An off day for the Mariners yesterday. They host the Tampa Bay Rays tonight at the Safe. Also tonight at the Safe, Northwest basketball fans get a chance to honor Sonics franchise legends in a pre-game ceremony. The Voice of the Sonics, Kevin Calabro, is introducing Freddie Brown, Michael Cage, Tom Chambers, James Donaldson, Dale Ellis, Hersey Hawkins, Spencer Haywood, George Karl, Shawn Kemp, Nate McMillan, Gary Payton, Detlef Schrempf, Jack Sikma, Slick Watts, Gus Williams, and Lenny Wilkens.

The Tacoma Rainiers hit so many line drives that were caught last night, it seemed if they played long enough their luck had to change. It didn't. The Rainiers scored once in the bottom of the ninth inning, then loaded the bases with one out only to lose, 5-4, when the Sacramento River Cats turned what appeared to be a game-tying sacrifice fly into a game-ending double play. The Rainiers wrap up their series with Sacramento tonight then host Las Vegas for four starting tomorrow.

The Seattle Storm is at Minnesota to face the Lynx today. Tip-off at 5:00.

The Seattle Sounders return to MLS action as they face the Houston Dynamo tomorrow night at 5:30.

Many of the rumors flying around the NFL should get settled today. Contracts can be signed this afternoon. Seahawks launch their pre-season in less than two weeks. Thursday, August 11th, they're at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego to face the Chargers.

Today is National Lasagna Day, National Cheesecake Day, Mutt's Day, and National Photograph Your Children When They're Not Looking Day.

Today is also Rain Day in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. It always rains in Waynesburg on July 29th.

In theaters this weekend: Cowboys & Aliens; Crazy, Stupid, Love; The Smurfs.

Undoubtedly, one of the world's most unique gadgets is the iPad 2 -- perhaps the most unique is the iPad2 Gold History Edition. Encrusted with 53 diamonds the iPad features a solid 24ct Apple logo. Its main front frame is made from the oldest rock the world has to offer in the form of Ammolite. To make the iPad even more individual, sections of a 65 million year old T-REX dinosaur's thigh bone was splintered and then shaved into the Ammolite, then finished off with a single-cut 8.5ct flawless diamond inlaid in its own platinum surround with 12 outer flawless diamonds. The price is just $8 million.

Coming up Tuesday night, Roxy's Ron Harris joins the City of Fircrest, the Fircrest Police Department, and over 15,000 other communities for the National Night Out Against Crime. Join Ron at Fircrest Park from 6 til 9. There are lots of activities for both young and old. You can get a hot dog, can of pop, and potato chips for only $1.00. There are numerous food vendors handing out samples. There's also a live band, a giant slide, and clowns galore who are, painting faces, and handing out balloons to children at no cost. The evening wraps up with a fireworks show.

Jeopardy host Alex Trebek is scheduled to undergo surgery today and is expected to be in a cast for six weeks. A couple of days ago he tore his Achilles tendon while chasing after a burglary suspect in a San Francisco hotel.

MTV has just announced that Adele is performing at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. It marks the first time Adele has ever played a VMA show. The news comes just days after we learned Katy Perry leads the pack of nominees with an impressive nine nods. Adele and Kanye West are tied with seven nominations. Bruno Mars managed to receive four. The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards air live from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, August 28th.

Lady Gaga is the queen of Twitter. Mother Monster has just passed the 12-million follower mark on Twitter.

Gavin DeGraw's upcoming album, Sweeter, is set to drop September 6th.

There have been rumors lately about who might play the opening ceremony at next year's Olympics in London. Paul McCartney has been named as a potential performer and the Beatle recently said he'd be "up for" it, but his former bandmate, Ringo Starr, won't be available since he's be touring here in the Sates at the time. As for other possible acts, England's The Mirror reports that The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin were approached but said no.

Trivia Answer: Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings who was born on this date in 1938. Having always been fascinated with the United States, Jennings became a naturalized United States citizen in 2003. He passed away on August 7th of 2005. His death, which closely followed the retirements of Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather, marked the end of the "Big Three" era. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death from complications of lung cancer in 2005. A high-school dropout, he transformed himself into one of American television's most prominent journalists.

The Seattle Mariners snapped that 17-game losing streak yesterday.  An off day for the Mariners today. They host Tampa Bay tomorrow night at the Safe.

Also tomorrow night at the Safe, Northwest basketball fans get a chance to honor Sonics franchise legends in a pre-game ceremony. Sonics Celebration Night begins at 6:30 and continues throughout the game. The hands of time move backwards for one night as fans get to listen to The Voice of the Sonics, Kevin Calabro, introduce Seattle's former hardwood heroes. Players from every era are attending, including: Freddie Brown, Michael Cage, Tom Chambers, James Donaldson, Dale Ellis, Hersey Hawkins, Spencer Haywood, George Karl, Shawn Kemp, Nate McMillan, Gary Payton, Detlef Schrempf, Jack Sikma, Slick Watts, Gus Williams, and Lenny Wilkens.

The Tacoma Rainiers also snapped their losing streak yesterday. The Rainiers had lost four in a row. Yesterday at Cheney Stadium, the Tacoma beat Sacramento 3-1. The series with the River Cats continues tonight at 7:05.

The Seattle Storm is at Minnesota tomorrow.

Saturday, the Seattle Sounders return to MLS play as they face the Houston Dynamo.

The Seahawks have opened camp. Their first pre-season contest is two weeks from today, on Thursday, August 11th. They're in San Diego against the Chargers.

Olympia mayoral candidates Dick Pust, Karen Rogers and Stephen Buxbaum are attending a public forum tonight. All three Olympia mayoral candidates are participating in a candidates forum at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. The forum is being moderated by the president of the Thurston County League of Women Voters. It's open to the public. The doors open tonight at 6 with the forum starting at 7. The three candidates go before voters in the August 16th primary. The top two advance to the general election.

The Costco-sponsored measure to privatize liquor sales in Washington, Initiative 1183, has qualified for the November general election ballot. That word from Secretary of State Sam Reed late yesterday. I-1183 would shut down state liquor stores and sell assets including the liquor distribution center. The state would license private businesses to distribute liquor and sell spirits in retail stores -- but not small mini-marts.

Forecasters expanded a tropical storm watch along the Texas coast early today as Tropical Storm Don made its way into the central Gulf of Mexico. If it continues on its projected path, the storm should make landfall along the Texas coast Saturday morning.

Happy birthday to the city of Miami, Florida, which was incorporated 115 years ago today. The population in 1896? 260.

Looking for something to celebrate? Pick a calendar and pick your party. According to different outlets, today is National Hamburger Day, National Chili Dog Day, National Milk Chocolate Day, and National Shampoo Outdoors Day.

Russia is debating how to do away with the International Space Station as it nears the end of its life cycle. The answer? Fly the ISS into the ocean. In a statement, a Russian space agency spokesperson said, "After it completes its existence, we will be forced to sink the ISS. It cannot be left in orbit, it's too complex, too heavy an object, it can leave behind lots of rubbish."

Adele's 21 album climbs back to number one on the Billboard album chart, marking its 11th non-consecutive week at the summit. If 21 hits a 12th week on top, it will tie Santana's 1999 album Supernatural and Alanis Morissette's 1995 album Jagged Little Pill.

Michael Jackson's family has announced a tribute concert to the late King of Pop that slated to take place on October 8th in Cardiff, Wales. The four-hour show at the 75-thousand seat Millennium Stadium is being broadcast via satellite on Pay-Per-View and into movie theaters with a cast of big-name performers, who have yet to be revealed. At a press conference on Monday revealing the details of the Michael Forever show, Jackson family matriarch Katherine was joined by sons Tito, Jackie, and Marlon and daughter LaToya; siblings Jermaine, Randy, Janet and estranged husband Joe were not in attendance. The show is set to feature artists Jackson admired and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his solo career.

U2 wraps up their 360º Tour this week. The trek is the highest grossing tour of all time. It wraps at the Magnetic Hill Music Festival in Moncton, New Brunswick on Saturday night.

It seems that no one is immune to the economic downturn. A survey conducted by Visa says that American kids are averaging three dollars less from the Tooth Fairy per tooth than last year. In addition, the madam of the mouth is forking over money to fewer kids. In 2010, 94 percent of children under the age of 12 got cash for their teeth, while this year, only 90 percent are seeing dough.

Trivia Answer: Kennewick Man. The remains were found on the bank of the Columbia River in Kennewick. The discovery of Kennewick Man was accidental; a pair of spectators (Will Thomas and David Deacy) found his skull while attending the annual hydroplane races. The debate over the remains was based on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. According to the act, if human remains are found on federal lands and their cultural affiliation to a Native American tribe can be established, the affiliated tribe can claim them. Five Native American groups (the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Yakama, Wanapum, and Colville claimed the remains as theirs, to be buried by traditional means. Only the Umatilla tribe continued further court proceedings. The Umatilla tribe requested custody of the remains, wanting to bury them according to tribal tradition. Their claim was contested by researchers hoping to study the remains. In February of 2004, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a cultural link between the tribes and the skeleton was not met, allowing scientific study of the remains to continue. In July of 2005, a team of scientists from around the United States convened in Seattle for ten days to study the remains. The discovery of Kennewick Man, along with other ancient skeletons, has furthered scientific debate over the exact origin and history of early Native American people. The prevailing hypothesis holds that a single wave of migration occurred, consisting of hunters and gatherers following large herds of game, which wandered across the Bering land bridge around 12,000 years ago. Other hypotheses contend that there were numerous waves of migration to the Americas. The apparent diversity of ancient skeletal remains, which may include traits not typically associated with modern Native Americans, has been used as evidence to support these rival hypotheses. Recent (2008) evidence on the genetics of modern populations suggests that they originated in a single migration. The remains are now at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington, where they were deposited in October of 1998. They are still legally the property of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, since they were found on land belonging to them.

The Matt Hasselbeck era in Seattle is apparently over, while Tarvaris Jackson and Matt Leinart are reportedly in the mix to take over the reigns. ESPN.com and the Seattle Times both reported yesterday that the Seahawks' long-time quarterback will not re-sign with the team. Hasselbeck was an unrestricted free agent and was free to begin negotiating with other teams yesterday morning. ESPN says its sources report the Seahawks had offered Hasselbeck a one year, $7 million contract earlier in the offseason but it was not known if that offer was still on the table this week. It didn't take long,however, for the Seahawks to refill the roster. The Associated Press reported that Jackson has agreed to terms with the Seahawks and is expected to sign a contract on Friday. Meanwhile, ESPN.com reports the Seahawks have also come to an agreement with former Arizona Cardinals and USC quarterback Matt Leinart. Leinart and Jackson will now compete with lone Seahawks quarterback leftover Charlie Whitehurst for the starter's job. Whitehurst was among the first Seahawks players to arrive after the NFL lockout ended. He met with head coach Pete Carroll and finally got his hands on Seattle's new playbook. The Seahawks opened camp today and they're back on the field in their first pre-season contest coming up Thursday, August 11th, when they're in San Diego against the Chargers.

UPDATE: The Tennessee Titans have swooped in on Matt Hasselbeck, reaching an agreement with the free-agent quarterback on a multiyear contract, a league source tells ESPN. News broke Tuesday that the Seattle Seahawks wouldn't re-sign the 35-year-old Hasselbeck. Instead, the Seahawks agreed to a deal with former Minnesota Viking Tarvaris Jackson. The Titans are expected to groom Jake Locker, the eighth overall pick in April's draft, to be their starter of the future. The team announced in January that it would either release Vince Young or try to trade him because he's not in its plans for the coming season, and veteran Kerry Collins announced July 7th he was retiring. Hasselbeck turns 36 in September.

A nearly perfect CC Sabathia handed the Mariners their 17th consecutive loss in the Bronx last night. The Seattle Mariners flailed away helplessly against CC managing only one hit and striking out 18 times overall in a 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees on a rain-soaked night. Sabathia didn't allow a baserunner until Brendan Ryan singled with one out in the seventh inning. The Mariners are four shy of matching the Baltimore Orioles' American League-record 21-game losing streak to start the 1988 season. The 1961 Phillies dropped 23 straight for the modern major league mark. Seattle is just seven losses away from the 1899 Cleveland Spiders' record of 24 losses in a row. The way things are going, it's not hard to imagine them surpassing that mark. The Ms have one more in the Bronx this morning at 10:00. Tomorrow is an off day. Friday, they're at home with Tampa Bay.

UPDATE: The Seattle Mariners snapped their 17-game losing streak today, riding a 17-hit attack led by Ichiro and rookie Dustin Ackley to a 9-2 victory over the New York Yankees. Felix Hernandez pitched seven innings for his third straight win in the Bronx. Ichiro had four hits and scored two runs. Ackley tripled among his three hits and drove in three runs as the Mariners did something they failed to accomplish during the skid: they turned an opponent's mistake into a big inning. Seattle took 21 days worth of frustration out on three relievers, scoring five runs in the seventh inning -- highlighted by Mike Carp's bases-loaded triple -- after Robinson Cano flubbed a flip to Derek Jeter at second base for an error.

Rick the Peanut Guy has passed away. The well-known peanut vendor who for years has delighted crowds at the Kingdome and Safeco Field passed away today at Kirkland's Evergreen Hospital. His name was Rick Kaminski and he was 67. According to a family spokesperson, he died due to complications from a brain aneurysm. Rick the Peanut Guy was famous for his wide smile, sense of humor, and pinpoint accuracy in tossing bags of peanuts to hungry fans. Sometimes the bags flew in overhand, sometimes underhand, and most times behind the back, but always on target, even from several rows away. Kaminski was there when the Mariners began their inaugural season in 1977, and moved with the team over to Safeco Field.

The Tacoma Rainiers also snapped their losing streak today. Last night, the Rainiers lost their fourth in a row, falling to the Sacramento River Cats, 6-4, at Cheney Stadium. Today, in a matinee, the Rainiers won 3-1. The series with the Cats continues tomorrow night at 7:05.

The Seattle Storm got by the Phoenix Mercury, 83-77, last night. The Storm is at Minnesota Friday.

Saturday, the Seattle Sounders return to MLS play as they face the Houston Dynamo.

Dan Peek, a co-founder and musician for the band America has died. Peek and fellow band members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell had three platinum albums and three gold albums between 1971 and 1975. They also had eight Top 40 hits during that time span, including A Horse With No Name, Sister Golden Hair, Ventura Highway, and Lonely People. Peek was found dead in his home in Farmington, Missouri on Sunday. The cause of death is currently unknown. Dan Peek was 60.

Today is Walk on Stilts Day, a chance to enjoy a challenge of childhood, no matter your age. Today is also Take Your Houseplants for A Walk Day. It would be fun to combine the two holidays, eh?

Olympia mayoral candidates Dick Pust, Karen Rogers and Stephen Buxbaum are attending a public forum tomorrow night. All three Olympia mayoral candidates are participating in a candidates forum at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. The forum is being moderated by the president of the Thurston County League of Women Voters. It's open to the public. The doors open tomorrow night at 6 with the forum starting at 7. The three candidates go before voters in the August 16th primary. The top two advance to the general election.

Yesterday, mentioned that it was the birthday of the US Post Office. It was on July 26th of 1775 that the 2nd Continental Congress established the first formal postal system for the US. Well, the Postal Service is considering closing more than one in 10 of its retail outlets. The financially troubled agency was announcing yesterday that it will study more than 3,600 local offices, branches and stations for possible closing. Currently the post office operates more than 31,000 retail outlets across the country, down from 38,000 a decade ago, but in recent years business has declined sharply as first-class mail moved to the Internet. In addition, the recession resulted in a decline in advertising mail, and the agency lost $8 billion last year.

The names of the jurors who found Casey Anthony not guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, will not be released before October 25th. Meanwhile, ABC, CBS and NBC are all denying that they've offered Casey Anthony big bucks to get her exclusive first interview. Each network has gone out of their way to say that while they've contacted her, they have not offered her payment for her interview.

