It's Thursday

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

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Today is March 12th, the 71st day of 2015. There are 294 days left in the year.

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Lessons learned letting Lack succeed for Canucks.

Around the League notebook for Wednesday, March 11th.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Barbara Feldon (Get Smart) is 82. Liza Minnelli is 69. Mitt Romney is 68. James Taylor is 67. Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight, Thank You For Smoking) is 47.

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Montreal, QC. -- Canadiens goaltender Carey Price put on another show but it just wasn't quite enough to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday.

Read the rest here.

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Fifteen gunmen in France pulled off a $9.5 million jewelry heist. [Fifteen gunmen? It’s hard enough to find even one guy who’s willing to go jewelry shopping. ]

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2015 National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp Roster Announced 17 Defensemen, 27 Forwards and 6 Goalies Invited ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Fifty of the top American hockey players born in 1999 have been invited to USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp it was announced today by team officials. The camp, which will help select the 2015-16 U.S. National Under-17 Team, will take place March 20-24, at the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Ice Cube. A full roster can be found here. The 50 players, including 17 defensemen, 27 forwards and six goaltenders, will be divided into three teams - Red, White and Blue. The squads will participate in on-ice practices and off-ice training as well as four 30-minute practice sessions and two full games. A full schedule can be found here. NTDP alumni Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich./2004-05) and Freddy Meyer (Sanbornville, N.H./1997-2000) will serve as coaches at the camp. In addition, NTDP intern assistant coaches J.D. Forrest (Auburn, N.Y./1997-2000), who is another alumnus of the NTDP, and Tyler Walsh will also work behind the bench. NOTES: The 50 players on the 2015 National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp roster represent 17 different states. Minnesota leads the way with nine natives on the roster, while Michigan is second with seven. Four states each boast four players: Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. ABOUT THE NTDP: In 1996, USA Hockey introduced a new initiative called the National Team Development Program, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Celebrating its 18th season of play in 2014-15, the goal of this full-time program is to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. National Teams and success in their future hockey careers. Its efforts focus not only on high-caliber participation on the ice, but creating well-rounded individuals off the ice. Minnesota Takes Over Top Spot in USA Today/USAH Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine 2014-15 Women's College Hockey Poll - Postseason #23 (First-place votes in parentheses) Rank School Last Week's Rank 2014-15 Record Weeks in Top 10 1. University of Minnesota, 183 (12) 2 31-3-4 23 2. Boston College, 178 (7) 1 33-2-2 23 3. Harvard University, 144 4 25-5-3 23 4. University of Wisconsin, 141 3 28-6-4 23 5. Boston University, 113 7 25-8-3 23 6. Clarkson University, 91 5 24-10-3 22 7. Quinnipiac University, 90 6 26-8-3 22 8. Cornell University, 50 9 19-11-3 13 9. University of North Dakota, 33 8 22-12-3 12 10. Bemidji State University, 24 n/a 21-17-1 6 Others Receiving Votes: University of Minnesota Duluth, 4; RIT, 3. Notes: ECAC Hockey and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association each have four ranked teams, while the Hockey East Association has two ... A total of 12 schools received votes in this week's poll ... This season's previous polls can be found here ... This season's poll will conclude Monday, March 24, following the Women's Frozen Four in Minneapolis. About the Poll: The 18th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the four NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey.

************************************************ Sad news for you, Gary. You’re probably the last of a long line of men named Gary. The name is going extinct. It’s been plummeting in popularity since the early 1950s — where America saw nearly 39,000 baby Garys. This is compared to 2013 with only 442, the lowest since 1928. The name is now ranked number 578 in America. ************************************************ The Tampa Bay Juniors opened up the USPHL Elite finals in style Wednesday, with a 3-2 win over the South's regular season champion Hampton Roads Whalers. The Juniors took the lead late in the first period on a Jared Goudreau power play goal. Christopher Astrom and Trey Stern assisted at 18:19 for a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes. In the second, Tampa Bay stretched the advantage to 2-0, as Ryan Conery scored from Connor Smith at 4:39. The Whalers would come back though, scoring twice in just over a minute. Trevor Voelker scored on the power play from Dominic Moore and Oliver Lindstrom at 11:47, then Griffin Leach scored another power play goal, this one from TJ Sneath and Jacob Gerson at 12:58, knotting the game at 2-2. However, the Juniors would regain the lead late in the middle stanza, as Drake Stimpson buried the puck off assists from Raven Woodring and Ryan Odgers at 17:24, putting Tampa Bay up by a goal, at 3-2. In the third, Hampton Roads pressed the attack, but were held to just 9 shots as goaltender Michael Krch and the Juniors defense slammed the door, holding on for the 3-2 win. The Whalers outshot Tampa Bay 27-21. Krch made 25 saves for the Juniors, while Blake Scott had 18 saves for Hampton Roads. Tampa Bay was 1-for-2 on the power play and 3-of-5 on the penalty kill. Next up for the Juniors, is a game this morning against the Boston Junior Bruins, as the round robin portion of the finals continues. Game time is set for 11:10am EDT at the New England Sports Center. Then, at 8:30pm EDT, Tampa Bay takes on the Syracuse Stars. The top two teams in standings points will meet in the championship game on Friday. All games can be seen on Fasthockey.com. ************************************************ After a bad break-up, who’s the first person most people call. Can you guess? Man or woman, the person who got dumped most often calls a good female friend — 27%. Mom comes in second at 17%. ************************************************

Nothing Imminent: Sheets’ return no guarantee.

