GA Russell

Happy Birthday 2016 John!

I recommend the Joe Pass album Six-String Santa.

And so Ottawa wins the Grey Cup for the first time in forty years! Rather than deluge you with links, I'll post today just a few. The league's articles on its website. http://www.cfl.ca/news/ 3DownNation http://3downnation.com/2016/11/27/seven-hot-takes-2017-grey-cup/#comments Dan Ralph http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/grey-cup-stampeders-redblacks-1.3870182 http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/stampeders-coach-dickenson-second-guessed-1.3871035 Ottawa Citizen http://ottawacitizen.com/category/sports/football Calgary Herald http://calgaryherald.com/category/sports/football PS - For the next two or three days, those in the US who get ESPN should be able to see the game's broadcast on demand at espn3.com.

Happy Birthday BFrank, and congratulations on winning the Grey Cup contest last night!

Ottawa wins the Grey Cup! Ottawa 39....Calgary 33 Well there you have it, the biggest upset in Grey Cup history! And our winner is...BFrank, who picked Ottawa with a tiebreaker of 60. Congratulations BF! Please PM me your address, and I'll order your Mosaic card right away. And let us know what you spend it on!

Last call! The deadline to play is in less than an hour. Good luck everyone! I'm going to the sports bar across the street which serves pitchers of Labatt's Blue.

Eric, it was in Chapel Hill, which made it more special for the State fans! Here are some late scores. Cal 36....UCLA 10 Vanderbilt 45....Tennessee 34 Clemson 56...USC 7 Florida State 31....Florida 13

They are not showing up for me. Maybe I have a browser problem. I'll try others and see.

There have been a few minor headlines this week which have been irrelevant to the Grey Cup, so I thought I would wait till next week to post them. Yesterday the Commissioner held his State of the League address, and for the second year in a row the media were not impressed. http://3downnation.com/2016/11/25/3min-3down-dissecting-orridges-state-league-address/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/25/players-union-criticizes-cfl-commissioners-concussion-stance/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/26/arthur-cfl-sends-wrong-message-head-injuries/#comments ***** Grey Cup game notes http://www.cfl.ca/category/game-notes/ ***** Ottawa http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/26/redblacks-draheim-hot-seat-vs-vaunted-pass-rush/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/26/redblacks-defenders-have-a-give-and-take-relationship/ Both Chris Milo and Tristan Jackson of the Redblacks have not sufficiently recovered from their injuries, and will miss the game. http://www.tsn.ca/milo-jackson-to-miss-grey-cup-for-redblacks-1.617409 Calgary http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/26/small-man-finch-making-big-impact-field/ General http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/26/stamps-redblacks-all-set-for-104th-grey-cup-presented-by-shaw/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/26/under-centre-exclusive-1-on-1-with-sundays-quarterbacks/ http://www.cfl.ca/thewaggle/ ***** TSN lists who they think are the top ten Grey Cup teams. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/top-10-all-time-grey-cup-teams%7E1003949 ***** The Vanier Cup was played this afternoon in Hamilton. Laval 31....Calgary 26 http://www.tsn.ca/laval-tops-calgary-to-win-vanier-cup-1.617508 ***** Regina QB Noah Picton won the Hec Crighton Award Thursday. http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/25/reginas-picton-becomes-50th-hec-crighton-winner/ http://www.tsn.ca/regina-qb-picton-wins-hec-crighton-trophy-1.616378

I haven't found a thread for this year. If one already exists, the mods rare welcome to merge this. Here are some scores from this weekend which some may find interesting. State 28....UNC 21 Washington 45....Washington State 17 Virginia Tech 52....UVA 10 Ohio State 30....Michigan 27 Northwestern 42....Illinois 21 Kentucky 41....Louisville 38 Georgia Tech 28....UGA 27 USC 45....Notre Dame 27 Miss. St. 55....Ole Miss 20 Alabama 30....Auburn 12 Oregon State 34....Oregon 24

Here are the tiebreakers I see to be still available. Please speak up if I have made a mistake. Calgary 5 and 10 20 30 75 85 through 515 525 and above ***** Ottawa 5 through 35 65 and above

