It's Wednesday

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

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Today is April 23rd, the 113th day of 2014. There are 252 days left in the year.

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Stamkos optimistic about Lightning's future.

Johnson front and center in Blue Jackets' revival.

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

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U.S. President George Washington moved into Franklin House, New York on this date in 1789. It was the first executive mansion.

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Montreal, PQ. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning finally found one obstacle they couldn't overcome: The Montreal Canadiens.

Read the rest here.

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On this date in 1789, "Courier De Boston" was published for the first time. It was the first Roman Catholic magazine in the U.S.

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The Midwest Division final series, led by Fairbanks 2-1, now shifts to Wenatchee for game 4 on Friday, April 25th and game 5, if necessary, on Saturday, April 26th. Faceoff time is 7:05pm PDT. Individual and group game tickets for all home playoff games are on sale now. Call 509.888.PUCK (7825). WILD 2.0 UPGRADE ************************************************ On this date in 1872, Charlotte E. Ray became the African-American woman lawyer. ************************************************ U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team Defeats Finland, 4-3, at IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championship Team USA Clinches Top Seed in Group B LAPPEENRANTA, Finland. - Kyle Connor (Shelby Township, Mich.) extended his scoring streak to four games, and Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass.) scored the game-winning goal, as the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team defeated Finland, 4-3, here tonight at Lappeenranta Arena. With the win, Team USA clinches the top seed in Group B at the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's Under-18 World Championship with a 3-0-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record. Finland opened the scoring at the 9:54 mark of the first frame. Late in the opening period, Finland was whistled for a tripping call on Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich.). Nine seconds later on the ensuing power play, Noah Hanifin (Norwood, Mass.) collected the puck and threw a hard shot at the net that snuck past Kaapo Kahkonen to knot the game at one goal apiece. Team USA took the lead 19 seconds into the middle stanza when Larkin found Anders Bjork (Mequon, Wis.) near the top of the faceoff circle. Bjork fired a wrist shot to beat Kahkonen for the score. Back-to-back tallies by the Finns at 5:42 and 13:53 reclaimed the lead for the host country before Kyle Connor (Shelby Township, Mich.) answered for the United States with less than one second showing on the scoreboard. Hanifin and Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz.) assisted on the play. The final frame remained scoreless, and the game tied, until 1:04 remained in the contest. Eichel took a pass from Sonny Milano (Massapequa, N.Y.) and touched the puck between his legs onto his forehand. Eichel quickly fired a shot that caromed off Kahkonen and into the net to secure the 4-3 victory for Team USA. The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team will next skate in the quarterfinals of the U18 World Championship on Thursday (April 24). Having earned the top seed in Group B, Team USA will cross over to face Slovakia. The contest will be broadcast live, for free, on FASTHockey.com. 2014 IIHF Men's U18 World Championship Schedule - United States April 17-27, 2014 • Lappeenranta, Finland Date Opponent Time (Local/EDT)/Result Live Webcast Tues., April 14 Germany* W, 9-1 -- Thurs., April 17 Switzerland L, 2-4 -- Sat., April 19 Czech Republic W, 3-0 -- Sun., April 20 Denmark W, 7-0 -- Tues., April 22 Finland W, 4-3 Thurs., April 24 Quarterfinals - Slovakia TBD FASTHockey.com 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 NOTES: For a complete U.S. roster, click here ... Team USA outshot the Finland, 46-20 ... Dylan Larkin was named Team USA's best player ... Kyle Connor holds a four-game scoring streak, netting one goal in each of Team USA's preliminary-round games, placing him second in the tournament in goals scored. The Youngstown Phantoms product also scored in the pre-tournament contest against Germany ... Sonny Milanohas at least one point in each of his first four tournament games, including two goals and four assists. Factoring in the pre-tournament game versus Germany, the forward has eight points (4-5) in five games ... The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team is 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. ... 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. ... Twenty players on the U.S. roster come from USA Hockey's NTDP. Kyle Connor (Shelby Township, Mich.) skated this season for the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League. Alex Nedeljkovic played for the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers ... The roster for the U.S. features 15 players recently listed on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of draft-eligible players. Among those players in the top twenty are forwards Alex Tuch (Baldwinsville, N.Y./12th),Sonny Milano (Massapequa, N.Y./16th) and Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich./17th). Goaltenders Alex Nedeljkovic (Parma, Ohio) and Edwin Minney (Wind Gap, Pa.) were ranked fourth and seventh respectively ... Team USA's roster includes 20 players born in 1996 and two from the 1997 birth year. Forward Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 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. ************************************************ The Vitascope system for projecting movies onto a screen was demonstrated in New York City on this date in 1896. ************************************************

Final Scouting Bureau rankings revealed.

