It's Thursday!

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

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Today is August 12th, the 224th day of 2010. There are 141 days left in the year.

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Red Wings ready to reclaim former glory.

EA's NHL '11 promises 'ultimate' experience.

A look at some of the NHL's teen debuts.

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Today is Middle Children's Day.

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U.S. Under-18 Select Team Tops Finland, 5-2,
at 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament

Team USA Wins Group A, Advances to Semifinals

BRECLAV, Czech Republic - The U.S. Under-18 Select Team defeated Finland, 5-2, here today in its final preliminary-round game of the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. With the victory, the U.S. captured the top seed in Group A and advanced to a semifinal match-up against Sweden on Friday (Aug. 13).

Ten different players factored in the scoring for Team USA and goalie Steve Michalek (Glastonbury, Conn.) made 28 saves in the win over Finland.

"Everyone contributed to the win today," said Tim Army, head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team. "As the game went on, we played extremely well, and our penalty kill and power play were both outstanding."

Finland took a 1-0 lead just 1:13 into the game, but Justin Selman (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) tied the game four minutes later. Vincent Trocheck (Birmingham, Mich.) slipped the puck to Selman, who fired a wrist shot over Finland goalie Richard Ullberg's blocker.

Tanner Sorenson (Anchorage, Alaska) gave Team USA a 2-1 advantage at the 8:03 mark of the second period, tapping in a loose puck laying in the crease. Less than two minutes later, the U.S. extended its lead to 3-1 with a four-on-three power-play goal. Connor Murphy (Dublin, Ohio) chipped the puck to John Gaudreau (Carney's Point, N.J.), creating a three-on-two rush. Gaudreau fired a hard wrist shot from the high slot that beat Ullberg low on the stick side.

Team USA capitalized on another power-play opportunity just 1:43 into the third period, when Cason Hohmann (Plymouth, Mich.) skated from below the goal line and tucked the puck in the net.

Finland cut the U.S. lead to 4-2, but Sean Kuraly (Dublin, Ohio) sealed the victory for the U.S. with an empty-net goal.

The U.S. advanced to the semifinals with a 2-0-1-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) preliminary-round record. A full schedule and results are below.

NOTES: Time and location for the semifinal game will become available following today's (Aug. 11) final preliminary-round game between Russia and the Czech Republic ... Steve Michalek was named the U.S. player of the game ... Cason Hohmann leads Team USA with five points (3-2) ... The 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament features eight countries in two groups. Group A (Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, United States) is playing its preliminary-round games in Breclav, Czech Republic, while Group B (Canada, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland) is playing 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 (Whitefish, Mont.); 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 (New Prague, Minn./Omaha Lancers), Theo Di Pauli (Woodridge, Ill./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 1- 2 - 2 - 5
FIN 1 - 0- 1 - 2

First Period - Scoring: 1, FIN, Leino (Armia, Niemitalo), 1:13; 2, USA, Selman (Trocheck), 5:17. Penalties: USA, Sutter (roughing), 1:24; FIN, Kokkonen (holding), 1:46; USA, Di Pauli (holding), 11:20; USA, Gaudreau (tripping), 15:50.

Second Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Sorenson (Murphy, Everson), 8:03; 4, USA, Gaudreau (Murphy), 10:02 (pp). Penalties: USA, Trocheck (boarding), 0:53; USA, Sutter (tripping), 3:28; FIN, Ullberg (tripping), 8:25; USA, Cooper (high-sticking), 9:01; FIN, Torniainen (high-sticking), 9:40; FIN, Kuraly (kneeing), 10:56; USA, Lowe (elbowing), 13:05; FIN, Leino (slashing), 17:19; USA, Ambroz (slashing), 18:35.

