CFL 2024 Postseason: Divisional Semifinals Review

     

Grey Cup/Coupe Grey

CFL PLAYOFFS

Last November, the Alouettes de Montréal stunned the Canadian sports world by enjoying a Cinderella run that culminated in them pulling off a major upset over the defending champs, Winnipeg, and winning the 110th Grey Cup. It was the first title for the franchise since 2010, so the better part of a decade and a half.

Now, it's time for the CFL playoffs to start again. The Montréal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers are both back for the playoffs. The Alouettes raced out to an undefeated start, and despite some losses late in the season, they had the East pretty well locked up almost from the first. The Blue Bombers, meanwhile, overcame a disastrous start and just got better as the season went along. They eventually managed to win the West. So those two teams are the top seeds, which means they both enjoy a bye week to rest, as they will watch the games this weekend to find out who they will be playing next weekend.

So let's take a look at the games scheduled for this first weekend of the CFL playoffs this year:

Toronto Argonauts 58, Ottawa Redblacks 38

This game proved to be a real shootout. These two teams combined for a total 96 points, trying a CFL playoff record initially set in 2011 between the Montréal Alouettes and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Yet despite both teams scoring a ton of points, it was the hometown team which eventually came away from this one with a very convincing victory.

Chad Kelly, the quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts, completed 18 of 20 passes for 358 yards and four touchdowns, while running for yet another touchdown. Indeed, Kelly and the Argos offence was unstoppable, as they scored a whopping 58 points, burying the Ottawa Renegades with an avalanche of points.

As a result, the Argonauts qualify for the Eastern Division Finals for a fourth straight year, where they will travel to Montréal tom face the defending champion Alouettes for the right to move on to play in the Grey Cup.

My pick: Accurate

Saskatchewan Roughriders 2,8 British Columbia Lions 19

First of all, I as wrong about the Western Division Semifinals. It was not not going to be played on Sunday, which I had mistakenly mentioned. It was played instead on Saturday afternoon.

Saskatchewan was able to take care of the BC Lions in a pretty tough game. It was nothing like the shootout that we saw in the Eastern Semifinal contest. This one was much tougher, and with scores being much harder to come by.

The Roughriders were not far ahead of the BC Lions by miles, but they were better. The Lions got many people on their bandwagon after a hot start early this season. And they have had more serious playoff experience than the Roughriders have had in recent years. However, the Lions did not end the season in the same fashion. In some respects, this was rather fitting. 

In the end, the Lions kind of went away relatively quietly. At least as quietly as you could expect a playoff team to go, in any case.

So the Roughriders were able to make their successful turnaround season stand up and mean something more by virtue of earning a postseason win. And it allows them to extend that season a bit longer, too. They now move on to the West Division Final next week, where they will travel to Winnipeg to take on the perennial Western powerhouse Blue Bombers. The winner will earn the right to advance to the Grey Cup the following weekend.

My pick: Accurate

November 4th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history 

In 1646 on this day, Massachusetts used the death penalty for denying that Holy Bible is God's word. In 1911, France & Germany signed a treaty regarding Morocco & Congo  In 1914 on this day during World War I, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire. On this day in 1921, Adolf Hitler formally established the Sturmabteilung, or SA, as it came to be known. On this day in 1956, Soviet forces cracked down on protests in Budapest, Hungary. In 1995 on this day, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

On this day back in 922, Richarius became the Bishop of Luik. In 1333 on this day occurred the flood of the Arno River, which caused massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani. On this day in 1501, Philip de Blank & Juana "la Loca" departed for Spain. A flood ravaged the Dutch/Friese coast on this day in 1519. In 1520 on this day, Danish/Norwegian king Christian II was crowned King of Sweden  English Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was arrested on this day in 1529.. On this day in 1576 during the  Eighty Years' War in Flanders, Spanish forces defeated Walloon and captured Antwerp (after three days the city was nearly destroyed). Frederik V was crowned King of Bohemia on this day in 1619. Ferdinand of Austria was installed as land guardian of Southern Netherlands on this day in 1631. On this day in 1645, Prince Frederik Henry conquered Holly.

1646 - Massachusetts uses death penalty for denying that Holy Bible is God's word

1675 - Storm hits Western Europe: flood in Amsterdam

1737 - The Teatro di San Carlo is inaugurated.

1771 - Carlo Goldoni's "Le Bourru Bienfaisant," premieres in Paris

1783 - W.A. Mozart's Symphony No. 36 is premiered in Linz, Austria.

1839 - The Newport Rising is the last large-scale armed rebellion against authority in mainland Britain.

1841 - 1st wagon train arrives in California

1845 - 1st nationally observed uniform election day in US

1846 - Benjamin Palmer patents artificial leg

1852 - Count Camillo Benso di Cavour becomes the prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, which soon expands to become Italy.

