It's Saturday!

It's Saturday and another weekend is here. Here's what's happening....

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Today is August 7th, the 219th day of 2010. There are 146 days left in the year.

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Hurricanes seek return to playoffs in '10-'11.

Report: Selanne ready to return.

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It's Lighthouse Day. (Linky Linky)







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USHL game to highlight Motor City Cup.

Despite Gold Medals, Campbell has no job guarantee.

Anthony Day returning to Sioux Falls.

Eager to move on.

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Today is National Mustard Day.







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Team USA Falls to Sweden, 4-1,
at the 2010 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp

Budish Scores Lone U.S. Goal

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- Team USA dropped a 4-1 decision to Sweden here this afternoon in its third international game of the 2010 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp.

The contest featured 22 of the 28 U.S. players currently participating in the camp and auditioning for a spot on the U.S. National Junior Team that will take part in the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, Dec. 26, 2010-Jan. 5, 2011, in Buffalo, N.Y.

"We needed to take fewer penalties," said Keith Allain, head coach of the 2011 U.S. National Junior Team. "We'll learn from today's game and see how our guys respond against Finland tomorrow."

Sweden scored three goals on consecutive power-play opportunities over a three-minute span in the second period. They extended their lead to 4-0 six minutes into the third period with yet another goal on the man advantage.

Team USA found the back of the net midway through the third period to cut Sweden's lead to three. Patrick Wey (Pittsburgh, Pa.) fired a long snap shot from the blue line that slipped through traffic to the crease. Zach Budish (Edina, Minn.) was there to redirect the shot past Swedish goalie Robin Lehner.

The U.S. could not complete a comeback, however, and took its first loss of the camp. Team USA goalie Zane Gothberg (Grand Forks, N.D.) made 24 saves in the loss, while Lehner turned aside 22 shots in a winning effort.

The U.S. will return to action tomorrow (Aug. 7) at 4 p.m. EDT against Finland in the final game of the camp. A full schedule and results are below.

NOTES: Team USA went 0-for-6 on the power-play, while Sweden was 4-for-10 with the man advantage ... Nick Bjugstad (Blaine, Minn.) leads all players at the 2010 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp with six goals in six games against teams from Finland, Sweden and the U.S. ... Bjugstad (6-1--7) and Kyle Palmieri (Montvale, N.J./ 3-4--7) are tied for the camp lead with seven points ... The U.S. has posted a 2-0-0-1 record in international competition at the camp. For full camp coverage, including a live scoring and statistics from the international games, a blog, photos, videos, and rosters, click here ... Team USA's final game against Finland will be webcast at USAHockey.FASTHockey.com ... The 2011 IIHF World Junior Championships will take place Dec. 26 - Jan. 5 at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y., and Niagara University's Dwyer Arena in Lewiston, N.Y. Additional information including a full preliminary-round tournament schedule and ticket details can be found at BuffaloWorldJuniors.com ...The 2011 U.S. National Junior Team will be selected in late December following a pre-tournament camp that will begin in mid-December ... Keith Allain, head men's ice hockey coach at Yale University, will serve as head coach of the 2011 U.S. National Junior Team. Allain will be assisted by Mark Osiecki, head men's ice hockey coach at The Ohio State University; Phil Housley, head boy's ice hockey coach at Stillwater (Minn.) high school; and Joe Exter, USA Hockey's national goaltending coach ... Mark Carlson, head coach and general manager of the United States Hockey League's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, and Greg Brown, assistant men's ice hockey coach at Boston College, will also participate in Lake Placid as camp coaches ... Jim Johannson is serving as the general manager of the U.S. National Junior Team for the second consecutive year. Meanwhile, Tim Taylor, former U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team head coach and longtime Yale University men's ice hockey team head coach, is also serving his second straight year as Team USA's director of player personnel.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

SWE 0 - 3 - 1 - 4
USA 0 - 0 - 1 - 1

First Period - Scoring: None. Penalties: SWE, Ekman-Larsson (high sticking, double-minor), 10:11; USA, Morin (boarding), 16:49.

Second Period - Scoring: 1, SWE, Lander (Almqvist, Paajarvi-Svensson), 5:18 (pp); 2, SWE, Jarnkrok (Wannstrom), 5:52 (pp); 3, SWE, Wallen (Larsson), 7:33 (pp). Penalties: USA, Bourque (hooking), 4:58; USA, Johns (kneeing), 5:37; USA, Morin (high-sticking), 6:31; SWE, Ekman-Larsson (roughing), 8:03; USA, Team (too-many-men), 11:15; USA, Forbort (holding), 18:02.

Third Period - Scoring: 4, SWE, Cehlin (Landeskog, Fasth), 6:17 (pp); 5, USA, Budish (Wey), 11:44. Penalties: USA, Bjugstad (interference), 4:34; USA, Ramage (tripping), 7:14; SWE, Wallen (tripping), 9:19; SWE, Jarnkrok (holding), 13:59; SWE, Wallen (high-sticking), 17:10; USA, Morin (hooking), 17:24; USA, Johns (boarding), 19:57; USA, Morin (roughing, misconduct), 20:00.

