GA Russell

The Argos fired Rich Stubler today, and replaced him with...(wait for it) Don Matthews! Apparently the players didn't like Stubler. Players have always loved playing for Matthews. It's the press who hates him. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Tor...6710706-cp.html ***** The Tom Canada deal fell through. Canada has a spleen problem. The Ticats have agreed to accept the Bombers' first round pick for next year in exchange for Zeke Moreno. They also get the rights to a guy on the Bills' practice roster. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Win...6715266-cp.html http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home ***** The teams' taxi squads have increased from seven to twelve for a month, to accomodate the NFL cuts. The Argos have signed two old guys who were NFL first round picks years ago: Duane Clemons (1996) and Kenyatta Walker (2001). http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Tor...710291-sun.html

I was thinking the same thing, Tom! I don't think that Perez's solos are particularly interesting in their own right. I think that he kept them pretty conservative to be consistent with what the strings are doing.

I spent last week in Kansas on a (mostly) business trip. Friday night a friend took me to my first Eight Man high school football game. I have read references to this in the past, but I've never known anyone who went to a school that fielded an eight man team. In Kansas, if the total student population (grades 10-12), including the girls, is over 100, then the school must field an eleven man team. If under 100, then it's eight man. The field is only 80 yards between the goal lines. It is also narrower than usual, by five or six yards I think. There are five eligible receivers, so apparently the three missing men are a back and the two tackles. This was the first game of the season. My friend's team, St. John's, had no trouble scoring. Actually, the team was a composite of two schools' students, St. John's and Tipton. They played Rock Hills at Rock Hills' stadium. The bleachers were enough to accomodate only a few hundred people, and they were only on one side of the field. St. John's had a bench of only four players. Rock Hills had a team of a few more. So everyone was an ironman, playing both O and D. There are no tryouts. Anyone who wants to be on the team can be. St. John's had no trouble scoring. They never attempted a placekick PAT, and went for two (and made it) every time. Early in the third quarter, they scored a TD to make the score 46-0. At that point the game was stopped. There is a 45 point slaughter rule. It was my first high school game since I was in high school. I think that the crowd was made up entirely of the families of the players. Anybody here go to a high school so small that they played eight man football?

I'm wondering what was the issue with My Friend Flicka.

Here's a surprise. The Bombers this afternoon traded Tom Canada to the Ticats for Zeke Moreno. I thought that both of those guys were valued by their clubs, so I am surprised that each team would let their guy go. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Win...6705141-cp.html

Danilo Perez has a new album out on EmArcy called Across the Crystal Sea. (Has Universal moved all of its Verve musicians to EmArcy? So far, I've noticed James Carter, Roy Hargrove and now Perez. EmArcy is listed on the Universal website as being part of the Decca Music Group rather than the Verve Music Group.) The cover says in fine print: "Arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman". I think it would be more accurate to say that this is an Ogerman album with some help from Perez. The original idea for it was Tommy LiPuma's. His goal was to have Ogerman do another album like what he did for the Bill Evans With Symphony Orchestra album. Ogerman's arrangements here are for a lush string orchestra. I haven't heard the Bill Evans album. It has been many years since I last heard Ogerman's album Cityscape with Michael Brecker, but as I recall the arrangements are similar. The orchestra here is in the foreground, as it was with Cityscape. Perez and the rhythm section recorded their music in New York Sept., 2007. Ogerman and the orchestra recorded in Los Angeles three weeks later. Yet it sounds like Perez is accompanying the orchestra rather than the other way around! The rhythm section is Christian McBride on bass, Lewis Nash on drums and Luis Quintero on percussion. I would say that their talents are wasted, because they are hardly noticeable. There are eight tracks; two standards which feature vocals by Cassandra Wilson and six instrumentals for which Ogerman is given composer's credit. However, five of the six are "after a theme" by various classical composers. I like this album a lot, and I like it more and more with each listen. I recommend it. But I think you should know before you spend your money that 95% of your enjoyment will come from Claus Ogerman's string orchetra rather than Danilo Perez's jazz piano. By the way, the press release mentions some albums Ogerman did the arrangements for that I hadn't realized, including a couple of my favorites - Antonio Carlos Jobim's The Composer Plays and my favorite Michael Franks album Sleeping Gypsy.

