It's Wednesday

It's Wednesday. Here's what's happening....

************************************************

Today is April 11th, the 102nd day of 2012. There are 264 days left in the year.

************************************************




Oilers win lottery, move up to No. 1.

Trades could be aplenty at this year's Draft.

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

************************************************

Today's Birthdays: Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy, is 84; Model/actor Lucky Vanous (former Diet Coke actor-model) is 51; Actress Jennifer Esposito (Crash, TV's Blue Bloods) is 39; Singer Joss Stone is 25.

************************************************

Tampa, FL. --As if Steven Stamkos scoring 60 goals in a single season wasn’t already impressive enough, consider this:

The Lightning forward battled through an injured left shoulder for the final month of the regular season.

Read the rest here.

************************************************

Today is: Barbershop Quartet Day, International "Louie, Louie" Day, National Pet Day and World Parkinson's Disease Day.

************************************************

U.S. Women's National Team Advances to Semifinals with 11-0 Victory Over Finland at the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship

Lamoureux-Kolls, Stack Tally Three Goals and Three Assists Each in the Victory

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Monique Lamoureux-Kolls (Grand Forks, N.D.) and Kelli Stack (Brookyln Heights, Ohio) each tallied three goals and three assists to help the U.S. Women's National Team advance to the semifinals of the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship with an 11-0 win over Finland. "I was so impressed with how we played in the second and third periods," said Katey Stone, head coach for the U.S. Women's National Team. "We just got better as the game went on, played everyone and made simple plays that gave our team energy." Lamoureux-Kolls deflected a shot from Gigi Marvin (Warroad, Minn.) past Finland netminder Isabella Portnoj at 6:42 to get the U.S. on the board. Stack scored her first goal of the tournament at 11:47 to give the U.S. a two-goal lead heading into the first intermission. Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Id.) tallied the first of six second period goals at 3:05 of the middle frame. At 4:51, Stack crossed through the circle into the high slot and slid the puck through traffic to pick up her second goal of the night. Lamoureux-Kolls and Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis.) scored back-to-back goals 25 seconds apart to give the U.S. a 6-0 lead. Stack completed her hat trick on the power play before Josephine Pucci (Pearl River, N.Y.) scored a power-play tally to propel the U.S. to an 8-0 advantage. Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill.), Lamoureux-Kolls and Amanda Kessel (Verona, Wis.) rounded out the scoring in the third period to secure the win and extend the U.S. Women's National Team overall record to 3-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in the tournament. The U.S. will face the winner of Wednesday's Russia vs. Switzerland quarterfinal game on Friday (April 13) at 7 p.m. in Burlington, Vt., in a semifinal game of the IIHF Women's World Championship. NOTES: Click here for the full Team USA roster ... Kelli Stack was named the U.S. Player of the Game after scoring three goals and three assists ... Monique Lamoureux-Kolls leads the tournament with 14 points (7-7) ... The U.S. has scored 29 goals through three games of the Women's World Championship ... Julie Chu is serving as Team USA's captain, while Jenny Potter and Kacey Bellamy are alternate captains ... Team USA has won four gold medals and nine