It's Wednesday

It's Wednesday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is September 12th, the 256th day of 2012. There are 110 days left in the year.

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Crosby reports no health issues after workouts.

Gretzky gets to play in Russia with Messier, Dryden.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Country music legend George Jones is 81; actor Joe "Joey Pants" Pantoliano (The Sopranos, Risky Business, The Matrix) is 61; actor Paul Walker (The Fast and the Furious movies) is 39; singer and Oscar-winning actress (Dreamgirls) Jennifer Hudson is 31.

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Dick Patrick, Bob Chase/Wallenstein to Receive 2012 Lester Patrick Trophy Awards to be Presented at U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony NEW YORK, New York – Two longtime pillars of the American hockey community, Washington Capitals executiveDick Patrick and Fort Wayne Komets broadcaster Bob Chase/Wallenstein have been named recipients of the 2012 Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. The award, one of the most prestigious in hockey, was presented to the National Hockey League by the New York Rangers in 1966. It honors the memory of Lester Patrick, who spent 50 years in hockey as a player, coach and general manager and was a pioneer in the sport's development. The recipients will be honored during the annual U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction celebration in Dallas on Oct. 15. A grandson of Lester Patrick and son of former Rangers player and coach Muzz Patrick, Dick Patrick has carried on the unparalleled tradition of franchise building long established by America's first hockey family. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, he grew up in the United States, played college hockey at Dartmouth and earned his law degree from American University. Since 1982-83, he has served as president of the Washington Capitals. It is no coincidence that the franchise never qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in its eight seasons before Patrick's arrival and has participated in the postseason in 23 of the 29 seasons since – including its 1998 trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Caps owner Ted Leonsis credits Patrick with bringing him into the world of ice hockey in 1999. They are among the founders of the group that, in 2010, became Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns the Capitals, the Washington Wizards of the NBA and the Washington Mystics of the WNBA and operates Verizon Center. Patrick spearheaded construction of the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, the Caps' state-of-the-art training facility that also is home to local youth hockey programs. As vice chairman and chief operating officer of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Patrick oversees upgrades and improvements to Verizon Center geared toward enhancing fan experience; and was instrumental in working out the long-term contract to which the club signed star forward Alex Ovechkin. A legendary and pioneering broadcaster for radio station WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Bob Chase/Wallenstein this season will work his 60th season of Fort Wayne Komets hockey. The native of Negaunee, Michigan, arrived at WOWO in 1953 and began calling games for what then was a second-year franchise. He has been a fixture in their booth ever since, calling their Central Hockey League championship victory last spring. During his six decades at WOWO, Chase/Wallenstein did it all – including serve as sports director and marketing and promotions director. In addition to doing play-by-play of Komets games, he hosted an on-air show during which he interviewed celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley and he called the famed 1954 Milan High School run to the Indiana state championship that was immortalized in the movie "Hoosiers." Renowned hockey play-by-play man Mike Emrick credits having met Chase/Wallenstein while in college with inspiring his decision to make broadcasting his career. Tickets to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Dinner & Ceremony are available by visitingUSHockeyHallofFame.com or calling Kevin Couture at 719.538.1184. Release Text Courtesy of the National Hockey League 2012-13 USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine College Polls Schedule Announced Women's and Men's Preseason Polls to be Released Sept. 18 and 24 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey today announced the schedule for the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's and Women's College Hockey Polls for the 2012-13 season. The first polls of the year will include preseason editions, with the women's version released next Tuesday (Sept. 18) and the men's preseason poll to follow on Sept. 24. With few exceptions, the men's poll will then be released each Monday, while the women's poll will be available each Tuesday. Polls will be published online at usahockey.com and usatoday.com, as well as in print editions ofUSA Today. The USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine College Hockey Polls are conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. They include input from coaches and journalists representing each of the five NCAA Division I men's ice hockey conferences and the four NCAA Division I women's ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey. The men's poll is entering its 18th year after the first poll was distributed at the start of the 1995-96 season, while the women's poll enters its 16th year, beginning in 1997-98. NOTES: The men's poll will take a one-week hiatus following the Sept. 24 preseason poll, before returning Oct. 8. The poll will then be released every Monday through the national championship, with the exception of Dec. 24. Also, the Dec. 31 poll will be released on Tuesday, Jan. 1 ... The women's poll will be distributed each Tuesday beginning Sept. 18 until the conclusion of the season on March 24, with the exception of a two-week hiatus following the Dec. 18 poll, returning Jan. 8.

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Mitt Romney is aiming to go on the offensive. [It's HIS turn to get picked up by the owner of a pizza shop.]

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Fan Blog: Grey Cup train a traveling history lesson.

Ultimate Replay: Week 11.

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

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A guy on the social news website Reddit has posted a photo of some really old fake cheese. The man and his mom were going through boxes from their last move -- in 1985 -- and found two wrapped slices of American, looking more like an eighth-grader's science project than actual food.

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Chamblin even-keeled as rookie head coach.