Jesse James and Kat Von D have split. The pair, who began dating in August of 2010 and got engaged in January, have ended their courtship. Von D broke the news on her Twitter account Monday night and thanked her followers for respecting their privacy. Jesse, of course, used to be married to Sandra Bullock.

13-year-old Christopher Schwarzenegger is out of the hospital after a surfing accident landed him in the ICU. Chris spent several days being treated for a collapsed lung and multiple broken bones. Both Arnold and Christopher's mother, Maria Shriver, have tweeted that their son is now on his way to recovery.

Two parents have been apprehended by Chinese authorities after it was discovered they sold their three children to fund their online gaming habit. Li Lin and Li Juan sold their baby daughter for roughly $500, their first son for around $4,600, and their second son for the same price.

The parents of Lucy Magnum, who were just feet away from her at a North Carolina beach last week when a shark bit the 6-year-old's leg, said yesterday that she told them: "I forgive him." Lucy is expected to be running and playing again in six to eight weeks.

Trivia Answer: Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez -- A-Rod, Pay-Rod, A-Roid -- Alex Rodriguez who turns 36 today. He currently plays third base for the New York Yankees. He previously played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers. In February 2009, after previously denying use of performance-enhancing drugs, including during a 2007 interview with Katie Couric on 60 Minutes, Rodriguez admitted to using steroids, saying he used them from 2001 to 2003 due to what he called "an enormous amount of pressure" to perform. So put an asterisk by it but he is the youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs, breaking the record Jimmie Foxx set in 1939. He's also the youngest to hit 600, besting Babe Ruth's record by over a year. Rodriguez has fourteen 100-RBI seasons in his career, more than any player in history.

Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira each homered and drove in three runs, former Mariner Freddy Garcia stifled his old team and the New York Yankees handed the snakebit Seattle Mariners their 16th straight loss with a 10-3 victory last night. A rain delay of 1 hour, 57 minutes was the only thing that slowed this loss for Seattle. The game was barely under way when Teixeira crushed any pre-game hopes Seattle had of jumping out early and snapping the streak. Teixeira hit a homer into the second deck in left field. Ms and Yankees again this afternoon at 4:00.

Not a pleasant time in Utah for the Tacoma Rainiers. They dropped another one to the Salt Lake Bees last night, 9-2. The good news is that series is now complete. The Rainiers are back home in the friendly confines of Cheney Stadium tonight. They're hosting the Sacramento River Cats for four games, the first of which is at 7:05 tonight.

Tonight, the Seattle Storm begins their second half following last weekend's All Star Game. Tinight, Seattle is at Phoenix.

Coming up Saturday in MLS play, the Sounders host the Houston Dynamo.

Now it can be said with certainty: Get ready for some football. NFL players voted to OK a final deal yesterday, days after the owners approved a tentative agreement, and the sides finally managed to put an end to the 4½-month lockout, the longest work stoppage in league history. NFL Commissioner Roger Godell said, "Football's back and that's the great news for everybody." The labor dispute comes to a close after claiming one exhibition: the Hall of Fame game between the Bears and Rams, scheduled for August 7th in Canton, Ohio. Otherwise, the entire preseason and regular-season schedules remain intact. Club facilities open to players starting this morning when 2011 draft picks and rookie free agents can be signed. Also this morning, teams can start making trades and begin conversations with veteran free agents from all teams. However, no player can officially sign until Friday night at 6 Eastern Time. The Seahawks begin training camp tomorrow, exactly 15 days before their first scheduled preseason game. As it stands now, the Seahawks open preseason play at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego against the Chargers on Thursday, August 11th. The regular season opener comes a month later on September 11th when the Hawks travel to Candlestick Park to face the San Francisco 49ers.

President Barack Obama told the nation last night that Congress is at a stalemate over raising the federal debt ceiling, and Americans need to pressure their elected representatives to work out a compromise that will avoid a potentially devastating default. In his seventh prime time televised address, the President sought to increase pressure for congressional leaders to reach a deal on a "balanced approach" that would allow the government to continue borrowing money pay its debts after August 2nd.

Today is the birthday of the US Post Office. It was on July 26th of 1775 that the 2nd Continental Congress established the first formal postal system for the US. The first Postmaster General? Benjamin Franklin.

The guys from Train are on with Jay Leno tonight.

Amy Winehouse is being laid to rest at a private funeral today. An autopsy was held yesterday, but the initial results didn't pinpoint a cause of death. Results from additional tests won't be known for weeks. Winehouse is survived by her parents, Mitch and Janis, her older brother, Alex, and her boyfriend, director Reg Traviss. Amy's parents met with mourners outside their daughter's Camden Square home yesterday morning.

Hollywood is about to put its spin on the Chilean miners' ordeal. Michael Medavoy, one of the Black Swan producers, has announced he's taking on the tale of the 33 miners who were stuck underground for 69 days. It's been less than a year since the rescue, which took place on October 13th oflast year.

A few hotels in Europe and the Middle East have had it with loud sleepers. They've decided to put "snore monitors" on patrol to crack down on the disturbing dozers. One snore monitor said, "We have quiet zones. I conduct floor walks to check for noise disruptions, paying particular attention to the quiet zone rooms." Those rooms are for particularly light sleepers. When a snore monitor hears "an offensive noise" coming from a room, protocol is to knock on the door and relocate the offender in a room far from the quiet ones. The hotel chain also offers "snore absorption rooms" that boast the latest anti-snore technology, including sound-proof walls and headboards, anti-snoring pillows and white noise machines.

Today is National Coffee Milkshake Day.

Giant George, the world's tallest living dog, is getting his own book. He's 7'3" from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail and his owners in Tuscon, Arizona, have chronicled his life in Giant George, a new memoir due in August. His Facebook page has 70,000 fans.

British pub lovers were upset to discover that an old telephone booth they converted into an instant pub won't be entered into the record books as the world's smallest pub. It turns out that, among other things, it doesn't have a liquor license.

More than 140,000 kids with overdue fees of $15 or more in New York Public Libraries have a chance at amnesty. Amnesty means they'll get to take books out again -- if they participate in the library's summer reading program. Every 15 minutes of reading wipes out $1 in fines.

More words of wisdom from the Old Farmer's Almanac: Always drink upstream from the herd.

Trivia Answer: Gary Cherone who turns 50 today. Gary was the lead vocalist of Extreme. By the late 1980s, the group had attracted a large regional following; in 1987, the band signed with A&M Records, which released their self-titled debut album in 1989. Selling over 250,000 copies, the band's debut album justified a second, and in 1990 the band recorded the critically-acclaimed Extreme II: Pornograffiti. Although well-received by the rock world in the press, initial sales and chart success for the album were sluggish until A&M released the acoustic ballad More Than Words in the early spring of 1991. The song became a huge smash, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that summer. Also in 1991, Extreme toured in support of David Lee Roth. This was ironic, given that later Cherone would front Van Halen, the band Roth co-founded in 1974. It was in the fall of 1996, after a falling out with vocalist Sammy Hagar and a failed reconciliation with founding vocalist David Lee Roth, that Van Halen found themselves without a singer and called on Cherone (who shared the band's management) for an audition. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen liked Cherone's work ethic and soon named Cherone as the band's third (and as the guitarist would often comment, "final" ) vocalist. Cherone took up residence in Van Halen's guest house and spent the next year writing and recording a studio album. Released on March 17, 1998, Van Halen III was an eclectic and diverse set that marked a departure from Van Halen's straightforward rock sound. Neither the album nor the supporting tour performed to expectations (III was the first album in the band's career to not achieve at least double platinum status). The tour brought back many older Van Halen songs that fans had wanted to hear for years. This was largely because Sammy Hagar refused to play all but the most famous of Roth-era songs. In November of 1999, after spending the year attempting to record III's follow-up, the band issued a press release announcing Cherone's amicable departure. Eddie would admit that "the powers that be" (Warner Bros.) had forced his hand in parting with Cherone. Since then, Cherone has remained on good terms with his former bandmates. When Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cherone's two-year stint with the group did not establish him as a band member eligible for induction. However, at the televised induction ceremony, the group's bassist Michael Anthony thanked Cherone for his contributions.

Sometimes you just have to wonder what it's going to take. Brendan Ryan hit a grand slam, Miguel Olivo hit a two-run homer, the Mariners put up 8 runs ... and it wasn't enough. The Boston Red Sox extended the Seattle Mariners' franchise-worst losing streak to 15 games with a 12-8 win yesterday. The loss broke Seattle's record for its longest losing streak, set in 1992. It is the longest in the majors since Kansas City lost 19 in a row in 2005. Baseball players and managers being a superstitious lot, Mariners manager Eric Wedge changed things up. He shaved off his long, drooping mustache. The skipper says his wife approved. It doesn't get any easier for the Mariners as they are spending the next three days in the Bronx facing the New York Yankees.

The Tacoma Rainiers spent the weekend in Salt Lake. Saturday, they came up on the short end of an 18-9 game. Last night they lost again, but at least they did so in a creative fashion. After all, it's not often that a pitcher issues four walks before allowing an inside-the-park grand slam. The grand slam provides a vivid example of why Carlos Peguero is back in Tacoma. Right now he's a defensive liability in the outfield. In last night's game, with the bases loaded, a fly ball went out to left field and Peguero never saw the ball. He came in on a ball that flew over his head – and landed about 15 feet shy of the warning track before bouncing to the fence. Tacoma loses 10-2. The Rainiers wrap up their series with the Bees tonight. Tomorrow night, they're back home against the Sacramento River Cats.

Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven, and front-office guru Pat Gillick were all inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday.

It was on this date in 1990 that Roseanne Barr sang The National Anthem before a major-league baseball game in San Diego. One has to wonder who along the line ever thought that this was a good idea.

In the WNBA over the weekend, the East All-Stars hung on to beat the West in one of the closest WNBA midseason showcases in history. On Saturday, the final was 118-113. The Seattle Storm's Swin Cash led the West with 21 points and 12 rebounds and was named MVP for the second time. It may have been the WNBA's last All-Star game until 2013. Next summer is the Olympics, and the league may cancel the game -- as it did in 2008 -- while its biggest names play in the Olympics. The Storm is back in action Thursday hosting Phoenix.

Coming up Saturday afternoon, the Seattle Sounders host the Houston Dynamo.

The NFL Players Association and the league's owners have reportedly reached agreement on the remaining points needed in their 10-year labor deal. Despite the fact the new agreement requires a majority vote from the players, that part of the deal between the two sides is considered a formality, according to sources. The NFLPA is making plans for a major press conference today.

UPDATE: NFL players voted to OK a final deal today, days after the owners approved a tentative agreement, and the sides finally managed to put an end to the 4½-month lockout, the longest work stoppage in league history. At a joint appearance outside the NFL Players Association headquarters, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith were flanked by some of the owners and players who were involved in the talks. They spoke shortly after the NFLPA executive board and 32 team reps voted unanimously to approve the terms of a deal. Smith said, "We didn't get everything that either side wanted, but we did arrive at a deal that we think is fair and balanced." The sides worked through the weekend and wrapped up the details this morning on a final pact that runs for 10 years and doesn't include an opt-out clause. With an agreement in place, work begins for the league's 32 clubs almost immediately. The NFL is distributing a list of free agents to teams today and players can begin to report to team facilities for physicals, meetings, and to receive playbooks tomorrow.

Today is Be Adamant About Something Day.

Remember, those immortal words: If you give a man a fish, he can eat for a day. If you teach him how to fish, he can be bored for a lifetime.

Captain America topped Harry Potter this weekend at the box office. Captain America: The First Avenger opened at No. 1 with $65.8 million. The Marvel Comics superhero adventure sets up next summer's all-star blockbuster The Avengers. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the eighth and final installment in the boy-wizard franchise, dropped to the second spot. It made just over $48 million in its second weekend for a domestic total of $274.1 million. The week's other big release, Friends With Benefits, opened at No. 3. Meanwhile, the 3-D Transformers: Dark of the Moon claimed the No. 4 spot. Horrible Bosses rounded out the top five.

In honor of the new film The Smurfs, New York City is going blue. Neil Patrick Harris, Glee's Jayma Mays and Hank Azaria are all joining Papa Smurf and Smurfette in New York City today to unveil an entire smurf village in Central Park. The Smurfs hits theaters Friday. Also coming to theaters Friday, Cowboys & Aliens, and Crazy, Stupid, Love.

A 3.7 magnitude earthquake rattled the Olympic Peninsula early yesterday, waking up some residents but apparently causing no damage. The quake hit at about 5:20 yesterday morning, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network. The shaking was felt as far away as Silverdale on the Kitsap Peninsula. The quake initially was reported to be 3.0 in magnitude, but was later determined to be a 3.7 earthquake. It was the second quake to hit the Puget Sound region in as many days. The Carnation area experienced a 3.4-magnitude quake on Saturday.

What a terrific weekend around the Sound. It made it up to 78 here in Olympia on Saturday, then cranked it up another 10 degrees yesterday when we topped out at 88.

Congrats to Burke Kenny. The 26-year-old Olympia resident recently returned from the World Beard and Mustache Championships in Trondheim, Norway, where he took first place in the full beard with styled mustache category. That's Burke to the right.  He won the same title four years ago in England, when he became the youngest international facial hair champion. Kenny grew up in Olympia and began shaving at age 13. He experimented with facial hair in high school, although nothing extreme. He began growing a mustache at 19 and a beard about a year later, while attending The Evergreen State College. Kenny works part time playing bass guitar for the band Hitchkick. He also works as a cook at the Urban Onion in downtown Olympia. Kenney says just about every day somebody comes up to him with "Hey, ZZ Top."

The family of Amy Winehouse sought "privacy" from the public eye yesterday, a day after the singer's untimely death. The cause of death is unknown now. An autopsy is scheduled today. Amy was found dead at her London home on Saturday, becoming the latest in a grim tally of music superstars who died at the seemingly cursed age of 27. Other members of what has been dubbed the "Forever 27" club include Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain, who died at that age in different circumstances after chaotic lifestyles associated with rock'n'roll careers. In many cases the musicians' posthumous fame has surpassed the success they enjoyed in their career, with their recordings still selling and enjoyed by a new audience. That may be the case for Winehouse, considered by some as among the most talented singers of her generation, who leaves only a slim set of recordings showcasing her talent. Winehouse occupied top slot on the iTunes UK download chart 24 hours after her death with Back to Black, her album that won five Grammy awards in the United States and turned the troubled north London girl into an international star. Back to Black, knocked Adele's 21 out of the top spot on the iTunes chart. While Winehouse had been regularly recording songs, she had not released a new album since Back to Black. Her spokesman said it was unclear what use would be made of her unreleased recordings. But a posthumous album would seem inevitable given her huge popularity.

UPDATE: Authorities said today that the autopsy on Amy Winehouse did not establish the cause of death. They're awaiting further test results. Meanwhile, Amy's family announced her funeral is being held tomorrow with the time and place being kept private.

Randy Quaid says he would like to return to the United States one day, but he and his wife still fear they are being persecuted by California prosecutors and tabloid media. Although U.S. officials recently refused to seek extradition of the actor and his wife from Canada to face felony vandalism charges in Santa Barbara, Calif., authorities in the coastal town say they'll still have the couple arrested if they return to the states. The Quaids, who have missed several court appearances in the case, claim they are the victims of corrupt forces and are demanding an investigation. Randy told The Associated Press in a phone interview from British Columbia on Friday, "I feel like we've been driven out of the country and that the door's been slammed behind us. And for what, these phony little trespassing, vandalism charges? Santa Barbara can sleep better tonight knowing the Quaids are out of their hair."

Carrie Underwood is the top earning former American Idol contestant between May, 2010 and May, 2011, with an estimated $20 million.

New research shows many people feel upset and lonely when they are deprived of access to the Internet. The study revealed that 53% feel upset when denied access and 40% feel lonely if they are unable to go online.

In New York City a woman's 15-pound cat was grabbed by a red-tailed hawk and given a lift, then dropped from a height of about five stories. The cat lived and the hawk flew off.

