It's Friday

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

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Today is January 4th, the 4th day of 2013. There are 361 days left in the year.

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Mediation between League, Union to continue Friday.

USA, Sweden set to battle for gold.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Dyan Cannon is 76; Michael Stipe of R.E.M. is 53; Dave Foley (NewsRadio, Kids in the Hall) is 50; Julia Ormond is 48. Kathy Meissner (my little sister) is 41.

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U.S. National Under-17 Team Edged by Russia, 6-4, in 2013 World Under-17 Challenge Semifinal Wilkie Nets Two Goals, Milano Records Two Assists VICTORIAVILLE, Quebec – Chris Wilkie (Omaha, Neb.) netted two goals and Sonny Milano (Massapequa, N.Y.) recorded two assists, but the U.S. National Under-17 Team was edged by Russia, 6-4, in the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge semifinals here tonight at the Colisee Desjardins. Team USA will now face Canada's Team Quebec in the third-place contest tomorrow. "We battled hard throughout and I'm proud of our guys," said Danton Cole, head coach of the U.S. National Under-17 Team. "Russia played a great game and it came down to special teams play in the end. We'll move on and prepare for the third-place game." Wilkie opened scoring at 2:14 of the first period, backhanding a rebound past Russian netminder Maxim Sidorov.Dominic Turgeon (Cherry Hills, Colo.) and Louis Belpedio (Skokie, Ill.) collected assists on the power-play strike. Team USA doubled its lead when Milano and Wilkie connected on a give-and-go play in front of the net. Wilkie tipped the puck in for the tally. Alex Tuch (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) also registered an assist on the marker. Thirteen seconds later, Russia sliced the American lead in half. Team USA took a 2-1 advantage into the intermission. Russia knotted the game, 2-2, at 15:27 of the second stanza. Austin Poganski (St. Cloud, Minn.) answered with a power-play goal to regain the lead for Team USA. The tally, scored at 18:56, was assisted on by Ryan Bliss(Bedford, N.H.) and Ryan Hitchcock (Manhasset, N.Y.). Forty-five seconds into the third period, Russia scored with the man advantage to tie the game, 3-3. Team USA was whistled for back-to-back infractions that then led to a 5-on-3 score by the Russians at 4:42 and a 5-on-4 goal 35 seconds later. Russia scored its third straight tally at 5:17 to take a 5-3 lead over the U.S., before Jack Glover(Golden Valley, Minn.) pulled Team USA to within one goal at 7:51. Nathan Billitier (Spencerport, N.Y.) and Milano recorded assists on Glover's power-play score. An empty net goal with 26 seconds remaining in the game sealed the victory for Russia and the U.S. fell, 6-4. Chris Birdsall (Glen Rock, N.J.) made 21 saves in the loss for Team USA, while Sidorov stopped 26 shots in the win for Russia. The U.S. National Under-17 Team will face Quebec tomorrow (Jan. 4) at 3:00 p.m. EST. The game will be held at Centre Marcel Dionne in Drummondville, Quebec. A full schedule and results can be found below. NOTES: Austin Poganski was named Team USA's Player of the Game ... For Team USA's full roster, click here ... Team USA outshot Russia, 30-26 ... The U.S. finished 3-for-6 on the power play, while Russia went 3-for-4 with the man advantage ... The 2013 World Under-17 Challenge includes two pools of five teams. Pool A consists of teams from Finland, Canada's Team Pacific, Russia, Sweden and Canada's Team West. Pool B consists of teams from Canada's Team Atlantic, Canada's Team Ontario, Canada's Team Quebec, Slovakia and the United States ... The U.S. enters the tournament having captured first place three times (2001-02, 2010) and second place in 1999, 2008, 2011, 2012 ... Follow @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament. Scores will be designated with #WU17 ... For additional coverage, visit USA Hockey's National Team Development ProgramFacebook page ... The U.S. National Under-17 Team trains with The Hockey IntelliGym, a revolutionary new software program released on October 1, 2010, that trains hockey sense. To learn more, visitUSAHockeyIntelliGym.com. GAME SUMMARY Scoring By Period RUS 1 - 1 - 4 - 6 USA 2 - 1 - 1 - 4 First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Wilkie (Turgeon, Belpedio), 2:14, (pp); 2, USA, Wilkie (Milano, Tuch), 16:22; 3, RUS, Svechnikov (Nasybullin), 16:35. Penalties: RUS, Yazkov (goaltender-interference), 1:18; RUS, Orlov (holding), 4:14; USA, Wesley (hooking), 7:12. Second Period - Scoring: 4, RUS, Nikolishin (Zinoviev), 15:27; 5, USA, Poganski (Bliss, Hitchcock), 18:56, (pp). Penalties: RUS, Lazarev (slashing), 17:59; USA, Bjork (hooking), 19:33. Third Period - Scoring: 6, RUS, Orlov (Nasybullin, Lazarev), 0:45, (pp); 7, RUS, Lazarev (Nasybullin, Nikolishin), 4:42, (5-on-3); 8, RUS, Fazleyev (Lazarev, Yazkov), 5:17, (pp); 9, USA, Glover (Billitier, Milano), 7:51, (pp); 10, RUS, Svechnikov (unassisted), 19:34, (en). Penalties: USA, Glover (interference), 3:17; USA, Wesley (closing-hand-on-puck), 4:21; RUS, Mikulovich (hooking), 6:08; RUS, Orlov (holding), 13:40; RUS, Nasybullin (boarding), 15:35; USA, Wilkie (slashing), 20:00. Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total RUS 7 10 9 26 USA 8 14 8 30 Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total RUS, Sidorov, 60:00 8/6 14/13 8/7 30/26 USA, Birdsall, 57:04 7/6 10/9 9/6 26/21 USA, Minney, 2:56 0/0 -- -- 0/0 Power Play: RUS 3-4; USA 3-6 Penalties: RUS 6-12; USA 5-10 Team USA 2013 World Under-17 Challenge ScheduleDec. 28, 2012 - Jan. 4, 2013 • Drummondville and Victoriaville, Quebec Date Opponent Location Time/Result Live Streaming Fri., Dec. 28 Canada Pacific* Centre Marcel Dionne W, 6-2 Sat., Dec 29 Canada Ontario Colisee Desjardins W, 6-5 (SO) Sun., Dec. 30 Canada Atlantic Colisee Desjardins W, 6-3 Mon., Dec. 31 Canada Quebec Colisee Desjardins W, 5-1 Weds., Jan. 2 Slovakia Centre Marcel Dionne W, 7-2 Thurs., Jan. 3 Russia Colisee Desjardins L, 4-6 Fri., Jan. 4 Third-Place Game Centre Marcel Dionne 3:00 p.m. FASTHockey *Pre-tournament game

