It's Thursday

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

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Today is November 7th, the 311th day of 2013. There are 54 days left in the year.

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Goalie prospect Johansson could be big catch at draft.

Clarke: Shero was ahead of his time.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Evangelist Billy Graham is 95; Christopher Knight (Peter on The Brady Bunch) is 56; Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) is 43.

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Tampa, FL. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning meet the Edmonton Oilers for the first of two scheduled games during the regular season Thursday night at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Read the rest here.

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"The London Gazette" was first published on this date in 1665.

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U.S. National Under-17 Downs Slovakia in Four Nations Tournament Tune-Up Contest Bracco Picks Up a Goal and Two Assists, Ten Players Register at Least One Point Prievizda, Slovakia – Jeremy Bracco (Freeport, N.Y.) scored one goal and added two assists and Luke Kirwan (Dewitt, N.Y.) and Brody Stevens (Ann Arbor, Mich.) each notched two goals, as the U.S. National Under-17 Team downed Slovakia, 8-2, here this evening at Prievidza Arena. The game served as a pre-tournament contest before the Four Nations Tournament opens Friday (Nov. 8). "We competed at a high level tonight from start to finish after a long day of travel," said Don Granato, head coach of the U.S. National Under-17 Team. "We now have a day off tomorrow to prepare for a tough matchup versus Switzerland on Friday." Jack Roslovic (Columbus, Ohio) opened the scoring for Team USA, connecting with Michael Floodstrand (Hinsdale, Ill.) at 7:36 of the first period. Jordan Greenway (Potsdam, N.Y.) doubled the U.S. lead at 14:24. Nicholas Boka (Plymouth, Mich.) picked up an assist on the play. Bracco pushed the U.S. lead to three goals just 36 seconds later, capitalizing on the first power-play opportunity of the night. Grant Gabriele (Brighton, Mich.) earned a helper on the tally. Stevens and Kirwan accounted for all four U.S. goals in the second stanza. Stevens struck first just 2:22 after the puck dropped, combining with Casey Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass.) to find the back of the net. Kirwan's power-play strike at 5:57 gave the U.S. a 6-0 lead, with Bracco and Noah Hanifin (Norwood, Mass.) collecting assists. Slovakia ended the U.S. shutout at 7:11, but Kirwan answered 2:45 later and Stevens buried his second of the contest at 12:06 to send Team USA into the third period leading 7-1. Slovakia inched closer in the final frame at 17:40, but Brendan Warren (Carelton, Mich.) secured the 8-2 victory for the U.S. at the 18:36 marker. Bracco and Colin White (Hanover, Mass.) added their second assists of the day on the final score. Michael Lackey (Washington, D.C.) stopped four of the five shots he faced in the win, whileLuke Opilka (St. Louis, Mo.) kicked out eight of the nine attempts against him. The U.S. National Under-17 Team will open tournament play on Friday, Nov. 8, versus Switzerland The game will be held at Prievidza Arena at 7:30 a.m. EST. NOTES: For tonight's box score, click here ... The U.S. National Under-17 Team is looking to successfully defend its title at the U17 Four Nations Tournament, having claimed first place in four consecutive years (2009-12) ... Follow @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for scoring updates during the Four Nations Tournament. Scores will be designated with the #4NationsU17hashtag ... For the official U17 Four Nations Tournament page, click here ... For additional coverage, visit USA Hockey's National Team Development Program website and Facebook page... The U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams train with The Hockey IntelliGym, a revolutionary software program released on October 1, 2010 that trains hockey sense. To learn more, visit USAHockeyIntelliGym.com ... For the complete U.S. National Under-17 Team roster, click here. 2013 U.S. National Under-17 Team Four Nations Tournament Schedule Nov. 6-10, 2013 • Prievidza, Slovakia Date Opponent Location Time (Local/EST) Wed., Nov. 6 Slovakia* Prievidza W, 8-2 Fri., Nov. 8 Switzerland Prievidza 1:30 p.m./7:30 a.m. Sat., Nov. 9 Slovakia Prievidza 5:00 p.m./11:00 a.m. Sun., Nov. 10 Russia Prievidza 