the mad sports man

last game of night in the books as Russia shuts out Slovakia 2-0 and finishes third and Slovakia 4th. the quarter finals are set for Monday and has: 1. Russia vs Denmark at 11am, 2. Slovakia vs Sweden at 1:30pm, 3. Switzerland vs U.S. at 3:30p, and Canada vs Czech Republic at 6pm. game one of the relegation series between Finland and Latvia is Monday also at 9am. all times Edmonton time.

Finland wins their final round robin game 2-0 over Switzerland, outshooting them 51-17. Swiss goalie was outstanding. Finland wins a day after firing their coaching staff and replacing them with new one. Finland will still face Latvia in the relegation round, while Switzerland finishes 4th in the group and will face the United States on Monday in one Quarterfinal game, and Canada will play the Czech Republic in another Quarter final game. the Russia vs Slovakia game will decide the other two Quarterfinal games. stay tuned.

the U.S. just beat Canada 3-1 in their final game of the round robin. the U.S. will finish first and Canada second. U.S. was the better team today. earlier Sweden beat the Czech Republic 5-2. Sweden has first in their group and has won a remarkable 40 straight round robin games. the Czech Republic can do no worse than 4th and no better than third, which depends on the result between Switzerland and Finland. Russia vs Slovakia will decide third and fourth in Canada's group. that will set the quarter final matchups for Monday

on this night in 1981, Wayne Gretzky scores his 50th goal in his 39th game breaking the 50 goals in 50 games record. he scored 5 goals on this night against the Philadelphia Flyers in a 7-5 win in Edmonton, the 5th goal of the night was his 50th and it was an empty net goal with 3 seconds to go in the game. he ended up with 92 goals on the season.

Slovakia is into the quarter finals after beating Latvia 4-2 forcing Latvia to play in the relegation round. tomorrow's schedule has Canada vs the U.S. for first and second and Slovakia vs Russia for third and fourth in group B. Latvia will finish 5th with no points and will be playing Finland in the best of three relegation round. winner stays in top division for next years tournament and the loser will be relegated into division 1A.

this was a heck of a game. Switzerland was down 4-1, came back to tie it at four in the third period, gets the game into a shootout and wins it. got the only goal in the shootout. Switzerland wins 5-4 and is now in the quarter finals AND puts Finland into the relegation round. group A has Sweden with 9 pts, Denmark with 6, Czech Republic with 5, Switzerland with 4 and Finland with zero. tomorrow's group A sked has Czech Rep vs Sweden and Switzerland vs Finland in their half of the final day of round robin. Latvia vs Slovakia is on now. update later.

Taylor Raddych scores four goals as Canada blows out Latvia 10-2. Canada had a sluggish start, even had seven penalties in the first half of the game. they end up outshooting Latvia 35-25. Raddych tied a Canadian record, joining Brayden Schenn (2011) Simon Gagne (1999) and Mario Lemieux (1983) for scoring four goals in the game. also the last time Canada scored 10 goals in a game was five years ago tonight against Denmark. meanwhile earlier the U.S. beat Russia 3-2. the U.S. and Canada have 9 pts each. they face each other on New Years eve for top spot. Russia is third with 3pts. Slovakia and Latvia have none and play each other tomorrow. in group A Sweden beat Finland 3-1 and will finish first in group B with one game left. they have 9 pts. they also have one 36 straight round robin games (i think it's that many). Denmark andCzech Rep have five points each and will be in the quarter finals as well. Switzerland is 4th with 2 and defending champs Finland has zero and is

day three is done. the U.S. just beat Slovakia 5-2 wile Sweden beat Switzerland 4-2. it was a no doubter for the U.S. tonight. them and Canada are tied for first in Group B with 6 pts each (U.S. has the goals differential and more goals tiebreaks). Russia is third with three points, Slovakia and Latvia each have none. in Group A, Sweden leads with 6pts, Czech Republic with 4, Denmark with three, Switzerland with two and Finland with none. tomorow's games has Czech Republic vs Denmark, Sweden vs Finland, USA vs Russia and Canada vs Latvia to round out tomorrow. until then, later.

it was scoreless after one, but Canada opened up in the second as they kept firing shots and finally scoring 4 in the second and one in the third as they beat Slovakia 5-0. shots were 44-6 for Canada. Canada's next game is Thursday against Latvia at 6pm Edmonton time. earlier, Switzerland beat the Czech Republic 4-3 in OT and Denmark beat Finland 3-2 in Group A. Czech Rep leads Group A with 4 pts, Sweden and Denmark with three (Sweden has one less game played), Swizterland with 2 and Finland with 0. in the other Group B game, Russia blew out Latvia 9-1. Canada has 6pts to lead Group B, the U.S. with three along with Russia (U.S. has one less game), and Slovakia and Latvia has 0. tomorrow has Sweden vs Switzerland at 3pm Edmonton time and the U.S vs Slovakia at 6pm Edmonton time.

Canada opens up their tournament with a 5-3 win over Russian. three power play goals and two goals from Dylan Strome (one on the PP) helped the cause. Canada plays Slovakia tomorrow. meanwhile earlier the U.S. beat Latvia 6-1 and Czech Rep beat Finland 2-1. Sweden and Czech Rep each have 3 pts in group A and Canada and the U.S. have three pts in group B. until tomorrow, later.

the day Babe Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees in a secret meeting between the Yankees and Red Sox. the infamous deal in which the Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the Yankees in which Ruth had a good 1919 season. he had 29 HR's 113 RBI's and threw 9 complete games (yes he pitched as well as played the outfield when not pitching). had a 2.97 ERA and a save in 17 pitching appearaces. the official announcement happened in early 1920. since that deal the Yankees became a dominant team winning 27 World Series, with Ruth helping win the first four. Ruth also has 54 homers in his first season in New York and led in homers in 9 of 12 seasons. the Red Sox, since that deal would not win a world series (losing in 1946, 1967, 1975 and 1986) until 2004 with a flurry of key David Ortiz homers, a key David Roberts steal in game 4 of the ALCS, and Curt Schilling's bloody sock helped bring a World Series to Boston after 86 years. here is a copy of the deal that brought Georg

