It's Thursday!

It's Thursday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is August 5th, the 217th day of 2010. There are 148 days left in the year.

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Heritage Classic comes to Canada.

Bruins try to forget playoff meltdown.

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It's National Waffle Day.

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Donor found for Mandi Schwartz, sister of Storm forward Jaden Schwartz.

Gopher roster filled out, includes several USHL alums.

Former Rider Watson signs with CHL Sundogs.

Former Lancer Kristo begins sophomore year at UND.

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Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, turns 80 today.

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Team USA Tops Finland, 6-3,
at the 2010 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp

Bjugstad Scores Twice in Victory

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- For the second consecutive game, Team USA jumped out to a 4-0 lead en route to a 6-3 win over Finland here at 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.

"I thought we displayed a lot more synergy tonight," said Keith Allain, head coach of the 2011 U.S. National Junior Team. "Once again, we jumped out to a quick lead, which is something we definitely want to carry into Buffalo."

The U.S. took an early 1-0 lead with a power-play goal less than three minutes into the game. Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y.) collected a feed from Adam Clendening (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) and snapped a shot over the blocker of Jonathan Iilahti from above the left circle.

Midway through the first period, Team USA grabbed a two-goal advantage when Nick Bjugstad (Blaine, Minn.) buried a rebound opportunity off of a shot by Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.). Chris Brown (Flower Mound, Texas) made the score 3-0 heading into the first intermission when he intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, chipped the puck over a defenseman and lifted a shot past Iilahti's glove.

Less than five minutes into the second period, Brock Nelson (Minneapolis, Minn.) gave the U.S. a 4-0 lead with a tap-in power-play goal from the crease. Then, following a Finland goal by Julius Junttila, Chris Kreider (Boxford, Mass.) redirected a floating wrist shot by Derek Forbort (Duluth, Minn.) between Iilahti's pads to restore Team USA's four-goal edge.

Finland cut the U.S. lead to three again while on the two-man advantage. But Bjugstad notched his second of the game from the right side of the net with less than 10 seconds remaining in the period to give Team USA a 6-2 lead after two.

Finland scored the lone goal of the third period, but could not mount a comeback. U.S. goalie Andy Iles (Ithaca, N.Y.) made 18 saves in the win, while Iilahti turned aside 20 shots in a losing effort.

The U.S. will return to action Friday (Aug. 6) at 4 p.m. EDT against Sweden. A full camp schedule is below.

NOTES: Team USA went 2-for-4 on the power-play, while Finland was 2-for-6 with the man advantage ... Nick Bjugstad leads all players at the 2010 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp with six goals in five 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 in five games ... The U.S. improved to 2-0-0-0 in international competition, having defeated Sweden yesterday (Aug. 3), 6-3 ...For full camp coverage, including a live scoring and statistics from the international games, a blog, photos, videos, and rosters, click here ... All four of the remaining international games featuring the U.S., Finland and Sweden 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

FIN 0 - 2 - 1 - 3
USA 3 - 3 - 0 - 6

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Morin (Clendening), 2:32 (pp); 2, USA, Bjugstad (Faulk, Bennett), 12:44; 3, USA, Brown (unassisted), 12:14. Penalties: FIN, Rissanen (hooking), 1:11; USA, Brickley (high-sticking), 8:32; USA, Etem (hooking), 13:19; FIN, Jokipakka (tripping), 17:50.

Second Period - Scoring: 4, USA, Nelson (Saad, Forbort), 4:41 (pp); 5, FIN, Junttila (Haula), 8:46; 6, USA, Kreider (Forbort, Morin), 13:28; 7, FIN, Rissanen (Hakanpaa, Donskoi), 17:53 (5x3 pp); 8, USA, Bjugstad (Bennett, Etem), 19:50. Penalties: FIN, Haula (goaltender interference), 3:55; FIN, Jokipakka (hooking), 6:24; USA, Brown (tripping), 8:49; USA, Clendening (cross-checking, game misconduct), 14:02; USA, Samuelsson (cross-checking), 16:10.