Thanks for your help, BClug! Lots of news to catch up on. I'll try to take it in chronological order. But first I'll tell you something funny. Saturday I was listening to the Nebraska-San Jose State game on Sirius on my drive back home. San Jose State put up a very good fight, and it wasn't until the fourth quarter that Nebraska was able to put some distance between them. The Nebraska announcer said something like, "As I've said before, when a team can have a ten point lead with five minutes to go in the game, the game is pretty much over." Can you imagine a CFL announcer saying that? I pity the American rules football fan who thinks that a ten point lead with five minutes to go is safe! ***** Now let's begin with a link to the Argos' 34-31 victory over the Ticats Labor Day. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4177156 ***** In a blockbuster deal, the Bombers sent Charles Roberts to the Lions for Joe Smith. Roberts is a future Hall of Famer. Smith led the league in rushing last year. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4177239 http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/fo...p-4814373c.html ***** Dave Dickenson played more than 30 minutes on Labor Day, but was pulled because of dizziness. Nobody knows on what play the concussion occurred. That's how delicate the guy is. So the Stamps put him on the nine game disabled list, and you have to think that his career is over. The Stamps signed Ben Sankey to replace him. http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...f6-1dcbb4294ef8 http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Cal...6654211-cp.html ***** Fred Williams Week 11 preview http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4177801 ***** Calgary Stampeders 38....Edmonton Eskimos 33 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4177997 The Stamps avenge their Labor Day loss. ***** British Columbia Lions 35....Hamilton Tiger-Cats 12 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4178126 The Lions are in last place in the West, but at this point I can't imagine them (or whoever finishes last in the West) not crossing over for the Eastern playoffs. ***** Montreal Alouettes 45....Toronto Argonauts 19 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4178351 Was this Rich Stubler's last game as head coach? ***** Saskatchewan Roughriders 34....Winnipeg Blue Bombers 31 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4178413 What a game! The Bombers had a 17 point lead in the fourth quarter. The Riders then scored 20 unanswered points to win the game with a field goal on the last play of the game. Take that, NFL! ***** The Ticats fired Charlie Taaffe today, and replaced him with offensive coordinator Marcel Bellefeuille. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4178544 http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Ham...6700831-cp.html

Are you sure that Paul55 isn't akanalog?

Happy Birthday sidewinder! In celebration, I recommend that you spend the day listening to your Four Freshmen Mosaic!

Son of a gun. Here is an interesting article published today about people who live without television. I note that it says that many adults point with pride that without television they are out of touch with popular culture! http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/200809...holivewithouttv

I was throwing out some old newspapers the other day, and I noticed that the last tv program I watched was on July 20th! It was an ALMS sports car race at the Mid-Ohio racetrack. So I went the entire month of August without turning on the tv. Isn't that something? I'm sure that I have never gone a calendar month without watching tv before. Now to be fair, I get Fox News, CNN and CNN Headline News on Sirius in my car, and I spent plenty of time listening to them. I don't get cable tv. If I got the Speed Channel, there were a number of races I would have watched. And if I had known when the men's beach volleyball gold medal game was to have been aired, I would have watched that. But still, between my CD collection, the internet and Sirius, I just don't need television any more. The day will come when there is something I want to watch, but I don't have any idea when that will be. Certainly election night. Maybe before! I should check the ALMS website to see if any of their races will be carried by a network. Other than that, I can't think of anything.