Boxing Day means opening day of the World Junior Hockey Tournament. with co-hosts Toronto and Montreal hosting this time. in the Opening game Sweden beat Denmark 6-1. coming up has the U.S vs Latvia starting in a few minutes, then Finland vs Czech Republic and Canada vs Russia to round out Day 1. stay tuned here or at tsn.ca for updates.

merry Christmas to all. i hope you all had a great day, lots of food, lots of presents and time with loved ones and close friends. was a good one here. Turkey and all the fixings, snow on the ground. -20c here and clear. the sun is setting beautifully. perfect. cheers eh.

at 3:44 am Edmonton time, winter officially began. it's only +1. shortest day of the year in terms of daylight hours at 7h 27m. daylight hours start getting longer after today. was a nice day today, but will cool off for the Christmas weekend. white Christmas time

today in 1917, the first games of the newly formed National Hockey League were played (formed on Nov. 26). the Montreal Canadiens won their opening game over the Ottawa Senators (not to be confused with the current team) 7-4. meanwhile the Montreal Wanderers beat the Toronto Arenas (became the Maple Leafs in 1927) 10-9. it provided to be the Wanderers only bright spot. they lost their next three games, then their arena burned down on January 2, 1918. both the Wanderers and Canadiens used the Westmount Arena, but the Canadiens moved to the Jubilee Arena (housing 3250 fans) while the Wanderers folded. here are the replica scoresheets from these games.

it's 8 days to Christmas day, 4 days to the winter solstice, 15 days to 2017 and 9 days to the world juniors. world juniors is back in Montreal and Toronto (they also co-hosted two years ago) Canada opens on Boxing Day against Russia. winter solstice is on the 21st. shortest day of the year in terms of daylight hours. good. i am longing for more daylight hours (the cold also has me down lots). Christmas Day will be good. hopefully everyone will be safe with relatives. then New Years. 2017 better be better. at least i hope. just some randomness.

Adam Klein ended up winning the million bucks getting all 10 jury votes. i knew he had it after the third one. it was quite a season this season. loads of blindsides at tribal councils, hidden immunities played (even a fake one), advantages used - one of which included a legacy advantage to which it had to be used on day 36 by someone who had it in possesion. if they were voted out they had to give it to someone else. Jessica had it and was eliminated by drawing of rocks. she gave it to Ken. also there was a cyclone that hit Fiji that caused the first evacuation of the castaways. season 34 will begin March 8th with Survivor: Game Changers involving some of the previous castaways. gonna be good.

two more weeks to Christmas day. good grief. perfect chilly weather for it as well. it's -21 now. don't know what it will be like for the 25th. there is barely enough snow covering the ground now. my Christmas shopping is pretty much done. the world juniors start boxing day, so that will be fun as well. in the meantime, the slow count down continues/

as predicted, it got chilly quick. started happening yesterday, and it brought some snow. the snow stopped overnight. the teperature sits at -18c at the moment, but the wind really makes it feel colder (-26c now with the wind chill. the wind is supposed to die down. -17 to -23 for highs for the next week and lows as cold as -29. EEEP!! typical Canadian weather. hmmmmm trip to Mexico maybe?

December is here already. can't believe 2016 is nearly done. already have my Christmas decorations up. there is a bit of snow on the ground and it's a little chilly. will be pretty damn cold come Monday. -17c that day. and should be cold for the week. it was inevitable. won't be too surprised if and when (more when than if). Edmonton gets a good dump of snow. in the meantime i am listening to some Dave and Morley stories from Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Cafe. some great funny stories. Sundays at Noon Edmonton time on CBC Radio or on www.cbc.ca/radio to tune in on the internet.

in what turned out to be a thriller, the Ottawa REDBLACKS have won the 104th Grey Cup. it took overtime to do it. they beat the Stampeders 39-33. the REDBLACKS first franchise Grey Cup and Ottawa's first Grey Cup since the Rough Riders won it in 1976 over Saskatchewan. first overtime game since 2005 when Edmonton won. Andrew Buckley of the Stampeders became the first Canadian QB to score a touchdown since Russ Jackson in 1968. Rick Campbell joins his dad as a Grey Cup winner. Hugh won 5 in Edmonton, all in a row. Ottawa had a 27-7 lead in the third (and 20-7 at halftime). congrats to the Ottawa REDBLACKS - 2016 Grey Cup champions.

in just their 20th season, the Laval Rouge et Or defeated the University of Calgary Dinos 31-26 to win the 52nd edition of the Vanier Cup - the Canadian University version of the Grey Cup - for the 9th time. wow. it was a pretty damn good game. Laval is three for three against Calgary at the Vanier Cup. congrats to Laval.

it means 1. lots of food. 2. family crammed into a relatives house for dinner - or for the weekend (then again how do i know) 3. the annual Macy's day parade 4. NFL football. two games there done with Detroit beating Minnesota 16-13 and Dallas beating Washington 31-26. Pittsburgh vs Indianapolis is about to kick off. today it also means 1. a month to Christmas Eve (eeep) and the Grey Cup is on Sunday at 4pm Edmonton time.

happy thanksgiving to my friends state side. don't eat too much turkey. and drink responsibly.

it will be the Calgary Stampeders representing the west as they blew out the B.C. Lions 42-15 and will face the Ottawa Redblacks for the Grey Cup next Sunday in Toronto. it wasn't much of a game. again it will be Calgary vs Ottawa for the 104th Grey Cup in Toronto on Nov 27. i believe the game will start after 4pm. the game will end championship weeks (at least my championship weeks).

Jimmie Johnson is the winner of the race AND NOW a seven time champion joining Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as the only seven time champions pulled it out in overtime on the last restart. Congrats to Jimmie Johnson.

at the half it was looking like a blowout for Ottawa. Edmonton started making a game of it. in the end on a snowy day in Ottawa, the REDBLACKS are going to the grey cup for the second year in a row after winning 35-23 over the team that beat them in last years grey cup - the Edmonton Eskimos. Ottawa was up 25-3 and still hung on to win. who will Ottawa face? the Western Final is next.

