspectives. None of the three is considered either a stalwart conservative or an unfaltering liberal.

Friday's ruling could very well set the stage for a Supreme Court battle over Obamacare during the 2012 election cycle.

Bay State Brewers Hit With Untenable '50% Local' Rule by Commonwealth

Massachusetts- Harshing the mellow of Oktoberfest 2011 before it even gets started.

Small breweries in the Bay State were shocked and dismayed to learn last week that the Massachusetts alcohol commission announced a new rule mandating 'farmer-brewers' in the Commonwealth must grow at least 50% of their beer's hops and grains themselves or contract with an in-state farm for such a purpose.

According to Massachusetts Brewers Association president Rob Martin, the new mandate is unsustainable. Martin, who also owns the Ipswich Ale Brewery said that while he buys pumpkins and blueberries locally for for seasonal ales and gives spent grains to a cattle farmer for free, it would be impossible to find enough local hops and grains to produce his beer.

Grains used to make beer need to be malted first, and there is currently only one malting facility in Massachusetts. Andrea Stanley, who owns Valley Malt in Hadley with her husband, says that her business is running at capacity and the new "50 percent" rule would not be sustainable.

The regulation change came as a shock to many in the craft beer industry. Jeremy Goldberg of Cape Ann Brewing in Gloucester called the decision an "arbitrary rules change." He, like many, use the license as a way to produce, pour, and distribute beer on site. Without the farmer-brewer license, brewers would need to acquire separate licenses from the state to manufacture and distribute their own beer.

The alcohol commission says that small breweries who have trouble meeting its criteria for farmer-brewer licenses are "on notice" that they will face scrutiny when their licenses come up for renewal. Those brewers who fall short "are welcome to apply for a manufacturer's license," the commission says.

The new rule will affect at least 24 breweries across Massachusetts. Martin says the Brewers Association will challenge the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission on the ruling.

Today's Train of Though: Distant Signals- Aug 10, 2011

Today's train of thought takes us to the Green Mountain State and what amounts to a newly reconstituted Rutland. After years of operating losses and labor disputes since the end of World War II, the Rutland Railway shut down operations in May 1963. With the Rutland's abandonment and shutdown leaving much of the state of Vermont without Rail service, the state of Vermont stepped in and in 1964 awarded the Burlington to North Bennington, VT section of track to the Vermont Railway and the Rutland to Walpole, NH to the Green Mountain Railroad. The lines south to Chatham, NY and west to Malone, NY were ultimately abandoned- although the trackage from Ogdensburg, NY east to the New York Central interchange at Norwood, NY remained intact.

Both the Green Mountain and Vermont Railway managed to exist separately, with the Green Mountain trying to get by on seasonal excursions and bridge line traffic between the Boston & Maine and Central Vermont on one end and the Vermont Railway and Delaware & Hudson on the other.

Meanwhile, the Vermont Railway was gradually expanding while hauling feed, lumber, marble, grain, wood chips, limestone and oil. In 1972, the VTRR took over control of the little marble-hauling shortline Clarendon & Pittsford. A little over a decade later, the VTRR would go on to purchase the former Delaware & Hudson Whitehall, NY branch between Rutland, VT and Whitehall, NY. This line would be operated under the Clarendon & Pittsford name, although thanks to a prolonged strike on the Guilford/Delaware & Hudson lines in 1986, traffic on both railways would take a hit.

Fortunes for both railroads seemed to improve heading into the 1990s. To the west, Canadian Pacific managed to acquire the Delaware & Hudson after Guilford transportaiton divested themselves of the line. To the east, Canadian National sold off their Central Vermont subsidiary to RailTex to form the New England Central. For the Green Mountain, additional online traffic in the form of limestone and fly ash began to materielize as well as more favorable interchange partners on each end.

By 1997, the Vermont Railway had paid back the State of Vermont for the former Rutland lines and began consolidating operations with the Green Mountain. Two years later, they took over operations of the struggling Washington County Railroad which operated between Barre Jct, Vt and the state capital of Montpelier. That year, the state also acquired the lightly-used Boston & Maine line north of White River Jct. to Newport, VT and eventually leased the line to VTRR (operating as the Washington County RR) after the previous operator, Iron Road Railways, went bankrupt.

