GA Russell

British Columbia Lions 19....Montreal Alouettes 12 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/foot...article1277332/ http://scoreboards.canoe.ca/merge/tsnform..../final/W779.htm Pretty much a defensive battle, although Martell Mallett rushed for a Lions team record 213 yards. Considering how awful the Lions D was last game against the Bombers' rushing, it's amazing that they were able to stop the Als. Wally Buono grew up in Montreal and played for the Als. Last night he tied Don Matthews for most regular season (231) and total (including post-season) (250) coaching victories, and he has the chance to set the new record next week against his old team in the rematch in Montreal. ***** edit: I forgot to mention that the game ended under very questionable circumstances. Montreal had the ball near the goal line, third down and a yard. They make it but Wally had called a time out. So they do it again, and this time they score the touchdown. But the ref disallows the play and says that the scoreboard clock needed to be reset. So they do it a third time. The ref spots the ball two inches short of a first down.

Happy Birthday Sidewinder! Which Mosaic will you play in celebration today?

It's halftime at the Als-Lions game. BC is leading 10-7 in something of a surprise. The Als are the best team in the league, and the Lions have been struggling. But the Als haven't won in Vancouver since 2000! http://www.cjad.com/

Big news! Amazon is returning 1984 to its customers along with the notes they took. Or they can choose $30 instead. http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55571

David Naylor "Labour" Day Weekend preview http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/labo...article1275550/ Gregg Xenakes Labour Day Weekend preview http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=s...aspx?id=4251426

Bombers update: Apparently Immigration Canada wasn't sure it wanted to let Pacman into the country. Charles Rogers is currently under suspension by the NFL, so as long as that lasts he is ineligible to play in the CFL. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/blue...article1273887/

Are the record labels jazz record labels anymore? Last week when I voted in the Downbeat Readers Poll, I didn't think there was much competition for Label of the Year. Other than ECM and EmArcy, I'm not aware of anyone doing anything. And now that I think about it, EmArcy is a Universal label, and I think that ECM's US headquarters are in the Universal offices.

Let the discounting begin!

It's time to get ready for bed here. I'm unwinding to Groovadelphia.

The Eskimos have cut Jonte Buhl, and brought Mike Maurer back out of retirement. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Edm...2/10725916.html http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Edm...725941-sun.html

The Bombers have decided not to sign Pacman Jones after all. He apparently thought that he would be free to jump to the NFL whenever he wanted. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/blue...article1273887/

Looking like you're not going to make the playoffs can make you desperate. Now the Bombers are planning to sign Charles Roberts too. Here's an article about Pacman and Roberts. It mentions that Roberts, only 25, is the father of seven children! How did he find the time to get into trouble? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/blue...article1272879/

It looks like the Bombers will sign Adam (Pacman) Jones. He's going to go stir-crazy in Winnipeg! I'm surprised that he is only 25 years old. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/pacm...article1271577/ http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Win...709016-sun.html ***** The Riders have signed Jason Armstead (again!). http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Sas...0706006-cp.html ***** Here's an article about the Eskimos getting their first INT of the year, as I mentioned the other day. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Edm...676066-sun.html

