It's Saturday

It's Saturday. Here's what's happening.

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Today is January 5th, the 5th day of 2013. There are 360 days left in the year.

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NHL, NHLPA look foolish during negotiations.

No full talks in NHL labor fight.

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

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On this date in 1885, the Long Island Railroad Company became the first to offer piggy-back rail service which was the transportation of farm wagons on trains.

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U.S. Women’s National U18 Team Advances to Gold Medal Game with Semifinal Win Over Czech Republic Team USA posts its fourth-straight shutout victory of the tournament HEINOLA, Finland  - The U.S. Women’s National Under-18 Team earned a trip to the gold-medal game of the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation U18 Women’s World Championship by defeating the Czech Republic, 10-0, tonight in a semifinal matchup.  Fourteen U.S. players recorded points in the victory and Alexis Shaw (Troy, Mich.) made 13 stops for her second shutout of the tournament. “I thought the first ten minutes we played a bit nervous and not at our best,” said Jeff Kampersal, head coach of Team USA.  “Around the 10-minute mark the nerves disappeared and we started to move the puck. I thought the Czech team clogged us up pretty good today and they made us make more bad passes then we’ve done all week, but we picked it up when we needed to.” Grace Zarzecki (Chicago, Ill.) got the scoring started for the U.S. after picking up a loose puck in the goal crease area and depositing it into the net at 12:06 of the first period.  Megan Wolfe (Eagan, Minn.) scored with a rocketing slap shot just 54 seconds later to make it, 2-0.  Zarzecki picked up an assist after forcing Czech goalie Kiara Peslarova to direct the puck towards Baylee Wellhausen (Williams Bay, Wis.), who netted a backhander for Team USA’s first of four power-play tallies at 14:59. Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn.) finished scoring in the period with ten seconds left to put the U.S. ahead 4-0 after the opening period. Schipper scored a second-period power–play goal by picking up Menke’s rebound after Menke lifted a Czech player’s stick, stole the puck, and drove the net. Schipper returned the favor later in the period by assisting on Menke’s goal at 17:12.  Cara Piazza (Darien, Ill.) and Pannek picked up their second points of the game on third U.S. goal of the period after Piazza tucked a shot past Czech goalie Barbora Dvorakova, who replaced Peslarova midway through the game.  Shaw had her busiest 20 minutes of the game in the second period, turning away nine shots. In the third period, the U.S. added power-play goals from Dunne and Schipper, and an even-strength tally fromMaliya Rodgers (Minnetonka, Minn.), to account for the 10-0 final. The U.S. will face Canada tomorrow (Jan. 5) at 6:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. EST) in the gold-medal game. The two teams have met in every final since the tournament’s inception in 2008 with the U.S. taking three titles (2008, 2009, and 2011). NOTES: Cara Piazza was named the U.S. Player of the Game … Forwards Amy Menke (1-3--4) and Katherine Schipper  (2-2—4) each contributed four points, while defenseman Jincy Dunne  (1-1—2) and Jennifer Ryan (0-2--2) had two points each … Team USA has outscored its opponents, 35-0, in the tournament and is the only team in the tournament that hasn’t been scored upon … Final stats from today’s game can be viewed here. Game Summary  Scoring by Period 1 2 3 F CZE 0 0 0 0 USA 4 3 3 10 First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Zarzecki (Cameranesi, Hirschy), 10:26; 2, USA, Wolfe (Schipper, Menke), 13:00; 3, USA, Wellhausen (Zarzecki, Ryan), 14:59 (pp); 4, USA, Pannek (Piazza, Cameranesi), 19:50. Penalties: USA, Morin (tripping), 2:01; CZE, Laskova (body checking), 3:33; CZE, Vanisova (body checking), 7:30; USA, Schipper (interference), 9:13; CZE, Vanisova (tripping), 14:38; USA, Schipper (hooking), 15:02; CZE, Ledlova (interference), 17:41. Second Period – Scoring: 5, USA, Schipper (Menke, Wolfe), 6:22 (pp); 6, USA, Menke (Schipper, Dunne), 17:12; 7, USA, Piazza (Laing, Pannek), 19:12. Penalties: CZE, Forejtova (tripping), 5:04; CZE, Walicova (body checking), 9:00; USA, Rodgers (interference), 10:06. Third Period – Scoring: 8, USA, Dunne (Ryan, Zarzecki), 4:31 (pp); 9, USA, Schipper (Menke, Wolfe), 11:30 (pp); 10, USA, Rodgers (Wellhausen, McKenna), 14:24. Penalties: CZE, Pejzlova (high-sticking), 3:38; CZE, Pribylova (tripping), 7:43; CZE, Vopravilova, 10:50. Shots on Goal 1 2 3 Total CZE 1 9 3 13 USA 32 19 25 76 Goaltenders (SV-SH) 1 2 3 Total CZE, Pesalarova, 32:04 28-32 9-10 - 37-42 CZE, Dvorakova, 27:56 - 7-9 22-25 29-34 USA, Shaw, 60:00 1-1 9-9 3-3 13-13 Power play: CZE 0-4; USA, 4-9 Penalties: CZE 9-18; USA, 4-8 2013 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship December 29, 2012 - January 5, 2013 - Heinola & Vierumäki, Finland Date Opponent Location Time (Local/EST) Sat., Dec. 29 Russia* Arena Vierumäki W, 7-0 Sun., Dec. 30 Czech Republic* Arena Heinola W, 10-0 Tues., Jan. 1 Sweden* Arena Heinola W, 8-0 Fri., Jan. 4 Czech Republic (Semifinal) Arena Heinola W, 10-0 Sat., Jan. 5 Canada (Gold Medal Game) Arena Heinola 6:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. EST) * denotes preliminary round competition U.S. National Under-17 Team Drops Canada Quebec, 4-3, in 2013 World Under-17 Challenge Third-Place Game Poganski Tallies Three Goals in Victory DRUMMONDVILLE, Quebec – Austin Poganski (St. Cloud, Minn.) tallied three goals, as the U.S. National Under-17 Team dropped Canada's Team Quebec, 4-3, in the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge third-place game here today at Centre Marcel Dionne. Team USA finishes the tournament with a 4-1-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record. The U.S. also recorded an exhibition victory preceding group play. "We did a good job of working and battling today," said Danton Cole, head coach of the U.S. National Under-17 Team. "It was good to see how the guys would respond after yesterday's game. They showed a lot of pride and character in the win." Quebec struck first at 16:03, jamming the puck past U.S. goaltender Chris Birdsall (Glen Rock, N.J.). A slashing and hooking call were called simultaneously on Quebec at 18:48, giving Team USA a two-man advantage. The Americans converted at 19:43 when Poganski chopped at the loose puck in a scramble in front of the Quebec net. Ryan MacInnis (St. Louis, Mo.) and Louis Belpedio (Skokie, Ill.) collected assists on the play. The two squads entered intermission knotted, 1-1. Poganski staked a one-goal lead for the U.S. at 15:46 of the middle frame. Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich.) assisted on the go-ahead tally. Quebec answered on the power play at 18:37 to send both teams to the locker rooms knotted at two. Team USA regained the lead at 9:52 of the third period off of Poganski's third goal of the contest. The unassisted tally was Poganski's second on the power play. MacInnis made a move to his backhand to double the Team USA lead, 4-2, at 10:37. Ryan Hitchcock (Manhasset, N.Y.) and Johnathan MacLeod (Dracut, Mass.) assisted on the marker. Quebec pulled its netminder in the final minutes and the gamble resulted in a goal with 35 seconds remaining. Team USA would hold on in the final moments and earned third place with a 4-3 victory over Quebec. Birdsall turned aside 26 shots in the win for Team USA, while Alex Bureau made 23 saves in the loss for Quebec. NOTES: Austin Poganski was named Team USA's Player of the Game ... For Team USA's full roster, click here ... The U.S. finished 2-for-6 on the power play, while Quebec went 1-for-6 with the man advantage ... The U.S. has now captured second place five times (1999, 2008, 2011-13) and first place three times (2001-02, 2010) ... For additional coverage, visit USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Facebook page ... The U.S. National Under-17 Team trains with The Hockey IntelliGym, a revolutionary new software program released on October 1, 2010, that trains hockey sense. To learn more, visit USAHockeyIntelliGym.com. GAME SUMMARY Scoring By Period QUE 1 - 1 - 1 - 3 USA 1 - 1 - 2 - 4 First Period - Scoring: 1, QUE, Marois (Delisle-Houde, Hebert), 16:03; 2, USA, Poganski (MacInnis, Belpedio), 19:43, (5-on-3). Penalties: USA, Glover (interference), 8:51; QUE, Richard (slashing), 18:48; QUE, Neill (hooking), 18:48. Second Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Poganski (Larkin), 15:46; 4, QUE, Neill (Bahl, Aube-Kubel), 18:37, (pp). Penalties: QUE, Audette (hooking), 6:58; USA, Larkin (delay-of-game), 10:24; USA, Collins (interference), 12:28; USA, MacLeod (roughing), 16:46. Third Period - Scoring: 5, USA, Poganski (unassisted), 9:52, (pp); 6, USA, MacInnis (Hitchcock, MacLeod), 10:37; 7, QUE, Perron (Aube-Kubel, Bahl), 19:26, (ea). Penalties: USA, Glover (hooking), 0:11; QUE, Carrier (delay-of-game), 8:18; QUE, Pomerleau (tripping), 11:56; QUE, Simard (check-to-head-major), 15:20; QUE, Simard (game-misconduct), 15:20; USA, Tuch (slashing), 18:02. Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total QUE 7 14 8 29 USA 12 8 7 27 Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total QUE, Bureau, 58:35 12/11 8/7 7/5 27/23 USA, Birdsall, 60:00 7/6 14/13 8/7 29/26 Power Play: QUE 1-6; USA 2-6 Penalties: QUE 7-25; USA 6-12 Team USA 2013 World Under-17 Challenge ScheduleDec. 28, 2012 - Jan. 4, 2013 • Drummondville and Victoriaville, Quebec Date Opponent Location Time/Result Fri., Dec. 28 Canada Pacific* Centre Marcel Dionne W, 6-2 Sat., Dec 29 Canada Ontario Colisee Desjardins W, 6-5 (SO) Sun., Dec. 30 Canada Atlantic Colisee Desjardins W, 6-3 Mon., Dec. 31 Canada Quebec Colisee Desjardins W, 5-1 Weds., Jan. 2 Slovakia Centre Marcel Dionne W, 7-2 Thurs., Jan. 3 Russia Colisee Desjardins L, 4-6 Fri., Jan. 4 Third-Place Game Centre Marcel Dionne W, 4-3 *Pre-tournament game

