The garage was engulfed with heavy flames when firefighters arrived. The structure appeared to be destroyed.

Firefighters on the scene of a garage fire in the rear of 21 Greenwich St. in Springfield's North End. The destroyed structure of the garage can be seen in the background. The Republican | Patrick Johnson

SPRINGFIELD - Traffic on Main Street in the city's North End is blocked off as firefighters are battling a garage fire on Huntington Street.

Firefighters were called to 21 Greenwich Street just after 10 p.m. for a reported structure fire. The first units on scene reported the fire was in a detached garage behind the residence.

The garage was engulfed with heavy flames when firefighters arrived. The structure appeared to be destroyed.

There were to be no injuries.

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With Bay State Democrats outnumbering Republicans 3 to 1, Brown is counting on attracting the votes of independents who can set aside his party affiliation and vote for the candidate.

NORTH GRAFTON — Attending a meet and greet for Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown on Thursday, Claudia Ferrecchia wore a “Women for Brown” pin and a Brown sticker, carried a Brown T-shirt and held a pro-Brown sign reading “People over Party.”

Until six years ago, Ferreccia was a Democrat. Angered over Democrats’ “big government” philosophy, Ferreccia, a paralegal from Marlborough, switched her voter registration to independent.

“He’s not interested in voting only one way,” Ferreccia said of Brown. “He’s interested in what’s important to the people of Massachusetts.”

Ferreccia is the face of those voters Brown is trying to attract as he makes his closing pitch. In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one, Brown is banking on independents who can set aside his party affiliation and vote for the candidate. In the final days of a tough race against Democratic Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren, Brown has ditched his trademark pickup truck in favor of a bus emblazoned with the words “an independent voice.” He adopted the closing slogan of “People over Party.”

Campaigning with Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Brown repeatedly referred to studies by Congressional Quarterly and Bloomberg Government calling Collins the most bipartisan senator and Brown the second-most. Brown referred to himself and Collins as senators “who are trying to push back against the extremes, putting people over party on a daily basis.”

“I’m concerned the extremes down in Washington on the left and the right are getting a little bit overbearing,” Brown told voters in Framingham.

Brown said too many moderates are leaving the Senate – Connecticut independent and former Democrat Joe Lieberman, North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe and Indiana Republican Richard Lugar. “You want somebody who’s going to be that bipartisan problem solver,” Brown said.

On the campaign trail, Warren has repeatedly tried to tie Brown to the national Republican Party, arguing that electing Brown means choosing a Republican-controlled Senate. Brown, in making his final pitch, is arguing the opposite. Choosing Warren, he says, means picking a senator who “will be down in lockstep with her party.” Picking Brown, he says, means choosing an independent.

“It’s not about Republicans, about people of a party,” Brown told reporters. “It’s about independents, it’s about bipartisanship, it’s about doing what I said I would do, which is be that independent voice.”

It is an argument his supporters echo. “I think independents will decide this race,” Worcester County Sheriff Lewis Evangelidis, a Republican Brown supporter, said after a Brown event with law enforcement officers. “It’s hard to see why independents would not recognize his independence and reward him with votes.”

Collins called Brown “a person who always puts his constituents first, not the party,” who “doesn’t hang out with the extremes in Washington” but “hangs out with those of us in the center.”

Polls show that Brown is getting overwhelming support from Massachusetts’ Republicans – but is also leading Warren by significant margins among independent voters. At events, he projects an image of an average guy – eating bacon and French toast for breakfast at a diner, talking about his dogs, and kidding affectionately with his wife and daughters – and his audience.

Thanking his wife Gail Huff for her involvement on the campaign trail, Brown said a key test of marriage is how you perform talking to people outside, and how you relate at the end of the day. “I can tell you it’s been good,” Brown said. When the audience laughed, he quipped with a smile, “You all have dirty minds.”

Brown stresses his local roots and his family. (Warren is originally from Oklahoma.) He kicked off his bus tour with a rally in his childhood hometown of Wakefield. “I’m from here, OK?” Brown said. “I married a local Waltham girl. My kids were born here. I know this town like the back of my hand.”

Brown was introduced at the Thursday evening rally by his public school basketball coach, Brad Simpson, who helped mentor Brown through a difficult childhood, and who said Brown had morphed from a “long-haired gangly teenager” to an accomplished national figure. Simpson said he once mentioned to Brown that he would be a better basketball player if he worked on his right-hand skills. He saw Brown the next weekend jogging around a lake alone, dribbling with his right hand.

“That is what Scott Brown is all about. Determination, preparation, focus and commitment,” Simpson said.

It’s an image voters relate to. “He’s more for working people,” said Robert Jones, a city employee in Beverly.

Independent voters who attend Brown’s events often say they are drawn by his positions, not his party. Terrie Sharp, a retired assistant principal from Milford, was a registered Democrat who was turned off by Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration. Now an independent, she is supporting Brown. Sharp said party is less important to her than a candidate’s views, and she likes Brown’s opposition to illegal immigration and his support for women’s rights – an area Warren has frequently attacked Brown on.

“He’s proven what he can do,” Sharp said. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

Renee Magagnoli was in critical condition for three days following the mercury spill

Melha Shriner Peter Magagnoli, left, talks abouit the chemical accident at his family's home with Norman Peloquin, president of the Melha Director's Staff. Peloquin helped organize the fund-raiser for Magagnoli at the Melha Shrine Center. Staff photo by David Molnar

SPRINGFIELD – The Melha Shriners, renowned for their efforts to provide for the special medical needs of children, directed their charitable spirit to one of their own members on Saturday night whose family faced financial losses and illness following an accidental mercury spill in their home.

The Shriners hosted a fund-raising social and dinner at the Melha Shrine Center on Longhill Street to benefit family members of Shriner Peter P. Magagnoli, of Agawam, who were forced out of their home four weeks ago by the mercury spill. They have been living in a motor home in their driveway ever since, which was loaned by another local Shriner, Norman Peloquin, of Chicopee, and his wife, Patricia, who also helped organize Saturday’s benefit.

One of Magagnoli’s daughters, Renee, 42, came in direct contact with the mercury, accidentially spilled from a small vial, and was in critical condition with mercury poisoning at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester for three days beginning Oct. 10, but is recovering well now, Magagnoli said. He had kept the mercury in an aspirin bottle since it was handed to him as a junior high school student decades ago.

Magagnoli, 67, said he is “overwhelmed” by the generosity of the Shriners.

“This is amazing,” Magagnoli said, while greeting more than 200 attendees. “It’s unexpected and certainly appreciated by the entire family. I was born with two older sisters. I now have 300,000 brothers.”

The family incurred expenses of well over $20,000 not covered by homeowners’ insurance in lost furniture, carpeting, clothing, and other expenses to clean their home, Magagnoli said. It is unknown when the family can return to the house.

