It's Wednesday

It's Wednesday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is January 26th, the 26th day of 2011. There are 339 days left in the year.

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Panthers hold off Rangers.

Penguins blank Islanders.

Ducks edge Blue Jackets.

Flyers reach milestone by beating Habs.

Sabres top Senators in overtime.

Wild boost playoff hopes by beating Hawks.

Oilers late goal beats Coyotes.

Roloson, Lightning shut out Maple Leafs.

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Today's Birthdays: Sportscaster/actor Bob Uecker is 76; actor Scott Glenn (Backdraft, The Bourne Ultimatum) is 70; rocker Eddie Van Halen is 56; talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is 53; hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky is 50; the Suleman octuplets (Octomom) are 2.

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University of Wisconsin Remains No. 1 in USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The University of Wisconsin remains No. 1 in this week's USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll after posting a 1-0-1 record against No. 6 University of Minnesota Duluth last weekend. The Badgers, who boast a 23-2-1 overall record, accumulated 182 points and 11 first-place votes to earn the top spot for the ninth time this season.

Cornell University sits at No. 2 with 179 points and eight first-place votes, following a weekend sweep of Colgate University and a win over No. 4 Mercyhurst College last Tuesday (Jan. 18). Meanwhile, Boston University remains at No. 3 with 150 points following a win over the University of Vermont. Mercyhurst College (128) sits in the No. 4 spot after twice defeating Robert Morris University, while the University of Minnesota (122) rounds out the top five after posting two victories over the Ohio State University.

Providence College returns to the poll at No. 9 after defeating then-No. 7 Boston College and then-No. 9 Northeastern University last weekend.

This week features two top-10 match-ups, with No. 8 Boston College hosting No. 9 Providence College, and No. 5 University of Minnesota traveling to No. 1 University of Wisconsin for a weekend series.

NOTES: The Western Collegiate Hockey Association leads all conferences with four ranked programs, while Hockey East boasts three, ECAC Hockey has two ranked teams and College Hockey America has one ... A total of 12 teams received votes.

ABOUT THE POLL: The 14th 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 Magazine, the most widely distributed hockey magazine in the world.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine
Women's College Hockey Poll - #16(first-place votes in parentheses)

Rank	School	Last Week's Ranking	2010-11 Record	Weeks in Top 10
1	University of Wisconsin, 182 (11)	1	23-2-1	16
2	Cornell University, 179 (8)	2	20-1-0	16
3	Boston University, 150	3	19-2-3	16
4	Mercyhurst College, 128	4	20-5-0	16
5	University of Minnesota, 122	5	18-6-1	15
6	University of Minnesota Duluth, 90	6	12-7-3	16
7	University of North Dakota, 68	8	14-7-3	16
8	Boston College, 58	7	14-5-4	16
9	Providence College, 46	NR	17-8-1	6
10	Quinnipiac University, 14	10	16-8-1	2

Others receiving votes: Bemidji State University, 4; Northeastern University, 4.

U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team, Taylor Chace Earn United States Olympic Committee Honors

Team USA Named USOC Paralympic Team of the Year; Chace Named USOC Paralympic SportsMan of the Year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The 2010 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team and defenseman Taylor Chace (Hampton Falls, N.H.) were honored today with 2010 United States Olympic Committee awards. After capturing the Paralympic Winter Games gold medal in Vancouver, B.C., last March, the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team was named the USOC Paralympic Team of the Year, while Chace was named the USOC Paralympic SportsMan of the Year.

Last March, the United States became the first country to claim its second Paralympic Winter Games gold medal in sled hockey after Team USA posted a perfect 5-0-0-0 record (W-OTW-OTL-L) and topped Japan, 2-0, in the title game. The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team also set a record by outscoring its opponents, 18-0, to become the first-ever team to not allow a goal in a single Paralympic Winter Games.

"Our gold medal last year came as a result of tremendous sacrifice and dedication on the part of our players, our staff, their families and USA Hockey," said Ray Maluta, head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team and U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team. "This award is a fitting tribute to everyone who worked so hard for that ultimate prize."

Chace played a huge role on the gold medal-winning U.S. squad. He was named the tournament's top defenseman, tied for second among touranment blue liners with five points (3-2) and tied for first with a plus-8 rating. Last summer, Chace was named the captain of this year's 2010-11 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team.

"Even after my spinal cord injury, I never lost my passion for hockey," said Chace, who suffered the injury in 2002 while playing junior hockey for the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs of the Eastern Junior Hockey League. "Winning gold last year was an amazing feeling, and an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything."

NOTES: This marks the second consecutive year that a U.S. sled hockey team and player captured the USOC Paralympic Team and SportsMan of the Year awards. Last year, the 2009-10 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team and goalie Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) were honored ... The U.S. National Sled Hockey Team will take part in a camp this weekend in Indian Trail, N.C. On Thursday (Jan. 27), the team will meet with NASCAR's Joey Logano, who helped design and build custom sleds for the gold medal-winning 2010 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team.