Steady Signings: 11 Free Agents that stayed put.

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

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A Twitter account launched to ridicule trendy restaurants which serve food on wooden boards and tiles has gone viral. Sports journalist Ross McGinnes has attracted thousands of followers since launching his We Want Plates account just a week ago. He was inspired to set up the account after seeing his friend share a picture of a steak on a wooden board with the comment: “That is a big meal!” McGinnes says, “It wasn’t a big meal. He’d fallen for the nonsense.” There’s also a We Want Plates Facebook page.

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Tampa, FL. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are proving that today's big free-agent signings might just be tomorrow's salary-cap anchor after they're cut.

Read the rest here.

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PETA has made a public plea to Tim Burton after news broke that he would be directing the upcoming live-action Dumbo movie for Disney. The animal rights organization is asking the director to change the ending by giving the title character a happy ending.

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Las Vegas, NV. -- Junior guard Gary Payton II and sophomore guard Malcolm Duvivier scored 17 points each but the Beavers fell 78-71 to Colorado on Wednesday in the opening round of the Pacific-12 Conference tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Read the rest here.

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In China they built a 57-story tower in less than 3 weeks. [Now they’re just waiting for the glue to dry.]

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My grilled cheese is almost ready Daddy.

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as welcoming an out-of-town visitor, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History:

1956 - Elvis Presley purchased a home for his family in Memphis, TN. 

1961 - Elvis Presley recorded the song "I Feel So Bad." The single was released in May 1961. 

1966 - Elvis Presley's "Blue River" hit #22 in the U.K. 

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Facebook pulled the “feeling fat” emoji from its list of status updates on Tuesday, after an online petition called for its removal. Grad student and playwright Catherine Weingarten, alongside the advocacy group Endangered Bodies, had launched a petition on Change.org calling for the status’s removal last month. Weingarten said: “When people see [‘feeling fat’] on Facebook, I want them to realize that it’s not just a light, cute sort of thing for everyone.”

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Today in Beatles History:

1965 - The Beatles finished shooting "Help!" in the Bahamas. 

1969 - Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman were married. 

1969 - George Harrison and his wife Patti were arrested in Esher, Surrey. The charge was cannabis resin possession after authorities found 120 joints in their house. 

1971 - John Lennon released the single "Power to the People." 

1974 - Nilsson and John Lennon were ejected from the Troubador Club in Los Angeles for heckling the Tom Smothers' comedy act.

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Thieves made off with a refrigerated tractor-trailer filled with $85,000 worth of shredded mozzarella cheese bound for a distribution center in central Florida.

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Today in Sports History:

1913 - The American League approved the name change of the New York Highlanders to the Yankees. 

1956 - Dick Farley (Syracuse) fouled out after playing just five minutes. It was the fastest disqualification in NBA history. 

1966 - Bobby Hull (Chicago Black Hawks) became the first player in the NHL to score more than 50 goals in a season. Hull ended the season with 54 goals. 

1971 - Gordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings) announced his retirement after playing 26 seasons in the NHL. He came out or retirement two years later to play for the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association. 

1972 - Bill Russell had his No. 6 retired at Boston Garden. 

1985 - Larry Bird, of the NBA’s Boston Celtics, scored a club-record 60 points. The game was against the Atlanta Hawks. 

1985 - In Katmandu, Nepal, 80 people were trampled to death because stadium doors had been locked during a soccer game. The people had been seeking cover during a violent hail storm. 

1992 - Moses Malone (Milwaukee Bucks) became the fourth all-time scorer in NBA history.

1992 - Coach Don Nelson (Golden State Warriors) became the first man in NBA history to participate in 2,500 games as a player and coach. 

1994 - Nancy Kerrigan and Aretha Franklin were guests on "Saturday Night Live." 

2003 - The YES Network and Cablevision reached an interim deal to air New York Yankee games. Three million viewers had not had access to the games for 2002.

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In a new parody produced by Funny or Die, singer Michael Bolton stars as the Michael Bolton character in the hit movie Office Space, a comedy about cubicle jockeys who hate their mundane jobs and decide to rebel against their boss. The Michael Bolton in the film is sick of being confused with the Grammy Award-winning artist. | VIDEO

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

USPHL Elite Hockey Finals -- Tampa Bay Juniors vs Boston Junior Bruins 11:10am EDT.

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Boston Bruins 7:00pm EDT

USPHL Elite Hockey Finals -- Tampa Bay Juniors vs Syracuse Stars 8:30pm EDT

Friday --

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild at Amarillo Bulls 8:05pm EDT

USPHL Elite Hockey Finals -- Tampa Bay Juniors vs and time TBA.

Saturday --

Nascar Xfinity Series -- Axalta Faster Tougher Brighter 200 at Phoenix International Raceway 4:00pm  

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Winnipeg Jets 7:00pm EDT

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild at Amarillo Bulls 8:05pm EDT

Sunday --

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Campingworld.com 500 at Phoenix International Raceway 3:30pm EDT

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