It's Friday

It's Friday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is August 26th, the 238th day of 2011. There are 127 days left in the year.

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Bryzgalov aiming for 40 wins with Flyers.

Stamkos leads NHL's top 21-and-under talent.

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Today's Birthdays: Crossword editor Will Shortz (New York Times) is 59 ... Saxophonist Branford Marsalis is 51 ... Country singer Jo Dee Messina is 44 ... Actor Macaulay Culkin is 31 ... Actor Chris Pine is 31.

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U.S. Women's National Team Shuts Out Japan, 13-0, at 2011 Women's IIHF Twelve Nations Invitational Tournament Series

Potter Nets 100th Goal for Team USA; Stack and Schoullis Record Hat Tricks

VIERUMAKI, Finland -- Kelli Stack (Brooklyn Heights, Ohio) and Jen Schoullis (Erie, Pa.) each recorded a hat trick to help lead the U.S. Women's National Team to a 13-0 win over Japan in its second game of the International Ice Hockey Federation Twelve Nations Invitational Tournament Series.

"Japan's pressure all over the ice was good for us and challenged our puck movement," said Katey Stone, head coach of the 2011 U.S. Women's National Team. "It was also good to see young kids like Hannah Brandt and Milica McMillen have strong games."

Stack contributed to all four U.S. first-period goals. She opened the frame with her first goal of the tournament at 5:17. Stack assisted on Jenny Potter's (Edina, Minn.) tally at 8:05 and closed the period with two more markers to pick up a natural hat trick.

Potter's goal marked her 100th career goal for Team USA, making her just the sixth player in U.S. history to reach the 100-goal plateau.

Julie Chu (Fairfield, Conn.) struck at 9:56 of the second period to put the U.S. ahead, 5-0. Jillian Dempsey (Winthrop, Mass.) added a marker at 15:31 with help from Kasey Boucher's (Lewiston, Mass.) second assist of the night and Kacey Bellamy's (Westfield, Mass.) third assist of the game.

The U.S. struck again just 16 seconds into the third period off of the stick of Meghan Duggan (Danvers, Mass.). Jen Schoullis (Erie, Pa.) scored three times in the final frame, while Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Id.) and Lisa Chesson (Plainsfield, Ill.) each light the lamp as well.

U.S. netminder Molly Schaus (Natick, Mass.) made nine saves in the shutout effort.

The U.S. Women's National Team next plays Switzerland Saturday (Aug. 27) at 8:00 a.m. EDT in its third of six games at Vierumäki Arena.

NOTES: Kelli Stack was named the U.S. Player of the Game ... Other U.S. women to score 100 goals for Team USA include Cammi Granato (186), Katie King (146), Natalie Darwitz (117), Karen Bye (110) and Krissy Wendell (105) ... Thirteen different players picked up a point in the win over Japan ... Stack is tied for the team lead in scoring with six points (3-3) through two games ... Kacey Bellamy notched four assists in the victory over Japan. She has six assists in two games ... Julie Chu and Meghan Duggan served as alternate captains for the match-up against Russia ... For Team USA's full roster, click here ... Katey Stone, head women's ice hockey coach at Harvard University, will continue to serve as head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team for the 2011-12 season. She will be assisted by Mark Hudak, women's ice hockey coach at Dartmouth College ... To follow the team in Finland, check out the blog.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

USA 4 - 2 - 7 - 13
JPN 0 - 0 - 0 - 0

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Stack (Potter, Bellamy), 5:17 (pp); 2, USA, Potter (Stack, Bellamy), 8:05 (pp); 3, USA, Stack (Boucher, Bellamy), 12:25; 4, USA, Stack (Duggan, Kessel), 14:30. Penalties: JPN, Honma (holding), 4:22; JPN, Suzuki (tripping), 6:41.

Second Period - Scoring: 5, USA, Chu (Pucci, Knight), 9:56; 6, USA, Dempsey (Boucher, Bellamy), 15:31. Penalties: None.

Third Period - Scoring: 7, USA, Duggan (Kessel, Chesson), :16; 8, USA, Schoullis (unassisted), 2:35; 9, Knight (Chu), 8:00; 10, USA, Schoullis (Bellamy, Chu), 8:40; 11, USA, Chesson (unassisted), 13:19; 12, USA, Dempsey (Boucher, Bellamy), 15:31; 13, USA, Schoullis (Dempsey), 19:59. Penalties: None.

Shots by Period
1 2 3 Total
USA 29 23 27 79
JPN 3 4 2 9

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Schaus, 60:00 3-3 4-4 2-2 9-9
JPN, Takahashi, 31:04 -- 7-7 27-20 34-27
JPN, Nakaoku, 29:56 29-25 16-14 -- 45-39

Power Play: USA 2-2; JPN 0-0
Penalties: USA 0-0; JPN 2-4

Team USA 2011 IIHF Women's Twelve Nations Tournament Series Schedule
Vierumäki, Finland • Vierumäki Arena

Date Opponent Time (Local/EDT)/Result Links
Wed., Aug. 24 Russia W, 12-0 Game Blog
Thurs., Aug. 25 Japan W, 13-0 Game Blog
Sat., Aug. 27 Switzerland 3 p.m./8 a.m. Game Blog
Sun., Aug. 28 Canada 2 p.m./7 a.m. Game Blog
Tues., Aug. 30 Sweden 3 p.m./8 a.m. Game Blog
Wed., Aug. 31 Finland 6 p.m./11 a.m. Game Blog

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Today is National Dog Day.