After spending a few weeks as a redhead, Katy Perry debuted her new blonde locks during an MTV News interview following her nine VMA nominations. The singer, who's actually a natural blonde, took to Twitter to announce she had to go from black to red to get the blonde hair she wanted. She wrote, "So I didn't get to the exact color I wanted from being black for so long! To get to goal I have to be a ginger for three weeks! If I don't wait three weeks, I'll end up with no hair or a pixie '90s cut with a barrette in the front." Katy is up for nine VMAs including Best Pop Video and the coveted Video of the Year for Firework. The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards are coming up from Los Angeles on Sunday, August 28th.

Trivia Answer: Walter Payton who was born on this date in 1954. He was known around the NFL as Sweetness. Payton began his football career in Mississippi, and went on to have an outstanding collegiate football career at Jackson State University where he was an All-American. He started his professional career with the Bears in 1975, who selected him as the 1975 Draft's fourth overall pick. Payton proceeded to win two NFL Most Valuable Player Awards, and won Super Bowl XX with the 1985 Chicago Bears. After struggling with the rare liver disease primary sclerosing cholangitis for several months, Payton died on November 1st of 1999 at the age of 45, from cholangiocarcinoma. His legacy includes the Walter Payton Award, the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, and a heightened awareness of the need for organ donations.

The Toronto Blue Jays handed the Seattle Mariners their 12th straight loss, 7-5, yesterday. The Mariners haven't won since beating the Athletics in Oakland on July 5th. It's Seattle longest losing streak since dropping 12 straight from September 11th through the 22nd in 2008. And now they get to spend the weekend in Boston with the Red Sox. Game one this afternoon at 4:10.

The night before last, the Tacoma Rainiers and Tucson Padres had their game in Arizona suspended in the bottom of the first inning because of a tremendous thunderstorm that sent sheets of water pouring down on Kino Stadium. The game resumed at 5:30 last night and the Rainiers won 9 to 2. Then they picked up another win in the regularly scheduled game 8-1. The Rainiers are now in Salt Lake for the weekend.

Gee but it's good to be back home. After losing three in a row on the road, the Seattle Storm back at the Key scored a convincing 73-55 win over the San Antonio Silver Stars. The three in a row was Seattle's longest skid since late in the 2009 season. The Storm, whose losing streak started with a 69-66 defeat at San Antonio last Thursday, effectively put the game away at the outset of the third quarter. The WNBA All Star game is tomorrow at 12:30 at San Antonio. Seattle's Sue Bird and Swin Cash are both starters in that game. The Storm is back in action Thursday night at 7 hosting Phoenix.

NFL owners approved a proposed 10-year labor agreement with the NFL Players Association yesterday, leaving the potential end to the league's lockout in the hands of a players' vote. Owners voted 31-0 to accept the proposed collective bargaining agreement, with the Oakland Raiders abstaining, after a full day of meetings at an Atlanta-area hotel.

Today is Rat Catchers Day, marking the legend of this date in 1376 when the Pied Piper piped all the rats out of Hamelin, Germany. Then, when the village refused to pay, he piped all the children out, too.

Today is National Squirt a Pigeon Day.

Today is Spooner's Day, marking the birth of William Spooner on this date in 1844. The Rev. Spooner's tongue slipped frequently, producing spoonerisms, like "blushing crow' for crushing blow, "swell foop" for fell swoop, and instead of dear old queen, it comes out "queer old dean"

Now that she's separated from Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez traveled alone to perform for a million dollars at a wedding reception in the Ukraine. During her set, she asked a guest, "Are you happy?" adding, "I am happy, because I am here with you today." Friends close to the American Idol judge tell Us Weekly, "She is jumping back into work and being a mom with all her energy and she is really excited. She feels like she has grown leaps and bounds and is a new person now, better than ever." Lopez was married to Anthony for seven years.

More alleged details are coming out about Paul McCartney's upcoming wedding to Nancy Shevell. Rumor is the couple plans to tie the knot in London in a small ceremony with only close members of Paul's family. They'll then reportedly fly to New York and hold a party for their friends and Nancy's family. McCartney apparently wants to avoid a big wedding, like his last one in 2002 to Heather Mills, which included three-hundred guests, fireworks and thousands of dollars worth of flowers.

Sarah Palin is going to be a grandmother for the second time. Palin's oldest child, 22-year-old Track Palin, and his wife, Britta, are expecting their first child. We were wondering in the office, with names like Track and Britta, what would the new parents select for their offspring.  We're thinking John or Mary.

Lady Gaga is set to duet with Cher. The two singers are performing the song The Greatest Thing for Cher's new album. The track was written by Gaga and marks Cher's first new music since her 2001 record, Living Proof. Cher and Gaga appeared together at last year's MTV Video Music Awards. Cher presented Gaga with the Video of the Year trophy for Bad Romance.

Aerosmith is hard at work on their new album. This month, the guys spent some time at The Boneyard, guitarist Joe Perry's home studio outside of Boston, and now, they've uploaded some footage from there. Check out the behind the scenes footage of Joe and producer Jack Douglas in the featured videos section of Aerosmith.com.

The results of a national geography exam administered to students in junior and senior high school were released this week, and 12th graders didn't fare so well. In fact, a mere 21 percent of high school seniors scored proficiently on the test. In 1994, 29 percent of 12th graders scored proficiently. This year's decline in the 12th grade scores was the most dramatic of any grade tested. These scores in geography mark the third social studies exam on which seniors across the nation didn't score so hot. The high school seniors also fared the worst in civics and history exams.

Trivia Answer: Donald Hugh Henley -- Don Henley -- who turns 64 today. The band is the Eagles. Linda Ronstadt covered their song Desperado. It was Glenn Frey that he met when he first moved to Los Angeles.

And then it was 11. Travis Snider hit a three-run homer, former Mariner Brandon Morrow won his fifth straight decision and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Seattle 11-6 last night, extending Seattle's losing streak to 11 games. The losing streak is Seattle's longest since a 12-game skid in 2008. The Mariners have lost 15 of their past 20 overall. Dustin Ackley hit a two-run homer, his fourth, and Adam Kennedy added a solo drive, his seventh, but it wasn't enough. 

UPDATE: With the forecast calling for temperatures close to 100 degrees, the Blue Jays kept the retractable roof at Rogers Centre closed for today's mid-day game. It was the first time the roof has remained closed because of heat. The closed lid, however, didn't do anything to cool off the Jays. Toronto handed the Seattle Mariners their 12th straight loss, 7-5.. The Mariners have not won since beating the Athletics in Oakland on July 5th. It's Seattle longest losing streak since dropping 12 straight from September 11th through the 22nd in 2008. And now they get to spend the weekend in Boston with the Red Sox.

The weather created issues for the Tacoma Rainiers, as well.  The Rainiers and Padres had their game in Tucson suspended in the bottom of the first inning last night because of a tremendous thunderstorm that sent sheets of water pouring down on Kino Stadium. The game resumes at 5:30 this afternoon, with the regularly scheduled game to follow.

They call it a friendly but the final score was anything but. Michael Owen beat former Premier League foe Kasey Keller on a header early in the first half, then Wayne Rooney overwhelmed Seattle's reserves in the second half with three goals in 21 minutes and Manchester United routed the Sounders 7-0 in an exhibition last night. Saturday night at 7, the Sounders host Philadelphia.

The Seattle Storm is hosting the San Antonio Silver Stars tonight at 7:00.

Hurricane Dora has strengthened to a Category 4 storm, with winds reaching 135 mph Heavy swells are expected on Mexico's Pacific coast. A blistering heat wave gripping much of the country is expected to remain today as officials blamed nearly two dozen deaths on the high temperatures. Foreccasters say the heat wave could go into the weekend, forecasters say. Across the United States, about 141 million people are under heat advisories and warnings. And it goes north of the border, as mentioned in the Mariners story above.

Today is National Junk Food Day and it's Make Your Own Pop Tart Day. Today is Monkey Appreciation Day.

Senior Services for South Sound held a forum for the candidates for Olympia mayor this morning. The hour-long forum was held at the Olympia Senior Center at 222 Columbia Street in Olympia. Mayoral candidates Stephen Buxbaum, Dick Pust and Karen Rogers spoke and answered questions. The three candidates go before voters in the August 16th primary. The top two advance to the general election.

After nearly seven years in the making, Walmart's Tumwater store marked its grand opening yesterday with a cheerleading squad, balloons, cake, the singing of the national anthem and a color guard. All of that took place at 7:30 yesterday morning as Walmart officials cut the ribbon and opened the doors on the 187,000-square-foot store on Littlerock Road. About 60 customers also stood in line before the doors opened, then entered to watch the festivities. Tumwater Mayor Pete Kmet welcomed the store to the city and said that it had been a long time in coming and was not without controversy, although he pointed out that the store's construction resulted in street improvements. He also praised the design and landscaping for the store. Walmart first sought a store in Tumwater in December 2004, but it ran into opposition from community groups and unions that raised concerns about increased traffic and how additional competition might hurt other stores in the area. Walmart construction finally started in August 2010. The company also has stores in Chehalis, Lacey, Yelm, Shelton and Lakewood.

Katy Perry scored a leading nine nominations for the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards yesterday, reducing Lady Gaga to also-ran status with just three nods. Adele, whose second album, 21, is the world's top-selling record this year, earned seven nominations -- all of them for her tune Rolling in the Deep. Rapper Kanye West was the top male nominee, with seven nods. Bruno Mars earned four nominations while Beyonce, Eminem, Thirty Seconds to Mars, and Nicki Minaj racked up three nods apiece. The awards are being handed out during a televised live show in Los Angeles on August 28th.

Lady Gaga has worn a lot of bizarre things but her most memorable outfit is probably the meat dress show donned at last year's MTV Video Music Awards, and even though it was made out of raw beef, the gown is still around. So how did it survive without rotting? According to the LA Times, it's thanks to Burbank, California taxidermist Sergio Vigilato, who the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hired to clean, cure and preserve the dress.

Adele isn't going anywhere. On next week's Billboard 200 chart, the singer slips from number two to number three, but after moving another 76-thousand copies of her latest album, 21, she is just adding to the massive amounts of records she's sold. So far, 2.67-million copies of 21 have been purchased.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Train and Maroon 5's co-headlining tour, and Gavin DeGraw is going along to open. The Train and Maroon 5 show lands at the White River Amphitheater on September 13th.

One day before the tenth anniversary of 9/11, a documentary about Paul McCartney's experiences in New York City following the national tragedy is airing on Showtime. The black and white movie is called The Love We Make and focuses on Paul's work in planning and rehearsing for the Concert for New York City benefit that took place six weeks after the attacks. Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Bill Clinton all appear in the documentary

On this date in 1997, Seattle police arrested a man after he held up a bank, then walked outside, and calmly passed our fistfuls of cash to people passing by.

Twenty years after their debut album dropped in 1991, Boyz II Men are set to release their tenth full-length studio album later this year. It's called Twenty and features two CDs with ten new songs and ten re-imagined and re-recorded Boyz II Men hits, including End Of The Road, I'll Make Love To You, and Bended Knee. Twenty drops in stores and online this fall.

The same pigeon has hitched a ride on the same New York City ferry everyday for the past three years. The bird, who has earned the nickname Tony, rides the Thomas Jefferson Ferry for about two hours during the rush-hour commute. A crew member says, "He's really smart and unique. He thinks he's human. He'll walk on and off the boat with the passengers. The passengers love him."  Tony has only been known to miss a ride when a blizzard or other inclement weather hinders his flight to the ferry. Reportedly, he likes to sweep the ferry floor free of any crumbs passengers may have left behind.

Another observation from an old farmer in the Old Farmer's Almanac: Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Trivia Answer: Don Knotts, who was born on this date 1924 in Morgantown, West Virginia. He was also a regular on Search for Tomorrow, The Steve Allen Show, The Don Knotts Show, and What A Country! He won five Emmy awards. He died in February of 2006 at the age of 81.

It took 'em 14 innings to do it but … the Toronto Blue Jays beat Seattle 6-5 last night, extending the Mariners' losing streak to 10 games. It is Seattle's longest slide since a 12-game skid in 2008. .Seattle was actually up 5-2 through the 7th. Ms and Jays again this afternoon at 4:07

The Tacoma Rainiers just can't get over the .500 mark. For the third time in the past week, Tacoma had a chance to reach a winning record – and for the third time, the Rainiers lost and fell back under .500. Last night's game hurt the most. Tacoma had an eight-run lead at the seventh inning stretch, only to lose in the 11th inning, 15-14. The Rainiers are now 48-49 on the year. Tacoma at Tucson again tonight at 7.

On this date in 1976, Hank Aaron hit his 755th home run, the final home run of his career. Which leads nicely to today's Quote of Note which comes from Mr. Aaron who says, "It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course."

Saturday, the Sounders host Philadelphia

The crossovers, the drives, the picks. It all became too much for Seattle to keep up with as Chicago's trio of newly named All-Stars broke down the defending champions and beat the Storm 78-69 at Allstate Arena yesterday. Sue Bird led all scorers with 26 points despite missing her first eight shots in the first quarter. Seattle lost its third consecutive road game to fall to 2-6 away from KeyArena. The Storm returns home to host San Antonio on Thursday. All-Stars Bird and Swin Cash and the coaching staff will leave for Texas after the game. That All Star Game is Saturday in San Antonio.

Yao Ming has made it official, telling a packed news conference that a series of injuries have forced him to retire from basketball. The 7-fooot-6 center, who became a household name in China before starting his NBA career with the Houston Rockets as the top draft pick in 2002, said: "I will formally end my career." Yao played eight seasons in the NBA, but missed 250 regular-season games over the past six years. Houston general manager Daryl Morey attended Yao's farewell conference yesterday. Morey had to get permission from the NBA to attend because the lockout prohibits contact with players.

Train singer Pat Monahan joined INXS on stage for a rendition of Beautiful Girl at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery over the weekend. Monahan has homes in Seattle and San Francisco that he maintains with his second wife Amber Peterson. The show was the kick-off of INXS' The Original Sin Tour, which saw the band perform a set of their classic hits including What You Need, Need You Tonighg, and Suicide Blonde. The Original Sin Tour rolls into Los Angeles on Friday.

The New York Post is reporting that Marc Anthony was "very controlling" behind the scenes of American Idol. Anthony was known to turn up on the Idol set and make demands on behalf of his soon to be ex-wife, Jennifer Lopez.

Betty White is a busy lady, so busy in fact that she can't attend the Marine Corps Ball she was recently invited to. In a statement, White told Sergeant Scott Moore, who asked her to the dance, that she was flattered and appreciative and "loves a man in uniform" but will be taping her TV show Hot in Cleveland at the time.

GQ magazine has come up with a list of the 40 worst dressed cities. Boulder,Colorado is No.40. Portland came in at No.36. Seattle was No. 34. San Francisco was No. 20. Las Vegas was 13. Los Angeles was No. 2. No. 1 was Boston. Check out the full list at GQ.com.

Mentioned yesterday that media magnate Rupert Murdoch was attacked by a man apparently carrying a plate full of shaving foam during a parliamentary hearing. Roll the clip ...

Something fishy is going on in a Canadian nail salon. Health officials in the country are shutting down the business, which offers its customers fish pedicures. The doctor fish, as they're known, have a foot fixation and nibble on them to rid the dead skin. The health department is concerned the practice is unsanitary and could cause a few potentially deadly diseases. The nail salon offering the strange pampering says nearly 700 customers have had the fish pedicure, and so far no outbreaks have been reported. Authorities are starting to crack down on the fishy practice in the United States, too. Salons in more than a dozen U-S states have closed their doors and emptied their fish tanks. Believe it or not, the practice is common is Asia and the Middle East.

Unsolicited advice from the Old Farmer's Almanac: Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.

Trivia Answer: Apollo 11 was crewed by Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. Launched from Florida on July 16th, Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission, and the third lunar mission of NASA's Apollo program. On this date, Armstrong and Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquillity and on July 21st became the first humans to walk on the Moon. Their landing craft, Eagle, spent 21 hours and 31 minutes on the lunar surface while Collins orbited above in the command ship, Columbia. The three astronauts returned to Earth with 47.5 pounds of lunar rocks and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24th. Apollo 11 fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's goal of reaching the Moon before the Soviet Union by the end of the 1960s, which he had expressed during a 1961 mission statement before the United States Congress: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." Five additional Apollo missions landed on the Moon from 1969 to 1972.

