It's Friday

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

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Today is September 19th, the 261st day of 2014. There are 104 days left in the year.

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Maple Leafs trying their best to move forward.

Lightning's Stamkos excited by improvement in leg.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Adam West (Batman TV show) is 86. Jeremy Irons (Die Hard with a Vengeance, The Man in the Iron Mask, Margin Call) is 66. Talk-show host Jimmy Fallon is 40.

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Tampa, FL. -- Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop admits his surgically repaired right wrist needs to get stronger, but he doesn't foresee it causing him any issues in training camp.

Read the rest here.

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U.S. President Washington's farewell address was published on this date in 1796.

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USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Annual College Polls Begin Next Week NCAA Division I Women's and Men's Weekly Rankings Begin Sept. 23 and Sept. 29 COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — The weekly USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine college hockey polls for the 2014-15 season will debut with the women's preseason poll next Tuesday (Sept. 23). Produced by USA Hockey, in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association, the polls rank the top 10 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey teams and the top 15 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey teams each week throughout the season. The men's preseason poll is slated to be released on Monday, Sept. 29. Men’s polls are released every Monday and women’s each Tuesday throughout the season and are available here. Polls go on holiday hiatus the week of Dec. 15 and reconvene the week of Jan. 5, 2015. Regular season polls conclude Feb. 24 (women’s) and March 16 (men’s). Additional postseason polls will be released, including final rankings after the respective Frozen Four tournaments March 24 (women’s) and April 13 (men’s): Men's Poll Schedule Women's Poll Schedule Sept. 29 Preseason Sept. 23 Preseason Oct. 6 - Dec. 15 Regular Season Sept. 30 - Dec. 16 Regular Season Jan. 5 - March 16 Regular Season Jan. 6 - Feb. 24 Regular Season March 23 Postseason March 3 Postseason March 30 NCAA Regionals March 10 Postseason April 9-11 Frozen Four (Boston) March 17 NCAA Regionals April 13 Final March 20-22 Frozen Four (Minneapolis) March 24 Final Notes: The USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine College Hockey Polls include input from coaches and journalists representing each of the NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey ... The 2014-15 season will mark the 20th season for the men's poll and the 18th campaign for the women's poll.

************************************************ John Keats wrote "Ode to Autumn" on this date in 1819 ************************************************ Regina, SK. -- “Those receivers, those backs, that offensive line all needs to believe in the guy that’s pulling the trigger offensively…” Find out what else are the keys to a Riders victory on Countdown to Game Day on Riderville.com. Read the rest here. Next up for the 8-3 Riders is a week 13 home game with the 1-9 Ottawa Redblacks on Sunday, September 21st. Kickoff for the game at Mosaic Stadium in Regina is set for 4:00pm EDT. Catch all the action with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri on 620 CKRM, the Rider Radio Network and 620ckrm.com. The game can be seen in Canada on TSN and in the U.S. on ESPN3.com. ************************************************ Melville R. Bissell patented the carpet sweeper on this date in 1876. ************************************************ . 2014 CFL.ca Game Notes: A look at Week 13. Nye: Rider quarterbacks embracing opportunity. Please visit the league's official website, cfl.ca. ************************************************ ARRR! - Today (Friday) is Talk Like A Pirate Day. ************************************************ Atlanta, GA. -- Tampa Bay dropped to 0-3 Thursday night in Atlanta with a 56-14 defeat, the third-most lopsided loss in franchise annals…An already depleted team lost QB Josh McCown to a thumb injury before halftime. Read the rest here. ************************************************ "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" premiered on CBS-TV on this date in 1970. ************************************************ St. Petersburg, FL. -- "Jake and The Box" -- Jake McGee and Brad Boxberger -- have done a great job this season, which is a development that came after Joel Peralta and Grant Balfour didn't exactly distinguish themselves. How do you see next year's bullpen shaking out? Read the rest here. ************************************************ Walmart says that it will hire 10% more seasonal workers this year. [They will serve as reserves to replace any regular employees injured when they open the doors on the first day of the holiday shopping season.] ************************************************ Phoenix, AZ. -- Associating Joe Panik with Willie McCovey would seem to be a huge stretch, but there is a bond connecting the San Francisco Giants' young second baseman and their legendary slugger. Read the rest here. ************************************************ Have you ever wondered, "How big is the internet?" Well, the internet now contains a whopping one billion websites. This figure comes from Internet Live Stats, a real-time monitor that tracks the number of websites on the Internet. As of the afternoon of Wednesday, September 17, the Internet contains over 1,062,000,000 websites. ************************************************ Oh boy, I can draw on this. ************************************************ You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as waiting for the rainstorm to arrive, isn't it? ************************************************ Today in Elvis History: 1958 - Elvis Presley left a Brooklyn naval base to sail to Germany to be with his army unit.  1972 - The album "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden hit #11 in the U.S.  2006 - The remaster version of the album "The Complete Million Dollar Quartet" was released. The quartet consisted of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. ************************************************ Pizza Hut is testing out a lighter pizza in two U.S. cities. The tests of "Skinny Slice" pies began this week at several dozen restaurants in Toledo, Ohio, and West Palm Beach, Florida. The pies simply use less of the same dough used for regular pies and are lighter on the toppings. ************************************************ Today in Beatles History: 1934 - Brian Epstein was born. He became the manager of the Beatles.  2003 - Paul McCartney was involved in a shoving match after a photographer tried to take his picture. McCartney had gone to see David Blaine's stunt of living for 44 days without food while suspended from a crane in a plastic box. ************************************************ An Oklahoma City man was arrested for using mayonnaise to wash himself in a public fountain. ************************************************ Today in Sports History: 1901 - All major league baseball games were canceled for the funeral of U.S. President William McKinley.  1949 - Ralph Kiner (Pittsburgh Pirates) became the first National League player to hit 50 home runs in two different seasons.  1984 - Pete Rose reached the 100-hit plateau for the 22nd consecutive year. He also tied the National League record for doubles with 725.  1997 - Mark McGwire became the first major league player to hit 20 or more home runs for two teams in the same season. It was his 54th home run of the year.  1999 - Sammy Sosa became the first major league player to hit 60 home runs twice. ************************************************ IN THEATERS - The Maze Runner (PG-13); This is Where I Leave You (R); Tusk (R); A Walk Among the Tombstones (R). ************************************************  Coming Up: Tonight -- MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox 7:10pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 10:10pm EDT Saturday -- USPHL Elite Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Palm Beach Hawks 3:10pm EDT USPHL Empire Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Palm Beach Hawks 6:00pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox 7:10pm EDT Nascar Nationwide Series -- VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway 7:30pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 8:40pm EDT Sunday -- USPHL Elite Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Palm Beach Hawks 9:00am EDT USPHL Empire Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors at Palm Beach Hawks 12:00pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox 1:40pm EDT CFL Football -- Saskatchewan Roughriders vs Ottawa Redblacks 2:00pm EDT Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway 2:00pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 4:10pm EDT ************************************************ That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, see you tomorrow.