49ers 2011 Regular-Season Schedule

Provided that the lockout is over soon enough, here is the 2011 San Francisco 49ers regular-season schedule, released on Tuesday:

September 11:  SEATTLE

September 18: DALLAS

September 25:  at Cincinnati

October 2:  at Philadelphia

October 9:  TAMPA BAY

October 16:  at Detroit

October 23-24: Bye

October 30:  CLEVELAND

November 6:  at Washington

November 13:  NEW YORK GIANTS

November 20:  ARIZONA

November 24:  at Baltimore

December 4:  ST. LOUIS

December 11:  at Arizona

December 19:  PITTSBURGH

December 24:  at Seattle

January 1:  at St. Louis

Orrin Tucker, R. I. P.

Orrin Tucker, a saxophonist and bandleader, one of the last surviving figures from the Big Band Era, best remembered for his 1939 recording "Oh, Johnny, Oh!" which featured a catchy vocal from "Wee" Bonnie Baker, passed away on April 9 in California's San Gabriel Valley at the age of 100.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Bruins Climb Back Into Series; Brain Boucher Helps Flyers Hold Off Sabres; Penguins Reclaim Series Lead; Wings One Win Away From Ending Coyotes Season (And Possibly Arizona History)

Four more games on Monday were played as the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs continued.


Eastern Conference:


At Montreal:


First-period goals from David Krejci and Nathan Horton enabled the Boston Bruins to hold off the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on the road in game three of their conference quarterfinal series to cut the Habs' series lead to two games to one.


At Tampa, Florida:


Tyler Kennedy scored the game winner at 2:43 of the third period as the Pittsburgh Penguins downed the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on the road in game three of their opening round series.  The Penguins have now taken a two-games-to-two series lead.


At Buffalo:


Brian Boucher stopped 35 or 37 shots while Jeff Carter (PP), Danny Briere, Nikolay Zherdev, and Kimmo Timonen each tallied once as the Philadelphia Flyers took a two-games-to-one series lead after their 4-2 road win over the Buffalo Sabres.


Western Conference:


At Glendale, Arizona:


Jimmy Howard stopped 28 of 30 shots, while the Detroit Red Wings, powered by goals from Ruslan Salei, Drew Miller, Valtteri Flippula, and Johan Franzen, defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 on the road in game three to take a three-games-to-none lead in their first-round series.

NBA Playoffs: Bulls Fend Off Pesky Pacers Again; Heat Scorch Sixers; Both Chicago and Miami Go Up 2-0

Two games were played on Monday as the NBA Playoffs continued, both games played in the Eastern Conference.


At Chicago:


Derrick Rose scored 36 points while Carlos Boozer added 17 (to go with his 16 rebounds) as the Chicago Bulls defeated the visiting Indiana Pacers in another nail-biter, 96-90 to lead their first-round series, two games to none.


At Miami:


LeBron James scored 29 points, while Chris Bosh added 21 (to go with his 11 rebounds) and Dwyane Wade contributed 14 as the Miami Heat dominated the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 94-73 to take a two-games-to-none lead in their conference quarterfinal series.

Time For A Flick!

Let's go back to 1930 for this feature from RKO Radio Pictures.  "Dixiana" stars Bebe Daniels with the comedy team of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey.  Everett Marshall and Dorothy Lee were also in the cast. With story, dialogue, and lyrics by Anne Caldwell and music by Harry Tierney, this picture was produced by William LeBaron and adapted and directed by Luther Reed.

Enjoy!

Y'all!

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Rangers Top Caps; Predators Take 2-1 Series Lead; Canucks One Game Away From Detroning Blackhawks

The Stanley Cup Playoffs continued with three games on Sunday.


Eastern Conference:


At New York:


Brandon Dubinsky scored the winning goal on a tip-in with 19 seconds remaining in regulation time as the New York Rangers defeated the visiting Washington Capitals 3-2 to cut their deficit in their conference quarterfinal series to two games to one.


Western Conference:


At Nashville:


Mike Fisher scored the winning goal at 10:21 of the third period as the Nashville Predators defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 in game three at home to take a two-games-to-one series lead.


