It's Thursday!

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

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Today is September 2nd, the 245th day of 2010. There are 120 days left in the year.

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NHL, NHLPA extend deadline for Kovalchuk decision.

Report: Niemi headed to Sharks.

Turco aiming to add to Blackhawks' success.

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September is Atrioal Fibrillation Month.

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Poapst accepts AHL coaching position.

Saints to unveil new uniforms.

Lancers add Zucker to coaching staff.

Wiki page for former Gambler Jake Taylor.

Former Stamp Luke Greiner skates for Harvard.

Two RoughRiders Lead The Pack At International Tournaments.

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September is Backpack Safety America Month.

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Jackson travelling on road to NHL.

Go here to see the Lightning's all-time roster.

Need Lightning tickets? Get 'em here.

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September is Be KInd to Editors & Writers Month.

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Pedersen: What's up with the Riders?

The Saskatchewan Roughriders look to rebound from Week 9's 17-14 loss at Edmonton, as they host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers this coming Sunday at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. The Riders, who have lost 3 of their past 5, trail Calgary by 4 points in the CFL West. Saskatchewan enters the Labour Day Classic with a 5-3 record while the Bombers, who dropped a 39-17 decision at Montreal on August 19th in their most recent game, are 2-6. Kickoff on Sunday is set for 4:00pm EDT on 620CKRM and the Rider Radio Network. Listen links are to the right on this blog. The Riders will travel to Winnipeg for the Banjo Bowl, starting at 1:00pm EDT on Sunday, September 12th.

Check out Riderville.com for the latest on "Canada's (And Clearwater, Florida's) Team."

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September is College Savings Month.

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Final auditions.

Season tickets? Get 'em here.

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September is National Chicken Month. (Stand up and take a bow if you're a coward!)

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Today in Sports History:

1917 - Grover Cleveland Alexander (Philadelphia Phillies) pitched and won to entire games of a doubleheader versus Brooklyn (5-0 and 9-3).

1924 - Bill Tilden won his fifth straight U.S. Open men's singles title.

1957 - Warren Spahn (Milwaukee Braves) set a record for left-handed pitchers when he recorded his 41st shutout.

1961 - The estate of Ty Cobb was estimated at $11.78 million. Cobb had died two months earlier.

1962 - Ken Hubbs (Chicago Cubs) set a record for a second baseman when he played his 74th game without an error.

1966 - The Miami Dolphins played their first regular-season game. They lost the game to the Oakland Raiders 23-14.

1970 - Billy Williams (Chicago Cubs) set a National League record when he played in his 1,117th consecutive game.

1970 - Jimmy Connors played in his first match at the U.S. Open. He lost to Mark Cox.

1971 - Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors won their first U.S. Open singles matches.

1973 - Billy Martin was fired as manager of the Detroit Tigers. Martin was relieved of his duties three days after ordering his pitchers to throw spitballs against Cleveland Indians batters.

1981 - The Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners played to a 7-7 tie after 19 innings. It was the longest game in Fenway Park history. The game was resumed the following day and the Mariners won 8-7 in 20 innings.

1986 - The Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs played 14 innings and used 53 players in the game. Houston won the game 8-7 when the game resumed the next day.

1990 - Bobby Thigpen (Chicago Cubs) set a major league record with his 47th save.

1996 - Mike Greenwall (Boston Red Sox) set a major league record when he drove in all nine runs in a 9-8 win over the Seattle Mariners.

1996 - David Cone (New York Yankees) pitched in a game for the first time in four months after an aneurysm was removed from his shoulder.

1998 - Mark McGwire (St. Louis) hit his 58th and 59th home runs of the season. The record at the time was 61 held by Roger Maris.

1998 - Sammy Sosa (Chicago Cubs) hit his 56th home run of the season.

1998 - Nomar Garciaparra (Boston Red Sox) hit his 30th home run of the season. He joined Mark McGwire, Rudy York, Ron Kittle and Jose Canseco as a player that hit 30+ home runs in his first two years.

1998 - Jerry Rice (San Francisco 49ers) signed a six-year contract for $36 million. The deal made him the highest paid wide receiver in the league.

1999 - Cal Ripken (Baltimore Orioles) hit his 400th career home run.

2003 - Eric Gagne (Los Angeles) established a major league record with his 55th consecutive save.

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September is Great American Low-Cholesterol, Low-Fat Pizza Bake Month.

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St. Petersburg - The Tampa Bay Rays squeaked out a 2-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays last night in front of another embarrassingly small crowd of 14,859 at Tropicana Field.

John Buck hit a lead-off homer in the top of the fifth to give Toronto a 1-0. The Rays tied it in their half of the fifth on a one-out homer by Sean Rodriguez. Tampa Bay scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth, when Evan Longoria singled home Ben Zobrist, sending the Rays on to the 2-1 win.