1854 - Lighthouse built on Alcatraz Island

US President James Buchanan 1856 - James Buchanan elected 15th US president

1861 - University of Washington founded in Seattle

1862 - Dr Richard Gatling patents Gatling machine gun (Indianapolis)

1864 - Confederate assault on Johnsonville, Tennessee

1864 - Naval Engagement at Reynoldsburg Island

1866 - Kingdom of Italy annexes Venetia

1867 - 90 kegs of powder used to get rock from Telegraph Hill for seawall

1873 - Dentist John Beers of SF patents gold crown

1874 - Samuel J Tilden elected governor of NY

1875 - Passenger Steamship "Pacific" collides with sailing vessel "Orpheus" off Cape Flattery Wash, 236 die

1875 - Tonga adopts constitution

1876 - John Brahms' 1st Symphony in C, premieres

1879 - Elkins patents refrigerating apparatus

1879 - James Ritty patents 1st cash register, to combat stealing by bartenders in his Dayton, Ohio saloon

1884 - Grover Cleveland (D) beats James G Blaine (R) for his 1st presidential term. The only American president to serve 2 non-consecutive terms

US President Grover Cleveland 1886 - Edward MacDowell's "Ophelia," premieres

1889 - Players League begins, declaring independence from baseball's NL

1890 - Great Britain proclaims Zanzibar as a protectorate

1890 - Prince of Wales opens 1st underground station (Stockwell, London)

1890 - St Aleksandr Borodons opera "Prins Igor," premieres in Petersburg

1893 - Dr Jamesons Legertje occupies Bulawayo Matabeleland

1901 - Clyde Fitch' "Way of the World," premieres in NYC

1904 - 1st stadium built specifically for football (Harvard Stadium)

1905 - Dock strike against importing grain elevators in Rotterdam

1908 - Brooklyn Academy of Music, opens in NYC

1909 - Opera "Il Segreto di Susanna" is produced (Munich)

1910 - Start of South Africa's 1st F-C game in Aust (v S Aust). It rained

1911 - France & Germany signs treaty about Morocco & Congo

1914 - Soviet Union declares war on Turkey

1914 - Vogue holds 1st model show ("Fashion Fete," NYC)

1918 - Kiel in hands of revolutionary sailors

Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1921 - The Sturmabteilung or SA is formally formed by Adolf Hitler

1921 - Japanese Prime Minister Hara Takashi is assassinated in Tokyo.

1922 - Howard Carter discovers tomb of Tutankhamen in Egypt

1924 - British Labour government of Ramsay MacDonald resigns

1924 - California legalizes professional boxing (illegal since 1914)

1924 - Nellie Tayloe Ross elected 1st US female gov (Wyoming)

1924 - US president Calvin Coolidge re-elected

1928 - Jose Moncada elected president of Nicaragua

1929 - John Baldridge' "Berkeley Square," premieres in NYC

1931 - Jean Genet's "Judith," premieres in Paris

1933 - Bradman scores 200 NSW v Queensland, 184 mins, 26 fours

1933 - Hermann Goering & Georgi Dimitrov duel

1933 - Young Park (1) in the Bronx named in honor of James Young

1934 - Pitts ends Detroit Lions' shutout streak at 7 games but loses 40-7

1939 - 1940 Olympics awarded to Helsinki, Finland

Nazi Politician Hermann Goering 1939 - 1st air conditioned automobile (Packard) exhibited, Chicago, Ill

1939 - US allows "cash & carry" arms sales during WW II

1940 - Eggs & cake rationed in Netherlands

1942 - 13th day of battle at El Alamein: Afrika Korps draws back out Fuka-posing

1943 - France arrests government of Lebanon

1944 - German troops reconquer Schmidt Hurtgenwald

1944 - RAF bombs Dinteloord, 54 killed

1946 - "Park Avenue" opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 72 performances

1946 - UN Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization formed

1948 - TS Eliot wins Nobel Prize for literature

1949 - "One Man's Family" premieres on TV

1950 - "Barrier" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 4 performances

1950 - "Consul" closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 269 performances

1950 - Indonesian troops reconquer Ambonese capital Ambon

1950 - US troops vacate Pyongyang North Korea

1951 - 9th Ryder Cup: US wins 9½-2½ at Pinehurst Resort (Pinehurst, North Carolina, US)

1951 - NY Giants & NY Yanks score back-to-back TDs on kickoff returns

1951 - Vijay Merchant scores 154 v England in his last Test Cricket innings

1952 - Earthquake & flood strike Kamshatka-South America

1952 - General Dwight Eisenhower (R) elected 34th pres beating Adlai Stevenson (D)

1953 - Eddie Joost succeeds Jimmy Dykes as the manager of Phila A's

1953 - New balk rule gives the batter option; of accepting the outcome of the pitch or the balk

1954 - "Fanny" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 888 performances

1954 - Philadelphia A's move to Kansas City

1955 - The rebuilt Vienna State Opera reopens with Ludwig van Beethoven's Fidelio after it was totally destroyed in World War II.

