It's Friday

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

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Today is January 10th, the 10th day of 2014. There are 355 days left in the year.

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Lightning's Cooper is Adams leader at halfway mark.

Alumni look forward to Yankee Stadium games.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Rod Stewart is 69; Former boxer George Foreman is 65; Pat Benatar is 61; Evan Handler (Sex and the City, Californication) is 53.

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Tampa, FL. -- It was a tough loss to swallow for the Tampa Bay Lightning, as they experienced a moment of déjà vu with the Washington Capitals, who took the second straight meeting between the two clubs, 4-3, in the final minute of play.

Read the rest here.

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Fidel Castro, who's now 87 years old, made a rare public appearance this week. [Well, it's so hard to say no to The People's Choice Awards.]

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Soldotna, AK. – The Kenai River Brown Bears got a goal in each period Thursday night, topping the Wenatchee Wild 3-1 in the first of a three-game series between the two teams at the Soldotna Sports Center.

Jacob Wolter opened the scoring for Kenai River, scoring on a rebound nearly 12 minutes into the contest. Tyler Andrews and Frankie Spellman assisted at 11:54, putting the Brown Bears up 1-0.

The Kenai River lead grew in the opening stages of the second period, as Alec Butcher scored from Nathan Colwell and Albin Karlsson at 35 seconds. It turned out to be the only score of the period, putting the Brown Bears up 2-0 through 40 minutes.

Wenatchee finally got on the board early in the third, on a goal by Troy Loggins (Huntington Beach, California). Gadel Gumerov (Nizhnekamsk, Russia) and newcomer Omar Mullan (Dearborn, Michigan) assisted at 4:40, cutting the Kenai River lead to 2-1. The Brown Bears scored on the power play, regaining the two goal lead not quite seven minutes later. Andrews scored from Butcher and Nathan Colwell at 11:32, pushing the Kenai River lead to 3-1. The Wild would empty the net late, but to no avail, as the Brown Bears held on for the 3-1 win. “We definitely out-chanced them” said Wenatchee Wild Head Coach Bliss Littler. “But we didn’t do a great job at getting second chances. We got pucks to the net, but we didn’t do a good job of making that one chance turn into two or three and burying pucks. Our best chances, we have to finish. We need to be better.”

Wenatchee outshot Kenai River 49-27. Gustaf Johansson (Uppsala, Sweden) made 24 saves for the Wild; Zach Quinn stopped 48 shots for the Brown Bears. The Wild was 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-of-2 on the penalty kill.

Wenatchee is now 16-15-3; Kenai River is 18-16-3.

Wenatchee continues their road trip with two more games at Kenai River tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday, before moving on to Fairbanks for three games next Thursday (January 16th), Friday (January 17th) and Saturday (January 18th), before returning home to face Bismarck on Friday and Saturday, January 24th and 25th. Individual and group game tickets for all home games are on sale now. Call 509.888.PUCK (7825).

WILD 2.0 UPGRADE

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IN THEATERS - The Legend of Hercules (PG-13); Her (R); Lone Survivor (R)

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Pennsylvania Finishes as Gold Medal State in USA Hockey Foundation's Paint America Red, White and Blue Campaign

