It's Friday

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

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Today is April 13th, the 104th day of 2012. There are 262 days left in the year.

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Canucks' Bitz suspended for two games.

Predators' Weber fined $2,500.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Actor Tony Dow (Wally on Leave it to Beaver) is 67; Actor Ron Perlman (Sons of Anarchy, Hellboy movies) is 62; Actor Rick Schroder (NYPD Blue) is 42.

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Tampa, FL. --Despite the Tampa Bay Lightning missing out on the postseason, a pair of Bolts forwards won’t have to wait until next season to lace up the skates again.

On Wednesday, USA Hockey tabbed both center Nate Thompson and right wing JT Brown to compete on behalf of Team USA at the IIHF’s 2012 World Championships, to be held in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden from May 4-20.

Both Thompson and Brown will be making their World Championship debuts.

Read the rest here.

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Today is: Thomas Jefferson Day and Scrabble Day.

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Crabb Added to 2012 U.S. Men's National Team

Team USA to Compete in IIHF World Men's Championship, May 4-20, in Finland

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Forward Joey Crabb (Anchorage, Alaska/Toronto Maple Leafs/Colorado College) has been added to the U.S. Men's National Team roster for the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship it was announced today by USA Hockey. The tournament is scheduled for May 4-20, 2012, in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.

Crabb is making his first appearance as a member of the U.S. Men's National Team, however, he has experience wearing the USA jersey. The Anchorage, Alaska, native played for Team USA at the 2001 IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championship. He also spent two seasons with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program from 1999-2001.

The first 17 players for the U.S. Men's National Team were announced on April 11. Team USA now has 12 forwards, five defensemen and one goaltender on its roster. The maximum roster size is 25, which includes three goaltenders and 22 forwards and defensemen.

For Team USA's updated roster, click here.

NOTES: Five of the 18 players announced are products of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, including Joey Crabb, Justin Faulk, Cam Fowler, Nathan Gerbe and Jack Johnson ... Fifteen of the 18 members of Team USA announced played U.S. college hockey ... Twelve NHL teams are represented on the roster. The Dallas Stars, Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning have two players apiece ... Scott Gordon was named the head coach of the 2012 U.S. Men's National Team on Tuesday, April 10. Greg Cronin was also announced as an assistant coach ... The 2012 U.S. Men’s National Team is under the direction of the U.S. Men’s National Team Advisory Group, led by Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. Other members include NHL general managers Stan Bowman (Chicago), Brian Burke (Toronto), Paul Holmgren (Philadelphia), Dean Lombardi (Los Angeles), David Poile (Nashville), Ray Shero (Pittsburgh) and Dale Tallon (Florida) and Pittsburgh Penguins pro scout Don Waddell ... USA Hockey's international council, chaired by Tony Rossi, vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams ... Sixteen teams will compete at 2012 IIHF Men's World Championship. There will be two groups of eight with one group playing in Helsinki, Finland and the other playing in Stockholm, Sweden. The semifinals and medal games will be conducted in Helsinski ... NBC Sports is scheduled to televise all Team USA games in the 2012 IIHF Men's World Championship. A final broadcast schedule will be available in the near future.

Team USA 2012 IIHF Men's World Championship Schedule
May 4 - 20 • Helsinki, Finland & Stockholm, Sweden

Date Opponent Location Time (Local/EDT)
Fri., May 4 France Helsinki 12:15 p.m./5:15 a.m.
Sat., May 5 Canada Helsinki 7:00 p.m./12:00 p.m.
Mon., May 7 Slovakia Helsinki 8:15 p.m./1:15 p.m.
Thurs., May 10 Belarus Helsinki 4:15 p.m./9:15 a.m.
Fri., May 11 Kazakhstan Helsinki 4:15 p.m./9:15 a.m.
Sun., May 13 Finland Helsinki 4:15 p.m./9:15 a.m.
Tues., May 15 Switzerland Helsinki 8:15 p.m./1:15 p.m.
Thurs., May 17 Quarterfinals Helsinki TBD
Sat., May 19 Semifinals Helsinki TBD
Sun., May 20 Bronze-Medal Game Helsinki 4:00 p.m./9:00 a.m.
Gold-Medal Game Helsinki 8:30 p.m./1:30 p.m.