Now let's look at some pre-game analyses. Ottawa http://3downnation.com/2016/11/22/time-running-henry-burris-learns-appreciate-moment/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/23/burris/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/25/arthur-henry-burris-grey-cup-win-bring-validation-craves/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/25/guide-r-nation-slang/#comments http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/22/burris-redblacks-arrive-toronto-changed-squad/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/24/harris-ready-waiting-time-starter/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/24/ottawa-d-line-not-focused-stampeders-injuries/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/24/berg-vs-ferg-career-defining-game-henry-burris/ http://www.tsn.ca/redblacks-have-another-shot-at-no-1-1.616734 Calgary http://3downnation.com/2016/11/21/stamps-aim-put-exclamation-point-season/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/22/jerome-messam-grey-cup-home-game/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/24/stamps-look-honour-fallen-teammate-grey-cup-win/#comments http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/24/emergence-davaris-daniels-no-accident/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/25/nye-pre-season-prediction-helps-fuel-messams-career-year/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/25/injuries-force-stamps-offensive-line-adapt-change/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/21/mitchell-104gc-will-battle-will-fight/ http://www.tsn.ca/stampeders-aren-t-taking-redblacks-lightly-1.616944 General game comments http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/25/injuries-force-stamps-offensive-line-adapt-change/ http://3downnation.com/2016/11/23/ticats-fan-guide-grey-cup/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/23/breaking-cfl-coaches-favour-sex/#comments http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/21/head-to-head-who-has-the-edge-in-the-grey-cup/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/22/grey-cup-game-breakers-who-to-watch-on-sunday/ http://www.tsn.ca/hard-to-imagine-grey-cup-game-returning-to-toronto-anytime-soon-1.615479 http://www.rodpedersen.com/2016/11/2016-grey-cup-photos-from-6ix.html ***** Grey Cup picks Jamie Nye http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/25/weekly-predictor-always-fear-the-underdog/ cfl.ca http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/25/prediction-time-cfl-ca-writers-make-grey-cup-picks/ Malcolm Kelly http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/grey-cup-stampeders-redblacks-preview-1.3867111 Dan Ralph http://thechronicleherald.ca/sports/1418378-levi-stampeders-look-to-finish-dominant-season-with-grey-cup-win ***** And in case you have not already noticed, go play this year's Grey Cup contest!

The Byrds - OAC - $9.88 prime https://www.amazon.com/Original-Album-Classics-CDs-ARTWORK/dp/B00DX5WKT8

Tonight I am not seeing the links to Twitter and Facebook that I have seen when I make a post. Has this feature been discontinued?

And tonight the CFL Awards were announced and presented. http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/24/shaw-cfl-awards-2016/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/24/mitchell-caps-stellar-2016-outstanding-player-nod/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/24/messam-muscles-way-winning-outstanding-canadian/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/24/rookie-dave-dickenson-named-agf-coach-year/ http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/24/live-now-2016-shaw-cfl-awards-from-toronto/ Bo Levi Mitchell - Player Justin Medlock - Special Teams Solomon Elimimian - Defense Jerome Messam - Canadian Derek Dennis - OL Dave Dickenson - Coach

It's Grey Cup Week, and the party has begun. Let's look at a few articles from the past few days. First some final thoughts about the Finals. http://3downnation.com/2016/11/21/ottawas-depth-outplays-edmontons-stars-13-thoughts/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/21/madani-stampeders-battle-drug-tester-toughest-night/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/22/solomon-elimimian-bet-now-b-c-lions-must-pay/#comments ***** The Grey Cup tickets are selling more slowly than the Argos had hoped, but they predict a sellout. http://3downnation.com/2016/11/19/sales-lagging-tsn-staffers-offered-free-grey-cup-tickets/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/21/grey-cup-organizers-report-spike-ticket-sales-say-game-will-sold/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/24/30-pizza-deal-includes-free-grey-cup-tix/#comments http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/pizza-pizza-grey-cup-1.3866277

My calculator tells me that at this point, if the Stampeders win, and the combined score is over 300, then JSngry would win. For example, OT for the Grey Cup is like American college ball; except that when you score a TD in OT, you have to go for the two-point convert. So if the teams are tied at 50 at the end of regulation, they would need to go to the 14th OT period. It could happen in the Canadian league! Does anyone want to challenge my arithmetic?

Happy Birthday 2016 Don!