But to this day, the Green Mountain line between Rutland and White River Jct. remains the linchpin of the Vermont Railway system, with the shift in operators still providing ample bridgeline traffic, with the Providence & Worcester (by way of the New England Central) being the latest to move cars in and out of New England through the Green Mountain gateway. Some of the more recent commodities to appear on the VTRR/GMRC rails include coal, limestone slurry and ethanol- the latter two moving in dedicated unit trains.

Railpictures.net contributor Tim Stockwell catches Clarendon & Pittsford GP38-2 #204 is seen trundling past the abandoned Ludlow, VT station on the Green Mountain line, heading back to Rutland with train #264 with a mixed bag of freight on a sunny May 2010 afternoon. Although inactive, the station still sports the intact blades from a semaphore signal.

Oslo Aftermath- Shooter May Only Get 21 Year Sentence; Death Toll Revised Down to 76, Former PM Was Gunman's Main Target?

As many of the victims in Anders Breivik's murder spree were being laid to rest it came to light that under Norway's penal code, Breivik could conceivably serve just 21 years imprisonment for his bombing of government offices in Oslo and gunning down scores of children and adolescents at a summer camp on Utøya Island.

Under Norway's judicial system an inmate incarcerated for an indeterminate timeframe must demonstrate that they are no longer a danger to society at large. Given the scope and severity of Breivik's actions, it would be assumed that he would always pose a risk to the public. An additional five years of 'containment' would be tacked on to the end of a sentence if the inmate was found unfit to be released or paroled.

Norweigan Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg signaled in the immediate aftermath of the massacre that the country's penal system would be re-examined in light of the natures of the crimes Breivik has confessed to.

In the days following the shooting, officials in Norway revised the death toll down to 76- with 68 killed on Utøya Island and eight killed in the downtown Oslo bombing. In the immediate aftermath, the ranged from 10 to as many as 96 killed. Even with the revised death toll, the July 22nd attacks remain the deadliest in Norway since World War II.

Breivik had reportedly been in contact via e-mail and internet bulletin boards with far right groups in Norway, the UK and Belgium prior to the massacre, although he never relayed any plans for violence in his correspondence. Shortly before the massacre, he e-mailed a lengthy 1500 page 'manifesto'- some of which was plagiarized from the Unabomber- to contacts in England and elsewhere in Europe.


Meanwhile, according to a press release from the execrable Westboro Baptist Church, the 'Reverend' Fred Phelps and his congregation announced that they intend to picket the funerals of those slain in the July 22nd massacre.

While there are technically no laws on the books in the USA to prevent the Westboro congregation from picketing the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed emergency legislation blocking them from protesting any of the victims slain by deranged gunman Jared Lee Loughner in the January 2011 Tuscon Massacre.

However, Norway has laws on the books against 'hate speech' meaning that the antics the Westboro congregation pulls here in the USA at soldier's funerals with impunity would earn them an arrest, fines and possible jail time in Norway [Note- I'm not endorsing such laws for here in the USA- NANESB!]

Norway's General Civil Penal Code, comments in Section 135 a. on "hateful expression" related to religion and sexuality: "Section 135 a. Any person who willfully or through gross negligence publicly utters a discriminatory or hateful expression shall be liable to fines or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years. ... The use of symbols shall also be deemed to be an expression. Any person who aids and abets such an offense shall be liable to the same penalty."

The law further clarifies what hateful expression encompasses, “inciting hatred or persecution of or contempt for anyone because of his or her: a) skin color or national or ethnic origin, b) religion or life stance, or c) homosexuality, lifestyle or orientation."

Considering the clear wordings of the law the members of the church may not be able to get away with their picketing in Norway as they do in the U.S.

“If they implement what they threaten, I can only confirm that it is one of the most bad ideas at the moment,” said Johan Fredriksen , chief of staff of the Oslo police to the Norway Broadcasting Company (NRK).

[On a totally random side-note, is it just me or does the Westboro Baptist Church seem more like a charicture of how progressives or athiests like Bill Maher view Christianity than an actual church?- NANESB!]