1956 - 200,000 Russian troops attack anti-Stalinist revolt in Budapest

1956 - Israel captures Straits of Tiran & reach Suez Canal Egypt

1956 - USSR sends tanks into Hungary & threatens to bomb Budapest

1957 - 2nd Soviet Earth-satellite launched

262nd Pope John XXIII 1958 - Angelo G Roncalli crowned as pope John XXIII

1958 - Belgian government of Eyskens, resigns

1958 - Democrats win US congressional election

1959 - Ernie Banks, Cubs shortstop, wins 2nd consecutive NL MVP

1960 - "Misfits" premieres, final movie for Clark Gable & Marilyn Monroe

1961 - Karamanlis becomes premier of Greece

1962 - Murle Lindstrom wins LPGA San Antonio Civitan Golf Tournament

1962 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island

1963 - John Lennon utters his infamous "Rattle your jewellery" line

1965 - Lee Breedlove sets female land speed record (308.56 MPH) in Utah

1966 - Flooding of Arno River (Italy) destroys countless art works, kills 113

1968 - Battles between Jordan army & Al Fatah-arm forces

1968 - WRDU (now WPTF) TV chan 28 in Raleigh-Durham, NC (NBC) 1st broadcast

1968 - WTOG TV channel 44 in St Petersburg-Tampa, FL (IND) 1st broadcast

1970 - Russian nuclear physicist Sacharov forms Human Rights Comittee

Musician and Beatle John Lennon 1970 - Genie, a 13 year old feral child was found in Los Angeles, California having been locked in her bedroom for most of her life.

1972 - Bangladesh adopts constitution

1972 - Kings score 3 goals within 45 seconds against Islanders

1973 - 1000s commemorates former premier Georgios Papandreou

1973 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Lady Errol Golf Classic

1973 - M Medoff's "When you Comin' Back, Red Ryder?," premieres in NYC

1973 - New Orleans Saints 1st shutout victory, 13-0 vs Buffalo Bills

1973 - The Netherlands experiences the first Car Free Sunday caused by the 1973 oil crisis. Highways are deserted and are solely used by cyclists and roller skaters.

1975 - Orioles Jim Palmer wins his 2nd Cy Young Award

1976 - 1st mass-market free-agent reentry draft, Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, Gullett, Tenace, Fingers, Baylor, Grich & McCovey, available

1977 - UN Security council proclaims weapon embargo against South Africa

1978 - Iranian troops fire on anti-Shah student protesters by Tehran U

1978 - Islanders start 15 game undefeated streak (12-0-3)

1978 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1978 - 3rd annual reentry free-agent draft, Pete Rose, Tommy John, & Darrell Evans, available

1979 - 63 Americans taken hostage at US Embassy (Teheran, Iran)

1979 - 500 Iranian "students" seize US embassy, take 90 hostages (444 days)

1980 - Islanders start 15 game undefeated streak (13-0-2)

1980 - Libyan invasion in Chad

US President & Actor Ronald Reagan 1980 - Ronald Reagan (R) defeats President Jimmy Carter (D) by a landslide

1980 - Sadaharu Oh, 40, pro baseball's all-time HR run king with 868, retires

1980 - Steve Carlton wins 3rd NL Cy Young Awards

1981 - Beth Henley's "Crimes of the Heart," premieres in NYC

1981 - Columbia shuttle launch scrubbed with 31 secs remaining

1981 - Dr George Nichopoulas is acquitted of overprescribing addictive drugs for Elvis Presley

1982 - Ruud Lubbers becomes Dutch premier

1983 - Bomb attack on Israeli headquarter in Tyrus Lebanon, 60 killed

1983 - Washington Capitals 1st NHL overtime victory beating Vancouver 5-4

1984 - Nayoko Yoshikawa wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1984 - Nicaragua holds 1st free elections in 56 years; Sandinistas win 63%

1987 - Benito Santiago, Padres catcher, wins NL Rookie of Year

1987 - Lisa Steinberg, battered into coma by her adoptive father Joel

1987 - NBA announces 4 new franchises; Charlotte & Miami for 1988 & Minneapolis & Orlando for 1989

1988 - 1st NBA game at Charlotte Coliseum - Hornets lose to Cavs, 133-93

1989 - 1st NBA game at Orlando Arena, Orlando Magic loses to NJ Nets, 111-106

1989 - Rene Muawad elected president of Lebanon

1989 - Horse Racing Breeders' Cup Champs: Bayakoa, Dancing Spree, Go for Wand, Prized, Rhythm, Steinlen, Sunday Silence

1989 - The congress of the Solidarity Party is inaugurated in Sweden. The congress decides, contrary to the proposal of the central committee, not to disband the party.