David Price pitched 8 strong innings for Tampa Bay to get the win, allowing 1 run on 4 hits, with 7 strike outs and 2 walks. He's now 16-6. Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth, giving out 1 hit and striking out 1 for his 40th save of the season. Sean Camp was tagged with the loss out of the bullpen for Toronto, allowing 1 run on 1 hit, with 2 strike outs and 1 walk. He's now 4-3.

The Rays are now 82-51, and trail the Yankees by 1 game in the A.L. East. Boston trails by 8 games in the division and 7 games in the Wild Card race. Tampa Bay has today off, then embarks on a nine game road trip, beginning with a three game series in Baltimore starting Friday, with first pitch set for 7:05pm EDT on 620AM WDAE and the Rays Radio Network. Tampa Bay will then play three in Boston and three more in Toronto, before returning home on Monday, September 13th, for a big three-game set with the Yankees to jump start a six-game home stand, that includes three games with the Angels. After that short stay at home, the Rays play four at New York on the 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd. All games for the remainder of the season can be seen on Sun Sports with the exception of the September 18th game at Anaheim, which will be available online at MLB.tv. Two Wednesday games with the Yankees, September 15th and September 22nd, will air on ESPN.

Notes: Matt Garza(13-7, 3.53) will start for Tampa Bay tomorrow night against Baltimore. He'll be opposed by the Orioles' Kevin Millwood(3-14, 5.34)....The Rays could arrive in Baltimore at the same time as Hurricane Earl. The storm has prompted watches and warnings from South Carolina up into Canada could be the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States this hurricane season....Tampa Bay is the seventh team overall to follow 10 consecutive losing seasons with three straight winning seasons....The Rays are 49-58 at Camden Yards and 16-8 against the Orioles since 2008....The Rays are 9-3 against the Orioles and a Major League-best 39-25 on the road this season....Tampa Bay leads the all-time series against Baltimore, 109-107.

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September is Update Your Resume Month.

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The Yankees lead Tampa Bay by 1 game in the A.L. East, Boston is 8 back in the division race and trail in the Wild Card race by 7, Toronto is 14 back and Baltimore(Eliminated from post-season contention) is 34 games out of first.

In the A.L. Central, Minnesota leads the White Sox by 4 games, they're 12 games ahead of Detroit, with Kansas City 21 back and Cleveland 24 games behind.

Out in the (not-so)wild A.L. West, Texas leads Oakland by 9 1/2 and the Angels by 10 1/2 games, with Seattle trailing by 23 games.

In the N.L. East, Atlanta leads Philadelphia by 3 games(The Phillies lead the Wild Card race by 1 1/2 games), Florida trails by 10 1/2 (They're 7 1/2 back in the Wild Card race), the Mets are 13 behind and Washington is 21 1/2 out.

In the N.L. Central, Cincinnati has opened up a 8 game lead on St. Louis(The Cards are 5 games behind in the Wild Card race). Houston and Milwaukee are both 16 back, the Cubs are 21 1/2 behind and Pittsburgh(Eliminated from post season competition) is 34 games off the pace.

San Diego leads the N.L. West by 3 games over San Francisco(The Giants trail the N.L. Wild Card chase by 1 1/2 games). Colorado is 7 behind(They're 5 1/2 back in the Wild Card), the Dodgers are fourth, 9 games out(They trail by 7 1/2 games in the Wild Card race), and Arizona is 22 games behind.

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Bye Bye Mommy. Have fun at work!

It's America's Sweethearts.

Jimmy has fun playing in the backyard.

Jimmy and Daddy enjoy Toddler Story Time at the Library.

Jimmy enjoys more playtime in the backyard.

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San Francisco - When Wednesday's game started, Darren Ford was sitting in a car and listening to it on the radio.

By the time it ended, the speedy September callup had ran away with Tim Lincecum's thunder.

With Andres Torres at the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning, Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez thew a wild splitter in the dirt, which bounced a few feet away from catcher Miguel Olivo. Ford, at second, took off for third and, after Olivo's throw sailed in the outfield, scored the game-winning run to give the Giants a 2-1 win on Wednesday night at AT&T Park.

Read the rest here.

 Notes: Beginning Friday, the Giants will play 16 of their next 22 games on the road, where they are just 32-33. They have posted losing records in each of their past two road trips, going 2-4 on both. San Francisco has 28 games left, 22 against NL west opponents, who they are 23-27 against this season....Barry Zito(8-10, 4.07) starts Friday against the Dodgers, who haven't named their starter yet. Zito is 6-6, 3.83 lifetime against the Dodgers.

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Today in Elvis History:

1957- The Elvis Presley EP "Loving You Vol II" hit #18 in the U.S.

1957- The Elvis Presley soundtrack EP "Love Me Tender" hit #22 in the U.S.

1961- Joe Dowell's version of Elvis' "Wooden Heart" hit the U.S. charts.

1966- Elvis Presley completed his work for the film "Double Trouble."

1967- Elvis Presley's album "Double Trouble" hit #34 in the U.K.

