Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Oakland Athletics Baseball Team ~ Deep Dish Pizza Casserole ~ National Black Bear Day

 

Good 45º clear sunny morning.

 

Yesterday we topped at 94º, after the weather service said we'd stay in the 80ºs. 

 

 

Picture of the Day .... it's fun to watch the clouds! 

 

 

Interesting about baseball team's name....

 

The Oakland Athletics, often referred to as the A's, are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team plays its home games at the Oakland Coliseum. Throughout their history, the Athletics have won nine World Series championships.

 

One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the team was founded in Philadelphia in 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics. They won three World Series championships in 1910, 1911, and 1913, and back-to-back titles in 1929 and 1930. The team's owner and manager for its first 50 years was Connie Mack and Hall of Fame players included Chief Bender, Frank "Home Run" Baker, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Grove. The team left Philadelphia for Kansas City in 1955 and became the Kansas City Athletics before moving to Oakland in 1968. They won three consecutive World Series in 1972, 1973, and 1974, led by players including Vida Blue, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Rollie Fingers, and owner Charlie O. Finley. After being sold by Finley to Walter A. Haas Jr., the team won three consecutive pennants and the 1989 World Series behind the "Bash Brothers", Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, as well as Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson and manager Tony La Russa.

 

From 1901 to 2020, the Athletics' overall win–loss record is 9,064–9,476 (.489).

 

The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 and then to its current home in Oakland, California, in 1968. The A's made their Bay Area debut on Wednesday, April 17, 1968, with a 4–1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at the Coliseum, in front of an opening-night crowd of 50,164.

 

Team Name...

The Athletics' name originated in the term "Athletic Club" for local gentlemen's clubs—dates to 1860 when an amateur team, the Athletic (Club) of Philadelphia, was formed. (A famous image from that era, published in Harper's Weekly in 1866, shows the Athletic players dressed in uniforms displaying the familiar blackletter "A" on the front.) The team later turned professional through 1875, becoming a charter member of the National League in 1876, but were expelled from the N.L. after one season. A later version of the Athletics played in the American Association from 1882 to 1891.

 

^{If you want to read a lot more, go here:}

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Athletics}

 

 

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

Looking for a budget friendly, fast, and delicious way to feed the kids now that school is back in session? Our Deep Dish Pizza Casserole is just what you need! This easy deep dish pizza is ready in just 30 minutes, and is sure to please the kids with its cheesy pizza goodness. You'll give the flavors and simplicity of this dish an A+!

•  
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 cup frozen bell peppers and onions, thawed and drained
• 1 (10-ounce) can refrigerated pizza dough
• 12 slices mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 

1. Preheat oven to 425º. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, brown beef, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain off pan drippings. Stir in spaghetti sauce, Italian seasoning, and onion and pepper mixture and cook until heated through.
3. Meanwhile, unroll pizza dough and press into bottom and halfway up sides of baking dish (see Notes). Line pizza dough with 6 slices of mozzarella cheese. Top with meat mixture. Place remaining 6 slices of cheese over meat filling and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese begins to bubble up. Cool 5 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

 

***Make sure to push the pizza crust up the sides of your baking dish so the delicious pizza filling will bubble up inside the crispy crust. And if you like your pizza with more toppings, add pepperoni or crumbled, cooked sausage for extra taste!

 

 

Historically this date......

1942 – World War II: The United States declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.

1944 – World War II: More than 1000 British bombers drop 5,000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries on the Normandy coast in preparation for D-Day.

1956 – Elvis Presley introduces his new single, "Hound Dog", on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements.

1968 – Robert F. Kennedy, a U.S. presidential candidate, is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian. Kennedy dies the next day.

2012 – The Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, becomes the first U.S. Governor to survive a recall election.

And births this date include...

1878 – Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1923)

My Scottish grandparents were "kicked" out of Mexico by Villa's men, because they weren't citizens of Mexico ... but they posed for pictures! My mother on the left, uncle in the middle, and aunt on the right. Grandfather was a mining engineer at the Cananea gold mine. This taken 1910...

 

1895 – William Boyd, American actor (d. 1972)

That's me in my Hoppy outfit! LOVED Hopalong Cassidy!

 

1919 – Richard Scarry, American author and illustrator (d. 1994) I bought his books for my children...

 

1971 – Mark Wahlberg, American model, actor, producer, and rapper (Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch)

 

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Have a happy Saturday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bob 

On the first Saturday in June, National Black Bear Day recognizes the most commonly found bear in North America.

Also known as the American black bear, its scientific name is Ursus americanus. Despite their name, black bears can even come shades of cinnamon, blue/black, blue/grey and in rare instances, white. Found in 40 U.S. states and every Canadian province, the black bear’s enormous range is only beaten by one other four-legged mammal, the whitetail deer.

According to North Carolina Black Bear Biologist, Colleen Olfenbuttel, coastal North Carolina has the largest black bears on the planet. The current world record and the previous world record came from North Carolina. She also points out the northeastern part of the state also has the world’s highest black bear densities. In North Carolina black bears have access to high protein crops and enjoy mild winters – which is why they are so many bears and grow to be so enormous there. 

When a black bear stands on its hind legs, it has the most human-like qualities. They have a prey instead of a predator mentality, so they aren’t interested in eating you or your pets. Because they are omnivores, bears eat plants and animals. They forage for berries, roots, and insects, but will also eat small mammals, fish, and carrion. If a bear has been fed human food, it will also help himself to your picnic leftovers or camping supplies. This is where they have earned a bad reputation, but that’s why we shouldn’t feed the bears!

 

NATIONAL BLACK BEAR DAY HISTORY 

NC Black Bear Festival founded National Black Bear Day the first Saturday in June to celebrate America’s black bear while educating people about this magnificent mammal and dispelling many of the myths.

The Registrar at National Day Calendar proclaimed National Black Bear Day to be observed annually beginning in 2018.