Here's her LA Times obituary. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...0,6929714.story Chris Connor dies at 81; big-band and solo jazz singer She was known for 'All About Ronnie,' which she did as part of the Stan Kenton Orchestra. She became a soloist in the 1950s and had hits with 'Trust in Me' and 'About the Blues.' By Dennis McLellan September 1, 2009 Chris Connor, a smoky-voiced jazz vocalist who gained renown for her recording of "All About Ronnie" and other singles with the Stan Kenton Orchestra before going solo in 1953 and having success with songs such as "Trust in Me" and "About the Blues," has died. She was 81. Connor died of cancer Saturday at Community Medical Center in Toms River, N.J., said her longtime companion and manager, Lori Muscarelle. In a more than 50-year singing career that began in the late 1940s with the Claude Thornhill Orchestra, Connor recorded with bandleader Herbie Fields and sang with Jerry Wald's big band before joining Kenton in early 1953. Known for what has been described as her "warm, cello-like tones" and using little or no vibrato, she achieved her greatest acclaim beginning in the mid-1950s singing with small groups made up of established jazz musicians. "She, along with Carmen McRae, really pioneered jazz trio singing where they'd stand in front of a mike and, supported by piano, bass and drums, created enormous intimacy," said jazz historian and journalist Marc Myers. Connor's first album, recorded in 1954, was "Chris Connor Sings Lullabys of Birdland," with the Ellis Larkins Trio."What you begin to hear with Chris are breathy vocals and a slick-chick delivery that was both sexy and savvy," he said. "You never got the feeling with Chris that she was a helpless female, but you never got the feeling that she was bossy, either. And, as a result, almost everyone who heard her fell in love with her." The interesting thing about Connor, said jazz critic Don Heckman, was that "she came along at a time when there was a concept of coolness coming into jazz -- the Miles Davis 'Birth of the Cool' recordings and the general sense of coolness that was associated with West Coast jazz, which was becoming very popular. "The clear sound of her vibrato-less vocals and her cool onstage manner always reminded me of the detachment of the [Alfred] Hitchcock heroines of the time." Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 8, 1927. Although she studied clarinet for eight years, she later said that she always wanted to be a singer. "I never took lessons," she told the Buffalo News in 1996. "I like a natural singer better." While working as a secretary after graduating from high school, she spent weekends singing with a Kenton-influenced college jazz band at the University of Missouri. In 1949, after moving to New York City, she joined the Claude Thornhill Orchestra as a member of the four Snowflakes, Thornhill's singing group. Connor was singing with Jerry Wald's band when former Kenton vocalist June Christy heard her on a radio broadcast from a New Orleans hotel and recommended her to Kenton. As a singer, Connor was often compared to Christy and Anita O'Day, who preceded them in the Kenton band. But, Myers said, "she didn't set out to be like them. It so happened her voice had similar characteristics." In a 1986 interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, Connor acknowledged that she "went to school" on O'Day but also studied the style of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Christy. "I may have spent more time studying Anita and June because I made up my mind early on I wanted to sing with the Kenton band," she said. Connor's recording of the ballad "All About Ronnie" and other recordings with Kenton brought her national acclaim. But tired of the grind of performing on the road, she left Kenton in mid-1953 and soon launched her solo career. After a year and a half with Bethlehem Records, Connor signed with Atlantic Records, where she recorded from 1956 to 1962. Although her career took a downturn after leaving Atlantic, she continued recording for other labels until 2003. Her last appearance was at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City in 2004. In addition to Muscarelle, Connor is survived by a nephew.

Here is the French publisher Hachette complaining about Amazon's $9.99 price for best sellers. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0df31226-958d-11...144feabdc0.html ***** Today (Monday) the new Astak EZReader Pocket Pro ships to those who pre-ordered it on their website. This is the one I have settled on for the time being. I still have bills to pay before I can think about buying an eBook reader.

I forgot to mention last night that Byron Parker and PK Sams have returned to the Argos from the NFL camps. Sams scored two TDs. Parker was the guy cut by the Eagles to make room for Michael Vick. ***** Sam Etcheverry has died. His league passing records lasted for years even though they didn't start keeping track of stats until after he had played a couple of years. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/foot...article1269623/ ***** Edmonton Eskimos 31....Hamilton Tiger-Cats 30 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/foot...article1269680/ What a game! The Ticats led for the first 59 minutes! Quinton Porter bruised his knee the last game, so Kevin Glenn got his first start of the season. He was good. He hooked up with Arland Bruce for a couple of TDs. The Eskimos got the first INT of the year!

Calgary Stampeders 23....Toronto Argonauts 20 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/foot...article1269210/ Boring defensive struggle in the first half, with the halftime score tied at three. The game became very interesting in the second half with exchanges of FGs and TDs. The Argos had a chance to tie it on the last play of the game with a long FG attempt, but they instead opted to go for a Hail Mary which failed. Henry Burris passed Doug Flutie's Calgary team record for completed passes.