After his arrest, Breivik told police that one of Norway's former prime ministers, Gro Harlem Brundtland, was his main target. Brundtland had delivered a speech to the ruling Labor Party's youth camp on Utøya island earlier that day. Breivik also said that he had accomplices or allied 'cells' that were ready to strike unspecified targets, but examination of his computer files and e-mail correspondence seems to indicate that he had worked alone in procuring weapons and planning the attacks.

Wisconsin State Senate Republicans Maintain Majority After Union-Backed Recall Challenge

In a series of elections that many viewed as a referendum on Gov. Scott Walker and his policies towards public employee unions, four out of six incumbent Republican state senators successfully held off Democrat challengers in Wisconsin on Tuesday night.

The wave of recall elections is unparalleled in the nation's history. Before this year, there had been just four recall elections of Wisconsin lawmakers. Two incumbents were recalled, while two survived the efforts. One of those who won his recall election was Holperin, who was in the Assembly in 1990 when a recall effort was launched because of his stance on Indian fishing rights.

After pouring millions of dollars into Tuesday night's recall elections- mostly from public employee unions like the SEIU or AFSCME- union backed Democrat candidates needed to unseat at least three of the incumbent republicans in order to gain control of the State Senate.

Incumbents Dan Kapanke (32nd District) and Randy Hopper (18th District) lost their respective bids to stay in office Tuesday night, with the 32nd going to Jennifer Shilling and the 18th going to Jessica King. However, the last race of the night to be called was between GOP incumbent Alberta Darling and Democrat challenger Sandra Pasch. Although Pasch got out to an early lead, Darling surged past her as the night went on and currently enjoys a 54%/46% advantage with 99% of the precincts reporting.

So after all the protests and union money spent on circulating petitions and political ads, the best the unions could do is come up one seat short of taking away the GOP majority in the Wisconsin state senate. And there's a chance that the Democrat and Union's modest gains could be undone in a week's time, as there are two additional recall elections scheduled for next week. Democrat state senators Robert Wirch (22nd District) and Jim Holperin (12th district) face Republican challengers after fleeing the state with the rest of the senate Democrats earlier this year, a tactic used to prevent the body from reaching a quorum when Gov. Walker's union bill was supposed to go before state senators. Even if both Wirch and Holperin manage to survive their recall challenges, the GOP would still maintain a narrow majority in the state senate.

While many observers believe that the recalls could serve as a barometer for the national electoral mood heading into 2012. However, the Democrats coming up short in trying to wrest power away from the GOP majority in the state senate has no doubt undercut much of the momentum behind a campaign to recall Gov. Walker. Walker cannot be recalled until he has been in office for a year, so those supporting a recall campaign will have to wait until at least January 2012.

In a little over 6 months under the Walker administration, the state of Wisconsin has created 13,000 private sector jobs while cities like Milwaukee are expected to save as much as $25 million annually under the governor's controversial budget repair bill.

London Burns In Third Straight Night of Rioting

Rioters in London clashed with police, looted shops and torched parked cars on Monday night, three days after officers from London's Metropolitan Police shot and killed an armed black gang leader in the Tottenham area.

At least 225 rioters were arrested over the weekend and on Monday. Scenes of lawlessness played out across the city, starting in the Tottenahm and Wood Green areas. Balaclava-clad looters, many of them believed to be black or East Asian gang members as well as white anarchists, began torching police cars and buses a few hours after a vigil for 29 year old Mark Duggan, the suspected gang leader fatally shot by police.

With police and firefighters busy attempting to disperse the rioters and put out the fires they set, looters used Blackberries to coordinate their next move and help themselves to cellphones, cigarettes, flat screen TV's, alcohol and jewelry from stores that were shuttered for the evening.

Sony's UK Distribution Center in Enfield was also hit by looters and arsonists. Eyewitnesses reported seeing about hooded men leaving the warehouse before the fire took hold. The building partially collapsed in the blaze and a nearby hotel was evacuated. Police in London also ordered two League Cup matches set to take place on Tuesday to be postponed, while a friendly match between the English team and Holland is in doubt for Wednesday.

By late Monday night/early Tuesday morning, the unrest had spread to elsewhere in England with reports of arson and looting in Birmingham and Liverpool.

