It's Thursday

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

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Today is May 24th, the 145th day of 2012. There are 221 days left in the year.

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Western Conference Finals (Phoenix Coyotes vs. Los Angeles Kings):

Sunday, May 13th Los Angeles 3 at Phoenix 2
Tuesday, May 15th Los Angeles 4 at Phoenix 0
Thursday, May 17th Phoenix 1 at Los Angeles 2
Sunday, May 20th Phoenix 2 at Los Angeles 0
Tuesday, May 22nd Los Angeles 4 at Phoenix 3 OT (Los Angeles wins series 4-1)

Eastern Conference Finals (New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils):

Monday, May 14th New Jersey 0 at New York 3
Wednesday, May 16th New Jersey 3 at New York 2
Saturday, May 19th New York 3 at New Jersey 0
Monday, May 21st New York 1 at New Jersey 4
Wednesday, May 23rd New Jersey 5 at New York 3 (New Jersey leads series 3-2)
Friday, May 25th New York at New Jersey 8:00pm NBCSN
*Sunday, May 27th New Jersey at New York 8:00pm EDT NBCSN

* -- If necessary

Stanley Cup Finals (New York Rangers or New Jersey Devils vs. Los Angeles Kings:

Wednesday, May 30th Los Angeles at New York/New Jersey 8:00pm EDT NBC
Saturday, June 2nd Los Angeles at New York/New Jersey 8:00pm EDT NBC
Monday, June 4th New York/New Jersey at Los Angeles 8:00pm EDT NBCSN
Wednesday, June 6th New York/New Jersey at Los Angeles 8:00pm EDT NBCSN
*Saturday, June 9th Los Angeles at New York/New Jersey 8:00pm EDT NBC
*Monday, June 11th New York/New Jersey at Los Angeles 8:00pm EDT NBC
*Wednesday, June 13th Los Angeles at New York/New Jersey 8:00pm EDT NBC

* -- If necessary

Five reasons the Coyotes were eliminated.

Canucks give Vigneault two-year extension.

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

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After years of unprofitable operation Virginia’s charter was revoked on this date in 1624 and it became a royal colony.

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Waterloo Black Hawks 2 @ Green Bay Gamblers 5

It was fast-paced first period as the action went up and down with quality chances for both teams. Green Bay had a 13-7 shot advantage with a couple of those coming off the stick of Alex Broadhurst who had two prime opportunities but Waterloo goaltender Stephon Williams turned away the USHL’s leading playoff scorer each time. Defenseman Eddie Wittchow drew a reaction from the crowd when his shot from the blueline hit the crossbar behind Gamblers goaltender Ryan McKay, but did not find its way into the net. The game remained scoreless until Green Bay defenseman Max Hartner picked up a loose puck following a scramble and fired a slap shot over the blocker side of Williams. It was the first USHL career playoff goal for Hartner who had scored just one goal in 38 regular season games this season.

Midway through the second period, Waterloo would even the score when Mitch Witek fed defense partner Alex Barron who fired in a slap shot past a sprawling McKay. It was the third goal of the postseason for Barron. The Gamblers wouldn’t take long to respond as Sam Herr sprung loose on a breakaway and slipped one past the Waterloo goaltender. It was the third goal of the series for Herr and his seventh of the postseason. Less than two minutes later, Ville Jarvelainen made it a two-goal lead when he re-directed a Peter Maric shot. It was the second playoff goal for Jarvelainen.

In the third period, Green Bay added to the lead when Nolan LaPorte took a feed from Broadhurst and ripped a shot past Williams to make it 4-1. It was the fourth goal of the playoffs for LaPorte and his second in as many games. A few minutes later, Waterloo pulled the goaltender in favor of the extra attacker on a power play, but Broadhurst made a big steal just outside his own zone and fired his ninth goal of the postseason into the empty net. Jamie Hill scored a goal late for the Black Hawks but the night belonged to the Gamblers.

Ryan McKay made 22 saves for his ninth win of the 2012 playoffs and his 15th USHL career postseason victory. Sam Herr was named the 2012 USHL Clark Cup MVP after finishing with 16 points (7g, 9a) and a plus-13 rating in 12 games.

A total of 7,007 fans were in attendance at the Resch Center in Green Bay for Game Five.

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Emamual Leutze was born in Germany on this date in 1816. He was most famous for his paintings "Washington Crossing the Delaware" and "Columbus Before the Queen."

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Veteran Argos offensive tackle Murphy retires.

CFL, Argos mourn passing of Dave Mann.

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

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On this date in 1830, the first passenger railroad service in the U.S. began service.

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Gettin' ready for some Rays baseball on the TV.

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Let's see, what's on the agenda for today....hang out with Jimmy, clean house (That would shock my wife!) and love my family. How 'bout you?

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St. Petersburg, FL. -- Rays outfielder B.J. Upton had heard the rumors that teammate Rich Thompson was fast, and he was proven right on Wednesday.