Arenas: Hartwall Arena (Helsinki); Ericsson Globe (Stockholm)

U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team Blanks Finland, 4-0, in Opening Game of 2012 IIHF Men's World Under-18 Championship

Olson Makes 21 Saves to Earn Shutout

BRNO, Czech Republic - Collin Olson (Apple Valley, Minn.) made 21 saves in a shutout effort, as the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team blanked Finland, 4-0, here tonight at Kajot Arena in its opening game at the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Under-18 Championship.


"I'm really pleased with how the guys played tonight," said Danton Cole, head coach of the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team. "We played well defensively, worked hard and our special teams were great. We were solid all the way around."

Team USA and Finland skated to an exciting back-and-forth first period, but neither team was able to light the lamp. The U.S. managed to kill off three penalties and Olson made seven stops in the stanza to keep Finland off the board. Team USA rung one shot off the post, but also didn't find the scoresheet.

The second period was controlled by Team USA, outshooting Finland, 13-6, in the frame. The U.S. drew three penalties, but could not convert on its opportunities, as Finnish netminder Joonas Korpisalo turned aside each Team USA chance.

Nicolas Kerdiles (Irvine, Calif.) tallied the first goal of the game 54 seconds into the final frame, when he banged a loose puck past Korpisalo. The power-play tally was assisted by Daniel O'Regan (Needham, Mass.) and Ryan Hartman (West Dundee, Ill.). Just over two minutes later, Matthew Lane (Rochester, N.Y.) doubled the U.S. lead when he deposited the puck into the net. J.T. Compher (Northbrook, Ill.) and Frankie Vatrano (East Longmeadow, Mass.) collected assists on the tally.

Quentin Shore (Denver, Colo.) added to the Team USA lead at 4:24 when he scored off passes by Riley Barber (Livonia, Mich.) and Kyle Osterberg (Lakeville, Minn.). After drawing a major penalty, Connor Carrick (Orland Park, Mich.) tallied a goal on the subsequent power play to put the U.S. up by four goals. Lane and Vatrano earned assists, both their second points on the night.

Olson made all eight saves in the third period and 21 total for the U.S. in the victory, while Korpisalo stopped 33 shots for Finland in the loss.

The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team continues tournament play on Saturday (April 14) against the Czech Republic at 1 p.m. local time (7 a.m. EDT), at Alcaplast Arena. The game will be streamed live on FASTHockey.com.

NOTES: For the complete U.S. roster, click here ... Collin Olson was named Team USA's Player of the Game ... Team USA outshot Finland, 37-21 ... The U.S. went 2-for-9 on the power play, while Finland went 0-for-6 ... The U.S. enters the tournament having captured a record eight consecutive medals, including back-to-back gold medals in 2005-06, three straight gold medals from 2009-11, two silver medals (2004, 2007) and one bronze medal (2008). Team USA’s six gold medals are the most of any country in IIHF Men's World Under-18 Championship history (event began in 1999). Team USA earned its first gold medal in 2002 … The U.S. is in Group A with Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Finland. Group B consists of Germany, Latvia, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland ... Follow @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament. Scores will be designated with #U18MWC ... For additional coverage, visit USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Facebook page ... More information about the 2011 IIHF World Men's U18 Championship can be found here ... The U.S. Mens National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams train with The Hockey IntelliGym, a revolutionary software program that trains hockey sense. To learn more, visit USAHockeyIntelliGym.com.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

FIN 0 - 0 - 0 - 0
USA 0 - 0 - 4 - 4

First Period – Scoring: None. Penalties: FIN, Tikkinen (hooking), 9:31; USA, Lane (interference), 13:27; USA, Shore (delay-of-game), 15:05; FIN, Lehkonen (tripping), 15:37; USA, Hartman (tripping), 16:08.

