It's Thursday

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

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Today is May 9th, the 129th day of 2013. There are 236 days left in the year.

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Krejci's OT goal gives Bruins 3-1 series lead on Leafs.

Rangers even series vs. Capitals with Game 4 win.

Voynov's OT goal gives Kings 3-2 series lead vs. Blues.

Bonino's OT goal gives Ducks 3-2 series lead.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown) is 67; Billy Joel is 64; John Corbett (Northern Exposure, My Big Fat Greek Wedding) is 52; Rosario Dawson (Sin City) is 34.

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Tampa, FL. --View a visual breakdown of Marty Season Louis' 2012-13 season accomplishments....

Read the rest here.

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A 12-week-old puppy in Kansas City survived four weeks trapped in an impounded Buick, living off leftover McDonald's food. [The rescued pup is receiving lots of love and cholesterol medicine.]

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WENATCHEE, Wash. - The Wenatchee Wild fan base made one final, raucous rally in support of the team that may be leaving town during a home playoff game Tuesday.

A chorus of clanking cowbells echoed throughout the arena, fog horns blared and the crowd of 2,777 seemed more vocal and tuned in than usual.

“What a great crowd,” first-year coach Bliss Littler said afterward. “They were really into it.”

Read the rest here.

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Christopher Columbus left Spain for his final trip to the Western Hemisphere on this date in 1502.

