It's another Sunday in the neighborhood. Here's what's happening....
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Today is National Caviar Day. (Something smells fishy here.)
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Free agency 2010 blog.
Babcock believes Modano headed to Hockeytown.
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Today is National Ice Cream Day.
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"Where is Riderville" finalists announced.
The Riders take their 3-0 record on the road next Saturday to face the 2-1 Calgary Stampeders. Kickoff is set for 9:30pm EDT. Listen links for the game are on the right side of this blog.
Check out Riderville.com for the latest on "Canada's (And Clearwater, Florida's) Team."
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Today is the start of Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education and Awarenes Week.
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Today in Sports History:
1927 - Ty Cobb set a major league baseball record by getting his 4,000th career hit. He hit 4,191 before he retired in 1928.
1964 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds hit the only grand slam home run of his career.
1970 - Ron Hunt of the San Francisco Giants was hit by a pitch for the 119th time in his career.
1985 - Jack Nicklaus II, at age 23 years old, made his playing debut on the pro golf tour at the Quad Cities Open in Coal Valley, IL.
2000 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of marijuana. He was stopped for speeding and then failed to pass a sobriety test. Abdul-Jabbar was the leading scorer in National Basketball Association (NBA) history at the time.
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Today is the start of Captive Nations Week.
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The Tampa Bay Rays scored early and often yesterday, pounding out 13 hits in a 10-5 thrashing of the New York Yankees, before 48,957 at Yankee Stadium.
The slugfest started with two outs in the first, when Carlos Pena doubled home Evan Longoria to give the Rays a 1-0 lead. In the second, Jason Bartlett came home on Reid Brignac's 3rd homer of the year, a two-out blast that put Tampa Bay up 3-0. The Yanks scored a pair in their half of the second, when Brett Gardner singled up the middle, plating Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson, slicing the Rays' lead to 3-2.
Tampa Bay got those two back, and more. In the third, Pena's liner up the middle brought home Longoria, and in the fifth, Matt Joyce scored on B.J. Upton's sacrifice fly, then John Jaso and Bartlett came home on Brignac's second homer of the game, giving the Rays a 8-2 lead. Mark Teixeira homered for New York in the bottom of the fifth, making it 8-3. Longoria scored again, this time on Jaso's sacrifice fly in the sixth, putting the Rays up 9-3. The Yankees got a lead-off homer from Jorge Posada in their half of the sixth to make it 9-4, Pena's eighth-inning homer for Tampa Bay made the score 10-4, then New York tacked on one more in the ninth on a double by Alex Rodriguez that bounced over the wall in right-center, chasing home Nick Swisher, but that was all and the Rays had their 10-5 win.
Jeff Niemann pitched 6 1/3 innings for Tampa Bay, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits, with 6 strike outs and 4 walks, improving to 8-2. The Yankee's A.J. Burnett was pounded 4 runs on 4 hits in 2 innings, while striking out just 1. His frustration boiled over after the second inning, when he shoved open a set of double doors, cutting his palms on the hanging plexiglass lineup holders, forcing him to leave the game in the third, after hitting Longoria and giving up a base hit to Pena. Dustin Moseley came on and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits, with 2 strike outs and 3 walks in 3 innings. Chad Gaudin finished up, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits, while striking out 5 and walking just 1. Burnett's loss drops his record to 7-8.
The Rays now have a record of 55-35 and trail the Yankees by 2 games in the A.L. East, while also leading the A.L. Wild Card chase. They're 10-3 in July, have won 9 of their last 11 and 12 of their last 17. Tampa Bay plays the final game of this three-game set at New York this afternoon, beginning at 1:05pm EDT. The Rays will also play three at Baltimore and three at Cleveland, before returning home on Monday, July 26th for their longest home stand of the season, 11 games, with the first of a four-game set against Detroit, to be followed by three against the Yankees and four against Minnesota. You can follow the Rays on 620AM WDAE and the Rays Radio Network. Today's game at the Yankees can be seen on Sun Sports.
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Today is the start of National Independent Retailers Week.
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The Yankees lead the A.L. East by 2 games over Tampa Bay and 5 1/2 over Boston. Toronto is 11 1/2 back and Baltimore is 28 games behind.
In the A.L. Central, Chicago leads Detroit by 1 1/2 game, Minnesota is 2 1/2 games behind, Kansas City is 11 back and Cleveland is 13 1/2 games off the pace.
Out in the (not-so)wild A.L. West, Texas leads the Angels by 3 1/2 games, Oakland is 7 back and Seattle trails by 17.
In the N.L. East, Atlanta leads the Mets by 4 1/2 games, Philadelphia is 5 behind, while Florida is 9 1/2 back and Washington trails by 13.
