It's another Monday. Do I REALLY have to do this again? I do? Okay, then. Here's what's happening....
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Today is August 9th, the 221st day of 2010. There are 144 days left in the year. (Oh, have you noticed that today is 8/9/10? Pretty cool, huh?)
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Kovalchuk decision expected today.
Stanley Cup tour blog.
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Today is the International Day of The World's Indigenous People.
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Tanner Lane headed to Fargo.
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Today is Veep Day. (Finally, Joe Biden feels important.)
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Following Friday night's exciting, but disappointing 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 Book Lover's Day.
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NFL Preseason started last night with the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. In as boring a game as you'd expect, Dallas beat Cincinnati 16-7. David Buehjer kicked one field goal in each of the games first three quarters, from 20, 34 and 23 yards, giving the Cowboys a 9-0 lead. Brandon Sharpe ran an interception back 6 yards for a score in the 4th, putting the Cowboys up 16-0. Cincinnati finally scored late in the 4th, with the Bengals' Jordan Palmer scrambled out of trouble and found Darius Hill in the back of the endzone(Al Michaels sounded like he was falling asleep by then). Dave Rayner's(With his fifth team in four years) kick wrapped up the scoring in the 16-7 game.
Stephen McGee was 12-of-22 passing for Dallas, for 116 yards, Tony Romo was 5-of-10 for 59 yards, and(there's been a)Jon Kitna(sighting) was 4-of-7 for 56 yards. Tashard Choice ran the ball 7 times for 41 yards. John Phillips caught 4 passes for 60 yards.For Cincinnati, Jordan Palmer was 10-of-20 passing for 102 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, J.T. O'Sullivan was 4-of-11 for 33 yards and 1 interception and Carson Palmer was 2-of-5 for 18 yards. Darius Hill's only catch was good for a 1 yard touchdown. And, since the curiosity factor is probably too strong, Terrell Owens caught 2 passes for 18 yards and Chad ("His parents must be so proud) Ochocinco's most noteworthy achievement was wearing gold shoes. Owns said "Chad has so many different-colored shoes he is like a woman." (Oh boy, it's gonna be a L-O-N-G year in Bengal Country with those two together.
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Today in Sports History:
1893 - "Gut Holz" was published. It was America's first bowling magazine.
1936 - Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics. He was the first American to win four medals in one Olympics.
1975 - The New Orleans Superdome as officially opened when the Saints played the Houston Oilers in exhibition football. The new Superdome cost $163 million to build.
1981 - Major league baseball teams resumed play at the conclusion of the first mid-season players’ strike.
1984 - Daley Thompson, of Britain, won his second successive Olympic decathlon.
1988 - Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. The trade was at Gretzky's request. He was sent to the Kings with Mike Krushelnyski and Marty McSorley. Edmonton received Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, three first-round draft picks and cash.
1990 - The NHL approved the sale of the Minnesota North Stars by George and Gordon Gund. The Gunds were granted the rights to a Bay Area team that could begin play in October 1991. The team was the San Jose Sharks.
2000 - Former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin was arrested on a Class B misdemeanor of possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana.
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TORONTO -- When the Rays' bats go silent, they really go silent. After winning 10-of-11 to move back into first, Tampa Bay lost their fifth straight yesterday, losing at Toronto 1-0, before 22,313 at the Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the first, when Vernon Wells, blooped a ball into short right field that fell just out of the reach of Tampa Bay first baseman Dan Johnson, scoring Yunel Escobar with two outs.
Brandon Morrow was overpowering. He blew away the Rays in the first, fanned at least 2 in six of the nine innings he pitched, and had Tampa Bay hitters on their heels all day long.
Wells made the biggest defensive play of the day in the sixth inning, racing deep into left center to make an over-the-head running catch of a drive by Ben Zobrist, before crashing into the wall. He left the game with an injured right foot, which will be x-rayed Monday.
The game moved on to the ninth, with Morrow in command and bidding for the second no-hitter in Toronto's history. After issuing a two-out walk to Zobrist, Evan Longoria rolled a 1-1 pitch to the hole between first and second. Blue Jays' second baseman Aaron Hill ranged far to his left, but the ball glanced off his glove for a base hit, making Morrow the fifth Toronto pitcher in history to lose a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth. For the Rays, they avoided being no hit for the third time this season and the fourth time in the past two seasons.