Daniel Suarez won the race AND the xfinity championship. his first championship, winning by two points. he became the first Latin driver to win the championship, on top of being the first Latin driver to win a race, doing so in Michigan in June. he is from Monterrey, Mexico. Congrats to Daniel.

it started tonight with the Camping World truck series and the Ford Ecoboost 200. William Byron won the race and Johnny Sauter is the series champion - his first one. he finished third in the race. congrats.

and yet another exciting finish. after going down 25-12 to Winnipeg, the B.C. Lions came back to win 32-31 and will go to Calgary to face the Stampeders in the west final on the 20th at 2:30pm. Winnipeg tried a 61 yard field goal to win it, but the kick was seven yards short. wow two exciting finishes to the semi finals. hopefully more next week.

it got rather exciting at the end but the Edmonton Eskimos are going to the eastern final after barely beating Hamilton 24-21 on a Sean Whyte field goal with 7 seconds left. the Esks were up 18-3 at the half, and the Tiger-Cats made a game of it scoring a game tying touchdown with about 5 minutes left. Edmonton will be going to Ottawa to face the REDBLACKS on the 20th at 11am. coming up - B.C. vs Winnipeg.

to all the veterans who fought before and serve today - THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE. we have our freedom because you fought for it.

the last day of the regular season just ended. in the west, Calgary finished 1st and gets the bye to the west final on Nov. 20th, while Winnipeg goes to B.C. to play the west semi final on Nov. 13, with the winner going to Calgary. Edmonton finished 4th and gets the crossover spot (by having more points than the third place team in the east). in the east (Edmonton could have finished 1st here. then again anyone in the west, except Saskatchewan - sorry Riders fans), Ottawa finished 1st in the east and gets the bye to the east final on Nov. 20th, while Hamilton hosts Edmonton in the east semi on the 13th. the road to the 104th Grey Cup begins now.

in 1908, there were 46 U.S. states, 9 Canadian provinces and two Canadian territories. New Mexico (1912), Arizona (1912), Alaska (1959) and Hawaii (1959) became states. Newfoundland & Labrador became a Canadian province in 1949 and Nunavut became a Canadian territory in 1999. Converse shoe company was formed the same year the Cubs won the 1908 world series. the Titanic was designed, built, sailed, sunk and rediscovered. the USSR was created, and eventually crumbled. Canadian women were given the right to vote in federal elections. radio was invented. the television was invented later. that is some of what happened.

for the first time since 1908, the Chicago Cubs are world series champions winning game 7 8-7 in 10 innings. David Ross became the oldest player to hit a home run in a game seven at 39 years old. Ben Zobrist hit a key double that ended up winning. Rajai Davis had tied it for Cleveland in the 8th becoming the first player to hit a game tying homer in the 8th inning or later. for the first time, no pitcher recorded an out past the 6th inning. the Cubs became the first team since the 1985 Kansas City Royals to win a world series after trailing three games to one. Ardolis Chapman with the win, Bryan Shaw with the loss and Mike Montgomery with the save. game took 4h 28m to complete, plus a 17 minute rain delay. Ben Zobrist was named world series MVP and won a 50th Anniversary Edition Chevrolet Camero. congrats to the Chicago Cubs - 2016 world series champions.

we have a game seven. the Cubs force it with a 9-3 win to even the series. Addison Russel had 6 rbi's, including a grand slam, matching Albert Pujols (gm 3 2011), Hideki Matsui (gm 6 2009) and Bobby Richardson (gm 3 1960) as players who have 6 rbi's in a game. he also became the second youngest player to hit a grand slam (on;y Mickey Mantle was younger) in the Cubs 59th world series game, tonight was the first three homer game. tomorrow will be the 38th game seven in world series history, and third in last six years. Jake Arrieta with the win and Josh Tomlin with the loss. game took 3h 29m to complete. see ya tomorrow.

today in 2010 the San Francisco Giants end a 56 year drought, winning game 5 3-1 and the series four games to one over the Texas Rangers. their last series prior to this year was 1954 when the team was in New York. the Giants had moved to San Fran after the season.

2001. Yankees win game four 4-3 over the Arizona Diamondbacks. the game ends after midnight in November when Derek Jeter hits a home run in the 10th inning to win it. he became the first player to hit a November home run, this earning the tongue-in-cheek nickname "Mr. November." this would also become the fourth series not to end in October. (1904 - not held, 1918 - held in September due to WWI, and 1994 due to work stoppage)

the Cubs stave off elimination winning tonight 3-2 to send the series back to Cleveland. three runs in the 4th with Kris Bryant hitting a solo shot to tie it and David Ross hit a sac fly to score Carlos Santana with the winning run. Jon Lester with the win, Trevor Bauer with the loss and Ardolis Chapman with an eight out save. Last Cubs world series win at home was game 6 of the 1945 world series. game took 3h 27m. game six is Tuesday night in Cleveland.

today in 2013, the Boston Red Sox won game 6 6-1 and the series 4-2 as they beat the St. Louis Cardinals to win the series for the first time in Fenway Park since 1918. the Red Sox previous wins were won in St. Louis (2004) and in Colorado (2007).

Cleveland is one win away from the world series championship after a 7-2 win in game 4. Carlos Santana got their offence going with a home run to tie the game at one. Kris Bryant made two fielding errors leading to Cleveland's second run. Jason Kipnes hit a three run home run to blow it open. he became the first visiting player to hit a 3 run homer at Wrigley since Babe Ruth did it in 1932. Corey Kluber with the win (now 2-0 in the series), John Lackey with the loss. game took 3h 16m to complete. game 5 is tomorrow in Chicago.

on this day in 2008, the completion of the rain delayed game five of world series ended up in the Phillies winning the game 4-3 and won the world series. the game had been suspended two nights earlier after the top of the sixth ended due to the rain. game five started on Monday the 27th when it started to rain and rained all day the next day - the 28th. by the time the top of the sixth ended, umpire Tim Tschida and the umpiring crew decided to call the game off with the rain and wind becoming hazardous, with Tschida saying the game would have gotten "comical." Cole Hamels ended up agreeing, even saying the field was underwater. when the game was suspended, the game was tied at two. when the game resumed, the Phillies scored one in their half of the sixth and seventh, while the Tampa Bay Rays scored one of their own in their half of the 7th. Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske to end the series. it was the Phillies second world series.