silvers in the 13 previous IIHF Women's World Championships. The U.S. has won four of the last five world championships (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011) ... Harvard University's Katey Stone will serve as the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team. Joining Stone as assistant coaches will be Laura Halldorson and Bobby Jay. Stone and Jay were behind the bench for the U.S. at the 2011 Four Nations Cup ... Robb Stauber will serve as the goaltending coach, while Michael Boyle is the strength and conditioning coach ... To follow the team in Lake Placid, check out the U.S. Women's National Program blog by clicking here ... For ticket information for the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship, click here or call 802.656.4410. GAME SUMMARY Scoring By Period USA 2 6 3 -- 11 FIN 0 0 0 -- 0 First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Lamoureux-Kolls (Marvin, Stack), 6:24 (pp); 2, USA, Stack (Lamoureux-Kolls, Chesson), 11:47. Penalties: FIN, Helin (cross-checking), 5:58; USA, Lamoureux (tripping), 6:29; FIN, Tuominen (interference), 14:29. Second Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Knight (Decker, Schleper), 3:05; 4, USA, Stack (Lamoureux-Kolls, Lamoureux), 4:51; 5, USA, Lamoureux-Kolls (unassisted), 5:25; 6, Decker (Kessel), 5:50; 7, USA, Stack (Lamoureux, Lamoureux-Kolls), 12:16; 8, USA, Pucci (Stack, Marvin), 15:05. Penalties: FIN, Valkama (interference), 8:02; FIN, Tikkinen (body-checking), 11:20; FIN, Hovi (body-checking), 13:34; FIN, Tarkki (body-checking), 14:29; USA, Lamoureux (tripping), 18:43. Third Period - Scoring: 9, USA, Coyne (Kessel, Decker), 2:53 (pp); 10, USA, Lamoureux-Kolls (Lamoureux, Stack), 16:06; 11, USA, Kessel (unassisted), 12:07.Penalties: FIN, Villila (body-checking), 2:32; USA, Bellamy (tripping), 31:20; FIN, Tikkinen (hooking), 12:25; FIN, Helin (tripping), 15:59. Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total USA 16 25 13 54 FIN 4 2 3 9 Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total USA, McLaughlin, 60:00 4-4 2-2 3-3 9-9 FIN, Portnoj, 25:50 16-14 10-6 -- 26-20 FIN, Raisanen, 34:10 -- 15-13 13-10 28-23 Power Play: USA 4-9; FIN 0-3 Penalties: USA 3-6; FIN 9-18 Officials: Referee-Melanie Bordeleau; Linesmen-Zuzana Arazimova and Michaela Kudelova IIHF Women's World Championship Game Schedule April 7-14 - Burlington, Vt. (all times ET) Date Match-up Time (EDT) Group/Result Arena March 31 USA vs. Canada 7:30 p.m. Exhibition/L, 0-1 Ottawa, Ont. April 3 USA vs. Finland 7 p.m. Exhibition/W, 7-0 Herb Brooks Arena Apr. 7 Slovakia vs. Sweden 1 p.m. Sweden 5, Slovakia 1 Cairns Finland vs. Russia 3 p.m. Finland 5, Russia 4 Gutterson Switzerland vs. Germany 5 p.m. Germany 3, Switzerland 2 Cairns USA vs. Canada 7 p.m. USA 9, Canada 2 Gutterson Apr. 8 Sweden vs. Germany 1 p.m. Sweden 2, Germany 1 (OT) Cairns Canada vs. Finland 3 p.m. Canada 3, Finland 2 Gutterson Switzerland vs. Slovakia 5 p.m. Switzerland 2, Slovakia 1 Cairns USA vs. Russia 7 p.m. USA 9, Russia 0 Gutterson Apr. 10 Sweden vs. Switzerland 1 p.m. Switzerland 3, Sweden 2 Cairns Canada vs. Russia 3 p.m. Canada 14, Russia 1 Gutterson Germany vs. Slovakia 5 p.m. Slovakia 4, Germany 2 Cairns Finland vs. USA 7 p.m. USA 11, Finland 0 Gutterson Apr. 11 Russia vs. Switzerland 3 p.m. Quarterfinal #1 Gutterson Germany vs. Slovakia 5 p.m. Relegation Cairns Finland vs. Sweden 7 p.m. Quarterfinal #2 Gutterson Apr. 13 Slovakia vs. Germany 1 p.m. Relegation Cairns Canada - Finland/Sweden 3 p.m. Semifinal #1 Gutterson L (Q1) - L (Q2) 5 p.m. 5th/6th Place Game Cairns USA - Russia/Switzerland 7 p.m. Semifinal #2 Gutterson Apr. 14 B3 - B4 (if necessary) 1 p.m. Relegation Cairns L (S1) - L (S2) 3 p.m. Bronze-Medal Game Gutterson W (S1) - W (S2) 7 p.m. Gold-Medal Game Gutterson