“We thought we could help out by running this benefit for the family,” Peloquin said. “He’s a fellow brother, and everybody is stepping up to help a fellow brother.”

The benefit included raffles and a comedienne, along with the dinner and socializing.

Magagnoli is chairman of the membership for the Melha Shriners of Springfield and vice president of the director’s staff.

Another Shriner, Raymond Turrini, of West Springfield, said the group was going to have the event “regardless if Pete wanted it or not.”

“As a fellow noble, it is what we are supposed to do, help our fraternal brother in time of need.”

Magagnoli and his wife, Donna, and his other daughter, Robin, lived in the home with Renee and all had mercury in their blood system, but were not hospitalized, he said. Renee had tried to clean up and vacuum the spilled mercury, and probably took in the vapors, he said.

Notre Dame (9-0) is off to its best start since 1993.

Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson, right, dives into the end zone in front of Pittsburgh linebacker Joe Trebitz for a two-point conversion to tie the score late in the fourth quarter Pittsburgh of an NCAA college football game in South Bend, Ind., Saturday. Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh 29-26 in triple overtime. AP

By TOM COYNE

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Down 20-6 in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame was going to need some big plays and a little luck to stay undefeated and keep its national title hopes alive.

It got just enough of both.

Everett Golson scored on a quarterback sneak in the third overtime as the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish came back from a 14-point deficit and beat Pittsburgh 26-23.

Notre Dame (9-0) is off to its best start since 1993. Pitt (4-5) missed a potential game-winning field goal in overtime.

Golson re-entered the game after being replaced by Tommy Rees and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter as Notre Dame cut Pitt’s lead to 20-12. Notre Dame’s chances for a comeback appeared to end when Pitt cornerback K’Waun Williams intercepted a pass by Golson in the end zone.

But the Irish defense held, and Golson completed a 45-yard pass to DaVaris Daniels to the Pitt 5. Golson then threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Theo Riddick and ran in for the two-point conversion to tie the game.

Notre Dame avoided the fate of the 2002 team, the last Irish team to start a season 8-0, which was upset by Boston College 14-7. But just barely. A victory seemed unlikely when they fell behind 20-6 late in the third quarter, again when Williams intercepted Golson’s pass in the end zone again when running back Cierre Wood fumbled as he attempted to dive into the end zone in the second overtime and Pitt safety Jarred Holley recovered.

But the Irish kept finding life, the last time when Kevin Harper missed a 33-yard field goal wide right.

Golson was 23-of-42 passing for 227 yards and rushed for 74 yards as well, as he kept the Pitt defense off balance. The Irish needed the big plays to overcome a stellar performance from Pitt’s Ray Graham, who rushing for 172 yards, including runs of 55 and 48 yards.

Graham continually ran through Notre Dame tackles and the Panthers opened a lead by taking advantage of Irish mistakes.

Graham, one of three Pitt players allowed to play despite facing misdemeanor charges, gave the Panthers a 10-6 lead when he ran past an attempted tackle by Notre Dame safety Matthias Farley and sprinted along the sideline for the score. It was just the second rushing touchdown allowed by the Irish defense this season.

The Panthers went ahead 17-6 after Pitt linebacker Eric Williams intercepted Rees at midfield. Tino Sunseri threw a 43-yard pass to J.P. Holtz, then a 9-yard TD pass to Holtz. The Panthers made it 20-6 on a 21-yard field goal by Harper.

The Panthers were hoping to follow in the footsteps of the 2007 Pitt team, which was 4-7 when it won 13-9 at No. 2 West Virginia on Dec. 1 to knock the Mountaineers out of the national championship game, but just couldn’t find a way to hold on.

UMass didn't do much of anything right in its worst loss since 1956.

DEKALB, Ill. — There have been plenty of lows over the course of the journey for the University of Massachusetts football team.

Nine losses in nine tries offers up plenty of opportunities to dive into the troughs. The anemic offense of the opener against UConn, the complete inability to do anything to slow down Denard Robinson at Michigan, the comedy of errors that was the Western Michigan game and the nightmarish third quarter at Vanderbilt are all nominees for UMass football’s nadir.

But Saturday’s 63-0 thrashing at the hands of Northern Illinois ran away with the “Worst Performance of 2012” Award.

Technically, the 63-point margin was the worst for UMass since Oct. 13, 1956, when UConn beat the pants off the Minutemen 71-6 in Amherst.

The scene that sealed Saturday’s deal was a fourth-quarter pass from backup quarterback A.J. Doyle that hit wide receiver Marken Michel in the hands before falling to the turf. From the section of Northern Illinois fans – or what was left of it – behind the UMass bench floated audible, derisive laughter.

And why shouldn’t they laugh? It was one of at least five drops in the game for the Minutemen. Huskies pass rushers made UMass offensive lineman appear to be moving underwater. The few times starting quarterback Mike Wegzyn had an opportunity to make big plays, he badly overthrew open receivers.

The Huskies might as well have been the Chicago Bears, and quarterback Jordan Lynch Superman, passing for 191 yards, rushing for 157 and accounting for three touchdowns in less than three quarters of action.

In each of the first eight losses there was something to point to. A way, perhaps, for an observer to believe something positive happened for UMass.

Coach Charley Molnar and the Minutemen had nothing to hang their hats on Saturday. Molnar tried to make a case for Michael Cox and the running game, but Cox averaged a pedestrian 3.2 yards per carry.

Worse, Molnar accused a select few of his players of quitting toward the end of Saturday’s game. Though he wouldn’t name names, less than a minute into his post-game press conference he said:

“Our guys usually finish the game each and every week that we’ve played, and today I was a little bit disappointed. I didn’t think that every guy played until the end of the game. I think some of the guys started to think about the trip home and getting out of DeKalb and not finishing the afternoon the way I’d like to see it get done.”

It’s difficult to blame them. By the midpoint of the third quarter on Saturday, everyone involved in Saturday’s contest would probably have been happy with a running clock.

Now the Minutemen find themselves at one final crossroads in 2012. They can continue on this highway to futility, or hop off of at one of the three remaining exits that remain on the schedule.

Five weeks ago, after the then-undefeated kings of the Mid-American Conference, Ohio University, barely escaped Gillette Stadium with their record intact, most fans would have probably said they liked the Minutemen’s chances to find a lifeboat in games at Akron, and at home against Buffalo and Central Michigan.

But after four losses by a combined score of 188-21, it’s only fair to question this team’s ability to row itself to safety.

The first, and maybe best, chance comes at Akron on Nov. 10. The Zips last won an FBS game on Nov. 26, 2010.

But even Molnar was trying to temper expectations after Saturday’s debacle.

“Nobody has been dealt the cards we’ve been dealt,” he said. “That’s obvious. Just the transition from I-AA to I-A is quite a mouthful, and it certainly has been for our guys.”