1990 - "Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story" opens at Shubert NYC for 225 perfs

1990 - 20th NYC Women's Marathon won by Wanda Panfil in 2:30:45

1990 - 21st NYC Marathon won by Douglas Wakiihuri in 2:12:39

1990 - Debbie Massey wins LPGA Mazda Japan 133 Golf Classic

1990 - Iraq says it is preparing for a "dangerous war"

1990 - US Secretary of State James Baker visits American troops in Saudi Arabia

1991 - Mid East peace conference ends in Madrid Spain

1992 - NY Giants announce they will quit WNEW Radio after 32 years for WOR

1992 - NY Jets announce they are moving from WABC to WFAN radio

1993 - "Timon of Athens" opens at Lyceum Theater NYC for 37 performances

Singer Elton John 1993 - Elton John awarded $518,700 from Sunday Mirror for a false report on his diet

1993 - Nia Peeples files for divorce from Howard Hewett

1993 - Bolivia becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

1994 - Soyuz TM-20 lands in Kazahkstan

1994 - United Center in Chicago opens - Bulls beat Charlotte Hornets, 89-83

1994 - San Francisco: First conference that focusses exclusively on the subject of the commercial potential of the World Wide Web.

1995 - "Indiscretions" closes at Ethel Barrymore Theater NYC after 221 perfs

1995 - 1st-class Cricket debut of Paul Adams, W Province v N Transvaal

1995 - Key Arena opens, Seattle Supersonics beat LA Lakers 103-89

2002 - Chinese authorities arrest cyber-dissident He Depu for signing pro-democracy letter to the 16th Communist Party Congress

2003 - The most powerful solar flare as observed by satellite instrumentation is recorded.

2003 - Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy becomes the first person indicted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. He was eventually acquitted.

2004 - 12 French soldiers, 3 UN personnel and hundreds of civilians die during the Côte d'Ivoire civil war.

2008 - Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be elected President of the United States

2012 - Bishop Tawadros appointed as the 118th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church

44th US President Barack Obama 2012 - Kimi Raikkonen wins Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2012

2012 - Syrian rebels capture a major oil field in Deir ez-Zor Governorate

1842 - Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in Springfield, IL.   1846 - The patent for the artificial leg is granted to Benjamin Palmer.   1880 - James and John Ritty patented the first cash register.   1922 - In Egypt, Howard Carter discovered the entry of the lost tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen.   1924 - Nellie T. Ross of Wyoming was elected America's first woman governor so she could serve out the remaining term of her late husband, William B. Ross.   1939 - During World War II, the U.S. modified its neutrality stance with the Neutrality Act of 1939. The new policy allowed cash-and-carry purchases of arms by belligerents.   1939 - At the 40th National Automobile Show the first air-conditioned car was put on display.   1942 - During World War II, Axis forces retreated from El Alamein in North Africa. It was a major victory for the British.   1956 - Soviet forces enter Hungary in order to supress the uprising that had begun on October 23, 1956.   1965 - Lee Ann Roberts Breedlove became the first woman to exceed 300 mph when she went 308.5 mph.   1970 - Former King Peter II of Yugoslavia died in Denver, CO. He was the first European king or queen to die and to be buried in the U.S.   1979 - Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 63 Americans hostage (90 total hostages). The militants, mostly students, demanded that the U.S. send the former shah back to Iran to stand trial. Many hostages were later released, but 52 were held for the next 14 months.   1981 - The second scheduled flight of the space shuttle Columbia was canceled with only 31 seconds left in the countdown.   1984 - Nicaragua held its first free elections in 56 years.   1985 - Soviet defector Vitaly Yurchenko announced he was returning to the Soviet Union. He had charged that he had been kidnapped by the CIA.   1989 - About a million East Germans filled the streets of East Berlin in a pro-democracy rally.   1990 - Iraq issued a statement saying it was prepared to fight a "dangerous war" rather than give up Kuwait.   1991 - Ronald Reagan opened his presidential library in Simi Valley, CA. The dedication ceremony was attended by President Bush and former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald R. Ford and Richard M. Nixon. It was the 1st gathering of 5 U.S. chief executives.   1995 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 73 years old, was assassinated by right-wing Israeli Yigal Amir after attending a peace rally.   1999 - Cristina Saralegui received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.   1999 - The United Nations imposed economic sanctions against the Taliban that controlled most of Afghanistan. The sanctions were imposed because the Taliban had refused to turn over Osama bin Laden, who had been charged with masterminding the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.   2001 - Hurrican Michelle hit Cuba destroying crops and thousands of homes. The United States made the gesture of sending humanitarian aid. On December 16, 2001, Cuba received the first commercial food shipment from the U.S. in nearly 40 years.   2010 - Microsoft's Kinect was launched worldwide.  

