It's Thursday

It's Thursday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is August 9th, the 222nd day of 2012. There are 144 days left in the year.

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Full-strength Penguins out to erase playoff failure.

Gretzky dealt 24 years ago: His 24 unbreakable marks.

Visit the official league website, http://www.nhl.com/.

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Today's Birthdays: Actress Melanie Griffith is 55; TV host Hoda Kotb is 48; actress Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) is 44; actress Anna Kendrick (The Twilight Saga, 50/50) is 27.

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U.S. Under-17 Select Team Tops Germany, 6-2,
in Five Nations Tournament Opener

Poganski, Connor Net Two Goals in Win

CHOMUTOV, Czech Republic – Austin Poganski (St. Cloud, Minn.) and Kyle Connor (Shelby Township, Mich.) scored two goals each as the U.S. Under-17 Select Team defeated Germany, 6-2, in the first preliminary-round game of the 2012 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament.

"We wanted to come out strong and make sure we got pressure on their defense," said Barry Smith, head coach of the U.S. Under-17 Select Team. "I was very happy with our performance tonight. It was a good first game and we'll look ahead to the next one."

Team USA opened the scoring just 2:15 into the game. Cullen Munson (Edina, Minn.) caught the German defense off-guard when he collected a pass from Shane Gersich (Chaska, Minn.) and slammed a shot beneath the German goalie's pads. Less than a minute later, Taylor Vickerman (Kennewick, Wa.) skated down the right side of the ice and blasted a shot past the glove of the German netminder to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead.

In the second period, Germany cut the U.S. lead in half just 1:15 into the period, but Poganski responded for the U.S., scoring a pair of goals in less than a minute. The first came off an odd-man rush, as he was able to bury a rebound in front of the net. He scored his second goal when he received a pass from the corner from Ryan Donato (Scituate, Mass.) and zipped it along the ice under the stick of the German goaltender.

Despite a late second period goal by Germany, Connor netted two goals late in the third to secure the win.

U.S. goaltender Chris Birdsall (Glen Rock, N.J.) was flawless in two of the three periods, posting 15 saves en route to the victory.

Notes: Austin Poganski was named U.S. Player of the Game ... For the complete U.S. Under-17 Select Team roster, click here ... Follow @USAHockey and @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news from the tournament ... The 2012 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament includes teams from the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United States ... Barry Smith (Whitefish, Mont.) serves as head coach, while Pat Mikesch (Hancock, Mich.) fills the role of assistant coach for the 2012 U.S. Under-17 Select team ... The 20 players on the U.S. roster represent 12 different states. Minnesota leads the way with five players, while Michigan and Illinois each have three.

Game Summary

Scoring By Period
1 2 3 Total
USA 2 2 2 6
GER 0 2 0 2
First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Munson (Gersich), 2:15; 2, USA, Vickerman (Gersich, Nardella), 2:48. Penalties: None.

Second Period - Scoring: 3, GER, Manuel (Rogl), 1:20 (pp); 4, USA, Poganski (Donato, Booth), 8:50; 5, USA, Poganski, (Gersich), 9:45; 6, GER, Raiter (Eder, Quass), 10:12; Penalties: USA, Dudek (tripping), 1:22; GER, Stern (tripping), 2:27; USA, Ford (kneeing), 10:46; USA, Walker (delaying the game), 11:52; GER, Bockmann (holding), 17:04.

Third Period - Scoring: 7, USA, Connor (Pavelek, Dougherty), 10:37; 8, USA, Connor (Fortunato, Siebenaler), 14:07. Penalties: GER, Stettmer (tripping), 0:18; GER, Stern (hitting from behind), 3:28; USA, Siebenaler (interference), 5:40; GER, Rogl (tripping), 8:36; USA, Walker (roughing), 11:45; GER, Stocker (slashing), 14:58.

Shots By Period
1 2 3 Total
USA 8 23 18 49
GER 4 10 3 17

Goaltenders (SV/SH) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Birdsall 60:00 4-4 8-10 3-3 15-17
GER, Konstantin 49:45 6-8 12-14 16-18 34-40
GER, Proska 10:15 -- 9-9 -- 9-9

Power Play: USA, 0-7; GER, 1-5
Penalties: USA, 5-10; GER, 7-24

Team USA 2012 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament Schedule
August 7-11 - Czech Republic

Date Opponent Time (Local/EDT)

Location/Result

Sun., Aug. 5 Czech Republic* 5:00 p.m. / 11:00 a.m. W, 6-2
Wed., Aug. 8 Germany 6:00 p.m. / 12:00 p.m. W, 6-2
Thurs., Aug. 9 Switzerland 6:00 p.m. / 12:00 p.m. Chomutov
Fri., Aug. 10 Czech Republic 6:00 p.m. / 12:00 p.m. Chomutov
Sat., Aug. 11 Slovakia 12:00 p.m. / 6:00 a.m. Chomutov
*Pre-tournament game

USA Bests Finland, 5-2, at 2012 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp

Five Players Tallied Goals for Team USA

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Team USA received goals from three of its four forward lines and never trailed in its 5-2 win over Finland here today at Herb Brooks Arena at the 2012 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp. Stefan Noesen (Plano, Texas) had a goal and an assist and Tyler Biggs (Binghamton, N.Y.) had a pair of assists.