Regardless, an 0-12 season obviously won’t curry Molnar any favor with a fan base that’s already strained about the move to the FBS. He will get more time to build – one would think at least two more years – but such a regression within the course of this season won’t be viewed kindly.

Five weeks ago, we were ready to take this team seriously.

With how far its performance has fallen, that’s extremely hard to do today.

Boston is 1-2. Washington dropped to 0-2 after its home opener in front of a sellout crowd of 20,308 that occasionally included folks chanting "Let's go, Celtics!"

APBoston Celtics forward Paul Pierce (34) goes to the basket against Washington Wizards small forward Trevor Ariza (1) and Bradley Beal (3) during the first half on Saturday in Washington.

By HOWARD FENDRICH

WASHINGTON — A night after what their coach called a "flat game," Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics held the Washington Wizards to 1-for-14 shooting at the start, then were barely better at the end.

Strong defensive stands early — Washington's only scoring in the first 8 minutes came on Garnett's goaltending call — and late, plus Paul Pierce's 27 points, including a key 3 down the stretch, helped the Celtics beat the Wizards 89-86 on Saturday for their first victory.

Boston is 1-2. Washington dropped to 0-2 after its home opener in front of a sellout crowd of 20,308 that occasionally included folks chanting "Let's go, Celtics!" Washington is still without two starters: point guard John Wall, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft, and center Nene.

Bradley Beal, the No. 3 overall pick this year, missed all five of his shots and scored two points for the Wizards, while backup Jordan Crawford led the hosts with 21 points. Another reserve, Kevin Seraphin, played after being sidelined by a right calf injury for their season opener and made his first seven shots, finishing with 19 points. But Seraphin also threw the ball away with Washington down one point and 28 seconds left.

Cartier Martin scored five consecutive points during a 16-4 run that put Washington ahead 86-84 on Seraphin's turnaround 12-footer with a little under 3 minutes remaining. With thousands in the stands asking for "De-fense! De-fense!" Pierce made a 3-pointer to give Boston back the lead with 2½ minutes left.

Neither team managed to score until Jason Terry's two free throws with 1.2 seconds left padded Boston's lead.

Garnett scored 15, and Rajon Rondo added 12 points and 12 assists.

Wall has a knee injury and is expected to miss another month or so, while Nene is out with a foot problem and no one is quite sure when he'll be back. Both are really missed on offense, which was apparent not only with the way Washington opened the game, but also by checking the assists column on the stat sheet: The starting five combined for a grand total of one assist in the first half.

Yes, the Wizards got points less than 1½ minutes in, but that was because Garnett was called for goaltending on a short shot by Emeka Okafor. Otherwise, Washington missed 13 of its first 14 field-goal attempts. That run of futility included shanked 3-pointers and midrange jumpers, layups and putbacks. Even a dunk.

A 19-foot jumper by Rondo put Boston ahead 17-2 with a little less than 4½ minutes left in the first quarter. By then, three Celtics — Garnett, Pierce and rookie Jared Sullinger — each had at least twice as many points as the entire Wizards roster.

Only then did Washington wake up, with Trevor Booker completing a three-point play with a finger roll while being fouled by Sullinger with 3:53 to go in the quarter.

The Celtics led by as many as 16 points in the first quarter at 24-8, and the period ended with the visitors ahead 26-12. Washington gathered itself and got as close as five in the second before trailing 49-42 at halftime.

Before the game, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said his team's 99-88 loss at home to Milwaukee on Friday "wasn't pretty."

"You just never know why you have flat games," he said. "And that clearly was a flat game. I don't think anybody came to the game and said, 'You know what? I'm not going to play hard.' This team doesn't have that problem."

NOTES: Sullinger, the Ohio State forward taken in the first round of the draft, made his first NBA start, replacing Brandon Bass in Boston's lineup. Sullinger ended up with four points and four fouls. ... The teams play each other again Wednesday at Boston. ... Okafor addressed the crowd before the game, first wishing a speedy recovery to anyone affected by Superstorm Sandy, then promising fans that the Wizards will "work very hard to make sure this is a fun, exciting season." It was a measured, mature speech — and came a season after the now-gone Andray Blatche opened a pregame speech to the home crowd at Washington's opener by saying, "This is your captain." ... Celtics F Jeff Green returned to the arena where he played college games for Georgetown. Green, who missed all of last season after surgery for a heart issue, scored 11 points. "He's been up and down," Rivers said. "You know it's in him, and I believe we'll get it out of him. He looks good. He's healthy."

More sunshine expected tomorrow, chilly days ahead.

We saw a little bit of blue sky peaking through the clouds this afternoon and that will be the trend overnight. Clouds continue decreasing and it will be staying cool. Low temperatures fall to about 30 degrees in the Springfield area, with some 20s likely across the higher terrain.

Don't forget to turn the clocks back an hour at 2 a.m. tonight. One extra hour of sleep!

Overall it is a quiet but chilly pattern through the first half of the week. Mostly sunny skies will dominate from Sunday all the way through Tuesday. It will be our chilliest stretch of days this season so far; morning low temperatures easily start out in the 20s, with high temperatures only reaching the mid-40s. This is much closer to our averages for Dec. 3, not Nov. 3!

Snow is in the forecast for the middle of the week. A low pressure system originating in the Atlantic will come in to hit the Northeast and New England in a typical nor'easter fashion. Absolutely nowhere near the impacts of Sandy, but it will provide us with rather miserable chilly rain and wind conditions Wednesday and Thursday. A couple inches of wet snow can't be ruled out for the Berkshires, with snowflakes possibly reaching down to the Springfield area as well.

A more detailed, technical discussion of this storm can be found on the CBS3 Pinpoint Weather Blog.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, chilly, low 30.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, cool, high 48.

Monday: Cold morning, mostly sunny, high 45.

Tuesday: Cold morning (potentially in the teens), mostly sunny, high 43.

Radar | 5 Day Forecast

For three minutes at the end of Saturday night's 89-86 win against the Washington Wizards, the Boston Celtics found themselves defensively. And they needed to.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass) Washington Wizards forward Kevin Seraphin, left, of France, battles for the ball against Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012, in Washington. The Celtics won 89-86.

The discovery came with a scare, but the Boston Celtics found themselves defensively, at least for the final three minutes of an 89-86 win against the Washington Wizards Saturday night.

Kevin Seraphin, blessed Saturday by Zeus, Hermes or whoever is the Greek god of 88.9 percent field goal shooting, scored his final bucket of the night with 2:56 remaining, putting the Washington Wizards ahead of the Celtics 86-84.

It was Washington's first lead, an improbable one considering that the Celtics opened a 26-12 margin in the first quarter and initially looked ready to knock the Wizards to the mat with devastating force. It would also be Washington's final lead; it lasted just 22 seconds before Paul Pierce seized back an 87-86 advantage with a long 3-pointer from the right wing with 2:34 left. The Wizards never scored again.