2:30 p.m./8:30 a.m. *Pre-tournament game ABOUT THE NTDP: In 1996, USA Hockey launched a new initiative called the National Team Development Program, based in Ann Arbor, Mich. Celebrating its 17th season of play in 2013-14, the goal of this full-time development program is to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. National Teams and success in their future hockey careers. Its efforts focus not only on high-caliber participation on the ice, but creating well-rounded individuals of the ice. U.S. Junior Select Team Defeats Canada East, 4-2, to Win Group at World Junior A Challenge Karson Kuhlman Nets Third and Fourth Goals of the Tournament YARMOUTH, Nova Scotia - Shane Eiserman (West Newbury, Mass.) scored midway through the third period to break a 2-2 tie and the U.S. Junior Select Team added an empty-net goal to seal a 4-2 victory over Canada East tonight at the World Junior A Challenge. The victory clinched Group A for the U.S., which will face either Switzerland or Canada East in the semifinals on Friday (Nov. 8). "We battled through some adversity tonight and found a way to win in the third period," saidDerek Lalonde, head coach of the U.S. Junior Select Team. "Canada East played well, but our special teams was the difference again. We scored an important power-play goal and stopped all six Canadian power plays." Karson Kuhlman (Cloquet, Minn.) opened the scoring by burying a rebound on the power play at 14:34 of the first period. Nick Schmaltz (Verona, Wis.) took the initial shot from between the circles and the puck caromed left onto the stick of Kuhlman. Team USA made it 2-0 at 1:20 of the second period. Kuhlman won an offensive zone draw to Schmaltz, who carried the puck towards the right corner. Schmaltz sent a pass back towards the faceoff dot where Kuhlman one-timed the puck into the net. Canada East cut USA's lead in half at 6:12 of the second stanza on a shot from the left wing. At 9:10 of the third period, Canada East knotted the game at 2-2 by capitalizing on a point-blank opportunity. Fifty-seven seconds later, Eiserman put Team USA back on top for good. Marcel Godbout(Center Line, Mich.) started the play by flipping a pass high out of the U.S. end into Canadian territory. Eiserman won a race to the bouncing puck, held off a defenseman and wristed the puck low past the goaltender. With 45 seconds remaining, Kuhlman slid to block a point shot, which led to an empty-net tally by Seamus Malone (Naperville, Ill.) to seal the win. Goaltender Chris Birdsall (Glen Rock, N.J.) stopped 24-of-26 shots for the victory. Canada East netminder Jordan Piccolino had 24 saves. Team USA will play in the semifinals on Friday (Nov. 8) against the winner of the Switzerland-Canada East quarterfinal game. Start time will be 3:00 or 7:00 p.m. EST. All tournament games will be streamed live at FASTHockey.com. Those interested in watching should sign up for a free account in advance at USAHockey.FASTHockey.com. NOTES: For tonight's box score, click here ... Team USA's captain is Dennis Kravchenko (San Clemente, Calif.), while the alternate captains are C.J. Franklin (Forest Lake, Minn.) andKarson Kuhlman (Cloquet, Minn.) ... The World Junior A Challenge is in its eighth year and the United States is competing for the seventh time … Team USA has won four of the last five tournaments (2008-10, '12) … The 2013 field includes Canada East, Canada West, Czech Republic, Russia, Switzerland and the United States … The official event website is availablehere ... All players on the U.S. roster, which includes 13 forwards, seven defenseman and two goaltenders, compete in the United States Hockey League. For the complete roster, click here … The 22 players represent 10 states. Eight players hail from Minnesota, while Michigan has four players and California and New Jersey have two apiece. Other states include Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, South Dakota and Wisconsin ... Two players on the roster are eligible for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, including goaltender Chris Birdsall (Glen Rock, N.J.) and forward Kyle Connor (Shelby Twp, Mich.) ... All 22 players are verbally committed to attend NCAA Division I hockey programs in the future ... Thirteen USHL teams are represented. Leading the way are the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, Dubuque Fighting Saints, Green Bay Gamblers and Sioux Falls Stampede, which have three players each ... Derek Lalonde (Brasher Falls, N.Y.), head coach and general manager of the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers, is