Second Period – Scoring: None. Penalties: FIN, Vainonen (elbowing), 1:18; FIN, Vainonen (tripping), 9:01; FIN, Barkov (hooking), 13:42.

Third Period – Scoring: 1, USA, Kerdiles (O'Regan, Hartman), 0:54, (pp); 2, USA, Lane (Compher, Vatrano), 3:04; 3, USA, Shore (Barber, Osterberg), 4:24; 4, USA, Carrick (Lane, Vatrano), 8:35, (pp). Penalties: FIN, Barkov (checking-from-behind), 5:52; FIN, Barkov (game-misconduct), 5:52; USA, Trouba (interference), 6:41; FIN, Kulmala (roughing), 6:41; FIN, Tikkinen (hooking), 10:29, USA, Butcher (hooking), 11:04; USA, Compher (tripping), 14:46; FIN, Lehkonen (boarding), 15:09; USA, Barber (slashing), 16:39.

Shots by Period

1 2 3 Total
FIN 7 6 8 21
USA 7 13 17 37

Goaltenders (SH/SV)
1 2 3 Total
FIN, Korpisalo, 60:00 7/7 13/13 17/13 37/33
USA, Olson, 60:00 7/7 6/6 8/8 21/21

Power Play: FIN 0-6; USA 2-9
Penalties: FIN 11-43; USA 7-14

Team USA 2012 IIHF Men's World Under-18 Championship Schedule
April 12-22 • Breclav/Brno/Znojmo, Czech Republic

Date Opponent Time (Local/EDT) Live Webcast
Mon., April 9 Sweden (exhibition) L, 2-3
Thu., April 12 Finland W, 4-0 FASTHockey.com
Sat., April 14 Czech Republic 1 p.m./7 a.m. FASTHockey.com
Sun., April 15 Denmark 6 p.m./12 p.m. FASTHockey.com
Tue., April 17 Canada 8 p.m./2 p.m. FASTHockey.com
Thu., April 19 Quarterfinals TBD
Fri., April 20 Semifinals TBD
Sun., April 22 Bronze-Medal Game 12 p.m./6 a.m.
Sun., April 22 Gold-Medal Game 4 p.m./10 a.m.


U.S. Women's National Team 200 Club Unveiled; Six Players to be Honored
at Saturday's IIHF Women's World Championship Gold-Medal Game

Honorees Include Darwitz, Granato, King, Ruggiero, Chu and Potter

BURLINGTON, Vt. – USA Hockey will honor the first six members of its new 200 Club during the second intermission of tomorrow night's (April 14) gold-medal game of the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The Club recognizes players who have played at least 200 games for the U.S. Women's National Team.

The initial group of honorees includes alumni Natalie Darwitz, Cammi Granato, Katie King and Angela Ruggiero, along with current players Julie Chu and Jenny Potter.

"Earning the opportunity to compete for your country on a national team just once is an extremely special honor," said Reagan Carey, director of women's hockey for USA Hockey. "To play in 200 games or more is a remarkable accomplishment and we're extremely pleased to honor the first six players of this prestigious club tomorrow during the gold-medal game."

Darwitz, a three-time Olympian, competed in eight IIHF Women's World Championships. In 13 years with the U.S. Women's National Team Program, she recorded 245 points (117-128), second all-time in the program.

Granato, a two-time Olympian, played 205 games and is the program's all-time points leader with 343 (186-157). Granato was the captain of the gold-medal winning team at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. She competed in nine IIHF Women's World Championships.

King, who competed in six IIHF Women's World Championships, was with the U.S. Women's National Team Program from 1997-2008. The three-time Olympian tallied 146 goals and 119 assists for 265 points in 210 games.

Ruggiero, a four-time Olympian who retired in December, has worn the Team USA jersey in 256 games. She competed 16 years for the United States and has played more games in a Team USA uniform than any other ice hockey player in the country's history. In total, she finished her career with the U.S. Women's National Team Program having recorded 208 points on 67 goals and 141 assists.