At Chicago:


Mikael Samuelssson scored the winning goal at 6:48 of the third period and Roberto Luongo made 30 saves as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on the road in game three of their opening-round series to take a three-games-to-none series lead.  The Canucks can finish off the defending Stanley Cup champs on Tuesday night in Chicago.

NBA Playoffs: Grizzlies Knock Off Spurs For First Playoff Game Victory; Hornets Stun Lakers On The Road; Celtics Escape Tough Battle With Knicks; Thunder Top Nugs In Wild Opener

Four more games were played as the first round of the NBA Playoffs continued on Sunday.

Eastern Conference:



At Boston:


Ray Allen scored 24 points, three of them on a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining as the Boston Celtics took the opening contest of their best-of-seven first-round series 87-85 over the visiting New York Knickerbockers.

Western Conference:

At San Antonio:

Zach Randolph had 25 points and 14 rebounds and Shane Battier connected on the go-ahead three-point basket with 23.9 seconds remaining as the Memphis Grizzlies upended the home standing San Antonio Spurs 101-98 in the opening game of their conference quarterfinal series.  The win was the first in Grizzlies playoff history.  Memphis had been swept in four straight games in the first round of each of their three previous playoff appearances (2004-06).



At Los Angeles:


Chris Paul scored 33 points and dished out 14 assists as the New Orleans Hornets stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 109-100 in game one of their first-round series on the road.  The Lakers took all four regular-season meetings with the Hornets.


At Oklahoma City:


Kevin Durant scored 41 points and grabbed 9 rebounds while Russell Westbrook had two key late baskets (amongst his 31 points) as the Oklahoma City Thunder edged the visiting Denver Nuggets 107-103 in game one of their first-round series.

VooDoo Knock Off Gladiators In Cleveland For First Win

At Cleveland:


Quarterback Danny Wimprine completed 22 of 36 passes for three touchdowns on Saturday night as the New Orleans VooDoo (1-4) racked up their first win of the Arena Football League, knocking off the previously undefeated Cleveland Gladiators (3-1) 34-33.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Wings Hold Off Coyotes To Take 2-0 Series Lead; Habs Bottle Up Bruins Again; Flyers, Kings Square Respective Series

Four games were played on Saturday as the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs continued.

Eastern Conference:

At Philadelphia:


Brian Boucher stopped 20 of 21 shots in relief as the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the visiting Buffalo Sabres 5-4 to square their first-round series at one game apiece.

At Boston:


Mike Cammalleri and Mathieu Darche each scored a goal in the first 2:20 of the game while Carey Price stopped 34 of 35 shots as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins 3-1 in game two to take a two-games -to-none lead in their conference quarterfinal series.

Western Conference:

At Detroit:

A power play goal plus three assists from Pavel Datsyuk (including Tomas Holstrom's game winner in the second period) enabled the Detroit Red Wings, after having lead by four goals at one point, hold on for a 4-3 game-two victory over the Phoenix Coyotes to take a two-games-to-none lead in their conference quarterfinal series.

At San Jose, California:


Drew Dougherty scored twice (once on a power play) and Jonathan Quick stopped all 34 shots as the Los Angeles Kings evened up their series with the San Jose Sharks at a game apiece with a 4-0 road beatdown in game two.

NBA Playoffs: Bulls Escape With Series-Opening Win; Heat, Magic, Mavs Win Too

Four games were contested on Saturday as the National Basketball Association playoffs got under way.

Eastern Conference:

At Chicago:

Derrick Rose scored 39 points and Kyle Korver nailed the go-ahead three-pointer as the Chicago Bulls overcame a late 10-point deficit to take the opening game of their best-of-seven conference quarterfinal series 104-99 over the visiting Indiana Pacers.

At Miami:


Chris Bosh scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while LeBron James added 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Dwyane Wade scored five of his 17 points in the final 94 seconds as the Miami Heat withstood a furious Philadelphia 76ers rally and took the opening game of their first-round series 97-89 at home.

