September 12, 2010: Lady Gaga Wears the Meat Dress

September 12, 2010: The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) are held at the Nokia Theatre (now the Peacock Theater) in Los Angeles. Comedian Chelsea Handler hosted. Singer Lady Gaga received 13 nominations, and won 8 awards, including Video of the Year for "Bad Romance."

All anybody noticed was that she showed up wearing a "dress" made of meat. It was the latest in a series of efforts to be provocative.

They worked: They made her famous enough that people would notice her no matter what she did. Once she got that far, she used "The Fame" for better purposes.

She was born on March 28, 1986, in Manhattan, as Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Growing up on the Upper West Side, her parents encouraged her to pursue music as a career, but her classmates didn't. Upon graduation, one wrote in her yearbook, "Stefani Germanotta you will never be famous." As if that was the worst thing that could be said to her.

She had already begun to prove them wrong. In 2000, she had a brief appearance in an AC/DC music video. The following year, she had a background appearance on an episode of The Sopranos. But an early producer raped her, and she became pregnant and had an abortion.

In 2006, talent scout Wendy Starland recommended her to music producer Rob Fusari. He gave her the name "Lady Gaga," after the Queen song "Radio Ga-Ga."

On August 29, 2008, on Interscope Records, she released her debut album, The Fame. "Just Dance" Number 1 the following January, and "Poker Face" did so in April. Fame seemed to be all she wanted, based on how she acted at the awards shows, and in visits to both New York ballparks, being inappropriately dressed each time. Furthermore, her synth-pop was monotonous. I got so sick of hearing "Poker Face" over and over and over again, I wanted to poke her face.

But on March 15, 2010, she became the 1st artist to send her 1st 6 singles to Number 1 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100, with "Telephone," a duet with Beyoncé. As Beyoncé was the performer of the decade for the 2000s, Gaga had put herself in position to be that for the 2010s -- although Taylor Swift's fans may have something to say about that.

As time passed -- releasing Born This Way in 2011, Artpop in 2013, Joanne (her middle name) in 2016 and Chromatica in 2020 -- Gaga became a gay-rights icon, despite not being gay herself, inspiring her fans -- calling herself "Mother Monster" to the fans, the "Little Monsters," who showed up at her concerts in costumes as wild as her own.

She showed she actually did have talent, singing without autotune and playing piano -- not a synthesizer, not an electric piano, but a real grand piano. Which puzzled me: If she can do that, what does she need autotune for?

She teamed up with several performers, from her era's top talent to 1950s pre-rock-and-roll star Tony Bennett. She was the halftime entertainment at Super Bowl LI in Houston in 2017. And she forever cast aside the line that she was a copycat of Madonna by proving that she can act, starring in a remake of A Star Is Born and House of Gucci.

I still don't like most of her music, but I've made my peace with the fact that she is one of the defining entertainers of the 21st Century.

In a 2011 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, at a time when she was still going for shock value first and activism second, she was played by "Nice" Peter Shukoff, against YouTuber Lisa Nova playing Republican politician Sarah Palin. This was the 1st time a guest star appeared in the series, the 1st time a female character was used, and the 1st time an actor played a character of the opposite gender -- probably appropriate, given Gaga's stand for gay and trans rights.

UPDATE: In a 2025 profile for the BBC website, to cover the release of her 6th album, Mayhem, their music correspondent, Mark Savage, wrote:

Her rise to fame in 2009-10 was unlike anything we'd seen before. One of the first pop stars to harness the power of the internet, she seemed to exist in a permanent onslaught of TMZ photos and gossip blogs.

Their appetite was voracious. She wore through so many looks and sounds in the space of three years that one critic wrote she was "speed-running Madonna's entire career".

And as her fame grew, the headlines became more unhinged. She staged a satanic ritual in a London hotel... She was secretly a hermaphrodite... She planned to saw her own leg off "for fashion".

When she attended the 2010 MTV Awards in a dress made entirely of meat, nobody seemed to get the joke: Gaga was presenting herself as fodder for the tabloids, there to be consumed.