In the N.L. Central, Cincinnati leads St. Louis by 1/2 game, Milwaukee trail by 9 and the Cubs by 10, Houston is 13 1/2 behind, and Pittsburgh(heading towards their 18th consecutive losing season) is 19 games off the pace.
San Diego leads the N.L. West by 3 1/2 games over San Francisco, 4 over Colorado, 4 1/2 over the Dodgers and 19 1/2 over Arizona.
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The U.S. and Canada signed a treaty to develop the St. Lawrence Seaway on this day in 1932.
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From http://www.tampabaystorm.com
The Tampa Bay Storm (10-4, 2-2) fell on the losing end of a crucial division matchup on Saturday, dropping the second contest this season to the in-state rival Jacksonville Sharks (10-4, 4-2) by a 49-47 score in front of a sellout crowd of 13,011 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. With the win, Jacksonville moved into the division lead, while the loss suffered by Tampa Bay snapped the team’s eight-game winning streak and prevented the Storm from clinching the division title.
Despite a missed extra point by Garret Rivas that shifted momentum in Jacksonville’s favor late in the game, Tampa Bay brought the score to within two in the final minute, but a potential-tying two-point conversion attempt fell short.
The Sharks were led by backup quarterback Bernard Morris who took over for injured starter Aaron Garcia early in the first quarter. Morris threw four touchdowns and nearly broke the 200-yard passing barrier in spite of being bested by Storm signal caller Brett Dietz, who threw for 297 yards and seven scores. Jacksonville, also without receiver Jomo Wilson, nevertheless found the endzone despite the injuries and consistent pressure from Tampa Bay’s defensive line, receiving contributions from Kirby Griffin, Key, Dallas Baker and Jason Willis who recorded at least one touchdown apiece. Hank Edwards and Tyrone Timmons led Tampa Bay with two scores each, while the Storm also got a pair of touchdowns from DeAndrew Rubin and Lawrence Samuels who both returned to action after missing time due to injury.
Despite even scoring to open the contest, Tampa Bay’s defense set the tone after Jermaine Smith temporarily knocked Garcia out of the game on Jacksonville’s very first offensive series. Morris stepped in and put the Sharks up by a touchdown with the game’s first score, but Dietz hooked up with Timmons on the following possession to knot the game at seven. The Storm defense continued to outperform Jacksonville’s offensive line after regrouping from the initial score. Despite Garcia’s return to the game, the Jacksonville passer could not elude Tampa Bay’s front four as the defense poured heavy pressure up the middle to bring Garcia to the ground once again and force him out of the game for good. Morris didn’t fare much better after the Sharks starter was shaken up a second time, succumbing to a pair of sacks by Kelvin Kinney, who also helped force Jacksonville kicker Paul Edinger to miss a field goal that kept the game tied going into the second quarter.
Much like in the first quarter, both teams exchanged a pair of scores to open the second period, but it was Jacksonville’s defense that contained Tampa Bay that proved to be the difference going into the intermission. After Hank Edwards hauled in a touchdown to give Tampa Bay its first lead of the game, Sharks fullback Kirby Griffin rushed in a score to keep pace with the Storm. Jacksonville’s defense took over from there, coming up with key stops on consecutive possessions inside the redzone, including one that resulted in a turnover on downs and subsequent touchdown. Garret Rivas attempted a field goal in the half’s final minute in an attempt to cut the deficit, but the ball deflected off the top of the screen to preserve Jacksonville’s 21-14 halftime lead.
The back-and-forth scoring trend continued after the half as Tom Kaleita scored on a four-yard screen play to tie the game at 28 at the conclusion of the third quarter. Jacksonville, however, seemed to have caught a break in the fourth quarter when Rivas missed an extra point following an Edwards touchdown that shifted momentum in the Sharks favor. With a one-point lead, Morris found Dee Webb in the endzone for a score that increased Jacksonville’s lead to eight, marking the team’s largest advantage of the game. Despite two more scores by Tampa Bay, including one that brought the Storm to within a point by a 42-41 score, a touchdown on an end-around by Jacksonville’s Sale Key sealed the win. Dietz hooked up with receiver Lawrence Samuels with approximately 15 seconds remaining that made the score 49-47, but the Storm failed to convert the potential-tying two-point conversion attempt just before time expired.
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Today is Recess at Work Day. So, if you work today, take time to go out and swing, play four square and kick ball, or climb the monkey bars.
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From http://www.nascar.com
MADISON, Illinois -- The feud between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski -- dormant since Atlanta in March -- erupted like an angry volcano at Gateway International Raceway.
In a drag race to the finish line, Edwards sent Keselowski hard into the outside wall on the way to winning Saturday night's Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Nationwide Series race at the 1.25-mile track. As Edwards took the checkered flag two car lengths ahead of runner-up Reed Sorenson, Keselowski careened into the inside retaining wall and took a vicious shot from Shelby Howard's Chevrolet just short of the finish line.
