It's Thursday

Happy Thursday to you. Here's what's happening....

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Today is May 5th, the 125th day of 2011. There are 240 days left in the year.

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Lightning  beat Caps to complete sweep.

Bruins rout Flyers, lead series 3-0.

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Todays birthdays: Actor Michael Palin (Monty Python's Life of Bryan and The Meaning of Life, A Fish Called Wanda) is 68; actor John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings films, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) is 67; entertainment reporter Kurt Loder is 66; NBC news anchor Brian Williams is 52; singer Chris Brown is 22.

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USHL Clark Cup Playoffs – First Round

Eastern Conference

Indiana Ice (#3) vs. Waterloo Black Hawks (#6)

Indiana wins series 2-0.

Team USA (#4) vs. Muskegon Lumberjacks (#5)

Muskegon wins series 2-0.

Western Conference

Sioux Falls Stampede (#3) vs. Sioux City Musketeers (#6)

Sioux Falls wins series 2-1.

Fargo Force (#4) vs. Lincoln Stars (#5)

Fargo wins series 2-0.

USHL Clark Cup Playoffs – Second Round

Eastern Conference

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (#1) vs. Muskegon Lumberjacks (#5)
Cedar Rapids wins series 3-1.

Green Bay Gamblers (#2) vs. Indiana Ice (#3)
Green Bay wins series 3-0.

Western Conference

Dubuque Fighting Saints (#1) vs. Fargo Force (#4)
Dubuque wins series 3-0.

Omaha Lancers (#2) vs. Sioux Falls Stampede (#3)
Sioux Falls wins series 3-0.

USHL Clark Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference Final
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (#1) vs. Green Bay Gamblers (#2)
Game 1: Friday, April 29th – Green Bay 3 @ Cedar Rapids 2
Game 2: Saturday, April 30th – Green Bay 1 @ Cedar Rapids 2
Game 3: Friday, May 6th, 7:05 PM – Cedar Rapids @ Green Bay
Game 4: Sunday, May 8th, 3:05 PM – Cedar Rapids @ Green Bay**
Game 5: Tuesday, May 10th, 7:05 PM – Green Bay @ Cedar Rapids **
** if necessary
(all times reflect local start time)

USHL Clark Cup Playoffs – Western Conference Final
Dubuque Fighting Saints (#1) vs. Sioux Falls Stampede (#3)
Game 1: Friday, April 29th– Sioux Falls 2 @ Dubuque 5
Game 2: Saturday, April 30th – Sioux Falls 1 @ Dubuque 2
Game 3: Friday, May 6th, 7:05 PM – Dubuque @ Sioux Falls
Game 4: Sunday, May 8th, 6:05 PM – Dubuque @ Sioux Falls**
Game 5: Tuesday, May 10th, 7:00 PM – Sioux Falls @ Dubuque **
** if necessary
(all times reflect local start time)

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SWEEP! SWEEP! SWEEP! SWEEP!






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U.S. Men's National Team Falls to Sweden, 6-2,
in Final Preliminary Game of 2011 IIHF World Men's Championship

Fowler & Wheeler Score for Team USA

KOSICE, Slovakia – Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich./Anaheim Ducks) and Blake Wheeler (Robbinsdale, Minn./Atlanta Thrashers/University of Minnesota) each notched a goal, but the U.S. Men's National Team fell to Sweden, 6-2, here tonight in its final preliminary-round game of the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Men's Championship.

Team USA takes a 2-0-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record into the qualification round, where it will face Canada on Friday (May 6) at 10:15 a.m. EDT.

"Certainly it's disappointing to lose," said Scott Gordon, head coach of Team USA. "We had some breakdowns that we hadn't had in previous games tonight, but part of that is a credit to Sweden. We'll have a good practice tomorrow and be ready to go against Canada on Friday."

Sweden netted the game's first goal with less than three minutes remaining in the first period when Tim Erixon set up Patrik Berglund in the high slot after a turnover in the U.S. zone. But Team USA responded just 1:12 later with a power-play goal from Fowler. Derek Stepan (Hastings, Minn./New York Rangers/University of Wisconsin) threaded a cross-ice pass from right inside the blue line on the left side boards to a streaking Fowler, who tipped the puck in behind Swedish goalie Viktor Fasth.

Just over three minutes into the second period, Sweden took the lead for good when Marcus Kruger banged home a shot into an empty net from in front after U.S. goaltender Al Montoya (Glenview, Ill./New York Islanders/University of Michigan) got tied up behind the net.

Sweden scored two more goals in the middle frame to go up, 4-1. Mattias Sjogren fired a wrist shot past Montoya at the 10:27 mark and Berglund notched his second goal of the game less than five minutes later.

