It's Wednesday

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

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Today is October 1st, the 273rd day of 2014. There are 92 days left in the year.

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Zetterberg says this is 'an important week' for Alfie.

Board of Governors approves sale of Islanders.

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

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Today's Birthdays: President Jimmy Carter is 90. Randy Quaid (National Lampoon's Vacation movies) is 64. Zach Galifianakis is 45.

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Tampa, FL. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning special teams lived up to their name against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.

Read the rest here.

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Rural Free Delivery was established by the U.S. Post Office on this date in 1896.

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University of Minnesota Stays at No. 1 in USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine College Hockey Poll USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine 2014-15 Women's College Hockey Poll - Regular Season (First-place votes in parentheses) Rank School Last Week's Rank 2014-15 Record Weeks in Top 10 1. University of Minnesota, 188 (17) 1 0-0-0 2 2. University of Wisconsin, 165 (2) 2 2-0-0 2 3. Boston College, 140 3 0-0-0 2 4. Boston University, 128 5 0-0-0 2 5. Harvard University, 123 4 0-0-0 2 6. Cornell University, 92 6 0-0-0 2 7. University of North Dakota, 62 8 0-0-0 2 8. Clarkson University, 61 7 0-0-0 2 9. Mercyhurst University, 45 9 0-0-0 2 10. University of Minnesota Duluth, 15 n/a 1-0-1 1 Others Receiving Votes: Northeastern University, 13; Quinnipiac University, 9; Robert Morris University, 4. Notes: The Western Collegiate Hockey Association leads all women's conferences with four ranked teams, while the ECAC has three and Hockey East Association has two. College Hockey America has one ... A total of 13 schools received votes in this week's poll. About the Poll: The 18th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the four NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey.

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The Model T automobile was introduced by Henry Ford on this date in 1908. The purchase price of the car was $850.

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Regina, SK. -- Last week no one was complaining.

Read the rest here.

Coming up next for the 9-4 Riders is a week 15 home match up with the 11-2 Calgary Stampeders. Game time at Regina's Mosaic Stadium is 10:00pm 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 ESPN2.

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The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened as the first toll superhighway in the United States on this date in 1940.

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. Taking it easy: Willy has light practice; will play Friday. Lulay to forego surgery; hopeful for 2014 return.

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

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"This is Your Life" began airing on NBC-TV on this date in 1952.

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Tampa, FL. -- Russell Shepard’s first NFL catch was a critical one for the Bucs on Sunday in Pittsburgh, but he wouldn’t have been in position to help if he hadn’t taken some very good advice from a former coach.

Read the rest here.

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The World Wildlife Fund says that more than half of the world's wildlife died between 1970 and 2010. [They're pointing the finger mainly at climate change and cholesterol.]

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Corvallis, OR. -- Beavers to Battle Buffs in Boulder.

Read the rest here.

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If we want to ensure that humanity has a future, we need to put a million people on Mars. That's according to Elon Musk, the rich dude behind Tesla cars, SpaceX, and other successful companies. Musk says, ""If we can establish a Mars colony, we can almost certainly colonize the whole Solar System, because we'll have created a strong economic forcing function for the improvement of space travel." Musk says we must put a million people on Mars if we are to ensure that humanity has a future. Any takers?

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St. Petersburg, FL. -- What could go wrong pretty much did for the Rays in 2014, resulting in an early offseason rather than a postseason appearance and the team's first losing record since 2007.

Read the rest here.

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Johnny Carson began hosting the "Tonight" show on NBC-TV on this date in 1962. He stayed with the show for 29 years. Jack Paar was the previous host.

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Pittsburgh, PA. -- The constellations and the pitching schedule aligned perfectly, allowing Giants ace left-hander Madison Bumgarner -- with his 11-4 record and 2.22 ERA in 18 road starts this season -- to start Wednesday's National League Wild Card Game (5 p.m. PT, ESPN) against the Pirates at PNC Park.

Read the rest here.

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With about one-third of Californians already living with bans on plastic bags, Gov. Jerry Brown signed the first state-wide measure Tuesday. The bill bans stores from providing single-use plastic bags except for some items like meat, vegetables and bulk products. They must also impose a small charge for paper bags to encourage the use of reusable bags.

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It's Daddy and Jimmy.

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You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as the baseball playoffs, isn't it?

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Today in Elvis History:

1958 - Elvis Presley began serving with Company D, 32nd Tank Battalion, 3rd Armor Corps. He was with the group until March 1, 1960. 

1977 - The album "Elvis' Golden Records Vol. 1" hit #63 in the U.S. 

1977 - The Elvis Presley album "Loving You" hit #24 in the U.K.

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Did you know your dog gets jealous when you pet another dog? That's according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego, who watched 36 dog owners interact with an animated dog. While the owners petted the fake dog, their real dogs started showing signs of jealousy, including pushing at their owner or the rival dog. The dogs were trying to break up the connection between the owners and a rival.

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Today in Beatles History:

1964 - Vee Jay Records released the album "The Beatles Vs. The Four Seasons." 

2000 - The album "Love In Song - An Atlanta Tribute To Sir Paul McCartney" was released.

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After a Florida man swiped a cellphone from a store's counter, the victim used another phone to contact him. The thief responded by text and tried to sell the phone back for $50, claiming he bought it from somebody for that price. Cops were able to nail him for the theft.

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Today in Sports History:

1903 - The first modern World Series took place between the Boston Pilgrims and the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

1919 - Eight players for the Chicago White Sox began their conspiracy to lose the World Series to the underdog Cincinnati Reds. 

1933 - Babe Ruth made his final pitching appearance. He pitched all nine innings and hit a home run in the 5th inning. 

1946 - The first baseball play-off game for a league championship was played. The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-2. 

1961 - Roger Maris (New York Yankees) hit his 61st home run of the season to beat Babe Ruth's major league record of 60. Maris got the home run in the last game of the regular season. 

1994 - The National Hockey League (NHL) team owners began a lockout of the players that lasted 103 days. 

2006 - Albert Haynesworth (Tennessee Titans) kicked off the helmet of Andre Gurode (Dallas Cowboys) and then scraped his cleat across his head. Gurode required 30 stitches and suffered blurry vision from the attack. The NFL suspended Haynesworth for 5 games without pay. This was the worst suspension for onfield behaviour to date. 

2007 - Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) played his first game as captain. He was the youngest player to be named a captain in the NHL.  

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Tetris, the block-stacking game that comes in near the top of many lists of greatest games ever, is being made into a live-action, feature-length, "sci-fi epic" motion picture.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates (NL Wild Card) 8:07pm EDT

Thursday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers 7:30pm EDT

Friday --

USPHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors Empire and Elite at Raleigh Showcase Time TBA

CFL Football -- Saskatchewan Roughriders vs Calgary Stampeders 10:00pm EDT

Saturday --

USPHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors Empire and Elite at Raleigh Showcase Time TBA

College Football -- Oregon State Beavers at Colorado Buffaloes 4:00pm EDT

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers 7:00pm EDT

Sunday --

USPHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors Empire and Elite at Raleigh Showcase Time TBA

NFL Football -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints 1:00pm EDT

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