It's Thursday

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

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Today is December 6th, the 341st day of 2012. There are 25 days left in the year.

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So what new is 'Bruin' in encouraging NHL lockout talks?

If NHL lockout ends, how many games would 2012-13 regular-season have?

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

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Today's Birthdays: JoBeth Williams (The Big Chill) is 64; Craigslist founder Craig Newmark is 60; Janine Turner (Cliffhanger, Northern Exposure) is 50; Director Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up) is 45.

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U.S. National Sled Team Falls to Canada, 2-1, at 2012 World Sledge Hockey Challenge Team USA Will Face Norway in Semifinals CALGARY, Alta. – Taylor Chace (Hampton Falls, N.H.) scored the lone goal for the U.S. National Sled Team as it lost to Canada, 2-1, in its final preliminary round game at the 2012 World Sledge Hockey Challenge here tonight at the WinSport Canada Ice Complex. Team USA dropped to a record of 2-0-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in the tournament and earned the second seed heading into the semifinals. "|t is a short turn-around before we play Norway at noon tomorrow," said Jeff Sauer, head coach of the U.S. National Sled Team. "We can play better in terms of shooting the puck and passing the puck and that's what we need to do." Canada opened the scoring at 6:47 of the first period. Despite multiple scoring chances on the power play in the second stanza, including a breakaway by Nikko Landeros (Johnstown, Colo.), Team USA was unable to get the puck past Canadian goaltender Benoit St-Amand. Late in the period, Canada extended its lead to two goals on a shorthanded tally. Chace put the U.S. on the board late in the final frame. At the 12:29 mark, Chace crashed the net from the point and picked up his own rebound to bring the U.S. within one. Ultimately, Team USA was unable to find the equalizer before time expired. Team USA goaltender Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) made 12 saves, while St-Amand had an eight-stop effort for Canada. The U.S. will return to action at the 2012 World Sledge Hockey Challenge Thursday (Dec. 6), against Norway at 2:00 p.m. EST. A full Team USA schedule is below. For complete World Sledge Hockey Challenge coverage, click here. FASTHockey will provide live streaming coverage for all tournament games. Those interested in watching should sign up for a free account in advance at USAHockey.FASTHockey.com. NOTES: Kevin McKee (Davenport, Iowa) was named player of the game for the U.S. ... For the complete U.S. tournament roster, click here ... The World Sledge Hockey Challenge is in its sixth year. Its official website is available here ... Jeff Sauer (Madison, Wis.), former men's ice hockey head coach at the University of Wisconsin, is the head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team, while Guy Gosselin (Grafton, Wis.) is the assistant coach ... Follow @USAHockey and @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament and join the conversation by using #WSHC. For additional coverage, visit usahockey.com and USA Hockey's Facebook ...Taylor Lipsett (Plano, Texas) is missing the tournament due to injury. Billy Hanning (Festus, Mo.) has been called up from the U.S. National Developmental Sled Hockey Team ... Dan Brennan is the general manager for the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team ... The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team for the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia, will be chosen next summer. Game Summary Scoring By Period 1 2 3 Total USA 0 0 1 1 CAN 1 1 0 2 First Period - Scoring: 1, CAN, Dixon (Bridges), 6:47. Penalties: USA, Pauls (holding), 1:29. Second Period - Scoring: 2, CAN Bridges (Dixon), 11:16 (sh). Penalties: CAN, Rempel (interference), 1:56; CAN, Murray (roughing), 4:29; USA, Salamone (high-sticking), 4:29; CAN, Rempel (holding), 10:32. Third Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Chace, 12:39. Penalties: CAN, Rempel (interference), 1:16; CAN, Block (interference), 10:16. Shots By Period 1 2 3 Total USA 4 1 4 9 CAN 6 4 4 14 Goaltenders (SV/SH) 1 2 3 Total USA, Cash, 45:00 5/6 3/4 4/4 12/14 CAN, St.-Amand, 45:00 4/4 1/1 3/4 8/9 Powerplay: USA, 0-4; CAN, 0-1 Penalties: USA, 2-4; CAN, 5-10 2012 World Sledge Hockey Challenge Dec. 2-8 • Calgary, Alta. • WinSport Canada Ice Complex Date Opponent Time (Local/EST)/Result Sun., Dec. 2 Norway W, 3-1 Mon., Dec. 3 Japan W, 8-0 Wed., Dec. 5 Canada L, 1-2 Thurs., Dec. 6 Norway 12 p.m./2 p.m. Sat., Dec. 8 Third-Place Game Championship Game 12 p.m./2 p.m. 5 p.m./7 p.m.