the Indians take a two games to one series lead after winning game three 1-0. Cleveland's 5th shut out pitched this post season while the Cubs were shut out for the 4th time. Coco Crisp with the only rbi in the game. Andrew Miller with the win, Carl Edwards Jr with the loss and Cody Allen with the save. game took 3h 33m to complete. game 4 is tomorrow in Chicago.

today in 1995, the Atlanta Braves win game six 1-0 to win their first world series in Atlanta and third in franchise history winning in 1914 as the Boston Braves and in 1957 in Milwaukee. David Justice scored the only run of the game hitting a home run in the 6th inning. Tom Glavine pitched 8 innings of one hit ball and Mark Wohlers closed out the game, getting Carlos Baerga to fly out to Marquis Grissom to end the game and the series.

today in 2004, the Boston Red Sox end a 86 year drought as they finish off a four game sweep in St.Louis to win the world series, thus also ending "the curse of the Bambino" they were the 4th team to win a world series without trailing in any of their games. Derek Lowe became the first pitcher to win three series clinching games (gm 3 of ALDS vs Angels, gm 7 of ALCS vs Yankees and gm 4 of World Series vs Cardinals). in 2002, the Angels beat the Giants to win their first ever world series winning game 7 4-1. it proved to be somewhat anti climatic after winning game 6 6-5 after trailing 5-0 when they came to bat in the bottom of 7th. they had lost the first game of all three series and rebounded to win each one. they were also the first A.L. World Series winner that was not from the A.L. East since the 1991 Minnesota Twins (Toronto in 1992 and 1993, Yankees in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000). in 2011 the Cardinals won an absolute thriller of a game six against the Texas Rangers.

the Cubs have evened the series at one with a 5-1 win. Kyle Schwarber got his first two hits of the season (went 0 for 4 in the season opener before a knee injury put him out until now). they were both rbi base hits. Cubs score three in the 5th as they sent 9 batters to the plate. Cubs stranded 13 runners while Cleveland stranded 8. First Cubs world series win since game 6 of the 1945 world series on October 8th, winning 8-7 in 12 innings that day. Jake Arrieta got the win, Trevor Bauer with the loss. game took 4h 4m to complete. game three is Friday in Chicago.

on this day in 2000, the last Subway Series ended as the Yankees beat the Mets in game 5 4-2 and the series 4-1. it was also the last world series game in Shea Stadium. also the only time the Mets lost the world series at home (they lost in Oakland in 1973, and won it at home in 1969 and 1986). Roger Clemens got some revenge winning as a member of the Yankees. he was with the Red Sox in 1986 when they lost. it was the Yankees third straight series win and 4th in 5 years. also on this day, in 2005 the Chicago White Sox ended their 88 year drought after beating the Houston Astros in game 4 1-0 and sweeping their series in four games, thus ending their own "curse" in relation to the "Black Sox Scandal of 1919." it was the second series to end with the score 1-0. Atlanta clinched the 1995 world series with a 1-0 win in game six against Cleveland. also the last 1-0 game prior to 2005 was in 1996 when the Yankees won 1-0 in game 5 in Atlanta (which was also Fulto

the Cleveland Indians draw first blood taking game one 6-0 to open the world series. Corey Kluber struck out 8 in the first three innings pitched, becoming the first pitcher to do so. Roberto Perez hit two home runs (2 run and a 3 run) to do the damage. Andrew Miller threw 46 pitches getting out of a 7th inning bases loaded jam (pop up and two strike outs. Kluber gets the win Jon Lester gets the lost. game took 3h37m to complete. game two is tomorrow start time 5:08pm Edmonton time. (starting an hour sooner due to rain late in the evening).

game six of the 1986 world series produced one of the more infamous errors ever witness, and for Red Sox fans - painful. the game went into the 10th inning tied at three a piece. top 10th, Dave Henderson hits a home run to put the Sox up 4-3. Spike Owen strikes out for the first out. Calvin Schiraldi, who pitched the 8th and 9th, pitched for himself and struck out. Wade Boggs doubled, then scored when Marty Barrett singled him home. Bill Buckner was hit by a pitch. Rick Aguilera got Jim Rice to fly out to end the top of the 10th. Schiraldi came out to start the 10th and also left Buckner out at first. normally Buckner was replaced in the later innings, having chronic ankle injuries. Schiraldi got Wally Backman to fly to left and Keith Hernandez to fly to center to get the first two outs. Gary Carter started the rally with a base hit. Kevin Mitchell pinch hit for Aguilera and got a base hit, advancing Carter to second. Ray Knight came up and down to his last strike got a b

on this day in 1992, the Blue Jays were the first team outside the U.S. to win the world series. they won game six 4-3 in 11 innings. Dave Winfield hit a double that scored Devon White from second and Roberto Alomar from first after the ball took a bad hop off the left field corner and skipped past Ron Gant that put the Jays up 4-2. with Atlanta's turn at the plate, they got one back with Jeff Blauser, who led off the bottom of the 11th with a single, scored when Brian Hunter grounded to Joe Carter, who was playing first. now with two out and the tying run on, Otis Nixon came to the plate. Toronto Manager Cito Gaston came out, had Jimmy Key replaced with Mike Timlin then had a conference with the infielders to strategize. once done, Carter went to Timlin and gave him a heads up about a possible bunt. first pitch was fouled off. second pitch was bunted towards first base. remembering what Carter said, Timlin fielded the ball and got the ball to first and got the out. (Nixon

in 1993 the world series was won IN Canada as the Blue Jays defended their championship as they win game six 8-6 over Philadelphia. Joe Carter hit the second ever world series clinching home run with a three run homer in the bottom of the 9th to win it. anyone who listened to the game on the radio will remember Tom Cheek's "touch 'em all Joe" call.

for the first time since 1945, the Chicago Cubs are in the world series after beating the L.A. Dodgers 5-0 in game six of the NLCS. they will now face the Cleveland Indians for the world series title. one thing is guaranteed - one of these teams will end a lengthy drought. Cleveland last won the world series in 1948, Chicago last won in 1908. series starts Tuesday night in Cleveland

in 1972 the Oakland Athletics end their own drought by winning their first world series since 1930, when they were in Philadelphia, beating the Cardinals. they beat Cincinnati 3-2 in game seven to win the series. it was also their first trip to the series since 1931, losing that one to the Cardinals that year. Jim "Catfish" Hunter got the win, Pedro Borbon took the loss and Rollie Fingers got the save.

