Sports Chowdah Update for September 6- Sox Jay-Walk Away In Toronto; North by Northwest- BC Drops Season Opener in Chestnut Hill; Coming Soon- PAC 14?

9/7 UPDATE: At least 40 people are feared dead after a Russian jet carrying players from the KHL hockey club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed while taking off from the Yaroslavl airport Wednesday. The team was flying to Minsk, Belarus for their KHL season opener against Minsk Dinamo on Thursday.

A spokesman from the Russian Emergency ministry said that the Yak-42 crashed shortly after takeoff from the city of Yaroslavl some 150 miles north of Moscow. Authorities haven't determined a cause of the crash yet.

Lokomotiv had won three previous championships, the most recent being in 2003. Their 2011-2012 roster includes former NHL-ers Ruslan Salei, Pavol Demetria and Josef Vasicek as well as Canadian head coach Brad McCrimmon.


RED SOX: Determined to prove that the outcome of the late August series against Boston in Arlington, TX was a fluke, the Texas Rangers came into Boston and took two out of three from the Sox before the Olde Towne Team was slated to head north to Toronto for a 4-game series that began on Labor Day in the Rogers Centre.

Monday's game seemingly ripped the heart out of the Sox, with Josh Beckett leaving the scoreless game in the 4th inning due to an ankle sprain. While the bullpen stepped up tremendously- including 3 ⅔ innings from Alfredo Aceves- the Jays were throwing shutout baseball behind starter Henderson Alvarez. The game would remain scoreless until the bottom of the 11th inning when Dan Wheeler gave up a 2-out walkoff solo homer to Jays 3B Brett Lawrie for the 1-0 Toronto win.

Tuesday was a slightly different story with Jon Lester getting plenty of run support early and often while striking out 11 Jays batters and allowing just 3 hits and one walk in 7 complete innings of work. The Sox jumped all over Toronto starter Luis Perez for 4 runs in the top of the first and seemingly never let up afterwards. After just 2 and ⅔ innings, the Red Sox jumped out to an 8-0 lead and chased Perez from the mound. SS Marco Scutaro went 4-5 with 4 RBI and Big Papi went 4-6 with 2 RBI on the night. The Red Sox win this one going away by a final of 14-0.

Prior to Tuesday night, the Red Sox had only won one out of their last 5 games, putting them two and a half games behind the Yankees for 1st in the AL East. After a lengthy rain delay on Tuesday night, the Yankees beat Baltimore by a 5-3 final in Yankee Stadium to keep the gap at two and a half games

Wednesday night's game will have Tim Wakefield (6-6; 4.95 ERA) going up against Brandon Morrow (9-10; 4.78 ERA). Wakefield, as you may recall, is stuck on career win #199 and has been on a Groundhog Day-esque quest for #200 for the last month or so.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS: While He's expected to miss a start for the Sox, an MRI on Josh Beckett's ankle found no serious damage. Beckett returned to Boston on Tuesday to have his ankle examined by team doctors.

Right-handed rookie Kyle Weiland (8-10; 3.58 ERA with AAA Pawtucket this season) is expected to get the start on Saturday against the Rays in Beckett's place.

PAW SOX: The Pawtucket Red Sox clinched their first playoff berth in three seasons and their first IL-North division title since 2003 with a 12-7 win over the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees on Saturday night. They then closed out the regular season at McCoy Stadium with a 7-3 victory over the Rochester Red Wings.

The Paw Sox will travel to Allentown, PA to take on the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs for Game 1 of the first round of the IL playoffs.

EVEN MORE RED SOX NEWS: Perhaps looking to close their budget shortfall, Hall of Famer and Red Sox slugger Ted Williams will be featured on a postage stamp to be issued by the US Postal Service next year.

The set of stamps will also feature Larry Doby, Willie Stargell and Joe DiMaggio and be denominated in the 'Forver' rate (i.e. it would cost 44 ¢ at the time of issue, but could still be used if there were any rate increases). Ted Williams was the last hitter to have a single-season batting average above .400- hitting .406 in 1941- and although he missed several seasons while serving as a Marine Corps pilot in WWII and the Korean War, Williams was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1966.

