Monday Morning Meissnervations

It's Monday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is August 11th, the 222nd day of 2014. There are 143 days left in the year.

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Stars excited to build off trip to playoffs.

Predators change coach, switch focus to offense.

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

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The first successful silver mill in America began operations on this date in 1860. The mill was in Virginia City, NV.

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Tampa, FL. -- The ice bucket challenge is pretty simple. Dump a bucket of ice water on your head and challenege three of your friends to do the same thing all in the name of ALS research. Celebrities such at Martha Stewart, Matt Lauer, Joanna Garcia and athletes from every league have joined in.

Read the rest here.

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A patent for the sprinkler head was given to Harry S. Parmelee on this date in 1874.

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USA Defeats Germany, 10-0, in Five Nations Pre-Tournament Game Tournament action begins Wednesday, Aug. 13 CRIMMITSCHAU, GERMANY – The U.S. Under-17 Select Team lit the lamp 10 times en route to a shutout victory over host country, Germany, in today’s Five Nations pre-tournament game. Sixteen different players recorded at least a point, while the defense allowed just 11 German shots on goal. The Five Nations tournament takes place Wed.-Sun. (Aug. 13-17) and includes teams from the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland and the U.S. “It was solid from start to finish for our first game together,” said Cary Eades, head coach of the U.S. Under-17 Select Team. “We utilized our speed and quick puck movement to generate many quality scoring chances. Any time you get a shutout, you have to have a very strong checking game, and we had good defensive contributions from all of our guys.” For a complete recap, click here. USA Tops Slovakia, 8-3, in Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup Pre-Tournament Game Tournament action begins Monday, Aug. 11 PIESTANY, SLOVAKIA – In preparation for the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, the U.S. Under-18 Select Team defeated Slovakia, 8-3, here today. The tournament will take place Aug. 11-16 in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia. Team USA will participate in Group A with the Czech Republic, Finland and Russia, which competes in Breclav. "Tonight was a much needed game," said Derek Plante, head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team. "The guys were excited to start playing and see what our team looks like. It was fun to get started and we look forward to building on tonight's effort." For a complete recap, click here. Team USA Blanks the Czech Republic, 3-0, to Complete  U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp Team USA outscores opponents 19-2 in final three games LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Team USA concluded the 2014 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp with a 3-0 win against the Czech Republic at the Olympic Center's USA Rink. Over the final three games of camp, which included wins over Sweden and Finland, the U.S. outscored opponents 19-2. Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass./U.S. National Under-18 Team) and Sonny Milano(Massapequa, N.Y./U.S. National Under-18 Team) finished as the camp's scoring leaders with nine points apiece. Eichel had a goal and eight assists, while Milano had two goals and seven assists ... Alex Tuch (Baldwinsville, N.Y./U.S. National Under-18 Team) had a camp-best six goals and tied for third in points with eight. Tyler Motte (St. Clair, Mich./University of Michigan) also had eight points (5-3). For complete a recap, boxscore, highlights and photos, click here.

************************************************ The two moons of Mars were discovered on this date in 1877 by Asaph Hall, an American astronomer. He named them Phobos and Deimos. ************************************************

Regina, SK. -- The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ most-recent offensive showing can be summarized succinctly: Messam and no mess-ups.

Read the rest here.

Next up for the 4-2 Roughriders is a home game versus the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday, August 16th. Game time is 7:00pm EDT. Catch all the action with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri on 620CKRM, the Rider Radio Network and 620ckrm.com. The game can be seen in Canada on TSN and in the U.S. on ESPN3.com.

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Harvey Hubbell received a patent for the electric light bulb socket with a pull-chain on this date in 1896.

