1787

The first of the Federalist Papers, which called for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, was published.

1904

New York City's first rapid transit subway, the IRT, opened.

1938

Du Pont announced that it would name its new synthetic yarn nylon.

1978

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward a Middle East accord.

1997

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 554.26 points, forcing the stock market to shut down.

2004

After an 86 year wait, the Boston Red Sox finally captured a World Series trophy.

That sure was some baseball last night.

1775

The Continental Congress authorized the construction of a naval fleet.

1792

The cornerstone of the White House was laid.

1843

The Jewish organization B'nai B'rith was founded.

1903

Boston defeated Pittsburgh in the first World Series.

1943

Italy declared war on Germany, its former Axis partner, during World War II.

1974

Ed Sullivan died in New York City at age 72.

1981

Egypt's vice president Hosni Mubarak was elected president, one week after Anwar Sadat's assassination.

I'm hungover as shit, and I don't even care.

1877

Chief Joseph surrendered to the U.S. Army.

1910

King Manuel II was overnthrown in a revolution and Portugal became a republic.

1921

The World Series was broadcast on the radio for the first time.

1947

In the first televised White House address, President Truman urged Americans to refrain from eating meat on Tuesdays and poultry on Sundays to help starving people in other countries.

1953

Earl Warren was sworn in as the 14th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

1962

The Beatles released their first hit, "Love Me Do," in Britain.

1990

Cincinnati's Contemporary Arts Center and its director were acquitted of obscenity charges resulting from an exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs.

2001

Barry Bonds broke Mark McGwire's record of 71 home runs in one season when he hit his 71st and 72nd homers.

How many of you are you going to weasel your way out of work early today?  I'm shooting for 1:00...

1887

The International Herald Tribune was published for the first time.

1895

The first U.S. Open Golf tournament was held in Newport, Rhode Island.

1957

The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into orbit around the earth, ushering in the Space Age and Space Race.

1965

Pope Paul VI made the first visit to the Western Hemisphere by a reigning pope. He came to New York to address the UN General Assembly.

1970

Rock singer Janis Joplin was found dead of a drug overdose at age 27.

1990

The German parliament met for the first time since the reunification of Germany.

2001

Authorities confirmed a tabloid editor in Florida had contracted anthrax. He died the next day.

2002

John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban," received a 20-year sentence.

Saturday was a pretty sweet day.  As a sports fan, you can't really ask for anything better than your three favorite teams winning on the same day.

St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order, died.

1863

President Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

1922

Rebecca L. Felton became the first woman U.S. Senator when she was appointed to serve out the term of Senator Thomas E. Watson.

1929

The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes formally changed its name to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

1955

Captain Kangaroo and The Mickey Mouse Club premiered on television.

1974

Frank Robinson was named the first African-American manager in major league baseball.

1990

East Germany and West Germany united to become Germany, 45 years after being split into two countries at the end of World War II.

1791

Mozart's opera The Magic Flute premiered in Vienna, Austria.

1927

Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run. The record stood until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961. Mark McGwire beat Maris's record in 1998 by hitting 70 and Barry Bonds topped this in 2001 with 73.

1938

Britain and France surrendered to Germany's demands concerning the Sudetenland, and signed the Munich Pact.

1946

Twenty-two Nazi leaders were found guilty at the Nuremberg trials.

1949

The Berlin Airlift came to an end.

1955

Actor James Dean was killed in a car crash.

1966

Botswana gained its independence from Great Britain.

2011

The Texas Rangers won their first playoff game in what would become an undefeated march all the way to the World Series.

Good morning, degenerates.

1399

King Richard II became the first English monarch to abdicate his throne.

1829

Sir Robert Peel's police force, the "bobbies," began operations at Scotland Yard.

1895

French chemist Louis Pasteur died.

1978

John Paul I died one month after becoming pope.

1982

Seven people died after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide. This led to the use of safety seals on most consumer products.

1988

The space shuttle Discovery was launched, the first American staffed space flight since the Challenger disaster.

2001

Former South Vietnam president Nguyen Van Thieu died.

Has enjoyed a distinguished broadcasting career in both Texas and nationally, is the lead television play-by-play announcer for Rangers games on Fox Sports Southwest and TXA21. Barnett joined the Rangers radio broadcast team in 2009 while providing play-by-play coverage on a limited number of Rangers television broadcasts in 2009 and 2010.