in 1975, Carlton Fisk ties the world series with a 12th inning home run as the Red Sox beat the Reds 7-6 in game six in one of the most memorable and greatest world series games ever. this game was delayed three days by steady rain. the scoring in this game started with Fred Lynn hitting a two out three run homer off Gary Nolan in the first. the Reds tied it in the 5th. Ken Griffey hit a two out triple to score two runs that Lynn almost caught. Johnny Bench then drove Griffey home. the Reds scored two more in the 7th as George Foster hit a two run double. in the 8th they made it 6-3 with a Cesar Geronimo hit a solo shot, thus chasing Luis Tiant from the game. in the bottom of the 8th, with Pedro Borbon pitching for Cincinnati, Lynn singled and Rico Petrocelli walked. Rawly Eastwick was then brought in to pitch. he struck out Dwight Evans and got Rick Burleson to line out. up comes Bernie Carbo. the light hitting Carbo looked overmatched, and got the count to 2 balls and 2 str

first in 1992. the first world series game ever played in Canada as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves in game three of that years world series 3-2. Candy Maldonado drove in Roberto Alomar to score the winning run in the 9th off of Jeff Reardon. then in 1993, the Jays win a wild game four against the Philadelphia Phillies, winning 15-14. Toronto scores 6 runs in the 8th inning to go up 15-14. three world series records were broken (at that time). 1. longest time in nine inning game at 4h 14m. 2. most runs scored in a game at 29. and 3. most runs scored by a losing team with 14. Charlie Williams became the first African American to serve as home plate umpire at a world series game.

on this day in 1981, the Dodgers win game five of the NLCS 2-1 to knock out the Montreal Expos. Rick Monday of the Dodgers hit the game winning home run in the top of the 9th inning to put L.A. in front. Bob Welch got the final three outs in the Expos half of the 9th to wrap up the win. Expos fans still remember this game as "Blue Monday." the Dodgers eventually beat the Yankees in six games to win the world series.

the Cleveland Indians are heading to their first world series since 1997 with a 3-0 win in game 5 of the ALCS over the Toronto Blue Jays. the Indians pitching shut down the Jays hitting. they will be hosting the world series (with the A.L. winning the all star game) and will be facing either Chicago or Los Angeles. the world series starts on the 25th.

on this night in baseball in 1977, Reggie Jackson hits three consecutive home runs off of three different pitchers on three consecutive hits in game six of the world series against the Dodgers. his home runs were: 1. a first pitch two run home run off of Burt Hooton to put the Yankees up 4-3 in the 4th inning. Lou Pinella hit a sacrifice fly later to make it 5-3. 2. a first pitch two run home run off of Elias Sosa to extend their lead to 7-3 in the 5th. 3. in the 8th he hit a first pitch solo shot off Charlie Hough to make it 8-3. the Yankees win the game 8-4 and the series four games to two. he became the first player since Babe Ruth in 1926 and 1928 to homer three times in a game. also, with his last at bat in game 5 and the walk in his first appearance in this game, he homered in his last official at bats (walks are not an official at bat) off of four different pitchers and with the walk, his at bats produced runs. Chris Chambliss homered after Jackson walk.

on this day in 1989 at 6:04pm Edmonton time, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the bay area cancelling game three of the world series between San Francisco and Oakland (both in the bay area). introductions prior to game three were happening and ABC was showing highlights of game two when the earthquake happened. this was the only time an earthquake was caught live on TV. major damage was shown, especially part of the double decker Nimitz Freeway where a section of the second level collapsed down, and part of the Bay Bridge collapse. 57 people were killed and six others died were caused indirectly from the quake. despite those numbers, there was not as much traffic because people were either at Candlestick Park, left work early to go home or to the game, or at an office watch party. the series resumed 10 days later when engineers said that Candlestick Park was safe to use. the Oakland A's won games three and four to win the series in four straight.

today in 1985 the Kansas City Royals came back from three games to one down to win the ALCS in seven games, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 in game seven to cap it off. both the ALCS and NLCS were expanded to seven games on this year. the Royals would also come back from three games to one down in the 1985 world series against the St.Louis Cardinals.

today in 1988, in game one of the world series, Kirk Gibson makes his only plate appearance of the series - and makes it count. at the start of this series he had a bad left hamstring and a swollen right knee. he was dressed for the game, but not introduced. Mickey Hatcher gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead with a two run homer in the first inning. Jose Canseco hit a grand slam in the second inning to give Oakland a 4-2 lead. the Dodgers got one in the 6th inning on three straight base hits - the third by Mike Scioscia scoring Mike Marshall. in the meantime Gibson was taking practice swings using a hitting tee near the Dodgers clubhouse. then comes the bottom of the ninth - the Dodgers last chance. Dennis Eckersley came in to close the game out. he got Scioscia to pop up and Jeff Hamilton to strike out. pinch hitter Mike Davis walked. in fact catcher Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda sent Dave Anderson on deck. A's catcher Ron Hassey had gotten Eckersley's attention and pointed

in 1905, the New York Giants cap off the world series with a 2-0 win in game 5 and the series 4 games to one. this was the first series in which every game won was a shot out. also on this day, the Chicago Cubs cap off their last world series win (to date) winning game 5 2-0 and the series 4-1. Orval Overall was the last Cubs pitcher to win a world series game.