As a rule, the US Postal Service doesn't issue stamps depicting an individual until a decade after their death. An exception to the rule is made for former US Presidents.

OTHER MLB NEWS: Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg made his first MLB start in over a year on Tuesday night, going 5 scoreless innings and allowing just two hits in a 7-3 loss to the LA Dodgers in the Nation's Capitol. The Nats rookie left mid-season in 2010 with shoulder problems and had Tommy John surgery in the offseason.

Strasburg began his rehab assignments with the Class A affiliate Hagerstown Suns in the South Atlantic League in August and allowed just one hit in six shutout innings with the AA affiliate Harrisburg Senators of the Eastern League.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: In a surprise move, the New England Patriots cut safety Brandon Merriweather. The two-time pro bowler will likely be replaced by Josh Barrett or Sergio Brown. RB Sammy Morris, WR Brandon Tate, DT Ty Warren and TE Alge Crumpler were among the 15 players released by the Pats at the end of preseason.

Warren was picked up by the Denver Broncos while Merriweather was signed by the Chicago Bears.

The NFL regular season starts Thursday night with the Defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers hosting the New Orleans Saints. New England's season doesn't begin in earnest until Monday night, where they travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins in Game one of a Monday Night Football doubleheader.


OTHER NFL NEWS: NFL Hall of fame Defensive End Lee Roy Selmon passed away from a stroke on Sunday, September 4th at the age of 56. Selmon was born and raised in Eastern Oklahoma and played for the Oklahoma University Sooners with his two brothers in College.

In 1976, Selmon was the first-ever draft pick for the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and remained with the team until his 1984 retirement, notching 742 tackles and 78.5 career sacks.

After his playing days, Selmon remained in Florida and participated in a number of charities and started up a chain of sports bars in the Tampa area.

BOSTON COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Well- that could've gone better. Although both teams headed into the lockers at the half toed 10-10, The Northwestern Wildcats would come back out and get two TDs to put them up 24-10.

Boston College would pull to within a touchdown after Andre Williams capped an 80 yard BC drive with a 1-yard TD run, but that would be it for the offense. Andre Williams would have 22 carries for 106 yards and 2 TDs while Eagles QB went 24-44 with 351 yards and an interception.

The Wildcats' QU Kain Colter would go 17-24 with 197 yards and one TD, but no turnovers either. The Wildcats would also get TDs from RB Mike Trumpy and Adonis Smith in Northwestern's 24-17 win.

The Eagles will next travel to Orlando, FL to take on the University of Central Florida Knighs at 8 PM ET.

UCONN FOOTBALL: To nobody's surprise, the UConn Huskies rather handily defeated the Fordham Rams in their E. Hartford home opener by a 35-3 final. This sets up a meeting in Nashville with Vanerbilt on Saturday wit a 7:30 ET kickoff.

OTHER NCAA NEWS: The Texas A&M Aggies are expected to officially announce that they will be moving to the SEC beginning in 2012. The move would make the Aggies the third school in 15 months to depart the Big 12, with Colorado going to the Pac 12 (formerly Pac 10) and Nebraska going to the Big 10.

Oilman and Oklahoma State booster T Boone Pickens the demise of the Big 12 conference within a few years, claiming that Oklahoma State and Oklahoma might be departing for what's now the Pac-12 conference. Oklahoma university officials in Norman, OK are expected to make a decision on whether or not to remain in the Big 12 conference in the next couple of weeks.

Former Jayhawks coach Don Fambrough with teammate Marvin Small at Reunion in 2008. Photo- Nick Krug

ELSEWHERE IN THE BIG 12: Former University of Kansas Jayhawk player and coach Don Fambrough died after sustaining injuries from a fall while working on his Lawrence, KS home.

Frambrough played for the Texas Longhorns for two seasons before joining the US Army Air Corps in WWII. After serving in the military, one of his Army buddies coaxed him to go to Kansas after the war. There he was on the first Jayhawk team to be invited to a Bowl game- the 1947 Sugar Bowl where they lost to Georgia Tech 24-10.

Fambrough also coached the Jayhawks from 1971 to 1982 where he amassed a record of 37-48-5 record and remained active with the program after his coaching days, often delivering firey anti-Missouri pep talks before the annual 'Border War' games against Mizzou.