Third Period - Scoring: 9, FIN, Partanen (Rajala, Nattinen), 4:01 (pp). Penalties: USA, Nelson (tripping), 3:18.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
FIN 2 12 7 21
USA 12 6 8 26

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
FIN, Iilahti 60:00 12-9 6-3 8-8 26-20
USA, Iles 60:00 2-2 12-10 7-6 21-18

Power Play: FIN 2-6; USA 2-4
Penalties: FIN 4-8; USA 7-25

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** 4 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 6 USA vs. Sweden** 4 p.m.
Sat. Aug. 7 USA vs. Finland** 4 p.m.

* all games at USA Rink
** games streamed live at USAHockey.FASTHockey.com


2010 USA Hockey Winter World University Games Evaluation Camp to Take Place This Weekend
2011 Winter World University Games Set for Jan. 27-Feb. 6 in Erzurum, Turkey

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The 2010 USA Hockey Winter World University Games Evaluation Camp will be held Friday-Sunday (Aug. 6-8), at the Patterson Ice Center, in Grand Rapids, Mich. The players attending the camp will be auditioning for a spot on the U.S. Men's and Women's National University Teams that will take part in the 2011 Winter World University Games, Jan. 27-Feb. 6, 2011, in Erzurum, Turkey. The U.S. teams will be comprised of players from men's and women's collegiate ice hockey teams affiliated with the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

For the men, the evaluation camp will consist of four teams, each with 20-22 players, competing in a three-game, round-robin format, while the women's camp will consist of two teams, each with 20-22 players, competing in a three-game series. Following the camp, 22 players will be chosen to compete on both the 2011 U.S. Men's and Women's National University Teams. Six alternates will be chosen for each team as well.

The complete men's camp roster can be found here and the women's camp roster can be found here.

Dave Debol (Saline, Mich.), in his sixth season as head coach at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, will serve as head coach of the U.S. Men's National University Team. He served as an assistant coach in both 2007 (Turin, Italy) and 2009 (Harbin, China).
Mo Stroemel (State College, Pa.), who is beginning his fourth season as head coach of the Penn State University Lady Icers, will serve as head coach of the U.S. Women's National University Team. This marks his first Winter World University Games, as the U.S. is sending a women's team for the first time.

NOTES: Scott Balboni (State College, Pa.), who is in his fifth season as head coach at Penn State University, will return as an assistant coach for the men's team, after serving as an assistant coach with Debol at the 2009 Winter World University Games. Vince O'Mara (St. Louis, Mo.), who is entering his eighth season as head coach of the Lindenwood University Lady Lions, will serve as assistant coach for the women's team. A second assistant coach for each team will be selected from the coaches attending the Winter World University Games Evaluation Camp ... Dr. Alan Murdoch (Ames, Iowa), head coach at Iowa State University, will serve as general manager of the men's team for the fifth consecutive time. Murdoch also served as head coach of the 2001 squad that competed at the Winter World University Games in Zakopane, Poland. The general manager for the women's team has not yet been named ... Ashley Bevan (Colorado Springs, Colo.), director of adult hockey for USA Hockey, will be the team leader for both the men's and women's teams. This is his fifth consecutive Winter World University Games serving as team leader ... For more information on the 2010 USA Hockey Winter World University Games Evaluation Camp, visit the ACHA website, ACHAHockey.org. For more information on the 2011 Winter World University Games, click here.

2010 Winter World University Games Evaluation Camp Schedule Aug. 6-8 - Grand Rapids, Mich. - Patterson Ice Center
Date
Event
Time (EDT)
Fri., Aug. 6
Women's Scrimmage
4:00 p.m.

Men's Scrimmage
6:30 p.m.

Men's Scrimmage
9:00 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 7
Women's Practices
7:00 - 8:00 a.m.

Men's Practices
8:00 - 10:00 a.m.

Women's Goalie Sessions
10:00 - 10:25 a.m.

Men's Goalie Sessions
10:25-11:15 a.m.

Women's Scrimmage
3:00 p.m.

Men's Scrimmage
5:30 p.m.

Men's Scrimmage
8:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 8
Women's Scrimmage
7:00 a.m.