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Rivalries renewd for Labour Day weekend.

Pair of Argos headline Player of the Month awards.

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

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Today in Beatles History

1965 - The Beatles received a gold record for the song "Help!"

1965 - The Beatles released "Yesterday."

1978 - George Harrison married Olivia Trinidad Arias. She was a secretary at his Dark Horse record company.

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September is Library Card Sign-Up Month.

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Wheaton ready to become prime target for Katz.

DE Paea's amazing progress on and off field.

Here's the 2010 Oregon State Beavers' football schedule.

And here's the 2010 football roster.

The Beavers begin the 2010 season against TCU this coming Saturday, September 4th at Cowboys Stadium. Kickoff is 7:45pm EDT, with TV from ESPN, online video stream at ESPN3.com and radio from the Beaver Sports Network.

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September is International Strategic Thinking Month.

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The final week of the 2010 NFL preseason(Don't you dare call it exhibition, or Roger Goodell will be quite displeased) action is tonight. Buffalo is at Detroit, Cincinnati visits Indianapolis, New England is at the Giants, Atlanta visits Jacksonville, Carolina is at Pittsburgh, the Jets play at Philadelphia, Baltimore will be in St. Louis, Chicago is at Cleveland, Denver is on the road at Minnesota, Green Bay is at Kansas City, Miami is at Dallas, New Orleans travels to Tennessee, Tampa Bay goes to Houston, San Diego heads North to San Francisco, Seattle is at Oakland and Washington travels to Arizona.

The 2010 regular season starts on Thursday, September 9th.

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September is National Prime Beef Month.

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Coming up:

Tonight --

Baseball: Dunedin Blue Jays at Lakeland Flying Tigers 7:00pm EDT

NFL Preseason Football: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Houston Texans 8:00pm EDT

Friday --

Baseball: Dunedin Blue Jays at Tampa Yankees 7:00pm EDT

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles 7:05pm EDT

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers 10:10pm EDT

Saturday --

Junior Hockey: SEJHL Showcase at Fort Myers Skatium, Tampa Bay Minor Juniors vs Atlanta 1 9:00am EDT

Junior Hockey: SEJHL Showcase at Fort Myers Skatium, Tampa Bay Minor Juniors vs Florida Eels 6:00pm EDT

Nascar Nationwide Series: Great Clips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia 6:30pm EDT

Baseball: Dunedin Blue Jays at Tampa Yankees 7:00pm EDT

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles 7:05pm EDT

College Football: Oregon State Beavers at TCU Horned Frogs 7:45pm EDT

Izod Indy Car Series: Kentucky 300 at Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Kentucky 8:00pm EDT

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers 10:10pm EDT

Sunday --

Junior Hockey: SEJHL Showcase at Fort Myers Skatium, Tampa Bay Minor Juniors vs Atlanta 2 11:00am EDT

Baseball: Dunedin Blue Jays at Tampa Yankees 1:00pm EDT

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles 1:35pm EDT

Junior Hockey: SEJHL Showcase at Fort Myers Skatium, Tampa Bay Minor Juniors vs TBA 3:00pm or 5:00pm EDT

CFL Football: Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Saskatchewan Roughriders 4:00pm EDT

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers 8:00pm EDT

Nascar Sprint Cup Series: Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia 7:30pm EDT

Monday --

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks 4:10pm EDT

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox 7:10pm EDT

Tuesday --

Baseball: Florida State League North Division Playoffs, Game One Dunedin Blue Jays at TBA Time TBA

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox 7:10pm EDT

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks 9:40pm EDT

Wednesday --

Baseball: Florida State League North Division Playoffs, Game Two TBA at Dunedin Blue Jays Time TBA

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox 7:10pm EDT

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks 9:40pm EDT

Thursday --

Baseball: Florida State League North Division Playoffs, Game Three TBA at Dunedin Blue Jays Time TBA (If necessary)

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 10:05pm EDT

Friday --

Nascar Nationwide Series: Richmond 250 at Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia 7:00pm EDT

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

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 10:05pm EDT

Saturday --

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

SEJHL Hockey: Palm Beach Hawks at Tampa Bay Minor Juniors 5:15pm EDT

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

Nascar Sprint Cup Series: Air Guard 400 at Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia 7:30pm EDT

MJHL Hockey: Palm Beach Hawks at Tampa Bay Major Juniors 5:15pm EDT

Sunday --

SEJHL Hockey: Palm Beach Hawks at Tampa Bay Minor Juniors 9:30am EDT

MJHL Hockey: Palm Beach Hawks at Tampa Bay Major Juniors 12:15pm EDT

CFL Football: Saskatchewan Roughriders at Winnipeg Blue Bombers 1:00pm EDT

NFL Football: Cleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00pm EDT

Baseball: Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays 1:07pm EDT

Baseball: San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 4:05pm EDT

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That's it for today. See you tomorrow.