Fambrough was 88.

China Eyes Alberta's Oil Sands As State Department Delays Keystone XL Pipeline Decision

While interests in both the USA and Canada are awaiting a State Department decision on a proposed pipeline linking northern Alberta's oil sands with Texas, Chinese companies are proposing a pipeline of their own linking the vast reserves with the Pacific Ocean.

The oil sands of this Canadian province are so big that they will be able to serve both of the world's largest economies as production expands in the coming years. But that will mean building at least two pipelines, one south to the Texas Gulf Coast and another west toward the Pacific, and that in turn means fresh environmental battles on top of those already raging over the costly and energy-intensive method of extracting oil from sand.

Most believe that both will eventually be built. But if the U.S. doesn't approve its pipeline promptly, Canada might increasingly look to China, thinking America doesn't want a big stake share in what environmentalists call "dirty oil," which they say increases greenhouse gas emissions.

Alberta has the world's third largest oil reserves, more than 170 billion barrels. Daily production of 1.5 million barrels from the oil sands is expected to nearly triple to 3.7 million in 2025. Overall, Alberta has more oil than Russia or Iran. Only Saudi Arabia and Venezuela have more.

Alberta is one of the few places where oil companies can invest, as the majority of the world's oil reserves are controlled by national governments. Only 22 percent of the total world reserves are accessible to private sector investment, 52 percent of which is in Alberta's oil sands, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

At issue are environmental concerns over two proposed pipeline projects. The Northern Gateway Pipeline would pump oil from Edmonton, AB over the Rockies to a new maritime terminal in Kitimat, BC for export to China. China's state oil company, Sinopec [NYSE: SHI] reportedly has a stake in excess of US$ 5 billion in the plans drawn up by Alberta-based Enbridge [NYSE: ENB/TSX: ENB].

Map detailing already existing pipelines and proposed expansion

Meanwhile, running to the south is the Keystone XL project, much of which is already in place, but Phase 1 takes a circuitous zig-zag route through Manitoba before stretching south across the border to Steele City, NE. From there, the pipelines diverge with one heading east to Patoka, IL and the other heading south to Cushing, OK (See map above). The proposed extension (Phase 4) by pipeline owner TransCanada [NYSE: TRP/TSX: TRP] would bypass Phase 1 and take a more direct route from Alberta by cutting through eastern Montana, then western South Dakota and Nebraska. Phase three of the project would involve expanding the pipeline south from Oklahoma to the Houston area.

Natural oil sands seepage into Alberta's Athabaca River

So right off the bat, this KeystoneXL pipeline expansion would be providing Americans with jobs and an important energy source from a politically stable ally in the region. Sounds like a win-win- doesn't it?

Well- not to the usual suspects. Interesting how last year, Cap & Trade co-author Rep Henry Waxman (D- CA30) was concerned about the possible environmental impact of the Keystone XL project but now the House Democrat is worried that the eeeeeeevil Koch Brothers- the de-facto progressive boogeyman since late 2010- might financially benefit from the pipeline's construction- because apparently we cannot have abundant oil from Canada if a single Republican donor stands to benefit from it [curious how they aren't quite as dilligent on legislative or policy decisions that would affect....say...Jeffery Immelt- NANESB!].

'Green' energy advocates often (and rightly) cite our growing dependence on an energy source that primarily originates from a decreasingly stable parts of the world. Yet whether it's hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale, offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico or ANWAR, the same 'Green' energy advocates suddenly deem those energy sources off-limits.

Since the proposed KeystoneXL pipeline expansion crosses the US/Canada border, the final say in the matter is ultimately left up to the State Department, which is expected to make its final decision after a multi-agency review later on this year [A word of caution- leaving the matter up to the State Department could be a means for the White House to avoid making an unpopular political decision ahead of 2012- NANESB!]

Here's the thing that really bothers me- should they successfully derail the KeystoneXL project, it's not as though the oil sands will continue to sit there untapped. There is still the matter of growing demand from China. From the American perspective, one of the few things we have in our favor at the moment is that there's perhaps even more local opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline project then there is the KeystoneXL. There is also concerns about tankers navigating the 55-mile inlet known as the Douglas Channel in order to get between Kitimat and the Pacific Ocean.