Team USA narrowed the gap 10:29 into the third period, when Craig Smith (Madison, Wis./University of Wisconsin) forced a turnover in the neutral zone. He then sent a quick feed to Wheeler just inside the blue line, who backhanded a shot past Fasth to pull the U.S. within two goals. Sweden, however, notched two more goals in the last four minutes, including one on the power play, for the 6-2 victory.

Montoya made 24 saves for Team USA in the loss, while Fasth stopped 30 shots in the win for Sweden.

The U.S. Men's National Team will next face Canada on Friday (May 6), at 10:15 a.m. EDT in its first qualification-round game. The game will be broadcast live on Versus and scoring updates will be available on Twitter by following #2011WMC. For Team USA coverage from Slovakia throughout the IIHF World Men's Championship, including game blogs and postgame video, visit the U.S. Men's National Team blog.

NOTES: Team USA went 1-for-6 on the power play, while Norway was 1-for-2 with the man advantage ... Yan Stastny (St. Louis, Mo./CSKA Moscow/University of Notre Dame) was named the U.S. Player of the Game ... The 2011 U.S. Men's National Team roster can be found here and the media guide can be downloaded here ... The U.S. Men's National Team's fourth-place finish at the 2009 IIHF World Men's Championship was Team USA's best finish at the tournament since capturing the bronze medal in 2004 ... The 2011 U.S. Men’s National Team is under the direction of the U.S. Men’s National Team Advisory Group, including NHL general managers Brian Burke (Toronto), Paul Holmgren (Philadelphia), Dean Lombardi (Los Angeles), David Poile (Nashville), Ray Shero (Pittsburgh) and Dale Tallon (Florida); Atlanta Thrashers president Don Waddell; and Jim Johannson, USA Hockey's assistant executive director for hockey operations. Paul Fenton, assistant general manager of the Nashville Predators and general manager of the American Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals, is serving as associate general manager of the 2011 U.S. Men's National Team ... Scott Gordon is head coach for the second consecutive year after leading the 2010 U.S. Men's National Team, while Greg Cronin, Phil Housley and Barry Smith are serving as assistants ... USA Hockey's international council, chaired by Tony Rossi, vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams ... Versus will provide television coverage of the first six U.S. games at the 2011 IIHF World Men's Championship, in addition to the semifinal round and gold-medal game. For more information, visit USAHockey.com.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

SWE 1 - 3 - 2 - 6
USA 1 - 0 - 1 - 2

First Period - Scoring: 1, SWE, Berglund (Erixon), 17:31; 2, USA, Fowler (Stepan, Smith), 18:43 (pp). Penalties: USA, Stastny (slashing), 5:57; SWE, Fernholm (holding), 14:09; SWE, Tedenby (holding), 18:10; SWE, Petrasek (hooking), 19:32.

Second Period - Scoring: 3, SWE, Kruger (Tedenby), 3:17; 4, SWE, Sjogren (Ericsson), 10:27; 5, SWE, Berglund (Thornberg, Paajarvi), 15:16. Penalties: SWE, Persson (hooking), 5:19.

Third Period - Scoring: 6, USA, Wheeler (Smith), 10:29; 7, SWE, Ericsson (Kronwall, Sjogren), 16:01; 8, SWE, Petrasek (Sjogren), 18:50 (pp). Penalties: SWE, Kronwall (tripping), 5:10; USA, Johnson (cross-checking), 17:40; SWE, Kronwall (roughing), 19:53.

Shots by Period
1 2 3 Total
SWE 13 9 8 30
USA 10 9 13 32

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
SWE, Fasth, 60:00 10-9 9-9 13-12 32-30
USA, Montoya, 60:00 13-12 9-6 8-6 30-24

Power Play: SWE 1-2; USA 1-6
Penalties: SWE 6-12; USA 2-4
Referees: Vyacheslav Bulanov, Peter Orszag
Linesmen: Milan Novak, Sergei Shelyanin

Team USA 2011 IIHF World Men's Championship Schedule
April 29 - May 15 • Kosice & Bratislava, Slovakia

Date Opponent Location
Time (Local/EDT)/
Results

Wed., April 27 Austria* Innsbruck W, 3-2
Sat., April 30 Austria Kosice W, 5-1
Mon., May 2 Norway Kosice W, 4-2
Wed., May 4 Sweden Kosice L, 2-6
Fri., May 6 Canada^ Kosice 4:15 p.m./10:15 a.m.
Sat., May 7 France^ Kosice 8:15 p.m./2:15 p.m.
Mon., May 9 Switzerland^ Kosice 4:15 p.m./10:15 a.m.
Wed., May 11-Thurs., May 12 Quarterfinals Bratislava TBD
Fri., May 13 Semifinals Bratislava TBD
Sun., May 15 Bronze-Medal Game Bratislava 4:00 p.m./10:00 a.m.
Gold-Medal Game Bratislava 8:30 p.m./2:30 p.m.

Arenas: Orange Arena (Bratislava); Steel Arena (Kosice)
*Pre-tournament game at Tiroler Wasserkraft Arena in Innsbruck, Austria
^Qualification Round


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The photo of President Obama and his national security team in the White House situation room during the Osama bin Laden raid is well on its way to destroying all of Flickr's viewing records. The image went up on Flickr at 1pm ET Monday and had 1.6 million views after its first 38 hours. No photo has gotten that many hits that quickly, according to Flickr. 

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Esks release Canadian Peterson, Zabransky.

Roughriders set for CFL Canadian draft.

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 loves his brother Snoopy.

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Michael Mooney's will attempt to pilot a 44-foot bicycle at an Asheville, North Carolina, arts festival next week. If he can ride it 100 meters Mooney will set a new world record for the tallest ridden bike.

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ST PETERSBURG --  Toronto took a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay Wednesday night at Tropicana Field with 10,099 watching.

Sam Fuld's two-out RBI single in the ninth scored Casey Kotchman to close the gap, but the Rays could not get any closer as Ben Zobrist grounded out to first with the tying run at third base.

With the loss, Tampa Bay fell to 16-14 on the season with the rubber game of the three-game series scheduled to take place Thursday afternoon.

Read the rest here.

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Angry that his cocaine dealer gave him the wrong change, a South Carolina man called police to complain. He was arrested.

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NEW YORK -- Tim Lincecum had never won a game here in three lifetime starts before Wednesday. So when he emerged with a triumphant decision in the Giants' 2-0 victory over the Mets, he fittingly met the high standards that New Yorkers associate with greatness.

Toughness. Style. Unyielding efficiency.

Read the rest here.

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Today in Elvis History:

1956 - Elvis Presley's single "Heartbreak Hotel" hit #1 in the U.S. The song was Elvis' first million seller.

1956 - Elvis Presley's debut album "Elvis Presley" hit #1 in the U.S. The album was RCA's first million-dollar album by a solo artist.

1973 - Elvis Presley's album "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" hit #1 in the U.S. The ablum was Presley's first #1 album in nine years. It was also his last #1 album.

2005 - TV GUIDE issued four different covers featuring Elvis Presley. Each cover also featured a mini-CD of a previously unreleased version of the song "Young and Beautiful."

2005 - The 32-track, double CD set "Elvis by the Presley" was released. The album was to accompany the television special. The special aired May 13, 2005.

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American Idol Tonight - Lady Antebellum will perform on tonight's results show. 

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Today in Beatles History:

1979 - George Harrison's single "Blow Away" hit #51 in the U.K. and #16 in the U.S.

1983 - The Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder duet "Ebony and Ivory" won International Hit Of The Year at the 28th annual Ivor Novello Awards.

1990 - The "John Lennon Tribute Concert" was held at the Pier Head Arena in Merseyside.

1992 - The Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson single "Say Say Say" was certified platinum by the RIAA.

2010 - The 14th Annual Webby Awards named TheBeatlesRockBand.com as Best Games-Related Site of the year. ("The Beatles - Rockband")

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Arnold Schwarzenegger's still got it. The bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-governor-turned-actor has signed at $12.5 million deal to star in a movie called Cry Macho. He'll also get a cut a percentage of the profits.

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Today in Sports History:

1904 - The third perfect game of the major leagues was thrown by Cy Young (Boston Red Sox) against the Philadelphia Athletics. It was the first perfect game under modern rules.

1922 - A contract was awarded to New York's White Construction Co. for the construction of Yankee Stadium I.

1925 - Everett Scott (New York Yankees) ended his game playing streak of 1,307 games.

1956 - Jim Bailey became the first runner to break the four-minute mile in the U.S.

1966 - Willie Mays broke the National League record for home runs when he hit his 512th.

1978 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds registered his 3,000th major league hit.

1989 - In Albany, NY, Mike Tyson got his second speeding ticket for drag racing.

1995 - The last game was played at Boston Gardens. The Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics.

2004 - It was announced that "Spider-Man 2" ads would appear on bases in major league games during games from June 11-13. The plan was canceled the next day.

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Today is the National Day of Prayer.

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Coming Up: 

Tonight --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays 1:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at New York Mets 1:10pm EDT

Friday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles 7:05pm EDT

Nascar Nationwide Series -- Royal Purple 200 at Darlington Raceway 7:30pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Colorado Rockies 10:15pm EDT

Saturday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles 1:10pm EDT

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway 7:30pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Colorado Rockies 9:05pm EDT

Sunday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles 1:35pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Colorado Rockies 4:05pm EDT

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That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, be sure to tell your friends about this blog. See you tomorrow.