GA Russell

Dan, on your birthday in 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote The Star Spangled Banner, which today is sung at every Red Sox game!

spotify: Steely Dan - Aja

brownie, are you sure the guy on the left is Al Hirt?

I'd say you have to be an American of precisely the right age to remember this lovely lady!

I lived in York, PA, just up the road from Baltimore when USA Today started ca. 1983. Baltimore was one of its original markets. I remember what an excellent job they did covering the USFL and my Philly Stars. Do you remember a sports-only newspaper called The National? It failed, and I always felt that it did because USA Today's sports section was good enough for the national market, and The National was not filling a need.

Happy Birthday 2011 Dan! Time to break out the coffee ice cream and the spreadsheet!

Me too, Ron!

Dave Naylor Week 11 wrapup http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=375690 ***** Joe Lobendahn has a torn ACL knee injury and is done for the season. He was put on the nine-game injured list. Buck Pierce has bruised ribs. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=375705

The Eskimos are starting to get their receivers back, so they released Prechae Rodriguez yesterday, and the Argos signed him today. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=375666

BG, I like his new album Leapfrog.

I've been enjoying this, and can recommend it. The melodies are not hummable. The songs are challenging without veering into free jazz. In terms of complexity, they are a step up from Wayne Shorter's mid-60s Blue Note releases, and I suspect are aimed at the same audience. Donelian is new to me, although this is his ninth release on the Sunnyside label. I'll look forward to hearing another of his albums.

I've been a member of the Doubleday Book Club for a year, and it's saved me a great deal of money, both for books for myself and books for Christmas and birthday presents. These are typically hardback best sellers issued the same day the books are released in the stores. I've noticed more fiction than non-fiction, but I've given my nieces many cookbooks. They currently have a tell-a-friend special offer: The first five books are 99 cents total. When you join you can also buy one or two in addition for $5.99 each. Your commitment is to buy four books at the Club discount price (typically around $16) in the next year, but if you buy a book for $5.99 when you join, your commitment is reduced to three books. You have the Club's entire catalogue to choose from. Here's the link. http://doubleday.tellapal.com/a/clk/1PSnP I believe that the Club only serves US residents.

This might be too expensive to be considered a bargain, but I want to give you a heads up that Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer: The Complete Series with Darrin McGavin will be released Sept. 20. Amazon has a pre-order price of $61.99. 12 DVDs. http://www.amazon.com/Mickey-Spillanes-Mike-Hammer-Complete/dp/B004QC6HGY/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1121M1WCLSCKU&colid=RVSBV717YT9

Thanks flat5!

New York provincialism is one reason I stopped watching television a long time ago.

Correct, Chuck! It's Dinah Shore!

This might be a difficult photo. There are plenty that are too easy.

FFA, I suggest that you first call the competitors to find out what kind of a deal they will give you before calling your current providers. Then you can ask your current providers to match the competitors' best offers, and threaten to bail if they won't. I did this two months ago with my ISP, and cut my monthly bill $15.00, from $44.99 to $29.99. PS - This may not be relevant to you, but I make all my calls from home using my magicJack. The initial cost is only $39.99 for the device and one year's service, and then after the first year the cost is only $19.99 per year for US calls. I don't know if Canada calls are included for free.

Montreal Alouettes 43....Hamilton Tiger-Cats 13 http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4435795 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=375592 It was 8-0 after one, and after that the Ticats were never in it. ***** Saskatchewan Roughriders 45....Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23 http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4435844 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=375616 The Riders win the Banjo Bowl, and are now 2-0 under Ken Miller. Darian Durant threw four TD passes, while Buck Pierce threw five interceptions, including one that was run back for a TD.

Correct, sidewinder!

In 1960 I saw (on TV) the Baltimore Colts-Detroit Lions game that had three TDs in the last minute and twenty seconds. I still remember it!

He's another one with his name on the photo! You need to do something about that! But in this case I guessed correctly before I saw the name. I met him in '69 and again a year later when I was interviewing jazz musicians for my college radio station.

Evan, your photo has the guy's name on it! I haven't seen his picture in nearly forty years, so he is another one I'm sure I would not have recognized without being told. Here's one I'm sure that Brownie will get, but I doubt an American will beat him to it!

British Columbia Lions 28....Toronto Argonauts 6 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/lions-shut-down-argonauts/article2161101/ http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4435497 This was the Lions' last game at Empire Field. From now on they will play at the newly rebuilt BC Place. The Argos offense showed nothing in the first half, and the Lions completely dominated. In the second, the Argos fared better, but couldn't score. Geroy Simon set a team record for TDs.

spotify: John Coltrane - Coltrane's Sound