It's Friday

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

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Today is April 5th, the 95th day of 2013. There are 270 days left in the year.

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Injured Crosby visits with Penguins at practice.

Six games, four days starts Friday on NHLN-US.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is 76; Max Gail (Barney Miller) is 70; inventor Dean Kamen (Segway) is 62.

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Raleigh, NC. --Ben Bishop made the most of his Tampa Bay Lightning debut Thursday night.

Bishop made 45 saves to record a shutout just one day after being acquired by the Lightning from the Ottawa Senators prior to Wednesday’s NHL Trade Deadline, as he led the Bolts to a 5-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena in Raleigh.

Read the rest here.

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The Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, MA, on a return trip to England on this date in 1621.

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NTDP Announces Eight Commitments for 2013-14 Season Five Forwards, Two Defensemen and One Goaltender Latest to be Named to U.S. National Under-17 Team  ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Forwards Jeremy Bracco (Freeport, N.Y.), Luke Kunin (Chesterfield, Mo.), Auston Matthews(Scottsdale, Ariz.), Jack Roslovic (Columbus, Ohio) and Colin White (Hanover, Mass.), along with defensemen Caleb Jones (Frisco, Texas) and Charles McAvoy (Long Island, N.Y.) and goaltender Luke Opilka (St. Louis, Mo.) have committed to join USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program for the 2013-14 season, it was announced today. The players, all from the 1997 birth year, will compete as members of the U.S. National Under-17 Team. Player Pos. 2012-13 Team Regular-Season Stats Playoff Stats (if applicable) College Commitment (if applicable) Notes Jeremy Bracco F New Jersey Rockets Junior A (Atlantic Junior Hockey League) 30GP 16-34--50 Harvard University AJHL Rookie of the Year Caleb Jones D Dallas Stars Midget Minor (Tier I Elite Hockey League) 40GP 2-17--19 4GP 0-1--1 Brother of Seth Jones Luke Kunin F St. Louis Blues Midget Minor 34GP 30-38--68 5GP 2-4--6 Auston Matthews F Arizona Bobcats Midget Minor 48GP 55-45--100  4GP 4-2--6 Charles McAvoy D New Jersey Rockets Junior B (Metro Junior Hockey League) 69GP 17-39--56 MJHL Offensive Defenseman of the Year Luke Opilka G St. Louis Blues Midget Minor 18-2-1 1.55, .927 3-0-0 0.33, .979 Jack Roslovic F Ohio Blue Jackets Midget Minor 40GP 23-30--53 4GP 3-2--5 Colin White F Nobles and Greenough 22GP 18-14--32 Boston College NOTES: The 2013-14 U.S. National Under-17 Team will play in the United States Hockey League, the top junior league in the U.S. It will also compete in three international competitions, including the 2014 World Under-17 Challenge in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia ... Caleb Jones is the brother of former National Team Development Program defenseman, Seth Jones (Plano, Texas/2010-12), who most recently earned a gold medal with the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia ... The roster currently stands at 10 forwards, four defensemen and one goaltender, having previously announced commitments by forwards Christian Fischer Wayne, Ill.), Jordan Greenway(Potsdam, N.Y.), Luke Kirwan DeWitt, N.Y.), Matthew Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.) and Brendan Warren (Carleton, Mich.), along with defensemen Nicholas Boka (Plymouth, Mich.) and Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe, Mich.).

************************************************ U.S. President George Washington cast the first presidential veto on this date in 1792. The measure was for apportioning representatives among the states. ************************************************ Argos brass trusting Owens will be careful in MMA debut. Teams head south as Mini-Camps get underway. Visit the league's official website at cfl.ca. ************************************************ FINAL FOUR THIS WEEKEND - For NCAA men's college basketball fans, there are just two days of games left: Saturday's Final Four and Monday's championship. On Saturday Louisville will play Wichita State and Michigan will play Syracuse. ... #1 Louisville vs #9 Wichita State, 5:09pm CT, CBS ... #4 Michigan vs #4 Syracuse, 7:49pm CT, CBS ************************************************ Tampa, FL. —The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have openly talked about finding competition for starting quarterback Josh Freeman, but that plan won't include backup Dan Orlovsky. Read the rest here. ************************************************ A new study reveals many men think they're leaner than they are. The study showed a quarter of overweight guys guessed their weight range was at least one category less than it was in reality. ************************************************ ST. PETERSBURG -- Joe Maddon said the Rays would not pitch to Chris Davis on Thursday, after the O's slugger homered in each of their first two meetings. Alas, the Rays did, and it led to a 6-3 loss to the Orioles at Tropicana Field. Read the rest here. ************************************************ Roger Ebert, the legendary film critic, died Thursday. Ebert had been battling cancer for years. Ebert began working as the Sun-Times film critic 46 years ago this week. ************************************************ San Francisco, CA. -- Perhaps it's fitting that the St. Louis Cardinals will be on hand Friday as the Giants raise their 2012 World Series champions flag. Read the rest here. ************************************************ IN THEATERS THIS WEEKEND - Evil Dead (R) and Jurassic Park 3D (PG-13). ************************************************ I think it's time to hunt Easter eggs Daddy. ************************************************ You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as dodging rain drops, isn't it? ************************************************ Today in Elvis History 1967 - The Elvis Presley movie "Double Trouble" was released in the U.S. 1972 - Elvis Presley began a 15 date U.S. tour at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, NY. 2005 - Lisa Marie Presley's album "Now What" was released. ************************************************ Isaac Quintard patented the cider mill on this date in 1806. ************************************************ Today in Beatles History: 1962 -  In Liverpool, the Beatles performed at the Carvern Club. They wore their black leather outfits for the first half of the performance and then changed into their new suits for the second half of the show. 1967 - Paul McCartney celebrated the 21st birthday of his girlfriend Jane Asher. 2003 - Paul McCartney began the U.K. leg of his "Back In The World Tour". The set included 22 Beatles songs. ************************************************ Firestone Tire and Rubber Company began the first regular production of balloon tires on this date in 1923. ************************************************ Today in Sports History: 1965 - The color of National Football League penalty flags used by officials was changed from white to bright gold. 1967 - Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia 76ers) set an NBA playoff record when he got 41 rebounds in a game. 1970 - Bobby Orr (Boston Bruins) became the first NHL defenseman to win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer. 1984 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) became the all-time NBA regular season scoring leader when he broke Wilt Chamberlain's record of 31,419 career points. 1985 - John McEnroe said "any man can beat any woman at any sport, especially tennis." 1987 - Doug Jarvis (Hartford Whalers) completed his 12th NHL season in his 692nd consecutive game. Jarvis retired after playing the first two games of the 1987-88 season setting the iron-man record at 964 games. 1999 - Barry Bonds was walked intentionally for the 270th time of his career. He passed Hank Aaron on the all-time list. ************************************************ On a personal note, I'm having testing done for a possible medical problem. Your prayers, good thoughts or whatever you'd like to offer up will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. ************************************************ Coming Up: Tonight -- MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals 4:35pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Indians 7:10pm EDT Saturday -- MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals 4:05pm EDT NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Islanders 7:00pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Indians 7:10pm EDT Sunday -- Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway 1:00pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Indians 1:40pm EDT Izod Indy Car Series -- Honda Indy Car Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park 3:00pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals 4:05pm EDT NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals 7:00pm EDT ************************************************ That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, see you tomorrow!