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George Reed autobiography now available.

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

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Today is Women's Equality Day.

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Zwelling: Arthur aims to add to his trophy case.

Poblah fighting to regain starting job after injury.

Cobourne takes a leadership role with Ticats.

2011 CFL Schedule is here.

Donate to the Tony Proudfoot Fund.

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

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The World's Largest Calf Fry Festival & Cook-off begins tomorrow (Saturday) in Vinita, Oklahoma. Calf fries are also known as Rocky Mountain Oysters -- also known as fried calves' testicles.

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I don't thing there's anything in here for me Mommy.

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A full-sized refrigerator is a pretty sizable appliance, usually requiring at least a van or pickup truck to haul to its destination. This is something the police in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, had to remind a shopper who thought a few ropes and a prayer would get his fridge home ... in the trunk of a Honda Accord.

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ST. PETERSBURG -- Tampa Bay still can't figure it out.

The Rays have had an inexplainable knack for stringing poor offensive performances together this year, and right now they are in one of those funks.

Despite a strong showing from its starting pitchers, including Thursday's starter Jeremy Hellickson, Tampa Bay dropped three out of four games against Detroit, capped off with a 2-0 loss in front of 14,069 fans at Tropicana Field.

"That's the game we've played way too often this year," manager Joe Maddon said.

Read the rest here.

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IN THEATERS THIS WEEKEND - Our Idiot Brother (R); Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (R); Colombiana (PG-13).

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SAN FRANCISCO -- When the Giants signed right-hander Henry Sosa as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2004, they might have expected him to win his first Major League game in AT&T Park. But they probably didn't anticipate that it would come at their expense.

Then again, it's safe to assume the Giants didn't predict a number of things about this season -- like owning the Majors' lowest-scoring offense, with only 447 runs in 131 games, or trailing the D-backs by three games in the National League West in late August.

That offense once again struggled to get anything going Thursday night against Sosa, the former Giants farmhand who was traded in last month's Jeff Keppinger deal. Sosa allowed only one run in six innings, beating Ryan Vogelsong and the Giants, 3-1, in AT&T Park.

Read the rest here.

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Hurricane Irene will likely have an affect on this weekend's box office cash register. Distribution executives in Hollywood and New York are closely tracking the storm, and say there's no doubt it could be a rough weekend.

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Today in Elvis History:

1961 - Elvis Presley's album "Something For Everybody" hit #1 in the U.S.

1969 - Elvis Presley's single "Suspicious Minds" was released.

1969 - In Las Vegas, Elvis Presley began laughing during a performance of "Are You Lonesome Tonight." The performance was recorded and was released on several RCA releases.

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Airlines waive fees, begin cancelling flights ahead of Hurricane Irene. (Linky Link)

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Today in Beatles History:

1963 - The Beatles played at the Odeon Cinema. The supporting acts were Tommy Quickly, Gerry and the Pacemakers and Cilla Black (who were making their first major appearance on stage.)

1997 - Yoko Ono's "It's Alright (I See Rainbows)" was released.

1997 - Yoko Ono's "Season of Glass [Remaster]" was released.

1997 - Yoko Ono's "Starpeace" was released.

2003 - John Lennon's album "Imagine" was released on a gold disc.

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A source claims David Arquette has signed on to the new season of Dancing with the Stars! He was seen showing up to the rehearsal studio Thursday to meet his dance partner, Kym Johnson.

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Today in Sports History:

1939 - The first televised major league baseball games were shown. The event was a double-header between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

1947 - Don Bankhead became the first black pitcher in major league baseball.

1961 - The International Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto opened. The project had been approved on September 11, 1943.

1998 - In east Bohemia, Buffalo Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek was fined $30 for speeding when he ran his Ferrari off the road and hit a tree.

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Dr. Lee DeForest was born on this date in 1873. He was the inventor of the Audion tube. The tube makes the broadcasting of sound possible.

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Coming up:

Tonight:

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

Nascar Nationwide Series -- Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway 7:30pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Houston Astros 10:15pm EDT

Saturday --

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

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway 7:30pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Houston Astros 9:05pm EDT

Sunday --

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

IZOD Indy Car Series -- Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway 4:00pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Houston Astros 4:05pm EDT

Monday --

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

Tuesday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers 8:05pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Chicago Cubs 10:15pm EDT

Wednesday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers 8:05pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Chicago Cubs 3:45pm EDT

Thursday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers 8:05pm EDT

Friday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles 7:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks 10:15pm EDT

Saturday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles 6:10pm EDT

Nascar Nationwide Series -- Great Clips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway 7:30pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks 9:05pm EDT

Sunday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles 1:40pm EDT

IZOD Indy Car Series -- Baltimore Grand Prix at Streets of Baltimore TBD

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

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks 4:05pm EDT

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway 7:30pm EDT

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That's all for another day. Thanks for stopping by, I hope that you'll do so again tomorrow. Thanks again!