It's Thursday

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

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Today is April 3rd, the 93rd day of 2014. There are 274 days left in the year.

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Montreal's Murray faces disciplinary hearing Thursday.

Stanley Cup Playoffs format, qualification system.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Wayne Newton is 72; Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) is 56; Jennie Garth (90210) is 42; Amanda Bynes (What I Like About You, What A Girl Wants) is 28.

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Tampa, FL. -- Three seasons ago the Tampa Bay Lightning, led by a coach who shot through the ranks to become an emerging young star, reached the postseason and came within a goal of reaching the Stanley Cup Final.

Read the rest here.

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Amazon unviled its newest gadget Wednesday: Fire TV. It's a lot like Roku or Apple TV, with access to your favorite media streaming services - including Netflix, Hulu, Watch ESPN, and, of course, Prime Instant Video - as well as the ability to play games with a dedicated gaming controller. Fire TV also offers voice search that keeps you from dealing with on-screen keyboards. | site link

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2014 U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team Roster Announced Team USA Looks to Reclaim Gold Medal at IIHF Men's U18 World Championship COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Hockey today announced the 22-player roster for the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team that will compete at the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's Under-18 World Championship from April 17-27, in Lappeenranta, Finland. All Team USA tournament games will be streamed live on USAHockey.FASTHockey.com. The U.S. squad seeks its eighth gold medal in the event after capturing the tournament title in four of the last five years. Team USA had won four-consecutive gold medals before having its streak snapped last year in Sochi, Russia. The silver medal in 2013 marked 10-straight top-three finishes for the U.S. Highlighting the roster is forward Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass.), the lone returnee from last year's team. The roster for Team USA carries seven defensemen, including Louie Belpedio (Skokie, Ill.),Ryan Collins (Bloomington, Minn.), Jack Dougherty (Cottage Grove, Minn.), Brandon Fortunato (North Hills, N.Y.), Jack Glover (Golden Valley, Minn.), Noah Hanifin (Norwood, Mass.) and Johnathan MacLeod (Dracut, Mass.). Eichel is among the group of 13 forwards, which also includes Anders Bjork (Mequon, Wis.),Kyle Connor (Shelby Township, Mich.), Jared Fiegl (Parker, Colo.), Shane Gersich (Chaska, Minn.), Ryan Hitchcock (Manhasset, N.Y.), Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich.), Auston Matthews(Scottsdale, Ariz.), Sonny Milano (Massapequa, N.Y.), Dylan Pavelek (Marysville, Mich.), Nolan Stevens (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Alex Tuch (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) and Joe Wegwerth(Brewster, N.Y.). Backstopping Team USA will be goaltenders Edwin Minney (Wind Gap, Pa.) and Alex Nedeljkovic (Parma, Ohio). For the complete U.S. roster, click here. The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team will play one pre-tournament game, squaring off with Germany April 14 in Vierumaki, Finland. Team USA then opens tournament play April 17 against Switzerland at Lappeenranta Arena at 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. EDT). Team USA's complete schedule can be found below. NOTES: The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team will be led by Danton Cole, serving as head coach at his second IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championship. Cole is currently in his fourth season as one of two head coaches at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. ... Twenty players on the U.S. roster come from USA Hockey's NTDP. Kyle Connor skated this season for the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League. Alex Nedeljkovic played for the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers ... Team USA's roster includes 20 players born in 1996 and two from the 1997 birth year. ForwardAuston Matthews, born Sept. 17, 1997, is Team USA's youngest player, while Nedeljkovic, born Jan. 7, 1996, is the oldest ... Eleven different states are represented on the roster. New York leads the way with five skaters, while Minnesota boasts four ... The U.S. enters the tournament having captured a record 10-consecutive medals, including back-to-back golds in 2005-06 and four-straight gold medals from 2009-12; three silver medals (2004, 2007, 2013); and one bronze medal (2008). Team USA's seven gold medals are the most of any country in IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championship history. The event began in 1999. Team USA earned its first gold medal in 2002 ... The U.S. will play in Group B alongside the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland. Group A consists of Canada, Germany, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden ... Follow @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament. Scores will be designated with the #U18Worlds tag ... For additional coverage, visit the NTDP Facebook page and follow @USANTDP on Twitter ... The U.S. National Under-18 and Under-17 Teams train with The Hockey IntelliGym, a software program that trains hockey sense. To learn more, visit USAHockeyIntelliGym.com. 2014 IIHF Men's World U18 Championship Schedule - United States April 14-27, 2014 • Lappeenranta, Finland Date Opponent Time (Local/EDT) Live Webcast Mon., April 14 Germany* 3:30 p.m. / 8:30 a.m. Thurs., April 17 Switzerland 3:00 p.m. / 8:00 a.m. FASTHockey.com Sat., April 19 Czech Republic 3:00 p.m. / 8:00 a.m. FASTHockey.com Sun., April 20 Denmark 6:30 p.m. / 11:30 a.m. FASTHockey.com Tues., April 22 Finland 6:30 p.m. / 11:30 a.m. FASTHockey.com Thurs., April 24 Quarterfinals TBD TBD Sat., April 26 Semifinals TBD TBD Sun., April 27 Bronze-Medal 3:00 p.m. / 8:00 a.m. TBD Gold-Medal 7:00 p.m. / 12:00 p.m. TBD *pre-tournament game U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team Voted "Team of the Paralympic Games" at U.S. Olympic Committee's Best of U.S. Awards Show Team USA Became the First Nation to Repeat as Paralympic Gold Medalist in Sled Hockey WASHINGTON, D.C. –The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey received "Team of the Paralympic Games" honors at tonight's United States Olympic Committee Best of U.S. Awards Show at Warner Theatre. The inaugural event honors outstanding U.S. performances from the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Team USA became the first nation to win back-to-back Paralympic gold medals in sled hockey by defeating Russia, 1-0, in the gold-medal game March 15. Josh Sweeney (Phoenix, Ariz.) scored the game-winning goal and Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) made six saves. Overall, the U.S. posted preliminary round wins over Italy (5-1) and South Korea (3-0), plus a semifinal triumph against Canada (3-0). Team USA avenged its only loss, a 2-1 setback versus Russia in the preliminary round, by topping the host country in the gold medal rematch. A nominating committee, comprised of USOC, athlete and media representatives, selected the finalists for the individual athlete and team categories, as well as the Moment of the Games, based on nominations from each National Governing Body. Fan voting on the on the U.S. Paralympics Facebook page March 16-21 determined the winners. The Best of U.S. Awards Show will air Monday (April 7) from 7-8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Notes: The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team's 1-0 win over Russia in the gold-medal game was also a finalist for "Moment of the Paralympic Games" ... Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.), who tallied three goals and five points in the Paralympics, was a finalist for "Best Male Paralympian" ... The silver medal-winning U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team also attended tonight's festivities.

