It's Thursday

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

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Today is January 24th, the 24th day of 2013. There are 341 days left in the year.

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Gretzky denies Maple Leafs rumors.

Flyers' Brayden Schenn suspended one game.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Neil Diamond is 72; Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton is 45; Actor Matthew Lillard (Trouble with the Curve, Scream) is 43; Ed Helms (The Hangover, The Office) is 38.

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Tampa, FL. -- There will come a day, Tampa Bay Lightning right wing BJ Crombeen admitted, when he simply will hang up the skates and close the curtain on his career in the National Hockey League.

It might not occur soon, but still, he said, “I want to feel prepared.”

Read the rest here.

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Hillary Clinton testified on Wednesday. [She told the committee that yes, she did witness Beyonce lip synching on Monday.]

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U.S. National Sled Team Opens USA Hockey Sled Cup with 5-0 Win Over U.S. National Developmental Sled Team Page and Pauls notch a goal and an assist apiece Indian Trail, N.C. – The U.S. National Sled Team kicked off the inaugural USA Hockey Sled Cup with a 5-0 victory over the U.S. National Developmental Sled Team here today at the Extreme Ice Center. "I was pleased with our overall play tonight," said Jeff Sauer, head coach of the U.S. National Sled Team. "It was great to get offense from so many players, but I really liked our defensive effort as well. We have talked about playing consistently each time we get together for a tournament and we did that tonight." The U.S. National Team struck just 52 seconds after the opening faceoff when Greg Shaw (Merritt Island, Fla.) buried a goal-mouth feed from Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.). At 8:33, Adam Page (Lancaster, N.Y.) made it 2-0 following a pass from Joshua Sweeney (Phoenix, Ariz.). The U.S. National Team's lead doubled to 4-0 with a pair of second period markers. Paul Schaus (Buffalo, N.Y.) tallied at 6:38 and Alex Salamone (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored with 1:41 to play in the middle stanza. Josh Pauls (Green Brook, N.J.) capped the scoring 44 seconds into the third period with a redirection near the left post. Goaltenders Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) and Jen Lee (San Francisco, Calif.) shared the shutout for the U.S. National Team. Cash made two stops in the first period, while Lee had three saves in the final two frames. The U.S. National Developmental Team goaltender, Justin Kreger (Waterford, Wis.), had 19 saves. Tomorrow (Thursday, Jan. 24), the U.S. National Team takes on Russia at 6:40 p.m. Prior to the game, NASCAR driver Joey Logano will make a donation to the U.S. National Sled Team and participate in a ceremonial puck drop. Earlier in the day the U.S. National Developmental Team opposes Korea at 4:00 p.m. FASTHockey 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 Scoring By Period Team 1 2 3 Total USA Developmental 0 0 0 0 USA 2 2 1 5 First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, Shaw (Farmer, Pauls), 0:52; 2, USA, Page (Sweeney), 8:33. Penalties: None. Second Period – Scoring: 3, USA, Page (Sweeney), 6:38; 4, USA, Salamone (Landeros), 13:19. Penalties: USA-D, Hallman (interference), 1:17. Third Period – Scoring: 5, USA, Pauls (Farmer), 0:44. Penalties: None. Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total USA-D 2 2 1 5 USA 12 6 6 24 Goaltender (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total USA-D, Kreger, 45:00 10/12 4/6 5/7 19/24 USA, Cash, 15:00 2/2 -- -- 2/2 USA, Lee, 30:00 -- 2/2 1/1 3/3 Power Play: USA-D 0-0; USA, 0-1 Penalties: USA-D 1-2; USA, 0-0 2013 USA Hockey Sled Cup Jan. 23-26 - Indian Trail, N.C. - Extreme Ice Center Date Match-Up Result/Time (EST) FastHockey.com Wed., Jan. 23 Korea vs. Russia U.S. vs. U.S. Development 4-2 5-0 Live Stream Live Stream Thurs., Jan. 24 U.S. Development vs. Korea Russia vs. U.S. 4:00 p.m. 6:40 p.m. Live Stream Live Stream Fri., Jan. 25 U.S. Development vs. Russia U.S. vs. Korea 4:10 p.m. 6:50 p.m. Live Stream Live Stream Sat., Jan. 26 Third-Place Game Championship Game  4:30 p.m. 7:10 p.m. Live Stream Live Stream NOTES: Jeff Sauer (Madison, Wis.), former men's ice hockey head coach at Colorado College and the University of Wisconsin, is the head coach of the U.S. National Sled Team, while Guy Gosselin (Grafton, Wis.) is the assistant coach ... Mike MacMillan (Buffalo, Minn.) is the head coach of the U.S. National Developmental Sled Team, whileKip St. Germaine (East Falmouth, Mass.) is the associate head coach ... Follow @USAHockey and@USAHockeyScores on Twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament. For additional coverage, visitusahockey.com and USA Hockey's Facebook ... Media wishing to cover the event should contact Matt Trevor (mattT@usahockey.org) of the USA Hockey communications staff ... Dan Brennan (Colorado Springs, Colo.) is the general manager for the U.S. National Sled Team, while Jeremy Kennedy (Colorado Springs, Colo.) is the general manager for the U.S. National Developmental Sled Team ... The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, will be chosen this summer.