At Orlando, Florida:


Joe Johnson scored 25 points and Jamal Crawford added 23 as the Atlanta Hawks took game one of their opening-round series 103-93 on the road over the Orlando Magic, overcoming Dwight Howard's monster night (46 points, 19 rebounds).

Western Conference:

At Dallas:


Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and Jason Kidd knocked in a playoff career-best six three-pointers while scoring 24 in the process as the Dallas Mavericks took game one of their opening round series 89-81 over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers despite 27 points from the visitors' LaMarcus Aldridge.

Riders of Death Valley

Time to present a new serial.  Here's one from Universal Pictures in 1941.  Riders of Death Valley is a 13-chapter serial, starring Dick Foran, Leo Carillo, Buck Jones, Charles Bickford, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Lon Chaney, Jr., and Noah Beery, Jr.  With screenplay by Sherman Lowe, George Plympton, Basil Dickey, and Jack Connell and photography by Jerome Ash and William Sickner (both A.S.C.), this chapter play was directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor.

Chapter one:  "Death Marks The Trail!"

Enjoy, pardners!

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Lightning and Ducks Square Respective Series; Caps and Canucks Take 2-0 Leads

Four games were played on Friday as the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs continued.


Eastern Conference:


At Pittsburgh:


Eric Brewer, Vinny Lecavalier (PP), Nate Thompson, and Martin St. Louis (PP), as well as Mattias Ohlund (EN) each tallied once as the Tampa Bay Lightning squared their opening-round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins by posting a 5-1 road beatdown.


At Washington:


Second-period goals from Jason Chimera and Jason Arnott (PP) as well as a shutout performance from goalie Michal Neuvirth (stopping all 22 shots) carried the Washington Capitals to a 2-0 home win over the New York Rangers, enabling the Caps to take a two-games-to-none lead in their conference quarterfinal series.


Western Conference:


At Vancouver, British Columbia:


Daniel Sedin scored twice (once on a power play) as the Vancouver Canucks held off the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 to lead their conference quarterfinal series two games to none.


At Anaheim, California:


A goal and two assists from Ryan Getzlaf, to go with 31 saves from goalie Ray Emery (in his first playoff start since 2007) carried the Anaheim Ducks to a series-evening 5-3 home win over the Nashville Predators.  The series is now deadlocked at one game apiece.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Habs, Sabres Take Openers With Shutout Wins On Road; Sharks Edge Kings In OT

The Stanley Cup Playoffs continued with the opening games of the three remaining first-round series on Thursday.


Eastern Conference:


At Boston:


Brian Gionta scored both goals while Carey Price stopped all 31 shots as the Montreal Canadiens took the opening game of their series with the Boston Bruins 2-0 on the road.


At Philadelphia:


Patrick Kaleta scored the only goal of the game in the third period and Ryan Miller stopped all 35 shots as the Buffalo Sabres took the opening game of their series with the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 on the road.


Western Conference:


At San Jose, California:


Joe Pavelski scored the winning goal at 14:44 of overtime as the San Jose Sharks defeated the visiting Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in game one of the conference quarterfinal series.

"All My Children," "One Life To LIve," Soon To R. I. P.

The daytime televised serial is becomming an increasingly endangered species.

It's Time For Lawrence Welk's Rock 'N' Roll Classics!

Okay, here are the Chantays performing their big hit recording of "Pipeline" on the May 18, 1963 ABC Network telecast of The Lawrence Welk Show.

Enjoy!

Randy Wood, R. I. P.

Randy Wood, the founder and original owner of Dot Records, the record label best remembered for, among other things, hit cover recordings of rhythm and blues hits (Pat Boone's recordings of "Ain't That A Shame," "I'll Be Home," Tutti Frutti" come to mind), passed away this past Saturday at his La Jolla, California of complications from injuries suffered from a fall down stairs at his home at age 94.


Dot Records, started in Gallatin, Tennessee in the early 1950s, sprang from a mail-order business that Mr. Wood owned called Randy's Record Shop.