1842 Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in Springfield, Ill.  1880 James and John Ritty of Dayton, Ohio, patented the first cash register.  1922 Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen in Egypt.  1924 Nellie T. Ross of Wyoming was elected the nation's first woman governor, to serve out the term of her husband who died in office.  1956 Russian troops attacked Budapest and crushed the Hungarian revolt under Premier Imre Nagy.  1979 The American embassy in Tehran, Iran, was seized by militants and 90 Americans were taken hostage.  1995 Israeli Prime Minister, and Nobel Laureate, Yitzhak Rabin, was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli.  2008 Democratic senator Barack Obama wins the presidential election against Sen. John McCain, taking 338 electoral votes to McCain's 161. Obama makes history as the first African American U.S. president.



The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/nov04.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

Music Video: Red Meadow - Fade Away

Found out about this band and this song a few years ago, almost by accident.

Read Meadow never really got big. They are hardly a household name. Nor are they necessarily the type of music that I normally would listen to.

Yet, they are a solid band, and I have gotten into them. They have some really decent stuff.

However, this particular song remains my favorite from them. The lyrics are really powerful and thought-provoking, in my opinion.

Take a listen, and see if you agree:

Red Meadow - Fade Away (lyric video)

November 3rd: This Day in History

   

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history 

On this day in 1762, Spain acquired Louisiana, which had formerly belonged to France. In 1883 on this day, the US Supreme Court ruled that Native Americans could not be considered Americans. On this day in 1903, Panama declared it's independence. The Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolved on this day in 1918, shortly after the end of the Great War (World War I). Poland declared its independence on that same day in 1918. On this day in 1941, the orders for the attack on Pearl Harbor later that year, and which got the United States involved in World War II, were hatched. In 1944 on this day, the pro-German government of Hungary dispatched and fled. Also, on this day in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Republican Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election. President Richard Nixon promised a gradual troop withdrawal of Americans troops out of Vietnam on this day in 1970. Also on this day in 1970, Salvador Allende inaugurated as president of Chile. The Soviet Union & Vietnam signed a peace & friendship treaty on this day in 1978. On this day in 1988, American President Reagan signed the Fair Credit and Charge Card Disclosure Act (also known as the Truth in Lending Act), which had been endorsed by then Democratic House member Charles Schumer.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

644 - Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina.

1394 - Jews are expelled from France by Charles VI

1468 - Liège is sacked by Charles I of Burgundy's troops.

1493 - Christopher Columbus discovers island of Dominica

1527 - Ferdinand of Austria/Bohemia chosen as king of Hungary

1529 - London - 1st sitting of the Reformation Parliament

1534 - English parliament accepts Act of Supremacy: Henry VIII church leader

1620 - Great Patent granted to Plymouth Colony

1629 - Prince Frederik Hendrik festival in The Hague

1640 - English Long Parliament forms

1655 - England & France sign miltary & economic treaties

1656 - Treaty of Vilnius Russia/Poland sign anti-Swedish covenant [NS]

1676 - Kara Mustafa succeeds Ahmed Kiprulu as Turkish grand vizier

1679 - Great panic occurs in Europe over close approach of a comet

1716 - Pacification Treaty of Warsaw: Czar Peter the Great guarantees Saxon monarch August I's Polish kingdom

1752 - Georg Friedrich Handel undergoes (failed) eye operation

1760 - Battle at Torgau, Saxony: Prussia beats Austria

1762 - Britain & Spain sign Treaty of Paris

1762 - Spain acquires Louisiana

Composer George Friedrich HandelComposer George Friedrich Handel 1783 - Washington orders Continental Army disbanded

1783 - John Austin, a highwayman, is the last to be publicly hanged at London's Tyburn gallows.

1791 - Battle at Wabash: indians assault general St Clair/killed 637 soldiers

1793 - French playwright, journalist and feminist Olympe de Gouges is guillotined.

1794 - French troops conquer Maastricht

1796 - John Adams elected president of the United States of America

1812 - Napoleonic armies defeated at Vyazma

1813 - US troops under General Coffee destroy Indian village at Talladega Ala

1820 - Cuenca Ecuador declares independence

1838 - The Times of India, the world's largest circulated English language daily broadsheet newspaper is founded as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce.

1839 - 1st opium war - 2 British frigates engage several Chinese junks

1839 - Palace of Gulhane Turkey, freedom of religion proclaimed

1848 - Johan Thorbeckes revises Great Force

1856 - A British fleet bombards Canton.

1862 - Battle until the 5th November between gunboats at Bayou Teche, a waterway in Louisiana

1863 - Battle of Grand Coteau in Southwestern Louisiana in the American Civil War

1867 - Battle at Mentana: French/pontifical troops beat Garibaldi

1868 - 1st black Congressman elected (John W Menard, Louisiana)

US President Ulysses S. GrantUS President Ulysses S. Grant 1868 - Ulysses Grant (R) wins presidential election over Horatio Seymour (D)

1869 - Canada's Hamilton Foot Ball Club forms

1874 - James Theodore Holly, elected bishop of Haiti

1883 - Race riots in Danville Virginia (4 blacks killed)

1883 - US Supreme Court decides Native Americans can't be Americans

1883 - American Old West: Self-described "Black Bart the poet" gets away with his last stagecoach robbery, but leaves an incriminating clue that eventually leads to his capture.