Shots by Period
1 2 3
Total
SWE 6 9 13 28
USA 8 6 9 23

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
SWE, Lehner 59:41 8-8 6-6 9-8 23-22
USA, Gothberg 59:57 6-6 9-6 13-12 28-24

Power Play: SWE 4-10; USA 0-6
Penalties: SWE 5-12; USA 12-32

2010 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp Game Schedule
July 30 - Aug. 7 -- Lake Placid, N.Y.

Date Event* Time (EDT)/Result
Fri., July 30 Blue vs. White Scrimmage WHT 4, BLU 1
Sat., July 31 Blue vs. White Scrimmage WHT 4, BLU 2
Sun., Aug. 1 Blue vs. White Scrimmage WHT 8, BLU 3
Mon., Aug. 2 Finland vs. Sweden SWE 5, FIN 3
Tues., Aug. 3 USA vs. Sweden** USA 6, SWE 3
Wed., Aug. 4 USA vs. Finland** USA 6, FIN 3
Thurs., Aug. 5 Finland vs. Sweden** SWE 6, FIN 2
Fri., Aug. 6 USA vs. Sweden** SWE 4, USA 1
Sat. Aug. 7 USA vs. Finland** 4 p.m.
* all games at USA Rink
** games streamed live at USAHockey.FASTHockey.com

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Today is Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day.

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Following last night's exciting, but disapointing 30-26 loss at Montreal, the 4-2 Saskatchewan Roughriders will return home this coming Thursday, August 12th, to host the BC Lions. The Riders topped the Leos 37-18 in Vancouver on July 10th, behind Darian Durant's 252 yards and 1 touchdown passing, plus 1 rushing touchdown. Kickoff from Mosaic Stadium is set for 9:00pm EDT on 620CKRM and the Rider Radio Network. Listen links are to the right on this blog.

Check out Riderville.com for the latest on "Canada's (And Clearwater, Florida's) Team."

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Today is Professional Speakers Day.

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McCoy, Penn agree to contracts with Buccaneers.

Buccaneers 2010 schedule.

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Today in Sports History:

1907 - Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson won his first major league game by defeating the Indians, 7-2.

1965 - Britain's Jim Clark won his fifth consecutive Grand Prix.

1968 - In his major league debut, Joe Keough (A's) hits a home run in his first at-bat.

1985 - A five-year agreement between the major league baseball players union and team owners ended a two-day mid-season players’ strike. The season resumed the next day.

1987 - Bill Mazeroski's uniform jersey #9 was officially retired from active service by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1999 - Tony Gwynn (San Diego Padres) got his 3,000th hit.

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Two errors turned into two runs last night as the Tampa Bay Rays dropped the first game of their six-game road trip, losing 2-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays, before 22,520 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The Rays took the lead 1-0 in the first, thanks to a two-out double to left by Willy Aybar that scored Sean Rodriguez.

Tampa Bay gave that run back in the third. After Edwin Encarnacion led off with a double. Jays' catcher Jose Molina drilled a liner to Sean Rodriguez at second, but his throw to try and get the double play ended up in left field, allowing Encarnacion to score from second, tying the game 1-1.

In the seventh, Jose Bautista tapped a chooper to the right side. Rays' pitcher Matt Garza came off the mound and grabbed the ball, but his throw to first got past first baseman Ben Zobrist, allowing Bautista to reach base. Lyle Overbay then ripped a two-out double, scoring Bautista with what turned out to be the winning run in Toronto's 2-1 win.

Brett Cecil picked up the win for the Blue Jays, allowing 1 run on 4 hits, with 9 strike outs and 2 walks in 7 innings. He's now 9-5. Kevin Gregg picked up his 25th save. Matt Garza took the hard-luck loss for Tampa Bay, allowing 2 unearned runs on 4 hits, with 4 strike outs and 0 walks in 8 innings. He's now 11-6.

Carlos Pena will not return to the lineup today as hoped. The first-baseman, diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, has taken a spot on the 15-day Diasbled List, retroactive to last Sunday. His roster spot is being filled by pitcher Dale Thayer, who was recalled from Durham. Thayer has tossed 45 2/3 innings this season, is 2-1 and carries a 3.35 ERA. His last big league appearance with the Rays came last October 4th, when he threw two scoreless innings against the Yankees.... Tonight's second of three games in Toronto will see James Shields(10-9, 4.54) on the hill for Tampa Bay. He'll be opposed by the Blue Jays' Brad Mills(1-0, 0.00).

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Today is Twins Day. (No, it's not in honor of the baseball team, it's for matching siblings. Here's what I don't get though: It's calld a DAY, in honor of two LIKE family members, but runs today through Monday, THREE days. Say what? Man, I hate the new math!)