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It's Spaghetti Day. The world record for largest bowl of spaghetti was set in March 2009 and reset in March 2010 when a Buca di Beppo restaurant in Garden Grove, California, successfully filled a swimming pool with more than 13,780 pounds of pasta.

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Sears, Palardy re-up with Blue and Gold.

Dickenson resigns as Riders' Special Teams Coordinator.

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

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IN THEATERS THIS WEEKEND - The Impossible (PG-13); Promised Land (R); Texas Chainsaw 3D (R)

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Tampa, FL. —For the second straight season, G Davin Joseph has been named Tampa Bay's Man of the Year, which makes him a nominee for the 2012 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year.

Read the rest here.

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One month from today (February 4) the Royal Canadian Mint starts collecting one-cent coins for melting and recycling of the metal content. Officials expect that around six billion pennies will be surrendered by Canadians over the next six years.

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Oh boy! Markers!

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as watching the Sid the Science Kid, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History

1954 - Elvis Presley recorded "It Wouldn't be the Same Without You" and "I’ll Never Stand in Your Way." 

1957 - In Memphis, Elvis Presley reported to Kennedy Veterans Hospital for an army pre-induction physical.

1975 - Elvis' update of the ballad "My Boy" hit #5 in the U.K.

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More than half of Americans who regularly go to the gym said they dread the month of January because resolution-makers move in and take over. Sadly, only 11% of those who join a gym as part of a resolution will still be going by the end of the year.

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Today in Beatles History:

1962 - The Beatles topped the first Mersey Beat popularity poll.

1970 - George Harrison recorded the lead guitar solo for the album version of "Let It Be." 

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A Colorado brewery that created a limited-run beer flavored with bull testicles for a beer festival is planning to offer it year-round. Wynkoop Brewing Company's Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout was riginally meant as an April Fools' joke. Here's the spoof video that started it all.

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Today in Sports History:

1883 - The Ontario Rugby Football Union was formed. The organization was the forerunner of the CFL.

1920 - The National Negro Baseball League was organized.

1957 - The Dodgers bought a 44-passenger twin-engine airplane for $775,000. They were the first team to own their own plane.

1957 - Former heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis appeared on "The Steve Allen Show" to introduce singer Solomon Burke. Burke performed Louis' "You Can Run, but You Can't Hide."

1974 - NBC-TV presented hockey in prime time. The Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers were the teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) game.

1975 - The Montreal Canadiens beat the Washington Capitals 10-0.

1976 - The Dallas Cowboys became the first wild-card team to make it to the Super Bowl. They beat the Los Angeles Ram 37-7 in the NFC title game.

1977 - Mary Shane was hired by the Chicago White Sox as the first woman TV play-by-play announcer.

1982 - Bryant Gumbel moved from NBC Sports to the anchor desk where he joined Jane Pauley as co-host of the "Today" show on NBC.

1983 - The USFL (United States Football League) held its first player draft.

1984 - Wayne ‘The Great One’ Gretzky scored eight points (four goals and four assists) for the second time in his National Hockey League (NHL) career. Edmonton’s Oilers defeated the Minnesota North Stars, 12-8. The game was the highest-scoring NHL game to date.

1992 - Mike Gartner (New York Rangers) scored his 1000th career point.

1996 - Don Shula announced his retirement from coaching the Miami Dolphins after 26 seasons.

1997 - The New York Rangers won their 2,000th game as an NHL franchise. Wayne Gretzky assisted on four second period goals.

1999 - Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as Minnesota's 37th governor.

2003 - The Green Bay Packers lost 27-7 to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC wild card game. It was the first time that the Packers had lost a playoff game at home.

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A Florida man is accused of having sticky fingers. Cops say the man stuffed a $1.29 Iced Honey Bun down his sweatpants at a 7-11. He fled on his bicycle but was picked up a short time later. The Honey Bun was not found.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

Junior Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Boston Showcase

Saturday --

Junior Hockey -- USA vs Sweden in World Junior Championship Gold Medal game 8:00am EST

Junior Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Boston Showcase

Sunday --

Junior Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Boston Showcase

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