************************************************ Residents of Brentwood in California say Gwyneth Paltrow is a lousy neighbor. [One resident said he filed a complaint against her, and the next thing he knew his house was bombarded with organic free-range chicken eggs.] ************************************************ Holding Harris: Lions lock up Canadian through 2015.

Richardson preparing for life after Calvillo.

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

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James Carrington patented the coffee mill on this date in 1829.

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Tampa, FL. — S Major Wright, who played three seasons under Lovie Smith in Chicago, visited One Buccaneer Place On Wednesday, the team confirmed…That and more in the updated Buccaneers Free Agency Tracker.

Read the rest here.

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Vladimir Putin is officially single again -- his divorce is final. He was married to ex-wife Lyudmila for three decades. Vlad is rumored to be in a relationship with former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva.

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St. Petersburg, FL. -- Matt Moore pitched well enough to win according to Rays manager Joe Maddon, but the Rays just couldn't find a way to deal with Mark Buehrle or Jose Bautista.

Read the rest here.

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The first Pony Express riders left St. Joseph, MO and Sacramento, CA on this date in 1860. The trip across country took about 10 days. The Pony Express only lasted about a year and a half.

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Phoenix, AZ. -- Tim Hudson won't have to ask for respect from his relatively new teammates. He commanded it Wednesday night.

Read the rest here.

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Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis debuted on radio on the "Martin and Lewis Show" on this date in 1949. The NBC program ran until 1952.

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Alright you kids. Let's play tag.

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as a clean house, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History

1956 - Elvis Presley performed on "The Milton Berle Show." The show was broadcast live from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock. Elvis played the songs "Heartbreak Hotel," "Money, Honey," and "Blue Suede Shoes."

1960 - Elvis Presley went into a recording studio for the first time since leaving the U.S. Army.

1963 - The Elvis Presley movie "It Happened At The World's Fair" premiered in Los Angeles.

1965 - Elvis Presley's "Do the Clam" hit #21 on the pop chart.

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A small dog from Killeen, Texas, dug a hole under a fence in his backyard and turned up four days later at an animal shelter in Hamilton, Ohio. The owner of the dog and the shelter have no idea how the dog made it all the way to Hamilton, which according to Google Maps is more than 1,100 miles away or roughly a 16-and-a-half-hour drive. However, the dog, whose name is Corbin, is now back in Texas.

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Today in Beatles History:

1984 - Jack Douglas won a court case for $3 million. Douglas said that he was owed the money by Yoko Ono for his work on the Lennon/One album "Double Fantasy."

1991 - Paul McCartney recorded an episode of "MTV Unplugged."

2007 - The Yoko Ono album "Open Your Box (Remixes)" was released.   

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"TV Guide" was published for the first time on this date in 1953.

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Today in Sports History:

1977 - Montreal Canadiens became the first team in NHL history to win 60 games in a season. They beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 to end the season with a record of 60-8-12.

1985 - The Major League Baseball Players' Association agreed to a proposal of the team owners to expand the 1985 League Championship Series from the best-of-five games to best-of-seven.

2002 - Michael Jordan (Washington Wizards) announced that he was done for the season due to a knee injury.

2006 - U.S. President Bush threw out the first pitch at the Cincinnati Reds opening home game.

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John Chancellor stepped down as anchor of the "The NBC Nightly News" on this date in 1982. Roger Mudd and Tom Brokaw became the co-anchors of the show.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks 3:40pm EDT

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

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Calgary Flames 7:30pm EDT

Friday --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers 4:10pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Texas Rangerss 7:10pm EDT

NAHL Playoff Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild at Minnesota Wilderness 8:05pm EDT

Nascar Nationwide Series -- O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway 8:30pm EDT

Saturday --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers 4:10pm EDT

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Dallas Stars 7:00pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Texas Rangerss 7:10pm EDT

NAHL Playoff Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild at Minnesota Wilderness 8:05pm EDT

Sunday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Texas Rangerss 1:40pm EDT

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway 3:00pm EDT

NAHL Playoff Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild at Minnesota Wilderness 6:00pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers 8:00pm EDT

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