It's Saturday

It's Saturday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is June 25th, the 176th day of 2011. There are 189 days left in the year.

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Nugent-Hopkins leads familiar names at Entry Draft.

It's official: Winnipeg with be called the Jets.

Exclusive interviews with first rounders.

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The American Radio Relay League Field Day is today and tomorrow. (Linky Link)

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U.S. Inline National Team Edges Canada, 4-2,
in IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship Semifinals
Team USA Advances to Gold-Medal Game vs. Czech Republic Tomorrow

PARDUBICE, Czech Republic – Itan Chavira (Upland, Calif.) scored twice and Gerald Osterkamp (Covina, Calif.) had two assists, as the U.S. Inline National Team defeated Canada, 4-2, in the semifinal round of the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation InLine Hockey World Championship.

With the victory, Team USA improved to 5-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) overall and advanced to the gold-medal game. The U.S. will have a chance to defend last year's tournament title when it faces the host Czech Republic tomorrow (June 25) at 12 p.m. EDT.

“We've been in this situation before," said Rob Chornomud, head coach of the U.S. Inline National Team. "We need to focus on putting our best game out there for a full 48 minutes tomorrow in order to take the crowd out of it and give us our best chance at the gold.”

Team USA jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period thanks to goals by Shawn Gawrys (St. Louis, Mo.) and Nathan Sigmund (San Diego, Calif.). The U.S. then extended its advantage to three goals when Chavira connected less than three minutes into the second. But Canada answered to make the score 3-1 in favor of the United States at halftime.

Both teams exchanged goals in the third period, as Chavira logged his second goal of the night. Then, Team USA goalie Troy Redmann (Brea, Calif.) denied Canada's attempt at a comeback by turning aside all 12 shots he faced in the final frame to secure the victory. Redmann stopped 26 shots in total.

NOTES: Team USA out-shot Canada, 33-28 ... Rob Chornomud is serving as head coach of the U.S. InLine National Team for the third consecutive year, while former U.S. Inline National Team member Josh Milewski is the assistant coach for the second straight year … In the 14-year history of the IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship, the United States has earned gold medals in 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006 and 2010; silver medals in 1998, 2001 and 2009; and bronze medals at the 2000, 2003 and 2005 tournaments. There was no tournament played in 1999.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

CAN 0 1 1 0 -- 2
USA 2 1 1 0 -- 4

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Gawrys (Yoder, Rodriguez), 2:00; 2, USA, Sigmund (Walser), 10:50. Penalties: CAN, Hutchinson (slashing), 2:14; USA, Rodriguez (interference), 7:19; CAN, Woods (high-sticking), 8:49.

Second Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Chavira (Osterkamp), 2:44; 4, CAN, Eng (Foote, Nowakowski), 5:59. Penalties: CAN, Ross (tripping), 0:00; USA, Chavira (hooking), 9:36.

Third Period - Scoring: 5, USA, Chavira (Gawrys, Osterkamp), 6:33 (pp); 6, CAN, Hammond (unassisted), 8:58. Penalties: CAN, Hammond (tripping), 5:31; CAN, Grassi (holding), 7:51.

Fourth Period - Scoring: None. Penalties: USA, Kraemer (tripping), 0:00.

Shots by Period
1 2 3 4 Total
CAN 4 8 4 12 28
USA 9 9 10 5 33

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 4 Total
CAN, Leggat, 47:22 9-7 9-8 10-9 5-5 33-29
USA, Redmann, 48:00 4-4 8-7 4-3 12-12 28-26

Power Play: CAN 0-3; USA 1-5
Penalties: CAN 5-7.5; USA 3-4.5

Team USA 2011 IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship Schedule
June 19-June 25 • Pardubice, Czech Republic

Date Opponent Time (Local/EDT)
Sun., June 19 Slovakia W, 12-3
Mon., June 20 Slovenia W, 4-2
Tues., June 21 Canada W, 6-3
Thurs., June 23 Germany (QF) W, 16-1
Fri., June 24 Canada (SF) W, 4-2
Sat., June 25 Czech Republic (Gold-Medal) 6 p.m. / 12 p.m.

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Today is The Great America Backyard Campout.

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Hamilton: Riders have concerns over kicking game.

Hamilton: Riders set to wield the axe.

