“The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down… of the big lake they called “Gitche Gumee.” The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead… when the skies of November turn gloomy.”– Gordon Lightfoot

The Edmund Fitzgerald embarked from Superior, Wisconsin this afternoon in 1975. The Great Lakes freighter was legendary for its size and dependability in bringing taconite ore products from Duluth, MN to Detroit and Toledo. A brutal winter storm caused the ship to sink the next day, killing all 29 of her crew. None of the bodies were ever found.

Mary Jane Kelly was murdered this night in London in 1888, the fifth and final victim of Jack the Ripper.

Freddy Krueger first hit movie screens today in 1984, with the release of “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”

I’ve yet to see today’s release of “Skyfall,” but it was five years ago today that Javier Bardem played another pretty spooky bad guy in, “No Country For Old Men.”

Stieg Larsson died today in 2004 of a heart attack at just 50 years old after walking up seven flights of stairs to his office because the lift was out of service. Larsson’s trilogy, starring Lizbeth Salender was published after his death and has sold over 70 million copies.

Yeah, he looked like John Hughes, but his material was just a wee bit darker…

The first issue of Rolling Stone magazine hit newsstands today in 1967. John Lennon was on the cover.

— Bill Hubbell

The Russians killed James Bond today in 1925.

Sidney Reilly, the first “Super Spy” of the 20th century, known as the “Ace of Spies,” was killed by the secret police of the Soviet Union. The best guess is that Reilly was born Georgi Rosenblum, in the Russian Empire. Arrested by the Soviet secret police before his 20th birthday, Reilly then changed his identity and set out to sea for a life of adventure, eventually being employed by Scotland Yard, the British Secret Service and the SIS. After his capture and death, the London Evening Standard ran a serial of his exploits and Ian Fleming would later use him as the model for James Bond.

Today in 1988 Kylie Minogue’s version of, “The Loco-Motion“ hit #1 on the Billboard charts, making it the first song to reach #1 three different times, by three different artists. Little Eva sang the original in 1962 and Grand Funk Railroad covered it in 1974. For our money, it’s not even a good song, but we like Grand Funk Railroad’s version the best.

George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer today in 1994 to become the oldest Heavyweight Champion at 45 years old.

Today in 1996, the American League Rookie of the Year went to a 22-year old Derek Jeter.

Elton John released, “Madman Across the Water” today in 1971. Try to name an album with a better 1st and 2nd track than “Tiny Dancer” and “Levon”. You probably didn’t know that “Tiny Dancer” peaked at #41 on the Billboard charts, never even making it to Casey Kasem-land.

Today in 1999 saw the release of Al Pacino’s last truly great movie, “The Insider.” Pacino played Lowell Bergman, a 60 Minutes producer who was doing a story on big tobacco whistle blower Jeffrey Wigand, who was played by Russell Crowe. This is a fantastic scene that happens in newsrooms around the world, big and small, almost every day. Not with this much at play obviously, but at some level. The movie is filled with great scenes, but this one was my favorite.

Bryan Adams turns 53 today. Ryan Adams turns 37. Today in 1984, Bryan released, “Reckless.” On November 4, 2003, Ryan released, “Rock N Roll.”

Birthday showdown:

Reckless: Heaven (10 pts), Summer of ’69 (10 pts), One Night Love Affair (9 pts), Run to You (5 pts), Somebody (6 pts), She’s Only Happy When She’s Dancin’ (5 pts), Kids Wanna Rock (7 pts), It’s Only Love (w Tina Turner, 5 pts)

Rock N Roll: 1974 (5 pts), Wish You Were Here (8 pts), So Alive (9 pts), Burning Photographs (10 pts), Rock ‘N Roll (5 pts), Anybody Wanna Take Me Home (10 pts), Do Miss America (9 pts), Note to Self: Don’t Die (w Parker Posey, 4 pts)

Both fantastic albums, but I have Ryan winning 60-57. Actually, I have to dock Ryan 3 points for jumping the crowd once at a fan who kept yelling for him to play a Bryan Adams song, and then he refused to continue until the fan was escorted out. Lighten up Francis.

For the very first time tonight in 1971 at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota, Al Dvorin walked on stage, grabbed the microphone and said, “Elvis has left the building.”

— Bill Hubbell

With apologies to Knute Rockne and Herb Brooks, the following remains the greatest pre-game speech ever:

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition.
And gentlemen in England now abed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s Day.”

Of course, it wasn’t ever actually given, it’s taken from Shakespeare’s play, “Henry V,” and it’s Henry giving a speech to the troops as they get ready to take on the French in “The Battle of Agincourt,” on October 25, 1415. (It probably didn’t hurt Kenneth Branagh’s chances that he had a young Batman on his side.)

Michael Myers hit the big screen today in 1978 in a movie that scared the crap out of the nation. “Halloween” was about a 6-year old who stabbed his sister to death on Halloween night in 1963 and then escapes the psych ward 15 years later and returns to his home town to stalk the local teenagers. Nobody ever looked at goalie masks the same way again.

The Mary Tyler Moore show hit its creative peak today in 1975 with the episode, “Chuckles Bites the Dust”. Ted Baxter was forced to turn down the job of grand marshal for a circus parade and is replaced by Chuckles the Clown. Chuckles is then killed at the parade by an elephant. The news-staff at WJM-TV can’t stop making jokes about the death, much to Mary’s horror. At the funeral, things are reversed and it’s Mary who can’t stop laughing.

Ok, it wasn’t quite Agincourt, but the U.S. Marines hit the shores of Grenada today in 1983, beginning Operation Urgent Fury.

