Monday Morning Meissnervations

It's Monday. Here's what's happening.

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Today is January 28th, the 28th day of 2013. There are 337 days left in the year.

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More power plays, better proficiency in first week.

NHLN, NHL.com to go behind scenes at Gretzky camp.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Alan Alda (M*A*S*H) is 77; Joey Fatone of 'N Sync is 36; Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys is 33; Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings) is 32; Ariel Winter (Modern Family) is 15.

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Tampa, FL. -- The National Hockey League might want to consider issuing a league-wide memorandum to each of the other 29 teams, suggesting this:

Don’t bring a winning streak into the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Read the rest here.

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This is Bubblewrap Appreciation Day.

... "Charlie's Angels" star Farrah Fawcett appeared on the cover of the July 1997 issue of Playboy magazine wrapped in Bubble Wrap.

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U.S. National Sled Team Wins USA Hockey Sled Cup; Defeats Korea 5-2 Dan McCoy Scored Twice in Championship Game INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. – The U.S. National Sled Team won the inaugural USA Hockey Sled Cup by defeating Korea, 5-2, here tonight at the Extreme Ice Center. Dan McCoy (Cheswick, Pa.) scored two goals, while four other U.S. players also had multi-point efforts in the championship game. "It's always fun to win and to do so on home ice is exciting for all of us," said Jeff Sauer, head coach of the U.S. National Sled Team. "We had to fight hard to win this game tonight because Korea gave it their all. We scored the goals and made the key plays in the game when necessary to get the victory." Team USA capitalized on its first power-play opportunity of the night at 3:21 of the first period. Paul Schaus (Buffalo, N.Y.) drove through the low slot with a defender on his hip and managed to tip a crossing pass from Greg Shaw(Merritt Island, Fla.) into the net. Midway through the second period the teams exchanged goals. Team USA took a 2-0 lead at 6:05 on a McCoy breakaway that was created by Kevin McKee's (Davenport, Iowa) long pass from the U.S. blue line. A minute and a half later, Korea scored on a deflected point shot. Nikko Landeros (Johnstown, Colo.) put the U.S. ahead 3-1 with a power-play goal that he lofted in from the left circle at 9:17. At 5:20 of the third stanza, Korea cut the U.S. lead to a single goal when it scored on a five-on-three advantage. Team USA bounced back, however, with a shorthanded marker just 47 seconds later. Joshua Sweeney (Phoenix, Ariz.) forced the puck free near center ice, where Adam Page (Lancaster, N.Y.) scooped it up and cruised in alone. Page faked left then tucked the puck inside the right post for a 4-2 U.S. lead. McCoy locked up the win for Team USA with 2:29 remaining in the game when his shot from the edge of the crease hit the netminder and trickled over the goal line. Goaltender Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) made 10 saves, while Korea's Mangyun Yu turned aside 18 shots. In the USA Hockey Sled Cup third-place game, Russia prevailed over the U.S. National Developmental Team 7-0. Up next for the U.S. National Sled Team is a three-game series against Canada Feb. 14-16. All three games will be played in Ottawa, Ont. Scoring By Period Team 1 2 3 Total Korea 0 1 1 2 USA 1 2 2 5 First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, Schaus (Shaw, Page), 3:21 (pp). Penalties: KOR, Park (holding), 2:52; USA, Landeros (roughing), 6:16; USA, Roman (roughing), 7:39; USA, McKee (slashing), 9:30; KOR, Lee (interference), 9:45; USA, Farmer (delay of game), 12:53. Second Period – Scoring: 2, USA, McCoy (McKee, Pauls), 6:05; 3, KOR, Cho (Jang), 7:34; 4, USA, Landeros (Pauls, Salamone), 9:17 (pp). Penalties: USA, Roman (delay of game), 3:43; KOR, Lee (roughing), 8:33; KOR, Lee (holding), 9:56; USA, Landeros (interference), 13:57. Third Period – Scoring: 5, KOR, Jung (unassisted), 5:20 (pp); 6, USA, Page (Sweeney), 6:07 (sh); 7, USA, McCoy (McKee, Salamone), 12:31. Penalties: KOR, Han (roughing), 3:05; USA, Sweeney (T-boning), 3:45; USA, Salamone (roughing), 5:12; KOR, Kim (roughing), 13:52. Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total KOR 3 4 5 12 USA 6 7 10 23 Goaltender (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total KOR, Yu, 44:18 5/6 5/7 8/10 18/23 KOR, Shin, 0:42 -- -- 0/0 0/0 USA, Cash, 45:00 3/3 3/4 4/5 10/12 Power Play: KOR 1-8; USA, 2-6 Penalties: KOR 6-12; USA, 8-16 2013 USA Hockey Sled Cup Jan. 23-26 - Indian Trail, N.C. - Extreme Ice Center Date Match-Up Result/Time (EST) FastHockey.com Wed., Jan. 23 Korea vs. Russia U.S. vs. U.S. Developmental 4-2 5-0 Live Stream Live Stream Thurs., Jan. 24 U.S. Developmental vs. Korea Russia vs. U.S. 1-5 0-4 Live Stream Live Stream Fri., Jan. 25 U.S. Developmental vs. Russia U.S. vs. Korea 1-5 3-0 Live Stream Live Stream Sat., Jan. 26 Third-Place Game: U.S. Developmental vs. Russia 0-7 Live Stream Sat., Jan. 26 Championship Game: U.S. vs. Korea  5-2 Live Stream NOTES: Josh Pauls (Green Brook, N.J.) led the tournament in points (7) and assists (5) ... Jeff Sauer (Madison, Wis.), former men's ice hockey head coach at Colorado College and the University of Wisconsin, is the head coach of the U.S. National Sled Team, while Guy Gosselin (Grafton, Wis.) is the assistant coach ... Mike MacMillan(Buffalo, Minn.) is the head coach of the U.S. National Developmental Sled Team, while Kip St. Germaine (East Falmouth, Mass.) is the associate head coach ... Follow @USAHockey and @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament. For additional coverage, visit usahockey.com and USA Hockey's Facebook... Media wishing to cover the event should contact Matt Trevor (mattT@usahockey.org) of the USA Hockey communications staff ... Dan Brennan (Colorado Springs, Colo.) is the general manager for the U.S. National Sled Team, while Jeremy Kennedy (Colorado Springs, Colo.) is the general manager for the U.S. National Developmental Sled Team ... The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, will be chosen this summer.

