It's Thursday

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

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Today is February 9th, the 40th day of 2012. There are 326 days left in the year. (This is a leap year.)

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Wings, Leafs to play '13 Winter Classic at Big House.

Henrik Sedin in walking boot, sits out practice.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Singer Carole King is 70; Actor Joe Pesci (My Cousin Vinny) is 69; Actress Mia Farrow is 67; Actress Judith Light (Who's The Boss, Law & Order Special Victims Unit) is 63.

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New York, NY. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning look to rebound from Tuesday's streak-busting loss to Los Angeles Tuesday, when they play at the New York Rangers tonight.

Read the preview right here.

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Today is Extraterrestrial Visitor Day (Linky Link), National Stop Bullying Day (Linky Link) and Read in the Bathtub Day.

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U.S. National Under-17 Team Defeats Switzerland, 6-1, in 2012
Vlad Dzurilla Under-18 Tournament Opener

Allen and Chatham Each Record Three-Point Games in Team USA Win

PIESTANY, Slovakia - Evan Allen (Sterling Heights, Mich.) and Connor Chatham (Belleville, Ill.) each recorded three-point games, as the U.S. National Under-17 Team defeated Switzerland, 6-1, in the 2012 Vlad Dzurilla Under-18 Tournament opener here this afternoon at the Piestany Ice Arena.

"It was important for us to start this tough tournament with a win," said Don Granato, head coach of the U.S. National Under-17 Team. "Our focus shifts to our next opponent and we'll need the same effort we had today."

Team USA opened the scoring at 2:39 of the first period. John Hayden (Greenwich, Conn.) notched the goal for the U.S. with Michael McCarron (Macomb, Mich.) earning the assist. The U.S. outshot Switzerland, 14-6, in the opening period.

Switzerland tied the game, 1-1, at the 2:29 mark of the second stanza. Dawson Cook (Cadillac, Mich.) tallied a short-handed goal to reclaim the lead for the U.S. at 3:51. A power-play strike by Andrew Copp (Ann Arbor, Mich.) extended Team USA's lead to two goals, 3-1. Kevin Labanc (Staten Island, N.Y.) collected an assist on the play. Allen netted the fourth goal for the U.S. at 13:52. Chatham registered an assist on the score.

Chatham netted back-to-back goals, one with the man advanatge, 52 seconds apart in the third period to ice the game for Team USA. Allen and Tyler Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) earned assists on each of the tallies. Hunter Miska (North Branch, Minn.) turned aside all six shots he faced in the third period, and 16 shots total, in the win for the U.S. The netminder duo of Robin Kuonen and Melvin Nyffeler made a combined 31 saves for Switzerland in the loss.

The U.S. National Under-17 Team continues tournament play against Germany on Friday (Feb. 10) at 7:30 a.m. EST. The game will be held at the Piestany Ice Arena. Team USA's complete schedule can be found below.

NOTES: The U.S. outshot Switzerland, 37-17 ... The U.S. finished 2-for-5 on the power play, while Switzerland went 0-for-5 with the man advantage ... For Team USA's full roster, click here ... The 2012 Vlad Dzurilla Under-18 Tournament features teams from Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United States ... Team USA is the defending champion in this event, having claimed the tournament title in 2011 ... Follow @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament. Scores will be designated with #2012VLAD ... For additional coverage, visit USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Facebook page ... The U.S. National Under-18 Team is also competing internationally this week at the 2012 Five Nations Tournament in Pori, Finland ... 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

SUI 0 - 1 - 0 - 1
USA 1 - 3 - 2 - 6

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Hayden (McCarron), 2:39. Penalties: SUI, Schmutz (charging), 17:16.

Second Period - Scoring: 2, SUI, Brandi (Diem, Busser), 2:29; 3, USA, Cook (unassisted), 3:51, (sh); 4, USA, Copp (Labanc), 7:17, (pp); 5, USA, Allen (Chatham), 13:52. Penalties: USA, Hayden (interference), 2:51; SUI, Muller (roughing), 5:33; SUI, Rouiller (hooking), 8:02; SUI, Husler (holding), 11:07; USA, Copp (interference), 16:22.

Third Period - Scoring: 6, USA, Chatham (Allen, Kelleher), 4:51, (pp); 7, USA, Chatham (Allen, Kelleher), 5:43. Penalties: SUI, Balmelli (game-misconduct), 0:37; SUI, Balmelli (spearing), 0:37; USA, Motte (holding), 8:35; USA, Lewis (interference), 9:43; USA, Allen (hooking), 17:14.