ECU is in Greenville. I was in Greenville briefly today. I didn't see any signs of the victory, but I did see a billboard (college football billboards for season tickets are common around here) with Coach Holtz (Lou's son) which said "We're ready. Are you?" On my drive home I was listening to the Colorado-Colorado State game on Sirius. Near home, I stopped to fill the gas tank. During that brief time, I missed two kickoffs returned for TDs on consecutive plays!

Saskatchewan Roughriders 19....Winnipeg Blue Bombers 6 http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=s...aspx?id=4176884 http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home Despite being with the team less than a week, Michael Bishop started for the Riders and led them to victory. I was unable to listen to the game, and have no idea how much of the playbook he could have learned in that time. ***** I am leaving on a business trip tomorrow, and expect to be gone about a week. If anyone would like to post the scores and article links, you are welcome to do so. If not, I will plan to catch up upon my return. This will be the first Labor Day doubleheader I will miss in about twenty years. Before there was an internet to catch the games, I used to spend the day at a sports bar watching the CBC feed off the satellite. Those were good times! I wonder if Sarah Palin has ever caught the Canadian league games on TV up in Alaska!

Here's a good article about the origin and development of the Edmonton-Calgary Labor Day tradition. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/New...623681-sun.html ***** Here's a Sun report on the Argos rumor. If there is any truth to the report, Argos GM Adam Rita wasn't admitting to it last night. "Not that I know of, but sometimes the husband is the last to know," Rita told Sun Media's Terry Koshan. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Tor...623671-sun.html

Robert, I feel like I'm telling a kid that there is no Santa Claus! I don't think there was ever a time when pro wrestling was on the level. I read a book about it (either the Complete Idiot's Guide or the For Dummies) which was "written" by Captain Lou Albano, and it said that pro wrestling developed out of phony six-hour long wrestling matches staged at carnival shows. Anyway, it was clearly ridiculous in the late 40s (before Killer Kowalski's time) when Gorgeous George was popular on TV.

Herb Zurkowski is reporting that the Argos have approached Pinball Clemons to return as head coach if the Argos lose to the Ticats Monday. I didn't know that Pinball was the Argos' second winningest coach. http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news...1d-3b2826d17256 ***** The Ticats released Timmy Chang Friday. One day later, he signs with the Blue Bombers. I didn't know that he set all of the NCAA passing records with Hawaii. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=248074&amp...os=secStory_cfl

Now here's a name I haven't thought about in nearly fifty years! This is from the AP: http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...portsOther/home Wrestling pioneer Kowalski dies at 81 Associated Press August 30, 2008 at 3:21 PM EDT EVERETT, Mass. — Pro wrestling pioneer Walter "Killer" Kowalski has died from a heart attack. He was 81. Kowalski died Saturday after his family decided to have him taken off life support. Kowalski had been in critical condition at a hospital in Everett, Massachusetts, since the heart attack on Aug. 8. The death was announced on Kowalski's Web site. The 6-foot-7, 285 pound Kowalski earned his nickname in 1954 after dropping opponent Yukon Eric during a match in Montreal. He became famous for various moves, including a stomach vice grip called the "Killer Clutch."

Montreal Alouettes 30....British Columbia Lions 25 http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=s...aspx?id=4176350 http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home Great game! It ended with the Lions on the Als' one yard line. Buck Pierce played for the Lions instead of Jarious Jackson. Ben Cahoon caught a pass in his 100th consecutive game. The Als offense struggled. The Lions are the only team which has been able to give Anthony Calvillo problems - they've done it twice this year. edit for spelling

Fred Williams Week 10 preview http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=s...aspx?id=4176128

Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.