On stage, she was an object of worship for her fans, the Little Monsters. But anyone who isn't a megalomaniac knows that that sort of adulation is a distant illusion.

*

September 12, 2010 was a Sunday. It was the opening weekend of a new NFL season, with a "kickoff" game the preceding Thursday, a rematch of the preceding season's NFC Championship Game: The New Orleans Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings, 14-9 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

These games were played on that Sunday:

* The New York Giants played the 1st regular-season game at what was then called the New Meadowlands Stadium, now MetLife Stadium, beating the Carolina Panthers, 31-18.

* The New England patriots beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 38-24 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxboro, Massachusetts.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-20 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Dallas Cowboys, 13-7 at FedEx Field (now Northwest Stadium) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Denver Broncos, 24-17 at EverBank Field (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonville.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Cleveland Browns, 17-14 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

* The Tennessee Titans beat the Oakland Raiders, 38-13 at LP Field (now Nissan Stadium) in Nashville.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the Buffalo Bills, 15-10 at Ralph Wilson Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Atlanta Falcons, 15-9 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the St. Louis Rams, 17-13 at the Edward Jones Dome (now The Dome at America's Center) in St. Louis.

* The Houston Texans beat the Indianapolis Colts, 34-24 at Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium) in Houston.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-6 at Qwest Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

* And in a doubleheader on ESPN Monday Night Football, the Baltimore Ravens beat the New York Jets, 10-9 in the Jets' 1st game at the new Meadowlands stadium; and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Diego Chargers, 21-14 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium).

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Texas Rangers, 4-1 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Cliff Lee outpitched Dustin Moseley. Derek Jeter went 1-for-2 with 2 walks and an RBI. Alex Rodriguez did not play. This turned out to be a preview of the American League Championship Series, which the Rangers won.

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0 at Citi Field. Roy Oswalt pitched a 4-hit shutout, outpitching Jon Niese, who got 1 of those 4 hits. Raúl Ibañez hit a home run for the Phils.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Washington Nationals, 6-5 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-4 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-2 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 12-6 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 2-0 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. Yovani Gallardo pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and 2 relievers completed the 5-hit shutout.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-4 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-2 at Coors Field in Denver. Geographically, this could be an arch-rivalry, but both teams tend to consider the Dodgers their biggest rivals.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 6-1 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-0 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Dan Haren pitched 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and 2 relievers completed a 4-hit shutout.

* And the Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.

And in English soccer, Manchester City beat Arsenal, 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. For many English fans, this was a sign that Man City had replaced Arsenal in the Premier League's "Big Four," along with Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea. However, given recent developments, if anything, City had replaced Liverpool. Over the next few years, the "unwritten rules" were "rewritten, so that Tottenham Hotspur, a joke franchise, joined the preceding and made a "Big Six."

April 20, 1937: "A Star Is Born" Premieres

Janet Gaynor and Frederic March

April 20, 1937: A Star Is Born, directed by William Wellman, premieres. Among the people contributing to the script was Dorothy Parker, the writer, poet and critic associated with the Algonquin Round Table.

Janet Gaynor plays Esther Victoria Blodgett, a farm girl who wants to be a film star. She meets film star Norman Maine, played by Frederic March. He's impressed with her, and gets her a screen test. She gets a role, and a stage name: Vicki Lester.

They get married, but as her star rises, so does his drinking, and his star falls. He ends up committing suicide. Vicki wants to drop out of show business, but her grandmother, who funded her trip to Hollywood, convinces her to stick with it. Later, interviewed for the newsreels outside her next film premiere, she pays tribute to the man she loved, the man who gave her her big break, telling the crowd, "Hello, everyone: This is Mrs. Norman Maine."

James Mason and Judy Garland

It's been remade 3 times. In the 1954 version, James Mason keeps Norman as an actor, but Judy Garland plays Esther/Vicki as an aspiring singer. In 1976, both halves of the couple are singers: Kris Kristofferson plays John Norman Howard, and Barbra Streisand plays Esther Hoffman, who takes his name upon marriage but doesn't change her given name. A variation is that John doesn't drown himself, but rather drinks, drives, and crashes.

Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand

And in 2018, again, both were singers: Bradley Cooper as Jackson Maine, and Lady Gaga as Ally, whose maiden name is not revealed. And Jackson hangs himself. This film led to rumors of Cooper and Gaga becoming a real couple, which both have denied.

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga

So there have been gaps of 17 years, 22 years, and 42 years. That's an average of 27 years. So, look for another remake around 2045 or so.

*

April 20, 1937 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Washington Senators, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Monte Weaver outpitched Lefty Gomez. Former Philadelphia Athletics star Al Simmons went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs for the Senators.

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-3 at Ebbets Field. Pitcher Hal Schumacher helped his own cause by driving home George "Kiddo" Davis with the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the 9th inning. Mel Ott went 0-for-4.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 11-5 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-0 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Johnny Mize doubled home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning. Dizzy Dean allowed 13 hits, but kept the shutout through all 10 innings.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Navin Field in Detroit. (The ballpark was renamed Briggs Stadium in 1938, and Tiger Stadium in 1961.) Elden Auker outpitched Mel Harder. Lyn Lary and Roy Hughes each had 3 hits for the Indians. But Gerald "Gee" Walker went 4-for-4 with a solo home run for the Tigers. Hank Greenberg went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Cy Blanton pitched a 5-hit shutout. Paul Waner went 2-for-4. His brother, Lloyd Waner, did not play.

* The Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Browns were rained out at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The game was made up as part of a 4th of July doubleheader. The ChiSox swept, 4-2 and 9-5.

* And the Boston Bees (as the Braves were known from 1936 to 1940) and the Philadelphia Phillies were not scheduled.

February 5, 2017: The Atlanta Falcons Blow a 28-3 Lead In a Super Bowl

Matt Ryan

February 5, 2017: The Atlanta Falcons had a fraction of one job, and they couldn't do it. To borrow an old expression, it was as if the condemned man had jumped out of the electric chair and executed the warden.

Super Bowl LI was played at NRG Stadium in Houston. With 2 minutes and 12 seconds left to play in the 3rd quarter, the Atlanta Falcons led the New England Patriots 28-3. After a scoreless 1st quarter, they got a 5-yard touchdown run from Devonta Freeman, a 19-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Austin Hooper, and an interception of Tom Brady that Robert Alford returned 82 yards for a touchdown, all in the 2nd quarter, for a 21-0 lead, before Stephen Gostkowski kicked a field goal on the last play of the half. In the 3rd quarter, Ryan threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Tevin Coleman. It was Atlanta 28, New England 3.

In the 1st 50 Super Bowls, no team had ever blown a lead of more than 10 points and lost. With less than 18 minutes to play, the Falcons had a 25-point lead. They were in great shape to win the 1st World Championship in team history, 51 seasons, the entire Super Bowl Era.

Several sources said that the Falcons had a 99 percent chance of winning at that point. One source said it was 99.9 percent.

In a major "Perhaps I spoke too soon" moment, I posted on Facebook, citing a Boston-based police drama: "Somebody call Rizzoli & Isles, there's 11 Bostonians getting killed!"

With 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Brady threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to James White. Gostkowski missed the extra point. 28-9 Atlanta. With 9:44 left in regulation, Gostkowski kicked a field goal. 28-12 Atlanta. Still not exactly ominous.

With 5:56 left, Brady threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola. And White scored the 2-point conversion. Now, it was 28-20 Atlanta. Now, it was ominous.

With 57 seconds to play in regulation, White ran 1 yard for a touchdown. Now, it was 28-26 Atlanta. Brady passed to Amendola for the 2-point conversion. The Patriots tied the game, and we had the 1st Super Bowl that went to overtime.

The Patriots won the coin toss to start the overtime, and the Falcons never got the ball. With 11:02 left in the 1st overtime, White scored on a 2-yard touchdown run, and the Patriots had won the ballgame, 34-28.

Lost in all the fuss over Brady and the Falcons blowing it was the fact that White had joined Terrell Davis as the only men to score 3 touchdowns in 1 Super Bowl; and that, with the 2-point conversion, he had set a record, scoring 20 points in a Super Bowl.