The Seattle Mariners are off on their longest road trip of the season. Starting this afternoon, they've got three in Toronto, then three in Boston, then three in New York against the Yankees. First pitch this afternoon at 4:07.

The Carlos Peguero experiment in Seattle has ended. At least for now. The Mariners have recalled outfielder Mike Carp from Triple-A Tacoma, and Peguero is being sent back down to make room for him. Many fans consider the move a long time coming -- not necessarily because Carp is the answer in left field, but because Peguero pretty obviously is not.

Carlos meanwhile joined the Rainiers in Tucson last night and lifted a towering three-run homer down the right-field line in the sixth inning as the Rainiers scored a 6-5 victory over the Tucson Padres. The Rainiers and Padres meet again tonight at 7:00.

The Sounders play Manchester United in an exhibition match tomorrow. They then resume their MLS season Saturday, hosting Philadelphia .

The Seattle Storm road trip continues. They're in Chicago this afternoon at 4:00.

Rupert Murdoch said he is not ultimately responsible for "this fiasco," referring to the ever-widening phone-hacking scandal clouding the operations of News Corp. He blamed "the people I trusted and the people they trusted." Murdoch and his son James answered questions from a committee of British Parliament this morning. Most of the questions focused on their knowledge of the scandal. In answering the lawmakers, the elder Murdoch often took long pauses, asked for questions to be repeated, and admitted he didn't recognize the names of some people who had worked for him for decades. During that hearing today, Murdoch was attacked by a man apparently carrying a plate full of shaving foam. The man could be heard telling Murdoch he's "a greedy billionaire." Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng, who was seated behind him, leaped to her feet and smashed the attacker's hand with her own. Murdoch was hit full in the face, and was stunned but not injured.

Queen drummer Roger Taylor has had previous issues with Rupert Murdoch, namely in 1998 when Rupert tried to buy the Manchester United soccer team and Roger helped fund the block of the sale. To mark recent events, Roger has re-released his 1994 track Dear Mr. Murdoch, off his solo album Happiness. He's made some subtle updates to the lyrics but said the original ones overall "speak for themselves." Hear it now at Queen's official YouTube page.

3 Doors Down's brand new album, Time of My Life, is out today.

There have been a bunch of false rumors about what Charlie Sheen's next TV gig will be but now, there's official word. According to People magazine -- and is there a more official source? -- Charlie is starring in a new TV show called Anger Management. The sitcom is based on the 2003 movie starring Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler. The series is being put out by Lionsgate.

When life hands you lemons, don't set up a lemonade stand, especially if you live in small-town Georgia. Three little girls trying to raise a few bucks learned that the hard way last week when they were forced to take down their stand. According to the police chief, who happened to drive by and take notice of the lemonade stand, the girls need a food or business permit before their stand is legal. Health concerns were also apparently an issue. The chief said, "We were not aware of how the lemonade was made, who made the lemonade, or what the lemonade was made with."

A two-year old girl in Australia still doesn't have a first name. Her parents' relationship crumbled before the girl was born and they haven't been able to agree on anything since, including what to name their daughter. A court stepped in this week to finally decide what to name the unidentified little girl. In the end, the mother's choice won. The father's last name will serve as the little girl's last name too. However, the court failed to mention what either name actually is. The court says the problem all along was that the child's birth hadn't been registered since she was born.

A man in the Netherlands dreamed up the idea to build a biblically accurate, life-size replica of Noah's Ark. No, he's not Evan Almighty. His name is Johan Huibers and his dream that the Netherlands would experience an astronomical flood inspired him to begin the three-year process of building his ark. "Johan's Ark" is even full of animals, just like Noah's. The only difference is Johan's creatures are plastic. To avoid the repercussions from animal rights activists, Johan decided his ark could boast inanimate animals by the pair instead. Johan is even in negotiations with London officials to bring the ark down the Thames River for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Godzilla is alive and well in South Florida. So far, nine seven-foot long lizards -- originally known as Nile monitor lizards -- have been spotted in two area counties. Wildlife officials in the state think their large lizard problem stems from residents who released the critters, which were bizarrely being kept as pets. The loose lizards began alarming residents, including a woman who says one entered her home through her doggie door. In related news, non-native pythons are also spreading like crazy across the state. Officials urge residents to report sightings of the Jurassic-sized lizards to 888-IVE-GOT1.

Trivia Answer: Bubble Wrap -- originally known as Air Cap. Bubble Wrap is a trademarked brand of Sealed Air Corporation that includes numerous cushioning products made from bubble wrap. Although Bubble Wrap was branded by Sealed Air Corporation (founded by Fielding and Chavannes) in 1960, it was not until a few years later that its use in protective packaging was discovered. As a packaging material, Bubble Wrap's first client was IBM, which used the product to protect the IBM 1401 computer during shipment. Fielding and Chavannes were inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 1993. Sealed Air celebrated Bubble Wrap's 50th birthday in January of last year. There are over 250 Facebook pages dedicated to Bubble Wrap

The Japanese women's soccer team won the World Cup after defeating the United States on penalty kicks yesterday, rallying from a pair of one-goal deficits to capture its first-ever world title. Japan stunned the United States 3-1 in a penalty shootout after coming from behind twice in a 2-2 tie. The Japanese had been dubbed "sentimental favorites," their strong play and surprising run having buoyed their countrymen back home still trying to recover from that massive earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis. The World Cup win marks the first time the Japanese national women's team has beaten the US. The teams have met 25 previous times.

The Seattle Mariners lost their ninth straight as the Texas Rangers won their 11th straight. It was a 3-1 win for the Rangers yesterday as they completed the sweep of the Mariners. It's the Rangers' first four-game sweep of Seattle since 1992. The Rangers' win streak is the longest in baseball since Philadelphia's 11-game streak last September and tied for second-best in team history. In the process of running the streak to 11, the Rangers likely ended any thought of Seattle being contenders in the AL West this season. The Mariners are now 11½ games back. The Ms are off today before their longest road trip of the season. Starting tomorrow, they've got three in Toronto, three in Boston, then three in New York against the Yankees.

Mariner closer David Aardsma's season is ending before it even started. The Mariners announced Friday that Aardsma is undergoing Tommy John surgery in California this week.

The Tacoma Rainiers split a pair with the Salt Lake Bees over the weekend. The Rainiers won 4-1 Saturday and then dropped the series finale 5-2 yesterday. Tacoma opens a four-game series at Tucson starting tonight at 7:00.

Fredy Montero scored his third goal in two games with a diving header in the 82nd minute, Mauro Rosales scored off a pass from Montero two minutes later and the Seattle Sounders remained unbeaten in their last nine matches with a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rapids. Seattle rallied twice against the defending MLS Cup champions. It's the sixth victory during the unbeaten streak. Seattle has not lost since May 25th against Dallas. The Sounders play Manchester United in an exhibition match Wednesday night. Then resume their MLS season Saturday, hosting Philadelphia .

Tomorrow, the Seattle Storm road trip continues. They're in Chicago.

How bad was the weather for Lakefair? According to the National Weather Service, more rain fell during Lakefair than Olympia averages during the entire month of July. Temperatures during the festival were also cooler than normal.

Nearly nine months after opening on November 18th, Crystal Mountain ended the longest ski season in its 48-year history. The extra-long season which ended Saturday was made possible by record-breaking snowfall that continued to dump throughout the spring. The previous season record was set during the 1998-1999 season with a closing date of July 14th. Attendance records were also broken this season. Over 361,000 skiers and riders visited the slopes, up from 357,000 during the 2003-2004 season.

A replica taxi used in the Canadian version of the TV game show Cash Cab struck and killed a pedestrian Friday after finishing production for the day in Vancouver. Vancouver Police said a 61-year-old man from Surrey, B.C., died in a hospital shortly after being struck by the mock yellow cab in the city's Downtown Eastside district. The accident happened as a producer was driving the replica cab back to a storage facility after filming for the day had been completed. Vancouver Police say the circumstances leading to the accident are still being determined and no charges have been filed so far.

The final Harry Potter film shattered box office records worldwide with a whopping $168.6 million in US and Canadian ticket sales over the opening weekend. Globally it did nearly $476 million. The domestic total for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 is the best three-day opening for a film ever, it beat the previous record of $158.4 million for the 2008 Batman movie, The Dark Knight. The eighth film in the Harry Potter series also set records for the largest opening-day domestic sales total, largest midnight screenings, and largest opening on giant IMAX screens. Harry Potter was already the highest-grossing film franchise ever with over $6.4 billion in global ticket sales. The Harry Potter magic dwarfed other films over the weekend, but there were a couple of notable events. Transformers: Dark of the Moon took the No. 2 spot .The film ranks as the year's first film to top $300 million in domestic sales with $302.8 million total. Rounding out the weekend's top five domestic films were Horrible Bosses at No. 3, Zookeeper at No. 4, and Cars 2 at No. 5, Disney's new Winnie the Pooh movie finished sixth.

Say it ain't so J-Lo. With three failed marriages between them, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony finally seemed to find true love together when they married seven years ago. They had twin children, went on tour together, did a movie together and even planned a music-based reality show they were working on together. But on Friday, the pair announced they were no longer together. In a statement, the couple said, "We have decided to end our marriage. This was a very difficult decision. We have come to amicable conclusion on all matters. It is a painful time for all involved and we appreciate the respect of our privacy at this time." It was a surprising split for one of Hollywood's most high-profile couples. They seemed inseparable: Lopez even danced in the background for her husband when he performed on American Idol, where she debuted as a judge this past season.

When Comedy Central roasts Charlie Sheen coming up in September, they may have help from someone who knows him really well. Us Weekly is reporting that Sheen's ex-wife, Denise Richards, may be one of the people poking fun at Charlie when the show airs on Comedy Central September 19th.

Six-year-old Eden Wood of the hit show Toddlers & Tiaras says she's walked her last runway. The pageant pioneer has retired from pageants for good to move on to bigger and better things. But after a firestorm of media attention, not everything is glitz and glamour for the baby beauty queen. She's even received death threats on her Facebook page. Eden's mother/manager says, "She's following in the footsteps of some pretty big people…like Oprah Winfrey." The youngster plans to release a canopy bed collection, her own action figure and a memoir called From Cradle to Crown. She even appeared on talk shows last week promoting her new single, Cutie Patootie.

Things just haven't been going well for a Pennsylvania man the past few weeks. The problem? His name is Casey Anthony. People from across the world have been confusing the luckless guy with the other Casey Anthony, the mother who was recently acquitted after being accused of murdering her two-year-old daughter. The male Casey has been flooded with more than three-hundred friend requests, posts and messages on Facebook and bombarded with phone calls from some not-so-happy people. He says, "These people don't even know me. They don't have a clue."

A pig in Texas may be homeless if its owners can't convince their neighborhood association to let them keep their pot-bellied pet. Animals like Wilbur the pig, who are raised or bred, aren't welcomed within the boundaries of the neighborhood. According to a letter Wilbur's owners received, neighbors had been complaining that Wilbur smelled and that he digs roots in the backyard. Wilbur does have a little hope, though. If Wilbur's family can get more than half of the neighborhood residents to sign a petition, Wilbur will be home free! One neighbor says she's happy to sign, saying, "It's a pig. It lives inside. It goes outside to go to the potty. I don't think it matters." Wilbur is so popular that he even has his own Facebook page.

Trivia Answer: Nadia Comăneci. At the age of 14, she became one of the stars at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. During the team portion of the competition, her routine on the uneven bars was scored at a 10.0. It was the first time in modern Olympic gymnastics history that the score had ever been awarded. The scoreboards were not even equipped to display scores of 10.0 -- so Nadia's perfect marks were reported on the boards as 1.00 instead. Over the course of the Olympics, Comăneci would earn six additional 10s, en route to capturing the all-around, beam, and bars titles and a bronze medal on the floor exercise. The Romanian team also placed second in the team competition. Nadia won three Olympic golds at those games. Nadia was the first Romanian gymnast to win the all-around title at the Olympics. She also holds the record as the youngest Olympic gymnastics all-around champion ever; with the revised age-eligibility requirements in the sport (gymnasts must now turn 16 in the calendar year to compete in the Olympics; in 1976 gymnasts had to be 14 by the first day of the competition), it's not currently possible to legally break this record. In November of 1989, Nadia defected from Romania. She initially settled in Montreal. While she was living in Montreal, Bart Conner, whom she had met for the first time in 1976 at the American Cup, contacted her and invited her to live in Oklahoma. They became engaged in 1994. Together with Conner, she returned to Romania for the first time since her defection (and since the fall of Communism), and the couple was married in Bucharest on April 27, 1996. The ceremony was broadcast live in Romania, and the reception was held in the former presidential palace. In June of 2001, Comăneci became a naturalized citizen of the United States. She has also retained her Romanian passport, making her a dual citizen. Nadia and Conner welcomed their first child, a son named Dylan Paul Conner, on June 3rd of 2006 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The Mariners second half picked right up where they left it before the All-Star break. The Ms were shut out at home by the Texas Rangers last night, 5-0. Game two of the four-game set is tonight at 7:05.

The Tacoma Rainiers, on the other hand, started their second half on the right foot downing the the Salt Lake Bees last night, 6-1. That series continues through Sunday at Cheney Stadium. They play again tonight at 7:05. A Friday night home game means post-game fireworks.

The San Antonio Silver Stars beat the Seattle Storm last night 69-66. San Antonio snapped a three-game overall losing streak and a six-game skid against the Storm. Seattle is at Minnesota tomorrow afternoon at 5:00.

Seattle's Sue Bird and Swin Cash have been voted as starters for the WNBA All-Star game. Sue Bird has been selected as a starter in every All-Star game that has taken place since she's been in the league. The All-Star game is July 23rd in San Antonio.

Tomorrow, the Seattle Sounders host Colorado.

Capital Lakefair continues through Sunday. The carnival, food booths, arts & crafts booths at Heritage Park are open til 10 tonight. There's a car show and street dance at Marathon Park from 4:00 til 10:00 tonight. Tomorrow begins with the Kit Car Races on Capitol Way from 8 til noon. The Lakefair Volleyball tournament is also happening on the Capitol Campus. It's Kids Day at Sylvester Park from noon to 4:00. The Grand Parade is at 5. Catch the parade on TCTV with Roxy's Jerry Farmer providing the play-by-play. Sunday, the Lakefair Volleyball Tournament continues. The carnival and booths are open from noon til midnight. The Grand Finale Fireworks over Capitol Lake are at 10 Sunday night.

A woman who pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $10,000 from the Aberdeen High School music boosters group has been sentenced to spend 10 days at a downtown intersection holding a sign saying, "I stole from kids."  Sixty-four--year-old Charlotte A. Button also was sentenced last week to two months in jail. The Daily World reports her lawyer is appealing the part of the sentence that requires her to stand on the corner with the sign.

The nominations for the 63rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced this week. Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire and Modern Family all received a large amount of nods, but the most nominated work ended up being the HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce. Glee, The Good Wife, Friday Night Lights and Dexter were some of the other shows nominated in the Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Comedy Series categories. The big awards show takes place September 18th. This year, Glee's Jane Lynch is hosting.

In theaters this weekend: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Winnie the Pooh.

Adele's 21 is now the best selling digital album in history. According to USA Today, just one week after Eminem's Recovery became the first record to sell more than one-million digital copies, 21 has surpassed it, selling 1.017-million albums to Em's 1.005-million. 21 currently sits at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, and has sold 2.6-million copies in the US alone.

Paul McCartney is engaged to Nancy Shevell and insiders say when the two do tie the knot, Paul's younger brother Mike will be the best man. PR consultant and Beatles expert John Horan told the New York Daily News that Mike was at Paul's side during his 1969 nuptials to Linda and again in 2002 when he married Heather Mills. Horan described Mike, who is a year-and-a-half younger than the 69-year-old Paul, as "a very loyal brother."