the L.A. Dodgers are in the NLCS after beating the Nationals in game five of the NLDS 4-3 in Washington. they will now face the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS starting Saturday in Chicago. one of these teams will make their first trip to the world series in over twenty years (Dodgers in 1988 winning it, Cubs in 1945, losing it)

in 1903, the Boston Americans (now Red Sox) defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 in game 8 and the series five games to three to win the first ever world series. Boston had come back from three games to one down to win it. they were helped by the fan club "Royal Rooters" who was founded by Michael T. "Nuf Ced" McGreevy, who owned the Third Base Saloon - so named because it was the last stop for fans before going home. the Royal Rooters were known to sing "Tessie" to frustrate and annoy the opposing team. also on this day, in 1960, Bill Mazeroski of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit the first ever World Series clinching home run on a one ball no strike pitch from Ralph Terry over the left field wall to win game 7 10-9. the Pirates were out hit, out scored and outplayed the whole series and still won. (the scores for the Yankees three wins were 10-0, 12-0 and 16-3). not long after the series ended, Casey Stengel was fired by the Yankees. he had turned 70 in

today in 1986, Boston score four in the top of the 9th inning, culminating in Dave Henderson's two run home run off of Donnie Moore, temporarily going up 6-5. the Angels tie it in the bottom of the 9th. Henderson then hits a sac fly in the top of 11th to put them up 7-6. that is how the game ends. the Angels were within one strike from ending the game in the ninth before Henderson hit his home run. also on this day in 1987, the Minnesota Twins - with the worst record among the four teams in this years postseason at 85-77 - caps off a stunner as they beat Detroit 9-5 in game five and the series four games to one. Detroit had a 98-64 record coming in. the Twins eventually win the world series over the Cardinals in seven games (all the wins were home team wins).

after trailing almost the whole game, the Chicago Cubs score 4 in the top of the 9th and win game four 6-5 and knock out the Giants three games to one. the Cubs will await the the winner of the Dodgers vs Nationals series for the NLCS. game five of that series is Thursday in Washington.

the San Francisco Giants came back from two games down to win the NLDS over the Cincinnati Reds, thus becoming the first team in the wild card era to come back from 0-2 down AND winning the last three games, all on the road. wow. they won game 5 6-4 in Cincinnati. wow eh.

with a 4-3 win in game three, the Cleveland Indians are going to the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays, after sweeping the Boston Red Sox in three games. it will be a good one. one of these teams will be going to the world series for the first time in several years (Cleveland was there last in 1997, Toronto in 1993). the ALCS starts Friday in Cleveland.

during game 5 of the NLCS between the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds, and during a supreme court hearing, Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart receives a note from his clerk. on that note, it says "Kranepool (Ed) flies to right, Agnew (Spiro) resigns." Ed Kranepool played with the Mets as they beat the Reds 7-2 in game 5 and the series 4-1. they lost to the Oakland A's in the world series. Spiro Agnew had resigned over charges of tax evasion. Potter Stewart was said to have been a baseball fan.

what a crazy way to end the series, but the Blue Jays are going to the ALCS after scoring the winning on a throwing error (thats how they scored it) and heads up running by Josh Donaldson scoring from second on the throwing error and beating the throw from first (first baseman did a great job keeping it in front of him). the jays will face the winner of the Cleveland vs Boston series. will be a good series.

on this day in 1919, the Cincinnati Reds "beat" the Chicago White Sox 10-5 in game 8 and the Series 5 games to 3. it was later found out that eight of the Chicago players and deliberately lost the series in exchange for money from gamblers. the White Sox was one of the top teams, yet not was well payed by owner Charles Comiskey, who 1) had told manager Kid Gleason to shut down Eddie Cicotte the last few days of the season to prevent him from winning his 30th game, thus giving him an extra $10,000 in bonus money. and 2) he had the players pay for their own laundering. the players then decided not to launder their uniform. the uniforms became dirtier, grimier and blacker - how the got the "Black Sox" nickname. the Reds were better paid, but not as good. they had finished no higher than third since 1900. the first signal that the fix was in was the first Cincinnati batter - Morrie Rath - was hit by Cicotte. that was the prearranged signal to Arnold Rothstein t

On this day in 1956, Don Larsen throws a perfect game (27 batters up, 27 batters out, no hits, no defensive errors, no walks, no hit batsmen, nobody got on base) as the Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0 in game five of the world series. it was the first postseason no hitter as well. Larsen threw 97 pitches, the last one a called third strike on Dale Mitchell (who still claims the strike was a ball). the win put the Yankees up 3-2 in games. they eventually won the series in seven games.

on this day in 1975, the first League Championship Series games were played under the lights. Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh 5-3 in 10 innings in game three to win that series in three straight. meanwhile Boston beat Oakland 5-3 to win game three and also won their series three straight. Cincinnati eventually beat Boston in seven games to win that years world series.

pretty recent history this time. in 2010, Roy Halladay, in his first season in Philadelphia, threw a no-hitter in has first ever post season start as the Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-0 in Philadelphia. quite impressive post season start. wow eh.

Madison Bumgartner threw a complete game four hit shutout as the Giants beat the Mets 3-0 in New York. he also had two walks and six strikeouts. the Giants will face the Cubs starting Friday in Chicago.

.... the first radio broadcast of a world series game in 1921. game one of that series was the the first to begin: 1. a whole series played at the same site. the Polo Grounds housed both the Giants and Yankees. the Yankees were subleasing from there from 1913 to 1922, while the Giants were the primary tenant. this also happened the following year with the same two teams, and in 1944 featuring the St.Louis Cardinals and Browns. they shared Sportsman's Park in St.Louis. and 2. begin the last time the best of nine series was used. the Giants won this series 5 games to 3. also in 1953, the Yankees win their 5th world series in a row, beating the Brooklyn Dodgers in game 6 4-3 and the series four games to two. this was in a midst of a stretch where a team in New York went to the world series and won (1949-1956, with the Yankees winning 6 and the Dodgers and Giants winning one each) and a stretch where there was a New York team in the series (1949-1958, with the Yankees being

on this day in 1969, the first League Championship Series games were played. in the A.L.C.S, Baltimore beat Minnesota 4-3 in that first game, while the N.Y. Mets beat Atlanta 9-5 to open the N.L.C.S. Baltimore and the Mets swept their respective series three straight and the Mets won the world series that year.

the Toronto Blue Jays are going to the ALDS to face the Texas Rangers after beating the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 in 11 innings. Edwin Encarnation hit a three run homer in the bottom of the 11th to win it. the series with the Rangers starts on Thursday in Arlington.