Upton hit a liner to left field off Darren Oliver and Thompson scored from first in the bottom of the 11th inning at Tropicana Field in front of a crowd of 11,471 fans to give Tampa Bay a 5-4 walk-off victory over Toronto in the rubber match between the American League East rivals.

Read the rest here.

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Samuel F.B. Morse formally opened America's first telegraph line on this date in 1844. The first message was sent from Washington, DC, to Baltimore, MD. The message was "What hath God wrought?"

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Milwaukee, WI.-- Shrugging off Wednesday's 8-5 loss to the Brewers would be so convenient for the Giants. After all, they'd already made their visit here a success by winning the series' first two games. They could rationalize away their shortcomings in this one by blaming the umpires or Miller Park's retractable roof.

But that would be delusional.

Read the rest here.

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Today is International Tiara Day and Morse Code Day.

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Today in Elvis History

1958 - Elvis Presley's single "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck" hit #3 in the U.S. and U.K.

1960 - The filming of the Elvis Presley movie "G.I. Blues" ended.

1997 - The Elvis Presley song "Always On My Mind" debuted at #13 in the U.K.

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Charles Gounod's "Ave Maria" was performed by Madame Caroline Miolan-Carvalho for the first time in public on this date in 1859.

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Today in Beatles History:

1964 - On "The Ed Sullivan Show," a taped Beatles performance was played. The Beatles performed "You Can't Do That" from the set of "A Hard Day's Night."

1965 - John Lennon's "A Spaniard in the Works" was published in England.

1969 - The Beatles single "Get Back" hit #1.

1969 - The Beatles single ""Don't Let Me Down" hit #35 in the U.S.

1997 - Paul McCartney's single "The World Tonight" hit #64 in the U.S. The song was from the movie "Father's Day."

2003 - Paul McCartney performed for 20,000 people at a concert in Moscow's Red Square.

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After 14 years of construction the Brooklyn Bridge was opened to traffic on this date in 1883.

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Today in Sports History:

1878 - The first American bicycle race was held in Boston.

1902 - Bill Bradley (Cleveland) became the first American League player to hit home runs in four consecutive games.

1918 - Cleveland defeated the New York Yankees 3-2 in the 19th inning.

1929 - The Detroit Tigers defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-4 in 21 innings.

1930 - Babe Ruth hit home runs in both games of a double header.

1935 - The Cincinnati Reds played the Philadelphia Phillies in the first major league baseball game at night. The switch for the floodlights was turned on by President F.D. Roosevelt.

1940 - The first night game at St. Louis's Sportsman Park was played.

1950 - "Sweetwater" (Nat) Clifton's contract was purchased by the New York Knicks. Sweetwater played for the Harlem Globetrotters and became the first black player in the NBA.

1951 - Willie Mays began playing for the New York Giants.

1962 - The officials of the National Football League ruled that halftime of regular season games would be cut to 15 minutes.

1964 - In Lima, Peru, a riot and panic followed an unpopular ruling by a referee in a soccer game between Peru and Argentina. More than 300 people were killed and over 500 were injured.

1967 - The AFL granted a franchise to the Cincinnati Bengals.

1984 - The Detroit Tigers won their 17th straight road game.

1986 - Montreal won its 23rd National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup championship.

1987 - Al Unser Sr. won his fourth Indianapolis 500.

1989 - Lee Gutterman (New York Yankees) set a record for pitching 30 and 2/3 innings before giving up his first run of the season.

1989 - The New York Rangers fired their general manager and coach Phil Esposito.

1990 - The Edmonton Oilers won their fifth National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup.

1990 - Andre Dawson was intentionally walked five times during a game.

2003 - At the Colonial in Fort Worth, TX, Annika Sorentam missed the cut by four shots. Two days early she had become the first woman in 58 years to play in the PGA.

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On this date in 1931, B&O Railroad began service with the first passenger train to have air conditioning throughout. The run was between New York City and Washington, DC.

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Coming up:

Tonight --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Miami Marlins 7:10pm EDT

Friday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox 7:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Miami Marlins 7:10pm EDT

Saturday --

Nascar Nationwide Series -- History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway 2:30pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Miami Marlins 4:10pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox 7:15pm EDT

Sunday --

IZOD Indy Car Series -- Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway 12:00pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Miami Marlins 1:10pm EDT

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

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Cocoa Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway 5:30pm EDT

Monday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox 3:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks 5:05pm EDT

Tuesday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox 7:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks 10:15pm EDT

Wednesday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox 1:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks 10:15pm EDT

Thursday --

Nothin' Doin'

Friday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles 7:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Chicago Cubs 10:15pm EDT

Saturday --

Nascar Nationwide Series -- 5-hour Energy 200 at Dover International Speedway 1:30pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles 4:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Chicago Cubs 7:15pm EDT

Sunday --

Nascar Nationwide Series -- FedEx 400 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway 12:30pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles 1:40pm EDT

IZOD Indy Car Series -- Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix at Detroit 3:30pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Chicago Cubs 4:05pm 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!