It's Wednesday!

It's Wednesday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is August 4th, the 216th day of 2010. There are 149 days left in the year.

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Modano confirms he'll play for Red Wings.

Blackhawks sign Turco.

Where will Niemi go?

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It's National Chocolate Chip Day.

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Indiana Ice releases 2010-2011 schedule.

Sioux Falls Stampede releases 2010-2011 schedule.

Saints duo wins Chowder Cup.

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August is National Win With Civility Month.

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Team USA Earns 6-3 Win over Sweden
at the 2010 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp

U.S. Scores Four Goals in First Five Minutes En Route to Win

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- The United States scored four times in the first five minutes of play en route to a 6-3 victory over Sweden in its first of four international games 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 had a good all-around effort," said Keith Allain, head coach of the 2011 U.S. National Junior Team. "We need to improve on our systems, but this is the first time a lot of these guys have played together, and this camp will help us prepare for December."

Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev.) got the U.S. on the board less than 90 seconds into the game when he drove to the front of the net, shielded off a Swedish defenseman and lifted a shot past goalie Robin Lehner.

The U.S. then cashed in on consecutive Swedish penalties, as defensemen Derek Forbort (Duluth, Minn.) and Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.) notched power-play goals with wrist shots from above the circles. Charlie Coyle (East Weymouth, Mass.) then scored at the 4:05 mark of the first to complete Team USA's early scoring spree.

Sweden trimmed the U.S. lead to 4-3 with a late first-period goal and a pair of goals in the second. But Faulk's second power-play goal of the game midway through the third period gave the U.S. some breathing room, and Brock Nelson's (Minneapolis, Minn.) late empty-net goal closed out the scoring.

Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) made 24 saves in the victory, while Swedish goalies Lehner and Fredrik Petterson-Wentzel turned aside 18 shots in the loss.

The U.S. will return to action tomorrow at 4 p.m. EDT against Finland. A full schedule is below.

NOTES: Team USA went 3-for-11 on the power-play, while Sweden was 2-for-10 with the man advantage ... 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

SWE 1 - 2 - 0 - 3
USA 4 - 0 - 2 - 6

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Zucker (Bennett, Dumoulin), 1:16; 2, USA, Forbort (Clendening, Nelson), 17:24 (5x3 pp); 3, USA, Faulk (Bennett, Morin), 3:07 (pp); 4, USA, Coyle (Palmieri, Ramage), 4:05; 5, SWE, Lander (Larsson, Paajarvi-Svensson), 17:21 (pp). Penalties: SWE, Lehner (interference), 1:54; SWE, Almqvist (hooking), 2:12; USA, Merrill (interference), 10:19; USA, Merrill (boarding), 10:19; USA, Team (too-many-men), 4:22; USA, Zucker (playing-without-helmet), 2:02.

Second Period - Scoring: 6, SWE, Cehlin (Norman), 7:49; 7, SWE, Josefson (Norman, Cehlin), 11:31 (pp). Penalties: USA, Dumoulin (interference), 3:49; SWE Jarnkrok (goaltender interference), 4:24; USA, Bennett (slashing), 10:34; USA, Dumoulin (roughing), 16:16; SWE, Ekman-Larsson (elbowing), 16:16; SWE, Bertilsson (interference), 17:32.

Third Period - Scoring: 8, USA, Faulk (Merrill), 9:41 (pp); 9, USA, Nelson (Palmieri), 19:48 (en). Penalties: SWE, Lander (holding), 0:16; SWE, Andersson (delaying-the-game), 2:20; SWE, Andersson (tripping), 6:10; USA, Clendening (interference), 7:15; SWE, Larsson (slashing), 7:52; SWE, Almqvist (interference), 8:18; USA, Kreider (diving), 8:40; SWE, Ekman-Larsson (holding), 8:40; SWE, Lander (slashing), 9:05; USA, Palmieri (slashing), 9:54; USA, Bjugstad (tripping), 11:05; USA, Kreider (tripping), 15:23; SWE, Larsson (holding-the-stick), 15:44; USA, Morin (roughing), 19:56.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
SWE 10 10 7 27
USA 7 9 8 24

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
SWE, Lehner 4:05 6-2 -- -- 6-2
SWE, Petterson-Wentzel 54:34 1-1 9-9 7-6 17-16
USA, Campbell 60:00 10-9 10-8 7-7 27-24

Power Play: SWE 2-10; USA 3-11
Penalties: SWE 13-26; USA 13-26

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** 4 p.m.
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

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August is also Neurosurgery Outreach Month.

