It's Sunday

It's Sunday, the second half of the weekend. Here's what's happening....

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Today is August 7th, the 219th day of 2011. There are 146 days left in the year.

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The big weekend continues at our house. Today, our little chi-hua-hua boy, Smoke Edward Bones Meissner the First(He's the best, not the worst), is six years old. He came to us five years ago in Nebraska and has been a cherished part of our family ever since. Our Smokey Bones is funny, full of love and a really cool furry friend. Happy birthday Smoke!

Today is also Snoopy Boo Meissner's "Gotcha Day." Snoopy, Mommy's Miniature Schnauzer boy, came to her nine years ago today and has filled our lives with love and laughter. Happy Gotcha Day Snoopy Boo. We sure do love you!




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Report: Sharks get Sheppard from Wild.

Canucks sign Nolan, Fedoruk to tryout contracts.

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International Clown Week starts today.

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U.S. Under-18 Select Team Tops
the Czech Republic, 5-3, in Exhibition Game

Team USA to Begin 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament Play Monday

BRECLAV, CZECH REPUBLIC - Cristoval Nieves (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) logged a goal and an assist and Vincent Hinostroza (Bartlett, Ill.) had two assists, as the U.S. Under-18 Select Team topped the Czech Republic, 5-3, in its lone exhibition game leading up to the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia.

Team USA will begin tournament play Monday (Aug. 8), when it faces Finland in its first of three preliminary-round games. A full schedule can be found below.

"This was a good first step against a skilled and physical opponent," said Seth Appert, head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team. "We executed on many team elements, and hope to get rid of some of the sloppiness as the tournament begins."

After falling behind early, Team USA's Alex Galchenyuk (Kalamazoo, Mich.) tied the score at 1-1 midway through the first period. Four minutes later, Sam Kurker's (Reading, Mass.) tip-in goal gave the U.S. a 2-1 advantage after one.

Following a scoreless second period, the Czech Republic regained a one-goal lead with back-to-back power-play goals. But Team USA responded once again. Nieves tied the game, 3-3, with a power-play goal of his own at 6:12 of the third. Then, with less than four minutes remaining and his team shorthanded, Joseph Cox (Chelsea, Mich.) potted the eventual game-winning goal.

Ryan Lowney's (Redford, Mich.) empty-net goal secured the win for Team USA.

U.S. goalies Jon Gillies (South Portland, Maine) and Calvin Petersen (Waterloo, Iowa) split time between the pipes, combining for 34 saves.

NOTES: For the complete U.S. Under-18 Select Team roster, click here ... The 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament includes teams from Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. Team USA finished in second place last year ... Live scoring and stats from the event can be found here ... Seth Appert is serving as head coach, while Matt Herr and Matt Greason are serving as assistant coaches for the 2011 U.S. Under-18 Select Team.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

USA 2 - 0 - 3 - 5
CZE 1 - 0 - 2 - 3

First Period - Scoring: 1, CZE, Simon (Zadrazil), 6:39; 2, USA, Galchenyuk (Nieves), 9:05; 3, USA, Kurker (Doherty, Schilkey), 13:23. Penalties: USA, Payne (high-sticking), 8:30; CZE, Plutnar (interference), 8:21.

Second Period - Scoring: None. Penalties: USA, Team (delaying-the-game), 0:00; USA, Team (too-many-men), 0:58; CZE, Soumelidis (charging), 2:43; CZE, Sedlacek (interference), 5:23; CZE, Knot (interference), 6:32; USA, Lappin (slashing), 9:20; USA, Johnson (hooking), 11:56; CZE, Soumelidis (interference), 13:52; CZE, Plutnar (high-sticking), 20:00.

Third Period - Scoring: 4, CZE, Soumelidis (Plutnar, Volek), 3:32 (pp); 5, CZE, Soumelidis (Plutnar, Volek), 4:37 (pp); 6, USA, Nieves (Hinostrova), 6:12 (pp); 7, USA, Cox (Hinostrova), 16:33; 8, USA, Lowney (Wade, Johnson), 18:39 (en). Penalties: USA, Hanson (hooking), 2:17; USA, O'Regan (slashing), 2:31; CZE, Slovacek (charging), 5:05; CZE, Sidlik (high-sticking), 8:15; CZE, Franek (cross-checking), 11:08; USA, Kurker (slashing), 15:09.

Shots by Period
1 2 3 Total
USA 10 11 13 34
CZE 11 15 11 37

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Gillies 31:56 10-11 10-10 -- 20-21
USA, Peterson 28:04 -- 5-5 9-11 14-16
CZE, Polivka 59:21 8-10 11-11 10-12 29-33

Power Play: USA 1-9; CZE 2-8
Penalties: USA 8-16; CZE 9-18

Team USA 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament Schedule
August 8-13 • Breclav, Czech Republic & Piestany, Slovakia

Date Opponent Location
Time (EDT)/Result

Sat., Aug. 6 Czech Republic* Breclav W, 5-3
Mon., Aug. 8 Finland Piestany 8 a.m.
Tues., Aug. 9 Russia Piestany 8 a.m.
Wed., Aug. 10 Slovakia Piestany 11:30 a.m.
Fri., Aug. 12 Semifinals TBD TBD
Sat., Aug. 13 1st/3rd Place TBD TBD

*exhibition

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National Farmer's Market Week starts today. (Linky Link)

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Searching for answers.