There's no doubt that Scotty McCreery's life has changed since winning American Idol, but he probably didn't realize just how much. He recently told the North County Times, "I can't go out and eat anymore without having to take pictures or sign autographs." He added that he sometimes wears a hat down over his face to try and disguise himself in public. Right now, Scotty and American Idol's Top 11 are crossing the nation on the American Idols Live! Tour. By the way, American Idol was nominated for a 2011 Emmy in the Outstanding Reality-Competition Program category.

Want to attend President Obama's 50th birthday party August 3rd in Chicago?  You can ... for $35,800. There are cheaper tickets but you won't get close to the man. That price, by the way, is per couple.

Yesterday Justin Bieber joined Lady Gaga by hitting the 11 million mark in Twitter followers.

Scientists are jacked over the discovery of what they thought was an extinct toad. Researchers recently found three living rainbow toads in the jungles of Borneo. Who wouldn't be excited?

A Ukrainian man raising money for his mini-zoo plans to spend 35 days locked in a cage with a couple of lions. Making it even harder, the guy is quitting cigarettes and beer for the attempt. Not a bad idea since lions are opposed to cigarettes.

A Florida woman was caught this week snapping pictures of men as they stood in front of urinals. The woman, who's a traffic court judge, allegedly took photos in the men's restroom at the local courthouse where she works. When caught using her cell phone to document the men when nature called, a deputy was called to remove the abnormal adjudicator. When the deputy arrived, the woman refused to hand over her cell phone, saying she hadn't broken any laws. Then, the woman bit the deputy's fingers as he tried to arrest her. She was later released from jail on bond.

Trivia Answer: James George Janos -- better known as Jesse Ventura -- who turns 60 today. He was in the Navy UDT -- Underwater Demolition Teams. The UDTs pioneered combat swimming, closed-circuit diving, underwater demolitions, and midget submarine operations. They were the precursor to the present-day Navy SEALs. As a professional wrestler, he is best known for his nickname, Jesse 'The Body' Ventura, and tenure in the World Wrestling Federation as a combatant and color commentator. In 2004, he was inducted into the company's Hall of Fame. In the Minnesota gubernatorial election of 1998, running as a member of the Reform Party, he was elected the 38th Governor of Minnesota and served from January 4, 1999, to January 6, 2003, without seeking a second term. Today, Ventura and his wife live in Mexico.

It was a terrific Battle of the Bands at Capital Lakefair last night -- the sixth annual Battle hosted by 94.5 Roxy.  The judging was as tight as it's ever been last night.  All the bands were great.  Congrats to Outnumbered.  They were the big winners for the evening scoring $500 provided by Shipwreck Beads -- the world's largest selection of beads.  Use the link on the 94.5 Roxy home page to get to our Facebook page and check the Battle pictures.  Again, thanks to the bands and thanks to everybody for turning out and cheering the bands on.

The Mariners are back in action tonight at Safeco. They're hosting the division leading Texas Rangers tonight at 7:05.

The Rainiers also return to action tonight at 7:05. They're back home hosting Salt Lake.

The Seattle Storm is at San Antonio tonight at 6:00.

Nate Jaqua and Fredy Montero scored in the first half, and Lamar Neagle added an insurance goal in the second, giving the Sounders a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy in a US Open Cup quarterfinal game last night bouncing the Galaxy from the tournament. The Sounders are seeking their third straight Open Cup title. Only the New York Greek Americans (1967-69) have won three straight Open Cups in the 98-year history of the tournament. The Sounders host FC Dallas in a semifinal on August 30th. Meanwhile, the Sounders continue regular season MLS play Saturday as they host Colorado.

The US women's soccer team beat France 3-1 yesterday and get to play Japan in their first World Cup final since 1999.

Today is National Nude Day.  I'm not exactly sure how we're supposed to celebrate ... but I'll think of something.

Three sources have confirmed to Us Weekly magazine that within the next few months, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are getting married. There's been no official comment from the either celeb, but according to Us, they're getting hitched in France, having a very intimate and informal celebration. The couple has long resisted the tradition, but apparently, their six kids are responsible for the decision since the children always ask about marriage. Brad and Angelina have been together for six years.  Each has been married before. Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston from 2000 to 2005 and Jolie was married to Jonny Lee Miller from 1996 to 1999 and to Billy Bob Thornton from 2000 to 2003.

According to TMZ, Arnold Schwarzenegger -- going through a divorce from his soon to be ex-wife, Maria Shriver -- gets to keep their home in Brentwood, California. The former couple agreed to splitting assets and property, however they are in the beginning stages of figuring out who will end up with what. The pair did not sign a pre-nup.

Apparently everything's bigger in Texas -- even the babies. A Texas couple may have given birth this week to the biggest baby ever recorded in the state's history. JaMichael Brown weighed in at a whopping 16-pounds and one-ounce, double the size of the average newborn. Baby JaMichael measured in at 24-inches long with a 17-inch chest and a full head of hair. In an interview with the Today show, the big baby's daddy said, "We may finally have a star football player in the family, or maybe a basketball player. I'm just proud of him." JaMichael's mother suffered from gestational diabetes throughout her pregnancy, and even doctors couldn't predict how big JaMichael really was. The family also says JaMichael's nickname is "Moose." (Of course, it is)

Are you ready to pay even more for bottled water? At the Fancy Food Show in Washington a company was showing off something called organic water. The company's website says the water "comes from our sources beneath certified organic fields in west Wales in the UK."

Here's another chance to get your hands on some pieces of rock history. The Gotta Have Rock and Roll auction is now underway. Among the items up for bids is the strap from the guitar Jimi Hendrix used and famously set on fire at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. The starting price on it is 50-grand. Also on the auction block: a Paul McCartney-signed Hofner bass guitar, a used and signed Bruce Springsteen guitar, costumes Elvis wore, and U2's Grammy for Where the Streets Have No Name. The auction runs through the 22nd. You can have a look at it at GottaHaveRockAndRoll.com.

Finding an odd job these days is pretty tough, but a Utah man has taken it to a whole new level. He advertises on his website, HuntMe4Sport.com, that he's willing to serve as hunters' prey for the low, low price of only ten-thousand dollars. And if that's not enough for you, for an additional two-thousand, he'll strip down to his birthday suit while you hunt him down. The man, who describes himself as "generally unskilled," has worked in construction and landscaping in the past. He says, "I'm hoping someone will offer me a better opportunity than being shot in the face." He describes this attempt at an odd job more like "a job application."

Adele remains at number two on this week's Billboard 200 chart, selling another 80-thousand copies of her latest effort, 21, which puts her just shy of 2.6-million albums sold in the US alone. The record was written in her hometown of London, but the majority of it was actually recorded in Malibu, California. Adele says that although the sunny weather of the Golden State is nice, there's really no place to work like home. Elsewhere on the chart, Lady Gaga's album, Born This Way, reentered the top ten after one week in the 12 spot, and now sits at number eight.

For some reason, Green Day is offering relationship advice on GreenDay.com. The band is giving guys tips on how to pick up ladies and their big piece of advice is this: "Ask the girl who her favorite band is." The Green Day guys say this is good for two reasons: "Girls love talking about things they love…and you can tell a lot about someone based on the music with which they are obsessed."

Trivia Answer: The $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills. Circulation of high-denomination bills was halted by executive order of President Richard Nixon, in an effort to combat organized crime. Although they are still technically legal tender in the United States, high-denomination bills were last printed in 1945 and officially discontinued on July 14, 1969, by the Federal Reserve System. The $5,000 and $10,000 effectively disappeared well before then: there are only about 200 $5,000 and 300 $10,000 bills known, of all series since 1861. Of the $10,000 bills, 100 were preserved for many years by Benny Binion, the owner of Binion's Horseshoe casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they were displayed in a glass case. The case is no longer there, and the bills were sold to collectors. For the most part, these bills were used by banks and the Federal Government for large financial transactions. However, the introduction of the electronic money system has made large-scale cash transactions obsolete; when combined with concerns about counterfeiting and the use of cash in unlawful activities such as the illegal drug trade, it is unlikely that the US government will ever re-issue large denomination currency. According to the US Department of Treasury website, "The present denominations of our currency in production are $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100....Neither the Department of the Treasury nor the Federal Reserve System has any plans to change the denominations in use today."

Pitching, speed and a little bit of power. The National League, using the same formula that worked during its dominating run in the 1970s and '80s, is back on top in the All-Star game. Prince Fielder hit a three-run homer and Roy Halladay and his relief combined on a six-hitter to lead the NL over the AL 5-1 last night, giving the senior circuit its first two-game winning streak since the mid-1990s. The only blemish for the NL was a home run by Adrian Gonzalez off Cliff Lee. Prince Fielder won the MVP award after becoming the first Brewers player to homer in an All-Star game. As for the Mariners that appeared in the game, Michael Pineda was perfect in the inning he pitched fanning a pair and only facing three batters. On the other hand, Brandon League allowed a run on two hits including a double in the bottom half of the seventh. So the National League wins and thus will get home field advantage in the 2011 World Series. The Mariners, meanwhile, are back in action tomorrow at Safeco as they host the division leading Texas Rangers.

It's also the Triple-A All Star Break. The Rainiers are back in action tomorrow at Cheney Stadium hosting Salt Lake.

The Seattle Storm hosted the Washington Mystics in a mid-day game at the Key yesterday. Even with the Storm shooting 54.5 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, they struggled to create much more space between themselves and the Mystics than the 79-71 final score suggests. The game kept going back and forth with the Mystics threatening and the Storm re-establishing breathing room, but ultimately the Storm came up with more plays when they needed them to win the game. Tomorrow night, the Storm is at San Antonio.

This afternoon, the Seattle Sounders square off with the LA Galaxy in the Tukwila Throwdown. It's the 2011 US Open Cup quarterfinals. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 this afternoon at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwilla. Seattle won when the two teams met there last year. Saturday, the Sounders continue regular season MLS play as they host Colorado.

An Army Ranger stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord has become the second living person to receive the Medal of Honor for action stemming from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thirty-one year old Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry lost his right hand in 2008 after throwing a grenade away from fellow soldiers during combat in Afghanistan. President Obama presented Petry with the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest decoration, yesterday. Despite being eligible for a medical discharge, Petry has chosen to stay on active duty and is working near his unit at JBLM helping injured soldiers adjust to life after battle. Originally from New Mexico, Petry and his wife Ashley have four children, Brittany, Austin, Reagan and Landon. Petry has served six tours in Afghanistan and two in Iraq, according to the Army. He enlisted in September 1999.

The annual Seattle-to-Portland bike ride was marred over the weekend by four miles of tacks strewn along the route. The tacks caused one rider to fall. The rider was knocked unconscious and taken to a hospital according to the The Oregonian newspaper. The tacks were on US Route 30 outside Portland near Scappoose. Several other riders had to patch their tires

Contractors for the Yelm Highway Project plan to pave Yelm Highway from Boulevard Road to Henderson Boulevard on Friday and Saturday from 6:00 in the morning to 5:30 in the afternoon. The work is weather-dependent. Some driveways will be temporarily closed while the asphalt cures enough to be able to support the weight of a vehicle. You are advised to expect significant delays and to take alternate routes when possible.

Forbes has listed the top 50 most valuable sports franchises in the world, and the Seahawks make a decent showing. At $989 million, the franchise is No. 25 on the list. The list is dominated by NFL teams, but a soccer team, Manchester United, is No. 1, with a valuation of $1.86 billion. All 32 NFL teams made the list, led by the Dallas Cowboys at No. 2 with a value of $1.81 billion. The dominance of the NFL speaks to the value of the league's television contracts, which are worth $3.8 billion a year. Forbes points out that an NFL franchise could be had for about $70 million in the mid 1980s. Those teams now go for an average of about $1 billion. The Seahawks were beat out by several surprising football teams, including the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans. No other Seattle teams made the list. At No. 3 on the list was the New York Yankees, value at $1.7 billion. The Yankees are worth 86% more than baseball's second most valuable team, the Boston Red Sox.

Could Paul McCartney be planning a Beatles reunion of sorts for the opening ceremony to the Olympics when they are held in London next year? Possibly! Sir Paul nodded recently when asked if he'd be appearing at the event but backtracked, possibly because he spoiled a surprise, explaining, "I hear there's a rumor that I might be involved." When asked about any Beatles music in the ceremony he added, "I hear they're planning this sort of music." Meanwhile, a source told England's The Sun that Paul will likely appear with other big British acts on stage along with Ringo Starr and possibly George Harrison and John Lennon's children. That opening ceremony is coming up on July 27th next year.

Liv Tyler is one lucky lady. Not only is she a beautiful and talented actress, she also gets to preview her dad's Aerosmith tracks before anybody else. Steven Tyler and Aerosmith are hard at work in the studio and on Friday, they got a little inspiration from one of sports' greatest trophies. The band was visited by the Stanley Cup, which their home team, the Boston Bruins, won this year. The guys took an hour to pose for pictures with the cup and to chat with the Bruins training staff, who also came in.

Justin Timberlake attended the press day for his upcoming romantic comedy Friends With Benefits in Los Angeles over the weekend. Justin recently purchased a portion of MySpace and although JT didn't want to get into the details of his plans for the site, he did say he wants to make MySpace "What it should have been." More detailed plans for how Timberlake and the site's new managers plan to run MySpace are expected at an August 17th press conference.

British paper the News of the World is no more, and apparently, George Michael couldn't be happier about it. According to NME, the former Wham! singer said that Rupert Murdoch's News International, which owned the paper and many others, tried to "destroy" him countless times, and that he's just one of "thousands" who have similar stories.

Tim Pawlenty, one of the Republicans running for President, seems to be a fan of Lady Gaga. He was asked by the Washington Post what his favorite Gaga tune is, and had quite the elaborate answer. He said that "in terms of the beat," he likes Bad Romance, but that Born This Way also has some appeal.

So far, 2011 been the year of Adele. She's had the most successful album in the world so far this year with her latest, 21, already selling more than 2.5-million copies in the US alone. She says that it's been one of the best and most surreal times of her life. She makes up that missed Seattle show on August 12th when she's at the Paramount.

Jewel and her husband, pro-rodeo star Ty Murray welcomed a baby boy on Monday night in Texas. A rep for the couple told People magaazine that Kase Townes Murray arrived at 7:00 and weighed in at seven-pounds, six-ounces. Jewel gushed to the magazine, saying that she and Ty were "overcome with happiness" and that "it really is as great" as everyone said it would be.

Queen hasn't released a video in 12 years but as they celebrate their 40th anniversary, that's all going to change. The band wants to create a clip for their 1977 track "Sheer Heart Attack" and they want fans to help them create it. The guys are asking for filmmakers to submit original music videos for the song and the winning entry will be used as their official clip. The winner will also score 15-hundred dollars and other prizes. Learn more at QueenOnline.com.

A North Dakota man is questioning whether his home state is really a state after all. He says North Dakota may have never gained official statehood. The man noticed the State Constitution never spelled out the specifics on the executive branch of government in the state and who takes the oath of office. That mistake puts the North Dakota constitution in conflict with the United States constitution, leaving government officials asking "Has North Dakota ever been a state?" Not to worry, though. A state senator has introduced a bill that would make the constitution correction, and residents will vote in November to approve the bill.

A librarian at a California university is asking the question "Is our flag really still there?" – on the moon, that is. Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong may have left behind the American flag after the first landing on the moon, but how long could it really fly? The flag is made from nylon, just like the one's sold home here in the U-S-A, and the librarian says it wasn't created to be able to stand up to "all the environments for eons." Her educated guess is the flag probably didn't even withstand the lunar liftoff.

Tyrone Curry, a janitor and track coach at a small Seattle high school, cashed in big when he won 2.5-million dollars in the lottery six years ago. But what's one of the only big purchases he's made since? He donated 40-thousand dollars towards the building of a running track for the kids he coaches at Evergreen Campus high school. He said, "I want to put in things that can be useful to people, that can be used by the kids, by neighbors and other people. It's not about me, it's about other people and what I can do for them." 

