It's Wednesday

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

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Today is December 4th, the 338th day of 2013. There are 27 days left in the year.

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Past U.S. stars know no miracles necessary in 2014.

Stadium Series Chicago tickets go on sale next week.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Max Baer Jr. (Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies, produced Ode to Billy Joe) is 76; Jeff Bridges (True Grit, The Big Lebowski) is 64; Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler, Oscar for My Cousin Vinny) is 49; Fred Armisen (Portlandia, Saturday Night Live) is 47; Rapper Jay-Z is 44.

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Columbus, OH. -- The Columbus Blue Jackets may have started to bend by the final minutes of the third period, but they did not break, handing the Tampa Bay Lightning a 1-0 whitewash at Nationwide Arena Tuesday night.

Read the rest here.

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On this date in 1783, Gen. George Washington said farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York.

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University of Minnesota Maintains Unanimous No. 1 Ranking in USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine 17th Annual Women's College Hockey Poll - #11 (First-place votes in parentheses) Rank School Last Week's Ranking 2013-14 Record Weeks in Top 15 1 University of Minnesota, 190 (19) 1 17-1-0 11 2 University of Wisconsin, 166 2 12-2-2 11 3 Cornell University, 148 3 9-1-2 11 4 Harvard University, 127 5 8-1-1 11 5 University of North Dakota, 125 4 9-3-2 11 6 Clarkson University, 89 6 12-3-2 11 7 Boston College, 79 8 12-4-1 11 8 Quinnipiac University, 52 7 12-2-5 8 9 Boston University, 38 9 11-3-1 9 10 Robert Morris University, 27 10 14-3-1 2 Others receiving votes: Mercyhurst University, 2; University of Minnesota Duluth, 2. Notes: To view past polls, click here ... The University of Minnesota received all 19 first-place votes in this week's poll ... Minnesota has been the No. 1-ranked team in each of the last 37 polls dating back to March 20, 2012 ... ECAC Hockey leads the way with four ranked programs, while the Western Collegiate Hockey Association has three, Hockey East Association has two teams ranked and College Hockey America is represented with one school in the poll ... A total of 12 teams received votes. About the poll: The 17th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women'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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Peter Gaillard patented the power mower on this date in 1812.

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Open season: GMs begin search for new coaches.

Ottawa adds free agent running back Jordan Roberts.

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

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According to a new study at the University of Pennsylvania, the brains of men and women are wired completely differently. [Nevertheless, neither one can remember where they parked the car.]

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Regina, SK. -Many members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders were able to celebrate their first Grey Cup championship on November 25 after beating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 in the championship game and while those celebrations went on, it gave many including receiver Rob Bagg a chance to say thanks and to reap the rewards of a hard-fought journey.

Read the rest here.

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The U.S. launched Gemini 7 with Air Force Lt. Col. Frank Borman and Navy Comdr. James A. Lovell on board on this date in 1965.

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Tampa, FL. — Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano admitted Monday that he wished his team had been more aggressive on offense in Sunday’s loss to Carolina.

Read the rest here.

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It seems that the Pope is ducking out of the Vatican at night dressed as a priest to minister to Rome's homeless and hand out money. The rumor got buzzing when an archbishop whose job it is to do just that said in an interview, "When I say to him, 'I'm going out into the city this evening,' there's the constant risk that he will come with me." Pressed on whether Francis had actually done so, the archbishop smiled and said, "Next question."

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Can I have a cake for Trick-or-Treat?

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as trying to schedule medical tests, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History

1956 - Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash held a recording session at Sun Studios in Memphis. The sessions were later named the "Million Dollar Quartet" and released nearly 25 years later.

1966 - The Elvis Presley song "Tell Me Why" hit #15 in the U.K.

1966 - The album "Elvis For Everyone" hit #8 in the U.K.

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Billy Joel will perform once a month at Madison Square Garden - as long as the fans will have him. The Grammy Award-winning icon announced Tuesday that he'll perform a residency at the famed New York City venue every month for as long as New Yorkers demand. He's set to perform sold-out shows on January 27, February 3, March 21 and April 28. He will also perform on his 65th birthday, which is May 9. Tickets go on sale Saturday.

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Today in Beatles History:

1967 - The Beatles Fan Club in Britain announced it has 65,000 members.

2001 - The soundtrack to "Vanilla Sky" was released. Paul McCartney recorded the title track.

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Possibly the most exciting science fiction weapon ever is up for auction -- and if you have at least $200,000 it can be yours. Harrison Ford's "Han Solo" DL-44 Blaster from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back & Return of the Jedi is available for sale. The auction website says the "blaster is exactly in its original filming condition and therefore exhibits wear from use, but retains all of the original details." The weapon comes with a letter of authenticity from a noted Star Wars collector. | site link

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Today in Sports History:

1943 - Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis announced that any club was free to employ black players.

1964 - Major league baseball established a free-agent draft that would take effect in 1965.

1977 - The NFL's 5,000th game was played.

1977 - Tony Dorsett (Dallas Cowboys) rushed for 206 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles. He became only the third rookie to rush for more than 200 yards in a game.

1987 - Kareem Abdul Jabaar's was held to only 7 points in a game establishing an NBA record of 787 straight games with double digit points.

1997 - The National Basketball Association (NBA) suspended Latrell Sprewell of the Golden State Warriors for one year for choking and threatening to kill his coach, P.J. Carlesimo.

1997 - John Elway (Denver Broncos) surpassed 3,000 yards for the season. It was his 12th consecutive season to pass for more than 3,000 yards.

1997 - Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions) set an NFL record when he rushed for over 100 yards in 12 consecutive games.

2001 - O.J. Simpson was involved in an incident with another motorist in Miami, FL. Simpson was accused of scratching the other motorists face while pulling off the man's glasses.

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Pioneer 10 reached Jupiter on this date in 1973.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

Nothin' Doin'

Thursday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Ottawa Senators 7:30pm EST

Friday --

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild vs Johnstown Tomahawks 10:05pm EST

Saturday --

USPHL Empire Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Palm Beach Hawks 3:30pm EST

USPHL Elite Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Pa;m Beach Hawks 6:30pm EST

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Winnipeg Jets 7:00pm EST

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild vs Johnstown Tomahawks 10:05pm EST

Sunday --

USPHL Empire Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Palm Beach Hawks 9:30am EST

USPHL Elite Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Palm Beach Hawks 12:30pm EST

NFL Football -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Buffalo Bills 1:00pm EST

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