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It was reported on this date in 1896 by The Austrian newspaper that Wilhelm Roentgen had discovered the type of radiation that became known as X-rays.

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Bombers hire Dickenson as Special Teams Coordinator.

CFL mourns loss of Bruce Smith.

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

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The general public could use the Pacific cable for the very first time on this date in 1903.

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Tampa, FL. —Buccaneers RB Doug Martin is one of five players who have been nominated for the NFL Rookie of the Year award, which will now be decided by fan voting on NFL.com.

Read the rest here.

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On this date in 1914, Ford Motor Company announced that there would be a new daily minimum wage of $5 and an eight-hour workday.

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Oh boy! A construction site!

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as watching the World Junior Hockey Championship game, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History

1956 - A deal five year partnership was signed between Hill and Range Music and Elvis Music, Inc. 

1957 - Elvis Presley's song "Love Me" hit #6 in the U.S.

1961 - Elvis Presley signed a three picture deal with MGM.

2002 - Lisa Marie Presley was awarded the Humanitarian Award from The World Literacy Crusade.

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Mrs. Nellie Taylor Ross was sworn in as the governor of Wyoming on this date in 1925. She was the first female governor in the U.S.

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Today in Beatles History:

1976 - Mal Evans, a Beatle bodyguard and road manager, was killed in a confrontation with Los Angeles police. 

1985 - Julian Lennon performed "Valotte" and "Too Late For Goodbyes" on "American Bandstand."

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Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began on this date in 1933.

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Today in Sports History:

1920 - The New York Yankees purchased "Babe" Ruth from the Boston Red Sox for $125,000.

1927 - A three-day public hearing began on the charges that four major league baseball games played between Chicago and Detroit on September 2 and 3 of 1917 had been thrown.

1983 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) scored his 100th point of the season. He achieved his 100th point in only the 42nd game of the season.

1931 - Lucille Thomas became the first woman to buy a professional baseball team. She bought the Topeka franchise of the Western League.

1934 - Both the National and American baseball leagues decided to use a uniform-size baseball. It was the first time in 33 years that both leagues used the same size ball.

1993 - Mike Ditka was fired as coach of the Chicago Bears.

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On this date in 1956 in the Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy walked on two legs for the first time.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

Junior Hockey -- USA vs Sweden in World Junior Championship Gold Medal game 8:00am EST

Junior Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Boston Showcase

Sunday --

Junior Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Boston Showcase

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That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, see you tomorrow!