Third Period - Scoring: 5, USA, Hohmann (Racino), 1:43 (pp); 6, FIN, Granlund (Torniainen), 3:20; 7, USA, Kuraly (Cooper), 15:20 (sh, en). Penalties: FIN, Granlund (delaying-the-game), 1:35; USA, Trocheck (high-sticking), 4:38; FIN, Maatta (holding), 4:38; USA, Sutter (slashing), 5:54; USA, Selman (interference), 9:46; USA, Trocheck (tripping), 14:16; FIN, Leino (interference), 19:16.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
USA 12 7 9 28
FIN 9 12 7 28

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Michalek, 60:00 9-8 12-12 7-6 28-26
FIN, Ullberg, 59:05 12-11 7-5 8-7 27-23

Power Play: USA 2-7; FIN 0-12
Penalties: USA 12-24; FIN 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 TBD TBD
Sat., Aug. 14 Medal Game TBD TBD
*Exhibition

Tickets for U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Dinner Available For Purchase Beginning Today

Event to Take Place Oct. 21 on Floor of HSBC Arena, in Buffalo, N.Y.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Tickets for the 38th Annual United States Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner are available for purchase beginning today at the HSBC Arena Box Office, and online at http://sabres.nhl.com/index.html. Fans may also charge by phone at 1-888-223-6000.

The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner will take place on Thursday, October 21, on the floor of HSBC Arena, the home of the Buffalo Sabres, in Buffalo, N.Y. The event will begin at 7 p.m (EST), with doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Those to be inducted into the Hall as the Class of 2010 include Art Berglund, Derian Hatcher, Kevin Hatcher, Dr. V. George Nagobads and Jeremy Roenick.

NOTES: The 2010 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner marks the first time the event will be staged in Buffalo, and the first time the event will take place at the arena of an NHL team (Buffalo Sabres) … Since USA Hockey assumed responsibility for the event in 2007, the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner has been held in Grand Forks, N. Dak. (2007), Denver, Colo. (2008) and Boston, Mass. (2009) ... The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame was founded in 1973. To date, there are 143 enshrined members in the Hall. For information on the members of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, visit the Hall's official website at USHockeyHallofFame.com … The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum, located in Eveleth, Minn., is open daily. For hours of operation and admission prices, visit USHockeyHallMuseum.com or call 800-443-7825.

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Forbes.com says Williams College is America's best. Never heard of it? You're not alone. It's a small, private Massachusetts college with just 2,200 students. Forbes factored the cost of tuition, the salaries of graduates and students' experiences.

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YouTube video of Jon Cooper's introduction as Norfolk's Head Coach.

Former Stampede player Jeff Corey signs with ECHL's Ontario Reign.

Hey Louis LeBlanc: No pressure, right?

Stars announce schedule change.

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Today is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Echo I, the first successful communications satellite in Earth’s orbit to relay voice and TV signals from one ground station to another (1960).

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Lightning sign LW Juraj Simek.

NHL Network set to relive 2004 Lightning Stanley Cup run tomorrow night at 8:00pm EDT.

Keep up with the Bolts via the Lightning Web Calendar.

2010 Preseason schedule.

2010-2011 Regular Season schedule.

Get 2010-11 season tickets here.

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America's a bit screwed up right now, and so's American Idol. The latest rumors: J-Lo is out as judge for being too demanding, Mariah Carey would like to judge, and the supposedly fired Kara DioGuardi's not received a contract for next season and is getting her Idol news through the media.

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The future arrives.

Buono bunch are better than they look.

Following last Friday's exciting, but disappointing 30-26 loss at Montreal, the 4-2 Saskatchewan Roughriders are home to face the 1-5 BC Lions tonight night. 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. The Lions have lost 5 straight, making this the first Wally Buono coached team to go 1-5. However, expect the Leos to be up and ready for this one, and don't don't the Riders to be looking past them. 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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A Florida man man was arrested after he called 911 to say hello. Cops say Roger Hollaway called 911 and told the dispatcher that he needed a ride, but then said he was joking and hung up.

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Today in Sports History:

1879 - The first National Archery Association tournament took place in Chicago, IL.

1964 - Mickey Mantle set a major league baseball record when he hit home runs from both the left and ride sides of the plate in the same game.

