It's Wednesday

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

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Today is July 9th, the 190th day of 2014. There are 175 days left in the year.

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Ducks coach pleased with 'great deal' for Kesler.

Crosby to have wrist surgery: report.

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

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Today's Birthdays: O.J. Simpson is 67. TV personality-turned-musician John Tesh is 62. Tom Hanks is 58. Courtney Love is 50. Fred Savage (The Wonder Years, Working) is 38.

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Tampa, FL. -- House hunting brought Anton Stralman to Tampa on Tuesday, but it was the direction of the Tampa Bay Lightning that lured him to town.

Read the rest here.

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S.L. Mitchell of Columbia College in New York City became the first Professor of Agriculture on this date in 1792.

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Gabriele and Ruggiero Added to U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team Roster Defensemen to Join USA Hockey's National Team Development Program ANN ARBOR, Mich. - USA Hockey's National Team Development Program today announced the addition of defensemen Grant Gabriele (Brighton, Michigan) and Steven Ruggiero (Kings Park, New York) to the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team roster for the 2014-15 season. Gabriele spent last season split between the U.S. National Under-17 Team and the Victory Honda midget major program of the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League. While with Team USA, the Western Michigan verbal commit appeared in 26 games scoring three goals and adding nine assists. Gabriele was also a member of the squad that captured the 2013 Four Nations Tournament title in Prievidza, Slovakia. The blueliner was most recently selected to compete as part of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team that will compete at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia. Ruggiero played for the United States Hockey League's Youngstown Phantoms over the course of the 2013-14 season. The Penn State verbal commit tallied one goal and registered four assists in 41 games. Ruggiero also helped the U.S. Under-17 Select Team capture the 2013 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament in Trnava, Slovakia. Prior to his time with the Phantoms, the defenseman skated for the Metro Junior Moose of the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League. ABOUT THE NTDP: In 1996, USA Hockey launched a new initiative called the National Team Development Program, based in Ann Arbor, Mich. Celebrating its 17th season of play in 2013-14, the goal of this full-time development program is to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. National Teams and success in their future hockey careers. Its efforts focus not only on high-caliber participation on the ice, but creating well-rounded individuals off the ice.

************************************************ The leather-splitting machine was patented by Samuel Parker on this date in 1808. ************************************************ Regina, SK. -- Add the Saskatchewan Roughriders to the list of teams still trying to figure it out through two weeks of the season. Read the rest here. Coming up, the Saskatchewan Roughriders return home to take on the BC Lions on Saturday, July 12th. Game time from Mosaic Stadium is 9:30pm EDT. Catch the game on 620 CKRM, the Rider Radio Network and 620ckrm.com with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri calling the action. The game can be seen in Canada on TSN and in the U.S. on ESPN3. ************************************************ On this date in 1868, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The amendment was designed to grant citizenship to and protect the civil liberties of recently freed slaves. It did this by prohibiting states from denying or abridging the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, depriving any person of his life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or denying to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. ************************************************ . CFL.ca Power Rankings: Eskimos enter top half. Answering the Call: Ray, Owens bounce back in fine form. Please visit the league's official website, cfl.ca. ************************************************ The doughnut cutter was patented by John F. Blondel on this date in 1872. ************************************************ Tampa, FL. -- In the first of a two part series, Buccaneers defensive tackle and superhero enthusiast Gerald McCoy gets a behind-the-scenes look into the upcoming Marvel Universe LIVE show at Feld Entertainment Studios. Read the rest here. ************************************************ According to a new travel survey, the most desired place people would like to visit is Australia. [The least desired place is Six Flags over North Korea.] ************************************************ St. Petersburg, FL. -- The sight of James Shields wearing road greys and toeing the rubber was foreign at Tropicana Field. After a 6-0 loss in the series opener, the Rays could do without seeing it again. Read the rest here. ************************************************ A nine-year-old girl in Minnesota thought the constant marijuana smoke at her house was having a negative effect on her pet dogs so she went to the police station and turned in her parents' illegal operation. ************************************************ Oakland, CA. -- Hunter Pence was the Giants' most valuable player Tuesday night. This imaginary distinction stemmed more from his perspective than his performance. Read the rest here. ************************************************ New York Airways began the first commuter passenger service by helicopter on this date in 1953. ************************************************ It's my day Daddy. ************************************************ You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as listening to your wife's old radio show, isn't it? ************************************************ Today in Elvis History: 1957 - In Memphis, Elvis Presley attended the premiere of "Loving You." ************************************************ North Carolina investigators are searching for an armed man whose wig disguise fell off as he robbed a credit union. He was last seen on a bicycle behind the building. ************************************************ Today in Beatles History: 1966 - The Beatles song "Rain" hit #23 in the U.S.  1972 - Paul McCartney appeared on stage for the first time since 1966 as his group, Wings, opened at Chateauvillon in the south of France. ************************************************ TV TONIGHT - Extant premieres on CBS (9p ET). From executive producer Steven Spielberg, Halle Berry stars in this new sci-fi drama/thriller as an astronaut home from a year-long solo mission who discovers that she's pregnant. ************************************************ Today in Sports History: 1968 - The first All-Star baseball game to be played indoors took place at the Astrodome in Houston, TX.  1985 - Herschel Walker of the New Jersey Generals was named the Most Valuable Player in the United States Football League (USFL).  1985 - Joe Namath signed a five-year pact with ABC-TV to provide commentary for "Monday Night Football."  1997 - Mike Tyson was banned from the boxing ring and fined $3 million for biting the ear of opponent Evander Holyfield.  2000 - Pete Sampras of the United States set a record when he won the men's singles tennis championship at Wimbledon. It was his 13th Grand Slam title.  2002 - The major league baseball All-Star game ended in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig called the game after both team managers informed him that they had run out of players. ************************************************ It's been revealed that Star Wars: Episode VII will be released in IMAX. ************************************************ Coming Up: Tonight -- MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals 7:10pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Oakland Athletics 10:15pm EDT Thursday -- MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Oakland Athletics 3:45pm EDT Friday -- MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays 7:10pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks 10:15pm EDT Saturday -- Nascar Nationwide Series -- Sta-Green 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway 3:30pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks 4:05pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays 4:10pm EDT Verizon Indy Car Series -- Iowa Corn Indy 300 at Newton Iowa 8:00pm EDT CFL Football -- Saskatchewan Roughriders vs BC Lions 9:30pm EDT Sunday -- Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway 1:00pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays 1:40pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks 4:05pm EDT ************************************************ That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, see you tomorrow.