Chu, a three-time Olympian, is the current captain of the U.S. Women's National team. She has been a part of the U.S. Women's National Team Program since 1999. Competing in her eighth IIHF Women's World Championship, Chu has tallied 63 goals and 111 assists for 174 points in 214 games for Team USA.

Potter, a four-time Olympian, and currently an alternate captain of the U.S. Women's National Team, is competing in her 10th IIHF Women's World Championship. She is in her 15th year with Team USA and currently has recorded 241 points (102-139) in 208 games.

NOTES: The U.S. Women's National Team Program has included 141 players since 1990 ... Thirteen members from past U.S. Women's National Teams will be in the crowd Friday and Saturday including: Michele Amidon, Caitlin Cahow, Colleen Coyne, Meghan Duggan, Kelly Dyer, Sam Faber, Sarah (Hood) Fraser, Jamie Hagerman, Courtney Kennedy, Katie King, Jessica Koizumi, Shelley Looney and Angela Ruggiero ... Team USA is 3-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) through the preliminary round of the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship and will face Switzerland in the semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vt. ... Team USA has won four gold medals and nine silvers in the 13 previous IIHF Women's World Championships.

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As they flock to see Titanic 3D, moviegoers in China are quickly realizing that they're not exactly getting the whole picture. It seems film censors in the country determined that the scene in which Kate Winslet's breasts are exposed while she poses for Leonardo DiCaprio as he sketches her has been edited so that Winslet is only shown from the neck up. But it's not what you think. It turns out Winslet's bare chest itself isn't so much the problem, but rather, the fact that it is being presented in 3D. A government spokesman in China said: "Considering the vivid 3D effects, we fear that viewers may reach out their hands for a touch and thus interrupt other people's viewing." This is why "we've decided to cut off the nudity scenes."

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Als' McPherson Champing At The Bit.

Esks Ink QB Jeremiah Masoli.

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

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Washington, NC, was incorporated as the first town to be named for George Washingtonon this date in 1782.

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Let's find some more eggs!

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Let's see, what's on the agenda for today....Watch some Jimmy shows, some more Rays baseball, do the dishes and go outside to play. What will you be doing today?

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Detroit, MI. -- Failed opportunities sank the Rays in a 7-2 loss to the Tigers on Thursday afternoon in the rubber game of a three-game set at Comerica Park with 30,288 watching.

With their first series loss of the season, the Rays moved to 4-2 overall and 1-2 on the current road trip, with stops in Boston and Toronto on the horizon.

Read the rest here.

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Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The "unsinkable" luxury liner hit an iceberg just before midnight April 14 and sank at 2:27 AM April 15.

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Denver, CO.-- Coors Field proved to be as unpredictable as the spring weather in Colorado. Two days after Barry Zito's shutout and a day after the Giants and Rockies combined for 25 runs on 34 hits, Madison Bumgarner took a no-hitter into the sixth as the Giants won the game, 4-2, and won their first series of the season.

Read the rest here.

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Audi's electric cars are very, very quiet. Which is why Audi spent 3 years creating replicated engine noise for its electric car models. The head of Audi Acoustic said this: "We're so conditioned to the noise of an engine revving that a driver behind the wheel of a too-quiet car may not realize how fast he's driving, and a pedestrian relying on auditory clues may be unaware of an approaching vehicle."

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Today in Elvis History

1957 - Elvis Presley was the first contributor to a new Memphis fundraiser called "Coffee Day For Crippled Children."

2004 - The album "Maximum Elvis" was released on CD. It contained the songs "The King Of Western Bop", "A White Man Who Could Sing The Blues", "Let's Get Real, Real Gone For A Change", "The Snowman", "This Unspeakably Untallented, Vulgar Young Entertainer", "At The Movies", "A Nice Lad When You Get To Know Him", "The Hippie Element", "Death" and "Resurrection?"

