It's Thursday

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

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Today is January 22nd, the 22nd day of 2015. There are 343 days left in the year.

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Canucks' Bieksa sidelined with broken hand.

Melrose: All-Star Game, Columbus are perfect match.

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

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A Chicago strip club has received an award for its efforts at dressing up the neighborhood. The Admiral Theatre on Chicago’s northwest side received one of six “Block Star Business” awards last week. The honor is meant to spotlight businesses that work to keep the neighborhood clean and presentable. The Admiral Theatre plans to showcase the certificate in the main lobby.

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Tampa, FL. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning hit this weekend’s All-Star break on a high note. Winners of 10 of their past 13 games, they are atop the Eastern Conference standings as the league takes a five-day hiatus starting today.

Read the rest here.

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A teenager who wore a white coat and stethoscope at a hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida, got away with pretending to be a doctor for a month. The teen apparently walked the halls of St. Mary’s Medical Center wearing a white coat with a St. Mary’s logo and “anesthesiology” embroidered on the front. He was busted while wearing a stethoscope around his neck and a mask on his face. He was in an examination room with a patient while a real doctor was conducting an exam. Hospital personnel, even security guards, had seen him for weeks and believed he was someone official. The teen’s mom responded to the scene telling police that her son had an undisclosed illness and he had not been taking his medication. Both police and the hospital decided not to charge the teen.

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SAFETY, DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH KEY TOPICS AT USA HOCKEY WINTER MEETING USA Hockey on Pace for Record Number of Players in 2014-15 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The 2014-15 season is on pace to include a record number of players according to data shared with the USA Hockey Board of Directors at its annual winter meeting at the Renaissance SeaWorld Hotel in Orlando last weekend. The overall number of players in a year-over-year comparison as of early January is up by more than two percentage points and that number is expected to hold for season-ending numbers, which will be available in June. “Our goal is to be the best youth sports option in communities all across the country and I think our on-going focus on safety and age-appropriate development is one that parents recognize and is paying dividends on multiple fronts, inclusive of growing the game,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. “And with the great programs in adult hockey, we’re thrilled the number of adult players engaged with USA Hockey continues to rise as well.” Also revealed at the meeting was a new Club Excellence program being developed to support volunteers of local youth hockey programs nationwide. The concept is, in part, modeled after an in-person resource fair conducted by the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association last summer. The centerpiece of the program will be the Power Play web portal, which will provide a centralized website for volunteers to access training and information related to their duties within their organization. It is intended that most elements of the Club Excellence program, including the Power Play web portal, will be in place by the spring of 2016. “I’m really excited about our Club Excellence project,” said Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey. “We’ve done a lot for our players, coaches and officials in using technology to improve education and it’s terrific that we’re moving ahead enhancing those areas for our volunteer leaders all across the country. We believe we have the best volunteers of any youth sport and this is an effort to help streamline resources for them without reducing standards.” Another topic that received significant attention was the importance of teaching the body-checking components that are part of the American Development Model curriculum. Guy Gosselin, one of USA Hockey’s ADM regional managers, outlined the four key areas of teaching body-checking during one of the Town Hall sessions, including: Safety (particularly Heads Up, Don't Duck) Mirroring/Tracking/Turning Contact Confidence Competitive Games “When our Board modified the allowable age for body-checking in games back in 2011, it was done as part of the Progressive Checking Skill Development Program,” said Kevin McLaughlin, senior director of hockey development for USA Hockey. “That goes from kids getting used to body contact at the younger age levels, to teaching body-checking at the peewee level in practice and then full body-checking in games at the bantam level. It’s important that our programs across the country are utilizing this curriculum as part of the recommended practice structure and I think it’s something everyone feels like we can do a much better job with.” McLaughlin also noted that much progress continues to be made in the implementation of age-appropriate curriculum at all age levels as part of the ADM. It was also reported that the USA Hockey Foundation’s It Starts With a Stick campaign raised nearly $100,000 in its first year. The program, which was a month-long effort in December that included donations from hockey fans across the country, as well as a number of NHL players, raised money to put sticks in the hands of kids trying the game for the very first time Feb. 21 during USA Hockey’s national Try Hockey for Free Day, presented by Kraft. The day is part of the 8th annual Hockey Weekend Across America celebration set for Feb. 20-22, presented by CCM. “We’re extremely pleased with the results in our first year,” said Pat Kelleher, assistant executive director of development for USA Hockey. “We’ll be able to put a stick in the hands of approximately 7,500 kids in February, which we think will help in helping kids develop a passion for the game.” Attendees also learned about USA Hockey's partnership with Kraft Hockeyville, a program that seeks to find America's most passionate hockey town. Nominations are currently being accepted and a total of 10 finalists will be named in April. All total, $425,000 in funding for arena upgrades will be awarded among the finalists, including $150,000 to the winner. In addition, the winning community will have the chance to host an NHL pre-season game that will be televised nationally by NBC Sports Network NOTES: Ron DeGregorio presented the President’s Award to four individuals, including John Vanbiesbrouck, vice president of USA Hockey and chair of the Junior Council; Tom Branden, chair of the USA Hockey Registrars Section; Pat Kelleher, assistant executive director of development for USA Hockey; and Cameron Eickmeyer, director of internet content and development for USA Hockey … The 2015 USA Hockey Annual Congress will be held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, June 3-6.

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Captain America: Civil War is coming in 2016. The film starts shooting in Atlanta in April, and Kristen Stewart of Twilight fame wants to be a part of it. Kristen isn’t actually a part of the cast, but she did make a case for it in a recent interview: “I love watching those [Marvel] movies. I would love to show people that I can do more than just be ‘Kristen Stewart’ in a different movie, in a different circumstance. I’m sure I could get on board with ‘Captain America,’ you know what I mean? It would just have to be the right thing.”