Morrow allowed just the one hit in his complete game shut out for the Blue Jays, striking out 17 and walking 2. He's now 9-6. Tampa Bay's pitchers had a solid effort as well. Andy Sonnanstine, subbing for Jeff Niemann went six innings, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits, with 1 strike out and 3 walks. The loss drops him to 2-1. The bullpen trio of Randy Choate, Dan Wheeler and Lance Cormier combined for 2 innings pitched, allowing 0 runs on 2 hits, with 4 strike outs and 2 walks.
The Rays, who have lost five straight, fall to 67-44, and are second in the A.L. East, 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees. They lead Boston by 4 1/2 games in the Wild Card race. Tampa Bay continues their six game game road trip this afternoon in Detroit, with the first of a three-game set, starting at 7:05pm EDT. The Rays will return home for 3 games with Baltimore and 3 against Texas, starting this 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 Baltimore will be on FOX.
Notes: Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis were sent back to Florida before yesterday's game, both to have right shoulder soreness checked out.....Breaking down numbers these days gets way more detailed than decades ago. For instance, James Shields, who allowed six homers in Saturday's 17-11 loss at Toronto, has allowed opponents to hit at a .314 clip, and has allowed 6.75 runs per nine innings, when John Jaso is his catcher. When Dionner Navarro or Kelly Shoppach is his catcher, Shields has an ERA of 3.32 in 81 1/3 innings....Carl Crawford was back in the lineup yesterday, after two days off....In tonight's opener at Detroit, David Price(14-5, 2.82) goes against Armano Galarraga(3-4, 4.32)....Tampa Bay has lost 5 straight, Detroit has lost 7-of-their last 10.
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Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency on this date in 1974.
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The Yankees lead Tampa Bay by 12 1/2 games in the A.L. East, Boston is 6 back(They trail the Rays by 4 1/2 games in the Wild Card chase), Toronto trails by 10 1/2 back and Baltimore is 32 1/2 games behind.
In the A.L. Central, the White Sox lead Minnesota by 1/2 game, Detroit trails by 9, Kansas City is 16 games behind and Cleveland is 16 1/2 games out.
Out in the (not-so)wild A.L. West, Texas leads Oakland by 7 1/2 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 9 games, Florida is 9 1/2 behind with Washington(Stephen Strasburg is expected to pitch tomorrow) trailing by 15 1/2.
In the N.L. Central, Cincinnati leads St. Louis by 2 games, Milwaukee is 11 behind, Houston is 16 games behind, the Cubs are 16 1/2 back and Pittsburgh is 24 1/2 games off the pace.
San Diego leads the N.L. West by 2 games 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 22 games back.
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Jimmy and Mommy say hi to Father Keith.
Jimmy has fun at churchie yesterday.
Time to go home Daddy.
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ATLANTA -- Just a few hours after absorbing the decision in the Giants' 6-3 loss Sunday to the Atlanta Braves, Jonathan Sanchez boldly began warming up for his upcoming outing against the San Diego Padres.
Read the rest here.
The Giants are 63-49, and are 2 games behind first-place San Diego in the N.L. West(The Padres lost at Arizona 6-5 Saturday). San Francisco, which currently leads the N.L. Wild Card race by 1/2 game over Philadelphia and 1 over St. Louis, San Francisco returns home tonight 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:
1969 - Elvis Presley's single "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard" hit #35 in the U.S.
2004 - Clay Millican performed a burnout in front of Graceland in the Elvis-themed Dragster. Millican was scheduled to race the car at the upcoming NHRA Mid-South Nationals and the U.S. Nationals.
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Matt Cauz talks about the CFL in the Monday Morning Quarterback.
Here's the league's look at week #6.
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Today in Beatles History
1969 - The photograph for the cover of "Abbey Road" was taken.
1973 - Henry McCullough and Denny Seiwell quit Wings.
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The AFL's conference finals are set. In the National Conference, the Milwaukee Iron travels to Spokane to meet the Surge. Kickoff is set for 11:00pm EDT. On Saturday, the Orlando Predators travel to Tampa Bay to play the Storm. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm EDT.
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Aaargh! A record was broken Friday in Hastings, East Sussex, England, for the largest gathering of pirates. More than 6,100 were a part of the effort.