Less than a lap earlier, Keselowski had bumped Edwards in Turn 1 in an attempt to take the lead after a restart on Lap 199 of 200. Edwards' Ford and Keselowski's Dodge raced side-by-side for most of the final lap. With Keselowski edging ahead as the cars approached the stripe, Edwards turned Keselowski's Dodge, igniting a multicar pileup on the frontstretch.
"I just couldn't let him take the win from me," said Edwards, who drew a three-race probation in March for unabashedly turning Keselowski in a Sprint Cup race at Atlanta, with the unintended consequence of sending the No. 12 Dodge upside-down into the frontstretch wall. "My guys work way too hard for that.
"We had a great restart. My guys built me a great car. We came to the checkered flag, and I hate to see stuff tore up, but we came here to win and he took it from us there in Turn 1. Just an awesome race. ... I'm sure some of them don't like that win -- Brad Keselowski fans and stuff -- but, man, I just couldn't let him take it from me. I had to do what I had to do."
In Keselowski's view, Edwards' action at Gateway was intentional.
"He turned left into me and wrecked me on purpose," Keselowski said. "I gave him the lane, and he still wrecked me. … I figured out a way to beat him. He wasn't happy with me, so he wrecked me. Wrecking down the straightaway is never cool, whether it's at 200 mph or 120. I'm sorry that's the way it had to end."
Keselowski's father, old-school racer Bob Keselowski, had an even stronger take on the finish.
"Brad got into Carl getting out of Turn 1 -- racing -- they bumped, they rubbed, typical rubbing-racing deal," Bob Keselowski said. "Carl flipped out like he did at Atlanta and tried to kill the kid. I'm sick and tired of this. I'll get my own damn uniform back on and take care of this. He ain't going to kill my boy."
"He just overreacted so bad. If he wanted to bump Brad, it's one thing. But don't drive him through the inside guardrail. Don't put him in the grandstands at Atlanta. That's asinine."
After meeting with Edwards in the NASCAR hauler, Nationwide Series director Joe Balash attributed the final-lap crash to hard racing.
"I think at the last lap there was a lot of hard racing going on," Balash said. "There was some movement on the racetrack. It was a tough finish for a really great race.
"We've chatted about this evening, yes. We don't talk about any of those conversations (that we have) in the hauler."
The last-lap crash marred what should have been a triumphant finish at the venue Columbia, Mo., native Edwards considers his home track. Edwards is the first three-time winner at Gateway, and with his second victory of the year and the 27th of his career, he trimmed Keselowski's lead in the series standings from 227 to 168 points in what has become, for practical purposes, a two-man race.
Pole-sitter Trevor Bayne ran third, his best finish to date. Paul Menard came home fourth, followed by Steve Wallace. Brian Scott, Colin Braun, Josh Wise, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Tony Raines completed the top 10.
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Don't look now, well okay, go ahead and look, but the San Francisco Giants have moved back into second place in the N.L. East. Yesterday, a five-run second inning, keyed by an Andres Torres 3-run homer, sparked the Giants to an 8-4 win over the New York Mets. Matt Cain pitched 7 strong innings, allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits, with 3 k's and 1 walk, improving to 7-8 on the year. Brian Wilson fanned the last batter of the game to record his 25th save of the season, tops (with two others) for best in the Senior Circuit. The Giants have now won a season-high five straight games, and is now a season-best nine games above .500 and trail San Diego by 3 1/2 games. San Francisco has won nine of its last 10 games and 10 of its last 12. Today, Jonathan Sanchez goes against Johan Santana, as the Giants try for their first four-game sweep of the Mets in a decade.
Before yesterday's game, Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Jon Miller, who will receive the Ford C. Frick Award from the Hall a week from today, was honored in special ceremonies. Miller threw out the ceremonial first pitch, after his daughter Emilie sang the National Anthem.
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Jimmy sits in his car seat base and watches T.V., while Snoopy supervises Mommy as she makes something pretty.
Smoke says "I'll jeest stay oveer heere."
Here I am watching yesterday's Riders game, with Mommy and Jimmy in the background. (Notice my D-Fense sign?)
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Today in Elvis History:
1946 - Elvis Presley's family moved to Commerce Street in Tupelo, Mississippi. They had not been able to make their house payments on Berry Street.
1953 - Elvis Presley privately recorded "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" at the Memphis Recording Service. The office manager left a note for Sam Phillips that Elvis was a "good ballad singer."
1960 - Elvis Presley's "It's Now Or Never" was released.
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Coming up:
Tonight --
Indy Car: Honda Indy Toronto on the streets of Toronto, Ontario 12:30pm EDT
Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees 1:05pm EDT
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That's it for another great looking Sunday. See you tomorrow!
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