Merle

Here's another glamour shot of exotic screen legend Merle Oberon.

S2 Top T2 Late

At Tukwila, Washington:

Jordan Schweitzer scored the winning goal in the 88th minute on Monday night as Seattle Sounders 2 posted a 2-1 United Soccer League victory over visiting Portland Timbers 2.

T2 will host Oklahoma City Energy FC next Sunday at 7:00 PM Pacific Time.

Gene Wilder, Portrayed Title Roles In "Willy Wonka," "Young Frankenstein," R.I.P.

Gene Wilder, the comic actor who starred in such movies as "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate  Factory," "Young Frankenstein,"  and "Stir Crazy." passed away on Sunday night at age 83 at his Stamford, Connecticut home of complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Timbers Erupt For Four First-Half Goals In Cascadia Cup Win Over Sounders

At Portland, Oregon:

Thanks to first-half goals from Vytautas Vytas Andriuskevicius (16'), Fanendo Adi (19'), Lucas Melano (29'), and Steven Taylor (43'), the Portland Timbers coasted to a Sunday 4-2 Major League Soccer (and Cascadia Cup) home triumph over the Seattle Sounders and tightened their grip on the Western Conference's sixth and final playoff berth.

This coming Saturday, the Timbers will try once again to pick up their first road victory of the season when they visiting league-and-Western-Conference-leading FC Dallas in Frisco, Texas at 6:00 PM Pacific Time (Timbers broadcasting television network via KPDX-TV, Portland-Vancouver).

Where's Betty Fairfield?

From 1934, here's a box of Wheaties with what's supposed to be a photo of Jack Armstrong (The All-American Boy!) on the back.

Breakfast of Bowlers

From the mid-1960s, here a box of General Mills' Wheaties.

Chalk Up Another Defeat For The Riders

At Edmonton, Alberta:

In Friday Canadian Football League action, running back Shakir Bell racked up 170 yards from scrimmage and scored his first touchdown of the season as the Edmonton Eskimos (5-4) handed the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-8) their fifth successive defeat 33-25.

SOUL HOLD OFF RATTLERS, WIN FIRST ARENABOWL TITLE SINCE '08

At Glendale, Arizona:

The Philadelphia Soul won their first Arena Football League title since 2008 (and their second overall) on Friday as they defeated the Arizona Rattlers 56-42 in ArenaBowl XXIX.

Sweethearts of the USA (Monogram-1944)

From Monogram Pictures in 1944, we present "Sweethearts of the USA."  In this one, a female defense plant employee, after she had been accidentally knocked out, dreams she's opened a night club as well as catches crooks with the help of ghosts.



This movie stars Una Merkel, Harry ("Parkyakarkus) Einstein, and Donald Novis, amongst others.



Jan Garber, Henry King,Phil Ohman, and their respective orchestras are featured here.



Arthur St. Claire, Richard Long, and Jane Keith (who provided the original story) wrote the screenplay.



This movie was produced by Lester Cutler and directed by Lew Collins.



Enjoy!

Snow White, the Seven Dwars, and a box of Post Toasties

Here's a 1938 newspaper ad for Post Toasties cereal with cutouts of the stars of the Walt Disney animated feature "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

Really Old Post Toasties

Here's a 1920s magazine ad for Post Toasties corn flakes.

Ducks Make AP, Coaches Pre-Season Gridiron Polls

The Oregon Ducks were ranked #24 in the Associated Press pre-season college football poll that was released this past Sunday.

The Ducks were ranked at #22 in the USA Today/Coaches poll that was released back on August 4.

Coming off a disastrous 2015 campaign that saw them lose all nine conference games, there was no support in either poll for the Oregon State Beavers.

Raisin Bran, The Kellogg's Way

From circa 1956, here's a box of Kellogg's Raisin Bran.

Ole Tyme Cereal Box

From the 1940s, here's an old box of Post Raisin Bran cereal.

Deuce's Double Helps Sonics Sink Timbers In Cascadia Cup Clash

At Seattle:

Clint Dempsey scored twice (PK-61', 80') and Christian Roldan once (83') as the Seattle Sounders defeated the visiting Portland Timbers 3-1 in Sunday Major League Soccer action which also happened to be the latest installment of the Cascadia Cup.

Fanendo Adi scored the Timbers' lone goal in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.