Fomer London Mayor 'Red Ken' Livingston reportedly had this to say when interviewed by the BBC.

“A lot of these young people, they are criminals, yes, but there’s a disengagement – they feel no-one at the top of society, in government or City Hall, cares about them or speaks for them.”

Apprently Red Ken is running for office again and has decided to curry favor with those who set the fires or looted their neighborhood shops as opposed to the people left homeless or without a job thanks to the actions of the very same people Livingston urged viewers to feel more sympathetic towards.

[Just a reminder- we're less than a year away from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. If I were the International Olympic Committee, I'd be less concerned about the Rio games in 2016 and more worried over the London Summer Olympics next year- NANESB!]

Extra Helping of Sports Chowdah for Aug 7th- Chronicles of Reddick; Westmoreland Making Strides; Poker in the Rear

RED SOX: After dropping Friday night's series opener, the Red Sox set up a Sunday night rubber game after winning Saturday afternoon's affair by a 10-4 final.

Sunday night's nationally televised game on ESPN featured Josh Beckett starting against Freddy Garcia. As with most Yankees/Red Sox games, this served as a reminder to those being introduced to the sport of baseball that the game has no clock.

The Red Sox seemed to be getting to Garcia early, but were only able to push a solitary run across the plate after loading up the bases with nobody out. Marco Scutaro was able to drive in a run on a single, but after taking the 1-0 lead Boston would do no further damage against Garcia.

The Yankees got the equalizer on an Eduardo Nunez solo homer hit into the Monster seats in the top of the 5th and Beckett left after 6 innings with the game knotted up at 1-1. From there the Bronx Bombers took a 2-1 lead when Matt Albers served up a solo homer to outfielder Brett Gardner.

However, the Sox bats were able to get to Yankees closer Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the 9th. Shortstop Marco Scutaro led off the bottom of the 9th with a double before moving over to 3rd base on Jacoby Ellsbury's sac bunt. Dustin Pedroia flew out to left center, but it was deep enough to bring home Scutaro and tie the game up at 2-2 and send it to extras.

Daniel Bard had a 1-2-3 top of the tenth to keep it a tie game. The bottom of the 10th saw Phil Hughes relieve Rivera. Although Hughes managed to get Youkilis to pop up to lead off the inning, David Ortiz hit a ground-rule double to put the go ahead in scoring position. Darnell McDonald was sent in to pinch run for Big Papi. After intentionally walking Carl Crawford to get to OF Josh Reddick. The rookie made Hughes pay with a walkoff RBI single that plated McDonald, giving Boston the belated win in dramatic fashion.

Despite the Yankees briefly jumping out to sole possession of 1st place with their Friday night victory, Boston wins the weekend series against the Yankees two games to one, giving them sole possession of 1st place in the AL East as of Sunday Night Monday Morning.

The Red Sox hit the road Monday night and head to the Twin Cities to take on the Twins for Monday night. In search of career win #200, starter Tim Wakefield (6-4; 4.99 ERA) goes up against Scott Baker (8-6; 3.01 ERA). The game will be televised nationally on ESPN and gets underway at 7:10 PM ET.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS: Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland has been making steady progress in his rehabilitation a year after surgery to remove a cavernous malformation in his brain stem. After some depth perception problems, Westmoreland was practicing hitting against soft toss and a pitching machine. Now, the organization feels his condition has improved enough to the point where he can face live pitching.

Facing a live pitcher would represent the biggest step this far in Westmoreland's rehab. No specific precautions are being taken with Westmoreland that aren't already in place for any other player.

As for fielding, Westmoreland has been taking full-length fly balls along with other Red Sox draftees at the team's facility in Ft. Meyers. Both the organization and Westmoreland say they're pleased with the progress thus far, but have not put an exact timetable for when he's expected to fully return to playing condtions

OTHER MLB NEWS: Noticeably absent from the weekend series was Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez who was recovering from surgery on his right knee. Of course, the knee reportedly isn't his only problem- reports are circulating that the big money infielder has been participating in an illegal poker ring.

However even if it can be conclusively proven that ARod participated in illicit poker games, unnamed league sources said that it's unlikely Rodriguez would face any fines or suspensions.