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Today is St. Nicholas Day. Saint Nicholas is the former Bishop of Turkey and the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children and students. His reputation for secret gift-giving to those in need became the inspiration for the modern day Santa Claus.

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Corvallis, OR. -- There are many reasons why Mike Riley is excited that Oregon State will face Texas in the Alamo Bowl Dec. 29 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Read the rest here.

Visit the Oregon State Athletics department official web site.

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The Broadway musical Scandalous, written by TV's Kathie Lee Gifford, is closing after lackluster ticket sales. [The public was frightened by the show. They were afraid Kathie Lee was actually in it.]

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Roughriders make changes to coaching staff.

Mack sees bright future in new assistant GM Walters.

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

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Some things never change. Students at UC Santa Cruz were asked who should propose marriage -- the man, the woman, or does it matter? Two-thirds of men and women said "definitely" the guy should propose. Only 2.8% of the women said they'd "kind of" want to propose.

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Tampa, FL. —Sign him. There's no reason to wait. We've seen enough.

Read the rest here.

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A family of secret Santas in North Carolina handed out $100 bills to strangers with the help of local police officers. The Charlotte family, a couple and their daughter, donned red capes and passed out more than $10,000 worth of $100 bills to strangers Tuesday while being escorted by Charlotte police officers.

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I wanna pet the doggies!

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Beats your DVR not working, doesn't it?

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Today in Elvis History

1968 - Elvis Presley received one of 66,000 letters that U.S. President Nixon sent out to potential administrative office holders.

1991 - The Elvis Presley album "Memories At Christmas" was certified gold by the RIAA.

2005 - The 1962 Elvis Presley movie "Kid Galahad" was released on DVD.

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A New Jersey man was arrested after police said they spotted a picture of him holding an illegal weapon, a sawed-off shotgun, on his Twitter account.

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Today in Beatles History:

1963 - The Beatles' first Christmas record was delivered to their fan club.

1966 - The first session for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" occurred at Abbey Road. The Beatles performed two takes of "When I'm 64."

1967 - The Beatles opened the Apple Boutique in London.

1980 - John Lennon mixed "Walking on Thin Ice." Mark David Chapman arrived in New York City a day after leaving Honolulu.

1986 - Ringo Starr became the first Beatle to get into advertising when he became a spokesman for a wine cooler company.

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IS JENNIFER ANISTON PREGNANT? - No.

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Today in Sports History:

1960 - Gene Autry and Bob Reynolds were granted the Los Angeles Angels baseball franchise by the American League.

1988 - The Milwaukee Bucks won their 1,000th NBA game.

1990 - The National Hockey League granted a membership to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ottawa Senators.

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Pet lovers website Pawnation went through the names given to over a million puppies born this year and found the most popular dog names. The most popular female dog name: Bella. The most popular male dog name: Max.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --


Nothin' Doin'

Friday --

Nothin' Doin'

Saturday --

Empire South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Palm Beach Hawks 4:00pm EST

EJHL South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Palm Beach Hawks 8:00pm EST

Sunday --


Empire South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Palm Beach Hawks 10:00am EST

EJHL South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Palm Beach Hawks 12:15pm EST


NFL Football -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Philadelphia Eagles 1:00pm EST

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That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, see you tomorrow!