1969 - The Boston Celtics were sold for $6 million. To date it was the highest price paid for a pro basketball team.

1973 - Jack Nicklaus won his 14th major golf title. The win broke the record that had been held by Bobby Jones for 50 years.

1986 - Rod Carew became the first player in the history of the California Angels franchise to have his uniform (#29) retired.

1994 - Major league baseball players went on strike rather than allow team owners to limit their salaries. The strike lasted for 232 days. As a result, the World Series was wiped out for the first time in 90 years.

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DETROIT -- Get-away Day turned into the one that got-away day, as the Detroit Tigers eked out a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday, in front of 28,815 at Comerica Park.

The Tigers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second, thanks to Brandon Inge's two-out single that brought home Miguel Cabrera with the game's first run.

It stayed that way until the sixth. In the top half, Tampa Bay tied the game with no outs, when Evan Longoria scored on a single to right by Matt Joyce. However, a two-spot by Detroit in the bottom half of the inning, put them on top to stay. With one out, Inge on first and a 1-1 count, Ryan Raburn dropped his 4th homer of 2010 over the left field wall, putting the Tigers ahead 3-1.

The Rays rarely go quietly and would rally in the ninth. B.J. Upton led off the inning with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Gerald Laird. Afer a fly out to right by Jason Bartlett for the first out, John Jaso, batting for Kelly Shoppach, brought Upton home with a ground out to first. That, however, was as close as Tampa Bay would get, as Dan Johnson flew out to right, and Detroit would claim the 3-2 win.

The Tigers' Justin Verlander was solid through 7 innings of work, allowing 1 run on 6 hits, with 7 strike outs and 3 walks. He's now 13-7. Jose Valverde got the last 4 outs for his 22nd save. Matt Garza went 5 2/3 for the Rays, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits, with 4 strike outs and 3 walks. He's now 11-7.

The Rays, who had their modest 2 straight win streak stopped, are 69-45, and are second in the A.L. East, 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees, while leading Boston by 3 1/2 games and both the White Sox and Minnesota by 5 in the Wild Card race. Tampa Bay has today off, then begin a six-game home stand tomorrow, with 3 games against Baltimore and 3 against Texas. 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 Baltimore will be on FOX.

Notes: With Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis on the disabled list, the Rays have had to rework their starting rotation. James Shields will start tomorow night against the Orioles, to be followed by Andy Sonnanstine on Saturday and Jeremy Hellickson on Sunday. David Price will open the Texas series Monday and Matt Garza will pitch the second game against the Rangers on Tuesday....The Rays have made just 10 errors since June 22nd, the fewest in the Major Leagues. The defense, ranked 21st at one time, is now the 8th best in baseball....John Jaso's .382 on-base percentage leads all American League rookies. The last major league catcher to finish with a higher mark was Thurman Munson at .386 in 1970....Friday's game will feature a post-game party by disco-legends, The Village People.

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A man from Green Tree, Pennsylvania, is petitioning the court to legally change his name to Boomer the Dog. (The judge said he would consider it but only if the man stopped sniffing his behind.)

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The Yankees lead Tampa Bay by 1 1/2 games in the A.L. East, Boston is 5 back(They trail the Rays by 4 1/2 games in the Wild Card chase), Toronto is 11 back and Baltimore is 30 1/2 games behind.

In the A.L. Central, the White Sox and Minnesota are tied for first, 9 games ahead of Detroit, with both Kansas City and Cleveland 17 games behind.

Out in the (not-so)wild A.L. West, Texas leads the Angels by 7 1/2, Oakland trails by 8 and Seattle is 22 games behind.

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

In the N.L. Central, St. Louis leads Cincinnati by 1 game for first(The Cardinals won 6-1 at Cincinnati last night), Milwaukee is 12 behind, Houston is 16 games behind, the Cubs are 16 1/2 back and Pittsburgh is 25 games off the pace.