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The Yankees lead Tampa Bay by 1/2 game in the A.L. East(The Rays lead the Wild Card lead), Boston is 5 back, Toronto trails by 10 1/2 back and Baltimore(who are 4-0 with Buck Showalter as manager) is 31 1/2 games behind.

In the A.L. Central, the White Sox lead Minnesota by 1 1/2 games, Detroit trails by 9, Cleveland is 15 1/2 games behind and Kansas City is 16 games out.

Out in the (not-so)wild A.L. West, Texas leads Oakland by 9 1/2 games, the Angels by 10, and Seattle is 23 1/2 games behind.

In the N.L. East, Atlanta leads Philadelphia by 1 game, The Mets trail by 8 games, Florida is 9 behind with Washington(Stephen Strasburg is expected to pitch this coming Tuesday) trailing by 13 1/2.

In the N.L. Central, Cincinnati leads St. Louis by 1/2 game, Milwaukee is 11 behind, Houston is 14 games behind, the Cubs are 14 1/2 back and Pittsburgh is 23 1/2 games off the pace.

San Diego leads the N.L. West by 1 game over San Francisco(The Giants lead the N.L. Wild Card chase). Colorado is 6 1/2 behind, the Dodgers trail by 8 and Arizona is 22 games back.

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Always start the day with a good breakfast.










Today is Smoke's 5th birthday!










It's also Snoopy's "Gotcha Day!"

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ATLANTA -- The Giants' performance Friday night likely increased the howling from fans and critics who insist that they must add a competent hitter to their roster.

Nevertheless, the Giants can live with the earache after securing a 3-2, 11-inning victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Combined with San Diego's 2-1 loss at Arizona, San Francisco trimmed its National League West deficit to one game behind the first-place Padres.

Read the rest here.

The Giants are 63-47, and close to within 1 game of first-place San Diego in the N.L. West(The Padres lost at Arizona 2-1 Friday). San Francisco currently leads the N.L. Wild Card race by 1 1/2 games over both Philadelphia and St. Louis. San Francisco continues their six game road trip, with tonight's 7:10pm EDT game at Atlanta The Braves host San Francisco again tomorrow, with first pitch set for 1:35pm EDT. The Giants return home on Monday for four games with the Cubs and three big games with division-leading San Diego starting next Friday. Next Saturday's game with the Padres airs on FOX, with the Sunday game against San Diego showing on ESPN.

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Today in Elvis History:

1954 - The August 7, 1954 issue of "The Billboard" Magazine included the following review of the "That's All Right"/"Blue Moon of Kentucky" single. "Presley is a potent new chanter who can sock over a tune for either the country or the r. & b. markets. On this new disk he comes thru with a solid performance on an r. & b.-type tune and then on the flip side does another fine job with a country ditty. A strong new talent."

1965 - Elvis Presley began filming "Paradise Hawaiian Style."

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The Tampa Bay Storm (11-5, 3-3) look to avenge a season-opening loss to the Tulsa Talons (10-6, 6-0) tonight as they travel to the BOK Center to take on the Southwest Division champs in the Divisional Round of the 2010 AFL Playoffs. In the season opener, the Talons defeated the Storm 69-58 at the BOK Center April 3.

Tulsa enters the contest as winners in four of its last five, while Tampa Bay comes in as losers in two of its last three after putting together a season-high eight-game winning streak.


Who: Tampa Bay Storm vs. Tulsa Talons

What: AFL Playoffs – Divisional Round

When: Saturday, August 7, 2010
Kickoff – 8:05 PM EST on 1250AM WHNZ

Where: BOK Center
200 South Denver
Tulsa, OK 74103

For more information regarding playoff schedule and tickets, visit ticketmaster.com, call 813.301.6600 or log on to http://www.tampabaystorm.com/.

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Today in Beatles History

1957 - The Quarry Men made their Cavern Club debut in Liverpool. Paul McCartney was not with the band at the debut.

1988 - Paul McCartney refuted author Albert Goldman's statement that John Lennon was gay. McCartney said, "If John were gay, you'd think he'd have made a pass at me at least once in 20 years."

1989 - Paul McCartney's album "Flowers In The Dirt" was certified gold by the RIAA.

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Bolt from the blue: Daren Puppa.

Bolt from the blue: Manon Rheaume.

Season tickets on sale now.

2010 Preseason schedule.

2010-2011 Regular Season schedule.

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Today is Purple Heart Day. (Please be sure to thank a vet for the service.)

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Coming up:

Tonight --

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays 1:07pm EDT

Nascar Nationwide Series: Zippo 200 at the glen at Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen International, New York 1:30pm EDT

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves 7:10pm EDT

Arena Football: AFL Divisional Round Playoff Game Tampa Bay Storm at Tulsa Talons 8:05pm EDT

Sunday --

Nascar Sprint Cup Series: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the glen at Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen International, New York 1:00pm EDT

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays 1:07pm EDT

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves 1:35pm EDT

IZOD Indy Car Series: Honda Indy 200 presented by Westfield Insurance at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio 2:30pm EDT

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That's all for today. See you tomorrow!