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Danica Patrick announced that she's dating fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. [It's true. Even Notre Dame linebacker Mantoi Te'o has seen the two of them together.]

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Reid ready to take on mentorship role with Lions.

Marshall and Sams named Eskimo coordinators.

Visit the league's official website at cfl.ca.

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Last week the Internet went bonkers for the UpperCupper, a special iPhone case with a cup holder attached. Turns out it was a prank product made to look real with a convincing photo.

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Tampa, FL. — Few teams made the kind of collective impact the Bucs did in this year’s all-star game, as Tampa Bay Pro Bowlers Vincent Jackson, Doug Martin and Gerald McCoy combined for three TDs and a key turnover.

Read the rest here.

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The Screen Actors Guild Awards were handed out Sunday night. USA Today has the winner's list.

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Merry Christmas Daddy.

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as starting a new week, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History

1956 - Elvis Presley appeared on the Dorsey brothers' "Stage Show." It was Elvis' first network television appearance. 

1963 - Production began on the Elvis Presley film "Fun In Acapulco."

1970 - "From Elvis In Memphis" was certified gold by the RIAA.

2005 - Lisa Marie Presley's single "Dirty Laundry" was played on AOL's First Listen.

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A new study says morning cardio is most effective when done while really hungry. Researchers (University of Northumbria) studied the effects of an empty stomach on exercise, and found that people who exercise on an empty stomach can burn 20 percent more body fat than those exercising after breakfast.

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Today in Beatles History:

1992 - George Harrison's "Living in the Material World" was released on compact disc. The album was originally released on May 30, 1973.

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A Massachusetts woman says her 6-year-old took a jewelry box of family heirlooms because he wanted to show it off to a classmate he calls his girlfriend. But Diane DeNapoli's boy lost the box, which contained her great-grandmother's watch, her late mom's engagement ring and her grandparents' wedding rings. She's offering a reward for their return.

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Today in Sports History:

1904 - The University of Chicago awarded blankets with the letter C to all seniors that played football during the 1903 season. This event marked the beginning of the sports letter tradition. 

1922 - The National Football League franchise in Decatur, IL, transferred to Chicago. The team took the name Chicago Bears.

1948 - Max Bentley (Chicago Blackhawks) scored 4 goals and his brother Doug assisted on all of them. Doug also had a goal in the game.

1957 - The Brooklyn Dodgers announced that circus clown Emmett Kelly had been hired to entertain fans at baseball games.

1958 - Roy Campanella (Brooklyn Dodgers) was seriously injured in an auto accident in New York. He would never return to play again.

1990 - Aaron Neville sang the U.S. national anthem at Super Bowl XXIV. Joe Montana got his third MVP award. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos 55-10.

1996 - Diana Ross performed as the featured halftime performer at Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, AZ. The Dallas Cowboys beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17. It was the fifth Super Bowl for the Cowboys.

2003 - The WNBA announced that Connecticut had been awarded a franchise for the 2003 season. The team, the Connecticut Sun, was the first WNBA team to be owned by a non-NBA owner (the Mohegan Sun).    

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The poorly reviewed action-comedy Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters debuted in first place at movie theaters over the weekend, bringing in about $19 million. Movie 43 bombed with a sixth place open.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

Nothin' Doin'

Tuesday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers 7:30pm EST

Wednesday --

Nothin' Doin'

Thursday --

Nothin' Doin'

Friday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Winnipeg Jets 7:30pm EST

Saturday --

Empire South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Florida Eels 3:00pm EST

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Rangers 7:00pm EST

EJHL South Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Florida Eels 9:00pm EST

Sunday --

Nothin' Doin'

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