Before joining the Rangers, Barnett spent 13 years with ESPN, serving as a play-by-play voice for baseball, basketball, football, and golf telecasts. He has covered major college basketball and football games for ESPN, ABC, and ESPN Radio and did Major League Baseball for ESPN and ESPN Radio from 1996-2008. Barnett was also a member of ESPN's College World Series coverage from 2001-2004.

A native of Denton, Texas, Barnett is a familiar voice to fans in Texas. He joined the sports staff at KRLD AM Radio in 1978 before succeeding the late Mark Holtz as the radio voice of the Dallas Mavericks on WBAP Radio in 1981, the NBA's youngest broadcaster at age 23. Barnett did radio and television games for the Mavericks through the 1987-88 season, winning a pair of Commentator of the Year Awards from UPI. He then spent nine seasons as the television voice of the San Antonio Spurs before joining ESPN in 1996. Barnett returned to the Spurs for the 2006-07 campaign.

He previously broadcast Rangers baseball in 1990 on cable television for Home Sports Entertainment. He has also worked on pre-season National Football League telecasts for the Houston Oilers, Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, and Chicago Bears and did the Southwest Conference Game of the Week for Raycom Sports from 1989-1996.

Barnett is a 1979 graduate of the University of North Texas. He resides in Lantana with his wife, Kim. They have two children, son Zach, and daughter Ally.

1776

The Second Continental Congress changed the name of the nation to the United States of America, from the United Colonies.

1850

California became the 31st state.

1893

President Grover Cleveland's daughter, Esther Cleveland, became the first president's child to be born in the White House.

1926

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) was created by the Radio Corporation of America.

1948

The People's Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) was created.

1956

Elvis Presley appeared on television for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1976

Communist Chinese leader Mao Zedong died in Beijing at age 82.

One day, I'll get to have a cat named Chairman Meow

For moe

For the space nerds

History:

1666

The great fire of London broke out, destroying much of the city, including St. Paul's Cathedral.

1789

The U.S. Treasury Department was established.

1901

Vice President Theodore Roosevelt gave his "speak softly and carry a big stick" speech, regarding foreign policy, at the Minnesota State Fair.

1945

Japan's formal surrender in World War II was celebrated as Victory over Japan (V-J) Day.

1945

Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam an independent republic.

1963

Alabama governor George Wallace prevented the racial integration of Tuskegee High School by encircling the building with state troopers.

1969

North Vietnamese president Chi Minh died.

Read more: This Day in History: September 2 — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory#ixzz1WnB2wz16

I guess everyone is cashing their checks.

1807

Former U.S. vice president Aaron Burr was found innocent of treason.

1923

A devastating earthquake struck the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama. Nearly 150,000 people were killed and more than two million left homeless.

1939

World War II began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland.

1969

A coup in Libya toppled the monarchy of King Idris and brought Muammar al-Qaddafi to power.

1983

A Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 was shot down by a Soviet jet fighter, killing all 269 people aboard.

1985

A joint U. S.-French expedition located the wreck of the Titanic 560 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.

2004

Chechen terrorists took about 1,200 schoolchildren and others hostage in Beslan, Russia. Commandos stormed the school on Sept. 3.

The Rangers are determined to put Papa John's out of business. 

1777

The Revolutionary War battle of Bennington, Vt., won by American forces.

1829

The original Siamese twins, Eng and Chang, arrived in Boston.

1948

Baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York City at age 53.

1960

Cyprus, the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, became an independent republic.

1962

Algeria was admitted to the Arab League.

1977

Elvis Presley died at Graceland, his Memphis,Tenn., home, from heart failure at age 42.

2003

Former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin died.

I was watching a show on The Science Channel last night about how a genetic mutation (delta-32) makes people immune to HIV. 

The geneticist researching it timed its adoption to around 700 years ago in the bubonic plague era.  His hypothesis was that the gene would also be resistant to the plague, so he spent a few years tracking people who could trace their lineage to that time and then tested them for the mutation.

In his results, he found that 50% more of the subjects he tested carried delta-32, which seems to support his theory.  The next step is to try and figure out how to synthesize a treatment based on these findings, I guess. 

It was pretty cool.  I'm sure they filmed that a while back.  I wonder where that research stands now...

1821

Missouri became the 24th state in the United States.

1846

The Smithsonian Institution was established in Washington, D.C., from funds left by British scientist James Smithson.

1921

Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio at his summer home on Campobello island.

1944

U.S. forces seized Guam from Japan.

1948

Candid Camera with Allen Funt debuted on television.