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U.S. Women's National Team Named USOC's Team of the Month for April  Universal Sports to Air Encore Presentation of Team USA's Gold-Medal Victory vs. Canada at 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The gold-medal performance by the U.S. Women's National Team at the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship in Ottawa, Ont., has earned Team of the Month honors for April from the United States Olympic Committee. Universal Sports will air an encore presentation of Team USA's victory over Canada in the gold-medal game on Thursday, May 16, at 6 p.m. ET and Friday, May 17, at 1:30 p.m. ET. The U.S. finished with a 4-0-1-0 record in the event to secure its fourth gold medal in the last five world championships. NOTES: USA Hockey has invited 41 players to its U.S. Women's National Team Selection Camp that will take place at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y., June 16-23. All 23 players that captured the gold medal at the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship will be taking part in the camp, which will be used to determine the U.S. Women's National Team roster that will train together and participate in various competitions in the build-up to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games … USA Hockey will unveil the players selected to the U.S. Women's National Team on June 24 … The final 21-player U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team roster is expected to be announced in late December 2013. U.S. Men's National Team Tops Finland, 4-1, at 2013 IIHF Men's World Championship Craig Smith Tallies Hat Trick; John Gibson Stops 31 Shots HELSINKI – Craig Smith (Madison, Wis./Nashville Predators/Univ. of Wisconsin) scored three times and goaltenderJohn Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kitchener Rangers) made 31 saves to help the U.S. Men's National Team to a 4-1 triumph over host Finland here tonight in preliminary round action of the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship. "It was certainly a terrific win for our team in a hostile environment," said Joe Sacco, head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team. "We played a solid game, particularly in the third period. I thought John Gibson was very good in goal and we continue to work hard and build chemistry." In front of a sellout crowd of 12,484, Finland took the lead 5:53 into the opening period when Jarno Koskiranta chipped a bouncing puck past Gibson. Team USA evened the score at 17:36 when Smith and David Moss (Livonia, Mich./Phoenix Coyotes/Univ. of Michigan) connected on a rush. Moss sped across the blue line, stepped inside a defender at the left circle and fired a low shot that Smith deflected into the net. Neither team scored in the second period, however, Gibson made a series of saves in the final minutes of the stanza to maintain the stalemate. With 1:47 left, he made perhaps his biggest stop when he dove from post-to-post to deny Juhamatti Aaltonen's wraparound attempt. Team USA took the lead for good at 3:22 of the third period when Paul Stastny (St. Louis, Mo./Colorado Avalanche/Univ. of Denver) fed Smith in the right slot for a one-timer that beat goalie Antti Raanta. Stephen Gionta (Rochester, N.Y./New Jersey Devils/Boston College) provided a 3-1 cushion for the U.S. at 11:29.Nate Thompson (Anchorage, Alaska/Tampa Bay Lightning) skated the puck up the right side and slid it across the circles to Gionta, who wristed the puck between the Raanta's legs. Seconds earlier, Gibson stopped a partial breakaway to setup the transition opportunity. Smith scored into an empty net with :42 left to complete his hat trick and seal the third U.S. win in four games at this year's world championship. Team USA has two days off before returning to action on Saturday (May 11) vs. France. Faceoff is 1:15 p.m. local time (5:15 a.m. EDT). NBC Sports Network will televise the game live and also stream it live in the United States through NBC Sports Live Extra. Scoring By Period Team 1 2 3 Total USA 1 0 3 4 FIN 1 0 0 1 First Period – Scoring: 1, FIN, Koskiranta (Pesonen, Hietanen), 5:53; 2, USA, Smith (Moss, C. Butler), 17:36. Penalties: USA, Carter (interference), 7:58; USA, Carter (roughing-double minor), 7:58; FIN, Melart (roughing-double minor), 7:58; USA, Palushaj (delaying the game), 18:52. Second Period – Scoring: None. Penalties: USA, Johnson (boarding), 3:49; FIN, Hytonen (interference), 9:29; USA, Palushaj (holding), 13:06. Third Period – Scoring: 3, Smith (Stastny, Faulk), 3:22 (pp); 4, USA, Gionta (Thompson), 11:29; 5, USA, Smith (Stastny, Moss), 19:18 (en). Penalties: FIN, Hytonen (tripping), 2:19. Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total FIN 8 10 14 32 USA 6 7 12 25 Goaltender (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total FIN, Raanta 57:53 6/5 7/7 12/9 25/21 USA, Gibson 60:00 8/7 10/10 14/14 32/31 Power Play: FIN, 0-4; USA, 1-2 Penalties: FIN, 4-8; USA, 6-12 Team USA 2013 IIHF Men's World Championship ScheduleMay 3-19 • Helsinki, Finland & Stockholm, Sweden Date Opponent NBC Sports Network Broadcast (EDT) Live Streaming Sat., May 4 Austria W, 5-3 NBCSports.com Sun., May 5 Latvia W, 4-1 NBCSports.com Tues., May 7 Russia L, 3-5 NBCSports.com Wed., May 8 Finland W, 4-1 NBCSports.com Sat., May 11 France 5:15 a.m. NBCSports.com Sun., May 12 Germany 10:45 a.m. (Delay) NBCSports.com Tues., May 14 Slovakia 5:15 a.m. NBCSports.com Thurs., May 16 Quarterfinals 6:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. TBD Sat., May 18 Semifinals TBD TBD Sun., May 19 Bronze-Medal Game TBD TBD Gold-Medal Game TBD TBD NOTES: Craig Smith was named Team USA's Player of the Game ... Paul Stastny, who had two assists today, leads Team USA with seven points (2-5) ... Team USA's captain is Paul Stastny, while the alternate captains areMatt Carle and Nate Thompson ... Twenty-one of the 23 members of Team USA played U.S. college hockey ... Nine of the 23 players announced are products of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, including Matt Carle, Justin Faulk, John Gibson, Stephen Gionta, Matt Hunwick, Erik Johnson, Danny Kristo, Jamie McBain andJacob Trouba ... Ten NHL teams are represented on the roster, including the Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets ... Joe Sacco is the head coach of the 2013 U.S. National Men's Team. Tim Army,Danton Cole and Phil Housley are serving as assistant coaches ... The 2013 U.S. Men's National Team is under the direction of the U.S. Men's National Team Advisory Group, led by Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. Members include NHL general managers Stan Bowman (Chicago), Paul Holmgren (Philadelphia), Dean Lombardi (Los Angeles), David Poile (Nashville), Ray Shero (Pittsburgh) and Dale Tallon (Florida) and NHL scouts Brian Burke (Anaheim) and Don Waddell (Pittsburgh) ... USA Hockey's international council, chaired by Tony Rossi, vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams. ************************************************ Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is bringing in a herd of 25 goats to act as ultra-green lawnmowers. The live mowers will help trim back unruly brush and vegetation in hard to reach and rocky areas of the airport. ************************************************ Nye: Grading the Riders' 2013 Draft. Off-season changes give Lions fresh outlook. Visit the league's official website at cfl.ca. ************************************************ Joseph Bramah patented the beer-pump handle on this date in 1785. ************************************************ Tampa, FL. — Ronde Barber, who has spent his entire 16-year career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will announce his retirement on Thursday, the team announced. Read the rest here. ************************************************ If you thought mom might enjoy a cheese and onion chocolate bar on Mother's Day, you're out of luck. The limited-edition chocolate bars are all sold out. Irish food company Tayto has created the cheese and onion flavored chocolate bar, and the company has already sold out of the first 100,000. ************************************************ St. Petersburg, FL. -- Unlike the previous two nights, the Rays took a lead Wednesday night and held it. Tampa Bay's hitters never let up throughout a 10-4 win over Toronto, snapping a two-game skid with 11,075 watching at Tropicana Field. Read the rest here. ************************************************ Too busy to do the occasional diaper check to see if your little tot has peed? Then Huggies' TweetPee is for you. A little sensor affixes to your baby's diaper, syncs with an app and tweets at you whenever it detects pee (in the form of a higher humidity level). Evidently the app also keeps track of the number of diapers you go through, and alerts you when you're running low. ************************************************ San Francisco, CA. -- Maybe the Giants should take their act to Las Vegas, performing thrill acts for dinner-theater audiences. Perhaps that's a silly notion. But manager Bruce Bochy innocently conjured that idea with his remarks following the Giants' latest suspenseful victory, a 4-3, 10-inning decision Wednesday over the Philadelphia Phillies that ended with Andres Torres' two-out RBI single. Read the rest here. ************************************************ Americans Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett became the first men to fly an airplane over the North Pole on this date in 1926. ************************************************ Daddy, the music is too loud! ************************************************ You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as watching the NHL playoffs, isn't it? ************************************************ Today in Elvis History 1981 - Elvis Presley's single "Lovin' Arms" hit #47 in the U.K. 1981 - Elvis Presley's album "This is Elvis Presley" hit #47 in the U.K. 2006 - The Elvis Presley 3-CD set "Legendary" was released by Sony International. The set contained 50 songs. ************************************************ A Florida (DeLand) man stalking and threatening his ex-girlfriend left a dead opossum on the woman's doorstep. The dead marsupial is one of several calling cards the guy has left for his ex. ************************************************ Today in Beatles History: 1962 - Brian Epstein met with EMI producer George Martin. Martin signed the Beatles to record demos on June 4, 1962. It was their first recording contract. 1964 - The Beatles single "Do You Want To Know A Secret" hit #2 in the U.S. 1964 - The Beatles single "Thank You Girl" hit #35 in the U.S. 1969 - George Harrison's album "Electronic Sounds" was released. 1987 - The Beatles newly released CDs "Help!" "Rubber Soul," and "Revolver" charted in the U.K. ************************************************ Production on the latest Jurassic Park sequel has been put on hold to allow the director (Colin Trevorrow) more time to prepare for the shoot. Filming on the fourth dinosaur epic was due to begin in the coming weeks, and the project was scheduled to hit movie theaters in June, 2014. ************************************************