Today's Train of Thought- The Farm Team, June 21st 2011

Today's train of thought brings us to America's heartland and the aptly named Farmrail shortline. With a name like Farmrail (and it's affiliate, Grainbelt) it should come as no surprise that the primary source of traffic in its 30 year history has been wheat, fertilizer, grain and feed. However, there is much more to Farmrail than moving agricultural goods.

Started in 1981 with the dissolution of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, Farmrail began operations on a pair of former Rock Island lines between Elmer, OK and Westhom, OK (running north-south) and Erick to Weatherford, OK (running east-west) with the two lines intersecting in Clinton, OK. A few years later, shortly after the Burlington Northern had acquired the St Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco), the BN decided to divest itself of the former Frisco line between Enid, OK and Fredrick, OK which roughly paralleled Farmrail's Westhom-Elmer line. Both the former Rock Island and Frisco lines actually wound up going to the state of Oklahoma, but Oklahoma named Farmrail/Grainbelt designated operators after agreeing to a long-term lease.

Of course, with the recent drought conditions throughout Western Oklahoma affecting the wheat harvest, Farmrail and Grainbelt have shown themselves to be fairly adaptable in hauling other commodities and goods. Most of the railway operates atop the Anadarko Basin, and new drilling techniques have revived activity on some of the dormant rigs in western Oklahoma. Traffic also includes crude oil, frac sand, heavy machinery, crushed stone, freight cars coming in for repairs and gypsum. In fact, with the poor growing conditions, Farmrail recently announced that this would be the second consecutive year that wheat was NOT the primary commodity handled by Farmrail/Grainbelt.

There are about 2 dozen locomotives rostered between thw two railways, just about all of them 4-axle EMD roadswitchers. During some harvest season, both railways would find themselves short on motive power and borrow locomotives from BNSF or Arkansas & Missouri. The railroad started out with rebuilt GP9s purchased secondhand from the Milwaukee Road before adding some former Illinois Central GP10s, a byproduct of IC's Paducah shops. The most recent acquisiton has been a trio or former Iowa interstate GP38ACs.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Steve Bakos caught GP10 #1981 leading Farmrail GP9 #3648 eastbound with an Altus, OK to Snyder, OK-bound mixed freight excercising trackage rights over the BNSF line through Headrick, OK towards the end of September 2010. The #1981 is painted in a special 25th anniversary scheme while it's road number reflects the year that Farmrail began operations, while the trailing unit is painted in the traditional Farmrail scheme that has adorned some of the locomotives for 30 years now.

Oklahoma Congressman Dan Boren Won't Seek Re-Election

In a surprise move, Representative Dan Boren (D- OK2) announced that he would not be running for re-election in 2012 in a news conference earlier this week. The four-term Democrat represents a district that covers the eastern end of the Sooner state and stretches from the Kansas state line all the way south to the Texas state line. Boren cited the increased fundraising and campaigning demands associated with running for office as part of the reason behind stepping down and denied that he had immediate plans for run for either Senator or Governor.

Boren was one of the few 'Blue Dog' democrats able to retain their seats in the 2010 mid-term elections, which saw the Democrats lose the most seats in the House of Representatives since the FDR Administration. The Muskogee-based Democrat won re-election by a 56% margin in 2010, and declined to endorse Barack Obama in 2008. The only Democrat in Oklahoma's congressional delegation, Boren expressed his opposition to both cap and trade and 0bamacare as far back as 2009.

While the GOP had been making inroads into Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional district over the past decade, Boren was still expected to win should he have decided to run. Early indications are that the 2nd district will remain largely unmodified ahead of redistricting. Many observers feel that this means the GOP can pick up the district in the 2012 elections.

The Cook Political report had put the district into the 'Leaning Republican' category shortly after Boren's announcement. This time last year, the analyst had Oklahoma's 2nd District as 'Solid Democrat'

More Tornadoes, Deadly Storms Continue to Hammer Midwest

NOAA Map Showing Tracks of Tornadoes Across Oklahoma earlier this week

Just days after a massive F5 tornado ripped through downtown Joplin, MO at least a half dozen tornadoes carved a swath of destruction throughout northern and central Oklahoma.

