Monday Morning Meissnervations

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

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Today is February 24th, the 55th day of 2014. There are 310 days left in the year.

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Price shutout leads Canada to repeat Olympic title.

Yzerman won't return as Canada's GM.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Abe Vigoda (Barney Miller, Fish) is 93; Edward James Olmos (Stand and Deliver, Miami Vice) is 67; Billy Zane (Titanic) is 48; Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars) is 37.

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Tampa, FL. --The Tampa Bay Lightning have claimed defenseman Mike Kostka off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced today.

Read the rest here.

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The first shipment of perforated postage stamps was received by the U.S. Government on this date in 1857.

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Johnstown, PA. – The Wenatchee Wild played the Johnstown Tomahawks in a Saturday night contest at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena and it took just a touch of extra time for Wenatchee to score and pull out a 3-2 win, in front of 3,560 fans.

Matthew Meier opened scoring in the first period, off assists from Tanner Barnes and Dakoda Menslage, giving Johnstown a 1-0 lead 8:31 into the game. Parker Tuomie (Biemerhaven, Germany) scored a power play goal for the Wild on a one-time from the left circle, his third goal in two nights. Troy Loggins (Huntington Beach, California) and Mitch Demario (Franklin, Wisconsin) assisted at 16:55, tying the game 1-1.

In the second period, Tuomie popped home a bouncing puck for his second goal of the night. The assists went to Demario and Ryan Gotelaere (Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin) at 11:42, putting Wenatchee on top 2-1.

The teams battled throughout the third, with no change on the scoreboard until late in regulation, when, with the goaltender off for an extra attacker, Menslage scored for the Tomahawks from Mitch Hall and Brandon Reinholz at 19:41, tying the game 2-2 and forcing overtime.

The extra session didn’t last long. David Powlowski (Rochester, New York) stuffed home a loose puck at the right post just 14 seconds into overtime, ending the game in dramatic fashion. Chris Jones (Normandy Park, Washington) drew the lone assist and the Wild skated away with the 3-2 win. “Proud of our effort” said Wenatchee Wild Head Coach Bliss Littler. “Johnstown plays a much different style than a lot of teams we’re used to seeing. We had a lot of adversity on this trip and guys hung together and played awful well. Looking forward to getting back home and battling for a playoff spot starting Thursday night.”

Wenatchee outshot Johnstown 34-23 on the night. Austin Priebe (Wausau, Wisconsin) made 21 saves for the Wild and Alex Okicki had 31 saves for the Tomahawks. Wenatchee went 1-for-6 on the power play and 5-of-5 on the penalty kill.

The Wild is now 25-20-6; Johnstown is now 26-19-4.

Wenatchee now returns home to host the Kenai River Brown Bears in a key Midwest Division showdown on Thursday, February 27^th and Saturday and Sunday, March 1^st and 2^nd. The Thursday and Saturday games start at 7:05pm PST and the Sunday game faces off at 3:05pm PST. 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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Pope Francis told new cardinals over the weekend to reject intrigue and gossip. [You know what that means, fellas -- time to shut down your Facebook accounts.]

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U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team Loses to Finland, 5-0, in Bronze Medal Game of 2014 Olympic Winter Games Quick Makes 22 Saves; Team USA Finishes with 3-1-0-2 Record SOCHI, Russia – The U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team lost to Finland, 5-0, in the bronze-medal game of the Olympic Winter Games. Prior to Finland’s three-goal third period, Team USA was unable to capitalize on a pair of penalty shots in the first 40 minutes. "We had the chances in the first period that would have put us up in this game but didn't get them," said Dan Bylsma, head coach of the U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team. "Finland played fantastic, just the way we thought they'd play. We weren't able to get into this game and really fought from behind after they got the first and second goal." At 13:40 of the first period, Team USA was awarded a penalty shot when a Finn swatted a broken stick at a U.S. player. On the ensuing chance, Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y./Chicago Blackhawks) aimed too far right on his backhand. Minutes later, Max Pacioretty (New Canaan, Conn./Montreal Canadiens) shot wide after gaining a step on the Finland defense. Finland surged ahead 2-0 with goals 11 seconds apart early in the second period. At 1:27, Teemu Selanne fired a backhander from the left circle inside the near post. Then on a two-on-two rush, Jussi Jokinen scored on a one-timer. Kane got his second penalty shot of the game at 13:36 after being slashed on a breakaway. His forehand shot beat Tuuka Rask only to clang off the right post and out. Finland sealed its victory with third period power-play goals at 6:10, 9:06 and 13:09. Jusso Hietanen tallied first, followed by Selanne and Olli Maata. Jonathan Quick (Milford, Conn./Los Angeles Kings) made 22 saves, while Rask had 27 stops for Finland. Team USA completed the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in fourth place with a 3-1-0-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record. NOTES: For today's box score, plus video highlights and photos, click here ... Ryan Suter played a game-high 22:00 ... For the compete Team USA roster, click here ... The 25-man roster for the 2014 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team was announced on NBC as part of its coverage of the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. ... Dan Bylsma, head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is the head coach of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team. Tony Granato, assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Todd Richards, head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Peter Laviolette, serve as assistant coaches ... USA Hockey's International Council, chaired by Gavin Regan, vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. National Teams. 2014 Olympic Winter Games Game Schedule for U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team  Feb. 13-23 • Sochi, Russia Date Opponent Venue Time (Local/EST)/Result Thurs., Feb. 13 Slovakia Shayba Arena W, 7-1 Sat., Feb. 15 Russia Bolshoy Ice Dome W, 3-2 (SO) Sun., Feb. 16 Slovenia Shayba Arena W, 5-1 Wed., Feb. 19 Czech Republic (Quarterfinals) Shayba Arena W, 5-2 Fri., Feb. 21 Canada (Semifinals) Bolshoy Ice Dome L, 0-1 Sat., Feb. 22 Finland (Bronze-Medal Game) Bolshoy Ice Dome L, 0-5