Happy Birthday 2009 kh!

David Naylor Week 9 preview http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/week...article1267581/ ***** Augie Berenechia is out for the year. The ER doctor found two blood clots in his lungs!

Gregg Xenakes Week 9 preview http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.../AJN4249982.htm

Listening to Clifford Anderson - Decade. I usually like to slow the music down at this hour, but not tonight.

Top Ten Reasons why the Kindle won't be another iPod! http://www.openculture.com/2009/08/top_ten..._for_books.html 1) When you buy an iPod, you can transfer all of your current music onto it. With Kindle you have to start buying all new books. 2) The paper-form book (aka “dead tree version”) is still the best technology for reading: fully portable, a nice thing to own and put on shelves, great for sharing, good in bed, at beach, etc. If you lose it or get it wet, no big deal—easily replaceable. 3) Music has constantly found new formats that improve on the old. Same for the iPod. It’s unquestionably better than that bigger, skipping CD player. Books haven’t been able to improve on the form for centuries. 4) Holding 100 albums in your hand is great. Holding 100 books? Not as much. 5) How often do you really go away for so long that you need 10+ books? (Bookstores are everywhere.) 6) Kindle is too expensive (see #1) and too big. 7) Books take much longer to consume, don’t work well in individual (shuffled) parts, and we often only read them once. 8.) Now that you can carry music on your phone, and the iPhone has bundled music, email, internet, and telephone in one small size, is anyone really willing to buy a bigger iPhone or Kindle just to read books on it? 9) Most of us spend more time listening to music than reading. We just do; it’s easier to do while we’re involved with other things. 10) Books: they’re better!

Lala: Herb Alpert & Lani Hall - Anything Goes

I sure wish there was a list of the hits and albums The Wrecking Crew was on. Here's Larry Knechtel's LA Times obituary. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...0,3190712.story Larry Knechtel dies at 69; bassist, keyboardist for '70s soft-rock group Bread Knechtel played keyboards and bass with the Wrecking Crew, a group of L.A. studio musicians, before joining Bread in 1971. His arrangement of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' won a Grammy in 1970. Knechtel won a Grammy for his work on "Bridge Over Troubled Water." (Los Angeles Times) By Keith Thursby August 24, 2009 Larry Knechtel, a member of the 1970s soft-rock group Bread, who had a wide-ranging career as a studio musician, has died. Knechtel died Thursday at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital in Yakima, Wash. He was 69. A hospital official would not release a cause of death, but a report in the Yakima Herald-Republic said he apparently suffered a heart attack. Knechtel played keyboards, bass guitar and harmonica as a member of the Wrecking Crew, a group of Los Angeles studio musicians that included future headliners Glen Campbell and Leon Russell and session drummer Hal Blaine. Knechtel played with Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas and many others. "It just snowballed. I was in the right place at the right time," Knechtel told the Yakima paper in 2004. "It was a lot of fun. We were all young. I was making big money and hearing myself on the radio." In 2007, members of the Wrecking Crew were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. Knechtel, who was born Aug. 4, 1940, in Bell, first played with Kip Tyler and the Flips and in 1959 joined Duane Eddy, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist. He won a Grammy in 1970 for his arrangement of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel. Knechtel also played the piano on that song. In 1971, he joined Bread after the group's second album, when Robb Royer left. "We needed somebody to play bass and keyboards and provide a strong instrumental element that we had been lacking," singer David Gates told The Times in 1977. "Larry was just what we needed." Knechtel played on the Dixie Chicks' "Taking the Long Way" album and toured with the group in 2006. He had been living in Yakima since 2003. According to the Herald-Republic, Knechtel is survived by his wife, Vickie; son Lonnie and daughter Shelli Kokenge; his mother, Edna Knechtel; brothers Don and Bob Knechtel; and three grandchildren.

Thanks for the heads up!