Today in Sports History:

1945 - In the U.S., the wartime government ban on horse racing was lifted.

1961 - Jim Gentile (Baltimore Orioles) set a major league baseball record when he hit a grand slam home run in two consecutive innings. The game was against the Minnesota Twins.

1973 - Johnny Bench hit three home runs in a game. It was the second time he had achieved the feat.

1984 - The Chicago White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-6, in 25 innings. The game took 8 hours and 6 minutes to complete.

1987 - Eddie Murray (Baltimore Orioles) became the first player to switch hit homeruns in two consecutive games.

1989 - Rick Cerone (New York Mets) committed his first error in 159 games as catcher.

1989 - Kevin Elster (New York Mets) committed his first error in 88 games as shortstop.

1993 - The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers 112-104 in overtime to become the first NBA team to lose two playoff games at home and then come back to win three straight.

1995 - The Cleveland Indians tied a record when they recorded 8 runs before making an out. They beat the Minnesota Twins 10-0.

1997 - The San Diego Padres retired the #35. Pitcher Randy Jones had worn the number.

1999 - Marshall McDougall (Florida State) hit six consecutive home runs and knocked in 16 runs. Both records were set in the 25-2 victory over Maryland.

2001 - In Accra, Ghana, at least 120 people died in a stampede at a soccer match. 

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A laser beam was successfully bounced off Moon for the first time on this date in 1962.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays 7:10pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Atlanta Braves 10:15pm EDT

Friday --

NAHL Robertson Cup Tournament -- Wenatchee Wild vs Bismarck Bobcats 5:30pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs San Diego Padres 7:10pm EDT

Nascar Nationwide Series -- VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway 7:30pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Atlanta Braves 10:15pm EDT

Saturday --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Atlanta Braves 4:05pm EDT

NAHL Robertson Cup Tournament -- Wenatchee Wild vs Jamestown Ironmen 5:30pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs San Diego Padres 6:10pm EDT

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway 6:45pm EDT

Sunday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs San Diego Padres 1:40pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Atlanta Braves 4:05pm EDT

NAHL Robertson Cup Tournament -- Wenatchee Wild vs Amarillo Bulls 5:30pm EDT

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