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A German man hid on a balcony and called police for protection after his companion during a one-night stand refused to let him leave her apartment. The 43-year-old man had met a woman four years his senior in a bar and she took him back to her apartment for some McLovin'. After several runs around the track, the man wanted to leave, but she said no. He attempted to leave but the woman prevented him from escaping and demanded he sleep with her again. Because the man saw no other alternative, he complied with the woman's wishes another few times so he could finally leave the apartment. But when she continued to refuse and demanded even more sex from him, he fled to the balcony and called police. The woman "then tried to talk the dispatched officers into similar activity but was unsuccessful".

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Today in Beatles History:

1962 - The Beatles arrived in West Germany and began a 48-night run of shows at Hamburg's new venue, the Star-Club. The run of shows ended on May 31st.

1964 - The Beatles announced that the title of their first film would be "A Hard Day's Night."

1965 - At the Grammys, the Beatles won Best New Artist and Best Performance by a Vocal Group for "A Hard Day's Night."

1965 - The Beatles recorded the song "Help!" at Abbey Road.

1966 - The Beatles recorded the song "Paperback Writer."

1999 - Yoko Ono sued Fredieric Seaman over personal effects of the late John Lennon. Seaman, a former assistant to Lennon, was accused of "an elaborate scheme" to "exploit Lennon's death by stealing priceless personal and sentimental items."

2000 - Heather Mills won $316,700 in damages for a 1993 accident that involved a British motorcycle officer. Mills, Paul McCartney's girlfriend, received the out-of-court-settlement without any admission of guilt for the loss of her left leg.

2004 - The album "Maximum Beatles" was released on CD.

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IN THEATERS THIS WEEKEND - The Cabin in the Woods (R); Lockout (PG-13); The Three Stooges (PG)

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Today in Sports History:

1954 - Hank Aaron debuted with the Milwaukee Braves.

1957 - The Boston Celtics won their first NBA Championship. They beat the St. Louis Hawks 125-123 in Game 7.

1963 - The New York Mets played their first home game. The game was played at the Polo Grounds.

1963 - Pete Rose (Cincinnati Reds) got his first hit in the major leagues.

1972 - Major league baseball owners and players agreed to not make up the games lost to the players strike. It was the first strike in the history of major league baseball. Players had walked off the field 13 days earlier.

1979 - The world's longest doubles ping-pong match ended after 101 hours.

1985 - Howard Cosell was a guest on "Saturday Night Live."

1986 - Jack Nicklaus, at age 46, won his sixth Masters.

1997 - Eldrick "Tiger" Woods became the youngest and the first African-American person to win the Masters Tournament at the age of 21. He also set a record when he finished at 18 under par with a tournament-record score of 270.

2002 - Barry Bonds hit his 574th career home run. He moved past Harmon Killebrew and into sixth place.

2003 - Mike Weir became the first Canadian to win the Masters Tournament.

2009 - The New York Mets opened the season at their new stadium, Citi Field.

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Forget the stereotype of the snooty, unresponsive waiter. According to a recent study, staff in popular restaurants may be going deaf because of the noise levels. Dinnertime noise levels at certain restaurants can frequently top 85 decibels -- about as loud as heavy city traffic -- and go up as high as 105 decibels -- the equivalent of a packed dance club.

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Coming up:

Tonight --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox 2:05pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Pittsburgh Pirates 4:35pm EDT

Nascar Nationwide Series -- O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway 8:30pm EDT

Saturday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox 4:05pm EDT

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway 7:00pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Pittsburgh Pirates 9:05pm EDT

Sunday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox 1:35pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Pittsburgh Pirates 4:05pm EDT

Monday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox 11:05am EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Philadelphia Phillies 10:10pm EDT

Tuesday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays 7:07pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Philadelphia Phillies 10:10pm EDT

Wednesday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays 7:07pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Philadelphia Phillies 10:10pm EDT

Thursday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays 7:07pm EDT

Friday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Minnesota Twins 7:07pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at New York Mets 7:10pm EDT

Saturday --

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

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Minnesota Twins 7:07pm EDT

Sunday --

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- STP 400 at Kansas Speedway 12:30pm EDT

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

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Minnesota Twins 1:40pm EDT

Indy Car Series -- Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach at Long Beach, CA. 3:30pm EDT

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