While not as severe or deadly as Sunday's Joplin F5 twister or the outbreak of storms that hit the South last month, at least 10 people were killed making it the deadliest in the state since an F5 struck suburban Oklahoma City in May 1999, killing 50.

Side by side satellite images of Joplin, MO before and after F5 tornado- AP

There were concerns that a storm system moving through the area could spawn additional tornadoes as rescuers were still searching wreckage throughout Newton County, but as of Thursday night, there were no additional tornadoes reported in the area.

However, rescue workers are still searching for at least 232 people still unaccounted for since Sunday's disaster and the death toll had been revised up to 125. Nearly half of the missing are said to be seniors.

For those interested in making any kind of donation towards disaster relief in Southwestern Missouri, more information can be found at the Heart of Missouri United Way, Ozark Food Harvest or Convoy of Hope. The Springfield, MO News-Leader also has a directory of regional and national relief organizations listed on their website.

Sports Chowdah w/Sugar On Top- Sooners Pound Puppies; Cry TimberWolf!; Soggy Classic; B's Skid Stopped by Leafs; Pats Go (1st Round) Bye Bye

NCAA HOOPS: I blame myself- almost as soon as I pointed out UConn's record breaking performance in women's hoops, they lose on the road to the #8 ranked Stanford Cardinals by a 71-59 final last week. I blame myself for jinxing them and take full responsibility- my apologies.

Still, it will be interesting to see if any men's or women's team can come close to threatening the UConn Women's record and Stanford might end up usurping Tennessee as the lady Huskies main rival.


NCAA FOOTBALL: Let's face it- it simply hasn't been that good a week for UConn on the hardwood or gridiron. The men's hoops (currently ranked #8) lost to Notre Dame on Tuesday night.

But out in the desert on the first night of 2011, the UConn football team demonstrated that mammals were capable of oviparity when the Huskies went out and laid an egg against the Oklahoma Sooners in the second half of the Fiesta Bowl.

Three years after getting blown out by another Big East team (West Virginia) and four years after Boise State's shocking upset over the Sooners in the very same Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma started strong and finished strong against the UConn Huskies, taking a 20-10 lead into halftime.

Oklahoma got out the the early 14-0 lead when UConn CB Dwayne Gratz intercepted Sooners QB Landry Jones and returned it 46 yards for paydirt. Dave Teggart would follow that up with a 37 yard FG towards the end of the first half.

As tenacious as UConn was in the first half, they were pretty much completely absent (aside from a 95 yard kickoff return from Robbie Frey) in the second as the Sooners got two pick-6s from Huskies QB Zach Frasier for the 48-20 Sooners win.

Keep in mind that UConn still hasn't scored an offensive touchdown since the 4th quarter of their Nov 27th game against the Cincinnati Bearcats. So that didn't really bode well for a UConn team that made it to a BCS game on the basis of tie-breakers and Big East rivals screwing the proverbial pooch. While they no doubt had their moments, by and large UConn had this 'not-quite-ready-for-prime-time' feel to their lackluster performance in the Fiesta Bowl.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL: As lacking as UConn's performance in the Fiesta Bowl might've been, imagine a whole conference faring worse than the Huskies did as a team on New Year's Day. You don't have to, since there was the Big Ten's woeful results from the various Bowl games on New Year's Day:

Ticket City Bowl:
Northwestern 38- Texas Tech 45

Outback Bowl:
Florida 37- Penn State 24

Capital One Bowl:
#15 Alabama 49- #7 Michigan State 7

Gator Bowl
#21 Mississippi State 52- Michigan 14

Rose Bowl
#4 Wisconsin 19- #3 Texas Christian 21

Actually, the Outback Bowl was a little closer than the score would indicate if not for a late Penn State drive that ended in an interception being run back for a TD with just over a minute remaining in the 4th. As you might suspect, the Rose Bowl actually made for some fine viewing even for those who didn't have a stake in the outcome. Still, that's 0-4 in one day for the Big 10.


ORANGE BOWL: The Orange Bowl on Monday night featured a matchup between #5 Stanford and #12 Virginia Tech amid speculation this could be head coach Jim Harbaugh's last game as a number of NFL teams expressed an interest in his services.