When I was a boy, my exposure to auto racing was mostly listening to the Indianapolis 500 every year. Formula One received no coverage here in the US. But I sure knew the name Phil Hill. He was the driver who raced in Europe. I didn't know that he won at Sebring and LeMans as well as Formula One. A few years back, I heard him interviewed on the radio, very likely an Indy 500 broadcast, and as I recall he was saying that the CART/IRL split was stupid and that they would have to get together for the sport to grow. I can hear his voice in my mind. Here is his LA Times obituary. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...0,1758007.story Phil Hill dies at 81; only American-born driver to win Formula One title AP 1961 file photo of Phil Hill of Santa Monica, Calif., receives cup after winning the Grand Prix of Italy at Monza in a race which saw Wolfgang von Trips of Germany and 11 spectators killed in a three-car collision. Von Trips was Hill's teammate on the Ferrari factory squad. The reserved, Santa-Monica-raised Hill won for Ferrari in 1961 and was a three-time winner at both Le Mans and Sebring, among other victories. He never suffered a serious injury. By Jim Peltz, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 12:08 PM PDT, August 28, 2008 Phil Hill, a reserved Californian who became a gifted race-car driver and the only American-born driver to win the Formula One international auto-racing championship, died today He was 81. Hill died at Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula of complications from Parkinson's disease, according to John Lamm, a close friend who is also editor-at-large of Road and Track magazine. Hill won the Formula One title for Ferrari in 1961. He also was the first American to win the 24-hour endurance sports-car race at Le Mans, France -- a race he would win twice again -- and he won the Sebring 12-hour race three times, among many other victories. "Phil set the standard" for other American drivers who competed overseas, such as Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti, said the late Shav Glick, longtime motor sports writer for the Times, in 2006. (The Italian-born Andretti, whose family emigrated to the United States when he was a teenager, won the Formula One title in 1978.) Hill "also was a great representative of the sport," Glick said, adding that he was "quiet and not given to self-promotion. A very gracious man." Hill won his Formula One championship at the season's penultimate race in Monza, Italy, after he had swapped the series lead all year with his Ferrari teammate Wolfgang von Trips of Germany. In the same race, Trips died in a crash that also killed 14 spectators. As a result, Ferrari did not participate in the season's final race in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Hill was unable to celebrate his championship in his home nation. Hill, despite driving with safety gear in his race car that paled by today's standards, never suffered a serious injury in his career. He retired from driving in 1967 at 39. "I had an amazing amount of luck to race for 22 years and not a drop of blood or a broken bone," Hill once said. Then he quipped: "Maybe I wasn't trying hard enough." But racing was not always easy for Hill. According to Formula One's website, Hill was "profoundly intelligent and deeply sensitive," a driver "always fearful and throughout his career he struggled to find a balance between the perils and pleasures of his profession." At one point in the early 1950s he stopped racing for 10 months because of stomach ulcers, but then returned and "by the mid-1950s he had become America's best sports car racer," the website said. Philip Toll Hill was born in Miami on April 20, 1927, and was raised in Santa Monica. His love of cars began at an early age and, when he was 12, his aunt bought him a Model T Ford that he would drive on private roads in Santa Monica Canyon. He studied business administration at USC in 1945-47 but eventually dropped out because his passion was race cars. Hill worked as a mechanic on other drivers' cars and, in the early to mid-1950s, drove in races in Santa Ana, Pebble Beach, Mexico and Europe and eventually joined the Ferrari team. In September 1958, Hill finally got the ride he wanted in a Ferrari Formula One car, which would culminate with his world title. The first of Hill's Le Mans victories also came in 1958, where he co-drove a Ferrari with Olivier Gendebien. After retiring, Hill focused much of his attention on his lifelong love of classic automobiles, as well as his collection of player pianos and other antique musical instruments. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991. Hill is survived by his wife, Alma, son Derek of Culver City, daughter Vanessa Rogers of Phoenix, stepdaughter Jennifer Delaney of Niwot, Colo., and four grandchildren.

Duane Forde rates each team's non-imports. http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/duane_forde/?...os=topStory_cfl

Happy 50th kh!

Is that George Reeves (Superman) on the right?

Another surprise move by the Argos. Today they released Orlondo Steinauer. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home