It's Wednesday

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

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Today is December 12th, the 347th day of 2012. There are 19 days left in the year.

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No excuses: There's a deal to be done, and it's time for NHL and NHLPA to do it.

NHL, union to return to bargaining, with mediators.

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

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Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on this date in 1787.

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2013 NTDP Evaluation Camp Schedule Announced 51 Top 1997-Born Players Invited to Ann Arbor  ANN ARBOR, Mich. – USA Hockey's National Team Development Program recently announced dates for its evaluation camp held at the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Ice Cube. Fifty-one of the top American players born in 1997 will be invited. The camp, which will help select the 2013-14 U.S. National Under-17 Team, will take place March 22-26, 2013. "We are very excited about the talent level of the incoming players," said Peter Ward, director of player personnel for the NTDP. "This camp serves as a major part of the overall process of identifying, evaluating and selecting players for the team." The players will be divided into three teams - Red, White and Blue - and will participate in on-ice practices and off-ice training as well as four 30-minute sessions and two full games. Each team will consist of nine forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders. 2013 National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp Game Schedule March 22-26, 2013 • Ann Arbor Ice Cube • Ann Arbor, Mich. Date Game Time (EST) Sat., March 23 Red vs. White* 10:45 a.m. Red vs. Blue* 12:00 p.m. White vs. Blue* 1:15 p.m. Blue vs. White 6:45 p.m. Sun., March 24 White vs. Red 10:15 a.m. Red vs. Blue 5:45 p.m. Mon., March 25 Blue vs. White* 4:00 p.m. White vs. Red* 5:45 p.m. Red vs. Blue* 7:00 p.m. *30-Minute Session University of Minnesota Continues Reign in USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine 2012-13 Women's College Hockey Poll - #12(first-place votes in parentheses) Rank School Last Week's Ranking 2012-13 Record (W-L-T) Weeks in Top 10 1 University of Minnesota, 190 (19) 1 20-0-0 13 2 Clarkson University, 156 2 15-3-0 10 3 Cornell University, 143 3 10-3-0 13 4 Harvard University, 137 4 9-1-1 11 5 Boston College, 115 6 11-3-2 13 6 Boston University, 97 7 11-3-3 13 7 Mercyhurst University, 76 5 14-3-1 13 8 University of Wisconsin, 54 9 12-6-2 7 9 University of North Dakota, 27 8 11-7-0 13 10 Northeastern University, 25 10 10-5-2 9 Others receiving votes: Ohio State University, 14; University of Minnesota Duluth, 4; Robert Morris University, 3. NOTES: The USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll will now be on a three-week hiatus, returning Tues., Jan. 8, 2013 ... University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are the defending NCAA national champions and earned their 13th straight week as the unanimous No. 1 ... The Western Collegiate Hockey Association, Hockey East Association, and ECAC Hockey all boast three ranked teams while College Hockey America has one ranked program ... A total of 13 teams received votes. ABOUT THE POLL: The 16th annual USA Today/USA Hockey MagazineWomen’s College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the four NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey.

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On this date in 1792 in Vienna, 22-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven received one of his first lessons in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn.

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Corvallis, OR. -- Oregon State quarterbacks Sean Mannion and Cody Vaz have spent the first two days of bowl practice sharing the workload as the Beavers stage a three-week competition for starting honors in the Dec. 29 Alamo Bowl against Texas.

Read the rest here.

Visit the Oregon State Athletics department official web site.

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Washington, DC, was established as the capital of the United States on this date in 1800.

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Ticats part ways with head coach George Cortez.

Campbell: Hervey charged with leading Esks to supremacy.

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

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Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina became the first black lawmaker to be sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives on this date in 1870.

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Tampa, FL. —For the fifth straight year, the Buccaneers will have no increases in the pricing for their season passes in 2013, and 35% of the stadium seats will have reduced prices.

Read the rest here.

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Guglielmo Marconi gave the first public demonstration of radio at Toynbee Hall, London on this date in 1896.

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I'd like a treat please.

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Beats rotating your tires, doesn't it?

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Today in Elvis History

1956 - Hal Kanter, screenwriter and director of "Loving You", flew to Memphis to meet Elvis Presley.

1957 - Disc Jockey Al Priddy of KEX in Portland, Oregon, was fired for playing Elvis Presley's rendition of "White Christmas." He had violated the radio station's ban against the song.

1969 - The Elvis Presley album "From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis" was confirmed gold by the RIAA.

1970 - The Elvis Presley compilation album "Almost In Love" hit #65 in the U.S.

2003 - The Elvis Presley movies "Roustabout", "King Creole", "Blue Hawaii" and "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" were released on DVD.

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Happy 12-12-12 everybody!

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Today in Beatles History:

1964 - The Beatles' "I Feel Fine" topped the UK chart with 750,000 advance orders.

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The first radio signal to cross the Atlantic was picked up near St. John's Newfoundland, by inventor Guglielmo Marconi on this date in 1901.

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Today in Sports History:

1899 -  George Grant patented the wooden golf tee.

1968 - Arthur Ashe became the first black man to be ranked #1 in tennis.

1971 - Bobby Hull (Chicago Black Hawks) scored his 1000th point.

1976 - Joe Namath played his last game with the New York Jets.

1981 - Wayne Gretzky became the quickest to reach 50 goals in a season. It was in the 39th game.

1988 - Sandra Miller sued Mike Tyson for sexual harassment.

1998 - Mark Recchi (Montreal Canadiens) ended his consecutive game streak. He had played in 569 straight games.

2000 - The Texas Rangers signed Alex Rodriguez to a record breaking 10-year, $252 million contract. The contract amount broke all Major League Baseball records and all professional sports records.

2001 - Jere Lehtinen (Dallas Stars) scored his 100th NHL goal in a game against the Buffalo Sabres.

2001 - Denver Nuggets coach Dan Issel was suspended for four games by his team for shouting a profanity and an ethnic remark at a fan.

2001 - Former Dallas Cowboy Nate Newton, and two others, were arrested on charges of carrying at least 175 pounds of marijuana. It was his second arrest in six weeks.

2010 - The collapse of the inflatable roof at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Mall of America Stadium caused the cancellation of a game between the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings. The teams played the next day at Detroit's Ford Field.

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You won't be able to get this version of Katy Perry's Firework out of your head. Ever.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

Nothin' Doin'

Thursday --

Nothin' Doin'

Friday --

Junior Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors Empire South and EJHL South teams at Boston Showcase.

Saturday --

Junior Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors Empire South and EJHL South teams at Boston Showcase.

Sunday -- 

Junior Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors Empire South and EJHL South teams at Boston Showcase.

NFL Football -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints 1:00pm EST

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