San Diego leads the N.L. West by 2 1/2 games over San Francisco(The Giants 1 game up on both Cincinati and Philadelphia in the N.L. Wild Card chase). Colorado sits in third, 7 1/2 games out, with the Dodgers trailing by 8 games and Arizona by 21 1/2.

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Howdy-doo from me to you.

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Several Giants this season have shared the status of being The Man, the performer whom teammates look to for a key hit in a critical moment.

Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey and Juan Uribe have shouldered that responsibility most often for San Francisco. Now it's Pat Burrell's turn.

Burrell continued to rescue the Giants, driving in three runs and breaking an eighth-inning tie Wednesday night with a home run that propelled San Francisco to a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Read the rest here.

Notes: The Giants are 65-50, and are 2 1/2 games behind first-place San Diego in the N.L. West(The Padres beat Pittsburgh 4-1 yesterday). San Francisco currently leads both Cincinnati and Philadelphia by 1 game in the N.L. Wild Card race, is home this afternoon at 3:45pm EDT for the finale of their series with the Cubs. Matt Cain(9-9, 3.06) will be opposed by Randy Wells(5-10, 4.37). The Giants have three big games with division-leading San Diego starting tomorrow night at AT&T Park. This Saturday's game with the Padres airs regionally on FOX, with the Sunday game against San Diego showing on ESPN.

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Today in Elvis History:

1958 - In Memphis, Elvis Presley visited his mother in the hospital. She had been diagnosed with acute hepatitis.

1964 - Elvis Presley was released by the studio after concluding work on the film "Girl Happy."

1972 - The compilation album "Elvis Sings Hits From His Movies, Volume 1" hit #87 in the U.S.

1977 - The Angola Coach Company sold Elvis Presley's original former tour bus.

1992 - RCA and the RIAA presented Elvis Presley's estate with 110 gold and platinum records.

2002 - In Memphis, TN, Mobile Graceland began a tour of 31 cities.

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Rod Pedersen's CFL notes explains why the Riders' loss at Montreal wasn't all bad.

Stala coming up clutch for Cats.

Retro Profile:Ron Lancaster and Alan Ford.

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

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Today in Beatles History

1960 - Pete Best passed a drumming audition to join the Silver Beatles. He was the son of Mona Best, the owner of the Casbah Coffee Club.

1966 - John Lennon apologized at a news conference in Chicago, IL, for his remark that "the Beatles are more popular than Jesus."

1989 - Paul McCartney's single "This One" hit #18 in the U.K.

1991 - Paul McCartney's album "Tripping The Live Fantastic - Highlights!" was certified platinum by the RIAA.

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The AFL's National Conference final is scheduled for tonight, as the Spokane Shock hosts the Milwaukee Iron. Kickoff is set for 11:00pm EDT.

On Saturday, the Tampa Bay Storm are home against their arch-rivals, the Orlando Predators. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm EDT.

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

The winners will meet in ArenaBowl XXIII on August 20th. The remaining team with the best record will host the game.

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Today is Ingersoll Day.

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The "War on I-4" returns, with the AFL's American Conference Final Saturday night 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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Today is Vinyl Record Day. (For you youngsters that don't remember, a Vinyl record was made of black vinyl, was a lot bigger than a CD and played on a thing called a "record player." Yeah, I know, ancient history. But, what a concept, eh?)

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From http://www.mlb.com:

Utley receives clearance to begin hitting.

A.L. Central headed to familiar ending.

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The Great River Tug Fest takes place at Port Byron, IL, and LeClaire, IA today through Saturday. It's the only tug-of-war across the Mississippi River. (Linky linky)

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Coming up:

Tonight --

Baseball: Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants 3:45pm

CFL Football: BC Lions at Saskatchewan Roughriders 9:00pm EDT

Arena Football: Milwaukee Iron at Spokane Surge National Conference Finals 11:00pm EDT

Friday --

Baseball: Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays 7:10pm EDT

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

Saturday --

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 now. See you tomorrow!