the head coach for the 2013 U.S. Junior Select Team ... The assistant coaches are Anthony Noreen(Chicago, Ill.) and Mark Abalan (Green Bay, Wis.). Noreen is the head coach and general manager for the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms, while Abalan is an assistant coach for the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers. Additional team staff includes Team Manager Marc Boxer(Colorado Springs, Colo.) of USA Hockey, Equipment Manager Darrin Flinchem (Indianapolis, Ind.) of the Indiana Ice, Athletic Trainer Steve Bagus (Oak Lawn, Ill.) of the Chicago Steel and Team Physician Dr. Alan Ashare (Boston, Mass). For more information contact, Matt Trevor (mattT@usahockey.org) 2013 World Junior A ChallengeNov. 4-10 • Yarmouth, N.S. • Mariners Centre Date Opponent Venue Time/Result Live Streaming Sat., Nov. 2 Canada West (ex.) Digby Arena W, 4-3 Tues., Nov. 5 Russia Mariners Centre W, 8-3 Wed., Nov. 6 Canada East Mariners Centre W, 4-2 Fri., Nov. 8 Semifinal Mariners Centre 3/7 p.m. EST usahockey.fasthockey.com Sat., Nov. 9 3rd-Place Game Mariners Centre 7 p.m. EST usahockey.fasthockey.com Sun., Nov. 10 Championship Game Mariners Centre 11 a.m. EST usahockey.fasthockey.com U.S. Women's National Team Falls to Canada, 4-2, at the 2013 Four Nations Cup Team USA's resumes play Friday against Finland LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - Kelli Stack (Brooklyn Heights, Ohio) and Lyndsey Fry (Chandler, Ariz.) scored and goaltender Jessie Vetter (Cottage Grove, Wis.) turned away 24 of 27 shots, but the U.S. Women's National Team fell to Canada, 4-2, here tonight. "Our game is pressure and speed with the puck, and we weren't able to do that consistently until the third period," said head coach Katey Stone. "The last thing we want to do is come out dejected, because we played hard and we will find a way to build off this game." The Canadians struck first when Haley Irwin redirected a centering pass behind Vetter at 5:42 of the first period. The United States responded with solid play in the offensive zone, which led to back-to-back penalties on Canada. Just seconds after the end of the first Team Canada penalty, Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis.) picked up a puck in the faceoff circle and threw it on net. The rebound sat in the crease until Stack knocked it in and tied the score. A Melodie Daoust power-play goal at the 7:31-mark of the middle period allowed Canada to skate into the second intermission with a 2-1 lead. Fry finished a tic-tac-toe passing play to bring the U.S. back to even at 9:14 of the third. Team USA forward Annie Pankowski (Laguna Hills, Calif.) skated the puck into the offensive zone and fed Jocelyne Lamoureux (Grand Forks, N.D.) with a pass behind the net. Lamoureux one-touched the puck to Fry in the slot, and Fry sent a quick shot over Team Canada goaltender Genevieve Lacasse's blocker. The United States couldn't convert on several other quality chances, and a pair of late goals, including an empty-netter, gave Canada a 4-2 victory. The U.S. Women's National Team will resume play in the 2013 Four Nations Cup on Friday night against Finland. The game will be available live on FASTHockey.com For a complete box score, click here. For more information on the Four Nations Cup, including how to obtain tickets, click here. Notes: For more information on the Bring on the World Tour, including ticket information for Tour events and the entire Tour schedule, click here ... The U.S. Women’s National Team is training together at The Edge Sports Center in Bedford. Mass., and participating in the Tour and various competitions in the build-up to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games ... The final 2014 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team, which will include 18 forwards/defensemen and three goaltenders, will be announced during the second intermission of the NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2014, in Ann Arbor, Mich., live on NBC ... Follow the U.S. Women's National Team throughout its journey to Sochi by following @USAHockey on Twitter or by liking U.S. Women's National Hockey Team on Facebook. For more information, contact Rob Koch (robk@usahockey.org) 2013 Four Nations Cup - Team USA ScheduleNov. 5-9 - Lake Placid, N.Y. - Olympic Center Date Opponent Time/Result Live Streaming Tues., Nov. 5 Sweden W, 10-0 FASTHockey Wed., Nov. 6 Canada L, 2-4 FASTHockey Fri., Nov. 8 Finland 7 p.m. ET FASTHockey Sat., Nov. 9 Championship/Third-Place Game TBD FASTHockey