In the first half, things didn't quite seem to be going the Cardinals way, with a missed PAT by kicker Nate Whittaker (one of two missed on the night), a fluky play that would've resulted in a safety no matter what and Hokies QB Tyrod Taylor making an 11 yard TD pass when it looked for all the world like he was being chased backwards and out of bounds. Still, the Cardinals would head into the locker room at the half with a 13-12 lead after Virginia Tech got a FG with 7 seconds remaining in the half.

But that would be the last time the Hokies would find the end zone or uprights. Stanford would score 27 unanswered points to take down Virginia Tech by a final of 40-12.

SUGAR BOWL: Ladies and gentlemen, there's been a Big 10 sighting! The 2011 Sugar Bowl pitted #6 Ohio State against #8 Arkansas on Tuesday night, and the Buckeyes fared much better than the rest of the Big 10 on New Year's Day. Granted that's not saying much....

Although the Buckeyes got out to a pretty commanding 28-10 lead at halftime, the Razorbacks held them to just 3 points in the 2nd half as Arkansas clawed back to make it a 26-31 game in the 4th. After attempting to bleed the clock late in the 4th, the Buckeyes decided to punt on 4th and 3 from their own 38 yard line. However, the punt was blocked, giving the Razorbacks the ball with good field position and very little time.

The first pass attempt from Arkansas' Ryan Mallet was incomplete- the second was picked off and the Buckeyes absolutely dodged a bullet there. Ohio State hangs on to win by the final of 31-26.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL: Here are some finals from what some would refer to as the 'lesser' Bowl games [not me, tho'- NANESB!] prior to New Year's Day:

December 30:
Music City Bowl:
North Carolina 30- Tennessee 27 (2 OT)

Holiday Bowl
#17 Nebraska 7- Washington 19

December 31:
Meineke Bowl
South Florida 31- Clemson 26

Sun Bowl
Notre Dame 33- Miami (FL) 17

Liberty Bowl
Central Florida 10- Georgia 6

Chick-Fil-A Bowl
#19 South Carolina 17- #23 Florida State 26

NFL: Not that much to report as far as the Pats are concerned. Some of the starters got some rest on Sunday's 38-7 rout of the Miami Dolphins in South Florida, sweeping the season series. This is the 8th straight win for New England and also the 8th straight game where they scored more than 30 points, finishing with a 14-2 regular season record.

Now all that's left is to wait and see who New England gets after Wild Card weekend.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL: Speaking of- here's the Wild Card weekend schedule:

Saturday- 1/8
New Orleans Saints @ Seattle Seahawks- 4:30 PM ET
NY Jets @ Indianapolis Colts- 8:00 PM ET

Sunday- 1/9
Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs- 1:00 PM ET
Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles- 4:30 PM ET

NBA: Well....while I was watching all this football, it seemed to escape my attention that Rajon Rondo is back. He had a fairly low-key return in Sunday night's 93-79 win over the Toronto Raptors with 8 assists, a rebound and 4 points (8? Maybe not that low-key, then).

Getty images

On Monday night's game at the Garden, they got some unexpectedly stiff competiton from the Minnesota Timberwolves as Kevin Love had 24 points for the visiting T'Wolves. After trailing at halftime 47-43, Paul Pierce scored 15 of his 23 points in the 3rd quarter to help close what was once a double-digit gap before the C's went ahead and held on to win by the final on 96-93.

Interestingly, the Celtics have never lost to the Timberwolves since the acquisition of Kevin Garnett in 2007 (KG is still on the disabled list however, and did not play against his former team).

The C's have a tough one coming up Wednesday night at the garden as they'll play host to the San Antionio Spurs as they come to Beantown with the NBA's best record.



NHL: After back-to-back shootout losses against Atlanta and Buffalo (where they at least got a point for their trouble) the Bruins went north of the border to take on the Maple Leafs.

Tim Thomas had the night off and the elusive Tukka Rask got the start between the pipes for the B's instead. Although Toronto got on the board first with a Mikhail Grabovski goal, Rask turned aside 36 shots on goal- many of them coming from former Bruins teammate Phil Kessel.

Nathaniel Horton and Marc Savard would score in the second to put the Bruins up for good by a final of 2-1, snapping their 2-game slide.