Trivia Answer: Cameron Bruce Crowe who turns 54 today. Crowe's debut screenwriting effort, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, grew out of a book he wrote while posing for one year undercover as a student at Clairemont High School in San Diego, California, where he met Geraldine Edwards, who was a student there while he was visiting mutual friends in 1975. He later based part of his Penny Lane character on her in Almost Famous after discovering that she had been going backstage to Rock and Roll concerts. Later, he wrote and directed one more high school saga, Say Anything, and then Singles, a story of Seattle twentysomethings that was woven together by a soundtrack centering on the city's burgeoning grunge music scene. Crowe landed his biggest hit, though, with Jerry Maguire. After this, he was given a green light to go ahead with a pet project, the autobiographical effort Almost Famous. Centering on a teenage music journalist on tour with an up-and-coming band, it gave insight to his life as a 15-year-old writer for Rolling Stone. Crowe married Nancy Wilson of the band Heart in July 1986. They have 11-year-old twin sons, William James Crowe and Curtis Wilson Crowe. Crowe and Wilson separated in June 2008. Wilson filed for divorce on September 23rd of 2010, citing "irreconcilable differences." The divorce was finalized on December 8th of 2010, ending the marriage.

Robinson Cano outslugged Adrian Gonzalez to win the All-Star Home Run Derby that turned into a Yankees-Red Sox showdown. Batting last, Cano defeated Gonzalez 12-11 in the finals last night after they each hit 20 home runs through two rounds.

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Roy Halladay is starting for the National League in tonight's All-Star Game against the Los Angeles Angels' Jered Weaver for the American League. Former Mariner Adrian Beltre is the starting third baseman for the AL. American League manager Ron Washington told The Seattle Times that both Michael Pineda and Brandon League of the Mariners will pitch one inning each in tonight's game. Reports are that League will get an inning toward the end of the ballgame. As for Pineda, Washington says Michael will be on a 30-pitch limit. Pineda pitched Saturday, then was chosen Sunday as a replacement for Justin Verlander, who is ineligible to play because he pitched on Sunday. Felix Hernandez was also voted in by the players and will be in Phoenix for the game and festivities, but is ineligible to pitch due to the same rule that allowed Pineda to be named as a replacement. The Mariners resume their season after the break. Thursday, they host the AL West leading Texas Rangers.

It's also the Triple-A All Star Break. The Rainiers are off until Thursday when they host Salt Lake.

The Seattle Storm hosted the Washington Mystics in a mid-day game at the Key today. Even with Seattle Storm shooting 54.5 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, they struggled to create much more space between themselves and the Washington Mystics than the 79-71 final score suggests. The game kept going back and forth with the Mystics threatening and the Storm re-establishing breathing room, but ultimately the Storm came up with more plays when they needed them to win the game.

Tomorrow, the Seattle Sounders square off with the LA Galaxy in the Tukwila Throwdown, Take Two. It's the 2011 U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals. Kickoff is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwilla. Seattle won when the two teams met there last year. Saturday, the Sounders continue regular season MLS play as they host Colorado.

Today, Neptune completes its first orbit since its discovery on September 23rd of 1846.

On DVD today: Arthur (Russell Brand, Greta Gerwig, Jennifer Garner); Insidious (Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne); The Lincoln Lawyer (Marisa Tomei, Matthew McConaughey); Rango (Johnny Depp).

It turns out the reason Def Leppard had to delay recent tour dates recently was because singer Joe Elliott's father was ailing and now, he has sadly passed away. The band's tour manager wrote a tribute to Joe's dad, first explaining that Joe Senior, as he was known, suffered a bad heart attack in April then two more soon after, and things didn't look good. However, he said Joe Senior was "tough as nails" and pulled through. It was also revealed that Joe Senior insisted that his son go on tour. However, Joe Senior's health soon deteriorated and while Joe did one more show as a tribute to his father, he then went to support his family and be by his dad's bedside, which is where he was when his father passed away. Joe Senior helped finance the recording and release of the band's first record and always supported his son's choice in career. Def Leppard and Heart are scheduled to appear together at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn on September 15th.

For most, an allergic reaction to horses wouldn't be such a big deal. Unfortunately, when you're part of the Royal Family like Kate Middleton is, you're around them quite often. Middleton is allergic to horses, but says the more time she spends with them, the less of a reaction she has. After a whirlwind tour of California over the weekend, Kate and Prince William are now back in the UK.

There's a good chance that about 11% of the text messages you send and receive are deceptive. This is according to researchers at Cornell University, who examined nearly 5,400 texts and found that 10.7% of them are used to tell people we're some place we're not, or that we "have to go" when we really just want to end a conversation.

More info has been revealed about Train's new wine-line. Guitarist Jimmy Stafford took to the band's wine club blog to announce that a bottle will cost just under ten bucks, and that once you uncork it, the "boysenberry fruit leaps from your glass." Read more at TrainWineClub.com. The wine is available one week from today.

Police charged three parents -- including the town prosecutor in Castle Rock, Colorado -- with third-degree assault and disorderly conduct after a brawl during a youth baseball tournament put a player in a hospital. The fight involved at least six adults during a game for 12-year-olds, and police are still trying to sort out what triggered the brawl and who was involved. The defendants insisted they were trying to protect their children from attack. Andrew Lee Carlson, his wife, Shannon Carlson, and Christy Ausmus, a prosecutor contracted by the town of Castle Rock, were charged after the June 26th melee. Shannon Carlson and her son said they were trying to dispute an umpire's call when the fight erupted, according to a police report. Ausmus and her own son also were at the scene in a pavilion near a ballfield. The boys got into a dispute, and Ausmus claimed Andrew Carlson attacked her son from behind, put him in a chokehold and punched him. Ausmus said the boy, 16, eventually was hospitalized with a concussion. Carlson insisted he was defending his own 15-year-old son from Ausmus' son. Said Carlson, "This kid is assaulting my son and I pulled him off. Then this lady just started attacking me. She attacked me and started punching me three or four times in the face. Then she went after my wife, punched her, pushed her over a bench." Carlson concluded, "It's a sad day for youth baseball." Castle Rock is about 30 miles south of Denver.

A restaurant in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, has decided to stop admitting young children. Owner Mike Vuick wrote in an email to loyal customers that his eatery "is not a place for young children. Their volume can't be controlled and many, many times, they have disturbed other customers."

An alleged thief named George John Paul Ringo Hughes --  really that's his name -- was arrested last week in -- where else -- Liverpool, England. The 18-year-old has been charged with six burglaries.

Trivia Answer: Ronald Ray Fairly -- Ron Fairly -- who turn 73 today. Fairly played varsity baseball at the University of Southern California in 1958. That 1958 Trojan baseball team won USC's second College World Series championship. There he was a teammate of future baseball executive and General Manager Pat Gillick. He went on to be signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent. After two brief minor league stops, he made the big club late in September 1958. A competitive player and highly disciplined hitter, Fairly had a short and compact swing with occasional power to all fields. With his glove, he was a competent first baseman, and was competent at all three outfield positions, being best suited for right field. His talents, though, were overshadowed by a notorious lack of speed. In his 21-season career, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1958–69), Montreal Expos (1969–74), St. Louis Cardinals (1975–76), Oakland Athletics (1976), Toronto Blue Jays (1977) and California Angels (1978). He was named to two All-Star Games: as an Expo in 1973 and as a Blue Jay in 1977. Fairly is the only player to be named an All-Star with both Canada-based Major League teams. He was selected an All-Star in 1973 and 1977. He also played in four World Series. He retired from playing at age of 40 after the 1978 season.

Just an awful accident at the Black Lake Regatta on Saturday. A 32-year-old from Buckley, Ryan Butler, died after his hydroplane hit the wake of the boat in front of him, barrel-rolled twice, and disappeared underwater. The accident happened around 1:00 Saturday afternoon at the end of the second lap of the second heat. Witnesses called it a violent crash. Butler was piloting his 18-foot superstock hydroplane, the Scooty Puff Sr, and may have been going more than 100 miles an hour at the time of the crash. Emergency crews rushed Butler to St. Peter's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The official cause of the crash is under investigation. It's the second death this year in a sanctioned event. In April, 56-year-old Devin Mason died after his hydroplane flipped over on Lake Lawrence near Yelm.

Dave Villwock has become the hydroplane series' all-time winningest driver with a victory at the Gold Cup in Detroit. Villwock, a Washington state native who was raised in Port Orchard and now lives in Auburn, overcame some early adversity by notching his 63rd career race victory yesterday on the Detroit River. The 57-year-old collected his ninth Gold Cup trophy and his fourth consecutive. He breaks a mark held by Bill Muncey, who had 62 career victories and eight Gold Cup wins. Muncey died in 1981. Once known as the APBA, the series now is called the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim rolled into the All-Star break with their 14th victory in 17 games. They knocked off the struggling Mariners, 4-2. The Angels swept the four-game series. If ever a team needed a break, it's the Mariners. It doesn't, however, get any easier after the break as the Ms host the division leading Texas Rangers for four starting Thursday. Meanwhile, for the second time in nine days, a batter has walked on a three-ball count against the Seattle Mariners. Angels designated hitter Bobby Abreu was allowed to take first base after a 3-1 count in the third inning of the Angeles-Mariners game. Home plate umpire Gerry Davis apparently lost track of the count, and the Seattle dugout didn't protest.

Felix Hernandez won't be pitching in tomorrow's All-Star game … but his rookie teammate most likely will be. After a handful of starting pitchers were removed from the AL roster due to a rule that allows Sunday starters to be replaced, Michael Pineda was named as a replacement and will join Hernandez and Brandon League as the Seattle Mariners' representatives at the game in Phoenix. The rule says that any pitcher who starts the Sunday before the All-Star game may be replaced so as not to risk injury by pitching on such short rest. So that means Hernandez, James Shields and Justin Verlander are all being replaced on the roster. Pineda took Verlander's spot. Of course, some wondered why the rookie wasn't chosen in the first place. He's 8-6 with a 3.03 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 18 starts this year. Pineda is 12th in the AL in ERA, and eighth in strikeouts -- and he's also coming off the worst start of his career, before which those numbers were even more impressive. Felix says he still plans to attend the All-Star game and participate in the festivities.

Christian Lopez is the guy who caught Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit. The 23-year old fan then gave it back to the New York Yankee, saying Jeter deserved it. Lopez was rewarded with a personal meeting with Jeter, season tickets for the rest of the year and eight Jeter-signed bats, balls and jerseys.

The Reno Aces scored four runs in the seventh inning to roll to a come-from-behind 6-2 victory over the Tacoma Rainiers yesterday at Cheney Stadium. With the win, the Aces go to the Triple-A All-Star Break with a 10-game division lead -- sitting a franchise record 17 games over .500. The Rainiers now go on a three-day hiatus for the Triple-A All-Star Break. Thursday, the Rainiers are home hosting the Salt Lake Bees.

Fredy Montero scored two goals and Osvaldo Alonso added another on a penalty kick to give the Seattle Sounders a 3-2 victory over the Portland Timbers yesterday in the second match between the two Major League Soccer rivals. The teams played to a 1-1 draw at Qwest Field back in May when they met in the season's first game of the Cascadia Cup rivalry. The Sounders are 9-4-and-8 and are undefeated in eight straight matches. The Timbers are 5-9-and-3 and are winless in seven straight games. The Sounders are back in action hosting Colorado on Saturday.

Swin Cash had 16 of her 26 points in the third quarter to help the Seattle Storm beat the Los Angeles Sparks 99-80 on Saturday night. Seattle is now 6-and-4 and remains in fourth place in the Western Conference. Tomorrow, the Storm is hosting Washington.

No big surprise here as big-budget action film Transformers: Dark of the Moon won the battle of the North American box office for the second straight week, churning up $47 million and became the highest-grossing movie of the year. Transformers easily beat two new comedies. Ticket sales for the third installment of the Transformers films eclipsed adult-targeted comedy Horrible Bosses, which took in $28 million and placed second, and family film Zookeeper which came in at No. 3. Cars 2 was fourth followed by Bad Teacher's at No. 5. A certain teen wizard is expected to knock Transformers off its pedestal when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 arrives on Friday.

To commemorate 7-Eleven's 84th birthday here on July 11th, aka 7-Eleven Day, participating 7-Eleven stores throughout Washington are celebrating by giving away free 7.11-oz size Slurpees. With the theme "Our Birthday -- Your Bash," participating 7-Eleven stores are thanking customers for their support by offering a free Slurpee in a cup specially designed for this day while supplies last. It's going on all day today.

They came, they schmoozed, they fundraised. Following a nonstop weekend that included a few chukkers of polo, time with Hollywood's own version of royalty and several events that raised millions of dollars for charity, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge headed back to the UK yesterday. Their Southern Californian stopover came at the end of a nine-day visit to Canada, the first tour Prince William and his bride Catherine have made since getting married in April. The US portion of their travels was a somewhat low key affair compared to their northern visit, where - French separatists aside - the duke and duchess were greeted with rapturous welcomes as they crisscrossed the Commonwealth country. Excitement in California was more muted, though small crowds of well-wishers waving British and American flags lined up to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds and well-heeled fans paid thousands of dollars to sip champagne in the couple's presence at a charity polo match in Santa Barbara on Saturday.

A 6-year-old boy got a little overzealous climbing a neighbor's tree last night in Lacey and had to be rescued by firefighters. A homeowner on Apollo Street heard a call for help at 7:18 last night and ran outside to find a young boy stuck on a small limb 40 feet high atop a cherry tree. Firefighters were called and used a ladder truck to get the boy down, where he had a happy reunion with his family. The boy wasn't hurt, and firefighters said the boy promised them he would never climb his neighbor's tree again.

Space shuttle astronauts are on their final mission aboard the shuttle.

Sheryl Crow wants to save the horses. The Associated Press reports that Sheryl is donating part of the proceeds from an upcoming concert in Wyoming to "a wild horse protection group that is suing the government to try to stop a big mustang roundup in Nevada." The gig takes place on July 22nd.

Last Thursday, Adele returned to the stage for the first time since she had to cancel the remainder of her American tour due to problems with her voice. She was at the iTunes Festival in London, and performed a bevy of her hits, and even did a cover of the Bonnie Raitt classic I Can't Make You Love Me. Adele is in the Northwest at the Paramount on August 12th.

After years of shooting a live show the morning after the Oscars, Oprah Winfrey may be on deck to host the big show. The Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has Winfrey "topping the list of candidates" to host next year's show. If O takes the gig, she will be only the third woman to host the Oscars. Whoopi Goldberg hosted four times and Ellen DeGeneres hosted once. Oscar organizers, however, are downplaying the speculation. The academy says no decision has been made. The Academy Awards will be handed out in February at the Kodak Theatre and will air live on ABC.

Operators of online dating services say more seniors are logging on as a way to meet people beyond the tried-and-true arenas of church and volunteer work. The senior market is the fastest-growing group in the online dating scene.

Every year, 3.5 billion wire hangers end up in US landfills.

Trivia Answer: Yul Brynner who was born on this date in 1920. He was also noted for his shaven head, something he maintained as a personal trademark long after adopting it for his initial role in The King and I. Brynner died of lung cancer on October 10th of 1985 (on the same day Orson Welles died). Knowing he was dying of cancer, Brynner starred in a run of farewell performances of his most famous role, The King and I, on Broadway from January 7th to June 30th of 1985. Throughout his life, Brynner was often seen with a cigarette in his hand. Nine months before his death, he gave an interview on Good Morning America, expressing his desire to make an anti-smoking commercial. A clip from that interview was made into just such a public service announcement by the American Cancer Society, and released after his death; it includes the warning "Now that I'm gone, I tell you, don't smoke. Whatever you do, just don't smoke. If I could take back that smoking, we wouldn't be talking about any cancer. I'm convinced of that."

Although Doug Fister made yet another solid start for the Mariners last night, solid isn't nearly enough to win for Seattle. It certainly wasn't enough to beat Jered Weaver and the surging Los Angeles Angels. Weaver pitched a six-hitter for his 11th victory, and Fister took his 10th loss. The Angels win 5-1. Third baseman Kyle Seager made his major league debut for the Mariners, striking out against Weaver in his first at-bat in the second inning and finishing 0 for 4. Game two of the four game series is tonight at 7:05.