Funds Raised Will Benefit Hockey at all Levels

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Pennsylvania is the gold-medal state it was announced today by The USA Hockey Foundation in wrapping up its “Paint America Red, White and Blue” fundraising campaign that spanned the month of December. The Keystone State's 32 donations led the nation, thus giving it the gold-medal designation. Michigan was not far behind with 27 donors and Massachusetts finished third with 24 donations. Contributions also came from newer hockey markets, including Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina. In total, some 300 people took part, with more than $40,000 raised to benefit the continued advancement of hockey in the United States. “We're so grateful to all those who participated in this very first Paint America Red, White and Blue campaign,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey and The USA Hockey Foundation. “The contributions received will help further opportunities in the sport at all levels.” The USA Hockey Foundation supports USA Hockey efforts that provide opportunities to disabled and disadvantaged youth; help increase participation through a variety of initiatives; enhance the safety of the game; help the U.S. be the best internationally; provide education programs for athletes, coaches, officials and parents; and celebrate the game through commemoration. To see the final results of the Paint America campaign, click here. U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team Falls to Canada, 4-1, in Game One of 2014 Sled Series Team USA and Canada will play again Friday at 4 p.m. ET INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. - Nikko Landeros (Johnstown, Colo.) scored a second-period goal and goaltender Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) turned away 14 shots in net, but the 2014 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team fell to Canada, 4-1, in the first game of a three-game series at the Extreme Ice Center. "We definitely looked like a team that hadn't played together for a while, but all of our mistakes are very fixable," said Jeff Sauer, head coach of the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team. "We will have a good practice tomorrow morning with all of our players and look to perform better throughout tomorrow's game." Team Canada built a 3-0 lead by the 13:15 mark of the opening period after goals by Greg Westlake, Brad Bowden and Kevin Rempel. The U.S. got on the board 5:04 into the second frame when Landeros scored a highlight reel goal on the power play. After Josh Pauls (Green Brook, N.J.) won a battle in the corner, he pushed the puck to Landeros at the goal line. Landeros moved behind the net, flipped the puck onto his stick and tucked it the top corner above Team Canada goaltender Corbin Watson. The Canadians responded quickly, though, and tallied a power-play marker of their own just 30 seconds later when Rempel redirected an Adam Dixon shot past Cash. Team USA finished with a 16-14 edge in shots on goal, but key saves by Watson kept the U.S. from closing the gap on the scoreboard. The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team will be back in action Friday (Jan. 10) in game two of the three-game series against Canada. Puck-drop is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. For a complete box score, click here. U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team Series vs. Canada Jan. 9-11 - Indian Trail, N.C. - Extreme Ice Center Date Time (ET)/Result How to Follow Thurs., Jan. 9 L, 1-4 FASTHockey.com Live Stats Fri., Jan. 10 4:00 p.m. FASTHockey.com Live Stats Sat., Jan. 11 2:10 p.m. FASTHockey.com Live Stats Notes: FASTHockey is providing live streaming coverage of all games during the series. Those interested in watching are encouraged to sign up for a free FASTHockey account in advance atUSAHockey.FASTHockey.com ... For live updates, follow @USAHockeyScores on Twitter and join the conversation on social media by using #SledSeries ... Team USA's captain is Andy Yohe, while its alternate captains are Taylor Chace and Josh Sweeney (Phoenix, Ariz.) ... The youngest player on the roster is Brody Roybal (Northlake, Ill.), who turned 15-years old in May and is making his debut on a U.S. National Team. Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) turned 16 years old in November ... The oldest player on the squad is Andy Yohe at 35-years old ... Four members of the team have served in the U.S. military. Jen Lee (San Francisco, Calif.) is active duty in the U.S. Army. Rico Roman (Portland, Ore.) is a U.S. Army veteran, while Paul Schaus(Buffalo, N.Y) and Josh Sweeney served in the U.S. Marine Corps ... Dan Brennan, director of sled and inline national teams for USA Hockey, is serving as the general manager of the 2014 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team ... Guy Gosselin (Grafton, Wis.), American Development Model regional manager for USA Hockey, is in his third season as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team ... Additional staff members include team physician Mike Uihlein (Grafton, Wis.), athletic trainer Mike Cortese (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and equipment manager Joel Isaacson (Houghton, Mich.).

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Florida seceded from the United States on this date in 1861.

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Ticats release receiver Dave Stala.

Maze, Roughriders navigate new contract.

Please visit the league's official website, cfl.ca.

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A new study (conducted by the Center for Responsive Politics) shows that for the first time, more than half those in the House and Senate are millionaires. In the House, the study found that Democrats on average were wealthier than Republicans. In the Senate, the opposite was true.

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Tampa, FL. — Three former Buccaneers – LB Derrick Brooks, Head Coach Tony Dungy and S John Lynch – were among the 15 modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2014 revealed Thursday night.

Read the rest here.

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For those whose grilling skills are on the weak side there's now a voice-activated grill. Lynx Smart Grill automatically cook foods based on user commands. And it tells you when flip your meats. But the price tag is a hefty $7,000.

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How am I doing so far?

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as watching hockey from Alaska, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History

1956 - Elvis Presley began recording his first songs as an RCA Victor artist in Nashville. Elvis recorded "Heartbreak Hotel," "I Was the One," "I’m Counting On You," "I Got a Woman" and "Money Honey."

1957 - Elvis Presley left Memphis by train for Hollywood, CA.

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A new survey shows one in five pet owners would sacrifice a 30-day supply of pet cuddles for the sake of their smartphone.

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Today in Beatles History:

1964 -  The Beatles' first U.S. album, "Introducing The Beatles," was released.

1968 - The General Secretary of the Movement for the Spiritual Regeneration announced that the Beatles would visit India to attend a transcendental meditation course.

1969 - George Harrison left the Beatles.

2003 - It was announced that police had recovered about 500 original Beatles tapes that were stolen shortly after sessions in 1969.

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Someone out there just can't stop calling 911. And Sarnia, Ontario, police would like to find out why. Since Christmas, a mystery caller in the city has placed 361 calls to the 911 call center.

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Today in Sports History:

1950 - Ben Hogan appeared for the first time in a golf tournament since an auto accident a year earlier. He tied ‘Slammin’ Sammy Snead in the Los Angeles Open, however, Hogan lost in a playoff.

1962 - The NFL entered into a single-network agreement with CBS for telecasting all regular-season games for $4.65 million annually.

1963 - The Chicago Cubs became the first baseball club to hire an athletic director. He was Robert Whitlow.

1990 - The NCAA approved a random drug testing program among college football players and harsh penalties for drug use.

1995 - NHL owners rejected the players unrestricted free agency proposal (one year at 32, five years at 31) and countered with three years at 32 and three at 31.

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Gossip sites say Taylor Swift is dating the CEO of Snapchat. Sources say Taylor and Evan Spiegel "spent their holidays attached at the lips."

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild at Kenai River Brown Bears 11:30pm EST

Saturday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Philadelphia Flyers 1:00pm EST

USPHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors vs Tampa Pro Alumni 7:00pm EST

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild at Kenai River Brown Bears 11:30pm EST

Sunday --

Nothin' Doin'

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