The B's will next take on the Minnesota Wild at the Garden on Thursday night, 7 PM ET.

Justin K. Aller/ Getty

ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL: The 2011 Winter Classic belatedly got underway Saturday night between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals amid intermittent rain showers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA.

The original start time of 1 PM Eastern was pushed back to 8 PM ET [might this be a sign of things to come for future Winter Classics? -NANESB!] in the hopes that the rain would clear by then. But it was a very wet Winter Classic indeed as the Penguins got out to a 1-0 lead on a Evgeni Malkin goal in the 2nd. However, the Caps would come right back with a power play goal from Mike Knuble and follow that one up with a tally from Caps RW Eric Fehr to take the 2-1 lead in the second. Fehr would provide Washington with some insurance in the 3rd with another tally to make it 3-1 Washington- the final score.

Washington's Semyon Varlamov turned aside 32 of the 33 shots he faced while Pens netminder Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 of 32 shots faced.

IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: Jeez- I had no idea that these were underway until Monday night when the Maple Leafs announcers were updating the score of the USA/Canada game.....which alas, the USA lost 4-1. This means that the host USA will play Sweden in the Bronze medal game on Wednesday afternoon while Canada will take on Russia in the Gold medal game at Buffalo's HSBC Arena on Wednesday night.

MLB: Free agent and former Red Sox and Mariners 3B Adrian Beltre and the Texas Rangers have reached a preliminary agreement on a six-year, $96 million contract pending a physical late on Tuesday.

Championship Chowdah To Go Update- Red Sox Go Gonzo; Huskies Go to a Fiesta; B's Go to Shootout; C's Go For 7 Straight; Colonial Goes for FCS Monopoly

MLB: The Padres and Red Sox Have agreed to a trade that would send San Diego's All Star 1st Baseman Adrian Gonzalez to Boston in exchange for prospects Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo and Reymond Fuentes as well as a player to be named later. The two clubs are expected to formally announce the deal on Monday.

During the 2010 season, Gonzalez hit for a .298 BA and 31 homers in San Diego's pitcher-friendly PetCo Park. On the road, Gonzalez was batting .315 with 20 HR and .279 with 11 HR at San Diego. Defensively, Gonzalez won two Gold Gloves with the Padres.

The Red Sox are also reportedly working on extending Gonzalez's contract beyond 2011 due to the high-level prospects Boston is giving up as part of the trade. The first baseman was entering the final year of a 5 year $15 million contract with San Diego. Although no formal agreement to an extension had been reached with Gonzalez, his agent and the Red Sox had exchanged parameters and were hoping to work out a deal from there. There's also the matter of some minor surgery Gonzalez had on his shoulder this fall, but he is expected to be ready by Spring training, whether it's in the Grapefruit or Cactus League.

Boston had previously tried to acquire Gonzalez in the 2009 offseason, but instead signed Adrian Beltre from the Mariners. It was considered likely that the Padres would deal Gonzalez at the trade deadline in the middle of the 2010 season, but the team remained atop the NL East and were in need of his services for the whole year.

For those of you who remember back to the Beltre deal last winter and were somewhat alarmed by his .266 BA in 2009, supporters of the deal pointed out that Beltre spent at least half the season in a pitcher-friendly park such as Safeco.

Now....apply that same line of thinking to Gonzalez and his .298 average at cavernous PetCo Park. Or better yet, take a look at his spray chart for home games in San Diego.

Then take a look at his spray chart overlaid with Fenway Park's dimensions.

Umm...yeah. I'm just a little bit giddy right now.

NCAA FOOTBALL: The UConn Huskies managed to get by the South Florida Bulls on Saturday night to win their final regular season game of 2010 and be guaranteed the Big East's automatic BCS Bowl by virtue of their tie-breaker over West Virgina. The only touchdown UConn scored in the game came late in the 2nd period as LB Lawrence Wilson intercepted a pass from South Florida QB Bobby Eveld and ran it back 55 yards to paydirt. The pick 6 put UConn up 10-3 heading into the half.

Connecticut and South Florida traded field goals in the 3rd quarter, and while the 4th quarter opened up on a Dave Teggart FG for UConn to make it 16-6 the Bulls would come storming right back thanks to a 28 yard TD reception from Eveld to WR Dontavia Bogan and a game tying FG from the 22 off the leg of USF's Maikon Bonani to make it a 16-16 game with 1:19 left in the 4th.