1885 - Tacoma vigilantes drive out Chinese, burn their homes & businesses

1886 - Friars of Tilburg arrives on Curacao

1888 - Amsterdam: 1st concerto of Concert worker, under Willem Kes

1889 - Chaplain Ariëns founds 1st roman catholic workers group

1896 - J H Hunter patents portable weighing scales

1896 - Martha Hughes Cannon of Utah elected 1st female senator

1896 - William McKinley (R) defeats William Jennings Bryan (D) for president

1899 - James J Jeffries beats Tom Sharkey in 25 for heavyweight boxing title

1900 - 1st US automobile show opens at Madison Square Garden (NYC)

25th US President William McKinley25th US President William McKinley 1903 - Colombia grants independence to Panama

1905 - Csar Nicholas II of Russia signs a document of amnesty for the political prisoners.

1908 - William Howard Taft (R) elected 27th pres over William Jennings Bryan

1911 - Chevrolet officially enters the automobile market in competition with the Ford Model T.

1913 - The USA introduces an income tax.

1916 - Treaty establishes British suzerainity over Qatar

1917 - 1st class US mail now costs 3 cents per ounce

1918 - Austro-Hungarian Empire disolves

1918 - Poland proclaims independence from Russia after WW I

1920 - "Emperor Jones" opens at Provincetown Theater

1922 - Greek parliament bans prince Andreas for life

1926 - 15th party congress CPSU ends/5 year plan begins

1926 - Ty Cobb resigns as Detroit Tigers manager

1927 - 22.3 cm rainfall at Somerset, Vermont (state record)

1927 - Rodgers & Hart's musical "Connecticut Yankee," premieres in NYC

Absolute monarch Nicholas IIAbsolute monarch Nicholas II 1927 - Tropical storm flooding kills 84 in Winooski River Valley (Vt)

1928 - Turkey switches from Arabic to Roman alphabet

1930 - 1st vehicular tunnel to a foreign country (Detroit-Windsor) opens

1930 - Bank of Italy becomes Bank of America

1930 - Getúlio Dornelles Vargas became Head of the Provisional Government in Brazil after a bloodless coup on October 24.

1931 - 1st commercially produced synthetic rubber manufactured

1934 - Although Lou Gehrig wins Triple Crown, Mickey Cochrane wins AL MVP

1934 - Dizzy Dean chosen as NL MVP

1935 - George II returns to Greece & regains monarchy

1935 - Kitei Son runs world record marathon (2:26:42)

1936 - President FDR (D) wins landslide victory over Alfred M Landon (R)

1937 - Archambaud bicycles world record time (45,796 km)

1937 - NHL Howie Morenz Memorial Game: All-Stars beat Montreal 6-5 in Mont

1939 - Clare Booth's "Margin for Error," premieres in NYC

1941 - Hirohiti's accord on Yamamoto's attack plan on Pearl Harbor fails

32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1942 - 12th day of battle at El Alamein: Scottish assault

1942 - Despite Ted Williams winning Triple Crown, Yanks Joe Gordon wins AL MVP

1942 - Mort Cooper wins NL MVP

1942 - William L Dawson elected to Congress from Chicago

1943 - Dmitri Sjostakovitch's 8th Symphony premieres in Moscow

1943 - P-47D Thunderbolt shot down above North-Holland

1944 - Allied commandos lands at Westkapelle Walcheren

1944 - German troops in Vlissingen surrenders

1944 - Pro-German government of Hungary flees

1944 - US 28th Infantry division occupies Schmidt Hurtgenwald

1945 - Lindsay Hassett scores 187 & 124* for Aust Services at Delhi

1946 - Emperor Hirohito proclaims new Japanese constitution

1948 - 2nd NHL All-Star Game: All-Stars beat Toronto 3-1 at Chicago

1952 - Clarence Birdseye markets frozen peas

1952 - Egypt protests German retribution payments to Israel

Baseball Player Ted WilliamsBaseball Player Ted Williams 1953 - 1939 sacrifice fly rule restored: no time at bat for sac fly

1953 - 1st live color coast-to-coast telecast (NYC)

1954 - Nobel for physics awarded to Max Born & Walter Bothe

1955 - 1st virus crystallized (announced)

1955 - Alabama woman bruised by a meteor

1955 - Argentine ex-president Peron arrives in Nicaragua

1955 - Australia takes control of Cocos Islands

1955 - Bernardus J Alfrink installed as archbishop of Utrecht

1956 - "Wizard of Oz" 1st televised (CBS-TV)

1957 - USSR launches Sputnik 2 with a dog (Laika), 1st animal in orbit

1958 - USSR performs nuclear test

1959 - Ben-Gurion's Mapai-party wins Israeli parliamentary election)