The Celtics made just three field goals in the final eight minutes. During that span they did not attempt a free throw until Jason Terry drilled a pair with two seconds remaining. Their offense, despite many good-to-great looks, went silent in the game's most pivotal moments. But for those final three minutes their defense resembled the championship unit of yesteryear -- not unexpected given their history, but still decidedly different from their effort in either of the season's first two games.

Washington's second-to-last chance to steal victory came with half a minute left. Down 87-86, Seraphin, who hit 8 of his 9 attempts and finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, posted up Kevin Garnett. Garnett had been the victim of several Seraphin buckets, but he metaphorically put his hand over Seraphin's mouth to disallow him from breathing. The Wizard quickly realized he would do nothing against a fully engaged Garnett and whipped a pass to nobody in particular, giving the ball back to the Celtics.

Washington had one more chance while trailing 87-86, this time in the form of a sidelines out of bounds play with four seconds left. Head coach Randy Wittman designed a set with five or six screens, all of which the Celtics defended perfectly. The last screen left wing Martell Webster running toward the corner. He would have been alone except Garnett switched onto him expertly, forcing a terrible fadeaway 19-footer that had minuscule odds of falling. It missed badly. After Terry was fouled and hit both of his free throws a moment later, and Jannero Pargo missed a last-second half-court heave, the Celtics had survived.

The win wasn't pretty enough to earn the title of prom queen. Heck, it wasn't even pretty enough to find itself a prom date. But when the Celtics needed to summon their old identity, defense came running back to them. And Garnett, as usual, played a prominent role.

The pop star wore a dress with the slogan "Forward" emblazoned across the front.

Pop singer Katy Perry, sporting a skin-tight minidress with President Barack Obama's campaign slogan "Forward" emblazoned across it, sings at a rally for Obama on Saturday in Milwaukee. AP

MILWAUKEE — Pop star Katy Perry is sporting a skin-tight minidress with President Barack Obama's campaign slogan "Forward" emblazoned across it at the president's rally in Milwaukee.

Perry came on stage at Saturday's event initially wearing a red, white and blue dress and holding a microphone shaped like the Statue of Liberty's torch.

But after her first song, a cover of Al Green's soul hit "Let's Stay Together," she tossed aside the dress to reveal the bright blue minidress.

Obama's slogan "Forward" is also Wisconsin's state motto.

Perry paused midway through her set to make a pitch for donations to victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Obama's rally with Perry comes before he's set to be in Madison on Monday with rocker Bruce Springsteen.

The Crimson Tide (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) showed it could come from behind after Zach Mettenberger rallied the Tigers (7-2, 3-2) from a 14-3 halftime deficit.

LSU running back Jeremy Hill (33) dives into the end zone for a touchdown against Alabama in the third quarter of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La. on Saturday. AP

BATON ROUGE, La. — With Alabama's hopes of a second straight national title hanging by a thread, A.J. McCarron shook off a dismal second half and guided the Crimson Tide right down the field.

Talk about a Saturday night stunner in Death Valley.

McCarron read an LSU blitz and flipped a swing pass to T.J. Yeldon, who did the rest on a 28-yard touchdown with 51 seconds remaining that gave the top-ranked Crimson Tide a 21-17 victory over No. 5 LSU.

Alabama (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) now has a clear path to the league championship game in Atlanta, and remains solidly on course to defend its national title in Miami.

But this one was a struggle. Led by embattled quarterback Zach Mettenberger, LSU (7-2, 3-2) fought back from a 14-3 halftime deficit with an offensive performance that was nothing like their dismal showing against the Tide in last season's BCS championship game.

Jeremy Hill scored on a 1-yard run late in the third quarter, LSU's first TD against Alabama since 2010 — a span of nearly three full games. Then Mettenberger threw perhaps the best pass of his LSU career, hooking up with Jarvis Landry on a 14-yard touchdown that put the Tigers ahead 17-14 with just under 13 minutes remaining.

LSU was on the verge of putting the game away, driving into Alabama territory and forcing coach Nick Saban to call his remaining timeouts. But Drew Alleman missed a 38-yard field goal, and McCarron took over from there.

He completed three straight passes to put Alabama in scoring position. Then, when LSU brought a corner blitz, he got the ball away quickly to Yeldon. The freshman running back broke one tackle and faked out another defender, racing to the end zone for the winning score.

The urgency of the talks heated up this weekend after the league decided Friday to cancel the Winter Classic.

AP File PhotoIn this Oct. 18 file photo, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, left, leaves the NHLPA offices with Assistant Commissioner Bill Daly (left) and NHL lawyer Bob Betterman following collective bargaining in Toronto. Contract talks reportedly resumed Saturday at an undisclosed location and continued past midnight.

NHL contract talks continued past midnight Saturday aimed at settling the lockout, according to news reports.

USA Today reported that both sides were still meeting at an undisclosed location past midnight Saturday and into Sunday.

This weekend's contract talks are the first ones since both sides last met Oct. 18.

The urgency of the talks heated up this weekend after the league decided Friday to cancel the Winter Classic, one of the NHL's most popular annual events. This year's Classic was slated to be held this season on Jan. 1 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor and feature the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leaves.

All regular-season NHL games through the entire month of November have already been cancelled due to the lockout. More games could be cancelled if both sides fail to reach an agreement soon.

The latest survey conducted by the Western New England University Polling Institute through a partnership with The Republican/MassLive.com, concluded that Warren is leading Brown, 50 percent to 46 percent.

Complete Coverage of the Western New England University Poll

Candidate Support by region compared to the Sept. 28-Oct. 4

• Western Massachusetts
  • 65 percent-Warren (+7)
  • 28 percent-Brown (-13)
  • 5 percent-Undecided(+4)
  Central Massachusetts
  • 37 percent-Warren (+1)
  • 56 percent-Brown(-4)
  • 7 percent-Undecided(+6)
  North & South Shores
  • 41 percent-Warren (-9)
  • 58 percent-Brown (+11)
  • 1 percent-Undecided(Unchanged)
  Boston & Suburbs
  • 54 percent-Warren (+4)
  • 41 percent-Brown (-1)
  • 5 percent-Undecided(Unchanged)

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SPRINGFIELD - The Massachusetts Senate race between Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Democrat Elizabeth Warren remains close, according to a new poll, which shows the Harvard Law School professor holding a 4-point lead.

The latest survey conducted by the Western New England University Polling Institute through a partnership with The Republican/MassLive.com, concluded that Warren is leading Brown, 50 percent to 46 percent, with the junior senator jumping one percentage point compared to the Sept. 28-Oct. 4 poll.

The live telephone survey of 535 likely voters across Massachusetts was conducted between Oct. 26- Nov. 1 and has a 4 percent margin of error.

Both candidates saw their overall favorability remain stable since the previous poll, despite additional weeks of negative campaigning and attacks on each side.

Brown's favorable/unfavorable rating is currently 53-36 percent, compared to 52-36 percent in the previous Western New England University poll. Warren's favorable/unfavorable rating is now 51-40 percent among likely voters, compared to 50-41 percent just one month ago.

Both Brown and Warren still maintain an overall lead within their own gender. Fifty-six percent of men are supporting Brown compared to 39 percent who are supporting Warren. Conversely, 60 percent of women are supporting Warren while 36 percent are supporting Brown.

Warren has made important progress in at least one specific area – convincing supporters of President Barack Obama to vote for her as well. In the latest survey, 84 percent of Obama supporters say they will also back Warren, up from 76 percent in the previous survey. Ten percent of Obama supporters say they will vote for Brown, which is an 18 percent drop compared to the previous survey despite the junior senator actively courting them on the campaign trail.

“Obama’s supporters will decide who wins this Senate seat,” said Tim Vercellotti, a professor of political science and director of the Western New England University Polling Institute. “Warren has to keep as many of those votes as possible, and Brown needs to peel them away in order to find a path to victory.”

The Brown campaign is aware of this dynamic as Obama is leading GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney in Massachusetts, 58-40 percent, according to the latest university polling on that race.

After launching an Obama supporters for Brown initiative a few weeks ago, this week, Brown's "People over Party" bus tour across brought him around the commonwealth where he made a pitch that people should vote for a particular candidate instead of a political party, considering the unpopularity of the national Republican Party in the Bay State.

With few days left until people cast their vote, more people have already made their mind up. Of the likely voters polled, 90 percent say they are "very sure" about their choice, compared to 84 percent a month ago. Nine percent say they could still change their vote before Tuesday, indicating that each campaign still has an opportunity to win over some additional people.

But to do this, both sides will likely have to go beyond advertising which has already saturated TV and radio stations across Massachusetts. And according to the poll, the voter engagement is already is high-gear with many of those surveyed saying they have had at least one telephone conversation with an advocate of Brown or Warren in the past month.

Of those who reported phone conversations with interested parties in regards to the Senate race, 42 percent said the caller had urged them to vote for Warren, 18 percent said the caller asked them to support Brown and 37 percent said they had multiple conversations with supporters of both candidates.

The poll concluded that voters who said they are independents or Democrats were slightly more likely than Republicans to have a telephone conversation with an advocate for one
of the candidates. Thirty-one percent of independent voters and 25 percent of Democrats said they had had at least one telephone conversation, while 21 percent of Republicans said the same.

“The more frequent reports of conversations with advocates for Warren may reflect a stronger outreach effort on her behalf,” Vercellotti noted.

The discrepancy between apparent outreach on behalf of the respective candidates can likely be, in part, chalked up to the Massachusetts Democratic Party having a larger political machine in the Bay State than the commonwealth's Republican Party.

Far fewer likely voters reported having a conversation with at a canvasser who came to
their home in the past month. Just nine percent of likely voters said someone knocked on their door to push a candidate, and the likelihood of such contact was greater for independents and Democrats compared to Republicans.

In reference to those who came knocking, 62 percent of likely voters who had such an experience said a canvasser was asking them to vote for Warren compared to 22 percent who said the person was recommending Brown.

But despite reaching out via phone and in person, many likely voters who had such an experience said it was not a big factor in their decision about who to vote for.

Only four percent said such an interaction was "very important" in their decision and 12 percent said it was "somewhat important." Reporting that it was "not very important" were 23 percent while 59 percent said it was "not at all important."

Vercellotti said, however, that the results do not necessarily suggest that voter engagement is a waste of time.

"Having these conversations can work both ways," he said. "Campaigns not only get a chance to persuade voters; they also have an opportunity to identify likely supporters whom they can mobilize to vote on Election Day."

The survey also found that almost half of likely voters had spoken to a relative or friend to urge them to support either Brown or Warren this election season. Fifty-six percent of Republican voters had done so, compared to 49 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of independents.

Among those who had spoken to a friend or relative about supporting a candidate, 50 percent said they had urged their friends and relatives to vote for Warren, 44 percent said Brown, and six percent declined to say.

The choices split along party and gender lines that mirrored the overall preferences of the electorate, which remained steady since the last poll, with most independents and Republicans supporting Brown and Democrats largely supporting Warren.

Among those who had spoken to at least one friend or relative about supporting a candidate, 97 percent of Republicans urged their acquaintances to vote for Brown, as did 61 percent of independent voters, while 91 percent of Democrats encouraged friends and relatives to back Warren. Fifty-three percent of men who had had a conversation with friends or relatives urged them to vote for Brown, while 60 percent of women advocated on Warren's behalf.

"They say one should never discuss politics, money or religion in social situations," Vercellotti said. "But politics seems to be fair game for a lot of voters, at least for now."

More sunshine this afternoon, continuing through Tuesday.

Welcome back to Eastern Standard Time. This morning's sunrise was at 6:27 a.m. and the sunset is at 4:41 p.m.

It has been a chilly morning, with temperatures starting out in the upper-20s and 30s today. Unfortunately, it will not get too much warmer for this afternoon. High temperatures for us today will only be in the mid-40s. This is much closer to our averages for Dec. 3, not Nov. 3!

On the plus side, we will continue to see more sunshine break out today, building off the glimpses of sunshine we finally had yesterday. Overall, we'll call it partly cloudy today with mostly sunny skies continuing all the way through Tuesday.

Snow is in the forecast for the middle of the week. A low pressure system originating in the Atlantic will come in to hit the Northeast and New England in a typical nor'easter fashion. Absolutely nowhere near the impacts of Sandy, but it will provide us with rather miserable chilly rain and wind conditions Wednesday and Thursday. A couple inches of wet snow can't be ruled out for the Berkshires, with snowflakes possibly reaching down to the Springfield area as well.

A more detailed, technical discussion of this storm can be found on the CBS3 Pinpoint Weather Blog.

Today: Mostly sunny, cool, high 48.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, cold, low 25.

Monday: Cold morning, mostly sunny, high 45.

Tuesday: Cold morning (potentially in the teens), mostly sunny, high 43.

Radar | 5 Day Forecast

Letter writer: Scott Brown .. is more bipartisan than Elizabeth Warren will ever be.

The U.S. doesn’t need bigger government
With every government entity, program and agency before us in cardiac arrest, how could the contorted endorsements of Elizabeth Warren and Barack Obama, both unabashed ever bigger government collectivists, make any sense?

– MILTON REACH, Longmeadow

10-year-old shows political insight

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, forground, greets throngs of supporters at a campaign stop at the Wisconsin Products Pavilion at State Fair Park in West Allis, Wis., Friday. Assopciated Press | Charles Dharapak

My oldest son is 10 years old and has always been a very inquisitive child. He’s the kind of kid that isn’t content with overly simplified answers to complex questions. Recently he turned to me and asked “Why would anybody want to vote for somebody like Mitt Romney?”

Good question, and one that I’ve been asking myself more and more often as this marathon election season drags on. In fact, the query felt like déjà vu all over again as I recalled being about his age and wondering the same thing about Richard Nixon (and more recently George W. Bush ). The first answer that came to mind was to jokingly reply “Half the people on the planet are creeps, and they like to vote for their own kind.”

After a brief moment of reflection, I responded by telling him that there are many different reasons intelligent people might be swayed to vote for a candidate. People normally gravitate to others that they believe are like-minded and as we’re visual creatures, if we see someone whose appearance is similar to our own we’re more likely to believe that they share our values and beliefs.

I informed him that polls show that voters who are male and happen to be white will most likely be casting their ballots for Romney. I could see the wheels spinning in his head as he stared back at me, accursedly eyeballing Romney’s main demographic in the flesh. I let him know that another major reason for Romney’s popularity is that voters don’t always vote for a candidate, they sometimes vote against his opponent. Unfortunately many people aren’t doing as well financially as they once were and some of these people blame President Obama’s policies for their troubles.

Conversely presidential challengers, without exception, claim that they have a better plan and tout “Vote for me and I’ll change things for the better.” People want to believe so they do, sometimes disregarding the facts. There are also many people that will vote for the Republican Party candidate no matter who it is because that’s the political group that they belong to, just as there are people that will vote for the Democratic Party candidate mainly because that’s who they’re affiliated with. Finally I informed him that there are those who just generally believe in what Mitt Romney is saying and think he’s the best man for the job. After a long pause my son responded “Those are the people I don’t understand.” I told him to join the club.

– ANTHONY AVEYARD, Longmeadow

Brown is all talk on women’s issues

For over 20 years, I was a nurse practitioner in a Title X Federal Family Planning clinic. I saw women daily who could only get their annual gynecological exam, Pap smear, birth control, and HPV vaccine because our clinic offered those services at a reduced rate.

Some of those women were students and some were unemployed, but most were working women who could simply not afford health insurance. Here in Massachusetts, we were the first state to pass health-care reform and we should be represented by a U.S. senator who stands up for the values that all residents of the commonwealth should have access to health care.

But instead, we are represented by a senator who votes to deny women access to affordable reproductive health services and would repeal federal health care reform, which provides women with a whole host of preventative health services across the country.

I have listened to Scott Brown tout his support for women’s rights throughout this campaign. As a woman, his assertion is offensive to me – his votes don’t line up with women’s interests. In all his ads and assertions about being a pro-choice Republican, there’s one thing Brown doesn’t like to talk about: his voting record on issues of choice.

In 2011 Scott Brown voted for a spending bill that would have eliminated the Title X Federal Family Planning program, which is a basic preventative health program. In 2012, he voted for the Blunt Amendment, which would have allowed employers to deny women access to health care services that they don’t agree with. I worked with the women these bills would have impacted, and Brown is out of touch with the realities of women’s lives if he thinks that voting to deny women access to preventative care and family planning services is a pro-woman, pro-choice position.

- BETTY WRIGHT, Springfield
The writer is a member of NARAL Pro-Choice

Paper’s endorsements are very one-sided

What a surprise (not) regarding The Republican’s editors’ endorsements for next week’s election.

Given that many races have no opposition (mostly democratic incumbents) the newspaper endorsed 11 Democratic candidates out of the 12 races they highlighted over the past two days. Is the Republican Party and all of it candidates really that bad for our state and country?

I am a registered Democrat and pride myself on voting for the best candidate for my town/state/country, how can the newspaper be so one sided?

Would it not be good for Western Massachusetts and the entire state to have a balance for both or, at bare minimum, a better Republican representation?

We have a good Democratic U.S. senator entrenched in his position and will most likely stay that way for decades. Why not support the Republican Sen. Scott Brown to represent Massachusetts on a more balanced agenda?

There is some value with regards to bipartisanship even at the smallest percentages versus the straight robotic step-in-line towards one’s party agenda.

– DAVID V. BRENNAN, West Springfield

We need a president; we don’t need CEO

Once more, I read another letter to the editor extolling the virtues of Mitt Romney as a great businessman and job creator.

But not everyone sees it that way. Newsweek’s Oct. 22 issue featured an enlightening article by David Stockman, Reagan’s budget director. To quote Stockman, “Mitt Romney was not a businessman: he was a master financial speculator who bought, sold, flipped and stripped businesses. He did not build enterprises the old-fashioned way.”

Maybe this was the reason that while under Romney’s tenure as governor, Massachusetts ranked 47th in the nation in job creation. As CEO of Bain Capital, Romney was the pioneer in outsourcing jobs to China. Many Americans lost their jobs, their pensions, their ability to provide for their families.

The bottom line was more important than the people. Of course, in our society, this is what is expected of a CEO – a strong bottom line. Is it not? We must ask ourselves as we enter that voting booth: Should we vote for a candidate who advocates “you’re on your own” policies, or a candidate whose policies and values reflect the need to work together for the common good.? We’re all in this together. Do we elect a boss or do we elect a president?

– ELAINE MASTROIANNI, Westfield

Reelect Scott Brown for bipartisan future

Another day and another letter criticizing Sen. Scott Brown’s lack of a bipartisan voting record. For the last six months, one letter writer after another has complained that Scott Brown votes exclusively with the Republicans.

Complainers, just admit it. You just don’t like the way he votes. If bi-partisanship was an important issue to you, there would have been letters griping about Congressmen Neal and Olver voting 100 percent with the Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi cabal. Or complaints of Sen. Kerry voting with Harry Reid all of the time.

Elect Elizabeth Warren and you get a candidate recently endorsed by the former comedian (and a bad one) Sen. Al Franken. And none other than Sandra Fluke, a graduate of Cornell University and Georgetown University Law School and the new poster child of the Gimee Gimee Gimee generation. She is the young woman who demanded Georgetown University, a Catholic school provide contraceptive drugs without co-pay.

Scott Brown’s not perfect. He disappoints some of his conservative constituents, too. I suppose that makes him more bipartisan than Elizabeth Warren will ever be.

– PAUL PAPADAKIS, Agawam

The state Department of Transportation plans to conduct a review of the Interstate 91 ramps and see if any are warranted.

Question: Why are there no “yield” signs on any ramp leading on to Interstates 91 or 291 in the city limits of Springfield?

– Robert Fancy,
Belchertown

Answer: You told us in further communication that you are a driver for Hulmes Transportation in Belchertown and that you see motorists driving fast onto the highways without looking or yielding.

