It's Saturday!

It's Saturday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is August 14th, the 226th day of 2010. There are 139 days left in the year.

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Kane's day with the Cup.

Cancer setback for Mandi Schwartz.

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Up and at 'em gang: Today is National Garage Sale Day.

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U.S. Under-18 Select Team Defeats Sweden, 5-4, in Overtime
in Semifinals of 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament

Team USA to Face Canada in the Championship Game Saturday

PIESTANY, Slovakia - Lukas Sutter (Whitefish, Mont.) notched two goals and Connor Murphy (Dublin, Ohio) scored the game-winning goal in overtime, as the U.S. Under-18 Select Team defeated Sweden, 5-4, here today in the semifinal round of the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. With the victory, Team USA will face Canada in the championship game tonight (August 14th) at 9:00 a.m. EDT in Piestany, Slovakia.

"I thought we had a strong start and played very well," said Tim Army, head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team. "We really settled into our game and did the things that we needed to reach the championship game."

Sweden took an early 2-0 lead, but Sutter got Team USA on the board just under two minutes into the second period to cut the deficit in half. Skating into the attacking zone on a two-on-one rush, Cason Hohmann (Plymouth, Mich.) slid a pass through the Swedish defenseman to Sutter, who fired a one-timer past Sweden goaltender Marcus Due-Boje.

After Sweden regained a two-goal advantage at the 4:25 mark of the second, the U.S. answered yet again with a goal just one minute later. Tanner Sorenson (Anchorage, Alaska) knocked in a rebound in front of the net, after shots by Justin Selman (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) and Theo Di Pauli (Woodridge, Ill.) were turned aside.

Team USA then rallied to score two second-period power-play goals. Sutter netted his second goal of the game midway through the frame and Seth Ambroz (New Prague, Minn.) scored at the 15:55 mark to give the U.S. a 4-3 advantage heading into the third. Ambroz connected with John Gaudreau's (Carney's Point, N.J.) pass in the slot for a one-timer.

Sweden scored the lone third-period goal to send the game into overtime. But just 41 seconds into the extra frame, Team USA netted the game-winner. After carrying the puck the length of the ice, Murphy sent a pass to Ambroz and skated to the net. Ambroz then chipped the puck back to Murphy, who wrapped around the goal and poked the puck behind Due-Boje for the score.

NOTES: U.S. goaltender Steve Michalek (Glastonbury, Conn.) made 24 saves in the win ... The U.S. will play in the championship game of the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament for the first time since 2006 ... Cason Hohmann leads Team USA with six points (3-3) ... The U.S. now has a 3-0-1-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record through the semifinal round ... The 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament features eight countries split into two groups for preliminary-round play. This year, Group A (Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, United States) played its preliminary-round games in Breclav, Czech Republic, while Group B (Canada, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland) played its preliminary-round games in Piestany, Slovakia ... Live scoring of Team USA's games can be found here ... The U.S. has finished in the top three of the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament nine times since the tournament's inception in 1991, including a first place finish in 2003. The U.S. finished second in the tournament six times (1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2006) and finished third twice (1991, 1995) ... The 22 players on the 2010 U.S. Under-18 Select Team represent 13 states, with three players coming from Ohio ... Six of the players were members of the 2009 U.S. Under-17 Select Team that competed at the 2009 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament in Fussen, Germany, including goaltender Jay Williams (McLean, Va.); forwards Cason Hohmann, Alex Racino (Merrill, Wis.) and Lukas Sutter; and defensemen Brian Cooper (Anchorage, Alaska) and Connor Murphy ... Five members of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team competed in the United States Hockey League in 2009-10, including forwards Seth Ambroz (Omaha Lancers), Theo Di Pauli (Chicago Steel) and Hohmann (Cedar Rapids Roughriders), as well as defensemen Cooper (Fargo Force) and Murphy (U.S. National Under-17 Team). The USHL is the only Tier I junior hockey league in the United States ... For Team USA's full roster, click here ... The 2010 U.S. Under-18 Select Team is coached by Tim Army, head men's ice hockey coach at Providence College. Army has twice served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Men's National Team (1994, 1996), and was an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey ... Jay Varady, associate head coach with the Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips, and Chadd Cassidy, assistant coach at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, are the assistant coaches ... Army, Varady and Cassidy are all Level 4 USA Hockey certified coaches ... The U.S. Under-18 Select Team was selected following the annual USA Hockey Boys' Select 17 Player Development Camp that took place July 7-13, at The Sports Centre at MCC in Rochester, N.Y. The camp provides top young players with concentrated on- and off-ice training and instruction, as well as the opportunity to compete at a national level against other players from their age group.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

USA 0- 4 - 0 - 1 - 5
SWE 1 - 2- 1 - 0 - 4

First Period - Scoring: 1, SWE, Arvidsson (Rackell, Normark), 12:47. Penalties: SWE, Karlsson (hooking), 5:57; SWE, Blomqvist (holding), 8:23; USA, Ambroz (roughing), 8:23; USA, Di Pauli (interference), 14:06; USA, Trocheck (tripping), 20:00.