1988

President Reagan signed a bill that awarded $20,000 to each survivor of the Japanese-American internment.

1993

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the second female U.S. Supreme Court justice.

Gratuitous space filler:

1540

King Henry VIII of England's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, was executed and Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

1750

The great baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach died.

1794

Robespierre, one of the leading figures of the French Revolution, was sent to the guillotine.

1821

Peru declared its independence from Spain.

1868

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which established the citizenship of African Americans and guaranteed due process of law, was ratified.

1914

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, precipitating the start of World War I.

1932

Herbert Hoover ordered Douglas MacArthur to evict the Bonus Marchers from their camps.

2002

Nine Pennsylvania coal miners were rescued after 77 hours of being trapped in a mine shaft.

"the docile edition"

1788

New York became the 11th state in the United States.

1847

Liberia became Africa's first republic.

1908

The Office of the Chief Examiner, which in 1935 became the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was created.

1947

President Harry S Truman signed the National Security Act, creating the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

1952

Argentina's first lady, Eva Peron, died in Buenos Aires at age 33.

1952

King Farouk I of Egypt abdicated after a coup led by Gamal Abdal Nasser.

1953

Fidel Castro was among a group of rebelling anti-Batistas who unsuccessfully attacked an army barracks.

I looked at some of the GDTs and the PGT.  I'm really glad I stayed out of those.  While we don't have NSFW images in the OT threads, I've noticed they're getting shit up a lot with the same meme pictures that are everywhere on the internet.  If you're thinking about posting an image, first ask yourself "will this really contribute in any way to what's being discussed?"  Otherwise, you're like those assholes who forward me every lame internet joke.

1861

Confederate forces won victory at Bull Run in the first major battle of the Civil War.

1873

The first train robbery west of the Mississippi was pulled off by Jesse James and his gang.

1925

In the "Monkey Trial," John T. Scopes was found guilty of violating Tennessee state law by teaching evolution.

1949

The U.S. Senate ratified the North Atlantic Treaty.

1970

The Aswan High Dam was opened in Egypt.

1998

Astronaut Alan Shepard died.

2002

WorldCom filed for bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.

I really hate west coast games.

1810

Colombia declared independence from Spain.

1881

Fugitive Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull surrendered to federal troops.

1951

King Abdullah I of Jordan was assassinated.

1960

Sirima Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) became the world's first woman prime minister.

1969

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon.

1985

Treasure hunters found the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank off the coast of Key West, Fla., in 1622 during a hurricane. The ship contained over 400 million in coins and silver ingots.

If I could go the rest of my life without ever hearing ACDC again, I'd be pretty happy.  In other news..

1848

The first women's rights convention, called by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia C. Mott, was held in Seneca Falls, New York.

1870

The Franco-Prussian war began.

1941

Winston Churchill was the first to use the two-finger "V is for Victory" sign.

1966

Fifty year-old singer Frank Sinatra married 21-year-old actress Mia Farrow.

1984

Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman nominated for the vice-presidency by a major political party.

1993

President Clinton announced the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gays in the military.

They say it might rain today.  I call bullshit.

Some of us DVR our Sunday night stories, so PLEASE, no spoilers for any show that aired last night.

64

A great fire began that ultimately destroyed most of Rome. The emperor Nero blamed it on Christians and began the first Roman persecution of them.

1925

The first volume of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf was published.

1936

The Spanish Civil War began.

1947

President Harry S. Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act.

1976

14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci earned the first perfect score, a ten, at the Olympics and went on to score six more tens and win three gold medals.

1999

New York Yankee David Cone pitched the 16th perfect game in baseball history.

Read more: This Day in History: July 18 — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory#ixzz1SSGISjTg

It's Friday.  Fun fun fun.  I heard "Flashlight" on the radio this morning, so it's started off pretty awesome.

1869

Margarine was patented in France by Hippolyte Mege Mouries.

1870

Georgia became the last of the Confederate States to be readmitted to the Union.

1918

The Second Battle of the Marne began during World War I.

1940

The world's tallest man (8 feet, 11.1 inches), Robert Wadlow, died.

1948

John J. Pershing, whose leadership in World War I earned him the title General of the Armies of the United States, died in Washington, DC.

1975

The Russian Soyuz and the U.S. Apollo launched. The Apollo-Soyuz mission was the first international manned spaceflight.

Baseball is back!

1789

The storming and destruction of Bastille marked the beginning of the French Revolution.

1798

Congress passed the Sedition Act, making it a crime to publish false, scandalous, or malicious writing about the U.S. government.