1960 - "Unsinkable Molly Brown" opens at Winter Garden NYC for 532 perfs

1960 - Ivory Coast adopts constitution

1960 - Pittsburgh Pirates' Vern Law wins Cy Young Award

1960 - Tammy Grimes' "Unsinkable Molly Brown," premieres in NYC

1961 - General Assembly unanimously elects U Thant acting secretary general

1962 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR

1962 - Wilt Chamberlain of NBA SF Warriors scores 72 points vs LA Lakers

1963 - Marilynn Smith wins LPGA Cavern City Golf Open

1964 - LBJ (D) soundly defeats Barry Goldwater (R) for pres

1964 - Phila voters approve $25 million to build a new sports stadium

36th US President Lyndon B. Johnson36th US President Lyndon B. Johnson 1965 - Sandy Koufax wins NL Cy Young Award unanimously

1967 - Boston's Jim Lonborg wins AL Cy Young

1967 - Vietnam War: The Battle of Dak To begins.

1968 - Bob Packwood is elected senator of Oregon

1968 - Ex-premier Papandreou buried/300,000 demonstrate against fascist junta

1968 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Canyon Ladies Golf Classic

1968 - NY Jet Jim Turner kicks 6 field goals to beat Buffalo 25-21

1969 - Congo president Mobutu visits Belgium

1970 - "President's Daughter" opens at Billy Rose Theater NYC for 72 perfs

1970 - Bob Gibson wins NL Cy Young Award

1970 - Pres Nixon promises gradual troop removal of Vietnam

1970 - Salvador Allende inaugurated as president of Chile

1971 - "Play Misty For Me" premieres

1973 - Mariner 10 launched-1st Venus pics, 1st mission to Mercury

1974 - "Lorelei" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 320 performances

1974 - Chako Higuchi wins Japan LPGA Golf Classic

1975 - Good Morning America premieres on ABC (David Hartman & Nancy Dussault)

1976 - Donna Caponi Young wins LPGA/Japan Mizuno Golf

1977 - Debbie Massey wins LPGA Mizuno-Japan Golf Classic

1978 - 1st broadcast of "Diff'rent strokes" on NBC TV

1978 - Dominica gains independence from UK & adopts constitution

1978 - Michiko Okada wins LPGA Mizuno-Japan Golf Classic

1978 - USSR & Vietnam sign peace & friendship treaty

1979 - 5 mortally wounded during anti-Ku Klux Klan demonstration in NC

1979 - Amy Alcott wins LPGA Mizuno Japan Golf Classic

1979 - Marocco offensive against Polisario

1980 - Ianford Wilsons "5th of July," premieres in NYC

1980 - Walter Hass Jr becomes CEO of Oakland A's

1981 - Brewers reliever Rollie Fingers wins AL Cy Young Award

1982 - Detroit blocks 20 Cleve Cav shots tying NBA regulation game record

1982 - Pete Vuckovich becomes Milwaukee's 2nd consecutive AL Cy Young

1983 - Jesse Jackson launches his 1st campaign for presidency (D)

1983 - Nashville Network begins on cable TV

1984 - 3,000 die in 3 day anti-Sikh riot in India

1984 - Body of assassinated Indian PM Indira Gandhi cremated

1985 - Argentine pres Alfonsíns Radical Burgerunie wins elections

1985 - Jan Stephenson wins LPGA Nichirei Cup Team Match Golf Tournament

1986 - Federated States of Micronesia signs Compact of Free Association with US

1986 - Joaquim Chissano elected president Mozambique

1986 - John Lennon "Menlove Avenue" album released posthumously

1986 - Lebanese magazine Ash Shirra reveals secret US arms sales to Iran

1986 - Northern Mariana Islands becomes a Commonwealth associated with US

1987 - Oakland 1st baseman Mark McGwire wins AL Rookie of Year

1987 - On Wall Street, after 5 consecutive gains, Dow Jones down 50.56

1988 - Pakistan claims it downed Afghan warplane

US President & Actor Ronald ReaganUS President & Actor Ronald Reagan 1988 - President Reagan signs credit-card disclosure-bill

1988 - Soviet Union agrees to allow teaching of Hebrew

1988 - Talk-show host Geraldo Rivera's nose is broken as Roy Innis brawls with skinheads at TV taping

1989 - 100s of Bulgarian demonstrate in Sofia for democratic rights

1989 - Lou Piniella is named manager of the Reds, replacing banned Pete Rose

1989 - Minn Timberwolves' 1st NBA game, loses to Seattle, 106-94

1990 - Gro Harlem Brundtland installed as premier of Norway

1991 - 21st NYC Women's Marathon won by Liz McColgan of Scotland in 2:27

1991 - 22nd NYC Marathon won by Salvador Garcia of Mexico in 2:09:28

1991 - Ayrton Senna wins shortest Formula One race ever run (17 laps)

1992 - Bill Clinton (D) wins US presidential election over President Bush (R)

