Morning Roundup: Two-fisted bidding edition

Good morning, Houston. So you say you're a Dynamo fan, eh? Well, here's your chance to prove it: The back-to-back MLS champs are auctioning off a chance to get close to the team's two MLS cups — literally. If you win the auction, the cups will be dropped off at your house on Christmas Eve and picked up Dec. 26; in between, you can do whatever you want with 'em (within reason, of course). Best of all, the money raised will benefit Casa de Esperanza, an organization that helps kids in crisis. Break out your checkbooks and bid — the auction ends at 5 p.m. today.

>> Next stop: Fancy!: The Chronicle reports that the little old Hermann Park train will close Jan. 1 to make way for a new, bigger, fancier train set to debut in March. The new train is part of a broader overhaul of Hermann Park; when all is said and done, the revamped train will travel on nearly two miles of new or improved track and will leave from a redesigned Lake Plaza that'll include a restaurant, restrooms and landscape designs. Three new mini-stations will serve museums and provide a link to the MetroRail line, but Hermann Park Conservancy director Doreen Stoller said the point of the train will still be fun: "Its primary role will be entertainment. That's still the No. 1 reason for people getting on," she said. Tickets will increase by 25 cents, to $2.50, and Stoller said she expects the train to bring in $250,000 every year.

>> 'I think the police are here': Sure, you may have had a run-in or two with the cops, but chances are the cops haven't run into you — or your house, to be specific. That's what happened to Ernestine Washington, a northeast Houston woman: She said she was sleeping at her home early the morning of Dec. 2 when an HPD cruiser crashed into her parked SUV, which in turn crashed into her dining room. "I heard something like an airplane had landed on top of my house. I thought it was on fire because there were lights going around and around," Washington told KPRC. Washington said she thinks the officer was chasing someone, but his brakes played out; he went through three people's front yards before landing in Washington's. The city's legal department told Channel 2 that in some cases like this, the city isn't liable, but Washington hopes she'll get some help in repairing her house. "I think they're supposed to fix it," she said. "That's their responsibility. I was in my bed asleep. They come up in my house."

>> And speaking of police ... : More in the story of Valencia Lee, the woman who claimed that a sheriff's deputy pulled her over on the Eastex Freeway, took her keys and left her stranded on the side of the road: It seems Lee's story might not be all it seemed. KHOU talked with Donnette Runnels, a motorist who saw Lee get pulled over in the midst of a funeral procession; whereas Lee claimed an escort with the procession pulled her over for no reason, Runnels said Lee was weaving in and out of the funeral cars and nearly caused an accident. When the motorcycle officer tried to pull Lee over, Runnels said, "she wouldn't pull over. He had to get in front of her." Turns out Lee doesn't have a valid driver's license, and the license plates on the vehicle she was driving don't belong to that vehicle — Lee said she has the proper plates, but hasn't had time to put them on the car. As for the motorcycle deputy, it's still not clear exactly who he was: The Harris County Sheriff's Office said he wasn't one of theirs, and an investigation is still under way.

>> Today's weather: Looks like we could begin and end the day with a little rain: There'll be a slight chance of showers before noon, with the rain chance increasing tonight. Otherwise, expect a cloudy, humid day with an afternoon high of 75 and a low of 62 tonight.

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