Abou-Mechrek: Roughriders should choose Beau in CFL draft.

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

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The word "hillbilly" was first used in print in an article in the "New York Journal" on this date in 1900. It was spelled "Hill-Billie."

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Tampa, FL. — Head Coach Lovie Smith scheduled his team's extra mini-camp to fall before the 2014 NFL Draft so that the practices could help clarify the remaining needs on the depth chart…And other topics.

Read the rest here.

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U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signed an act creating the U.S. Army Reserve on this date in 1908.

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St. Petersburg, FL. -- A dozen David Price strikeouts plus 13 Rays hits equaled a complete-game 7-3 victory over the Twins at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.

Read the rest here.

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On this date in 1915, the A.C.A. became the National Advisory Council on Aeronautics (NACA).

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Denver, CO. -- The Giants and Rockies served up a pair of pearls at Coors Field on Tuesday, squaring off in a taut pitchers' duel pitting a pair of surging southpaws against each other. But on a night when all the runs came courtesy of long balls, the Giants fell, 2-1, losing their second straight game in Colorado as the Rockies clinched the three-game series.

Read the rest here.

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On this date in 1924, the U.S. Senate passed the Soldiers Bonus Bill.

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Jimmy watches Star Wars.

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as your team being eliminated from the playoffs, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History

1956 - Elvis Presley made his Las Vegas debut at the New Frontier Hotel. The run ended on May 6, 1956

1960 - Elvis Presley's single "Stuck On You" hit #3 in the U.K.

1966 - Evlis Presley's single "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" hit #45 in the U.S.

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The Associated Press began use of the new service of teletype setting on this date in 1951.

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Today in Beatles History:

1960 - John Lennon and Paul McCartney performed together as the Nerk Twins.

1964 - In London, John Lennon was the guest of honor at Foyles Literary Luncheon.

  
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The Soyuz 1 was launched by Russia on this date in 1967.

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Today in Sports History:

1914 - In Chicago, IL, the first major league game at Wrigley Field took place. The Federals defeated Kansas City 9-1.

1948 - Johnny Longden became the first race jockey to ride 3,000 career winners.

1950 - The Minneapolis Lakers won the first National Basketball Association (NBA) championship when they beat the Syracuse Nationals four games to two.

1954 - Hank Aaron (Milwaukee Braves) hit his first major league home run.

1964 - Ken Johnson (Houston Astros) threw the first no-hitter for a loss. The game was lost 1-0 to the Cincinnati Reds due to two errors.

1989 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played his last regular season game in the NBA.

2002 - Brent Johson (St. Louis Blues) became the first NHL goalie to win his first 3 wins in the playoffs by shutout. He was only the fourth goalie to record three straight NHL playoff shutouts.

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The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged to form the United Methodist Church on this date in 1968.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies 3:10pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Minnesota Twins 7:10pm EDT

Thursday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Minnesota Twins 1:10pm EDT

Friday --

Nascar Nationwide Series -- Toyotacare 250 at Richmond International Raceway 7:00pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox 8:10pm EDT

NAHL Playoffs -- Wenatchee Wild vs Fairbanks Ice Dogs 10:05pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Cleveland Indians 10:15pm EDT

Saturday --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Cleveland Indians 4:05pm EDT

Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway 7:00pm EDT

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox 7:10pm EDT

NAHL Playoffs -- Wenatchee Wild vs Fairbanks Ice Dogs 10:05pm EDT (If necessary)

Sunday --

MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox 2:10pm EDT

Verizon Indy Car Series -- Honda Grand Prix of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama 3:00pm EDT

MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Cleveland Indians 4:05pm EDT

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