The victory, played in front of 53,302 fans at CenturyLink Field, was the Sounders' third straight as their unbeaten run since Brian Schmetzer replaced the ousted Sigi Schmid has stretched to four games.

For Portland, who have now dropped four of their last five contests, they will face Seattle again next Sunday at 2:00 PM Pacific Time (ESPN), this time at home.

T2 Blown Out At Sacramento

At Sacramento, California:

Mike da Fonte (4'), Cameron Iwasa (45'), Tommy Thompson (48'), and Wilson Kneeshaw (81') each scored once as the Sacramento Republic demolished visiting Portland Timbers 2 in Saturday United Soccer League action 4-0.

T2 will visit Seattle Sounders 2 at Tukwila, Washington on Monday, August 29 at 7:30 PM Pacific Time.

Ti-Cats Destroy Visiting Riders

At Hamilton, Ontario:

In Saturday Canadian Football League action, quarterback Zach Collaros completed 23 of 31 passes for 381 yards and five touchdowns (and no interceptions) as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-4)  bludgeoned the visiting (and increasingly feckless) Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-7) 53-7.

You Mean There WAS A Real Reptar Cereal?!

Yep.

Post Cereals came up with this limited-edition product in the late 1990s, perhaps in conjunction with "The Rugrats Movie."

Smurfy!

Here's a box for Post Smufrberry Crunch cereal, which came out in the late 1980s.

First Cereal To Identify Itself With Pig Latin (Oot-fray Oops-lay)

An early-to-mid 1960s box of Kellogg's Froot Loops with Toucan Sam on it.

Hey, Sonny, Keep Your Clothes On!

Here's a 1960s box of General Mills' Cocoa Puffs cereal, with a fully-clothed Sonny the Cuckoo Bird.

Heavens To Mergatroy!

Here's a box of Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies, from around 1963, with Snagglepuss, who was a regular on the syndicated Yogi Bear Show, which Hanna-Barbera produced.

The Compact Box Strikes Again

From circa 1964, here's a box of Post Toasties Corn Flakes, with an offer for a Rory Raccoon inflatable toy.

Why couldn't it have been an inflatable version of Jayne Mansfield?

This came in the infamous compact box that General Foods abandoned in 1965.

No Carrots Inside This Box

Here's an early-1960s box of Post Top 3, which had corn flakes, wheat flakes, and rice.

But no carrots.

Yes, kids, that's Bugs Bunny on the box.

Yummy!

Nothin' quite like corn flakes with freeze-dried strawberries.

From circa 1965, here's a box of Post Corn Flakes and Strawberries.

I vaguely remember having eaten that cereal.

Own Goal Proves Costly As T2 Fall To Real Monarchs On Road

At Sandy, Utah:

An own goal from a Portland Timbers 2 defender in the 86th minute proved fatal on Wednesday as Real Monarchs SLC defeated the guests 2-1 in United Soccer League action.

Next up for T2, a Saturday encounter with the Sacramento Republic on the road at 8:00 PM Pacific Time.

Storybook Box

Here's an early-1960s box of General Mills' Twinkles cereal, which came with a built-on storybook.

No Rabbit?

Here's a mid-1950s box for General Mills' Trix cereal, before they started using a cereal-obsessed rabbit as its' mascot.

Big G Cereals

Here's an ad from the June 11, 1960 issue of The Saturday Evening Post for the line-up of General Mills cereal.

So-Hi

From 1961-62, here's a box of Post Rice Krinkles cereal with So-Hi.

Whackos For Wackies?

From the 1960s, here's a box of General Mills' Wackies cereal.

AFL Playoffs: Soul Use Late Score To Sink Sharks And Get Shot At Rattlers In ArenaBowl XXIX

At Allentown, Pennsylvania:

Darius Reynolds caught a game-winning six-yard touchdown pass with four seconds remaining on Sunday as the Philadelphia Soul pulled out a 55-50 American Conference championship game victory over the visiting Jacksonville Sharks.

The Soul will take on the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XXIX, the Arena Football League's title game, on Friday, August 26 at Glendale, Arizona. 

T2 Top Orange County At Home

At Portland, Oregon:

Steven Taylor (28') and Victor Arboleda (30') each scored a goal on Sunday as Portland Timbers 2 defeated the visiting Orange County Blues 2-1 in United Soccer League play.