Second Period - Scoring: 2, SWE, Zibanejad (Rask, Johansson), 0:44 (pp); 3, USA, Sutter (Hohmann), 1:36; 4, SWE, Johansson (Lundberg), 4:25; 5, USA, Sorenson (Selman, Di Pauli), 5:31; 6, USA, Sutter (unassisted), 10:15 (pp); 7, USA, Ambroz (Gaudreau), 15:55 (pp). Penalties: SWE, Rask (interference), 7:59; SWE, Johansson (slashing), 8:55; SWE, Brodin (tripping), 14:23; USA, Sullentrop (slashing), 16:29; SWE, Arvidsson (holding-the-stick), 19:12.

Third Period - Scoring: 8, SWE, Arvidsson (Johansson), 15:32 (pp). Penalties: SWE, Brodin (slashing), 12:43; USA, Racino (charging), 14:01.

Overtime - Scoring: 9, USA, Murphy (Ambroz), 0:41. Penalties: None.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 OT Total
USA 5 12 6 1 24
SWE 10 10 3 0 23

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 OT Total
USA, Michalek, 60:00 10-9 10-8 3-2 0-0 23-19
SWE, Due-Boje, 60:00 5-5 12-8 6-6 1-0 24-19

Power Play: USA 2-7; SWE 2-5
Penalties: USA 5-10; SWE 7-14

2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament • Team USA Schedule
August 9-14 • Breclav, Czech Republic & Piestany, Slovakia

Date Opponent Time (Local/EDT)/Result
Location
Sat., Aug. 7* Slovakia W, 3-0 Piestany, Slovakia
Mon., Aug. 9 Czech Republic W, 3-2 Breclav, Czech Republic
Tues., Aug. 10 Russia L, 5-6 (SO) Breclav, Czech Republic
Wed., Aug. 11 Finland W, 5-2 Breclav, Czech Republic
Fri., Aug. 13 Sweden W, 5-4 (OT) Piestany, Slovakia
Sat., Aug. 14 Canada 3:00 p.m./9:00 a.m. Piestany, Slovakia
*Exhibition

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Today is National Navajo Code Talkers Day. (Thank you very much for your service!)

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Phantoms' O'Connor receives scholarship to BU.

U.S. faces Canada in Hlinka Tourney final.

Davis to head Jacks' ticketing/marketing efforts.

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Today is Sandcastle & Sculpture Day.

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Showing off the complete package.

The Riders enter their bye week 5-2 in the West. Their next action is August 28th at Edmonton, with kickoff at 7:00pm 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 also VJ Day. (Again, Don't forget, thank a Vet!)

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Today in Sports History:

1903 - Jim Jeffries defeated Jim Corbett in the 10th round to retain his world heavyweight title in San Francisco.

1936 - The first basketball competition for a Gold Medal was held at the Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. The U.S. defeated Canada, 19-8.

1937 - The Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Browns set an American League record for most runs scored combined in a doubleheader with 36.

1958 - Vic Power (Cleveland) stole home twice during the same game.

1959 - The first meeting was held to organize the American Football League.

1961 - The Philadelphia Phillies extended their losing streak to 17 games with a loss to the Chicago Cubs.

1971 - Bob Gibson (St. Louis Cardinals) threw a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was the first no-hitter at Forbes Field in 61 years.

1974 - The NFL Players Association ended their seven-week strike.

1976 - A charity softball game began for the Community General Hospital in Monticello, NY. The game was eventually called off due to weather after 30 hours. The final score was Gager's Diner's 491 to Bend 'n Elbow Tavern's 467.

1977 - The New York Cosmos and the Fort Lauderdale Strikes played a game in front of 77,961 fans at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. It was the largest crowd to witness a soccer game in the United States. The Cosmos beat the Strikers 8-3.

1979 - Lou Brock (St. Louis Cardinals) got his 3,000th hit.

1986 - Pete Rose (Cincinnati Reds) had his 4,256th and last basehit in a game against the San Francisco Giants.

1987 - Mark McGwire set the record for home runs by a rookie when he connected for his 49th home run of the season.

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In that "other" football league last night:

Washington beat the daylights out of Buffalo 42-17(Ryan Lindell 1 field goal, 2 XPs, Rex Grossman 11-of-18, 140 yards and 2 touchdowns for Skins) Philadelphia edged Jacksonville 28-27(Michael Vick 11-of-17 for 119 yards and 1 interception, plus 6 carries for 50 yards and 1 touchdown), and Atlanta doubled-up Kansas City(Dmitri Nance 2 rushing touchdowns for the Falcons) 20-10.