5-5 Saskatchewan's next action is this coming Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm EDT at 6-4 Montreal. Catch the game on 620 CKRM with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri calling the action. 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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One of Queen Elizabeth's beloved corgis has died. Monty the Corgi passed away recently at the age of 91 (in dog years; 13 in human years). Though Buckingham Palace is not revealing how or even when the corgi died, many dog experts are suggesting it was old age.

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Tampa, FL. -- Tampa Bay RB Doug Martin turned in an outstanding regular-season debut on Sunday in the win over Carolina, and his efforts have earned him a spot in the first Rookie of the Week voting on NFL.com this season.

Read the rest here.

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How high are expectations for the iPhone 5? Pent-up demand for the product is so high that Apple may sell 10 million new iPhones by the end of September, at least according to one analyst.

... Apple announces the new iPhone today (Wednesday).

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Jimmy looks around his classroom.

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Let's see, what's on the agenda for today....washing dishes (still) and taking Jimmy to school. How 'bout you?

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Baltimore, MD. -- Joe Maddon smiled after Tuesday night's 9-2 loss to the Orioles. What else could he do?

"It's in the trash can," said the manager about a game that will not go down as one of the Rays' better efforts this season. "We did not play well at all. We did not pitch well. We didn't play well. We didn't swing the bats. We just had a bad day. Bully for them. It's about winning the series, so we have to come back out tomorrow and play our game."

Read the rest here.

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A man was stuck overnight in a Peruvian movie theater after falling asleep. The man nodded off about halfway through the film. He was trapped until 7 AM the following day when the doors were unlocked and he was rescued.

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Denver, CO.-- It was a far cry from a pitchers' duel and Giants starter Madison Bumgarner didn't stick around long enough to figure in the decision Tuesday, but the 23-year-old southpaw had a decisive impact on the Giants' 9-8 win over the Rockies to even the series at one game each.

The victory, coupled with the Dodgers' loss to the D-backs, increased the Giants' National League West lead to six games.

Read the rest here.

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TMZ reported Tuesday that Simon Cowell has made his X Factor host decision -- and it's Khloe Kardashian. All that's needed is for FOX to sign off on Simon's choice.

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Today in Elvis History

1960 - Elvis Presley and Juliet Prowse attended a special showing of "G.I. Blues" for theater owners. Prowse was his co-star in the movie.

1962 - Production began on the Elvis Presley film "Easy Come, Easy Go."

1977 - The Elvis Presley single "Way Down" was certified gold by the RIAA.

1980 - An in-depth report on the death of Elvis Presley aired on ABC-TV’s "20/20". It raised so many unanswered questions that the official case concerning Elvis’ death was reopened.

2000 - The Elvis Presley boxed set "Peace in the Valley - The Complete Gospel Recordings" was released.

2003 - Lisa Marie Presley performed on "The Ellen Degeneres Show."

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The first practical typewriter was sold to customers on this date in 1873.

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Today in Beatles History:

1966 - The Beatles received a gold record for "Yellow Submarine."

1977 - James Louis McCartney was born. He is the third child of Paul McCartney.

2005 - Paul McCartney released the album "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard."

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The 1996 Will Smith film Independence Day will be re-released next year -- in 3D. And there's still talk in Hollywood of filming a couple of back-to-back sequels.

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Today in Sports History:

1979 - Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox became the first American League player to get 3,000 career hits and 400 career home runs.

1984 - Michael Jordan signed a seven-year contract to play basketball with the Chicago Bulls.

1984 - Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets set a rookie strikeout record with his 251st strikeout of the season.

2002 - A judge announced that a jury would have to decide who would get the ball that Barry Bonds hit for his record 73rd home run. The ownership of the ball, with an estimated value of $1 million, was being disputed between two men that had been in the bleachers.

2006 - Rick DiPietro (New York Islanders) signed a 15-year contract worth $67.5 million.

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The last episode of "Leave it to Beaver" was aired on this date in 1963. The show had debuted on October 4, 1957.

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Coming up:

Tonight --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles 7:05pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies -- 8:40pm EDT

Thursday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles 12:35pm EDT

Friday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees 7:05pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks 9:40pm EDT

Saturday --

Nascar Nationwide Series -- Dollar General 300 powered by Coca-Cola at Chicagoland Speedway 3:00pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees 4:05pm EDT

Empire South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors vs Florida Eels 5:15pm EDT

EJHL South -- Tampa Bay Juniors vs Florida Eels 8:00pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks 8:10pm EDT

IZOD Indy Car Series -- Mav TV American Real 500 at Fontana, California 8:30pm EDT

Sunday --

Empire South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Florida Eels 9:00am EDT

EJHL South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Florida Eels 11:30am EDT

CFL Football -- Saskatchewan Roughriders at Montreal Alouettes 1:00pm EDT

NFL Football -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Giants 1:00pm EDT

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway 1:00pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees 1:05pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks 4:10pm 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!