It's Friday

It's Friday. Here's what's happening today.... 

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Today is March 11th, the 70th day of 2011. There are 295 days left in the year.

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Sabres rally to beat Bruins in OT.

Flyers hold off Leafs.

Senators edge Panthers.

Halak and Blues top Canadiens.

Predators whip Wild.

Coyotes jump into fifth by whipping Flames.

Canucks outlast Sharks in shootout.

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TOKYO (AP) — A massive tsunami spawned by the largest earthquake in Japan's recorded history slammed the eastern coast Friday, sweeping away boats, cars, homes and people as widespread fires burned out of control. Tsunami warnings blanketed the entire Pacific, as far away as South America, Canada, Alaska and the entire U.S. West Coast.

Authorities said at least 40 people were killed and 39 missing after the magnitude 8.9 offshore quake unleashed a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami. The quake was followed by at least 19 aftershocks, most of them of more than magnitude 6.0. The death toll was likely to continue climbing given the scale of the disaster.

Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the epicenter.

Different sized waves are now (8:40am EST) beginning to hit Hawaii.

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Ambroz has gone from youngster to leader in USHL.

Waterloo beats Dubuque.

Muskegon to host Team USA twice this weekend.

Stampede blasts Fargo.

Good news for pair of Force players.

Slightly chilled: Area voices.

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Today's Birthdays: Media titan Rupert Murdoch (Fox, TV Guide, WSJ) is 80; Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is 75; politician Jesse Jackson Jr. is 46; actor Terrence Howard (Iron Man, Crash) is 42; actor Johnny Knoxville (Jackass, Dukes of Hazzard) is 40; reality show personality Jon "Jonny Fairplay" Dalton is 37; actress Thora Birch (American Beauty, Parenthood) is 29

... And Ken, Barbie's main man, turns 50.


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U.S. National Sled Hockey Team Drops 2-1 Decision to Canada

Landeros Scores Lone Goal for Team USA

NAGANO CITY, Japan -- Nikko Landeros (Berthoud, Colo.) scored less than one minute into the third period to tie the score, but the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team eventually fell, 2-1, to Canada in its first game of the 2011 Japan Para Ice Sledge Hockey Championships.

Canada's Billy Bridges scored the game-winning goal with just 15 seconds remaining in the third period.

"I thought we played really well for most of the game, but had an unfortunate breakdown at the end," said Ray Maluta, head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team. "We need to rebound tomorrow to give us a chance to reach the first-place game on Monday."

Following a scoreless first period, Bridges gave Canada a 1-0 lead midway through the second period. Team USA responded less than one minute into the third period, however. While on the power play, Alex Salamone (Grand Island, N.Y.) fed Landeros at the near post, where the defenseman tapped the puck past Canada goalie Benoit St.-Amand.

The U.S. had a chance to take the lead with just one minute remaining in the third period when Salamone was awarded a penalty shot. But St.-Amand made the save, allowing Canada to score the decisive tally.

Team USA goalie Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) made 11 saves in the loss, while St.-Amand turned aside eight U.S. shots.

Team USA will face Norway tomorrow (March 12) at 12:30 a.m. EST in its second preliminary-round game. Postgame interviews, photos and a blog can be found here.

NOTES: Nikko Landeros was named Team USA's Player of the Game ... Tremors from a large earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan were felt during the first period, leading to a temporary stopage of the game ... The third- and first-place games on March 13-14 will be streamed live here ... Ray Beck (Stratford, N.J.), Bryan Genovese (Oceanside, N.Y.) and Justin Kreger (Waterford, Wis.), all members of the U.S. National Developmental Sled Hockey Team, will join Team USA for the 2011 Japan Para Ice Sledge Hockey Championships in the absence of Taylor Chace (Hampton Falls, N.H.), Jimmy Connelly (Galloway, N.J.) and Adam Page (Lancaster, N.Y.). For a complete 2010-11 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team roster, click here ... The 2011 Japan Para Ice Sledge Hockey Championships is taking place at The Big Hat, which played host to ice hockey games during the 1998 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games ... The U.S. has won the last four IPC-sanctioned tournaments dating back to the 2009 IPC World Sledge Hockey Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

CAN 0 - 1 - 1 - 2
USA 0 - 0 - 1 - 1

First Period - Scoring: None. Penalties: USA, Shaw (elbowing), 0:46; CAN, Bridges (interference), 4:11; USA, Salamone (interference), 10:54; USA, Pauls (roughing), 12:53.

Second Period - Scoring: 1, CAN, Bridges (Dixon, Whitson), 8:06. Penalties: USA, Jones (interference), 10:50; CAN, Murray (holding), 13:34.