Next up for the Portland Timbers' owned-and-operated USL affiliate is a Wednesday affair in Sandy, Utah with Real Monarchs SLC at 6:00 PM Pacific Time.

AFL Playoffs: Rattlers Blast Gladiators, Advance To Another ArenaBowl

At Phoenix, Arizona:

For the fourth time in five years, the Arizona Rattlers--with quarterback Nick Davila completing 20 of 27 passes for 222 yards and seven touchdowns--advanced on Saturday to the Arena Football League's championship game (ArenaBowl XXIX) after their 82-41 demolition of the visiting Cleveland Gladiators in the National Conference title game.

The Rattlers will take on the winner of Sunday's Jacksonville-Philadelphia American Conference title game in the AFL's title game on Friday, August 26 at Glendale, Arizona.

Stamps Too Much For Sluggish Riders In Regina

At Regina, Saskatchewan:

Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 18 of 31 passes for 298 yards while Jerome Messam scored a touchdown as the Calgary Stampeders (5-1-1) defeated the home-standing Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-6-0) 19-10 in Saturday Canadian Football League action.

Timbers Wilt In Hot DC

At Washington:

In a Saturday Major League Soccer contest that saw its' opening kickoff delayed by an hour due to excessive heat in the nation's capital, Steve Birnbaum (7') and Luciano Acosta (29') each produced a goal as DC United blanked the visiting Portland Timbers 2-0.

The win snapped the hosts' six-match winless streak while the guests are still looking for their first league road win of 2016.

The Timbers will travel to Seattle for a nationally-televised Cascadia Cup clash against the Sounders, set for next Sunday evening at 6:30 PM (Fox Sports 1).

The Arena Football League

Is it toast?

The AFL, even with a new Washington franchise set to begin play next year, is acting more and more like the original North American Soccer League (1968-84) in its' final years with a shrinking number of franchises.

Any bets the Portland Steel will be around in 2017?  Or Los Angeles KISS or Philadelphia Soul, who moved their respective playoff games from last weekend moved out of town (San Diego and Allentown, Pennsylvania respectively)?

Where's Sonny?

Here's a box from circa 1961 of General Mills' Cocoa Puffs cereal with the three kids who would soon be replaced by Sonny the Cocoa Puffs Cuckoo Bird, who's always Coo-Coo for Cocoa Puffs.

Wheat Chex

Here's a mid-1950s box of Ralston-Purina Wheat Chex cereal.

Sir Grapefellow

Here's the front of a box of General Mills' Sir Grapefellow cereal, which existed at the same time as Baron Von Redberry.

This Wasn't The Red Baron That Snoopy Was In Persuit Of, Wasn't He?

Here's a early 1970s box of General Mills' Baron von Redberry cereal.

Post Sugar Crisp

Here's a 1951 magazine ad for Post Sugar Crisp featuring the original Three Bears (Handy, Dandy, and Candy).

Post-Tens

Here's a magazine ad for Post-Tens, General Foods' collection of ten miniaturized boxes of various Post cereals (including Nabisco Shredded Wheat).

Is There A Difference In Corn Flakes?

From circa 1950, here's a magazine ad for Post Toasties Corn Flakes.  The ad also includes Post-Tens, ten little boxes of cereal.

Shredded Ralston Box

With Liz Taylor on the front. 



This is from about 1950, roughly one year before the cereal was renamed Wheat Chex.

AFL Playoffs: Gladiators, Soul Advance

The opening round of the Arena Football League playoffs concluded on Sunday with two games.

AMERICAN CONFERENCE:

At Allentown, Pennsylvania:

The Philadelphia Soul defeated the visiting Tampa Bay Storm 63-41 in a conference semifinal contest.

The Soul will host the American Conference championship game this coming Sunday at Allentown against the Jacksonville Sharks at 3:00 PM Pacific Time (ESPN 2).



NATIONAL CONFERENCE:

At San Diego:

Quarterback Arvell Nelson directed two fourth-quarter drives as the Cleveland Gladiators knocked off the Los Angeles KISS 56-52 on the road in conference semifinal match.

The Gladiators will visit the Arizona Rattlers in Phoenix for this coming Saturday's National Conference championship game at 6:30 PM Pacific Time (CBS Sports Network).