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Scientists have found you can lose weight doing something you're probably already doing: Playing mindless video games. Just make sure it's the right one. A study (by researchers at Plymouth University) found playing Tetris for three minutes can reduce the strength of your food cravings. And that's not all - the study revealed the game can also dissuade you from drinking alcohol and smoking. Basically it's replacing addiction with distraction.

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Stamps: 'I want a championship with Edmonton.'

Radical changes highlight Lions off-season.

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

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On this date in 1886, Thomas Edison and Mina Miller were married.

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Tampa, FL. — New coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht have made it pretty clear the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to have significant turnover this offseason.

Read the rest here.

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Want to lose a few pounds before spring gets here? Take photos of your food. When researchers (University of Wisconsin) had volunteers take pictures of everything they ate, the subjects consumed fewer snacks, went back for seconds less often, and ate a third fewer calories than people who kept a mental record of what they took in.

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Happy New Year Daddy!

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as watching Junior win Daytona, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History

1957 - Elvis Presley recorded the song "Loving You." The song was released in June 1957 as a single with "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear."

1962 - Elvis Presley's single for "Rock-A-Hula Baby" with the b-side "Can't Help Falling In Love" hit #1 in the U.K.

1968 - Elvis Presley's single for "Guitar Man" hit #43 in the U.S.

1992 - The U.S. Postal Service unveiled 2 versions of its proposed Elvis stamp for fans to vote on. The younger Elvis design won and was issued on January 8, 1993.

1998 - The Elvis Presley compilation album "A Touch of Platinum" was released. 

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On this date in 1900, New York City Mayor Van Wyck signed the contract to begin work on New York's first rapid transit tunnel. The tunnel would link Manhattan and Brooklyn. The ground breaking ceremony was on March 24, 1900.

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Today in Beatles History:

1943 -  George Harrison was born in Wavertree, Liverpool. In 1992, Harrison stated, "I only learned recently after all these years that the date and time of my own birth have always been off by one calendar day and about a half hour on the clock." His birth certificate indicates February 25.

1964 - The Beatles appeared for the 3rd time on "The Ed Sullivan Show." They appeared via tape.

2002 - Paul McCartney dedicated an a cappella rendition of "Yesterday" to George Harrison during a tribute concert at Liverpool's Empire Theater.

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Officials in Cleveland say the suspect in a Saturday night assault attempted to ditch police by jumping from the eighth-floor window of an apartment building. The 26-year-old man is now in the hospital with severe injuries.

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Today in Sports History:

1932 - Malcolm Campbell set a Daytona speed record when he went 253.96 mph. 

1937 - Lou Gehrig did a screen test for the role of Tarzan. Johnny Weissmuller eventually got the part.

1980 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) became the first player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season before the age of 20.

1980 - In Lake Placid, NY, the U.S. hockey team defeated Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games.

1982 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) scored his 77th goal of the season to break the NHL record of 76 held by Phil Esposito. Gretzky ended up with 92 goals for the season and 212 points. He was the first player to finish a season with more than 200 points.

1987 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, of the Los Angeles Lakers, got his first three-point shot in the NBA.

1993 - Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) scored his 1,000th career point.

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TNT is launching an actual "Ewing Energies" gas station to promote the third season of its reboot of Dallas. The location will be in Manhattan, New York, and the show's marketing team is planning to disclose the location's street address on Facebook this morning (Monday).

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Regan Smith got the bump-drafting help he needed from Trevor Bayne and beat Brad Keselowski to the finish line by .013 seconds to win Saturday's season-opening NASCAR Nationwide Series DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

Read the rest here.

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Action-packed new releases couldn't stack up to The Lego Movie, which took the No. 1 spot in its third weekend at the box office. The animated film blocked out 3 Days to Kill and Pompeii on their opening weekends.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It took most of a day to get it in, but only one short slice of a moment to determine the outcome.

Read the rest here.

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NBC premiered the TV movie "Harper Valley P.T.A." on this date in 1980.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

Nothin' Doin'

Tuesday --

Nothin' Doin'

Wednesday --

Nothin' Doin'

Thursday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Nashville Predators 8:00pm EST

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild vs Kenai River Brown Bears 10:05pm EST

Friday --

Nothin' Doin'

Saturday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Dallas Stars 3:00pm EST

Nascar Nationwide Series -- Blue Jeans Go Green 200 Presented By Cotton, The Fabric Of Our Lives at Phoenix International Raceway 3:45pm EST

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild vs Kenai River Brown Bears 10:05pm EST

Sunday --

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- The Profit On CNBC 500, Presented By Small Business Fueling America at Phoenix International Raceway 3:00pm EST

NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild vs Kenai River Brown Bears 6:05pm EST

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Colorado Avalanche 8:00pm EST

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