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Make it two: Hufnagel named 2014 Coach of the Year.

Schonert to command Als offence in 2015.

Please visit the league's official website, http://www.cfl.ca.

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Gone Girl was a 2014 box office hit, so naturally there’s talk of a sequel by the book’s author, Gillian Flynn. But while fans of the book and film would probably be up for it, co-star Rosamund Pike would rather not talk about it. She’s not anti-sequel — hey, I bet the paycheck would be huge — but at the moment the new mom say after 106 days of filming Gone Girls she’s just enjoying living in the moment.

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Tampa, FL. -- Here's a sampling of media reports on the Buccaneers today.

Read the rest here.

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Patrick Stewart told interviewer Larry King he will not appear in the next X-Men movie, and neither will Ian McKellen. Stewart and McKellen starred as Xavier and Magneto in several X-Men movies, but the most recent films were prequels that re-cast the characters with younger actors James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. The most recent installment in the franchise, X-Men: Days of Future Past, featured a time-travel element, so that both the younger and older versions of the characters could appear in the same movie. X-Men: Apocalypse comes out in 2016.

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Corvallis, OR. -- Beavers Poised for Trip to Arizona.

Read the rest here.

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One day these two carrots were driving down the interstate in this big black sports car when they took an exit ramp too fast and the car rolled several times. An ambulance took the two carrots to a hospital. One carrot got off with just cuts and bruises, but the other carrot was in the operating room for hours. The first carrot remained in the waiting room, pacing and biting his nails. Finally the chief surgeon emerged from the operating room to talk to the first carrot. He said, “I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is, your friend will live. The bad news is he’ll be a vegetable for the rest of his life.”

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Lightning food is 'Finger-lickin' good!'

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as anticipating a milestone birthday on Sunday, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History:

1963 - Elvis Presley recorded the song "Bossa Nova Baby." The single was released in October 1963. 

1966 - The soundtrack to the Elvis Presley film "Harem Holiday" hit #11 in the U.K. 

1969 - Elvis Presley recorded his single "Suspicious Minds." 

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Sub-$2 gasoline is a reality in 28 States. The national average for regular-grade gasoline is $2.05 per gallon, down from $2.13 last week, $2.45 in mid-December, and $3.29 in January of 2014.

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Today in Beatles History:

1968 - Apple Corps opened its first London headquarters. 

1969 - The Beatles began recording what would become "Let It Be." 

1981 - A picture of John Lennon naked appeared in his obituary issue of Rolling Stone.

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A woman shocked workers at a store in Costa Rica by stealing a flat screen TV by stuffing it up her dress, between her legs. The woman simply walked into the store, picked up the packaged TV, placed it between her legs and walked out along with an accomplice. | Video

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Today in Sports History:

1951 - Fidel Castro was ejected from a Winter League baseball game after hitting a batter. He later gave up baseball for politics. 

1959 - British world racing champion Mike Hawthorn was killed while driving on the Guildford Bypass. 

1960 - The 10th NBA All-Star Game was played. The East beat the West 125-115 in Philadelphia. 

1961 - Wilma Rudolph set a world indoor record in the women’s 60-yard dash. She ran the race in 6.9 seconds. 

1968 - The NBA awarded franchises to Milwaukee and Phoenix. 

1973 - Joe Frazier lost the first fight of his professional career to George Foreman. He had been the undefeated heavyweight world champion since February 16, 1970 when he knocked out Jimmy Ellis. The event was HBO's first televised boxing match. 

1982 - Reggie Jackson, a free agent at the time, ended five seasons as a New York Yankee when he signed a four-year contract with the California Angels. 

1983 - Houston became the first NBA team to not score a point in overtime. They lost to the Portland Trail Blazers after being outscored 17-0 in overtime. 

1983 - Bjorn Borg retired from tennis. He had set a record by winning 5 consecutive Wimbledon championships. 

1984 - Barry Manilow sang the U.S. national anthem at Super Bowl XVIII. 

1984 - Annette Kennedy (State University of New York) set a woman's collegiate basketball record when she scored 70 points. 

1998 - Minnesota's new NHL franchise selected the nickname Wild. 

2001 - Former National Football League (NFL) player Rae Carruth was sentenced to a minimum 18 years and 11 months in prison for his role in the 1999 shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams. Adams died a month later from her wounds. The baby survived and lives with the victim's mother. 

2002 - Pat Summerall announced that he would leave his NFL broadcasting partner, John Madden, after they called the Super Bowl for Fox Sports. The two had worked together for 21 years. 

2002 - Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson held a press conference to announce an upcoming fight. After an altercation the fight was delayed until June when Lewis knocked Tyson out in the eighth round. 

2002 - Theo Fleury (New York Rangers) made an obscene gesture to fans at the end of a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders. The next day the NHL fined Fleury $1,000. 

2003 - Michael Jordan (Washington Wizards) became the third highest all-time scorer in the NBA. 

2006 - Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. It was the second highest point total in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain had scored 100 points in a single game in 1962.

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More than 25 years after his death, it looks as if Liberace is headed back out on tour thanks to some technological help. The legendary performer is set to make his return to the stage sometime this year as a sort of “hologram”, with his unveiling taking place in Las Vegas.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

Nothin' Doin'

Friday --

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild at Fairbanks Ice Dogs 11:30pm EST

Saturday --

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild at Fairbanks Ice Dogs 11:30pm EST

Sunday --

USPHL Empire Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Palm Beach Hawks 3:00pm EST

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