The MLB All Star Game is coming up Tuesday in Phoenix.

A terribly sad story from Arlington, Texas. A firefighter attending a Texas Rangers game with his 6-year-old young son died after falling out of the stands and about 20 feet to the ground while trying to catch a baseball tossed his way by Josh Hamilton last night. Arlington Fire Department officials said in a statement that another fan nearby tried unsuccessfully to grab the man to keep him from falling. They said the victim's son did not fall. TV replays showed the man falling head-first and landing behind a 14-foot-high wall supporting a video board for replays and scores. The area where the man fell is out of sight from the field. It is the second fatal fall at a MLB ballpark this season. In May, a 27-year-old man died after he fell about 20 feet and struck his head on concrete during the seventh inning of a Colorado Rockies game.

With four lead changes and a 4-3 final score, the Tacoma Rainiers came out the hard-luck losers against the Reno Aces last night. Tacoma is hosting Reno through Sunday. Tonight -- a Friday night home game -- means post-fame fireworks.

Tomorrow night, the Seattle Storm hosts Los Angeles. Tip-off at the Key at 7.

Sunday afternoon at 2:00, the trivalry continues as the Seattle Sounders are at Portland to face the Timbers.

Prince William and Kate are in the US this weekend. Didja wave as they flew over? We could have shown them socks-and-sandals and bought them a latte ... but they didn't stop here. They're in Beverly Hills today. Jennifer Lopez is listed as one of a few lucky celebrities to welcome the Prince and Duchess as they attend the BAFTA Brits to Watch event. J-Lo and her husband, Marc Anthony, are among the small guest list of American celebrities invited to attend the event. Other guests include Jack Black, Nicole Kidman, Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand, Judd Apatow and a few others.

Rumor is that Johnny Depp could be getting ready to sign on to be a part of a fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. A source told TheWrap.com that the actor is "close" to signing a deal. Back in May, producer Jerry Bruckheimer told the LA Times that he wouldn't make another Pirates flick with Depp. The latest Pirates, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, has made over one-billion dollars worldwide.

China is having a hissy fit after CNN called one of its most traditional dishes the "most disgusting food" in the world. Now, China has issued a complaint and wants the TV network to say it's sorry. The food in question is China's pi dan, which is made by preserving eggs in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime and rice hulls. The company that produces the largest number of egg products in China says, "The conclusion CNN has come up with only proved its ignorance and arrogance, as well as a complete lack of respect for cultural traditions in other countries."

Smash Mouth frontman Steve Harwell is going to do something a little crazy for charity. According to TMZ.com, a fan challenged the singer to eat 24 eggs, to which Steve responded yes, as long as fans could raise ten-thousand dollars for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Well the gossip site reports that Harwell had better get ready to chow down, as six-thousand dollars has already been raised. Learn more at TMZ.com. Word is that Steve can eat the eggs any way he pleases, just as long as he finishes them all.

The record industry is doing better than it has in a long time, and apparently, it has Adele to thank. Nielsen SoundScan has released data saying that overall record sales are up for the first time since 2004, and Adele's latest album, 21, selling over 2.5-million copies has helped make this happen. 21 has never dropped lower than third on the Billboard 200 chart since it came out in February, and the album is soon expected to surpass Eminem's Recovery as the best-selling digital record of all time. Older works by artists are also selling better than ever, and Adele can be thanked for that too. Her debut album, 19, has sold almost 350-thouand copies in 2011 alone, and this has helped catalog sales go up by seven-percent from last year.

Some new artists are joining Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, and the rest of the Farm Aid regulars when it hits Kansas City on August 13th. Jason Mraz and Jakob Dylan are just some of the many first-time acts playing Farm Aid 2011. Learn more at FarmAid.org.

Rolling Stone recently revealed their Queen of Pop Index, which said that Lady Gaga currently holds the title of Queen of Pop based on a number of different criteria from the past two years, including albums sold, presence on social media, and more. Well apparently, many readers of the mag simply did not agree. RollingStone.com took an online poll to find out who the people thought was the real Queen of Pop, and even though she hasn't released an album since 2008, the answer was resoundingly Madonna. Gaga came in second, but apparently Madonna got five times as many votes. Other artists in the top five included Britney Spears, Beyonce, and Tina Turner.

Forbes magazine has released their annual Top 100 Celebrities list, which ranks famous people according to their entertainment earnings and visibility in the media. The list includes Hollywood actors such as Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Aniston and others. Athletes who appear on the list include Tiger Woods and LeBron James. Several music stars made the list as well, including Justin Bieber, U2, Elton John, Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift. Pop-star Lady Gaga topped the list and reportedly raked in around 90-million dollars in gross earnings over the past year. See more at Forbes.com.

Weird Al Yankovic has parodied many a song but sometimes gets turned down by the original singers for one reason or another, and that's exactly what happened when Al asked Paul McCartney if he could spoof the Wings hit "Live and Let Die." Paul, a devout vegetarian and animal rights activist, denied Yankovic since Al wanted to turn it into "Chicken Pot Pie." Yankovic says that McCartney didn't want it turned into a song possibly promoting the consumption of animal flesh. However, Al said Paul told him to think of another subject and he'd be happy to OK it.

Parachute, The Goo Goo Dolls and Michelle Branch kicked off their summer tour in Michigan last night. The three acts are going to be out on the road through August. LA is about as close to the Northwest as they have on the current schedule.

The state of Illinois has dropped the ball on writing skills, saying it will no longer test its kids on the subject. The state will only assess reading and arithmetic. The reason? Writing tests cost too much. A superintendent in the area says, "Writing is one of the most expensive things to assess." Cutting the writing exams will save about 2.4-million dollars. Illinois isn't the only state in financial trouble. Missouri and Oregon also made cuts to their writing programs. State education officials expect writing exams to be restored in 2014 when a new state testing plan takes effect.

A woman in Mexico must have been pretty desperate to break her common-law husband out of jail. She was caught this week rolling her convict companion out of the jailhouse in a suitcase. Eyewitnesses say the woman appeared nervous as she suspiciously rolled the bulky suitcase out of the jailhouse. Prison staff took notice and after searching the contents of the suitcase, found the inmate inside curled into the fetal position. Now the wife's got herself booked in the slammer, too. The man is serving 20 years for a 2007 charge for possession of illegal weapons. On the bright side, his case has now been reopened.

Best of luck to Darren and the Miss 94Five Roxy team this weekend at the Black Lake Regatta. There's racing from 11 til 6 both tomorrow and Sunday.

Trivia Answer: Kevin Bacon -- who turns 53 today -- is the actor. The game is The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Although it has since been proven that there are better centers in the Hollywood universe -- such as Sean Connery, Rod Steiger, Gene Hackman or Michael Caine -- Bacon's name remains the focus because he was the first one selected by the game's creators, and because the name "Kevin Bacon" rhymes with the last word of the phrase "six degrees of separation." A person's number of degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon is known as one's Bacon Number. Ronald Reagan's Bacon Number is 2. Reagan was in The Young Doctors (1961) with Eddie Albert while Eddie Albert was in The Big Picture (1989) with Kevin Bacon. Elvis Presley's Bacon Number is 2. Elvis Presley was in Change of Habit (1969) with Edward Asner while Edward Asner was in JFK (1991) with Kevin Bacon. Though he was initially dismayed by the game, the concept stuck, and Bacon eventually embraced it. He even formed the charitable initiative SixDegrees.org, a social networking site intended to link people to charities and each other.

Errors and silent bats doomed the Mariners against the Oakland As yesterday. In fact, the Mariners had more errors than hits. They matched a season-worst with three errors -- having also done it April 6th at Texas -- and only had two hits. As win the series finale 2-0. Seattle now moves to Anaheim for four before the All Star break. First pitch tonight at 7:05.

Tuesday's Major League Baseball All-Star Game is about more than just America's pastime. Some very prominent artists are involved as well. According to USA Today, Cee-Lo is performing at the MLB All-Star Gala, an event that takes place on Monday. Then, before the actual game on Tuesday, Jordin Sparks is singing the National Anthem, and Michelle Branch is performing "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch. The game is in Phoenix, Arizona.

Meanwhile, the Mariners' struggling offense is turning to hot-hitting young infielder Kyle Seager as a possible solution. The Mariners promoted the 23-year-old Seager from Tacoma yesterday. Seager was a third-round pick of the Mariners in 2009 and sprinted through the minors. He was hitting .312 at Double-A Jackson before being promoted to Triple-A Tacoma on June 23rd. In his 12 games with the Rainiers, Seager hit .455 with four doubles, a triple, two home runs and 12 RBIs. He'll mostly be used at third base with the Mariners which likely means even less playing time for struggling third baseman Chone Figgins, who is hitting .183.

After allowing seven runs to score in the bottom of the first inning, the Tacoma Rainiers offense exploded to and came up with an 18-13 victory over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. The victory moved Tacoma to within one game of .500 the first time since the team was 3-4 one week into the season. The Rainiers have won 10 of their past 13 games. The Rainiers are back home tonight hosting the Reno Aces at 7:05.

Saturday, Storm hosts Los Angeles.

Sunday, the Sounders are at Portland.

The 2018 Winter Olympic Games have been awarded to the city of Pyeongchang, South Korea. The selection doesn't come out of nowhere though, as Pyeongchang finished second to Vancouver for the 2010 games and second to Sochi, Russia for the 2014 games.

Field of Dreams 2: Lockout is a riff on the NFL labor negotiations. The folks at Funny Or Die pulled together a number of famous actors, gathered some dozen currently out-of-work NFL stars, and utilized filmmaking techniques seldom employed for Internet videos. In the clip, Lautner builds a football field that attracts locked-out NFL players eager to play. League owners locked out players in March, and negotiations are ongoing. Whereas Costner in Field of Dreams was mysteriously moved to build a baseball diamond, Lautner is pushed to erect a pigskin paradise. When the voice whispers, "Are you ready?" Lautner answers, "For what?" The voice replies: "Some football." NFL stars who make appearances include Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens, Tony Gonzalez of the Atlanta Falcons and Shawne Merriman of the Buffalo Bills. NFL Network's Rich Eisen shows up to broadcast the action. Ray Liotta, who played Shoeless Joe Jackson in the original Field of Dreams, returns to play NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Dennis Haysbert takes the James Earl Jones role. Even Costner makes a cameo.

Judge Belvin Perry has sentenced Casey Anthony to one year in jail to run consecutively for each of four counts of lying to police. The 25-year-old Orlando woman avoided the most serious charges when a jury acquitted her of first degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated manslaughter in the 2008 death of her daughter Caylee. Perry also said he would fine Anthony $1,000 for each count and he'll calculate the cost of the investigation into Caylee's disappearance and what amount of that Casey might have to pay. Later in the morning came word that Casey will be released from jail Wednesday. She has been in jail for almost three years and is being given time off for good behavior.

Tweet of the Day honors go to matchbox twenty frontman Rob Thomas who tweeted: The real losers in the #CaseyAnthony trial are 24 hour news stations. They now have to go find news that is relevant to our lives to cover.

Adele's latest album, 21, is back at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, selling another 91-thousand copies. She's now sold more than 2.5-million copies of 21 in the US alone. Lady Gaga's Born This Way on the other hand dropped out of the top ten for the first time, selling 38-thousand copies which is good enough only for the 12th spot.

Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker were the highest-earning actresses of 2010. Forbes reports that each actress made 30-million dollars for their work. Jolie appeared in Salt and The Tourist, while Parker garnered her money from re-runs of Sex and the City and the Sex and the City movie sequel. Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon each made an impressive 28-million dollars, while Julia Roberts and Kristen Stewart made 20-million.

The premiere of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows - Part 2 takes place tonight in London. Some eight-thousand fans showed up more than 24 hours before the premiere to fight for wristbands that would allow them to remain on the sidelines for the premiere of the franchise's final film. Everybody can check out Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 when it hits theaters a week from tomorrow.

Duran Duran has officially cancelled their European summer tour. The band had been postponing dates in the UK as frontman Simon Le Bon attempted to recover from "damaged muscles" that control his vocal cords, but according to the Associated Press, the singer has been advised to undergo physical therapy and he's not sure when he'll recover.

Aerosmith has announced a Japanese tour. The band is performing there for the first time since 2004. They decided to head there after they saw the effects of the recent earthquake and tsunami. The trek kicks off on November 22nd and runs through December 10th. The tour includes stops in Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, and elsewhere. Get all their dates at Aerosmith.com.

Linkin Park also has Japan on its mind. The band is helping to raise more money for Japan Tsunami relief through their Music For Relief organization by hosting a surprise private concert in Los Angeles. Every supporter who raises at least $500 is being invited, with a guest, to a private Linkin Park performance, with the location of the show only being released to those who reach the fundraising goal.

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are apparently giving their relationship another go. A source tells Us Weekly that the pair is "quietly seeing each other" again. They dated for four years before calling off their romance in March.

Do you love slow-smoked traditional BBQ? Here's your chance to get your taste-buds satisfied. The Lacey Chamber of Commerce invites you to be a part of the inaugural South Sound BBQ Festival. It's happening Saturday from 11 to 7 at Cabela's parking lot in Lacey (just off I-5 at Exit 111). Admission is free. Enjoy the best the South Sound has to offer in BBQ at the South Sound BBQ Fest brought to you in part by 94.5 Roxy. Stop by the Roxy Booth while you're there.

Trivia Answer: They were 27. Other famed musicians who died at age 27 include Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, country singer Hank Williams, and Blues pioneer Robert Johnson.

Brandon League, the AL leader in saves, blew his fourth save of the season in the ninth inning last night and nearly wasted an outstanding outing by ace Felix Hernandez. League gave up a game-tying RBI single to Coco Crisp with one out but avoided the loss when the Mariners scored twice in the 10th off Oakland closer Andrew Bailey. Franklin Gutierrez scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error by A's shortstop Cliff Pennington and Adam Kennedy doubled in Brendan Ryan, helping Seattle to a 4-2 win -- its third straight win and sixth in nine games against Oakland this season. The way baseball is scored sometimes leaves a little to be desired. In the case of the game last night, Feilx gets a no-decision. League -- who blows the save -- ends up getting the win because he became the pitcher of record once the score was tied. It just doesn't seem right. The Ms and As were concluding that series with a matinee game today.

Speaking of things that don't seem right, Felix Hernandez has been selected for the All Star Team but if I'm reading the rules correctly, he won't be eligible to pitch in the game because he's pitching for the Mariners on Sunday. The MLB All Star Game is Tuesday at Arizona.

The Tacoma Rainiers got by the Colorado Springs Sky Sox13-9 last night. They wrap up that series tonight at 6:05.

Sunday, the Northwest trivalry continues as the Sounders play at Portland.

Jessica Davenport had 15 points, seven rebounds and four blocks to lead the Indiana Fever over the Seattle Storm 78-61 last night. The Fever won its fifth straight game. Sue Bird scored 21 points and Swin Cash had 13 for the Storm. The Storm hosts Los Angeles Saturday night at 7.

Verizon Wireless has joined competitors AT&T and T-Mobile in eliminating the option for customers to consume unlimited data on their mobile phones without paying additional fees. The company announced plans to move ahead with its usage-based data plans in June, but specific details regarding the plans were first confirmed yesterday. Beginning tomorrow, Verizon smartphone customers are able to choose from $30 for 2 gigabytes, $50 for 5 gigabytes or $80 for 10 gigabytes with a $10-per-gigabyte overage charge. To date, Verizon has offered an unlimited data plan for $30 a month. Under the new system, existing Verizon customers are able to keep their unlimited data plan, even if they upgrade their phones on or after July 7th. Verizon is one of the last carriers to ditch the unlimited model. Sprint is now the the only major US carrier to offer an unlimited smartphone data plan.

Olympia's Music in the Park summer concert series kicks off tonight. Ocho Pies gets things rolling starting at 7 this evening at Sylvester Park in downtown Olympia.

After a year in the headlines for his wayward behavior, Charlie Sheen is up for some more laughs at his own expense. The fired Two and A Half Men actor is the star of Comedy Central's next roast in September. The network made the announcement yesterday. Kent Alterman is the head of original programing at Comedy Central. He said that "Charlie has assured us that nothing will be off limits in this Roast...which scares even us." The cable network said the Charlie Sheen Roast is being recorded in Los Angeles on September 10th and then shown on Comedy Central on September 19th.