First 17 Players Named 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. - USA Hockey announced today the first 17 players that will compete for the 2012 U.S. Men's National Team at the International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship, May 4-20, in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden. The group includes one goaltender, five defensemen and 11 forwards. Highlighting the roster are six players with U.S. Olympic or U.S. Men's National Team credentials.  Forwards Paul Stastny (St. Louis, Mo./Colorado Avalanche/Univ. of Denver) and Bobby Ryan (Cherry Hill, N.J./Anaheim Ducks) and defenseman Jack Johnson (Ann Arbor, Mich./ Columbus Blue Jackets/Univ. of Michigan) each collected silver medals at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. Stastny also played on the 2007 U.S. Men's National Team. Ryan skated on the 2006 U.S. National Junior Team. Johnson has extensive Team USA experience, playing for four U.S. Men's National Teams (2007, '09-11), two U.S. National Junior Teams (2006, '07-bronze medal) and a pair of U.S. Men's National Under-18 Teams (2004-silver medal, '05-gold medal). Defenseman Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich./Anaheim Ducks) joins Johnson as a returnee from the 2011 U.S. Men's National Team that played in Slovakia. Fowler has helped Team USA win gold medals at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2009 IIHF World Under- 18 Men's Championship. Forward Kyle Okposo (St. Paul, Minn./New York Islanders/Univ. of Minnesota) is a two-time veteran of the U.S. Men's National Team, skating in 2009 and 2010. Okposo also played on the 2007 and 2008 U.S. National Junior Teams, winning a bronze medal in 2007. Forward Jim Slater (Lapeer, Mich./Winnipeg Jets/Michigan State Univ.) was a member of the 2006 U.S. Men's National Team and the 2002 U.S. National Junior Team. Four more players have participated in IIHF World Championships, including forward Nathan  Gerbe (Oxford, Mich./Buffalo Sabres/Boston College), who played for two U.S. National Junior Teams (2006, '07-bronze medal) and two U.S. Men's National Under-18 Teams (2004- silver medal, '05-gold medal). Defenseman Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn./Carolina Hurricanes/ Univ. of Minnesota Duluth) won a gold medal with the 2010 U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team and a bronze medal with the 2011 U.S. National Junior Team. Forward Max Pacioretty (New Canaan, Conn./Montreal Canadiens/Univ. of Michigan) was a member of the 2008 U.S.  National Junior Team, while defenseman Alex Goligoski (Grand Rapids, Minn./Dallas Stars/Univ. of Minnesota) was a member of the 2005 U.S. National Junior Team. Additionally, seven players will be making their Team USA debuts with the 2012 U.S. Men's National Team, including goaltender Richard Bachman (Salt Lake City, Utah/Dallas Stars/Colorado College), defenseman Jeff Petry (Ann Arbor, Mich./Edmonton Oilers/Michigan State Univ.) and forwards Cam Atkinson (Riverside, Conn./Columbus Blue Jackets/Boston College), J.T.  Brown (Burnsville, Minn./Tampa Bay Lightning/Univ. of Minnesota Duluth), Patrick Dwyer (Spokane, Wash./Carolina Hurricanes/Western Michigan Univ.) and Nate Thompson (Anchorage, Alaska/Tampa Bay Lightning). Forward Ryan Lasch (Lake Forest, Calif./Lahti Pelicans/St. Cloud State Univ.) played for Team USA's entry in the 2011 Deutschland Cup in Germany. For Team USA's roster, click here. NOTES: Four of the 17 players announced are products of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program: Justin Faulk, Cam Fowler, Nathan Gerbe and Jack Johnson ... Fourteen of the 17 members of Team USA announced today played U.S. college hockey ... Eleven 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 ... The average age of the 17 players is 24 years, nine months ... 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 ... All teams at the 2012 IIHF World Men's Championship may begin the tournament with 22 skaters and three goaltenders, and can add two players after the first three games ... 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 ScheduleMay 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)

************************************************

William III and Mary II were crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain on this date in 1689.

************************************************








Locked And Loaded: Lulay Extends With Lions.