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CFL Team Retro Profile: 1970's Saskatchewan Roughriders.

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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Today is the start of Rock For Life Week. (Linky Linky).

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Today in Sports History:

1881 - US Nation Lawn Tennis Association removes "Nation" from name .

1921 - Due to a technicality, 8 Chicago White Sox accused in 1919 Black Sox scandal are acquited, however Commissioner Landis throws them all out of baseball for life.

1933 - New York Yankees are shut out for 1st time since August 2nd, 1931, a streak of 308 games.

1941 - St. Louis Browns pitcher Johnny Niggling retires Joe DiMaggio in 4 at bats to stop DiMaggio's streak of reaching base at least once in 74 consecutive games.

1962 - NY Met Frank Thomas hits 6th HR in 3rd straight games.

1987 - Twins pitcher Joe Niekro is caught with a file on the mound & is ejected.

1989 - Cincinnati Reds send record 20 men to bat with a record 16 hits in 1 inning as they score 14 runs in 1st inning.

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Today is Coast Guard Day.

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A pair of three-run homers led the Tampa Bay Rays to a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins and back into sole possession of first place in the A.L. East last night, before 18,261 at Tropicana Field.

The Twins grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, thanks to a one-out single by Joe Mauer that scored Denard Span. Tampa Bay responded in their half of the first, with the first big fly of the night. With two outs and Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria on base, Sean Rodriguez launched a drive to straight-away center that cleared the wall with room to spare for his 7th homer of the season, putting Tampa Bay on top 3-1.

In the third, Drew Butera scored on Mauer's two-out single cutting the Minnesota deficit to 3-2. The Twins tied the game 3-3 in the seventh, when Butera drilled a lead-off homer to left. But, with one one in the bottom of the seventh, big fly number two put the Rays on top to stay. With one out, John Jaso and Matt Joyce drew walks, bringing B.J. Upton to the plate. Upton took a 2-0 pitch deep to left for his 9th homer of the year, giving Tampa Bay a 6-3 lead. Minnesota's Mauer struck again with two outs in the ninth, lining a single to right that scored Span, but the Twins could get no closer, and the Rays would win the game 6-4. That, combined with New York's 8-2 loss to Toronto, moved the Rays back into sole posession of first place in the A.L. East.

Jeff Niemann went 7 innings for Tampa Bay, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits, with 4 strike outs and 2 walks, improving his record to 10-3. Joaquin Benoit allowed 1 hit in the eighth inning and recorded his 15th hold of the season and Rafael Soriano, despite allowing 1 run on 1 hit with 1 strike out and 1 walk in the ninth, had enough to record his 31st save of the season. Matt Guerrier, the second of six Minnesota pitchers, walked two and allowed Upton's 7th inning 3-run homer in 1/3 of an inning to get tagged with the loss, he's now 1-6.

The Rays improve to 67-39, and are now in sole posession of first place in the A.L. East, 1 game ahead of New York. Game three of four against the Minnesota Twins, is tonight, starting at 7:10pm EDT. First pitch for tomorrow's final game of this 11-game, longest of the season home stand, is scheduled for 12:10pm 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. The Saturday August 14th game against Detroit will be on FOX.

Notes: Since July 24th, the Rays are 10-1, since the dugout confrontation June 28th between Upton and Longoria they're 22-8 and they're 23-7 since June 30th....Dan Johnson started at first last night in place of the still injured Carlos Pena. Johnson, in the big leagues for the first time since September 2008, batted sixth and went 0-for-2, but drew two walks....Ben Zobrist still expects to play tonight, but hasn't been told yet if he will....Carlos Pena is walking better on his strained right foot, and the team's trainers plan to put him through a strenuous workout today to see where he's at in his recovery.