Timbers Erupt In Second Half, Stiff Sporting KC

At Portland, Oregon:

In a Sunday Major League Soccer contest that saw both clubs reduced to ten men each due to first-half red-card ejections (Portland's Diego Valeri [12'], Kansas City's Soni Mustiva [39']), Diego Valeri (65'), Jack Jewsbury (87'), and Fanendo Adi (90'+2) each scored a goal while goalkeeper Jake Gleeson pitched a shutout as the Portland Timbers smothered visiting Sporting Kansas City 3-0.

The Timbers will travel to Washington for a Saturday evening contest against DC United at 4:00 PM Pacific Time (Timbers' broadcast television network via KPDX, Portland-Vancouver).

T2 Overcome Three-Goal Hole, Shock Galaxy II On Road

At Carson, California:

Goals from Blake Bodily (62'), Villyan Bijev (PK-67', 87'), and Nico Brett (90') enabled Portland Timbers 2 to erase a three-goal deficit after the one-hour mark and upend ten-man Los Angeles Galaxy II 4-3 on the road in Saturday United Soccer League play.

Next Sunday, T2 will host the Orange County Blues at 2:00 PM Pacific Time.

AFL Playoffs: Sharks (In OT), Rattlers (In Blowout) Advance

The Arena Football League playoffs opened with two games on Saturday night.

AMERICAN CONFERENCE:

At Jacksonville, Florida:

A successfully-converted two-point conversion by Derrick Ross, who also scored a touchdown on the previous play lifted the Jacksonville Sharks to a 69-68 road overtime victory over the Orlando Predators in a conference semifinal game.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE:

At Phoenix, Arizona:

The Arizona Rattlers pummeled the error-prone, visiting Portland Steel 84-40 in a conference semifinal match and improved their all-time record against the Thunder/Steel to 11-0.

Pete Fountain, New Orleans Jazz Clarinet Legend, Former Lawrence Welk Band Member, R.I.P.

Pete Fountain, the New Orleans-born-and-bred jazz clarinetist who go on to become a local musical icon of the Crescent City, passed away in his beloved New Orleans on Saturday morning after several years of declining health at age 86.

Mr. Fountain's manager, who happened to be his son-in-law, said that Pete passed away from heart failure.  He had been in hospice care in New Orleans.

After two years as a featured performer on Lawrence Welk's ABC television network shows (1957-59), Pete returned to New Orleans and rarely left except to appear on almost five dozen Johnny Carson-hosted Tonight Shows.

When Mr. Welk offered Pete a spot in his Champagne Music orchestra, the clarinetist and his family packed up and moved to Los Angeles.

When Pete first appeared in 1957 on Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent, he sported a receding hairline, and goatee, and glasses.  It was Lawrence who told him to ditch the glasses, trim the underlip hair, and get a toupee.

Pete's outstanding performances were always among the highlights on Lawrence's two weekly ABC shows (the Saturday Dodge Dancing Party and the Monday Top Tunes and New Talent---which in 1958 moved to Wednesday and became The Plymouth Show). 

When Pete left Mr. Welk in 1959, he returned to New Orleans and opened his own nightclub at 800 Bourbon Street the following year.  He would eventually moved to an enlarged facility at 231 Bourbon.

Outside of his 59 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Pete rarely, if ever, left the city of his birth.

He recorded numerous record albums for Decca's old Coral Records subsidiary during the 1960s featuring his Benny Goodman and Irving Fazola-influenced style.

Constipated?

Here's a box for Post Bran and Prune Flakes cereal from the mid-1960s.

Riders Sputter In Fourth Quarter, Fall To Stamps In Calgary

At Calgary, Alberta:

Rene Paredes kicked five field goals while Andrew Buckley and Anthony Parker each scored a touchdown as the Calgary Stampeders (4-1-1) broke open a tight game and won going away at the expense of the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-5-0) 35-15 in Thursday Canadian Football League action.

T2 Battle Back, Gain Home Draw With Switchbacks

At Portland, Oregon:

Rennico Clarke's equalizer in the 76th minute enabled Portland Timbers 2 to gain a 1-1 Wednesday United Soccer League home draw with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks.

Miguel Gonzalez tallied for the guests in the 73rd minute.

The Portland Timbers' owned-and-operated USL affiliate will take on Los Angeles Galaxy II at Carson, California this coming Saturday 7:30 PM Pacific Time.