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It's National Peanut Brittle Day.

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Panzarella commits to UND.

Gamblers extend Chicago's skid to 16 games.

Fargo Force: Corey Leivermann Q & A.

Tabrum commits to Denver.

Youngstown Phantoms' week #17.

Highly-touted prospect commits to Dubuque.

Future looks bright for Fighting Saints.

Musketeers offer youth ticket promotion.

Jacks prepare for rematch with Ice, home-and-home set with Phantoms.

Ice Weekly.

Late flurry by Des Moines dooms visiting Lumberjacks.

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A car salesman in Chicago got the axe after he wore his Green Bay Packers tie to work. Like I said, he worked in Chicago -- home of the Bears. The dealership says it spends $20,000 a month on advertising with the Bears and the tie was "undoing their [hard] work."

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Campbell: Why Ray is the way.

Canadian Thelwell calls it a career.

Council backs renovated Ivor Wynne Stadium.

Donate to the Tony Proudfoot Fund.

Visit the league's official website, cfl.ca.

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A Temple, Texas, man likely crossed into the record books without leaving the gym Tuesday morning. John Warnes completed 161 miles in 24 hours on a treadmill.

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Here Daddy....You wanna color?

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Here's the NFL Wild Card Round schedule:

At Seattle Seahawks 41, New Orleans Saints 36

New York Jets 17 at Indianapolis Colts 16

Baltimore Ravens 30 at Kansas City Chiefs 7

Green Bay Packers 21 at Philadelphia Eagles 16

Here's the NFL Divisional Round Schedule:

At Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Baltimore Ravens 24

Green Bay Packers 48 at Atlanta Falcons 21

At Chicago Bears 35, Seattle Seahawks 24

New York Jets 28 at New England Patriots 21

Here's the NFL Championship Round Schedule:

Green Bay Packers 21 at Chicago Bears 14

At Pittsburgh Steelers 24, New York Jets 19

Super Bowl XLV:

Sunday, February 6th 6:30pm Pittsburgh Steelers vs Green Bay Packers at Cowboys Stadium

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Your sweetheart or your pet? Most pet owners said they would hold on to their spouse or significant, but 14% picked their pet.

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Today in Elvis History:

1971 - Elvis Presley began a month-long, 57-show season at the International Hotel in Las Vegas.

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Oprah Winfrey had her best ratings in almost six years Monday -- the day of the reunion with her half-sister.

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Today in Beatles History:

1969 - The Beatles recorded covers of "Shake Rattle And Roll," "Kansas City," "Miss Ann," "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," "Blue Suede Shoes," "You Really Got A Hold On Me" and "Tracks Of My Tears."

1970 - John Lennon wrote and recorded "Instant Karma."

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Muscle & Fitness magazine looked at the most populous cities and the number of powerlifters, strongmen competitors, personal trainers and fitness instructors in each. Based on those things (and a few other bits of data) Seattle is the strongest city in the U.S.

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Today in Sports History:

1924 - Charles Jewtraw of the United States won the 500-meter speed skating. He was the first Gold Medalist at the Winter Olympics.

1985 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) became the first NHL player to score 50 goals in 49 games.

1990 - Steffi Graf won her 48th consecutive match.

1997 - ZZ Top, James Brown and the Blues Brothers performed at the Super Bowl XXXI halftime show. The Green Bay Packers won 35-21 over the New England Patriots. It was the third Super Bowl win for the Packers.

2002 - Jennifer Capriati won Australian Open Tennis Championships in Melbourne.

2003 - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII. Tampy Bay coach Jon Gruden became the youngest coach to ever win a Super Bowl. It was the first Super Bowl appearance for the Buccaneers.

2003 - In Berlin, Lindsay Benko broke the 400 freestyle world record. She became the first to go under the four-minute mark (3 minutes, 59.53 seconds).

2003 - In Berlin, Thomas Rupprath set a new world record in the men's 100 medley. He came in at 52.58.

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They've announced the nominations for this year's Academy Awards. (Meryl Streep was nominated again. This time for her jaw-dropping performance as Oprah's half sister.)

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

Nothin' Doin'

Thursday --

Nothin' Doin'

Friday --

Nothin' Doin'

Saturday --

Nothin' Doin'

Sunday --

Nothin' Doin'

Monday --

Nothin' Doin'

Tuesday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Philadelphia Flyers 7:30pm EST

Wednesday --

Nothin' Doin'

Thursday --

Nothin' Doin'

Friday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Washington Capitals 7:30pm EST

Saturday --

SEJHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Florida Eels 3:30pm EST

MJHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Florida Eels 8:00pm EST

Sunday --

SEJHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Florida Eels 10:30am EST

MJHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Florida Eels 10:30am EST

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs St. Louis Blues 3:00pm EST

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That's all for today. See you again tomorrow.