Men's Scrimmage
9:30 a.m.

Men's Scrimmage
12:00 p.m.

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Canadians swear more than Britains and Americans, according to a new study. The poll found 56 percent of Canadian respondents admitted to using profanity on a regular or occasional basis. (How's it goin', you blankity-blank, freekin' no-good, so-and-so, eh?)

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Fantuz named Canadian Player of the Month.

Congi and Fantuz named Players of the Week.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders take their 4-1 record on the road this coming Friday, when they take on the Montreal Alouettes for the second time this season. Kickoff from Montreal is set for 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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A guy in Florida wanted to refill his supply of booze and decided a call to 911 was the way to get it. Personnel on the other end of the line turned him down...twice. After the guy's second call for a ride to the liquor store police showed up and gave him a ride to jail.

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Today in Sports History:

1921 - The first play-by-play broadcast of a baseball game was done by Harold Arlin. KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh, PA described the action between the Pirates and Philadelphia.

1960 - For the first time two major league baseball clubs traded managers. Detroit traded Jimmy Dykes for Cleveland's Joe Gordon.

1984 - Toronto’s Cliff Johnson set a major league baseball record by hitting the 19th pinch-hit home run in his career.

1999 - Mark McGwire (St. Louis Cardinals) hit his 500th career homerun. He also set a record for the fewest at-bats to hit the 500 homerun mark.

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China wants to host the World Cup in 2026. (That way it'll be easier for them to use their 12-year-old goalkeeper.)

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Former Tampa Bay Devil Ray Delmon Young's RBI single in the 13th inning was the difference last night, as the Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1, before 19,172 at Tropicana Field.

Starter David Price, who finished with 7 strike outs, 2 walks while allowing just 5 hits, was seemingly in-and-out of trouble throughout his entire 7 inning stint, but left allowing just a second inning, two-out RBI double to Jason Repko, that drove home Danny Valencio, giving Minnesota a 1-0 lead, an advantage that would last until the bottom of the ninth.

Minnesota starter Scott Baker, who allowed 0 runs on 3 hits, with 7 strike outs and 1 walk, turned the game over to his bullpen in the ninth. However, the Rays were able to rally. Evan Longoria stroked a lead-off double against Matt Capps. Longoria advanced to third on a fly-out to right by Matt Joyce, then came home on a single to right by Dan Johnson, tying the game 1-1.

The tie lasted until the top of the 13th. Alexi Casilla led off the inning for the Twins with a walk, moved to third on a single to right by Joe Maurer, then scored on Young's line single to left. Tampa Bay was unable to rally, going down in order in their half of the 13th and Minnesota had the 2-1 win.

Matt Guerrier, who allowed the game-winning 3-run homer by Matt Joyce Tuesday night picked up the win for the Twins, pitching two perfect innings with 1 strike out, to improves to 2-6. Lance Cormier, pitching for the Rays for the first time since a July 20th appearance against Baltimore, allowed 1 run on 3 hits, with 2 strike outs and 1 walk and took the loss, slipping to 3-3.

The Rays fall to 67-40, and are once again tied for first place in the A.L. East with New York. The final game of the four-game set against the Minnesota Twins, which also wraps up this season-high 11-game home stand is this afternoon, starting at 12:10pm EDT. After today's game, Tampa Bay hits the road for six games, starting with 3 at Toronto starting at 7:07pm EDT tomorrow night, followed by 1:07pm EDT starts both Saturday and Sunday. A three-game set at Detroit starts Monday, then the Rays return home for 3 games with Baltimore and 3 against Texas, starting next Friday. 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. The Saturday August 14th game against Detroit will be on FOX.

Notes: Wade Davis, 9-9 with a 4.21 ERA gets the start today for Tampa Bay. Kevin Slowey, 10-5 with a 4.44 ERA, starts for the Twins....Wade Davis was announced yesterday as the recipient of the Gillette presents American League Rookie of the Month Award. He's the first pitcher to win the award this season and the fourth Rays player in history named for the honor. Closer Rafael Soriano won the MLB Delivery Man of the Month Award....Carlos Pena is expected to be back in the lineup Saturday. He's been out with a slight ligament tear in his right foot. Training staff says hge can't do any further damage to the injury, but will have to play with some degree of pain for the rest of the season. He could be available for pinch-hitting duty today.