Jack Mac And DV8 Help Timbers Slay Dragon In CCL Opener

At Portland, Oregon:

Jack McInerney (21') and Diego Valeri (90') each scored once on Wednesday as the Portland Timbers defeated visiting CD Dragon from El Salvador 2-1 in the two clubs' Group B opener in the CONCACAF Champions League.

The Timbers' next Major League Soccer contest will be at home this coming Sunday against Sporting Kansas City (1:00 PM Pacific Time, ESPN).

Where's Cadet Happy?

From the early 1950s, here's a box of Ralston's Wheat Chex, with Ed Kremmer, who played Commander Buzz Corey on the ABC Radio/Television series Space Patrol.

This Is Wheat Chex??

Here's a box of Shredded Ralston cereal that probably dates back to the 40s.

By 1951, the cereal was renamed Wheat Chex.

Arenabowl Playoffs Set

Here's the schedule for the opening round of the 2016 Arena Football League (Arenabowl) Playoffs with all times Pacific.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE:

Saturday:

Portland Steel @ Arizona Rattlers, 7:00 PM (CBS Sports Network)

Sunday:

Cleveland Gladiators vs. Los Angeles KISS @ San Diego, 3:00 PM (WatchESPN app)



AMERICAN CONFERENCE:

Saturday:

Jacksonville Sharks @ Orlando Predators, 4:00 PM (CBS Sports Network)

Sunday:

Tampa Bay Storm vs. Philadelphia Union @ Allentown, Pennsylvania, 3:00 PM (ESPN 2)

Last-Second Rally Pushes Steel Past KISS In Regular-Season Finale

At Portland, Oregon:

Quarterback Shane Austin completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jared Perry with seven seconds remaining on Monday night as the Portland Steel (3-13) upended the visiting Los Angeles KISS (7-9) 48-46 in the final Arena Football League regular-season contest for both clubs in front of 5,236 fans, the second largest home crowd of the season at Portland's Moda Center.

The Steel will travel to Phoenix for a Saturday night National Conference semifinal playoff game against the Arizona Rattlers (who finished the regular season at 13-3)  at 7:00 PM Pacific Time (CBS Sports Network).

No, Not Wolverhampton vs. Sunderland This Time

Here's the front cover of the official program of the Saturday, June 29, 1968 North American Soccer League contest between the Los Angeles Wolves and hosts Vancouver Royals.



Both clubs had played the previous year in the US Soccer and FIFA-sanctioned United Soccer Association with both clubs actually clubs from England in disguised, Wolverhampton Wanderers masquerading as the L.A. Wolves and Sunderland disguised as the then-Vancouver Royal Canadians.

Needless to say, when the USA merged with the "renegade" National Professional Soccer League after the '67 season to form the NASL, these two clubs had to start over from scratch.

The Royal Canadians were largely taken over by the former owner of the defunct San Francisco Golden Gate Gaels (USA) and were renamed the Vancouver Royals.

Both clubs vanished after the '68 campaign as only five of the 17 clubs survived (Dallas, Baltimore, Kansas City, Atlanta, and St. Louis) into the 1969 season.

Two Ex-USA Clubs In Action

Here the front cover of the official program for the May 11, 1968 North American Soccer League contest between the Washington Whips and the home-standing Cleveland Stokers.



Both clubs had played the previous season in the United Soccer Association with the Whips actually being Scotland's Aberdeen in disguise and England's Stoke City masquerading as the Stokers.

When the USA merged with the National Professional Soccer League merged after the 1967 season to form the NASL, both the Stokers and Whips, like the other surviving former USA clubs, had to build their own teams from scratch.

Both clubs folded after the 1968 season.

Here Comes Pele, Folks!

Here's the front cover of the official program of the July 14, 1968 exhibition match between the Washington Whips of the North American Soccer League and Santos of Brazil, featuring the one-and-only PELE!



Of course, this in the end did the Whips, a former United Soccer Association club (Aberdeen of Scotland in disguise the previous season), as well as most of the NASL much of any good as the league, by the time the 1969 season started, shrank fro 17 clubs to only five, and the Whips weren't one of them.

Time For A Pre-Code Movie!

From RKO Radio Pictures in 1931, we bring you "Behind Office Door," starring Mary Astor, Robert Ames, and Ricardo Cortez.  This picture was directed by Melville Brown with screenplay by Carey Wilson.

If Only They Had A Real Frogman In The Box

1955 box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes.