It's Sunday

It's Sunday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is June 26th, the 177th day of 2011. There are 188 days left in the year.

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A look at the Entry Draft by the numbers.

American draftees hail from non-traditional places.

Full Draft results.

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National Mosquito Control Awareness Week starts today.

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U.S. Inline National Team Falls to Czech Republic, 3-2,
in IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship Gold-Medal Game
Team USA Captures Silver Medal

PARDUBICE, Czech Republic – Itan Chavira (Upland, Calif.) scored twice and J.P. Beilsten (St. Louis, Mo.) had two assists, as the U.S. Inline National Team fell to the Czech Republic, 3-2, in the gold-medal game of the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation InLine Hockey World Championship.

Team USA captured the silver medal with a 5-0-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) overall record, appearing in the championship game the last three seasons.

"We lost a tight game," said Rob Chornomud, head coach of the U.S. Inline National Team. "We were two undefeated teams coming in. I'm really proud of the way we battled to the end of the game.”

The Czech Republic jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first period. Chavira scored his first power-play goal to even the score early in the second period with help from Shawn Gawrys (St. Louis, Mo.) and Beilsten. The Czech Republic connected for a goal with the man advantage before taking a 3-1 lead at halftime.

Chavira scored his second power-play goal of the game in the third period but the U.S. wasn't able to complete the comeback. Team USA goalie Troy Redmann (Brea, Calif.) stopped all 19 shots in the last two periods, making 33 saves in total.

NOTES: Itan Chavira scored 10 goals in the tournament, with eight goals in the last three games ... 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 15-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, 2009 and 2011; and bronze medals at the 2000, 2003 and 2005 tournaments. There was no tournament played in 1999.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

CZE 1 2 0 0 -- 3
USA 0 1 1 0 -- 2

First Period - Scoring: 1, CZE, Vozdecky (Demel), 7:42.

Second Period - Scoring: 2, USA, Chavira (Gawrys, Beilsten), 3:42 (pp); 3, CZE, Besser (Polansky), 7:51 (pp); 4, CZE, Mojzis (Tenkrat, Koudelka), 11:11. Penalties: CZE, Tenkrat (hooking), 3:19; USA, Sigmund (hooking), 7:19.

Third Period - Scoring: 5, USA, Chavira (Beilsten), 11:53 (pp). Penalties: CZE, Rachunek (interference), 1:22; USA, Gawrys (tripping), 7:13; CZE, Tenkrat (hooking) 11:04.

Fourth Period - Scoring: None. Penalties: CZE, Vlcek (hooking), 1:10; USA, Walser (tripping), 9:00; CZE, Mojzis (hooking), 11:06.

Shots by Period
1 2 3 4 Total
CZE 7 10 7 12 36
USA 5 7 9 9 30

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 4 Total
CZE, Handl, 48:00 5-5 7-6 9-8 9-9 30-28
USA, Redmann, 47:14 7-6 10-8 7-7 12-12 36-33

Power Play: CZE 1-3; USA 2-5
Penalties: CZE 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) L, 2-3

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Today is America's Kids Day.

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Roughrider transactions.

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

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This is the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

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TC11: A busy cut down day across the CFL.

2011 CFL Schedule is here.

Donate to the Tony Proudfoot Fund.

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

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Jimmy gets a View Master.

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Today is Log Cabin Day.

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HOUSTON --  Quality starts seem to be contagious for Tampa Bay pitchers these days.

Wade Davis won his third consecutive start on Saturday night, allowing one run in seven innings in a 7-2 win against the Astros at Minute Maid Park, pitching the Rays to a season-high nine games over .500.

The Rays are 7-1 in their past eight games, and their starters have allowed just nine earned runs in 57 1/3 innings over that span. On the road trip, Tampa Bay starters have allowed six earned runs in 36 innings.

Read the rest here.

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The Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the mouth of the Kansas River on this date in 1804 after completing a westward trek of nearly 400 river miles.

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SAN FRANCISCO --   The Giants have found a way to win all season, posting the fourth-highest winning percentage in the National League despite scoring the fewest runs in the Majors. Saturday, however, it seemed like a way to win found the Giants.

With 63 of their 77 games having been decided by three runs or fewer and a Major League-high 17 one-run wins at home, The Giants are perfectly comfortable playing close games, knowing every at-bat could be a potential difference-maker. And they have won a few games in truly bizarre fashion. But even by their standards, Saturday's 1-0 win over Cleveland was a little odd.

Read the rest here.

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Today in Elvis History:

1909 - Colonel Tom Parker was born.