Third Period - Scoring: 2, USA, Landeros (Salamone, Lipsett), 0:33 (pp); 3, CAN, Bridges (Bowden), 14:45. Penalties: CAN, Bridges (teeing), 3:22; CAN, Westlake (holding, penalty shot), 14:00.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
CAN 6 3 4 13
USA 3 3 3 9

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
CAN, St.-Amand 45:00 3-3 3-3 3-2 9-8
USA, Cash 44:53 6-6 3-2 4-3 13-11

Power Play: CAN 0-4; USA 1-4
Penalties: CAN 4-8; USA 4-8

Team USA 2011 Japan Para Ice Sledge Hockey Championships Schedule
March 11-14 • Nagano, Japan • Big Hat

Date Opponent Time (ET)/Result
Fri., March 11 Canada L, 2-1
Sat., March 12 Norway 12:30 a.m.
Sun., March 13 Japan 5 a.m.
Third-Place Game 10 p.m.
Mon., March 14 First-Place Game 1 a.m.

Three Finalists Named for 2011 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award
Fourteenth Annual Award to be Presented March 19 in Erie, Pa.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Senior forwards Meghan Agosta (Ruthven, Ont./Mercyhurst College), Meghan Duggan (Danvers, Mass./Univ. of Wisconsin) and Kelli Stack (Brooklyn Heights, Ohio/Boston College) have been named the three finalists for the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented by Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. The award, which is in its 14th year, is given out annually by The USA Hockey Foundation to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey.

2011 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award
Finalists

Meghan Agosta • Mercyhurst College
Senior • Forward • 33GP, 36-48--84

Meghan Duggan • Univ. of Wisconsin
Senior • Forward • 38GP, 37-45--82

Kelli Stack • Boston College
Senior • Forward • 34GP, 34-22--56

The trio represents three NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey conferences – College Hockey America (Agosta), Hockey East (Stack) and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (Duggan).

The 2011 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented by LECOM, will be handed out at a brunch ceremony on March 19 at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, Pa., in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Frozen Four (March 18 & 20).

A limited number of tickets to the ceremony are still available and may be purchased by calling 719-538-1184 or by submitting a completed ticket form (located at PattyKaz.com). Individual seats are $65, while tables of 10 are available for $600.

Meghan Agosta
One of Mercyhurst College's team captains, Agosta has become a top-three finalist for the fourth time in her collegiate career. This season, she became the first player in NCAA history to reach 300 career points and now stands at 301 (155-146). She also became the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer with her 151st goal and has 155 goals to date. In College Hockey America play, Agosta was named CHA Player of the Year and earned First Team All-CHA honors, while leading the CHA in all offensive categories and winning the league's regular-season scoring trophy with 41 points (18-23) in 16 games. Agosta helped lead Mercyhurst to the CHA regular-season and tournament championships, as well as a berth in the NCAA tournament. She currently leads the nation with 84 points, 48 assists, 14 power-play goals and four shorthanded goals, while ranking third with 36 goals and nine game-winning goals.

Meghan Duggan
Amidst a standout senior season with the University of Wisconsin, Duggan was named Western Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Year and earned All-WCHA First Team honors. She ranks second nationally with 82 points, 37 goals, 45 assists and 11 power-play goals, and third with three shorthanded goals. As team captain, she helped lead Wisconsin to the WCHA regular-season and tournament championships, as well as a berth in the NCAA tournament. She also led the WCHA with 61 points, 34 assists and 20 power-play points (9-11), and ranked second with 27 goals. Duggan reached several NCAA and Wisconsin milestones this season, becoming the seventh player all-time and first Wisconsin player to reach both 100 goals and 100 assists. She ranks seventh in NCAA history and leads Wisconsin with 233 career points.

Kelli Stack
Stack is the first-ever top-three finalist from Boston College. As a senior captain, she helped lead BC to its first-ever Hockey East tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament. Stack ranks first in the country with four shorthanded goals, fourth with 34 goals and eight game-winning goals, and eighth with 56 points. She led Hockey East with 33 points (22-11), 22 goals, 12 power-play points (7-5), four shorthanded points (4-0) and five game-winning goals. Along with winning the league's regular-season scoring trophy, Stack was named Hockey East's Player of the Year and earned Hockey East First Team All-Star honors. In addition, she was named Hockey East Player of the Month twice and Hockey East Player of the Week three times. This season, Stack set the Hockey East records for career points (133) and goals (68). She also set her school record for points (199) and now stands at 207 career points.

NOTES: Meghan Agosta is the second top-three finalist from Mercyhurst College (Vicki Bendus-2010 winner), while Meghan Duggan is the third top-three finalist from the University of Wisconsin (Sara Bauer-2006-07, Jessie Vetter-2009). Sara Bauer won the 2006 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award and Jessie Vetter won the award in 2009 ... Kelli Stack is the first-ever top-three finalist from Boston College ... For more information on the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, visit PattyKaz.com ... Mike Ruzzi, sports director at WICU-TV (NBC) in Erie, Pa., will serve as the master of ceremonies, while Laura Halldorson, who led the University of Minnesota women's ice hockey team to three NCAA Division I national championships as head coach, will be the keynote speaker ... The 2011 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Ceremony, presented by LECOM, will be broadcast live at USAHockey.FASTHockey.com ... USA Hockey and the NCAA will team up once again to put on free girls' skills clinics in conjunction with the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award and the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four. Both will take place on March 19, at Mercyhurst Ice Center with an American Development Model session set for 3-4 p.m. ET and a Try Hockey For Free clinic to take place from 4-5 p.m.

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. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is supported, in part, by a grant from the NHL Foundation.

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.

Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Winners

Year Name School
1998 Brandy Fisher University of New Hampshire
1999 A.J. Mleczko Harvard University
2000 Ali Brewer Brown University
2001 Jennifer Botterill Harvard University
2002 Brooke Whitney Northeastern University
2003 Jennifer Botterill Harvard University
2004 Angela Ruggiero Harvard University
2005 Krissy Wendell University of Minnesota
2006 Sara Bauer University of Wisconsin
2007 Julie Chu Harvard University
2008 Sarah Vaillancourt Harvard University
2009 Jessie Vetter University of Wisconsin
2010 Vicki Bendus Mercyhurst College

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Have you unfollowed Charlie Sheen on Twitter yet? Today is Worldwide Global Unfollow Charlie Sheen on Twitter Day.

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Ticats extend backup QB Porter.

2011 CFL Schedule is here.

Donate to the Tony Proudfoot Fund.

Visit the leagues' official website, http://www.cfl.ca/.

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Jimmy and his Mommy, one year ago today.







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A 19-year-old Brooklyn girl faces felony charges and a possible two-year sentence for killing the family hamster. (She's claiming insanity based on the squeaky wheel defense.)

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Today in Elvis History:

1964 - Elvis Presley's 14th movie, "Kissin' Cousins," was released.

1967 - Elvis Presley recorded four songs for the film "Live A Little, Love A Little."

1972 - Elvis Presley's cover of Buffy Saint-Marie's "Until It's Time For You To Go" hit #40 in the U.S.

1978 - Elvis Presley's album "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" reentered the charts at #35 in the U.K.

2005 - Lisa Marie Presley's new video for "Dirty Laundry" was world premiered on AOL Music's First View.

2005 - The cast members from the broadway musical "All Shook Up" performed live on NBC's "Today".

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Today's (March 11) the day the next iPad goes on sale at 5pm (local time).

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Today in Beatles History:

1967 - The Beatles single "Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields Forever" hit #2 in the U.K.

1967 - A video of the Beatles performing "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" was played on "American Bandstand."

1970 - The Beatles' "Abbey Road" won Best Engineered Recording Of 1969 at the 12th annual Grammy Awards.

1990 - On the "Dr. Demento Show" the special topic was a demented salute to the Beatles.

1997 - At Buckingham Palace, Paul McCartney was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

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A 25-year-old from Tokyo, Japan, has received the title of World's Biggest Super Mario Fan, for his giant collection of Mario-themed memorabilia. Mitsugu Kikai has amassed an impressive collection of over 5,400 Super Mario items -- with no plan to stop.

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Today in Sports History:

1882 - The Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association was formed in Princeton, NJ.

1892 - The first organized women's basketball game was played. The game was at Smith College between students and faculty members.

1909 - The first gold medal to a perfect-score bowler was awarded to A.C. Jellison by the American Bowling Congress.

1930 - Babe Ruth signed a two-year contract with the New York Yankees for the sum of $80,000.

1948 - Reginald Weir became the first black tennis player to participate in a U.S. Indoor Lawn Tennis Association tournament.

1978 - Bobby Hull (Winnipeg Jets) joined Gordie Howe by getting his 1,000th career goal.

1979 - Randy Holt (Los Angeles Kings) was penalized nine times for 67 minutes in the first period of a game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

1990 - Jennifer Capriati, 13 years old, played her first professional tennis match.

1990 - Denis Savard (Chicago Blackhawks) scored his 1,000th point.

2004 - Major league baseball banned THG. The health policy advisory committee of management and the players' association unanimously determined that THG builds muscle mass.

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With just one tweet, Charlie Sheen made thousands of dollars from a job website -- and received thousands of applications for a social media intern. How many people applied? Over 74,000.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Ottawa Senators 7:30pm EST

Saturday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers 7:00pm EST

Sunday --

Nothin' Doin'

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