Shots by Period
1 2 3 Total
SUI 6 5 6 17
USA 14 15 8 37

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
SUI, Kuonen, 45:43 14/13 15/12 3/1 32/26
SUI, Nyffeler, 14:17 -- -- 5/5 5/5
USA, Miska, 60:00 6/6 5/4 6/6 17/16

Power Play: SUI 0-5; USA 2-5
Penalties: SUI 6-33; USA 5-10

Team USA 2012 Vlad Dzurilla Under-18 Tournament Schedule
Feb. 9-11, 2012 • Piestany, Slovakia

Date Opponent Location
Time (ET)/Result

Thurs., Feb. 9 Switzerland Piestany W, 6-1
Fri., Feb. 10 Germany Piestany 7:30 a.m.
Sat., Feb. 11 Slovakia Piestany 11 a.m.

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Nice job guys! It turns out two-thirds of married women would almost rather do anything than get intimate with their men. Nearly 78% of women say their sex lives are "predictable," and nearly 1 out of 4 say they would definitely cheat on their husband if they knew for sure he would never find out.

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Leading Men: 2011 Coach of the Year Nominees.

Ticats extend Grant, sign Jeffers-Harris.

Thank you fans! CFL reaches Facebook milestone.

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

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The Navy Seals are being criticized by a Special Forces expert for being in the media too much. [For example, not only do some active duty Seals appear in a new movie, Act of Valor, but they also have an upcoming new sitcom, The Big Bang-Bang Theory.]

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Jimmy listens to his Fresh Beat Band cd.

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Looking for something truly unique for your Valentine? How about beef jerky underwear. You can find them on the homemade products website Etsy. It's beef jerky sewn and fashioned into a pair of briefs that are 100 percent edible.

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Today in Elvis History

1960 - Elvis Presley's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was added. The star was one of the original 1,558 to be placed.

1967 - Elvis Presley bought the Circle G ranch in Walla, Mississippi.

1999 - The two-disc compilation entitled "Sunrise" was released. The set contained Elvis Presley's studio recordings at Sun Studio from 1953 to 1955.

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Two trucks and a car were involved in a crash on the Autobahn near Frankfurt, Germany. One of the trucks spilled its load of sauerkraut, which froze on contact with the road and blocked traffic for hours. The woman driving the car was not seriously hurt, and while no other injuries were reported, the cost of all the damages is estimated at $133,000.

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Today in Beatles History:

1964 - The Beatles made the first of three record-breaking appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show." 73 million people watched the show. It was their American TV debut. They performed "All My Loving," "Till There Was You," "She Loves You," "I Saw Her Standing There," and "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

1972 - Wings made their concert debut at Nottingham University in England.

1993 - Paul McCartney released a solo album, "Off The Ground."

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The U.S. House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president on this date in 1825. No candidate had received a majority of electoral votes.

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Today in Sports History:

1895 - In Massachusetts, W.G. Morgan invented volleyball.

1895 - The first college basketball game was played as Minnesota State School of Agriculture defeated the Porkers of Hamline College, 9-3.

1900 - Dwight F. Davis put up a new tennis trophy to go to the winner in matches against England. The trophy was a silver cup that weighed 36 pounds.

1924 - Frank Nighbor received the first NHL Hart Trophy. The award, that judges the most valuable player to his team, was the first individual award in the NHL.

1932 - America entered the 2-man bobsled competition for the first time at the Olympic Winter Games held at Lake Placid, NY. They won the Gold Medal.

1960 - A verbal agreement was reached between representatives of the American and National Football Leagues. Both agreed not to tamper with player contracts.

1989 - Kevin Johnson (Phoenix Suns) ended an NBA free throw streak of 57 games.

1992 - Mike Gartner tied an NHL record when he reached the 30-goal mark for the 13th straight season. Only Bobby Hull and Phil Esposito had accomplished the feat.

1993 - Fourteen people were arrested when violence erupted at the Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl victory parade.

2005 - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said that a deal between the league and the players' association would have to be in place before the end of the week to save the season.

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The United States Weather Bureau was authorized by Congress on this date in 1870. The bureau is officially known as the National Weather Service (NWS).

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Coming up:

Tonight --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers 7:00pm EST

Friday --

Nothin' Doin'

Saturday --

Empire South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Space Coast Hurricanes 10:30am EST

EJHL South -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Space Coast Hurricanes 1:15pm EST

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Buffalo Sabres 7:00pm EST

Sunday --

Empire South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Space Coast Hurricanes 9:30am EST

EJHL South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Space Coast Hurricanes 12:15pm EST

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Pittsburgh Penguins 7:00pm EST

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