The Essential Van Morrison (2 CDs, 37 tracks) - $7.88 prime https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012UNH24Q/

Great to see you Evan! You can't have 50 because that's my pick. If you want Calgary, what is available now is everything 30 and under 40 70 and 75 everything 85 and above

NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston To Release New 2-CD Set, "The African Nubian Suite," On His African Rhythms Label January 20 Recorded at a 2012 New York Concert Featuring an International Cast of Performers Including Cecil Bridgewater, T.K. Blue, Billy Harper, Alex Blake, Lewis Nash, Ayodele Maakheru (Nefer), Candido (Congas), Lhoussine Bouhamidy (Guimbry), & Poet Jayne Cortez November 21, 2016 NEA Jazz Master, iconic pianist/composer, and still-vital jazz elder Randy Weston, at 90, remains a powerful force in jazz. Currently serving as artist-in-residence at Medgar Evers College at the City University of New York; celebrated earlier this month at Harvard University, which has acquired his archive; and named a United States Artists (USA) Fellow last week, Weston is now preparing to release a new recording on his African Rhythms label. The 2-CD set, The African Nubian Suite, captures a concert presented at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts by the Institute of African American Affairs on Easter Sunday 2012 and will be released by African Rhythms on January 20, 2017. The African Nubian Suite lays out the history of the human race in music and words. Weston and narrator Wayne Chandler trace it back to Ardi, a woman who walked upright 4.4 million years ago in Nubia, a region along the Nile River that straddles parts of what are today Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. "In one single work," Robin D.G. Kelley writes in the booklet notes, "Weston manages to pay tribute to the ancient tombs of Sidi Bilal in Aswan, the sufi tradition, the holy city of Touba in Senegal, China's great Shang Dynasty, African folk music, the timeless history of the blues, and the unity of humankind." Weston was joined in a circle at the sold-out concert by a remarkably diverse, truly international cast of performers. A few played without accompaniment, others as duos, trios, and larger ensembles. They include trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater, trombonist Robert Trowers, tuba player Howard Johnson, saxophonist-flutist T.K. Blue, tenor saxophonist Billy Harper, bassist Alex Blake, drummer Lewis Nash, conguero Candido (who, at 94, is four years older than Weston), nefer player Ayodele Maakheru, guimbry player Lhoussine Bouhamidy from Morocco, kora player and vocalist Saliou Souso from Gambia, balafon player Martin Kwaku Obeng from Ghana, pipa player and vocalist Min Xiao-Fen from China, singer Tanpani Demda Cissoko from Mali, African-American percussionists Neil Clarke and Ayanda Clarke, and the late poet Jayne Cortez. "The suite is saying, 'Let's start with our first mama,'" Weston explains. "The whole idea is that we're all so different on this planet, but in reality, we all look alike. If you look at the flowers and look at the insects, Mother Nature paints all the colors of her subjects. One is brown. This one is black. Whatever. We've got one nose, one mouth. The whole idea is we all come from the same place. We all come from Africa. It's scientifically true, culturally true." Weston adds: "I feel that this is the kind of work that should be in the schools, in the churches, in the cultural centers, the kind of work for all people to listen to and read about, because it will give us a better understanding of Mother Africa." Today, the Brooklyn resident continues to tour throughout the United States and overseas. He holds honorary Doctor of Music degrees from Colby College, Brooklyn College, and the New England Conservatory of Music; was artist-in-residence at NYU, the New School earlier this year, and currently at Medgar Evers College at the City University of New York. In 2010 Duke University Press published African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston, composed by Randy Weston and arranged by Willard Jenkins. Weston is a Fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation and a Grant recipient of the Doris Duke Foundation; he was honored by King Mohammed VI of Morocco, and his decades of work -- including scores, correspondence, photographs, and recordings -- are now archived at Harvard University as the Randy Weston Collection. In 2016 Weston was voted into the Down Beat Hall of Fame. Weston's African Rhythms Trio will perform at Aimé Césaire Performance Hall in Martinique on Friday 11/25. Weston conducts an African Rhythms Masterclass ("A Spiritual Awakening"), featuring Eddie Palmieri, at Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, NY, 11/29. The Randy Weston African Rhythms Quintet appears at Dizzy's, NYC, Friday through Sunday 12/2-4. A CD release show for The African Nubian Suite in New York City is in the works. Photography: © Jimmy and Dena Katz Randy Weston talks about "The African Nubian Suite." Web Site: randyweston.info