"I was really pleased the way we played the second half of the game," said Phil Housley, head coach of the 2013 U.S. National Junior Team. "I thought early we turned the puck over but we seemed to settle down and we took what was given. We were able to get some really good pressure in the zone and capitalize on some transition goals. Overall I really liked our effort."

Of the 34 players still in camp, 22 dressed in today's game. The group is auditioning for the U.S. National Junior Team that will compete in the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship , Dec. 26, 2012-Jan. 5, 2013, in Ufa, Russia.

Team USA opened the scoring at the 15-minute mark of the first period on Stefan Matteau's (Chicago, Ill.) rebound tally. Biggs and Andrew Welinski (Duluth, Minn.) drew the assists.

Finland evened the score at 1-1 with 1:44 to play in the first period.

Scoring commenced in the latter half of the second period as Team USA lit the lamp at 13:32 and 16:14. Sean Kuraly (Dublin, Ohio) scored his fifth goal in four games by recovering his own blocked shot and wristing it past the goalie from in front. John Gaudreau (Carneys Point, N.J.) made it 3-1 by beating the goalie glove side from the left circle. Shayne Gostisbehere (Margate, Fla.) developed the play, skating from behind the U.S. net and through the neutral zone. Finland cut the USA lead to 3-2 at 18:00.

Team USA sealed the win with goals at 14:59 and 16:04. Nicolas Kerdiles (Irvine, Calif.) cashed in on a scramble in front of the Finland goalie and Noesen forced a turnover deep in Finnish territory before batting in a loose puck.

Starting goalie John Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa.) played 35:11 and stopped 12 of the 13 shots he faced. Garret Sparks (Elmhurst, Ill.) denied nine of 10 shots.

Next, the United States squad will take on Sweden on Thursday, Aug. 9. To conclude the USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp, the U.S. will face Finland on Saturday, Aug. 11.

NOTES: Use the hashtag #njec on Twitter to join the conversation surrounding this week's camp ... The online home for the 2012 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp, including the Team USA roster and online bios, can be found by clicking here ... All games from the 2012 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp are being streamed live and are available on demand at FASTHockey.com ... The 2013 U.S. National Junior Team will be selected in late December following a pre-tournament camp from Dec. 19-23 to be held in Helsinki, Finland ... Phil Housley (South St. Paul, Minn.), head boy's ice hockey coach at Stillwater (Minn.) High School, is the head coach of the 2013 U.S. National Junior Team. He is assisted by Mark Osiecki (Columbus, Ohio), head men's ice hockey coach at Ohio State University and Grant Potulny (Minneapolis, Minn.), assistant men's ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota ... Greg Brown (Scituate, Mass.), assistant men's ice hockey coach coach at Boston College, Joe Exter (Columbus, Ohio), assistant men's ice hockey coach at Ohio State University, Tony Granato (South Hills, Pa.), assistant coach for the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins and Don Lucia (Plymouth, Minn.), head men's ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota are also participating in Lake Placid as camp coaches ... Jim Johannson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), USA Hockey's assistant executive director of hockey operations, is serving as the general manager of Team USA for the fourth consecutive year. Tim Taylor (Guilford, Conn.) is the director of player personnel.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

Finland 1 1 0 2
USA 1 2 2 5

First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, Matteau (Biggs, Welinski), 15:00; 2, FIN, Aaltonen (Maatta), 18:16. Penalties: USA, Noesen (roughing), 0:20; FIN, Armia (hooking), 4:22; FIN, Liedes (high sticking), 9:41; FIN, Ristolainen (tripping), 11:47; USA, Miller (slashing), 19:59.

Second Period – Scoring: 3, USA, Kuraly (Lucia, Noesen), 13:32; 4, USA, Gaudreau (Gostisbehere, Sparks), 16:14; 5, FIN, Aaltonen (Ikonen, Teravainen), 18:00. Penalties: FIN, Lindell (roughing), 15:11; USA, Miller (roughing), 15:11.

Third Period – Scoring: 6, USA, Kerdiles (Biggs), 14:59; 7, USA, Noesen (unassisted), 16:04. Penalties: USA, Bardreau (slashing), 7:51; USA, Kerdiles (roughing), 18:03; FIN, Barkov (roughing), 18:03; USA, Gostisbehere (tripping), 19:01; FIN, Aaltonen (slashing), 19:41; FIN, Liedes (checking from behind), 19:54; FIN, Liedes (game misconduct), 19:54; USA, Murphy (roughing), 19:54.

Shots by Period
1 2 3 Total
Finland 6 9 8 23
USA 8 10 6 24

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Gibson, 35:11 5/6 7/7 0/0 12/13
Gibson, 29:44 0/0 1/2 8/8 9/10
Finland, Ullberg, 60:00 7/8 8/10 4/6 19/24

Power Play: USA 0-3; Finland 0-4
Penalties: USA White 7-14; Finland 8-27

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American Indians sold the Bronx to Jonas Bronck for 400 beads on this date in 1678.