Justin Timberlake is considering a MySpace talent competition. According to Timberlake's longtime manager, the singer-turned-actor has got plenty of ideas about how to get MySpace back on track as a destination for music fans, including finding new acts. Manager Johnny Wright said that using the site to find the next great singer or group is just one of the concepts that are being kicked around. More detailed plans for how Timberlake and the site's new managers will run MySpace are expected at an August 17th press conference. California-based Specific Media paid 35 million dollars for MySpace last week in a mostly stock deal that came six years after Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. outbid a number of other media giants to purchase the then-hot site for 580 million dollars. Timberlake bought a slice of MySpace last week.

While Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson have been confirmed to return for the next season of American Idol, Jennifer Lopez is still "on the fence," according to a recent interview with the BBC. So, who are Idol producers eyeing to fill her spot if she doesn't return to the show? Insiders say Shania Twain and Shakira have been mentioned as possibilities. However, it might be hard for Shania to commit to such a schedule since she's preparing to launch her Vegas show in December 2012. Both Shania and Shakira have appeared on American Idol in past seasons as mentors to the contestants. No official word yet on whether or not Idol has a replacement lined up if J-Lo doesn't come back.

A New York man withdrew 400-dollars at an area ATM. Harmless, right? But then he forgot to take his receipt, which indicated his available balance to be nearly one hundred-million dollars -- or as the man calls it, chump change. According to Wall Street tabloid Dealbreaker, the receipt belongs to hedge-fund manager David Tepper. The New York Post reports Tepper dismissed the story, saying he's too sophisticated a man to leave so much cash in a low-yielding account.

Radar Online is reporting that Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to give Maria Shriver a "very generous divorce settlement." Shriver officially filed for divorce from her philandering husband on Friday. California property law states that married couples split their assets 50/50, but sources in Arnold's camp say he's considering giving Shriver more.

The Bangles have just announced that they are releasing their first new album in eight years. It's titled Sweetheart of the Sun, and comes out September 13th. It features 12 tracks. Learn more at TheBangles.com.

Casey Anthony was found not guilty yesterday in an Orlando courtroom. Casey was on trial for the death of her two-year-old daughter. After the verdict was announced, celebrities like Kim and Khloe Kardashian and Aubrey O'Day, who have commented on the trial throughout, took to Twitter to express their shock over the outcome, @KimKardashian: "WHAT!!!!???!!! CASEY ANTHONY FOUND NOT GUILTY!!! I am speechless!!!" @KhloeKardashian: "Wow!!! I am SHOCKED!!!" @AubreyODay: "OMG, this is unreal." A

On the 4th, Andy Grammer tweeted: What did one flag say to the other flag? Nothing. It just waved.

Trivia Answer: Bill Haley who was born on this date in 1925. His group was Bill Haley & His Comets. In 1953, a song called Rock Around the Clock was written for Haley. He was unable to record it until the next year. Initially, it was relatively unsuccessful, staying on the charts just one one week, but Haley soon scored a major worldwide hit with a cover version of Big Joe Turner's Shake, Rattle and Roll. Then when Rock Around the Clock appeared behind the opening credits of the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle starring Glenn Ford, it soared to the top of the American Billboard chart for eight weeks. The single is commonly used as a convenient line of demarcation between the "rock era" and the music industry that preceded it; Billboard separated its statistical tabulations into 1890 - 1954 and 1955 - present. After the record rose to number one, Haley was quickly given the title "Father of Rock and Roll," by the media, and by teenagers that had come to embrace the new style of music. Haley died on February 9th of 1981. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. I came across a quote attributed to him from January of 1957. He said, There has to be a Cadillac music and a Ford music. Tchaikovsky and Bach is Cadillac music, while we play more down-to-earth Ford music."

Josh Bard got his first chance to catch Michael Pineda since spring training and saw what the rest of baseball has been seeing from Seattle's overpowering rookie the first half of the year. Pineda and three relievers combined on a three-hitter and Bard hit his first home run of the season to lead the Mariners to a 2-1 victory over the Athletics yesterday. Brandon League pitched one scoreless inning of relief getting his 23rd save in 26 chances. The Ms and As meet up again tonight at 7:05.

Baseball's All Star Game is a week from today.  The Ms have two representatives:  Felix Hernandez and Brandon League.  Although I did read a note that Felix won't be able to pitch because of his schedule pitching for the Mariners.  By the way, don't they refer to the All Star Game as the Mid-Summer Classic?  Really?  Summer is halfway gone already?  Didn't it just start?

The Colorado Springs Sky Sox defeated the Tacoma Rainiers 9-4 last night. That series continues tonight at 6:05.

The Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy battled to a scoreless tie last night. The Sounders are back in action Sunday at Portland.

The Seattle Storm is at Indiana this afternoon at 4:00.

After less than 11 hours of deliberation, a jury today found Casey Anthony not guilty of first-degree murder and the other most serious charges against her in the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter. The jury did, however, convict her on four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to law enforcement officers. As the verdict was read, Casey cried from her seat in the courtroom, breathing deeply as she looked forward. Orange County Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr. set sentencing at 9 Thursday morning for Casey. She faces up to a year in jail on each of the charges of lying to police.

Big-budget, effects-filled Transformers: Dark of the Moon smashed its way through box office records by yesterday, its sixth full day in theaters, with global ticket sales nearing $400 million. Paramount Pictures says the movie is its highest-grossing international debut ever, ringing overseas cash registers to the tune of $217 million through Sunday. Here in the States, Cars 2 was No. 2. No. 3 was Bad Teacher, starring Cameron Diaz. With Transformers out there, other new releases didn't do so well. The romantic comedy Larry Crowne, starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, failed to generate much excitement, and it could only reach the No. 4 spot. At No. 5 was the action flick Super 8

If you want to be happy, get off Facebook and turn off The Bachelorette. A new study shows that, of all things, listening to the radio can put people in a good mood. According to the Radio Advertising Bureau, radio listeners have higher levels of happiness and energy than consumers of other media, like TV and the Internet. A separate investigation used brain scan techniques on six volunteers and showed that radio stimulates positive engagement levels within the brain.

Adele's current album, 21, is still a huge hit, but she's already talking about her next effort. She told Q Magazine that on her next disc, she hopes to keep the music "quite acoustic and piano-led." She went on to say she's plans on writing, recording, producing and mastering it all on her own.

Lady Gaga is making a guest appearance on So You Think You Can Dance. Show creator Nigel Lythgoe tells Entertainment Tonight that Gaga is be joining him at the judges' panel sometime later this season as a special guest. SYTYCD airs Wednesday and Thursday nights.

The release date for Madonna's new film, W.E., has officially been announced. The movie, which was directed, produced and co-written by Madge, hits screens in Los Angeles and New York beginning December 9th. W.E. tells the love story of Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII, with Abbie Cornish and James D'Arcy in the leading roles. Meanwhile, Madonna's manager announced that Madonna begins recording her 12th studio album sometime this month.

Trivia Answer: Katherine Helmond who turns 83 today. She gained fame as Jessica Tate, the ditzy matriarch on Soap. She was a lead player on the controversial ABC series from 1977 until it was canceled in 1981. In 1984 she took the role of Mona Robinson on the ABC sitcom Who's the Boss?. The show was a ratings success, running for eight seasons and finishing in the Nielsen Top 10 four straight years. From 1995 to 1997 she starred in the ABC sitcom Coach as Doris Sherman, eccentric owner of the fictional Orlando Breakers professional football team. From 1996 to 2004 Helmond had a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond as Ray's mother-in-law.

Although the official fireworks didn't start until later in the evening, Mike Carp made sure he put on a show of his own, muscling the Tacoma Rainiers to a 7-6 win over the Fresno Grizzlies yesterday. Carp was sent down from the Mariners earlier in the day to make room for starting pitcher Blake Beavan. Carp hit a deep three-run home run to left field in the first inning. The Rainiers are now in Colorado Springs to face the Sky Sox. Game one tonight at 6:05.

Seattle Mariners pitchers Felix Hernandez and Brandon League have both been named to the AL All-Star team. For the first time in his career, Ichiro Suzuki was not selected. Hernandez is being honored as an All-Star for the second time in his career. He pitched in the 2009 game, but was not selected last year despite winning the Cy Young award at season's end. It will be League's first All-Star appearance. Ichiro has been voted as a starter every season of his career except 2005, when he finished outside of the top three in outfielder fan voting but was still selected as a reserve. It's not out of the question that he could still be picked to replace an injured player, but as of now, it appears Ichiro's streak of 10 consecutive All-Star appearances is coming to an end.

After fallig to Connecticut Friday night, 75-70, the Seattle Storm bounced back yesterday. Swin Cash scored 19 points and Sue Bird added 17 as the Storm won in Washington for the first time since 2006, topping the Mystics 73-63. The road trip continues tomorrow when the Storm plays at Indiana.

The Seattle Sounders are in Los Angeles. They take on the Galaxy tonight at 7:30.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon smashed rivals and delighted movie fans around the world, ringing up $372 million at global box offices since its Wednesday debut. Final numbers are due out once the holiday weekend is complete.

Fun 4th Facts

Every artist has belted out our national anthem at least once, but a few renditions have stood out. Jimmy Hendrix's version is now seen as a special symbol of the ‘60s, and the song was part of his set list from 1968 to 1970. Whitney Houston's soulful rendition was the first and only time the anthem was on the Billboard charts.

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826 -- the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence

Ironically, the majority of the nation's flags and patriotic paraphernalia are produced in China. Nearly 349-million dollars are used each year to import in the flags and other decorations.

The first 4th of July party held at the White House was in 1801; however, the 4th of July was not declared a national holiday until 1941.

The National Anthem is actually set to the tune of To Anacreon in Heaven -- an old English drinking song.

More than 74-million of us Americans are barbecuing today.

Over an estimated 150-million hot dogs are being consumed this Independence Day. That's roughly one dog for every two people in the US.

There's a 25 percent chance those hot dogs originated in Iowa, since they raise 17.6-million hogs and pigs.

Recipes for iced tea go back to 1904. It was the 1904 World's Fair that popularized it. Now Americans drink nearly 100-million glasses of iced tea every day.

Why were the stars on the original American flag arranged in a circle? To ensure that all colonies were equal.

John Hancock was the only person to actually sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The other 55 signers did not sign it until August 2nd or even later.

When the United States became a country, there were approximately 2.5-million people living here. Today, the population is around 311 million.

Bristol, Rhode Island has the oldest, continuously celebrated Independence Day festivities in the US, dating back to 1777.

Display the flag only between sunrise and sunset on buildings and stationary flag poles. The flag may be displayed for 24 hours only if it's lit up in the darkness.

Do not display the flag in bad weather.

Whether displaying the flag vertically or horizontally, make sure the canton of stars is visible on the upper left-hand side.

Do not let the flag touch the ground.

Any flag that is damaged and worn and can no longer be displayed and should be burned in a dignified way.

When not on display, the flag should be respectfully folded into a triangle, symbolizing the tricorn hats worn by colonial soldiers in the Revolutionary War.

Have a safe and sane 4th.  See ya in the morning.

The Seattle Mariners resume interleague play tonight with the San Diego Padres. It's Turn Back the Clock Night -- '80s Night -- as the Ms and the Padres are wearing their 1984 uniforms. See yesterday's post to see catcher Miguel Olivio and first baseman Justin Smoak doing their best Crockett and Tubbs impressions.

Luis Antonio Jimenez's leadoff walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Tacoma Rainiers a 6-5 win over the Fresno Grizzlies last night. It was Jimenez's fifth homer in his last five games. Rainiers and Grizzlies again tonight.

The Seattle Storm is back in action this afternoon at Connecticut.

Meanwhile, the NBA is locking out its players until a new collective bargaining agreement can be reached, the second pro sports league shut down by labor strife. The lockout started just after midnight last night, after the expiration of the current deal that owners say has cost them millions of dollars a year. The long-expected lockout could put the 2011-12 season in jeopardy and comes as the NFL is trying to end its own work stoppage that began in March.

The Seattle Sounders return to MLS action as they spend the 4th in Los Angeles. They battle the Galaxy on Monday.

On this date in 1963, ZIP Codes are introduced for United States mail. What does ZIP stand for? The term ZIP is an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan. It is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the code in the postal address.

Lindsay Lohan turns 25 tomorrow. Linds has had her ups and downs. She's currently on an upswing. She's not in jail, not in rehab, and not on house arrest. Life is good.

A woman looking for an extreme energy boost ended up in a hospital after binging on several cans of 5-Hour energy drinks, according to a Journal of Medicine Report. The 22-year-old woman went to the hospital complaining of stomach pains, nausea, vomiting and a fever. The woman was run through a series of midsection scans that came back negative and she was sent home. But she returned later with worsening pain and a case of jaundice. Doctors later diagnosed her with acute hepatitis, but were still stumped at the source -- until the woman told doctors that she had been drinking 10 bottles of 5-Hour Energy drinks per day for the previous two weeks. Health officials suspect the woman got too much Vitamin B3 -- also known as niacin -- from the drinks. One bottle of the drink contains 30 mg of niacin --- well within safe levels, but doctors think when she was consuming 300 mg of niacin over an extended time it was causing liver problems. The woman fully recovered after her liver enzymes returned to normal. But word is that she hasn't slept a wink since.

Rolling Stone has just released their first ever Queen of Pop Index in an effort to find out which lady has ruled music the most over the past half-decade. They looked at 16 different women and came to their conclusion using a mix of radio airplay statistics, YouTube views, presence on social media, awards and more. Well, you probably shouldn't be too surprised to find out who came in at number one. That's right, when all was said and done, the magazine named Lady Gaga the current Queen of Pop. The top five included Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Britney Spears and Beyonce. No Adele, Pink, or Katy Perry?

Katy Perry and Russell Brand recently put their house in the Hollywood Hills up for sale, and now, we know why. It's because the couple had their eye on another piece of property, one they just purchased for 6.5-million bucks. The home is in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles and has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms. It was also apparently used to film the first season of The Bachelor.

Was John Lennon a closet Republican? In a new documentary called Beatles Stories, John's former personal assistant, Fred Seaman, alleges just that. Seaman, who worked for John from 1979 until the singer's death in 1980, claims Lennon had became embarrassed by his earlier radicalism and if he was allowed to vote in the US in 1980, he'd vote for Ronald Reagan. According to JamShowbiz.com, in the film, Fred says John expressed support for Reagan and that Lennon was a "different person" in '79 and '80 than he was when he wrote Imagine. Beatles Stories is currently touring film festivals around the world.

It's just been that kind of year. At Crystal Mountain, spokeswoman Justus Harris said she expects to see "a lot of bikini tops" out on the slopes this weekend. The National Weather Service is predicting mostly sunny skies on the mountain on July 4th, with a high near 59 degrees, but there is snow on the slopes. The mountain hasn't been open this late in the year since 1999.

Trivia Answer: Daniel Edward Aykroyd -- Dan Aykroyd -- who turns 59 today. He was an originator (along with John Belushi) of The Blues Brothers and also of Ghostbusters. Aykroyd gained fame on Saturday Night Live, where he was a writer and cast member for its first four seasons, from 1975 to 1979. He was known for his impersonations of celebrities like Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, Tom Snyder, and others. He was also known for his recurring roles, such as Beldar, father in the Coneheads family; with Steve Martin, as one of the "Two Wild and Crazy Guys" Czech brothers; and sleazy late-night cable TV host E. Buzz Miller. After leaving Saturday Night Live, Aykroyd starred in a number of mainly comedy films, with uneven results both commercially and artistically. Aykroyd originally wrote the role of Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters (1984) with John Belushi in mind, but rewrote the part for Bill Murray after Belushi died. Ghostbusters became a huge success for Aykroyd as a co-creator, co-writer, and one of the lead actors; the film's inspiration came from Aykroyd's fascination with parapsychology. Aykroyd was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for 1989's Driving Miss Daisy.