Besides Mr. Boone, who would be the label's biggest hitmaker, other artists who had big hits on Dot included The Hilltoppers (one of whose members, Billy Vaughn, who would have hits of his own and who also became the label's musical director), Johnny Maddox (a ragtime pianist), the Fontaine Sisters (who also had success with cover recordings and who had formerly sang backup for Perry Como), Gale Storm (singer and actress), Jim Lowe (a disc jockey, whose big hit came in 1956 with "The Green Door"), Wink Martindale (DJ and future TV game show host), Lawrence Welk (whose recording of "Calcutta" would prove to be his only #1 hit), Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs ("Sugar Shack," 1963), and the Surfaris ("Wipe Out," also 1963).


Mr. Wood moved his label to Los Angeles in 1956 and sold it shortly thereafter to Paramount Pictures.  He would remain head of the label until 1967, when he left to form Ranwood Records along with Lawrence Welk.


Gulf and Western, the conglomerate that bought Paramount Pictures at that time, made Dot Records a division of Famous Music.  By the mid-1970s, the label was sold to ABC.  By 1977 the Dot Records name disappeared, having been absorbed into ABC Records, and in 1978,  ABC sold its' record division to MCA.


The Universal Music Group now owns the Dot Records catalog.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Wings, Caps, Penguins, Canucks, Predators Take Series Openers

The Stanley Cup Playoffs commenced on Wednesday night with five games.


Eastern Conference:


At Washington:


Alexander Semin scored the game winner at 18:24 of the first overtime period as the Washington Capitals took the opening game of their best-of-seven conference quarterfinal series with the New York Rangers 2-1 at home.


At Pittsburgh:


Alexei Kovalev and Arron Asham each scored a goal 18 seconds apart in the third period and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 40 shots as the Pittsburgh Penguins blanked the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0 in game one of their opening-round series.


Western Conference:


At Detroit:


Second-period goals from Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, and Brian Rafalski (PP) helped carried the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-2 series-opening home win over the Phoenix Coyotes.  Jimmy Howard stopped 26 of 28 Phoenix shots.


At Vancouver, British Columbia:


Christopher Higgins and Jannik Hansen each scored a goal in the first period and Roberto Luongo stopped all 32 shots as the Vancouver Canucks got the measure of the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 in the opening game of their opening-round series before the home fans.


At Anaheim, California:


Mike Fisher scored twice and assisted once, while Pekka Rinne made 27 saves as the Nashville Predators dominated the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on the road in their first-round series opener.

Time For An Early Sound Cartoon

From 1928, here's Farmer Al Falfa starring in "Dinner Time," part of the Aesop's Fables series filmed in New York City, produced by Amadee J. Van Beuren, directed by series creator Paul Terry and co-directed by John Foster.  This was one of the very first synchronized sound animated cartoons.  It was premiered in New York City on September 1, 1928 and released by Pathe Film Exchange on October 14, a month before Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie, " which premiered on November 28 at the 79th Street Theater, also in New York City.



Paul Terry, who was not happy about the added cost of sound to his films, left Fables Studios not long after this film was released and launch a new cartoon studio with animator Frank Moser.  This was the studio that became known as Terrytoons. 

From The WTF Department: A Musical Directed by Alfred Hitcock

From 1933, here's "Waltzes From Vienna," starring Jessie Matthews,  future Academy Award winner Edmund Gwenn, and Fay Compton. Based on the London Alhambra success by Heinz Reichert, Dr. A. M. Willner, and Ernst Marischka and the musical arrangement of Julius Bittner and Erich W. Korngold.  With the music of both Johann Strauss Senior and Junior, adpatated for the screen by Hubert Bath, under the direction of Louis Levy, scenario by Guy Bolton and Alma Reville (Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock), this motion picture was, yes, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.  This was his first directorial effort for Gaumont-British Picture Coroporation.  Produced by Tom Arnold (not THAT one).

Enjoy!

The Masters: Charl's In Charge

You have to hand it to someone who trailed by four strokes entering Sunday's final round of The Masters, then poured it on as he birdied the last four holes to become the third South African to win the event.

Perhaps Tiger has regained his lost grove.

Don't feel so bad, Rory.  Sam Snead and Ken Venturi led after 54 holes only to shoot 80s on the final day.

Do we have to go through THIS again?