Yield signs are not required where the length of the acceleration lane is adequate based on the speed of the roadway, said Sara Lavoie, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

But, she added, “We will conduct a review of the acceleration lanes of the I-91 on ramps and will install yield signs where required.”

Aerosmith is set to perform at noon on Monday outside the former apartment building on Commonwealth Avenue in the city's Allston neighborhood that they called home in the early days as a band.

Law enforcement personnel embrace early Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, as others investigate the scene of an Atlanta Police Department helicopter crash that killed two officers aboard the aircraft when it crashed near a shopping center late Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/David Tulis)

• Police helicopter crashes in Atlanta, killing 2 officers [CNN]




• Jam 4 Springfield event raises money for Open Pantry [CBS 3 Springfield]




• New state overtime ban for nurses takes effect Monday [The Recorder]




• Aerosmith to return to Allston roots [WCVB]




• Benefit ball raises money for Noble Hospital [WWLP]




• Former Marine battling breast cancer [WCVB]




• Nets game provides bright spot for reeling fans [New York Post]




• Poll: Obama leading Romney 47-42 in Iowa [The Hill]




• Read more News Links »






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In his first start, Sullinger finished with a subdued four points and seven rebounds. But the Celtics were happy with his effort.

APJared Sullinger had four points and seven rebounds during his first regular season start for the Boston Celtics.

Brandon Bass didn't do much wrong during either of his first two outings, but Doc Rivers warned about nights the power forward would come off the bench. The Boston Celtics have options now, and while Rivers doesn't yet quite know how best to use them (not his fault -- give him time), he's also committed to finding out.

So the rookie Jared Sullinger started against the Washington Wizards Saturday night for the first time in his regular season NBA career. He didn't throw kerosene onto the world and set it ablaze, but he did contribute in the manners Rivers expects him to during Boston's 89-86 win.

The 20-year old grabbed Boston's first defensive rebound, scored a layup a few minutes in after locating himself nicely to finish a Rajon Rondo pass, and added three more defensive rebounds in the first eight minutes as Boston built a 15-2 lead. By the time he left the court with 3:53 remaining in the first quarter, Sullinger had four points (he also hit a fadeaway jump shot from about 13 feet) and four rebounds to help the Celtics to a 17-5 advantage.

Sullinger finished the night with a relatively subdued four points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes, taking just three shots. But he helped the Celtics jump on top early, continued to display better defensive fortitude than draft pundits suggested and generally played the part of faux veteran quite well -- based on my notes, Sullinger's only three major mistakes were a forced shot in the paint that had almost no chance, a turnover early in the third quarter and one defensive miscue in the second quarter when he lost opponent Jan Vesely for a dunk.

"He understands his role," Paul Pierce told CSNNE. "We don't give him a lot of touches, but he's a great rebounder. And the touches he's given, he has to be able to take advantage of it. He really fills that middle up. That's what we need."

There's still a sense that some of Sullinger's skills have not been utilized. After showing the ability to score in the paint during preseason (10.9 points per game on 56.1 percent shooting), he has scored just 12 points through three regular season outings. Capable of using his wide body to earn trips to the charity stripe (he took 26 free throws during the preseason, second-most on the team), he has only taken two free throws so far in the regular season. Part of Sullinger's lack of offensive impact has come from hesitancy, which is bad. But part of it comes from a willingness to fit in and play the role Boston wants him to (rebound and work his tail off to become a plus defender), as admirable reason as any for not scoring very often. A rare rookie, Sullinger doesn't often force the issue. He takes what the defense gives him, allows the game to come to him, acts out all those cliches people use to discuss patient, intelligent basketball players.

"I understand I've got to pay my dues," Sullinger said, according to CSNNE. "You've got Kevin [Garnett], Jason [Terry], [Rajon] Rondo and Paul [Pierce] so they're all pretty much legit scorers. When they're in the game, you've got to understand you're trying to get them open. You play off them, and that's just when I try to rebound."

Doc Rivers also verbalized concern after the game that Sullinger tired toward the end, and the power forward certainly isn't in marathon condition. He needed to ask for a sub at one point, saying, "When you play that hard, you automatically get tired." Indeed, Sullinger plays with his motor humming loudly. After several seasons of watching the Celtics fail to box out or chase down offensive rebounds, watching Sullinger's never-ending quest for his next rebound is refreshing. And for what it's worth, Rivers felt his entire team showed fatigue -- after two outings of lackadaisical defense, the coach thought, the Celtics were taken aback by how much effort it took to actually slow down an opponent.

With Sullinger moved into the starting lineup, Bass rotated into the second unit. He did not put forth his finest effort -- after averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds as a starter in the first two contests, he had just five points and five rebounds against Washington -- but Rivers still saw a lot that he liked.  Though he would not commit to keeping the changed starting lineup in the future (or changing it, for that matter), Rivers appreciates what Bass can bring to the bench.

“That was one of the other reasons we wanted Jared in the lineup, because Brandon’s another scorer in a lot of ways, and now you have too many in your starting lineup,” said Rivers, according to the Boston Herald. “Now Brandon can come in and score with the second unit. He got a ton of wide-open shots tonight. I think that helped him, too, knowing that when you come in with that group you’re going to get shots.”

Rivers isn't done experimenting with lineups, but he seems to be making progress. He did not play Jeff Green and Brandon Bass in tandem at power forward and center once, despite using that lineup multiple times in each of the first two games. With Chris Wilcox returning to the rotation while working himself back to health after back spasms ruined his preseason, the Celtics made more traditional sense while maintaining the threat of funky units difficult to match up against.

The coach is learning his roster, slowly but surely. What he's learned from Sullinger, he must be liking. The rookie hasn't been amazing, but he's been solid. He hasn't scorched the nets, but he's helped in ways the Celtics need him to. He won't always start, but in his first time experiencing an NBA tip-off on the court, he certainly demonstrated the capability.

Although job approval isn't an indicator of who will win an election, Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown gets the thumbs up from 57 percent of those in Massachusetts, according to a new poll.

SPRINGFIELD - Although job approval isn't an indicator of who will win an election, Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown gets the thumbs up from 57 percent of likely voters in Massachusetts, according to a new poll.

A live telephone survey conducted by the Western New England University Polling Institute through a partnership with The Republican/MassLive.com concluded that Brown's job approval climbed 2 points since the previous poll taken a month ago.

Thirty-one percent of likely voters said they disapprove of the way Brown is doing the job and 13 percent said they weren't sure or refused to answer the question, according to the survey.

Complete Coverage of the Western New England University Poll

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Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown's Massachusetts job approval numbers by region

• Western Massachusetts
  • 39 percent approve
  • 38 percent disapprove
  Central Massachusetts
  • 68 percent approve
  • 24 percent disapprove
  North & South Shores
  • 63 percent approve
  • 25 percent disapprove
  Boston & Suburbs
  • 55 percent approve
  • 33 percent disapprove

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Follow the MassLive.com political team on Twitter

Follow Robert Rizzuto on Twitter

Follow Shira Schoenberg on Twitter

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In the poll conducted from Sept. 28-Oct.4, 55 percent of likely voters in Massachusetts surveyed said they approve of the way Brown represents the Bay State in Washington.