Best young star on Riders' O-line.

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

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Today is the start of International Assistance Dog Week. (Linky Link)

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Where the heart is: Stampeders notch first win at home.

Receiver Stamps undergoes emergency surgery.

2011 CFL Schedule is here.

Donate to the Tony Proudfoot Fund.

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

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Today is the first day of Feeding the Pets of the Homeless Week. (Linky Link)

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Dis is gonna be fun Mommy!

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Knights of Columbus Family Week starts today.

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ST PETERSBURG -- The Rays knew from the outset that it would be difficult to come out on top on Saturday at Tropicana Field, for the simple fact that Brandon McCarthy started for the Athletics and he brought his "A" game.

But just in case, the Athletics stole like no team has against the Rays in team history.

By the time all the dust had settled, the Athletics had accrued seven stolen bases -- the most allowed in the Rays' history -- and Tampa Bay saw its three-game winning streak come to a close with an 8-0 loss.

The Rays remain 10 games behind New York and Boston in the American League East and Wild Card races.

Read the rest here.

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National Lighthouse Day is today. (Linky Link)

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SAN FRANCISCO --  Saturday was one of those rare instances when a one-run margin resembled a rout.

That's because Philadelphia's latest victory over the Giants, a 2-1 decision, sustained two distinct patterns: the Phillies' ascent and San Francisco's descent. The Giants, clinging to their status as reigning World Series champions, have lost eight of their last nine games. The Phillies, who possess the Major Leagues' best record, lengthened their winning streak to nine games.

The outcome seemed certain as early as the first inning, when Philadelphia scored both of its runs. The pro-Giants sellout crowd of 42,183 at AT&T Park barely had a chance to celebrate Pablo Sandoval's two-out home run in the ninth before Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels coaxed Orlando Cabrera's first-pitch groundout. That sealed Hamels' second complete game of the season, as the Giants fell to 1-5 on their 10-game homestand.

Read the rest here.

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Today is Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day.

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Today in Elvis History:

1954 - The August 7, 1954 issue of "The Billboard" Magazine included the following review of the "That's All Right"/"Blue Moon of Kentucky" single. "Presley is a potent new chanter who can sock over a tune for either the country or the r. & b. markets. On this new disk he comes thru with a solid performance on an r. & b.-type tune and then on the flip side does another fine job with a country ditty. A strong new talent."

1965 - Elvis Presley began filming "Paradise Hawaiian Style."

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Today is Purple Heart Day. (Linky Link)

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Today in Beatles History:

1957 - The Quarry Men made their Cavern Club debut in Liverpool. Paul McCartney was not with the band at the debut.

1988 - Paul McCartney refuted author Albert Goldman's statement that John Lennon was gay. McCartney said, "If John were gay, you'd think he'd have made a pass at me at least once in 20 years."

1989 - Paul McCartney's album "Flowers In The Dirt" was certified gold by the RIAA.

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Sister's Day is today.

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Today in Sports History:

1907 - Senator pitcher Walter Johnson won his first major league game by defeating the Indians, 7-2.

1965 - Britain's Jim Clark won his fifth consecutive Grand Prix.

1968 - In his major league debut, Joe Keough (A's) hits a home run in his first at-bat.

1985 - A five-year agreement between the major league baseball players union and team owners ended a two-day mid-season players’ strike. The season resumed the next day.

1987 - Bill Mazeroski's uniform jersey #9 was officially retired from active service by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1999 - Tony Gwynn (San Diego Padres) got his 3,000th hit.

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Today is National Kid's Day. (Linky Link)

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NEWTON, Iowa -- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards insist they like each other. But for the second weekend in a row, they sure didn't act like it.

Saturday night at Iowa Speedway, Stenhouse and Edwards banged doors, fenders and feelings as they fought for the victory in the U.S. Cellular 250 Nationwide Series race.

Their final banging occurred a couple of hundred feet from the finish line on the last lap, and it produced a smoky, screeching, metal-bending finish as Edwards rammed Stenhouse's car from behind and actually pushed it to the victory.

"Wow," both drivers said after climbing from their cars.

Read the rest here.

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On this date in 1928, the U.S. Treasure Department issued a new bill that was one third smaller than the previous U.S. bills.

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Coming up:

Tonight:

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway 1:00pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Oakland Athletics 1:40pm EDT

IZOD Indy Car Series -- Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 2:00pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Philadelphia Phillies 4:05pm EDT

Monday --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Kansas City Royals 7:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Pittsburgh Pirates 10:15pm EDT

Tuesday --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Kansas City Royals 7:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Pittsburgh Pirates 10:15pm EDT

Wednesday --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Pittsburgh Pirates 3:45pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals 7:10pm EDT

Thursday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals 12:10pm EDT

Friday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals 7:05pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Florida Marlins 7:10pm EDT

CFL Football -- Calgary Stampeders at Saskatchewan Roughriders 9:00pm EDT

Saturday --

Nascar Nationwide Series -- Zippo 200 at the Glen at Watkins Glen International 2:00pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals 4:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Florida Marlins 7:10pm EDT

Sunday --

Nascar Sprint Car Series -- Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen at Watkins Glen International 1:00pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals 1:05pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Florida Marlins 1:10pm EDT

Izod Indy Car Series -- MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 2:00pm EDT

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That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to tell your friends about us. See you tomorrow.