Today in 1960, 17-year old Keith Richards ran into former schoolmate Mick Jagger at a train station in London. Richards noticed some R&B albums tucked under Jagger’s arm and the two started chatting about music. They soon started a group called Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. Four years to the day and they made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show as The Rolling Stones. The Stones caused such a ruckus that Sullivan swore they would never be on again. They were on five more times.

Today in 1968 the Jimi Hendrix Experience released “Electric Ladyland.” The album was well received, but since Hendrix died at 27, the album has taken on mythical status since.

Today in 1990, “Cheers” aired its 200th episode, in it Norm tried to save the Hungry Heifer from going out of business.

In a very strange, sad story, today in 1999 Payne Stewart and five others were killed when the private plane they were on slowly lost cabin pressure. All aboard died of hypoxia and the plane continued to fly on autopilot. It finally ran out of gas and crashed in a field near Aberdeen, South Dakota. Stewart had bested Phil Mickelson to win his second U.S. Open just a few months earlier.

— Bill Hubbell

Talk about a game changer. It was today in 2001 that Apple introduced the i-Pod. It was probably the death knell for many things: record stores, albums, independent radio and on and on. Nobody misses cds or buying an entire album for one song you loved, but everyone misses hanging out in record stores. At least a little, right?

Today in 1970 a man named Gary Gabelich drove a car called, The Blue Flame, 622 miles per hour, setting a land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The car ran on natural gas, was rocket powered and always looked very bad ass near the front of, “The Guinness Book of World Records.”

In terms of going fast, not a lot did it better than Dale Earnhardt, who tied Richard Petty’s mark of 7 Nascar season titles today in 1994. It would be the last title for, “The Intimidator,” but he would finally win his Daytona 500 in 1998.

“Dumbo” hit screens today in 1941. Disney made the movie to make up for huge losses from “Fantasia,” and it worked, Dumbo was a huge hit and along with “Snow White,” was the only pre-1943 Disney film to turn a profit. “Dumbo ” was slated to be on the cover of TIME in early December, but was knocked off when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

Speaking of Dumbo, it was today in 2004 when Ashlee Simpson walked off the stage at Saturday Night Live when the wrong voice track started playing behind her.

1992 saw two very different movies come out today. George Strait starred in his one and only movie as Dusty Chandler in, “Pure Country,” which is one of those movies that people who love it, LOVE it. If nothing else it was the big  screen debut of Kyle Chandler.

“Let me tell you what ‘Like a Virgin’ is about. It’s all about a girl who digs a guy with a big dick. The entire song. It’s a metaphor for big dicks.”

Right from that opening line on, it was clear that “Reservoir Dogs” was going to be something completely different. Few writer/directors have shot to stardom as fast as Quentin Tarantino did with the release of this slick, fast talking heist flick that’s been borrowed from a million times since its release.

About as far away as you can get from “Reservoir Dogs” was a movie that came out today in 1998. “Life Is Beautiful” has been beaten up by some cold-hearted folks over the years, but like “Reservoir Dogs,” it stands as an all-time classic. Roberto Benigni won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a young Italian man who falls in love, gets married and has a son and then does his best to shield his wife and child from terrors of Nazi Germany.

Joe Carter become just the second player to end the World Series with a home run today in 1993.

— Bill Hubbell

Rolling Stone’s review said simply, “It’s the album we’ve all been waiting for – that is, if we were all Tom Petty fans, which we would be if there were any justice in the world”.

“Damn the Torpedos” was released today in 1979. It was the third album from the band from Gainesville, Florida and the first one with producer Jimmy Iovine on board. Five stars later from Rolling Stone and AllMusic and the Heartbreakers were no longer that band that was gonna be great– they were great. The album was a smash success, hitting number two on the album charts and producing top 10 hits, “Don’t Do Me Like That,” and “Refugee.” My personal favorite was always this one. For anyone who’s ever sat on a roof with a girl he liked, or sat anywhere for that matter, it’s an all-time classic.

The very same day in 1979 an unknown Minneapolis artist came out with his second album that proved he was going to be a game changer as well. Like Petty, he wouldn’t knock the door down until album three, but this one has some classics, particularly, “I Wanna Be Your Lover.” Seriously, what 21-year old has the stones to have this be their album cover?

A far better second album to be sure than Prince’s second effort came out today in 1993. “Ten” was a staggering debut for Pearl Jam, but they gave quick notice that they weren’t going to be one-album wonders. Pearl Jam decided to scale back their commercial push for “Vs.” but that didn’t stop it from selling more copies in its first week than any album ever. “Go,” “Animal,” “Glorified G,” “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town,” all live in the “classic Pearl Jam” category, but this is the song that became iconic.

It’s tough to say which scene I liked better when I first saw it from these two that were released today. The first one was like watching really entertaining idiots making a home movie and the second one is the most underrated of all the great movies set in Boston in the last 20 years.

“Clerks” came out today in 1994.

“Gone Baby Gone” came out today in 2007.

Believe it or not the 70’s had better luck with October 19 releases, at least according to the Oscars.

Today in 1973, “The Way We Were” came out and Barbara Streisand was nominated for Best Actress and the titular song won the Oscar.

1977 saw the release of “Looking for Mr. Goodbar,” Tuesday Weld was nominated as Best Supporting Actress and Diane Keaton won a slew of awards as the lead, a school teacher by day who spends her nights in New York bars looking for depraved sex and drugs. The movie also introduced Richard Gere to the silver screen.

Today in 1979 not only saw the release of those two albums above, but also “…And Justice For All”  which got  Al Pacino up for Best Actor.

It was today in 2004 that Curt Schilling put himself in the “Man Hall of Fame” by pitching through an ankle injury to beat the Yankees and tie the ALCS at three games apiece.

Today in 1936 was the first time the AP College football poll ever came out– Minnesota was ranked number one.

— Bill Hubbell