On Saturday: Tampa Bay at Miami, Detroit at Pittsburgh, Cleveland at Green Bay, Houston at Arizona, Minnesota at St. Louis, Chicago at San Diego and Tennessee at Seattle.

On Sunday: San Francisco at Indianapolis, Denver at Cincinnati and the Giants at the Jets(Nor the Jets at the Giants. BTW: Did they ever find Jimmy Hoffa in the Meadowlands' endzone?)

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August is Admit You're Happy Month.

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ST PETERSBURG -- The Tampa Bay Rays ran into the buzzsaw that is the Baltimore Orioles last night, losing to the Birds 5-0 on Throwback Night in front of 24,277 at Tropicana Field.

Baltimore hung a three-spot in the first. Ty Wigginton and Luke Scott scored on a triple into the right field corner by Adam Jones, who later scored on a double to right by Felix Pie. The Orioles got their other two runs in the seventh, as Josh Bell singled home Cesar Izturis with 0 outs. With 2 outs, Scott homered to right and Baltimore had all the scoring on the board, on the way to their 5-0 win, their 9th in 11 starts under new Manager Buck Showalter.

Jeremy Guthrie went 6 strong innings for the Orioles, allowing 0 runs on 2 hits, with 3 strike outs and 4 walks, improving to 7-11. Tampa Bay's James Shields was roughed up for 4 runs on 10 hits, with 2 strike outs and 3 walks. He's now 10-11.

The Rays are 69-46, and are second in the A.L. East, 2 games behind the Yankees, while leading Boston by 4 games and the White Sox by 4 1/2 in the Wild Card race. Tampa Bay continues their six-game home stand this afternoon at 4:10pm EDT. Sunday's game with Baltimore will start at 1:40pm EDT. The Texas Rangers come to town for 3 games starting Monday, with first pitch at 7:10pm EDT Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday's game starts at 1:10pm EDT. You can follow the Rays on 620AM WDAE and the Rays Radio Network. All games through Friday, September 3rd, can be seen on Sun Sports. Today's game against the Orioles will be on FOX.

Notes: Andy Sonnanstine(2-1, 3.98) goes to the hill today for the Rays. He'll be opposed by Baltimore's Brian Matusz(4-11, 5.08)....Baltimore Manager Buck Showalter toured the team's Spring Training facilities in Sarasota on Friday....Rocco Baldelli has been promoted to Triple-A Durham....Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis, both on the 15-day D.L. played catch on Thursday. They could both return during the Angels' series August 23rd through 25th....First Baseman Carlos Pena might be able to play on Monday, but might get a rehab assignment first.... After this afternoon's game, the Rays' popular Summer Concert Series will feature Train.

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Today is National Creamsicle Day.

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The Yankees lead Tampa Bay by 2 games in the A.L. East, Boston is 6 back(They trail the Rays by 4 games in the Wild Card chase), Toronto is 10 back and Baltimore is 30 1/2 games behind.

In the A.L. Central, Minnesota leads the White Sox by 1 game, they're 10 1/2 games ahead of Detroit, with Cleveland and Kansas City both 18 games behind.

Out in the (not-so)wild A.L. West, Texas leads the Angels by 8 1/2, Oakland trails by 9 and Seattle is 22 games behind.

In the N.L. East, Atlanta leads Philadelphia by 3 games, the Mets are 9 behind, Florida trails by 9 1/2 games, Washington is 17 1/2 out.

In the N.L. Central, St. Louis leads Cincinnati by 1 game for first, Milwaukee is 12 1/2 behind, Houston is 16 games behind, the Cubs are 18 back and Pittsburgh is 26 1/2 games off the pace.

San Diego leads the N.L. West by 3 1/2 games over San Francisco(The Giants are 1/2 game up on Cincinnati and 1 game in front of Philadelphia in the N.L. Wild Card chase). Colorado sits in third, 8 1/2 games out, with the Dodgers trailing by 10 games and Arizona by 23 1/2.

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Talk to the Toddler hand.










Gee, what should I play with now?

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Friday night didn't exactly go how Jonathan Sanchez predicted.

Five days after guaranteeing a sweep of the Padres, the Giants starter allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings and took the loss, as San Francisco fell to the Padres, 3-2, at AT&T Park.

Read the rest here.

Notes: The Giants are 66-51, and are 3 1/2 games behind first-place San Diego in the N.L. West(The Padres are 8-1 against the Giants this season). San Francisco currently leads Cincinnati by 1 game and Philadelphia by 1 game in the N.L. Wild Card race, is home this afternoon at 4:10pm EDT for the second of a three-game series with San Diego. Madison Bumgarner(4-4, 3.36) will be opposed by Mat Latos(12-5, 2.36). Today's game with the Padres airs regionally on FOX, with tomorrow's game against San Diego showing on ESPN.