Boston, and all of New England, were now the beneficiaries of "the greatest choke in baseball history" and "the greatest choke in football history."

And Tom Brady was certified as not merely the greatest quarterback, but the greatest player in the history of football.

How could the Falcons have blown it?

* The officials called 9 penalties on the Falcons, only 4 on the Patriots. They penalized the Falcons for 65 yards, the Patriots only 23. The Patriots gained 4 1st downs as a result of penalties, the Falcons only 1. A dubious pass interference call in overtime helped the Patriots.

It's been suggested that there were no bad calls in this game, and that the disparity in the penalties was due to the Patriots being sufficiently disciplined, and the Falcons not. Really?

* Lady Gaga's halftime show, while widely praised, was long. Maybe it threw the Falcons off their game. In the 1st half, Atlanta outscored New England 21-3. The rest of the way, New England outscored Atlanta 31-7.

* And, of course, there is the Patriots' proven legacy of cheating, which makes any claim of Brady as the greatest anything just plain dishonest. We don't actually know that the Patriots cheated at any point in the 2016-17 NFL season, including in the Super Bowl. We only know that they have been caught cheating multiple times. They have forfeited the presumption of innocence.

Did they cheat in this game? There has never been a serious accusation of it. But think of it this way: We have more proven instances of Belichick and/or Brady cheating, and the other benefiting from that cheating, than we have investigations of them cheating and being proven not to have done so. So which is more likely: That these were the only times they cheated, or that they cheated in many more games, including this one?

You can argue that, even with the Patriots having cheated, the Falcons should still have been able to hold onto a lead that was 25 points with a little over 17 minutes to go, 19 points with 10 minutes to go, 16 points with 6 minutes to go, and 8 points with 1 minute to go.

But they didn't. They were so close to forever eliminating their status as a joke franchise. Instead, they deepened it. They have gotten far more blame for losing this game than the Patriots got credit for winning it. The number "28-3" has been burned into sports fans' collective psyche.

Since then, Atlanta United have won the 2018 MLS Cup, and the Atlanta Braves have won the 2021 World Series. But, as some teams have proven, even winning a World Championship in their sport doesn't eliminate the pain of such losses. If the Falcons ever do win a Super Bowl, no matter how memorable it might be, people will always remember "28-3."

Clayton Trutor, a writer for the website SB Nation, published a book in 2021, shortly before the Braves won that year's World Series. Noting that the Braves had played 55 seasons in Atlanta and won just 1 World Series, the Falcons 55 and none, the NBA's Hawks 53 and none, and 2 NHL expansion teams granted and later moved without either having reached even the Conference Finals, he titled his book Loserville: How Professional Sports Remade Atlanta -- and How Atlanta Remade Professional Sports.

In 2019, a poll ranked this game 9th on a list of the 100 Greatest Games of the NFL's 1st 100 years.

UPDATE: In 2023, the film 80 for Brady was released, with this game as the focus. It starred Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno, Jane Fonda and Sally Field as old friends who went to this Super Bowl together, and Brady had a speaking part in it.

*

February 5, 2017 was a Sunday. There were no other football games played. Baseball was out of season. There were 3 NBA games that day:

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Toronto Raptors, 103-95 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 107-102 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* And the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 105-99 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena (now the Paycom Center) in Oklahoma City. Russell Westbrook scored 42 points for the Thunder.

There were also 3 NHL games that day:

* The New York Rangers beat the Calgary Flames, 4-3 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 1-0 in a shootout at the Bell Centre.

* And the Washington Capitals beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-0 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

January 20, 2021: Joe Biden Is Inaugurated as President

January 20, 2021: Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. is inaugurated as the 46th President of United States, ending the 4-year tyranny of Donald Trump.

There really was some question as to whether Trump and his family would refuse to accept the Inauguration, and have to be escorted out of the White House by the Secret Service at 12:01 PM. They eliminated that possibility by getting out of Washington early. Trump became the 1st outgoing President since 1869, and only the 5th overall, to refuse to welcome his successor to the White House, ride with him to the ceremony, and then attend the President-elect's Inauguration.