today in 1951, the third and final game of the best of three playoff to get to the World Series was contested between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. the teams split the first two games - the Giants winning the first 3-1 and the Dodgers winning the second 10-0. the finale was at the Polo Grounds - home of the Giants. Brooklyn got the first run of the game in the first inning going up 1-0, while the Giants tied it in the 7th. Brooklyn scored three in the 8th to go up 4-1. by the bottom of the ninth came, the press were told to pick up their passes in the Brooklyn clubhouse after the game over the P.A. system. that must have spurred the Giants. Alvin Dark started the rally with a single off of Don Newcombe. Don Mueller, while batting lefthanded, shot a base hit through a large defensive gap (Gil Hodges was playing the line guarding a double instead of a double play position). Dark went to third on the hit. Newcombe got Monte Irvin to foul out to Hodges. Whitey Lock

in the A.L., the Jays will host the Orioles in the wild card game, with the winner going to Arlington to face the Texas Rangers in the ALDS. the Boston Red Sox faces the Cleveland Indians, with the series starting in Cleveland in the ALDS. in the N.L., the New York Mets will host the San Francisco Giants in the wild card game with the winner going to Chicago to face the Cubs in the NLCS, while the Washington Nationals will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the other NLDS series, starting in Washington. the postseason starts Tuesday with the O's and Jays.

the San Francisco Giants are heading to New York to play the Mets in the wild card game after beating the Dodgers 7-1 on the last day of the season, and getting the last postseason spot.

with Detroit losing 1-0 to Atlanta, the Toronto Blue Jays are into the wild card game and will be facing the Baltimore Orioles. they are still playing and are up 2-1 in the bottom of the 8th. if they win they will host the wild card game. a loss and Baltimore hosts. stay tuned

the Baltimore Orioles are into the wild card game after beating the Yankees 5-2. who and where will they play? stay tuned for more updates and entries.

on this day in 1978, the New York Yankees played the Boston Red Sox in a one game playoff for the A.L. East division title. the game was at Fenway Park in Boston. this game was best known for Bucky Dent's home run in the 7th inning that put the Yankees in front and staying there. (much to the ire of Red Sox fans, when reminded of this game call him Bucky freaking Dent). the Red Sox had built a 2-0 lead on a Carl Yastremski home run in the second and Jim Rice driving in Rick Burleson in the 6th. the top of the 7th is when the Yankees did their damage and went in front to stay. Chris Chambliss and Roy White single off of Mike Torrez. Jim Spencer came up to pinch hit and flied out. Bucky Dent came up and hit the home run that cleared the green monster in left field. Mickey Rivers then walks. Bob Stanley came in to replace Torrez. Rivers stole second and Thurman Munson drove him in with a double of his own to make the score 4-2. that would round out the scoring in the 7th. R

the New York Mets are into the wild card game after beating the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3. they will be hosting the wild card game against either San Francisco or St.Louis. the winner of the wild card game will face the Chicago Cubs, while Washington and Los Angeles will face each other in the other one. stay tuned for more action.

On this day in 1961, Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's single season home run record, hitting his 61st on the final day of the season as the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 1-0 at Yankee Stadium. by the A.L. adding two teams and the schedule expanding to 162 games, it allowed Maris an extra eight games. an asterisk was used, with pundits saying Ruth had 8 less games to get to 60. the record stood till 1998. Also on this day in 1903, the first World Series game was played as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Americans (later Red Sox) 7-3. that first World Series was a best of 9 series. Pittsburgh had a three games to one lead, but Boston won the last 4 games to win that first series five games to three. one of Boston's stars was pitcher Cy Young, while one of Pittsburgh's stars was Honus Wagner. also on this day in 1932, Babe Ruth of the Yankees "called his shot" in game 3 of the world series between the Yankees and the Chicago Cubs in Chicago.

it was a pretty good one until midway into the 4th quarter. the Western Bulldogs pulled away and beat the Sydney Swans 13.11.89 to 10.7.67, ending a 62 year drought in between championships. 1954 was indeed the last one they won. they had lost their last one in 1961. wow. to those who are looking at the scoring and thinking "i don't get it" the 13 that the Bulldogs had and the 10 that Sydney has are 6 points - or goals. the 11 the Bulldogs had and the 7 Sydney had are one point - or behinds (don't ask i don't know) that is how the score the points. there are four posts at either end. two long goal posts in between two short posts. kick the ball between two middle long posts is the goal kick the ball between a short one and a long one is the behind. that is my best explanation for the points scored. it would be better explained by an Aussie who knows the game better. anyways that is the Grand Final in the Australian Football League.

on this day in 1954, Willie Mays makes "the catch" in game one of the world series against the Cleveland Indians. he tracked down a fly ball hit by Vic Wertz. Mays had the presence of mind to turn and throw the ball back into the infield after catching it, preventing Larry Doby from scoring. Monte Irvin said years later, had Doby tagged up, he would of scored from second. game one was in the Polo Grounds and the ball was hit over 460 feet away in deep centerfield (in today's ball parks that would be a home run. Sal Maglie had been the New York Giants starter, and he went into the 8th inning and was pulled after giving up singles to Doby and Al Rosen. in came Don Liddle, who was to pitch to one batter - being Vic Wertz. Mays makes "the catch." in comes Marv Grissom to take over pitching for the Giants. Liddle hands Grissom and says with great humor (and with a straight face) says "well, I got my guy." Grissom shut down the Indians the rest of

with Toronto losing 3-2 to Baltimore, the Boston Red Sox are A.L. Eastern division champions. back in the post season since their world series in 2013. not its just the wold card spots left. congrats to the Red Sox.

with a 7-4 win over Detroit, the Cleveland Indians are A.L. Central division champions for the first time in 9 years and their first postseason since 2011 while taking the wild card that year. congrats to the Indians.

by winning 4-3 in 10 innings over Colorado, the L.A. Dodgers are National League west champions for the 4th year in a row. also Vin Scully's last home game doing play by play. don't know if he will be calling the playoffs. he goes back as far as the days when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. (Dodgers moved to L.A. after the 1957 season, along with the Giants moving from New York to San Francisco). all that is left is the wild card spots in the N.L.

with a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh, combined with Philadelphia beating the New York Mets 10-8, the Washington National have won the National League Eastern division. third division in the books. who is next? stay tuned

the Texas Rangers are A.L. West champions after beating Oakland 3-0 in Oakland with 8 games remaining. they are the first A.L. entrant. congrats to them. found this out after coming home from an Eskimos game (27-23 winners)

autumn began at 8:21am this morning Edmonton time, although the trees would tell you we're already in fall. the leaves have already changed color and we have had some cooler days. even a couple of frost advisories. there will be a few frosty mornings here. the amount of daylight hours will continue to get shorter. not enjoying it getting dark at around 8pm. jots of fall eh.

closing ceremonies are going. the handover to Japan happened. Canada finishes with 29 medals (8h 10s 11b) for 14th overall (i think). Tokyo hosts the next ones in 2020. until then.....

