It's Wednesday!

It's Wednesday, downhill to the weekend from here. Here's what's happening....

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Today is September 1st, the 244th day of 2010. There are 121 days left in the year.

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Chelios retires, joins Wings' Front Office.

NHL names NFL programming executive Coplin to newly created position as Executive VP of Content.

Former Flyers quartet becoming U.S. citizens.

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Today is Bison-Ten Yell Day.

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Former Stamp enters senior season at RPI.

Hockey road takes Matthew Friese from Alaska to Kearney, Nebraska.

USHL officials earn advancement.

Former Muskie inks deal with Rangers.

Lumberjacks begin off-ice training in preparation for upcoming season.

Storm renews radio deal for upcoming season.

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Today is Building and Code Staff Appreciation Day.

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Steve Griggs Named Chief Operating Officer of Lightning, St. Pete Times Forum.

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

Need Lightning tickets? Get 'em here.

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September is Children's Good Manners Month.

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Riders set for Fan Day.

Canadian Mint set to offer Rider Commemorative circulation coin.

James Patrick named CFL Defensive Player of the Week.

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 Baby Safety Month.

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Bucs Release Ward, Nunn in cut to 75.

Bucs and young athletes celebrate USA Football Month.

Talib suspended by NFL for one game.

Season tickets? Get 'em here.

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September is AKC Responsible Dog Owner Month.

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Today in Sports History:

1906 - Jack Coombs of the American League’s Philadelphia Athletics pitched 24 innings against the Boston Red Sox. .

1971 - Danny Murtaugh of the Pittsburgh Pirates gave his lineup card to the umpire with the names of nine black baseball players on it. This was a first for Major League Baseball.

1982 - J.R. Richard returned to major league baseball after a two year absence following a near-fatal stroke.

1998 - Mark McGwire, of the St. Louis Cardinals, hit his 56th and 57th homeruns to set a new National League record. He would eventually reach a total of 70 for the season on September 27.

1999 - Twenty-two of major league baseball's 68 permanent umpires were replaced. The problem arose from their union's failed attempt to force an early start to negotiations for a new labor contract.

2004 - In Colorado, the sexual assault charge against Kobe Bryant was dropped after the victim decided not to participate.

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Today is the start of Self-University Week, as well as International Enthusiasm Week.

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St. Petersburg - The Tampa Bay Rays had a 3-1 lead after five innings last night, but the Toronto Blue Jays hung a 10 spot on the board in the sixth, on their way to a 13-5 win in front of another embarrassingly small crowd of 12,972 at Tropicana Field.

John McDonald homered to left with one out in the third, giving the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead. Tampa Bay would strike for 3 in the fifth, to take a two-run lead. With two outs, Ben Zobrist singled home Evan Longoria, and Dan Johnson doubled home Sean Rodriguez and Zobrist, giving the Rays a 3-1 lead.

That advantage disappeared quick, and then some in the top of the sixth. Facing Tampa Bay starter Jeff Niemann, DeWayne Wise singled up the middle to score Fred Lewis, then moments later, Wise and Jose Bautista scored on a Vernon Wells doubled, putting Toronto on top 4-3. The onslaught was just getting started. Adam Lind doubled home Wells, Lind scored on a John Buck double, giving the Jays a 6-3 lead and bringing Niemann's night to a close. Lance Cormier came out of the bullpen and promptly served up a pair of taters. The first, by Aaron Hill, with Buck aboard and the second, a 3-run blast by Bautista that also brought in McDonald and Wise, gave the Blue Jays an 11-3 lead.

Both teams would score a pair of runs in the eighth. Toronto's McDonald scored when Wise hit into a fielder's choice, and Lewis scored on a Bautista single. The Rays' Reid Brignac singled home Zobrist and Johnson to end the scoring as the Blue Jays would, on a rather forgettable night, roll to the 13-5 win.

Ricky Romero was the winning pitcher for the Jays, 5 runs, 4 earned on 3 hits, with 5 strike outs and 5 walks. He's now 11-8. Jeff Niemann took the loss for Tampa Bay, allowing 7 runs on 7 hits, with 3 strike outs and 2 walks in 5 innings, falling to 10-5.

The Rays are now 81-51, and for the first time in 9 days, fall behind the Yankees, who now have a 1 game lead in the A.L. East. Boston trails by 8 games in the division and 7 games in the Wild Card race. Tampa Bay meets Toronto again tonight, in the third and final game of their three game set, with first pitch set for 7:10pm EDT on 620AM WDAE and the Rays Radio Network. After tonight's game with Toronto, the Rays hit the road for nine games, beginning with a three game series in Baltimore starting Friday. 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: David Price(15-6, 3.01) will start for Tampa Bay tonight against Toronto, on David Price Figurine Night. He'll be opposed by the Jays' Shaun Marcum(11-7, 3.61)....The AL East rivals will meet one more time in the regular season, September 10th through 12th, at Rogers Centre in Toronto....As part of the September 1st roster expansion, the Rays have announced they are calling up catchers Dioner Navarro and Jose Lobaton, outfielders Desmond Jennings and Rocco Baldelli and pitcher Jeremy Hellickson....Joe Maddon's record as a Major League Manager is now 416-415. His record with the Rays is now 389-391. He was 27-24 in two stints as interim manager with the Angels.

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Today is Calendar Adjustment Day. (What? Flip it from August to September? That kind of adjustment?)