After a good kickoff return that gave UConn starting position on their own 40, Huskies QB Zach Frasier was able to drive the ball as far as the USF 35 yard line, setting up Dave Teggart for his game-winning 52 yard FG with only 23 seconds left in regulation.

The win means that UConn will now face the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan 1st in Tempe, AZ. This will be UConn's first ever BCS appearence since transitioning from Division I-AA in 2002.

BIG 12: The #13 Nebraska Cornhuskers and #10 Oklahoma Sooners met in Arlington, TX for what would be the last time they'd match up as members of the Big 12- as well as the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday night.

The Sooners held on to win by a final of 23-20, guaranteeing them a berth in the BCS (against UConn, as it was revaled a day later). The Cornhuskers, meanwhile, would be joining the Big East conference at the start of the 2011 Football season.

ACC: No Boston College Football this week. Instead, the ACC Championship game took place on Saturday night at Charlotte, NC pitting #20 Florida State against #12 Virgina Tech. The Hokies won this one handily by a final of 44-33, giving them a berth in the Orange Bowl on January 3rd against the Stanford Cardinals.

Boston College did manage to secure a bowl bid and will be heading back out to AT&T Park in San Francisco just like last year for the Emerald Bowl- Except this year it's being called the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. and will take place the second weekend in January. The Boston College Eagles are expected to go up against the #14 Nevada Wolfpack. [I should have a comprehensive list of Bowls and matchups in the next couple of days- NANESB!]

COLONIAL/FCS: Although William & Mary Tribe finished the regular season atop the Colonial Athletic Association, their season is over now that they were upended by the Georgia Southern Eagles on Saturday by a final of 15-31.

That said, three of the remaining four teams in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision hail from the CAA and will play to advance to the FCS Finals in Frisco, TX on January 7th, 2011 [remember what I said about the Colonial Athletic Association last year?- NANESB!].

The Delaware Blue Hens, who finished 2nd in the CAA this season, took down Lehigh by a 42-20 final on Saturday while the Villanova Wildcats downed Stephen F Austin by a 54-24 margin.

The sole remaining New England team in the FCS is the New Hampshire Wildcats, who finished tied for 3rd with Villanova to end the regular season. They brought down Beth-Cook by a 45-20 final and will go on to face Delaware on Friday night, Dec 10th.

Defending FCS Champions Villanova will take on 3 time Champion Appalachian State on Saturday.


NHL: The Boston Bruins got out to the early lead on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, but the Maple Leafs rallied to tie the game with less than a mintue left in the 3rd period and force overtime and then a shootout. And if you really savor irony, it was former Bruin Phil Kessel who netted the game winner in the shootout.

Nathan Horton got the first goal of the game unassisted in the first period, although the Leafs would manage to tie it by the time the 1st intermission rolled around. Boston would take a 2-1 lead on a goal from Gregory Campbell early in the 3rd before Toronto rallies late in regulation to tie the game. Out of the three shooters for Boston in the shootout, only Tyler Seguin was able to get the puck past Jean-Sebastian Guigere while Nazem Kadri and Kessel both got the puck past Thomas in the shootout.

The win halts the Leaf's 4 game skid and is Boston's first loss in the last three games. Toronto wins by the final of 3-2, although Boston was able to get a single point before leaving Toronto. Thomas stopped 38 of 40 shots faced in regulation and OT while Guigere stopped 25 of 27 faced.
The Bruins head back to the Garden to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night at 7:30PM ET. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on Versus.

NBA: Seemingly in the blink of an eye, the Celtics have put together a pretty impressive 7 game winning streak. Game #6 of the current strak took place in Friday night with their 104-92 home win over the Chicago Bulls.

Sunday night, the C's made a fairly quick road trip to New Jersey and made pretty quick work of the Nets (Nate Robinson led scoring for the C's with 21 points) and cut New Jersey down by the curiously-divisible-by-25 margin of 100-75.

The next game for the C's will be at the Garden against Carmello Anthony and the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, with a tipoff at 7PM ET. ESPN is scheduled to be carrying the game that night.