Today's Train of Thought- The Jolly Green Giant and the Pumpkin Patch, October 31st, 2011

Today's train of though takes us back to the pumpkin patch for Haloween this year, this time in the Wolverine state.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Craig Williams caught Huron & Eastern's Durand Turn decelerating past a pumpkin patch south of Bay City, MI. The weekday train to the Norfolk Southern interchange in Durand (west of Flint) has an all GE lashup on this October 2008 afternoon. The green paint of previous owner BNSF/Burlington Northern on lead unit- C30-7 #5086- is still visible in the fading afternoon light.

Trailing #5086 is cabless B30-7AB- also purchased secondhand from Burlington Northern- has been repainted into a scarlet and grey reminiscent of the Southern Pacific and a black and white U23B trailing.

#1 Versus #2 in College Football

#1 LSU will play #2 Alabama in an SEC showdown Saturday in Tuscalosa.  Here's a look at the last 7 great regular season clashes featuring the top 2 ranked teams in the country.


Nov. 18, 2006 No. 1 Ohio State def. No. 2 Michigan 42-39

The Buckeyes won a memorable shootout the day after legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler died. There were 900 yards of total offense, each team had a running back rush for over 100 yards, and the game wasn’t decided until Ted Ginn recovered an onside kick attempt by the Wolverines after Chad Henne’s TD pass cut the game to 42-39 with two minutes left.




Sept. 9, 2006 No. 1 Ohio State def. No. 2 Texas 24-7

Early-season showdown was kind of boring. Troy Smith threw two TD passes – including one to Ted Ginn in the final minute of the first half – and Colt McCoy and Texas struggled. You probably remember these two standout backs from this game: Jamaal Charles (113 total yards) and Beanie Wells. Troy Smith went on to win the Heisman trophy.


Nov. 30, 1996 No. 2 Florida State def. No. 1 Florida 24-21

FSU’s stout defense – led by Daryl Bush, Peter Boulware, Andre Wadsworth, Sam Cowart and Samari Rolle – beat the hell out of Danny Wuerffel (he threw for 362 yards but completed less than 50 percent of his passes and was picked three times) and won at Doak Campbell.



Nov. 13, 1993 No. 2 Notre Dame def. No. 1 Florida State 31-24

It was billed as the “Game of the Century” and Gameday made its first trip to South Bend. Lee Becton was Notre Dame’s workhorse running back who features prominently in the video below. Charlie Ward was the FSU QB who tried to rally the ‘Noles from a 14-point deficit in the final two minutes.


Nov. 16, 1991 No. 2 Miami (Fla.) def. No. 1 Florida State 17-16

The QB matchup at the time was great: Gino Torretta vs. Casey Weldon. Three stars from the game that will jog the memory of anyone over the age of 30: FSU running back Amp Lee and Miami LBs Jesse Armstead and Michael Barrow. With less than :10 to play, FSU kicker Gerry Thomas missed a FG Wide Right. Bobby Bowden famously looked befuddled. Miami went on to win the National title. The following year, this series produced Wide Right II.



Sept. 16, 1989 No. 1 Notre Dame def. No. 2 Michigan 24-19

Rocket Ismail ran two kickoffs back for touchdowns and the Irish attempted just two passes – Tony Rice, the option QB was legendary – and Notre Dame won in Ann Arbor. Here’s what Bo said about Ismail: ‘That may be the fastest guy I’ve ever seen … He’s faster than the speed of sound.”


Nov. 26, 1988 No. 1 Notre Dame def. No. 2 USC 27-10

Tony Rice vs. Rodney Peete at the Coliseum. Rice threw a 55-yard TD pass to Rocket Ismail, and then Rice scampered around the end on the option for a 65-yard TD run and the Irish rolled.

The Shaq/Kobe feud could be ready to boil over again.

Shaq has a new biography coming out, written by notable NBA scribe Jackie MacMullan. Shaq Uncut: My Story sheds new details on the deterioration of the Lakers dynasty which seemed to coincide with the sexual assault charges against Shaq's former teammate Kobe Bryant.

"So I'm on edge because I don't have a new deal, and Kobe is on edge because he might be going to jail, so we're taking it out on each other. Just before the start of the '03-'04 season the coaching staff called us in and said, "No more public sparring or you'll get fined." ... Phil was tired of it. Karl Malone and Gary Payton were sick of it. ...
So what happens? Immediately after that Kobe runs right out to Jim Gray and does this interview where he lets me have it. He said I was fat and out of shape. He said I was milking my toe injury for more time off, and the injury wasn't even that serious. (Yeah, right. It only ended my damn career.) He said I was "lobbying for a contract extension when we have two Hall of Famers playing pretty much for free." I'm sitting there watching this interview and I'm gonna explode. Hours earlier we had just promised our coach we'd stop. It was a truce broken. I let the guys know, "I'm going to kill him."


http://deadspin.com/5854904/in-new-book-shaq-explains-how-kobes-sexual-assault-charges-destroyed-the-lakers

Haunted House Floors Reporter

Major props to this reporter for not dropping F bombs after being scared to death while airing a live shot from a haunted house in Detroit.

This is SO Bush League

Arkansas Special Teams player Marquel Wade with the "Cheap Shot" of the century on Vanderbilt's Jonathan Krauss in Saturday's game in Nashville. Wade was ejected. They ought to give Krauss a chance to get a running start and bowl his butt over.

Happy Halloween From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

Well, this certainly has the feel of a Halloween unlike any other. Whether travel plans included flying across the country or trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, the recent snowstorm has thrown the travel plans of millions into complete disarray.

Whatever your Halloween plans are, here's hoping that you're able to stay safe and warm. If you're travelling any distance, be especially careful.

And Halloween just wouldn't be Halloween without attractive women wearing not very much, wouldn't it? Even though there's technically no costume involved, one can't help but admire this Elvgren girl proudly displaying the fruits of her labor.

This is from a 1962 Gil Elvgren piece titled All Smiles (or Glamorous) in which the charming, scantily clad brunette still has the foresight to keep pumpkin guts off of her.

Millions Without Electricity as Northeast Socked by Early Snowstorm

Williamstown, MA looking more like a Christmas card thanHalloween this weekend. AP Photo

Much of the northeast and mid-Atlantic region was socked by an unusually early snowstorm this weekend, knocking down tree branches, shutting down schools, airports or highways and leaving millions without electricity. Some officials say that it could be up to a week before electricity is fully restored in some areas.

From West Virginia to Maine, residents were digging themselves out from as many as 32 inches of snow in some places. Governors throughout the region declared a state of emergency as utility crews and personell worked to restore power, open up roadways and remove falled tree limbs.

In Connecticut, Governor Malloy ordered 900 cots and food brought to Hartford's stranded travellers at Bradley International Airport. Travellers on a Jet Blue flight that was diverted from Newark to Bradley International were stranded on the tarmac for nearly 7 hours with no food, water or functioning bathrooms. Firefighters and paramedics came on board to treat a parapalegic who had trouble with the circulation in his legs before the remaining passengers were eventually bussed to the terminal.

In New York City, Central Park was closed after a woman was injured from being hit by a falling tree limb. Crews have been working to chip the fallen trees and reopen the park in time for the New York City marathon, despite as little as one inch falling on Manhattan. However, the snow was wet and heavy and many of the trees were thought to have been weakened from Tropical Storm Irene passing through in late August.

In Western Massachusetts, as many as 700,000 people were without power after the snowstom. The Berkshire county town of Peru had already received a record amount of snow, with 32 inches being dumped on the Western Massachusetts hilltown before Halloween.