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Doggie poo is a problem at a Plano, Texas, apartment complex. Management is going to "poo-print" to keep their residents' dogs' DNA on file. Dogs must have their mouths swabbed for DNA. Any droppings not picked up can be traced back to the dog's owner, who will face a $250 fine.

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Hervey: Jyles release a step in the right direction.

Pedersen: Riders being praised for hiring of Cortez.

Visit the league's official website at cfl.ca.

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The National Chicken Council has announced that there's a shortage of chicken wings. The NCC estimates wing consumption on Super Bowl Sunday will hit 1.23 billion, 12.3 million less than last year. Blame corn prices, says the NCC.

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Tampa, FL. — Thanks largely to the work of Pro Bowlers Vincent Jackson and Doug Martin, the 2012 Buccaneers received a record amount of production from newcomers.

Read the rest here.

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Red marking pens that teachers use to grade student assignments can deflate children's self-esteem. University of Colorado researchers found that kids who see their assignments graded in red feel more admonished than those whose work is marked in blue.

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Have a Christmas treat Smokey.

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as chatting with your friend, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History

1957 - Elvis Presley recorded "Teddy Bear" and "One Night."

2006 - The Elvis Presley box set "Elvis #1 Singles" was released in the U.S. The set included all of Elvis' 21 #1 U.S. hits on 20 singles with original B sides. Each single included the original 45 rpm single artwork. 

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This could be the greatest iron you'll ever own. Some dude on Amazon says it is.

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Today in Beatles History:

1962 - Brian Epstein signed with the Beatles as their manager and began to direct their image away from leather jackets. He led them toward a smarter stage presentation, with matching suits and bows to the audience.

1970 - It was announced that John Lennon and Yoko Ono had shaven their heads to commemorate the start of Year One for Peace.

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We've seen the first previews of Manti Te'o's interview with Katie Couric, set to air today (Thursday). In the clip, Couric flat out asks Te'o why he ran with the story about his dead girlfriend, even after learning the whole thing was a hoax on December 6. Te'o pleads in response, "Katie, put yourself in my situation."

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Today in Sports History:

1930 - Primo Carnera made his American boxing debut by knocking out Big Boy Patterson in one minute, ten seconds of the opening round. 

1947 - NFL owners voted to allow a sudden-death overtime in playoff games. The rule wasn't used until 1958.

1955 - The rules committee of major league baseball announced a plan to strictly enforce the rule that required a pitcher to release the ball within 20 seconds after taking his position on the mound.

1962 - Jackie Robinson became the first black player to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was also the first black player in major league history.

1964 - CBS-TV acquired the rights to televise the National Football League’s 1964-1965 regular season. The move cost CBS $14.1 million a year. The NFL stayed on CBS for 30 years.

1981 - Mike Bossy (New York Islanders) tied Rocket Richard's record of 50 goals in first 50 games of the season.

1982 - The San Francisco 49ers won their first Super Bowl. Joe Montana won the first of his three MVP awards.

1987 - Walter Payton and Joe Montana were guests on "Saturday Night Live."

1990 - Clarence "Big House" Gaines collected the 800th victory of his college coaching career when Winston-Salem State University beat Livinstone, 79-70.

1995 - The prosecution gave its opening statement at the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

2006 - Mario Lemieux retired from playing in the NHL for the last time. He had previously retired and came back from cancer, a heart problem, agonizing back pain, a rare bone infection, a self-imposed one-season layoff and, five years earlier, from the boredom of retirement.          

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Steve Jobs biopic jOBS will open in theaters April 19, the 37th anniversary of the founding of the Apple. jOBS makes its worldwide debut as the closing night film of the Sundance Film Festival tomorrow (Friday).

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

Nothin' Doin'

Friday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Ottawa Senators 7:30pm EST

Saturday --

EJHL South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Space Coast Hurricanes 5:00pm EST

Sunday --

EJHL South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Space Coast Hurricanes 11:30am EST

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Philadelphia Flyers 6:00pm EST

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