Brown, who is fighting for a full six-year Senate term against Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren, is trailing the Harvard Law professor by 4 percentage points among likely voters, according to the telephone survey conducted between Oct. 26-Nov.1.

Among members of his own party, which make up 11 percent of the state's registered voters, 96 percent say they approve of the way Brown is conducting his duties as a senator.

Twenty-five percent of Democrats approve while 56 percent said they do not, but in the case of independents, which make up more than half of the registered voters in the state, Brown's approval rating is a solid 75 percent.

Independent voters also prefer Brown over Warren in regards to the overall Senate election, 64-31 percent.

When broken down according to gender, Brown's job approval is strong among both men and women with 65 and 49 percent, respectively, although women support Warren over the junior senator, 60-36 percent.

Brown's overall favorability also remained high, at 53 percent, 2 percentage points higher than his Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren.

The overall choice between Brown and Warren for the Senate split along party and gender lines, and remained steady since the last poll, with most independents, Republicans and men supporting Brown while Democrats and women largely support Warren.

The telephone survey of 535 likely voters has a 4 percent margin of error.

Add everything together and, through three games, the Celtics have issues that might take time to disappear.

AP Photo/Stephan SavoiaIt's not the worst problem to have, sure. But Doc Rivers still needs to learn how to utilize all his talent.

The talent level has risen but the amount of minutes to divide has not.

Doc Rivers has already changed his starting lineup once during the first three games and continues to alter his bench rotations. He's tried uber-small lineups with Jeff Green and Brandon Bass at the power forward and center, and he's tried much bigger units with Green and Paul Pierce at the two and the three.

He rode with Leandro Barbosa in his finishing unit against the Miami Heat on opening night and he's played Barbosa a combined 15 minutes since. Rivers called on Jason Terry for just 17 minutes against the Washington Wizards Saturday, three fewer minutes than Terry played in any single game last season. The Celtics coach is desperately trying to figure out a frontcourt that has not defended the pick-and-roll well (at least with Kevin Garnett on the bench) and a backcourt with more options than openings. His players have yet to mold into a cohesive unit on the floor, and he's yet to find a way to make it all work.

The quest continues, of course, and patience should be stressed. Rivers has to integrate plenty of new pieces and he needs to decide how to deal with his new plethora of talent. The Celtics are adjusting from relying on their starters for everything to allowing their bench players more opportunities to flourish.

Despite inserting Jared Sullinger into the starting lineup Saturday against the Washington Wizards, Rivers isn't worried about the starters. But he possesses at least a level of concern for the bench, which was supposed to be a real positive but has not delivered as such through three outings.

“We’ve just got to find the right group of guys,” Rivers said, according to the Boston Herald. “And not only just the starters. I’m actually not as concerned with the starters. I’m far more concerned with the second unit. We’ve got to find a consistent second group.”

The second group has moderately baffled with its lack of production. Terry, as consistent a bench scorer as any in the NBA for the past five years, can't find his rhythm. Green has vacillated between slightly useful and "whoa, the Celtics have been at least 20 points per 100 possessions worse than their opponents during each game this season with Green on the court, albeit with a small sample size."

Barbosa has had moments of providing electricity, but hasn't been able to convince Rivers he deserves a spot in the rotation. Interior struggles were expected whenever Garnett went to the bench, but things on that front have been pretty bad and none of Boston's backup bigs have played well.

Add everything together and, through three games, the Celtics have issues that might take time to disappear. Rivers cautions that Avery Bradley's return will certainly help -- “That’s going to make it a lot easier when he’s back," he said -- but it will also force Rivers to further cut into somebody else's minutes.

The Celtics already have no clear rotation because they have many intriguing options but none obviously better than the others. Rivers will continue searching and experimenting for now, and that's to be expected. One day, though, he will need to discover how best to make his roster work.

With Election Day looming the race to securing 270 Electoral College votes is the primary focus for both President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

With Election Day looming, the focus on the swing states intensified for both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney on Monday in the race for 270 Electoral College votes and the presidency.

Speculation as to which candidate will carry which state and by how much was in laser focus as the final pre-election polls were released.

Voters likely won't make it through the day without seeing at least one political ad in their mail, on their favorite website or on TV.

For a quick roundup of how Obama and Romney fared in the latest round of polls and punditry, here's a quick roundup:

WHAT ARE THE ANALYSTS AND POLLSTERS SAYING?

FiveThirtyEight: Nate Silver, who crunches the numbers for The New York Times' FiveThirtyEight blog (538 Electoral College votes, get it?), forecast Obama with an 86.3 percent chance of winning the election as of Monday morning. Silver's prediction runs counter to the majority of polls which predict a tight race.

Pew Research Center: The non-partisan Pew Research Center polled 2,709 likely voters between Oct. 31 and Nov. 3 to find that Obama holds a small lead over Romney by 48 to 45 percent. The poll's margin of error for likely voters is 2.2 percent.

NBC News/Wall Street Journal: An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll run between Nov. 1 and Nov. 3 found the race essentially tied among 1,475 likely voters with Obama taking 48 percent and Romney taking 47 percent. The margin of error is 2.55 percent.

THE RACE TO 270

FiveThirtyEight: Silver's FiveThirtyEight had the Buckeye State, Ohio, with a 50 percent "probability that a state provides the decisive electoral vote" on Monday morning. Virginia was a distant second with 12.2 percent.

CBS This Morning: On CBS This Morning Monday, CBS News' political director John Dickerson said that after assigning likely red and blue states' Electoral College votes to Obama and Romney, the incumbent is already leading 237 to 191.

"If you look at all the possible scenarios, President Obama has about 431 ways he can get to 270. Mitt Romney has just 76," Dickerson said.

Though Dickerson said the Obama campaign feels good about early voting, National Journal correspondent Major Garrett stressed the importance of day-of voter turnout, which Republicans feel they have an advantage in.

"We don't know the size of the political universe. We don't know what the turnout modeling is going to be. It's not going to be 2008," Garrett said. "It's not going to be that robust for President Obama. It's not going to be that slack for Mitt Romney. It may be like 2004, which could get Mitt Romney really, really close."

NPR: NPR's Swing State Scorecard, which was last updated Oct. 23, counted up the Electoral College votes for the candidates from states that were strongly Democratic and Republican and those that were leaning or likely to be Democratic or Republican. This left Obama and Romney with 237 and 206 predicted Electoral College votes, respectively.

To predict the outcome of the election, the app's users place the eight tossup states, including Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire into either candidate's court. Which ways do you think the candidates could most likely take to 270?