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Today in Elvis History:

1956 - A Washington, DC, DJ, Bob Rickman, created the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Elvis Presley.

1958 - Gladys Presley, Elvis Presley's mother, died.

1965 - The Elvis Presley EP "Tickle Me" hit #70 in the U.S.

1970 - Elvis Presley's single "The Wonder Of You" was certified gold by the RIAA.

1980 - The Statue of Presley was unveiled in Elvis Presley Plaza in Memphis, TN.

2007 - The DVD "Elvis Thru the Years" was released. The DVD presented the life of Elvis Presley through rare film footage, press conferences, behind-the-scenes feature, movie trailers, news clips, and comedy sketches to commemorate the 30-year anniversary of the Elvis' death.

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Buono hopes Lions can change fortunes.

Thigpen makes history as Ti-Cats beat Bombers.

Injured finger looking good, Calvillo to play for Alouettes.

Visit the league's official website: CFL.ca.

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Today in Beatles History

1962 - Brian Epstein and the Beatles decided to fire drummer Pete Best. Best was dismissed 2 days later. Ringo Starr, then with Rory Storm & the Hurricanes, was asked to join the band.

1976 - The Wings single "Let 'Em In" hit #3 in the U.S.

1985 - Michael Jackson outbid Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono for the ATV music-publishing catalog. Jackson paid $47.5 million for the rights to more than 250 songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

2005 - The musical "Lennon" opened at the Broadhurst Theatre.

2007 - Apple announced that the entire solor catalog of John Lennon would be available on iTunes.

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The Spokane Shock defeated the Milwaukee Iron 60-57 in front of 8,151 Thursday night and will advance to the ArenaBowl as the National Conference Champions.

Tonight, the Tampa Bay Storm are home against their arch-rivals, the Orlando Predators. Kickoff at the St. Pete Times Forum is set for 7:30pm EDT.

Go to arenafootball.com to download the nifty-tv player to watch the games.

The ArenaBowl will be held on Spokane Tribe Field at the Spokane Arena on Friday, August 20th, kicking off at 8:00pn EDT. Tickets for the Championship game are on sale through TicketsWest and can be purchased by calling 1-800-325-SEAT.

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On this date in 1984, IBM introduces the Personal Computer AT (Advanced Technologies). It is approximately three to five times faster than the IBM XT.

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Q&A with newly acquired wide receiver Javarus Dudley.

The "War on I-4" returns tonight, with the AFL's American Conference Final between the number three (#3) seed Tampa Bay Storm and the number four (#4) seed Orlando Predators at the St. Pete Times Forum. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm EDT. Brighthouse Sports Networks will broadcast the game on cable channel 47 or digital channel 1147 and the game can be heard on 1250 WHNZ-AM with Jack Harris and Jason Dixon calling the action.

Fans can purchase playoff tickets by visiting the Times Forum Box Office, ticketmaster or by calling 813-301-6600.

Who: Orlando Predators vs. Tampa Bay Storm
What: AFL Playoffs – American Conference Championship
When: Saturday, August 14, 2010
Kickoff: 7:30 PM EST

Where: St. Pete Times Forum
401 Channelside Drive
Tampa, FL 33602

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The Wyoming State Fair begins today and runs through the 21st in Douglas, Wyoming.

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Coming up:

Tonight --

Nascar Nationwide Series: Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan 1:00pm EDT

Baseball: Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays 4:10pm EDT

NFL Football: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins 7:00pm EDT

Arena Football: Orlando Predators at Tampa Bay Storm American Conference Finals 7:30pm EDT

Baseball: San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants 10:15pm EDT

Sunday --

Nascar Sprint Cup Series: Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan 1:00pm EDT

Baseball: Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays 1:40pm EDT

Baseball: San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants 4:10pm EDT

Monday --

Baseball: Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays 7:10pm EDT

Tuesday --

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies 7:05pm EDT

Baseball: Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays 7:10pm EDT

Wednesday --

Baseball: Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays 1:10pm EDT

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies 7:05pm EDT

Thursday --

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies 7:05pm EDT

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics 10:07pm EDT

Friday --

Nascar Nationwide Series: Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee 7:00pm EDT

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals 8:15pm EDT

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics 10:07pm EDT

Saturday --

Nascar Sprint Cup Series: Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol Tennessee 7:30pm EDT

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals 7:15pm EDT

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics 9:07pm EDT

Sunday --

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals 2:15pm EDT

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics 4:07pm EDT

Indy Car: Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California 5:00pm EDT

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That's all for today. See you tomorrow!