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The Yankees lead Tampa Bay by 1 game in the A.L. East(The first time in 9 days the teams haven't been tied in the standings), Boston is 7 back in both the division and Wild Card races, Toronto is 13 back and Baltimore(Now eliminated from post-season contention) is 33 games out of first.

In the A.L. Central, Minnesota leads the White Sox by 4 games, they're 11 games ahead of Detroit, with Kansas City 20 back and Cleveland 23 games behind.

Out in the (not-so)wild A.L. West, Texas leads Oakland by 8 1/2 and the Angels by 10 1/2 games, with Seattle trailing by 22 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 12 behind and Washington is 20 1/2 out.

In the N.L. Central, Cincinnati has opened up a 7 game lead on St. Louis(The Cards are 4 games behind in the Wild Card race). Milwaukee is 15 behind, Houston is 16 back, the Cubs are 21 1/2 behind and Pittsburgh(Eliminated from post season competition) is 33 games off the pace.

San Diego leads the N.L. West by 4 games over San Francisco(The Giants trail the N.L. Wild Card chase by 1 1/2 games). Colorado is 7 behind(They're 4 1/2 back in the Wild Card), the Dodgers are fourth, 9 games out(They trail by 6 1/2 games in the Wild Card race), and Arizona is 23 games behind.

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Snoopy says there's nothing better than a roll in the grass on a sunny day. Smoke just likes to lay out and get warmed up.

Snoopy and Smoke discuss whether or not going inside is a good idea.

They decide to stay out awhile longer.

Jimmy has nummies on his new dinner tray. He's such a good little guy!

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For last night's 13-5 loss to Toronto, the Rays drew a crowd of 12,972. In an article appearing yesterday at NESN.com, outfielder Carl Crawford said: "It was a big letdown. We came out all fired up and you see that, it's really depressing." The usually positive Manager Joe Maddon said: "There's nothing we can do about that anymore, honestly. Whether it's winning or losing or whatever, we can't even be concerned about that. Of course it's disappointing, but we do appreciate the group that did come out. It's too bad because you're missing really good baseball."

An ESPN study shows the Rays, even with the second best won-loss record in baseball, playing to 52.8% capacity, 23rd in baseball. That ranks them ahead of just Pittsburgh, Florida, Arizona, Baltimore, Toronto, Oakland and Cleveland, teams with a combined combined record of 395-520. Read the rest of the article here.

When players and management start critizing the fans, right or wrong, if you stop and listen close enough, you'll think you can hear the beep, beep, beep of the backing alarms on the moving trucks.

It's turning into a situation that's likely to get worse before it gets better, and could result in the Tampa Bay area losing it's major league baseball team.

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Today is Chicken Boy's Day. (He's everywhere, he's everywhere!)

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San Francisco - Time will determine whether the Giants' 5-2 victory Tuesday night over the Colorado Rockies was an encouraging omen or merely an isolated, random incident.

The Giants responded admirably to Monday's potentially demoralizing 2-1 loss to Colorado as Andres Torres homered leading off the eighth inning to break a 2-2 deadlock and Buster Posey followed with a bases-loaded double to cap San Francisco's three-run rally.

Read the rest here.

 Notes: Tim Lincecum(11-9, 3.80) goes to the hill tonight against Colorado, which starts Ubaldo Jimenez(17-5, 2.71) in tonight's 9:15pm EDT game....Jimenez outdueled Lincecum on May 31st, tossing a shutout to pace Colorado to a 4-0 victory....The Rockies hold an 8-6 advantage in the season series. The two teams will square off in Denver September 24th-26th....The Giants hit the road for 10 games, beginning Friday, September 3rd, playing 3 at Los Angeles, 3 at Arizona and 4 at San Diego....Edgar Renteria will be activated off the 15-day disabled list Wednesday when rosters expand to 40 men. Renteria has been out since Aug. 11 with a biceps strain but said he feels 100 percent.

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Today in Elvis History:

1956- Elvis Presley shared his success with his family by purchasing his mother a pink Cadillac.

1956- Elvis Presley recorded the song "Love Me."

1956- Elvis Presley's single "Hound Dog" hit #2 in the U.S.

1957- Jimi Hendrix went to see Elvis Presley perform at Sicks' Seattle Stadium.

1962- Elvis Presley's single "Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello" hit #55 in the U.S.

1978- A 10-day Elvis Presley convention began at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel.

1978- The album "Our Memories Of Elvis Volume 2" hit #157 in the U.S.

1990- The Elvis Presley album "The Great Performances" hit #62 in the U.K.

2003- The Elvis Presley album "White Christmas" was released. The album contained 25 Christmas songs.

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Irving: Healthier Bombers back from bye.

Less than four weeks to Touchdown Atlantic.

Jake Gaudaur Veterans' Trophy unveiled.

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

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Today in Beatles History

1986 - Paul McCartney released his "Press to Play" LP.

2005 - Ringo Starr published "Postcards from the Boys".

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Today is Emma N. Nutt Day. (Emma N. Nutt was the first female telephone operator, back in 1878.)

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McAndrews Endures Pain, may start at Left Tackle Vs. TCU.

High octane offense ahead: Q&A with Offensive Coordinator Danny Langsdorf.

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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Today is National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day.

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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 tomorrow. 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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Today is Toy Tips Executive Toy Test Day.

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Coming up:

Tonight --

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

Baseball: Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays 7:10pm EDT

Baseball: Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants 9:15pm EDT

Thursday --

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.