It's Friday

It's Friday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is October 19th, the 293rd day of 2012. There are 73 days left in the year.

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CBA talks not as dire as it appears.

Claude Julien to coach youth hockey.

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

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Today's Birthdays: John Lithgow (3rd Rock from the Sun) is 67; Ty Pennington (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) is 48; Jon Favreau (Iron Man) is 46; Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking, Up In The Air) is 35.

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U.S. Junior Select Team Revealed for 2012 World Junior A Challenge

Team USA to compete Nov. 5-11 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia



COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The U.S. Junior Select Team that will compete in the 2012 World Junior A Challenge was announced today. The under-20 tournament takes place Nov. 5-11 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Team USA has won three of the last four tournaments (2008-10) and placed third in 2011. Twenty-one of the 22 players are from the United States Hockey League. The Eastern Junior Hockey League has one representative. Six players competed in the inaugural CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game Sept. 29 in Buffalo, N.Y. They include goaltender Eamon McAdam (Perkasie, Pa.); defensemen Ian McCoshen (Hudson, Wis.) and Mike Downing (Canton, Mich.); and forwards Taylor Cammarata (Plymouth, Minn.), Ryan Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass.) and Luke Johnson (Grand Forks, N.D.). Four were selected in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Robbie Baillargeon (Brewster, Mass.) was picked by Ottawa (5th rd., 136th ovr.), while Vincent Hinostroza (Bartlett, Ill.) went to Chicago (6th rd., 169th ovr.), Jaccob Slavin (Erie, Colo.) was chosen by Carolina (4th rd., 120th ovr.) and Zach Stepan (Hastings, Minn.) was drafted by Nashville (4th rd., 112th ovr.). Austin Cangelosi (Estero, Fla.), Hinostroza and McCoshen were members of the 2011 U.S. Junior Select Team that took third at the World Junior A Challenge in Langley, B.C. For a complete roster click here. The U.S. faces Canada West in an exhibition game on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. ADT. Tournament play gets underway Nov. 5 vs. Canada East at 7:30 p.m. AST. The complete schedule is listed below. FASTHockey.com will provide live streaming coverage for all tournament games. Those interested in watching should sign up for a free account in advance at USAHockey.FASTHockey.com. NOTES: The World Junior A Challenge is in its seventh year and the United States will be competing for the sixth time. The 2012 field includes Canada East, Canada West, Czech Republic, Russia and Switzerland. The official event website is available here ... The U.S. roster includes 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders. The 22 players represent 11 states. Six players hail from Minnesota, while Michigan has five players and Illinois and Massachusetts have two apiece. Other states include Alaska, Colorado, Florida, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin ... Nine USHL teams are represented. Leading the way are the Waterloo Black Hawks, who have six players on the roster, and the Green Bay Gamblers, who have three ... Brett Larson (Sioux City, Iowa), head coach and general manager of the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers, is the the head coach for the 2012 U.S. Junior Select Team ... The assistant coaches are RJ Enga (Chicago, Ill.) and Derek Lalonde (Green Bay, Wis.). Enga is an assistant coach for the USHL's Chicago Steel, while Lalonde is the head coach of the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers. 2012 World Junior A ChallengeNov. 5-11 • Yarmouth, N.S. • Mariners Centre Date Opponent Venue Time Sat., Nov. 3 Canada West (exhibition) Barrington Municipal Arena 7 p.m. ADT Mon., Nov. 5 Canada East Mariners Centre 7:30 p.m. AST Tues., Nov. 6 Switzerland Mariners Centre 7:30 p.m. AST Thurs., Nov. 8 Quarterfinals Mariners Centre 4/7:30 p.m. AST Fri., Nov. 9 Semifinals Mariners Centre 4/7:30 p.m. AST Sat., Nov. 10 5th-Place/Bronze Medal Game Mariners Centre 2/7:30 p.m. AST Sun., Nov. 11 Gold Medal Game Mariners Centre 7 p.m. AST

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A woman gave birth on the Philadelphia subway. [If that had been an airline, they would have made her pay for an extra ticket.]

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Corvallis, OR — Oregon State junior quarterback Cody Vaz has been selected as this week's Manning Award Player of the Week. In the first nomination of his career, Vaz earned the third most-ever votes to claim the win over seven other Manning Award Stars of the Week in the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Facebook contest and the ESPN Capital One Impact Performance of the Week.

Read the rest here.

No. 8 AP & BCS/No. 11 USA Today Oregon State (5-0, 3-0 in Pac-12) returns home tomorrow to host the Utah Utes (2-4, 0-3). The game will kickoff at 7:36 p.m. PDT and air on 1190 KEX and the Beaver Sports Network. ESPN2 has TV coverage(check your local listings) and the game can be seen online at ESPN3.com.

Visit the Oregon State Athletics department official web site.

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The Federal Trade Commission says more than 217 million phone numbers are now on the national Do Not Call Registry.

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Argos announce Ray to start Friday versus Bombers.

Campbell: Esks not intimated by impressive Lions.

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

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Saturday is Sweetest Day. Do something nice for someone today, something that will make him or her say, "Oh, that's so sweet!"

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VANSTONE: Short yardage made easier.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are in action tomorrow against the Montreal Alouettes. Game time at Mosaic Stadium in Regina is set for 3:30pm EDT. Hear the game on 620 CKRM and the Rider Radio Network, with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri calling the action. Listen link is one the left side of this blog. Watch the game 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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Starbucks is known for delicious, high-quality, slightly overpriced coffees. Dunkin' Donuts is known for delicious, high-quality, average priced coffees. And now America has chosen a favorite. In a survey, 43% chose Starbucks coffee and 36% chose Dunkin'.