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

************************************************

After receiving a copy of the provisional treaty on March 13, the U.S. Congress proclaimed a formal end to hostilities with Great Britain on this date in 1783.

************************************************

There goes Jimmy, looking for Easter Eggs.

************************************************

Let's see, what's on the agenda for today....Well, after writing the Johnny Blog, it's another afternoon of Rays Baseball on the TV. What will you be doing today?

************************************************

Detroit, MI. -- To Matt Moore, Tuesday's snow flurries at Comerica Park felt like January baseball practices back home at Moriarty High School in New Mexico.

And the Rays' 22-year-old left-hander looked just that comfortable pitching to the Tigers' lineup, a well-regarded group that many feel is the best in baseball. Moore had just one problem: Austin Jackson.

By the end of the day, Jackson's work made for the only real blemishes on Moore's line. And ultimately, the final blemish administered by Jackson triggered a chain of events that led to a 5-2 defeat, Tampa Bay's first of the season.

Read the rest here.

************************************************

A guy in Germany crashed his beloved Ferrari Testarossa and caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage by swerving to miss a hedgehog. Joerg Daecher was traveling home from work when he spotted the creature and tried to drive around it. Unfortunately -- thanks to leaves on the road -- he lost control of the sportscar and crashed into a barrier. The good news is that the hedgehog managed to escape the accident uninjured.

************************************************

Denver, CO.-- After an off day, the Giants and Rockies resume their series today at Coors Field. Tim Lincecum starts for the Giants and Jeremy Guthrie for Colorado.

First pitch is at 8:40pm EDT.

************************************************

When it comes to chocolate, we like what we like and we don't change. A list of America's Top 10 favorite chocolates discovered that 80% of the brands are more than 50 years old, and the newest brand is almost 20 years old. Our favorite is still Snickers.

************************************************

Today in Elvis History

1956 - Elvis Presley's single "Heartbreak Hotel" hit #1. It was his first #1 single.

1959 - The album "Elvis," a 14-track expansion of the compilation album "For LP Fans Only" was released in the U.K.

1962 - The Elvis Presley movie "Follow That Dream" opened in Oscala, FL.

1964 - Elvis Presley's single "Viva Las Vegas" hit #17 in the U.K.

1965 - Elvis Presley began pre-production work on "Frankie and Johnny."

************************************************

A twin-screw propeller steamboat was patented by John Stevenson this date in 1803.

************************************************

Today in Beatles History:

1964 - The Beatles singles "You Can't Do That" and "There's a Place" were #48 and #74 positions on the singles chart.

1970 - Paul McCartney announced a "temporary break with the Beatles." He cited "personal differences" and adding that he will no longer record with John Lennon.

1970 - Paul McCartney's first solo album "McCartney" was released.

1991 - Ringo Starr was a guest on Fox TV's "The Simpsons."

1997 - Paul McCartney performed a 20-minute concert on a London rooftop.

************************************************

The stenotype was patented by John C. Zachos on this date in 1876.

************************************************

Today in Sports History:

1907 - In New York, umpire Bill Klem called a forfeit in favor of the Phillies when Giants fans disrupted play with snowballs.

1921 - The first live sports event on radio took place this day on KDKA Radio. The event was a boxing match between Johnny Ray and Johnny Dundee.

1940 - Andrew Ponzi set a world's record in a New York pocket billiards tournament when he ran 127 balls straight.

1947 - Jackie Robinson became the first black player in major league baseball history. He played in an exhibition game for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

1999 - Spain's José María Olazábal won the 63rd Masters golf tournament.

2001 - In Johannesburg, South Africa, 43 people died during a stampede at a soccer match at Ellis Park stadium. Another 160 were injured.

************************************************

On this date in 1970, Apollo 13 blasted off on a mission to the moon that was disrupted when an explosion crippled the spacecraft. The astronauts did return safely.

************************************************

Coming up:

Tonight --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 1:05pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies 8:40pm EDT

Thursday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 1:05pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies 3:10pm EDT

Friday --

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

************************************************

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