It's Thursday

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

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Today is February 12th, the 43rd day of 2015. There are 322 days left in the year.

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Kane excited by 'fresh start' with Sabres: report.

Evgeni Nabokov announces retirement from NHL.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Author Judy Blume is 77. Joanna Kerns (Growing Pains) is 62. Arsenio Hall is 59. Josh Brolin (Men In Black 3, True Grit, No Country for Old Men) is 47.

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Tampa, FL. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forward Vladislav Namestnikov from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced today.

Read the rest here.

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On this date in 1892, President Abraham Lincoln's birthday was declared to be a national holiday.

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2015 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Ceremony and Brunch Tickets Now on Sale Eighteenth Annual Award to be Presented March 21 in Minneapolis COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Tickets to the 2015 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Ceremony and Brunch, set for Saturday, March 21 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, are now on sale, USA Hockey announced today. The award will be presented at the McNamara Alumni Center at the University of Minnesota. An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually bestowed upon the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey. The award will be presented at a brunch ceremony and is part of the festivities associated with the NCAA Women's Frozen Four, which also takes place at the University of Minnesota. Top-10 finalists for the award are expected to be announced in late February, with the Top-3 finalists announced in early March. For more information about the award or for ticket information, visit PattyKaz.com. NOTES: Individual seats to the event are $65, while tables of 10 are available for $600. A select number of event sponsorships and program advertisements are also still available. More information can be found here. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is supported, in part, by a grant from the NHL Foundation. ABOUT THE PATTY KAZMAIER MEMORIAL AWARD An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually presented to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey. Selection criteria includes outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement. ABOUT PATTY KAZMAIER The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman at Princeton University from 1981-86. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died on Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease. U.S. Men's National University Team Blanked by Canada in World University Games Quarterfinals Team USA Faces Slovakia Tomrrow to Determine Final Seeding GRANDA, Spain — The U.S. Men’s National University Team lost, 4-0, to Canada in its quarterfinal matchup at the 2015 Winter World University Games today at the Granada Sports Palace. Team USA will next face Slovakia tomorrow (Feb. 12) at 11 a.m. ET to help determine final tournament seeding. For complete recap and box score, click here. Notes: The U.S. Men’s National University Team’s next opponent, Slovakia, fell to Russia, 7-0, in a quarterfinal matchup earlier today. Following tomorrow’s contest, Team USA will play at least one more game to determine its final place in the tournament standings. The 2015 Winter World University Games concludes Saturday (Feb. 14).

************************************************ The government will no longer recommend avoiding eggs because it turns out that eating cholesterol isn’t bad for you after all. [Didn’t Brian Williams tell us the truth about anything? ] *********************************************** FA15: Riders re-sign OL Clark. Former all-star DE Alex Hall returns to Riderville. Please visit the league's official website, http://www.cfl.ca. ************************************************ You know that not getting enough sleep is harmful to your health, but now you can repair some of the damage done to you body by nappng. A new study suggests that the way to reverse the damaging health effects of a poor night’s sleep are brief daytime naps. Researchers (Universite Paris Descartes-Sorbonne Paris Cite) found that naps seemed to restore hormones and proteins involved in stress and immune function to normal levels. ************************************************ Tampa, FL. -- Josh McCown, who signed with Tampa Bay as an unrestricted free agent last March, was released on Wednesday as the team prepares to head in another direction at quarterback. Read the rest here. ************************************************ On this date in 1918, all theatres in New York City were shut down in an effort to conserve coal.

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Los Angeles, CA. -- Junior guard Gary Payton II broke the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season and matched his career high but Oregon State’s two-game winning streak ended on Thursday with a 75-59 loss at UCLA.

Read the rest here.

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On this date in 1924, "The Eveready Hour" became radio’s first sponsored network program. The National Carbon Company was the first sponsor of a network show.

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Here's Jimmy, putting on a Ninja show for Piggy, Creeper and Flipper.

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as Dwight Howard's suits, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History:

1957 - Elvis Presley's "Too Much" hit number one on the Billboard Pop chart. It the first of four number one songs for Elvis in 1957. 

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A video of a 17-month-old toddler running on a treadmill in China has recently appeared on YouTube, and it’s gotten lots of viewers hot under the collar. In the video a dad barks, “Hurry up!” then turns up the speed, while some ladies in the background laugh. | VIDEO

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Today in Beatles History:

1964 - The Beatles performed two 25-minute sets at Carnegie Hall in New York City. 

1965 - The "New Musical Express" reported that the Beatles would star in a film adaptation of "A Talent for Loving." The project was never completed. 

1965 - Ringo Starr officially announced that he and Maureen Cox were married and were honeymooning. 

2012 - Paul McCartney performed "My Valentine" at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. 

2012 - Paul McCartney won the Grammy for Best Historical Album for the "Band on the Run" reissue. This was the second Grammy for "Band on the Run," which won one in 1974 for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus. It was McCartney's 15th Grammy.

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A man in Russia was picked up by by prison police as he tried to use a crossbow to fire mobile phones into a jail for inmates to use. The man had 18 phones, spare batteries and earpieces strapped to the end of crossbow bolts with tape.

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Today in Sports History:

1878 - Frederick W. Thayer patented the baseball catcher’s mask. 

1879 - The first artificial ice rink opened in North America. It was at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY. 

1880 - The National Croquet League was organized in Philadelphia, PA. 

1982 - Wayne Gretzky tied the NHL record for points in a season when he got his 153rd point. 

1987 - Bill Fitch became the fifth coach in NBA history to get 700 career wins. 

1989 - Wayne Gretzky got his 45th career hat trick and achieved a 40+ goal season for the 10th time in his career. 

1993 - The San Jose Sharks lost their 17th straight game to tie an NHL record. 

1997 - Kevin Johnson reached 1,000 career steals. 

2002 - Baseball owners approved the sale of the Florida Marlins and Montreal Expos.

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Netflix scrambled on Wednesday after accidentally posting 10 episodes of House of Cards’ third season — two weeks ahead of its scheduled release date of Friday, February 27. News of the leak slammed social media. Mere minutes after the leak was reported Netflix solved the problem, and viewers who attempted to get a jump on binge-watching Season 3 were met with a screen that read, “Watch Season 3 on February 27.”

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs St. Louis Blues 7:30pm EST

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild vs Topeka Roadrunners 10:05pm EST

Friday --

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild vs Topeka Roadrunners 10:05pm EST

Saturday --

USPHL Empire Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Florida Eels 3:20pm EST

USPHL Elite Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Florida Eels 8:45pm EST

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild vs Topeka Roadrunners 10:05pm EST

Sunday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at San Jose Sharks 8:00pm EST

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