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. Instant Recovery: Mitchell leads Stamps by Ottawa. 2014 CFL Replay: A look back at Week 7. Please visit the league's official website, cfl.ca. ************************************************ On this date in 1909, the American ship Arapahoe became the first to ever use the SOS distress signal off the coast of Cape Hatteras, NC. ************************************************ Tampa, FL. -- Examining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' roster: Read the rest here. ************************************************ Newsreel pictures were taken of U.S. presidential candidates for the first time on this date in 1924. ************************************************ Chicago, IL. -- Wrigley Field wasn't nice to hitters on Sunday. The wind blowing in from Lake Michigan bent the flags toward home plate, giving the impression that runs would be precious. And they were, as it took 12 innings for the Cubs to post a 3-2 win over the Rays. Read the rest here. ************************************************ Alcatraz, in San Francisco Bay, received federal prisoners for the first time on this date in 1934. ************************************************ Kansas City, MO. -- Only 41 pitches had been thrown and barely 30 minutes had elapsed of the Giants' 7-4 loss, when the full scope of Tim Lincecum's rough start Sunday came into focus. Read the rest here. ************************************************ Andrian Nikolayev, of the Soviet Union, was launched on a 94-hour flight on this date in 1962. He was the third Russian to go into space. ************************************************ I'm ready, throw me the ball! ************************************************ You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as your son cleaning his room, isn't it? ************************************************

Today in Elvis History:

1962 - Elvis Presley's album "Pot Luck" hit #4 in the U.S. 

1972 - Elvis and Pricilla Presley filed for divorce. They had married in May of 1967.

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On this date in 1965, the U.S. conducted a second launch of "Surveyor-SD 2" for a landing on the Moon surface test.

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Today in Beatles History:

1965 - The Beatles film "A Hard Day's Night" was released in the U.S. 

1965 - The Beatles film "Help!" opened in the New York City. It was released across the U.S. on August 25. 

1966 - The Beatles arrived at Chicago's O'Hare Airport to start their last tour of the U.S. 

1973 - Paul McCartney's single "Live And Let Die" hit #2 in the U.S. 

1976 - EMI signed a deal with the Soviet company Melodiya to release the Wings' album "Band On The Run" in the Soviet Union. 

1989 - Bruce Springsteen joined Ringo Starr on stage for four songs ("Get Back," "Long Tall Sally," "Photograph" and "With A Little Help From My Friends"). John Candy also made an appearance on tambourine.

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On this date in 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan was preparing for his weekly radio broadcast when, during testing of the microphone, the President said of the Soviet Union, "My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you that I just signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."

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Today in Sports History:

1929 - Babe Ruth hit his 500th career home run. 

1951 - The first major league baseball game to be televised in color was broadcast. The Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the Boston Braves 8-1. 

1971 - Harmon Killebrew of the Minnesota Twins got his 500th and 501st home runs of his major league baseball career. 

1984 - Carl Lewis won his fourth gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. 

1984 - The Cincinnati Reds honored major league All-Star and Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench by retiring his uniform (#5).   

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The space shuttle Atlantis ended its nine-day journey by landing safely on this date in 1991.

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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- In a battle between two drivers with everything on the line, AJ Allmendinger held off Marcos Ambrose in breathtaking fashion to win Sunday's Cheez-It 355 at the Glen and claim an almost certain spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Read the rest here.

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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.-- Recovering from an early spin after contact with Kyle Busch's Toyota, Marcos Ambrose held off Busch in the closing laps of Saturday's Zippo 200 at the Glen to win the series-best fifth road course race of his Nationwide Series career.

Read the rest here.

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In Bloomington, MN, the Mall of America opened on this date in 1992. It was the largest shopping mall in the United States.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers 8:05pm EDT

Tuesday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers 8:05pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Chicago White Sox 10:15pm EDT

Wednesday --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Chicago White Sox 3:45pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers 8:05pm EDT

Thursday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers 8:05pm EDT

Friday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees 7:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Philadelphia Phillies 10:15pm EDT

Saturday --

Nascar Nationwide Series -- Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 2:45pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Philadelphia Phillies 4:05pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees 4:10pm EDT

CFL Football -- Saskatchewan Roughriders vs Montreal Alouettes 7:00pm EDT

NFL Football -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Miami Dolphins 7:30pm EDT

Sunday --

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway 1:00pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees 1:40pm EDT

Verizon Indy Car Series -- ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at The Milwakee Mile 3:00pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Philadelphia Phillies 4:05pm EDT

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