Aurelie Rivard was named flagbearer for the closing ceremonies tonight. she owned the pool at these games, winning three golds and a silver to go with the silver she won four years ago in London. she is 20 years old and has a heck of a career ahead of her. she will carry it proudly.

the 4X100m wheelchair relay team of Brent Lakatos, Curtis Thom, Tristan Smyth, and Alex Dupont have claimed Canada's 11th bronze of the games on a re-race. the original race they had finished 4th. they had appealed and was succesful in getting a re-race. they got the bronze. that, now brings Canada to 8g, 10s and 11b for 29 medals. where will the next medal come from? stay tuned.

Nicolas Guy Turbide just won a bronze in the 100m backstroke S13 event. that is the 8th medal in swimming at these games. wow. that brings Canada's total to 8g 10s and 10b for 28 medals. might get to 30 yet. will there be more? stay tuned.

second medal in sailing and it is a silver. it goes to John McRoberts and Jackie Gay in the SKUD 18 - 2 person keel boat event. that is 8g 10s and 9b for 27 medals. holy crud they keep coming. any more today? stay tuned.

this medal is a bronze in sailing, as Paul Tingley, Scott Lutes and Logan Campbell got it in the Sonar - three person keelboat race. that makes 8g, 9s and 9b for 26 medals. any more? stay tuned.

Michelle Stilwell wins gold in wheelchair racing - the 100m T52 event. that is two golds for her. that is now 8g, 9s and 8b for 25 medals. let's hope this is the first of many for the final two days of the Paralympics.

the Chicago Cubs are National League Central champions after San Francisco helped them out by beating the St.Louis Cardinals 6-2. 17 days left in the season who will join them? stay tuned.

Brent Lakatos picked up a bronze in wheel chair racing. he got it in the 800m T53 event. also his third of the games (1g 1s and 1b). that is now 7g 9s and 8b for 24 medals. who is next? stay tuned.

two more medals. Aurelie Rivard won her third gold of the games (and 4th overall) in a world record time in the women's 400m freestyle S10 event. wow. meanwhile Benoit Huot won his 20th paralympic medal winning a bronze in the men's 400m freestyle S10 event. that is now 7g 9s and 7b for 23 medals. making a slash again.

first medal of the day and it's a bronze in (gasp) cycling. Charles Moreau got the bronze in the road race H3 event. congrats. that is now 6g 9s and 6b for 21 medals. 9 of those medals in cycling. wow. will there be more? stay tuned.

katarina Roxon wins the second gold in the day, this one in the pool, as she won the 100m breast stroke SB8 event. that now puts Canada with 6g 9s and 5 b for 20 medals at the paralympics. wow. any more today? stay tuned.

another medal. and surprise surprise it's in cycling. Shelley Gautier picked up a bronze in the women's time trial T1-2 event. now it's 5g 9s and 5b for 19 medals. is there another one in the works? stay tuned.

4th medal today. it came in cycling again. a bronze from Michael Sametz in the time trial (again) C3 event. that is 5g 9s and 4b for 18 medals. the total keeps growing.

three more medals so far today. 1. a gold from Tristen Chernove (his third of the games) in cycling. he won it in the time trial C2 event. 2. a silver from Ross Wilson (his second), also in cycling in the time trial C1 event. 3. a bronze from Charles Morneau, also in cycling. again it was in the time trial - this one in the H3 event. that is now 5g 9s and 3b for 17 medals. not bad so far.

both medals in the pool. first the gold. from Aurelie Richard in the 100m freestyle S10 class. it is her third medal of the paralympics. the second medal is a silver from Tess Routliffe in the 200m individual medley SM7 class. that is now 4g 8s and 2b for 14 medals. more to come.

Aurelie Rivard has picked up her second medal - this time a silver in swimming. she claimed it in the 200m individual medley SM10 event. that is now 3g 7s and 2b for 12 medals.

two silvers and a bronze so far. Brent Lakatos got a silver (his second medal) in the men's 400m T53 event. Liam Stanley also got a silver in the 1500m T37 event. both medals in track and field. the bronze came in rowing. Victoria Nolan, Meghan Montgomery, Andrew Todd, Curtis Halladay and Kristen Kit got the bronze in the mixed coxed four event. that is now 3g, 6s and 2b for 11 medals.

got one of each today so far. the gold came from Michelle Stillwell on the track. she won the 100m T52 event. the silver came from Stefan Daniel in the paratriathlon PT4 event. the bronze came from Tristen Chernove - his second medal - in the cycling time trial C 1-3 event. that is 3g 4s and 1b for 8 medals. more to come.

this one on the track. Brent Lakatos in the 100m T53 event. his first ever Olympic gold. wins in a time of 14.44s. that is now 2g and 3s. any more?

Alister McQueen just won a silver in the javelin F44 event. the medal haul is coming in already. that is now 1g and 3s. wow. hopefully more to come.

Aurelie Rivard won gold in the 50m S10 event. and it happened to be a world record on top of that. that is now 1g and 2s so far. awesome. and congrats.

second day of the paralympics produced two medals - both in 3000m cycling and both silvers. the first one was from Ross Wilson in C1 3000m. the second was from Tristen Chernove in C2 3000m. not too bad so far.

here are some fall pics near where i live.

you know its the end of summer when you have reached the end of the Labour day weekend. plays it has been in the mid teens here and cloudy most of the weekend. hear this weekend was the fourth coolest weekend since 1991. wow. that surprised me. the leaves here have already started changing color. they will be on the ground before anyone knows it. the river valley will be pretty though.