Not jazz, but... Dwight Yoakum - Very Best of (20 tracks) - $3.99 prime https://www.amazon.com/Very-Best-Dwight-Yoakam/dp/B00028HOP4 ***** Sting - Fields of Gold - Best of, 1984 - 1994 (14 tracks) - $3.99 prime https://www.amazon.com/Fields-Gold-Best-Sting-1984-1994/dp/B000002G2R

Homeland - Complete Season 1 - $5.00 prime https://www.amazon.com/Homeland-Season-1-Claire-Danes/dp/B005LAJ16I

It's that time of year again! It's time for the annual Grey Cup contest. Past winners have included Noj (twice), indestructible, Bright Moments, brownie, paul secor, Soulstation1, danasgoodstuff, B. Clugston and ejp626. Here are the rules: 1) Pick the winning team. 2) Pick the number of total points scored by both teams (aka the tiebreaker). Since approximately half of us will pick the winning team, picking the total points is necessary to win the contest. Your total points prediction must be a number which is a multiple of five (5). The winning tiebreaker will be the one closest to the correct answer. If two are equally close, the winner will be the lower pick. If two people pick the same thing, the first to make the pick will be the winner. THE PRIZE: A $17.00 Mosaic Records Gift Card. The $17.00 represents one CD of a Mosaic box set. Deadline: Sunday Nov. 27, 6:00 pm eastern ***** The Grey Cup game: The Grey Cup is awarded to the world champion of what I think is the greatest game in the world, Canadian rules football. That is to say, the champion of the Canadian Football League. The Grey Cup was first awarded in 1909. They have played for it every year since then except three years during World War One. Therefore, this year's will be the 104th Grey Cup game. Fans from throughout Canada will attend the game. This year's game will see the Western champion Calgary Stampeders face the Eastern champion Ottawa Redblacks. The Stampeders went undefeated in 1948. One of their players that year was one of the first great black pro football players, Woody Strode. He later became an actor with a significant role in Spartacus. This year, the Stampeders lost their first game, and did not lose again until their last game when they gave most of their starters the day off. For the past month or so, Canadian sportswriters have speculated that the 2016 Stampeders are the best team ever. Their quarterback is Bo Levi Mitchell, who played for Eastern Washington U. He is expected to be the unanimous choice for Most Outstanding Player . The Ottawa Redblacks were an expansion team two years ago, and have been the Eastern champions last year as well as this year! Ottawa last won the Grey Cup in 1976 when their team was the Rough Riders. This year, the Redblacks became the first team in league history to finish first with a losing record (7-8-1). The Redblacks' quarterback is 41-year old Henry Burris, who played his college ball at Temple. They have an excellent backup in Trevor Harris, who played for Edinboro University in Pennsylvania. The location of the game is chosen years in advance. This year's game will be played in Toronto. Eastern fans always root for the Eastern champion, and Western fans always root for the Western champion. Toronto is an Eastern city, but it traditionally has been considered a neutral site because it is so easy for all Canadians to travel to. The game will be carried live in the US on ESPN2, starting at 6:00 pm eastern Sunday. You can listen to the game here: http://www.tsn.ca/radio (To listen to the game, you will need Windows Media Player which you can download for free. So you might want to plan ahead if you don't already have it.) You can study articles analyzing the upcoming game as well as articles about the season as it unfolded in the CFL thread, which I will be updating during the course of this week. Good luck everyone! ***** Here's my pick: Calgary - 50 The fact is, if Calgary is one of the greatest teams ever, and since Ottawa finished with a losing record, if Ottawa wins this game I think it would be fair to call it the biggest upset in Grey Cup history.

3Down Finals picks http://3downnation.com/2016/11/20/division-final-picks-gets-go-big-dance/#comments ***** Finals results East Ottawa 35....Edmonton 23 http://3downnation.com/2016/11/20/redblacks-eskimos-return-grey-cup/#comments http://www.cfl.ca/games/2359/edmonton-eskimos-vs-ottawa-redblacks/ http://www.tsn.ca/redblacks-hold-off-eskimos-in-eastern-final-to-return-to-grey-cup-1.612474 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/eastern-final-trophy-presentation%7E999151 West Calgary 42....BC 15 http://www.cfl.ca/games/2360/bc-lions-vs-calgary-stampeders/ http://www.tsn.ca/stampeders-crush-lions-to-book-date-with-redblacks-in-grey-cup-1.612599 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/western-final-trophy-presentation%7E999229