Visit the team's official website at http://www.riderville.com/.

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Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeated Lothar at Fontenay on this date in 0841.

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Stamps ride to victory over Esks.

Argos extend Family Day welcome this Sunday.

2011 CFL Schedule is here.

Donate to the Tony Proudfoot Fund.

Visit the leagues' official website, http://www.cfl.ca/.

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Auntie Dee Dee helps Jimmy with a birthday toy.

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On this date in 1867, Lucien B. Smith patented the first barbed wire.

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HOUSTON --  James Shields said before the season that he wanted to throw deeper into games, but even he can't believe what he's doing.

Shields became the first Rays pitcher in franchise history to toss three consecutive complete games after allowing three hits in a 5-1 win over the Astros on Friday night at Minute Maid Park, the club's Major League-leading 24th road win. The effort was Shields' sixth complete game of the season in 16 outings.

Read the rest here.

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The U.S. Congress enacted legislation granting an eight-hour day to workers employed by the Federal government on this date in 1868.

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SAN FRANCISCO --   Andres Torres' bat woke up Friday night largely because he found a way to sleep.

Torres had endured bouts of insomnia, a malady he kept mostly to himself. The cycle grew more vicious recently as he'd struggle to hit at the ballpark, then dwell on it at home. Instead of reclining on his mattress, Torres would prop it against a wall and hit teed-up balls into it, desperately trying to sharpen his swing.

Torres shared his secret with Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who kept his leadoff batter and starting center fielder out of the lineup during the previous two games to help him clear his mind. Fortified by this break and energized with the help of new medication to help him sleep, Torres went 3-for-4 and led the Giants' comeback in a 4-3 Interleague victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Read the rest here.

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Today in Elvis History:

1957 - Elvis Presley returned to Memphis after finishing his duties with the film "Jailhouse Rock."

1958 - Elvis Presley's parents celebrated their 25th anniversary.

1961 - Elvis Presley recorded the song "Little Sister." The single was released in August 1961.

2002 - A remixed version of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" was released.

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Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina were readmitted to the Union on this date in 1868.

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Today in Beatles History:

1967 - The Beatles recorded "All You Need Is Love" live on the British TV program "Our World." Marianne Faithfull sang in the chorus.

1992 - Ringo Starr performed at "Summerfest '92 The Big Encore" in Milwaukee, WI.

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Lt. Col. Custer and the 210 men of U.S. 7th Cavalry were killed by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians at Little Big Horn in Montana on this date in 1876. The event is known as "Custer's Last Stand."

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Today in Sports History:

1918 - Babe Ruth became the second American League player to hit a home run in four consecutive games.

1921 - Jock Hutchinson became the first U.S. citizen to win the British Open.

1968 - Bobby Bonds (San Francisco Giants) hit a grand-slam home run in his first game with the Giants. He was the first player to debut with a grand-slam.

1985 - ABC’s "Monday Night Football" began with a new line-up. The trio was Frank Gifford, Joe Namath and O.J. Simpson.

1985 - New York Yankees officials enacted the rule that mandated that the team’s bat boys were to wear protective helmets during all games.

1997 - The NHL officially approved expansion to 30 teams by the year 2000 with the announcement of new teams in Atlanta, Columbus, Minnesota and Nashville.

2002 - Muhammad Ali received a humanitarian award at the second annual BET awards.

2003 - Todd McFarlane bought Barry Bonds 73rd home run ball at auction for $517,500.

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On this date in 1887, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the telephone for Sir William Thomson (Baron Kelvin) and Emperor Pedro II of Brazil at the Centennial Exhibition.

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Coming Up: 

Tonight --

MLB - San Francisco Giants vs Cleveland Indians 4:10pm EDT

Nascar Nationwide Series -- Bucyrus 200 at Road America 5:30pm EDT

MLB - Tampa Bay Rays at Houston Astros 7:05pm EDT

Indy Car Series -- Iowa Corn 250 at Iowa Speedway 8:00pm EDT

Sunday --

MLB - Tampa Bay Rays at Houston Astros 2:05pm EDT

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway 3:00pm EDT

MLB - San Francisco Giants vs Cleveland Indians 8:05pm EDT

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That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, be sure to tell your friends about this blog. See you tomorrow.