... 21% chose "I don't like drinking corporate lifeblood."

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Tampa, FL. —Saints QB Drew Brees puts up big numbers against almost every defense he faces, but that doesn't mean it's easy, and he sees a pretty significant challenge in the Bucs' upgraded crew.

Read the rest here.

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A man who completed the Baltimore Marathon in 2 hours, 46 minutes and 58 seconds is hoping to land in the book of Guinness Book of World Records. Why? Because he ran all 26.2 miles on Saturday in flip-flips.

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Jimmy likes to play in the kitchen.

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Let's see, what's on the agenda for today....The Johnny Blog and taking care of my family. How 'bout you?

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ALDS:  New York wins series 3-2.

NLDS: St. Louis wins series 3-2. 


American League Championship Series
Game Matchup                         Day Date Time (ET)TV
Gm 1 Detroit  4 @ New York 2 (12 innings) 
Gm 2 Detroit 3 @ New York 0
Gm 3 New York 1 @ Detroit 2
Gm 4 New York  1@ Detroit 8 Detroit wins series 4-0
All games on ESPN Radio

National League Championship Series 
Game Matchup                                 Day Date Time (ET)TV
Gm 1 St. Louis 6 @ San Francisco 4
Gm 2 St. Louis  1 @ San Francisco 7
Gm 3 San Francisco 1 @ St. Louis 2
Gm 4 San Francisco 3 @ St. Louis 8 St. Louis leads series 3-1
Gm 5 San Francisco @ St. Louis Fri Oct. 19 8:00 PM FOX
Gm 6* St. Louis @ San Francisco Sun Oct. 21 7:30 PM FOX
Gm 7* St. Louis @ San Francisco Mon Oct. 22 8:00 PM FOX
* - If necessary

2012 World Series
Game Matchup        Day Date Time(ET)TV
Gm 1 Detroit @ NLC Wed Oct. 24 TBD FOX
Gm 2 Detroit @ NLC Thu Oct. 25 TBD FOX
Gm 3 NLC @ Detroit Sat Oct. 27 TBD FOX
Gm 4 NLC @ Detroit Sun Oct. 28 TBD      FOX
Gm 5* NLC @ Detroit Mon Oct. 29 TBD FOX
Gm 6* Detroit @ NLC Wed Oct. 31 TBD   FOX
Gm 7* Detroit @ NLC Thu Nov. 1 TBD  FOX
* - If necessary

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IN THEATERS - Alex Cross (PG-13) and Paranormal Activity 4 (R).

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St Louis, MO. -- The Giants have rallied around each other with their "We will see you tomorrow" motto, reflecting their desire to keep playing together.

But they've virtually exhausted their allotment of tomorrows.

Having accomplished the improbable once this postseason, the Giants face the challenge of repeating that feat to continue their October escapades. Their 8-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in Thursday night's Game 4 of the National League Championship Series saddled them with a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven showdown.

Read the rest here.

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Research (a UK study) has found that David and Joanne are the unluckiest names and that people with those names are most likely to suffer personal injury. The study looked at trends amongst personal injury claims, and looked into the most common names, ages and occupations of personal injury claimants.

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Today in Elvis History

1968 - Elvis Presley's single "A Little Less Conversation" hit #69 in the U.S.

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Having a baby isn't hilarious until long after the labor pains have faded. What comes out of your mouth while in labor is way beyond your control, which is why the BabyCenter website asked moms about the funniest thing said during labor and delivery. One mom said: "At one point when I was screaming the nurse said, 'Honey, you're going to scare the other moms if you keep screaming.' I yelled back, 'They should be scared!'"

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Today in Beatles History:

1961 - The Beatles and Gerry & the Pacemakers play together as one group, the Beatmakers, at Litherland Town Hall.

1965 - The Beatles film "Help!" opened in Sweden.

1998 - George Martin, "The Fifth Beatle," retired from the music business.

2004 - Yoko Ono's album "Everyman Everywoman" was released.

2010 - George Harrison's "Collaborations" was released.

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In the U.S., The Stamp Act Congress met on this date in 1765 and drew up a declaration of rights and liberties.

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Today in Sports History:

1933 -  Basketball was introduced to the 1936 Olympic Games by the Berlin Organization Committee.

1998 - Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson got his boxing license back after he had lost it for biting Evander Holyfield's ear during a fight.

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In London on this date in 2003, magician David Blaine emerged from a clear plastic box that had been suspended by a crane over the banks of the Thames River. He survived only on water for 44 days. Blaine had entered the box on September 5.

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Coming up --

Friday --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals 8:00pm EDT

Saturday --

Nascar Nationwide Series -- Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway 3:00pm EDT

CFL Football -- Saskatchewan Roughriders vs Montreal Alouettes 3:30pm EDT

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

EJHL South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors vs Palm Beach Hawks 8:00pm EDT

College Football -- Oregon State Beavers vs Utah Utes 10:30pm EDT

Sunday --

Empire South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Florida Junior Blades 12:00pm EDT

EJHL South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors vs Palm Beach Hawks 12:15pm EDT

NFL Football -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New Orleans Saints 1:00pm EDT

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway 1:00pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals 7:30pm EDT (if necessary)

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