Minnesota Wildfire Smoke Spreads Over Wisconsin

Smoke from a wildfire in northern Minnesota is dispersing throughout eastern Wisconsin creating extremely hazy conditions and leaving a thick, smoky smell in the air.

Lightning strikes started the blaze in the arrowhead of Minnesota back around August 18th. The National Weather Service says by Sunday, September 11th, the fire had grown to around 4,500 acres. As of Tuesday afternoon, it encompassed 60,000 acres.

A massive smoke plume developed as a result of the wildfire on September 11th. That plume of smoke has now dispersed into the eastern half of Wisconsin. It's turned the sky milky white and created a rather strong, smoky odor.

The National Weather Service received numerous reports from trained spotters throughout southeast Wisconsin. One in Hartford indicated visibility was only 3/4 of a mile and dark cars had a white coating on them. One spotter in Whitewater said he could "taste" the smoke in the air and his eyes were burning. In Waukesha and Racine, spotters indicated they were having difficulty with their asthma because of the poor air quality; one went to a hospital for treatment.  The smoke is now reaching as far south as Kenosha and will be crossing over into Illinois.

The DNR and State Department of Health Services (DHS) has been receiving calls regarding the heavy smoke odor, ash and concerns about smoke inhalation. The DHS says in healthy people, symptoms of smoke exposure usually include irritation of eyes, nose and throat. It may also include some breathing discomfort.

People who have asthma, COPD or some other respiratory ailment are urged to remain indoors with doors and windows closed. Officials suggest using a high-efficiency air (HEPA) filter on air conditioners to reduce the amount of pollution in the air.

Green Bay Packers to Wheaties Boxes

General Mills plans to feature Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and linebacker Clay Matthews on special-edition Wheaties boxes.

General Mills Inc. praised the two members of the Super Bowl champions Wednesday, singling them out for their community work as well as their play.

In a statement, Rodgers says it's a privilege and honor to be selected and it's something he never imagined as a child.

Matthews echoed the sentiment and said last year was special for the team and he plans to have the same success this year.

The two boxes will be sold only in Wisconsin within a month.

Thursday NCAA Sweet 16 Play of the Day

Butler

Butler getting 4.5 tonight from Wisconsin is like an early Christmas present.

For one thing, Butler doesn't lose basketball games, and hasn't in a while.  Also, can Wisconsin blow this team out?  No way.

A surprising trend that I love is that Butler is 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 vs. Big Ten teams.  Take into consideration that the Badgers are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 neutral site games.

Take Butler and the 4.5 tonight, for a bonus take Buter and the money line, there is a good chance they will win the game.

Check back later today for my picks on the other three games tonight.

Here are the predictions for today's other games:

Take UCONN -1 vs. San Diego St.

Take Florida -3 vs. BYU

and

take Duke -8.5 vs. Arizona

New Years Day Bowl Plays of the Day: Florida and Wisconsin

New Years Day is traditionally the biggest college bowl day of the year.  It's a day to get comfortable infront of the television, eat some junk food and watch a day-long marathon of football.

Two picks today:

Outback Bowl - Florida

Florida, in Urban Meyer's last game as head coach is only giving Penn St. and Joe Paterno 7 pts.  I see the Gators in a blowout.  Both teams are 7-5 and are looking to go out winners on this season.  Florida is  4-1 ATS in their last 5 bowl games with Meyer at the helm.

Look for Meyer to go out as a big winner in the Outback Bowl.  Take the Gators -7.

The Rose Bowl - Wisconsin

 Should be a good Rose Bowl here.  12-0 TCU and 11-1 Wisconsin. 

To say Wisconsin has been dominating teams is an understatement.  To close out the regular season, they scored 70 against Northwestern and before that they scored 83 vs. Indiana.  They are rolling and TCU is going to have to work hard to stop them. 

TCU is no slouch, especially on defense.  But the Badgers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games following a S.U. win and are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win.  Strong trends for Wisco along with the fact they play well against teams that are good, going 4-0 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.

The Horned Frogs are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games, so the play would be takeWisconsin and the 3 pts.  Wisconsin will probably even win the game.

Enjoy the games today.

Snow Storm Hits Minnesota and Wisconsin

The Upper Midwest dug out from a heavy snowfall Saturday that caused more than 400 traffic accidents in Minnesota, and wintry conditions also were being blamed for a collision in northern Wisconsin that killed two people.

Nearly a foot of snow had fallen in parts of the Twin Cities area by Saturday evening, downing trees and causing sporadic power outages.

The storm that began late Friday night was blamed for a collision Saturday morning that killed both drivers and left a passenger hospitalized. The sheriff's department in Wisconsin's Bayfield County said the storm produced "rapidly deteriorating road conditions" that likely contributed to the crash.

The Minnesota State Patrol responded to 401 crashes as of 4 p.m, with 45 of them involving minor injuries, Patrol Capt. Matt Langer said. There were no other immediate reports of fatalities or major injuries.

The storm dumped 11 inches of snow in parts of Eden Prairie, Minn., and 10 inches in the Forest Lake and Mankato areas, said Todd Krause, a federal meteorologist in Minneapolis. The major snowfall activity ended by early afternoon, and Sunday's forecast looked milder, he said.

"People will still see snowflakes across much of Minnesota (on Sunday) but it won't be adding up to anything," he said.

The snow in both states wasn't expected to stick around for long. Recent warm weather meant the ground is still relatively warm, meteorologists said, and temperatures are expected to be in the mid- to high 30s for the next few days.  Such is weather in the Midwest.