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The Republican party of the U.S. was first symbolized as an elephant in a cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly on this date in 1874.

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Canadians dominate divisional player awards.

Two Headed Monster: Leos running attack has teeth again.

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

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A researcher at Duke says that he has taught his dog 1,000 words. [But his spelling is atrocious.]

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Regina, SK. -Well, here we go.

Read the rest here.

Next up for the Riders is the Western Semifinal at home against the BC Lions. Kickoff on 620CKRM, 620ckrm.com, the Rider Radio Network, TSN and ESPN3.com is set for 4:30pm EST.

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The state of Colorado granted its women the right to vote on this date in 1893.

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Tampa, FL. — Not much has gone right for the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season, but amid the muck of an eight-game skid, a gem has been unearthed.

Read the rest here.

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If it meant an 80% discount on auto insurance, would you consider buying a self driving car? Of course you would! Nine out of 10 in a new survey say absolutely. 20% of us are so excited about the concept of a self-driving car that we'd buy one even if no discount were offered. What's the top thing you would do if a computer took over the wheel? Text, of course. 26% say texting or talking with friends. 21% said read and 10% said sleep.

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Corvallis, OR. -- Mike Riley was a quarterback many years ago, so the Oregon State coach understands first-hand what Sean Mannion is going through.

Read the rest here.

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The last spike was driven into Canada's first transcontinental railway in the mountains of British Columbia on this date in 1895.

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St. Petersburg, FL. -- The Rays wanted to keep David DeJesus and the veteran outfielder wanted to remain with the club, so the two sides managed to find a middle ground to keep him with the team through the 2015 season.

Read the rest here.

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The Obamacare website isn't the only one having issues. Walmart says it suffered a problem with its website on Wednesday that accidentally priced expensive items like computer monitors and televisions for a few dollars. Items that were put on sale by the website glitch included $600 treadmills priced at $33, $2,000 televisions priced for a couple hundred and $60 video games for $18.

... So Walmart will honor those prices, right? Ha! The retail giant is canceling the orders, refunding money and giving people a $10 gift card instead.

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Jimmy tries the ball toss again.

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as watching Bubble Guppies with your son, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History

1960 - Elvis Presley began recording the songs for the film "Wild In The Country." The work ended the next day.

1966 - Principal photography for Elvis Presley's movie "Easy Come, Easy Go" was finished.

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Nominees for the 2014 People's Choice Awards were announced Wednesday. There are 58 categories. Up for Favorite Movie: Despicable Me 2; Fast & Furious 6; Iron Man 3; Monsters University; Star Trek Into Darkness. The PCAs air January 8 on ABC.

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Today in Beatles History:

1962 - Granada television broadcasted the program "People And Places" which featured the Beatles singing "Love Me Do."

1964 - The Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" album was #1 on the U.K. Record Retailer Chart for the 16th week.

1995 - Yoko Ono's "Rising" was released.

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Last month I told you about a 24,000 piece jigsaw puzzle -- a world record holder -- that you can actaully own. But if that isn't challenging enough for you, there's now a 32,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. This puzzle is a whopping seventeen-foot-long and weighs 42 pounds. And it's only $194.

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Today in Sports History:

1936 - The New York Americans beat Toronto in the first coast-to-coast radio broadcast of a hockey game in Canada.

1962 - Glenn Hall set an NHL record when he played in his 503rd consecutive game as a goalie.

1963 - Elston Howard, of the New York Yankees, became the first black player to be named the American League's Most Valuable Player.

1965 - Bart Starr (Green Bay Packers) was sacked 11 times by the Detroit Lions.

1968 - Red Berenson (St. Louis Blues) scored 6 goals in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Blues won the game 8-0.

1973 - New Jersey became the first U.S. state to permit girls to play on Little League baseball teams.

1983 - Ali Haji-Sheikh (New York Giants) kicked his second 56 yard field goal.

1988 - Sugar Ray Leonard knocked out Donnie LaLonde.

1991 - Magic Johnson (NBA) announced that he had tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS, and that he was retiring from basketball.

1992 - The Phoenix Suns played their first game at American West Arena.

1999 - Tiger Woods became the first golfer since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win four straight tournaments.

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According to a Weekly World News expert, those who pick their noses in private lack openness, while people who do it in public "are extremely open, imaginative, curious, creative, adventurous, original and artistic." Dr. Victor Laszlo says those who pick "as though excavating a mine are neurotic, anxious, insecure and emotional, with excessive cravings or urges and unrealistic ideas," while "those who roll the snot up into a little ball and eat it are extroverts... in need of excess stimulation."

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Edmonton Oilers 7:30pm EST

Friday --

Nothin' Doin'

Saturday --

Nascar Nationwide Series -- Servicemaster 200 at Phoenix International Raceway 4:00pm EST

USPHL Empire Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors vs Florida Eels 5:15pm EST

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings 7:00pm EST

USPHL Elite Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors vs Florida Eels 8:00pm EST

Sunday --

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Advocare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway 3:00pm EST

CFL Playoff Football -- Saskatchewan Roughriders vs BC Lions 4:30pm EST (Western Semifinal)

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