1881

Billy the Kid was shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico.

1921

In one of the most controversial cases in U.S. history, anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were convicted of two murders and sentenced to death.

1933

In Germany, all political parties except the Nazi party were outlawed.

1946

Dr. Spock's Common Sense Book of Baby & Child Care was published.

1958

A military coup overthrew the monarchy in Iraq, killing King Faisal II. General Abdul Karim Kassem becomes Iraq's leader.

So, a fan almost fell out of the stands last night trying to catch a dong.  I wouldn't be surprised if MLB adopts stricter safety standards in light of recent events.

Useless facts:

1543

England's King Henry VIII married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr.

1690

Protestant William of Orange defeated Roman Catholic James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland.

1862

Congress authorized the Medal of Honor.

1960

The first Etch-A-Sketch went on sale.

1979

Kiribati, formerly the Gilbert Islands, gained its independence from the United Kingdom.

1984

Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale became the first major-party candidate to choose a woman as a running mate when he announced his choice of Geraldine Ferraro.

Prime number day!

1533

Pope Clement VII excommunicated England's King Henry VIII.

1804

Former vice president Aaron Burr fatally wounded former secretary of the treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Hamilton died the following afternoon.

1864

Confederate general Jubal A. Early and his troops attacked Washington, DC. They retreated the next day, ending the Confederate threat to occupy the capital.

1914

Babe Ruth made his major league baseball debut as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

1977

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work to advance civil rights.

1989

Actor Laurence Olivier died.

1995

The United States and Vietnam established full diplomatic relations.

The "it sucks to be at work this early" edition.

If you're going to bring a bag full of money with you to Wal Mart, you should probably check the shopping cart for it before you leave.

James Spader is joining the cast of The Office. It looks like he's replacing Kathy Bates' character though, and not Steve Carrell.

And on this day in history...

1456

Twenty-five years after her execution, Pope Calixtus III annulled the heresy charges brought against Joan of Arc.

1846

Commodore John D. Sloat occupied Monterey and declared California annexed to the United States.

1898

The United States annexed Hawaii.

1946

Italian-born Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was canonized, becoming the first American saint.

1981

President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor for the Supreme Court.

2005

52 people were killed and hundreds injured in London when terrorists bombed subways and a bus.

Read more: This Day in History: July 7 — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory#ixzz1RPSVku4n
* * *
I believe that 2005 incident is what spawned my favorite cover story of the the last decade.

Slackers.

Canadians officially withdrew from Afghanistan yesterday. And on this day in history...

1535

Sir Thomas More was beheaded after refusing to join Henry VIII's Church of England.

1885

Louis Pasteur successfully treated a patient with a rabies vaccine.

1942

Anne Frank and her family sought refuge from the Nazis in Amsterdam.

1944

A fire caused by inept fire-eaters in the main tent of the Ringling Brothers Circus in Hartford, Conn., killed over 160 people.

1957

Althea Gibson won the Wimbledon women's singles tennis title. She was the first black person to win the event.

1997

The Mars rover Sojourner rolled onto the Martian surface.

1998

Roy Rogers, the King of the Cowboys, died.

I almost forgot to set this up.  If you were a part of the group last year, I've sent out a renewal notification to the e-mail you used for last year's group.  If you didn't participate last year and want to this year, here's a reminder of the credentials:

http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/college

Password: rangers

We're doing outright winners, plus a tie-breaker, with your lowest weekly score dropped.  Good luck!

LSB College Pick`em Group ID# 16676

Password: lsb09

http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/college

Join us in picking winners against confidence + tie breaker each week to determine who knows their college football best.

1100 AM CT Michigan at No. 10 Ohio State

2:30 PM CT No. 15 Michigan State at No. 8 Penn State

5:00 PM CT No. 14 Brigham Young at No. 7 Utah

7:00 PM CT No. 2 Texas Tech at No. 5 Oklahoma

Hopefully OU wins in an ugly, ugly game with low scores and plenty of turnovers to set up the 3-way tie in the Big 12 South and shut up the overconfident Tech fans.

This is shaping up to be a good day. 

Baylor at Texas in the early game, with UT surely to rebound from last week's disappointing loss.

Alabama at LSU -- Best chance for an upset all day

OSU at Tech -- OSU hasn't won @ TT in like 60 years.  However, Tech is wearing the target now.  There's no way they don't lose either this game or @ OU.

OU at A&M -- That really shouldn't be a contest.  Poor aggy.