The others:

* 1801: Despite their former, and eventually restored, friendship, John Adams left town before Thomas Jefferson could be sworn in.

* 1829: John Quincy Adams followed his father's example, and left town before Andrew Jackson could be sworn in.

* 1841: Martin Van Buren refused to welcome William Henry Harrison.

* 1869: Andrew Johnson refused to welcome Ulysses S. Grant.

This, of course, does not count Presidents who didn't attend their successors' swearing-in because they died in office: Harrison for John Tyler in 1841, Zachary Taylor for Millard Fillmore in 1850, Abraham Lincoln for Johnson in 1865, James Garfield for Chester Arthur in 1881, William McKinley for Theodore Roosevelt in 1901, Warren Harding for Calvin Coolidge in 1923, Franklin Roosevelt for Harry Truman in 1945, and John F. Kennedy for Lyndon Johnson in 1963.

Nor does it count Richard Nixon for Gerald Ford upon his resignation in 1974. Gerald and Betty Ford did escort Richard and Pat Nixon to the waiting helicopter before Gerald's swearing-in.

Outgoing Vice President Mike Pence did attend the ceremony. So did former Presidents Barack Obama (Democratic, to whom Biden had been Vice President), George W. Bush (Republican), and Bill Clinton (Democratic). The only former President still living who did not attend was Jimmy Carter (Democratic), who was 96 years old and, given the continued COVID situation and security concerns, thought it best to decline the invitation.

Those "security concerns" were about a possible 2nd attempt by Trump supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol Building, after the insurrection 2 weeks earlier delayed, but did not prevent, the certification of the Electoral Votes that confirmed Biden as President-elect.

Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta) sang the National Anthem. Her fellow New Yorker, Jennifer Lopez, sang Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" and "America the Beautiful." Garth Brooks sang "Amazing Grace." Amanda Gorman, just short of turning 23 years old and looking even younger, recited her poem "The Hill We Climb."

At 11:40 AM, outgoing Senator Kamala Harris of California was sworn in as Vice President, the 1st woman and the 1st nonwhite person to hold the post, by U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. And at 11:48 -- 12 minutes before the official start of his term -- Biden was sworn into office by the Supreme Court's Chief Justice, John Roberts.

Biden's Inaugural Address lasted 21 minutes, about average. He pledged to "fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did."

At the end of the Inaugural Ceremonies, Biden, the 3 former Presidents in attendance, their wives, the new Vice President, and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, were driven across the Potomac River, to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, to participate in a gesture of unity, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

*

January 20, 2021 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. The NFL was in the middle of its Playoffs. There were 9 games played in the NBA:

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 147-135 in double overtime at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland. Kevin Durant scored 38 points for the Nets, and Kyrie Irving added 37. But Collin Sexton scored 42 for the Cavs, and Cedi Osman 25.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics, 117-109 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia. Joel Embiid scored 42 points.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Detroit Pistons, 123-115 in overtime at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Trae Young scored 38 points.

* The Miami Heat beat the Toronto Raptors, 111-102 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa. The Raptors played all their 2020-21 season "home games" there because COVID restrictions prevented the league's only Canada-based team from entering Canada.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Houston Rockets, 109-103 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Indiana Pacers, 124-112 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 97-96 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Sacramento Kings, 115-96 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. Kawhi Leonard scored 32.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs, 121-99 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

There were 5 games played in the NHL:

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 at the Scotiabank Arena. Under the League's COVID restrictions, all 7 Canada-based teams were placed in the same Division, and all 31 teams played regular season games only within the Division assigned to them for this one season. Oddly, this was the easternmost game played in the NHL that day.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues, 2-1 in a shootout at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

* The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Arizona Coyotes, 5-2 at the T-Mobile Center in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. Is this going to become a geographic rivalry? Maybe, but it depends on the Coyotes staying put. I suppose it could still be a rivalry, if the Coyotes move to Salt Lake City or San Diego.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-5 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.