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Today is International Beer Day. (Yes, there's a linky linky.)

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The Yankees and Tampa Bay are tied for first in the A.L. East(They're also tied for the Wild Card lead), 6 1/2 games ahead of Boston. Toronto is 11 1/2 back and Baltimore(who've won two-straight with Buck Showalter as manager) is 33 games behind.

In the A.L. Central, the White Sox lead Minnesota by 1 1/2 games, Detroit trails by 8, Kansas City and Cleveland are 15 1/2 games behind.

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

In the N.L. East, Atlanta leads Philadelphia by 2 games, The Mets trail by 7 1/2 games, Florida is 8 behind with Washington(Stephen Strasburg is expected to pitch next 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 13 games behind, the Cubs are 13 1/2 back and Pittsburgh is 23 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 7 and Arizona is 23 games back.

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From one year ago today, Jimmy hangs out with Grandma.










From one year ago today, here's my family.

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Ubaldo Jimenez won his Major League best 17th game last night, and Carlos Gonzalez socked a pair of homers, leading the Colorado Rockies to a 6-1 win over the San Francisco Giants yesterday, in front of 37,728 fans at Coors Field in Denver.

Gonzalez belted a two-run homer in the fifth inning, giving the Rockies a 4-0 lead. His second homer of the game, a two-out liner to right-center, put his team up 5-1. The twin blasts give him 23 for the season. San Francisco scored their one run in the sixth inning when, with two outs, Buster Posey doubled home Aubrey Huff.

Jimenez went 7 innings for Colorado, allowing 1 run on 4 hits, with 9 strike outs and 2 walks. He's now 17-2. Madison Bumgarner took the loss for the Giants, allowing 4 runs on 9 hits, with 3 strike outs and 1 walk in 4 innings. He's now 4-4.

The Giants are 62-46, and remain just 1 game behind first-place San Diego in the N.L. West(The Padres lost 9-0 to the Dodgers Wednesday). The Giants currently lead the N.L. Wild Card race. San Francisco, winners of 21 of their last 27 games, are on a six game road trip, with tonight's first of a three-game series at Atlanta beginning at 10:10pm EDT, before returning home next 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:

1953 - Elvis Presley interviewed for a job at Sears Roebuck. He was not hired.

1955 - Elvis Presley performed at the eighth annual Country Music Jamboree in Memphis. The show included Webb Pierce, Sonny James and Johnny Cash.

1959 - Dick Clark called Elvis Presley and conducted a phone interview in which he informed Presley that his new single had just gone gold.

1965 - On location shooting began for the Elvis Presley movie "Paradise Hawaiian Style."

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Texas Rangers auction won by Greenberg-Ryan Group. (No, this wasn't on eBay.)

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Today is Work Like A Dog Day.

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From http://www.tampabaystorm.com

By: Lonnie Herman

On Saturday, the St. Pete Times Forum hosted more than 2,000 spectators and over 400 individual participants in the Dodgeball For A Cause tournament. It was, by all measures, a great success.

Read the rest here.

The Tampa Bay Storm (11-5, 3-3) look to avenge a season-opening loss to the Tulsa Talons (10-6, 6-0) on Saturday 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

1966 - The Beatles album "Revolver" was released in the U.K.

1978 - The Wings single "I've Had Enough" hit #25 in the U.S.

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Lightning off-season roster tracker.

Barberio becoming a pro.

2010 Preseason schedule.

2010-2011 Regular Season schedule.

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Today is National Underwear Day. (Please, do not celebrate this in public!)

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Coming up:

Tonight --

Baseball: Minnesota Twins at Tampa Bay Rays 12:10pm EDT

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

Friday --

CFL Football: Saskatchewan Roughriders at Montreal Alouettes 7:00pm EDT

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays 7:07pm EDT

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves 7:35pm EDT

Saturday --

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!