GA Russell

MG, she's a very popular country music singer, I think on the countrypolitan side. She is a married to another popular country singer, Tim McGraw. I read just a few days ago that the two of them are/were in the top 5 entertainment couples in the world when it comes to 2007 income. Number one was Jay Z and Beyonce Knowles. The Beckhams were also in the top 5. I think Tom Cruise and his wife were too.

This is incorrect. I was wondering why I couldn't find anything besides the concert on the dvd. I now see that the website URL is printed alongside the references to the itinerary and podcasts, and I therefore conclude that the references were to the website rather than to the dvd.

Happy Birthday!

ECM has released a new album by a German piano trio led by Julia Hulsmann called The End of a Summer. I like it. Marc Muellbauer is on bass, and Heinrich Köbberling is on drums. Muellbauer has played with Hulsmann since 1996, and Kobberling since 2001. Most of the titles were composed by members of the group. All of the songs are fairly introspective, but not as quiet as many ECM records are. The recording was made in March of this year in Oslo. This is an album easy to relax by. I will definitely recommend it if BMG carries it in a few months.

Danny Maciocia is stepping down as the Eskimos' head coach, and will be the General Manager and Director of Football Operations. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Edm...557606-sun.html

I was a member briefly of the RCA Record Club in 1966. I quit as soon as I saw what was available. They sold only albums that were months old, and as a teenager I only wanted the newest stuff! Of course it's the same today, but now I don't care if a record was released six months ago. To me now, that's new! I think the real revolution occurred in 1998 (as I recall) when BMG (the successor to RCA) put their entire inventory online, so that you no longer had to wonder what was available, and you could buy what you wanted most rather than what was featured in the latest mailing. I may be wrong, but I believe that record club items were not made of the same high quality vinyl as what was used for store-bought discs. That changed with the introduction of CDs of course. (I've never heard of whether there was much difference when the quality of store-bought vinyl plummeted in the 70s.)

My Gary Burton suggestion cost me three votes!

It was a year ago today that this thread was started. In that time it has received 9,952 views. Who would have thought that a thread on the Canadian league would get nearly 10,000 views in a year? Last week twelve of us participated in the Grey Cup contest. Since we know that 12 members could not have been responsible for 9,952 views, I have to think that there are non-members who have bookmarked the thread to check in. Hopefully they also look at other threads here and read about the band. So rather than start a new thread and lose those who have bookmarked this one, I am going to change its title to 2009 CFL Hot Stove League, and continue on. ***** Eskimos offensive coordinator Mike Kelly has cleaned out his office in Edmonton. He is expected to be named the Bombers' new head coach early next week. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...ory/GlobeSports ***** Calgary's kicker Sandro DeAngelis is planning on signing on with an NFL team for next year. DeAngelis was named the Outstanding Canadian of the Game for Sunday's Grey Cup game with five field goals. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...ory/GlobeSports ***** The Alouettes have 17 (!) guys eligible for free agency. http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...3c-a7dd5cfe1c4d

Bob, you'll find discussion of this album here: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=46366

Happy Birthday!

Everyone said that it was only a matter of time, and now a major record label says that a majority of its revenue is derived from downloads and ringtones. http://www.dailyadvance.com/business/digit...tic-261762.html (NY Times article too long to cut and paste)

Randy, I like it a lot! http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...561&hl=Bley

I should have mentioned last night that midway through the second quarter Montreal led 13-3. They scored one pint for the rest of the game. It's hard to get too excited when one team scores only one point over the course of the final 37 minutes. ***** For the first time ever, the Grey Cup game was broadcast on a cable tv channel (TSN) instead of the over-the-air CBC. TSN's reach is about 75% that of the CBC's. Yet believe it or not, the overnight ratings for the game are up 5% over last year. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...ory/GlobeSports ***** 66,000 attended the game, making it the second-largest crowd in Grey Cup history. The record of 68,000 was set in 1977, also at Olympic Stadium. And in those days the tickets cost $25.00. I have no idea what they are charging for Grey Cup tickets nowadays. When I went to the '96 Grey Cup game in Hamilton, the cheapest tickets were $100.00. ***** The league has given the provisional grantees of the proposed Ottawa franchisse until March to get the Ottawa city government to firm up a plan to provide a suitable stadium. The group has negotiated with Horn Chen (Remember him?) for the Rough Riders name and logo. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Ott...515306-sun.html ***** Here's Dan Ralphs' ratings of the two teams' performances in the Grey Cup game. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Gre...7511576-cp.html

I don't know if I would rank this in my personal top ten of the year, but at Your Music's price I'd certainly recommend it.

96th Grey Cup game Calgary Stampeders 22....Montreal Alouettes 14 http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...lobeSports/home http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4193309 It was interesting because it was close, and there was always pressure on whoever had the ball. But it wasn't exciting because neither offense ever got on track. There was only one TD pass. Sandro DeAngelis kicked five field goals. I'll plan to post some of tomorrow's articles about the game.

Final score: Calgary Stampeders 22....Montreal Alouettes 14 Total points: 36 So it looks like Noj has won the contest with a pick of Calgary and 40 points. Congratulations Noj! Please PM me your address.

On the last play of the third quarter, Calgary kicked a field goal to take the lead for the first time in the game, 16-14. Cal....00....10....06........16 Mtl....03....10....01........14 Hold on. Calgary has just kicked another field goal to make the lead 19-14.

At the half, Montreal leads 13-10. Cal....00....10......10 Mtl....03....10......13 The din is non-stop. The sideline reporter said that at its peak the noise is 140 db, the same as a jet engine.

It's now six o'clock, so the contest is now closed. Good luck everyone!

Fred Williams Grey Cup preview http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4193074 ***** Here's a Sun Media synopsis of what it will take for each team to win. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Cal...506616-sun.html

Fred Williams says this in his preview, and I have to agree (except as I mentioned above, I like Calvillo more than Burris). http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4193074 "So while the Alouettes will have the home crowd behind it, the Stampeders will have a team that established itself during the regular season as the league's best. The fact this game is being played in Montreal is the only reason why it should be close."

I beat Lon to the punch, and suggested the Gary Burton RCAs.

And unlike hockey, these Canadians weigh 300 pounds!

T.D., USA Today has published the point spread each year in the past, but I haven't picked up a copy this week to see. I haven't seen any mention of the point spread in any of the articles I have read online. I have to think that Calgary is favored because they were the better team over the course of the season. But Montreal's home field advantage cannot be ignored. The game will be played at Olympic Stadium under the dome, so it should be pretty loud.

Great idea, Lon! Burton has been mentioned in the past regarding what we would like to see Mosaic issue. I'll go vote for him too.