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Lightning Sign 2010 Draft Pick, defenseman Radko Gudas.
Bolt from the Blue: Enrico Ciccone.
2010-2011 Regular Season schedule.
Get 2010-11 season tickets here.
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More than 100 people helped to break the record for the most naked people on a roller coaster the other day in Essex, England.
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From http://www.nascar.com
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Welcome, Juan Montoya, to the Chip Ganassi party.
Saving his best for the end of Sunday's Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen, Montoya pulled away from Marcos Ambrose and Kurt Busch over the final 16 laps at Watkins Glen International and notched the second Cup Series victory of his career.
Winless in 113 races since his first Cup victory at Sonoma in June 2007, Montoya added another success to the already magical year his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team owner has enjoyed. Jamie McMurray, who finished sixth Sunday, won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 this year, and Dario Franchitti added an Indianapolis 500 victory with Ganassi's IndyCar organization. His Rolex Grand-Am team won at The Glen on Saturday.
Busch passed Ambrose at the start/finish line on Lap 89 of 90 to steal second place from Ambrose, who came home third. A.J. Allmendinger, fresh from a contract extension with Richard Petty Motorsports, ran fourth, followed by pole-sitter Carl Edwards, who collected his sixth consecutive top-10 finish.
Montoya, however, had the field covered when it counted, leading 74 laps and crossing the stripe 4.735 seconds ahead of Busch.
"It's about time," Montoya said. "We've lost a lot of them, gave away a lot of them. It gets frustrating, everybody fighting."
It was the first career victory for Montoya's crew chief, Brian Pattie, whose call for four tires at the Brickyard 400 cost his driver a chance at victory.
"It's huge," Pattie said, fighting back tears. "I still want to win on an oval. He wants to prove his point. The Brickyard was my fault. Hope this makes up for it. Trophies mean a lot. It's pretty cool."
After a disappointing run at Pocono last week -- during which Montoya chastised Pattie and the team when the No. 42 Chevrolet lost positions on a late pit stop -- Montoya, Pattie and Ganassi met Saturday at Watkins Glen to make sure they were headed in the same direction.
"I think (Saturday) we had a good talk with Chip," Montoya said. "Last few weeks have been really frustrating for the whole team because we've been so close to victory. Seemed to keep slipping away.
"To come out here (Sunday) and get the job done the way we did [Sunday], it was big. I feel more relieved than happy right now. It's been a really hard road in a way. It's been a lot of fun; it's been frustrating.
"[Saturday] it was all about making sure everybody is on the same page, everybody has to do their job, and we came out [Sunday] and everybody executed. It's something Brian keeps saying, 'Keep saving the car, keep saving the car, keep saving the car.' And it paid off."
Ambrose, who won Saturday's Nationwide Series race and had realistic hopes for an unprecedented weekend double at The Glen, was Montoya's equal until the final pit stop for both drivers under green on Lap 59.
"Something went wrong on the last pit stop," lamented Ambrose, who had out-braked Montoya for the lead in Turn 1 on Lap 41 and held the top spot for five laps thereafter. "We lost the handle on the race car -- maybe a different set of tires, slightly different spring rate in the tires.
"I had nothing for Montoya there toward the end. Congratulations to him -- he drove a heck of a race. Just a lot of fun racing a guy with that much talent. He was swinging around the corners, jumping curbs, locking tires. It was just a really good battle, something I'll take away from this weekend as a memory I'll never forget."
Montoya and Ambrose may have dominated the action at the front of the field, but what happened at the back tightened the race for the final spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Clint Bowyer broke a trailing-arm mount and spent three laps in the garage for repairs, a calamity that knocked him out of the top 12.
Bowyer finished 32nd and swapped positions in the standings with Mark Martin, who came home 19th. Now 12th, Martin is 10 points ahead of Bowyer with four races left before the Chase field is set Sept. 11 at Richmond.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jessica Simpson says she's done trying to look like the "Barbie type". (She may, however, not be done thinking like one.)
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Coming up:
Tonight --
Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 7:05pm EDT
Baseball: Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants 10:15pm
Tuesday --
Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 7:05pm EDT
Baseball: Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants 10:15pm
Wednesday --
Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 1:05pm EDT
Baseball: Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants 10:15pm
Thursday --
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 Nationwide 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
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That's all for today. See you tomorrow!
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