1957 - Elvis Presley spent his first night at Graceland.

1968 - A birthday party was thrown for Col. Tom Parker on the set of the 1968 TV Special "Elvis."

1977 - Elvis Presley's final concert took place at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis.

1979 - Elvis Presley's father, Vernon Elvis Presley, died.

2007 - The 21-song Elvis Presley collection "That's Alright" was released.

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The first section of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ, was opened to the public on this date in 1870.

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Today in Beatles History:

1963 - John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the song "She Loves You" in a hotel room in Newcastle, England. They recorded the song five days later.

1964 - The album "A Hard Day’s Night" was released by The Beatles.

1975 - Paul McCartney's theme for ITV's "Crossroads" aired for the first time.

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On this date in 1959, CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow interviewed Lee Remick. It was his 500th and final guest on "Person to Person."

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Today in Sports History:

1819 - Abner Doubleday was born.

1910 - For the second consecutive year, Hazel Hotchkiss won the singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles at the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships.

1916 - The Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians appeared in a game with numbers on their sleeves. The event marked the first time that players were identified by numbers that corresponded to the scoreboard.

1938 - Lonney Frey (Cincinnati Reds) had eight hits in a doubleheader split with the Philadelphia Phillies.

1944 - The New York Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees played against each other in a six inning contest in a war bonds fund-raiser. Over 50,000 people watched the game. The final score was Dodgers 5, Yankees 1 and the Giants 0.

1962 - Earl Wilson (Boston Red Sox) pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels. Wilson also hit a home run.

1970 - Frank Robinson (Baltimore Orioles) hit two grand slams against the Washington Senators in a 12-2 win.

1976 - Shortstop Toby Harrah (Texas Rangers) played an entire doubleheader without handling a batted ball from the Chicago White Sox.

1979 - Muhammad Ali, at 37 years old, announced that he was retiring as world heavyweight boxing champion.

1985 - Wilbur Snapp was ejected after playing "Three Blind Mice" during a baseball game. The incident followed a call made by umpire Keith O'Connor.

1986 - Jockey Sandy Hawley won his 5,000th career race.

1990 - Jennifer Capriati, at age 14, became the youngest winner of a match in Wimbledon history.

1998 - Jamaica won soccer's World Cup. It was the first time a Caribbean team had won the World Cup since 1938.

1999 - Sammy Sosa (Chicago White Sox) hit his 300th career home run.

1999 - Cal Ripken (Baltimore Orioles) got his 995th extra base hit.

2000 - Alex Cabrera (Arizona Diamondbacks) hit a two-run home run in his first major league at-bat.

2001 - Ray Bourque (Colorado Avalanche) announced his retirement just 17 days after winning his first Stanley Cup. Bourque retired after 22 years and held the NHL record for highest-scoring defenseman and playing in 19 consecutive All-Star games.

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On this date in 1963, U.S. President John Kennedy announced "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner) at the Berlin Wall

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NEWTON, Iowa -- The last time Marco Andretti won an IZOD IndyCar Series race he was a 19-year-old rookie who shaved about once a week.

That was August 27, 2006, at Infineon Raceway. Under the lights at Iowa Speedway on a chilly summer night, the 24-year-old Andretti's 78-race drought came to an end. He probably shaved in the morning, too.

Andretti overtook former Andretti Autosport teammate Tony Kanaan on Lap 232 for the lead and went on to record a 0.7932-of-a-second victory in the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer at Iowa Speedway.

Andretti's previous best finish this season was fourth at Barber Motorsports Park, and since his previous victory he had three runner-up finishes (including Iowa Speedway in the inaugural 2007 race).

Read the rest here.

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The CN (Canadian National) Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, opened on this date in 1976.

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ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin -- Reed Sorenson won the Bucyrus 200 Nationwide Series race Saturday at Road America under caution -- and under odd circumstances.

Justin Allgaier was leading when caution was called on the final lap of the third green-white-checkered-flag attempt on the 4.048-mile road course, but he ran out of gas at the top of Turn 6, allowing Sorenson to assume the lead on the 57th lap of the scheduled 50-lap race.

But as the cars continued toward the finish, Ron Fellows zipped past Sorenson and was the first car to reach the pace car, which leads the cars around the track during cautions. Sorenson and Fellows crossed the finish line side by side, and after deliberation, NASCAR ruled Sorenson the winner. Cars are not allowed to pass under caution but must maintain pace-car speed.

Fellows finished second, and Jacques Villeneuve third.

The victory was the fourth of Sorenson's career and first since 2007.

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Coming Up: 


Tonight --

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.