1992 - Carol Moseley Brown elected 1st black female in US Senate

1993 - Ken Daneyko sets NJ Devil 'Ironman' record by playing 322nd cons game

1994 - Atlantis 13 launched

1994 - Dutch & British astronomers find spiral nebula Dwingeloo 1

42nd US President Bill Clinton42nd US President Bill Clinton 1994 - Space shuttle STS-66 (Atlantis 13), launches

1994 - Susan Smith who claimed her 2 kids were carjacked arrested for murder

1994 - Total solar eclipse in South America (4m23s)

1995 - 1st NBA game at FleetCenter, Boston Celtics lose to Mil Bucks, 101-100

1995 - 1st NBA game at Rose Garden, Port Trailblazers lose to Grizzlies 92-80

1995 - 1st NBA game at Skydome, Toronto Raptors beat NJ Nets 94-79

1996 - "It's a Slippery Slope," opens at Vivian Beaumont Theater NYC

1996 - 26th NYC Women's Marathon won by Anuta Catuna of Romania in 2:28:18

1996 - 27th NYC Marathon won by Giacomo Leone of Italy in 2:09:54

1996 - Mayumi Hirase wins LPGA Toray Japan Queens Cup

1996 - Toray Japan Queens Cup

1997 - Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra is 6th unanimous AL Rookie of Year

1997 - California law ends affirmative-action

1997 - David Duval wins Championship at the Champions Golf Club

1997 - Phillies 3rd baseman Scott Rolen selected unanimous Rookie of Year

2007 - Pervez Musharraf declared emergency rule across Pakistan. He suspended the Constitution, imposed State of Emergency, and fired the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

2012 - Syrian rebels launch a major assault on Taftanaz airbase

1507 - Leonardo DaVinci was commissioned by the husband of Lisa Gherardini to paint her. The work is known as the Mona Lisa.   1631 - The Reverend John Eliot arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was the first Protestant minister to dedicate himself to the conversion of Native Americans to Christianity.   1793 - Stephen F. Austin was born. He was the principal founder of Texas.   1796 - John Adams was elected the 2nd U.S. President.   1839 - The first Opium War between China and Britain erupted.   1892 - The first automatic telephone went into service at LaPorte, IN. The device was invented by Almon Strowger.   1900 - The first automobile show in the United States opened at New York's Madison Square Garden.   1903 - Panama proclaimed its independence from Columbia.   1911 - Chevrolet Motor Car Company was founded by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant.   1934 - The first race track in California opened under a new pari-mutuel betting law.   1941 - U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Grew warned that the Japanese may be planning a sudden attack on the U.S.   1952 - Frozen bread was offered for sale for the first time in a supermarket in Chester, NY.   1953 - The Rules Committee of organized baseball restored the sacrifice fly. The rule had not been used since 1939.   1957 - Sputnik II was launched by the Soviet Union. It was the second manmade satellite to be put into orbit and was the first to put an animal into space, a dog named Laika.   1973 - The U.S. launched the Mariner 10 spacecraft. On March 29, 1974 it became the first spacecraft to reach the planet Mercury.   1975 - "Good Morning America" premiered on ABC-TV.   1979 - Five members of the Communist Workers' Party are shot to death in broad daylight at an anti-Ku Klux Klan rally in Greensboro, NC. Eight others were wounded.   1986 - The Ash-Shiraa, pro-Syrian Lebanese magazine, first broke the story of U.S. arms sales to Iran to secure the release of seven American hostages. The story turned into the Iran-Contra affair.   1987 - China told the U.S. that it would halt the sale of arms to Iran.   1991 - Israeli and Palestinian representatives held their first-ever face-to-face talks in Madrid, Spain.   1992 - Carol Moseley-Braun became the first African-American woman U.S. senator.   1994 - Susan Smith of Union, SC, was arrested for drowning her two sons. Nine days earlier Smith had claimed that the children had been abducted by a black carjacker.   1995 - U.S. President Clinton dedicated a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery to the 270 victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.   1998 - Bob Kane, the creator of Batman, died at the age of 83.   1998 - A state-run newspaper in Iraq urged the country to prepare for to battle "the U.S. monster."   1998 - Minnesota elected Jesse "The Body" Ventura, a former pro wrestler, as its governor.   2003 - In Kabul, Afghanistan, a post-Taliban draft constitution was unveiled.

1839 The first Opium War between China and Britain broke out. 1903 Panama proclaimed its independence from Colombia. 1952 Clarence Birdseye marketed the first frozen peas. 1957 The Soviet Union sent the first animal, a dog named Laika, into space aboard the Sputnik II. Laika died in orbit. 1986 A Lebanese magazine broke the story of U.S. arms sales to Iran, leading to the Iran-Contra affair. 1992 Carol Moseley-Braun became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate. 2004 Hamid Karzai was declared the winner in Afghanistan's first presidential election.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/nov03.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory