It's Friday

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

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Today is December 30th, the 364th day of 2011. There is 1 day left in the year.

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The 7 best NHL Winter Classic jerseys.

Puck Headlines: Jagr rants on media; no fine for Quenneville.

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

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Today is Bacon Day. (Linky Link)

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Tampa FL. -- For the second game in a row, the Tampa Bay Lightning were outshot decisively but managed to come away with a win.

Vincent Lecavalier's goal 8:37 into the third period capped Tampa Bay's comeback from a two-goal deficit as the Lightning rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 Thursday night at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Although Montreal outshot the Lightning 34-22, the Lightning won their third straight at home and fourth in six games overall.

Read the rest here.

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Today is Falling Needles Family Fest Day.

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U.S. National Under-17 Team Defeats the Czech Republic, 5-1,
in 2012 World Under-17 Challenge Opener

Allen and Compher Nets Two Goals Each in Team USA Victory

LASALLE, Ont. - Evan Allen (Sterling Heights, Mich.) and J.T. Compher (Northbrook, Ill.) netted two goals each, as the U.S. National Under-17 Team defeated the Czech Republic, 5-1, at the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge opener here tonight at the Vollmer Culture and Recreation Complex.

"The team benefited from a strong start tonight," said Don Granato, head coach of the U.S. National Under-17 Team. "We hope to build off this win and expect a tough battle tomorrow with Russia."

Team USA cashed in on its first power-play opportunity at 2:49 of the first frame when Compher wristed a shot into the net. Will Butcher (Sun Prairie, Wis.) found Compher open at the top of the left faceoff circle for the score. Anthony Louis (Winfield, Ill.) also collected an assist on the play. The U.S. doubled its lead when Allen knocked in a feed from Butcher in front of the net. John Hayden (Greenwich, Conn.) created space in the slot before finding Butcher to the left of the goaltender, leaving Allen open for the tally.

Compher flicked in a rebound off a shot from Hudson Fasching (Burnsville, Minn.) that snuck over the shoulder of Czech netminder Rene Svoboda for Team USA's third score on the night. Before time expired in the frame and while the U.S. was on the power play, Steven Santini (Mahopac, N.Y.) threw a shot on net that trickled past Svoboda, giving the U.S. a 4-0 lead after one period of action. Keaton Thompson (Devils Lake, N.D.) and Tyler Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) registered assists on the goal.

Neither team was able to light the lamp in the second period, despite 16 shots on net by Team USA. Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif.) entered the game and stopped all six Czech Republic shots he faced in the second period. Hunter Miska (North Branch, Minn.) started in goal and played the first 20 minutes, making eight saves in the opening period.

Allen notched his second tally of the night when he broke free from the Czech defense and beat Svoboda with a deke. Dawson Cook (Cadillac, Mich.) delivered the pass that sprung Allen and earned the lone assist. The Czech Republic found the scoresheet at 17:26 of the third frame, but Team USA skated away with a 5-1 victory.

The U.S. National Under-17 Team will continue tournament play against Russia on Friday (Dec. 30) at 2 p.m. EST. The game will be held at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ont. A full schedule is below.

NOTES: Evan Allen was named Team USA's Player of the Game ... The U.S. went 2-for-2 on the power play, while the Czech Republic went 0-for-3 with the man advantage ... Team USA recorded 56 shots on goal, while the Czech Republic had 24 ... For Team USA's full roster, click here ... The 2012 World Under-17 Challenge includes two pools of five teams. Pool A consists of teams from Canada Atlantic, Germany, Canada Quebec, Canada Ontario and Sweden. Pool B consists of teams from the Czech Republic, Canada Pacific, Russia, Canada West and the United States ... Exclusive videos will be posted on the USA Hockey YouTube channel under the World Under-17 Challenge playlist ... Follow @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament. Scores will be designated with #U17CHAL ... All games during the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will be available via live webcast at FASTHockey.com ... For additional coverage, visit USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Facebook page ... The U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams train with The Hockey IntelliGym, a revolutionary new software program released on October 1, 2010 that trains hockey sense. To learn more, visit USAHockeyIntelliGym.com.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

USA 4 - 0 - 1 - 5
CZE 0 - 0 - 1 - 1

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Compher (Butcher, Louis), 2:49, (pp); 2, USA, Allen (Butcher, Hayden), 11:47; 3, USA, Compher (Fasching), 17:54; 4, USA, Santini (Thompson, Kelleher), 19:12, (pp). Penalties: CZE, Kampf (hooking), 2:05; USA, Voltin (roughing), 4:13; CZE, Nemecek (tripping), 18:58.

Second Period - Scoring: None. Penalties: USA, Compher (10-minute-misconduct), 15:27; USA, Compher (checking-from-behind), 15:27.

Third Period - Scoring: 5, USA, Allen (Cook), 8:52; 6, CZE, Ceslik (Nemecek), 17:26. Penalties: USA, Labanc (hooking), 3:36.

Shots by Period
1 2 3 Total
USA 25 16 15 56
CZE 8 6 10 24

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Miska, 20:00 8/8 -- -- 8/8
USA, Demko, 40:00 -- 6/6 10/9 16/15
CZE, Svoboda, 60:00 25/21 16/16 15/14 56/51

Power Play: USA 2-2; CZE 0-3
Penalties: USA 4-16; CZE 2-4

Team USA 2012 World Under-17 Challenge Schedule
Dec. 28, 2011 - Jan. 4, 2012 • Windsor, Ont.

Date Opponent Location
Time (ET)/Result

Wed., Dec. 28* Canada Atlantic (exh.) Vollmer Culture & Rec Complex W, 6-1
Thurs., Dec 29 Czech Republic Vollmer Culture & Rec Complex W, 5-1
Fri., Dec. 30 Russia WFCU Centre 2:00 p.m.
Sun., Jan. 1 Canada West Tecumseh Arena 7:00 p.m.
Mon., Jan. 2 Canada Pacific Tecumseh Arena 7:00 p.m.
Tues., Jan. 3 Semi-Final WFCU Centre 2:00 p.m./7:00 p.m.
Weds., Jan. 4 Bronze Medal Game WFCU Centre 2:00 p.m.
Weds., Jan. 4 Gold Medal Game WFCU Centre 7:00 p.m.
*Pre-tournament game in LaSalle, Ontario.

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On this date in 1853, the United States bought about 45,000 square miles of land from Mexico in a deal known as the Gadsden Purchase.

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Who will be #1? CFL.ca’s Top 10 Plays of 2011.

Grey Cup MVC Andrew Harris extends with Lions.

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

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Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance" was first performed, at Paignton, Devon, England on this date in 1879.

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The 2011 NFL season is underway. Here's the week sixteen results:

Week 16

Thursday, December 22nd

At Indianapolis 19, Houston 16

Saturday, December 24th

Oakland 16 at Kansas City 13
At Tennessee 23, Jacksonville 17
At New England 27, Miami 24
At Cincinnati 23, Arizona 16
At Buffalo 40, Denver 14
At Pittsburgh 27, St. Louis 0
NY Giants 29 at NY Jets 14
Minnesota 33 at Washington 26
At Carolina 48, Tampa Bay 14
At Baltimore 20, Cleveland 14
At Detroit 38, San Diego 10
Philadelphia 20 at Dallas 7
San Francisco 19 at Seattle 17

Sunday, December 25th

At Green Bay 35, Chicago 21

Monday, December 26th

At New Orleans 45, Atlanta 16

Week 17 (Final week of regular season)

All times Eastern

Sunday, January 1st

Carolina at New Orleans 1:00 PM
Buffalo at New England 1:00 PM
Chicago at Minnesota 1:00 PM
NY Jets at Miami 1:00 PM
San Francisco at St. Louis 1:00 PM
Detroit at Green Bay 1:00 PM
Tampa Bay at Atlanta 1:00 PM
Baltimore at Cincinnati 1:00 PM
Pittsburgh at Cleveland 1:00 PM
Dallas at NY Giants 1:00 PM
Washington at Philadelphia 1:00 PM
Indianapolis at Jacksonville 1:00 PM
Tennessee at Houston 1:00 PM
Seattle at Arizona 4:15 PM
Kansas City at Denver 4:15 PM
San Diego at Oakland 4:15 PM

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Edwin Hubble announced the existence of other galactic systems on this date in 1924.

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Look Jimmy, a rock star guitar!

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California's first freeway was officially opened on this date in 1940. It was the Arroyo Seco Parkway connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena.

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Today in Elvis History:

1957 - The album "Elvis' Christmas Album" hit #1 in the U.S.

1970 - Elvis Presley was given a tour at the FBI's headquarters in Washington, DC.

1970 - "Elvis' Golder Records, Vol. 1" hit #21 in the U.K.

1970 - The Elvis Presley album "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits Vol. 1" hit #49 in the U.K.

1971 - Elvis Presley announced that Priscilla was leaving him.

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"Mr. and Mrs. North" debuted on NBC radio on this date in 1942.

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Today in Beatles History:

1970 - Paul McCartney sued the other three Beatles to dissolve the partnership and gain control of his interest.

1999 - George Harrison and his wife were attacked in their home during a robbery. Though, Harrison was stabbed in the chest four times, he and his wife were able to subdue the assailant until police arrived.

2001 - It was announced that the glasses of a John Lennon statue had been stolen in Havana, Cuba. The theft had actually occurred on December 21, 2000.

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On this date in 1953, the first color TV sets went on sale for about $1,175.

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Today in Sports History:

1926 - The Chicago Tribune broke a story that the Detroit Tigers threw a 4-game series to the Chicago White Sox in 1917.

1934 - Two NHL games ended in a scoreless tie. The games were Boston at the New York Rangers and the New York Americans at Detroit.

1954 - The 24-second shot clock was used for the first time in professional basketball.

1961 - Jack Nicklaus lost his first attempt at pro golf to Gary Player in an exhibition match in Miami, FL.

1978 - Ohio State University fired Woody Hayes as its football coach, one day after Hayes punched Clemson University player Charlie Bauman during the Gator Bowl. Bauman had intercepted an Ohio State pass.

1983 - Julius "Dr. J" Erving (Philadelphia 76ers) became the 9th basketball player to reach 25,000 points.

1996 - Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers) became only the second player to win consecutive NFL MVP Awards.

1997 - Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) scored more than 10 points in his 788th consecutive game.

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On this date in 1954, James Arness made his dramatic TV debut in "The Chase". The "Gunsmoke" series didn’t begin for Arness until the fall of 1955.

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Coming up:

Tonight --

Nothin' Doin'

Saturday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Carolina Hurricanes 5:00pm EST

Sunday --

NFL Football -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons 1:00pm EST (Final game of regular season)

Monday --

Nothin' Doin'

Tuesday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs 7:00pm EST

Wednesday --

Nothin' Doin'

Thursday --

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

Friday --

Nothin' Doin'

Saturday --

Junior Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors Empire South and EJHL South teams at EJHL Showcase at N.E.S.C., Marlborough, Massachusetts.

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens 7:00pm EST

Sunday --

Junior Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors Empire South and EJHL South teams at EJHL Showcase at N.E.S.C., Marlborough, Massachusetts.

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That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by, I hope that you'll do so tomorrow too. Thanks again!