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August is What Will Be Your Legacy Month.

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Tampa Bay leads the Yankees by 1 game in the A.L. East(The Yankees are in the Wild Card lead), 6 1/2 games ahead of Boston. Toronto is 11 1/2 back and Baltimore(who beat the Angels 6-3 in Buck Showalter's first game as manager) is 34 games behind.

In the A.L. Central, the White Sox lead Minnesota by 1 1/2 games, Detroit trails by 7, Kansas City is 14 1/2 games back and Clevelkand is 15 1/2 games behind.

Out in the (not-so)wild A.L. West, Texas leads the Angels and Oakland by 8 games, and Seattle is 21 1/2 games behind.

In the N.L. East, Atlanta leads Philadelphia by 2 games, The Mets trail by 6 1/2 games, Florida is 7 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 10 behind, Houston is 12 games behind, the Cubs are 13 1/2 back and Pittsburgh is 22 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 7 1/2 behind, the Dodgers trail by 8 and Arizona is 23 games back.

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From one year ago today, here's "Spaghetti Jimmy.".

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Jonathan Sanchez and the Giants' bullpen didn't need much help last night, as San Francisco scored 4 times in the first and 3 times in the ninth, to beat the Colorado Rockies 10-0, in front of 43,549 fans at Coor's Field in Denver.



The Giants scored 4 runs with one out in the first inning. Buster Posey opened the first inning fireworks with a single to right, scoring Andres Torres. Aubrey Huff scored on a single to left by Pat Burrell, Posey scored on a single up the middle by Travis Ishikawa, and Burrell scored on a single to left by Pablo Sandoval, giving San Francisco a 4-0 lead.



Burrell's 9th homer of the year, a one-out shot to left center in the third, putting the Giants up 5-0. Huff scored on a two-out single up the middle by Posey in the fourth to make it 6-0. With one out in the sixth, Freddy Sanchez homered to left for a 7-0 lead then, with two outs in the ninth, Ishikawa scored on a single up the middle by Juan Uribe, who scored on the 11th home run of the year for Torres, a shot over the center field wall, capping the scoring in San Francisco's 10-0 win.



Jonathan Sanchez went 6 innings for the Giants, allowing 0 runs on 3 hits, with 9 strike outs and 4 walks. He's now 8-6. Aaron Cook started for Colorado, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits in 3 innings, with 2 strike outs and 2 walks. He's now 4-8.


The Giants are 62-45, and now just 1 game behind first-place San Diego in the N.L. West(The Padres lost 2-1 to the Dodgers Tuesday night). The Giants currently lead the N.L. Wild Card race. San Francisco, winners of 21 of their last 26 games, are on the road for six games, with tonight's second of three games at Colorado, followed by three in Atlanta beginning Friday, 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:

1956 - Elvis Presley's songs "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog" were released.

1960 - Elvis Presley was fitted for brown contact lenses for his role as Pacer Burton in the movie "Flaming Star."


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In the Huddle with JD
By Jason Dixon


“It was a butt whipping, and we supplied the butt.” That is how Tim Marcum described the not as close as the score indicated 75-60 drubbing of the Storm by the Orlando Predators in the 45th edition of the War on I-4.

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

1963 - The Beatles made their final appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. They had performed nearly 300 shows at the club since 1961.

1966 - The South African government banned the broadcast of Beatles songs in response to John Lennon's comment that the band was "more popular than Jesus."

1967 - George Harrison joined Ravi Shankar at his news conference to promote Shankar's Hollywood Bowl concert on August 4.

1971 - Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new band Wings. The band consisted of Paul and Linda McCartney, Denny Laine and Denny Seiwell.

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August is Children's Eye Health and Safety Month.

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Coming up:

Tonight --

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies 3:10pm EDT

Baseball: Minnesota Twins at Tampa Bay Rays 7:10pm EDT

Thursday --

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!