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Week 7 CFL.ca Game Notes.

Stephen: Remembering a wild afternoon at Ivor Wynne.

Visit the leagues' official website, http://www.cfl.ca/.

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A Wisconsin teen put his thumbs on the line Wednesday. Austin Wierschke was defending the texting title he first won last year and is now a two-time champion. Austin competed in New York's Times Square with other teens from across the country. Austin picked up $50,000 for his win.

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Sandro DeAngelis interview.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders look to snap their two-game losing streak when they play at Edmonton against the Eskimos, tomorrow evening. Catch the game on 620 CKRM and the Rider Radio Network, with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri calling the action. Listen link is on the left side of this page. The game can be seen in Canada on TSN and in the U.S. online at ESPN3.com.

Visit the team's official website, http://www.riderville.com/.

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On this date in 1790, the Columbia returned to Boston Harbor after a three-year voyage. It was the first ship to carry the American flag around the world.

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Let's see what we can find under the seat.

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Let's see, what's on the agenda for today....WMEL stuff, washing dishes, having fun with Jimmy and Rays baseball on TV. How 'bout you?

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St. Petersburg, FL. -- Rays manager Joe Maddon said before Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays that he expected things to start going his team's way.

After all, throughout the first half the season, the team's disabled list was crowded and it was just a few games above .500.

Read the rest here.

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Today is Book Lover's Day.

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St. Louis, MO.-- While starter Ryan Vogelsong silenced the Cardinals bats, the Giants' offense quieted the crowd on hand at Busch Stadium on Wednesday night with one of the ugliest losses in recent memory in St. Louis.

San Francisco handed the Cardinals their worst shutout loss at Busch Stadium III with a 15-0 win and gave Vogelsong more than enough support as the right-hander rolled to his Major League-leading 19th quality start.

Read the rest here.

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It's rumored that Mitt Romney's VP announcement could come very soon. [Sarah Palin is said to be waiting by the phone. Not for a call from Mitt Romney -- for a call from anyone.]

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Today in Elvis History

1969 - Elvis Presley's single "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard" hit #35 in the U.S.

2004 - Clay Millican performed a burnout in front of Graceland in the Elvis-themed Dragster. Millican was scheduled to race the car at the upcoming NHRA Mid-South Nationals and the U.S. Nationals.

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When is your favorite time of day to have sex? If you're not one of the 34 percent of Americans who start their day with some frisky action, maybe you should join their ranks. It appears mornings are the most popular time for mattress aerobics for Americans. The usual and mundane evening time is second at 26 percent.

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Today in Beatles History:

1973 - Henry McCullough and Denny Seiwell quit Wings.

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For those of us dreaming of self-driven smart cars, the wait is nearing an end. Google blogged Wednesday that its smart cars have driven over 300,000 miles without a single accident under computer control. Currently, all Google Cars are manned by two drivers in case something goes wrong. The only accidents Google Cars have ever been in involved a human manning the wheel.

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Today in Sports History:

1893 - "Gut Holz" was published. It was America's first bowling magazine.

1936 - Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics. He was the first American to win four medals in one Olympics.

1975 - The New Orleans Superdome was officially opened when the Saints played the Houston Oilers in exhibition football. The new Superdome cost $163 million to build.

1981 - Major league baseball teams resumed play at the conclusion of the first mid-season players’ strike.

1984 - Daley Thompson, of Britain, won his second successive Olympic decathlon.

1988 - Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. The trade was at Gretzky's request. He was sent to the Kings with Mike Krushelnyski and Marty McSorley. Edmonton received Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, three first-round draft picks and cash.

1990 - The NHL approved the sale of the Minnesota North Stars by George and Gordon Gund. The Gunds were granted the rights to a Bay Area team that could begin play in October 1991. The team was the San Jose Sharks.

2000 - Former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin was arrested on a Class B misdemeanor of possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana.

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The host of NBC's "Late Night" is no longer in the running to host the Academy Awards following objections from Disney CEO Robert Iger and executives at ABC. Iger and his ABC cohorts were reportedly leery of the idea of giving Jimmy Fallon such a big platform on their network. Fallon confirmed he's out of the running Wednesday when he said, "It's an honor to be asked by the Academy, but it's not my year."

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Coming up:

Tonight --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays 1:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals 1:45pm EDT

Friday --

NFL Pre-season Football -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins 7:30pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Minnesota Twins 8:10pm EDT

CFL Football -- Saskatchewan Roughriders at Edmonton Eskimos 9:30pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Colorado Rockies 10:35pm EDT

Saturday --

Nascar Nationwide Series -- Glen Zippo 200 at the Glen at Watkins Glen International 2:00pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Colorado Rockies 4:05pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Minnesota Twins 7:10pm EDT

Sunday --

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at The Glen at Watkins Glen International 12:00pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Minnesota Twins 2:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Colorado Rockies 4:05pm EDT

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That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by, I hope that you'll do so tomorrow too. Thanks again!