It's Thursday

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

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Today is March 5th, the 64th day of 2015. There are 301 days left in the year.

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Watch: Honda nightly recap for Wed., March 4.

ESPN, Rogers, TVA to broadcast 2016 World Cup.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Comedian-magician Penn Jillette is 60. Kevin Connolly (Entourage) is 41. Eva Mendes (Fast Five, Hitch) is 40. Jake Lloyd (Star Wars Episode 1: Phantom Menace) is 26.

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Tampa, FL. -- Lightning defenseman Matt Carle says he's close to returning to the lineup and participated in full practice for the first time since surgery.

Read the rest here.

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On this date in 1923, Old-age pension laws were enacted in the states of Montana and Nevada.

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2015 National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp Schedule Announced

Camp to Run from March 20-24 in Ann Arbor, Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The 2015 National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp, which will feature some of the top American players born in 1999, will be held from March 20-24, at the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Ice Cube. The camp will help determine the 2015-16 U.S. National Under-17 Team. Players invited to the camp will be divided into three teams - Red, White and Blue. The squads will participate in on-ice practices and off-ice training as well as four 30-minute practice sessions and two full games. A complete schedule can be found here. NTDP alumni Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich./2004-05) and Freddy Meyer (Sanbornville, N.H./1997-2000) will serve as coaches at the camp. In addition, NTDP intern assistant coaches J.D. Forrest (Auburn, N.Y./1997-2000), who is another alumnus of the NTDP, and Tyler Walsh will also work behind the bench. The NTDP Evaluation Camp will also feature an appearance by Stan Bowman, general manager of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks, who will speak to camp attendees and their parents. Bowman was a part of the U.S. Men's National Team Advisory Committee for the 2014 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team. A complete roster of the invitees will be released at a later date. NOTES: Kyle Lawson played in four seasons with the University of Notre Dame (2006-10). Before his days with the Fighting Irish, Lawson was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team in 2005. The defenseman went on to serve as alternate captain during Team USA's bronze-medal finish at the 2007 World Junior Championship ... Freddy Meyer was among the inaugural group of athletes to train at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during the 1997-98 season. Meyer spent parts of seven seasons in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes and Atlanta Thrashers. Now an assistant coach with the American Hockey League's Manchester Monarchs, the former defenseman suited up for Boston University after his stint with the NTDP, earning First-Team All-America status in 2002-03. ABOUT THE NTDP: In 1996, USA Hockey introduced a new initiative called the National Team Development Program, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Celebrating its 18th season of play in 2014-15, 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. Karyn Bye Dietz Selected as Keynote Speaker at 2015 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Ceremony and Brunch Jim Rich to Serve as Master of Ceremonies COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Karyn Bye Dietz (River Falls, Wis.) has been named keynote speaker at the 2015 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Ceremony and Brunch, set for Saturday, March 21 at the McNamara Alumni Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jim Rich (Duluth, Minn.), the longtime sports director at KMSP/Fox 9-TV in Minneapolis will serve as master of ceremonies for the event. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey by the USA Hockey Foundation. The award is part of the festivities associated with the NCAA Women's Frozen Four, which also takes place at the University of Minnesota. A pioneer in women’s hockey, Bye Dietz is a two-time Olympian (1998, 2002) and eight-time member of the U.S. Women’s National Team who was recently inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2014. For 10 years (1992-2002), Bye Dietz was one of the world’s elite players for Team USA. An alternate captain in 1998, she helped Team USA win the first gold medal ever awarded in women’s ice hockey at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. In addition to her Olympic experience, she represented the United States at six International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championships (1992, ‘94, ‘97, ‘99, 2000, ‘01) and two IIHF Women’s Pacific Championships (1995, '96). She also participated in six Four Nations Cups between 1995-2000. A native of River Falls, Wisconsin, Bye Dietz was honored as USA Hockey’s Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year in both 1995 and 1998. In addition, Bye Dietz a member of the 1998 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team that was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009 also entered the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2011. Bye Dietz played collegiately at the University of New Hampshire where she won ECAC titles in 1990 and 1991. She served as captain in 1990-91 and was inducted into the University of New Hampshire Hall of Fame in 1998. Rich has a long association with USA Hockey and has previously served as master of ceremonies for this event. In addition to his lengthy tenure at KMSP/Fox 9-TV, Rich has been the television play-by-play voice for numerous international tournaments, including Team USA’s first-ever gold medal at both the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship in Linkoping & Norrkoping, Sweden, and the 2004 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland. Along with his other duties, Rich is also the host of Fox 9 Sports Now and Minnesota Vikings postgame shows on Fox 9 and is the television play-by-play voice for the St. Cloud State University men’s ice hockey team. He previously created and was the host of the nationally syndicated College Hockey USA television program that ran for 15 years (1986-2001) across the United States and Canada. NOTES: Tickets to the 2015 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Ceremony and Brunch are on sale now and can be purchased here. For more information about Patty Kazmaier, the award, and the Top-10 finalists, visit PattyKaz.com. Top-3 finalists for the award are expected to be announced tomorrow, March 5. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is supported, in part, by a grant from the NHL Foundation.

*********************************************** WE LOSE SLEEP THIS WEEKEND - Reminder: Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday at 2am. ************************************************

Mitchell in it for the long haul with defending champs. Parked in Montreal: Als sign veteran DB to extension. Please visit the league's official website, http://www.cfl.ca. ************************************************ On this date in 1934, in Amarillo, TX, the first Mother's-In-Law Day was celebrated. ************************************************ Tampa, FL. -- Here's a sampling of media reports on the Buccaneers today. Read the rest here. ************************************************ Doctors are warning couples not to get excessive unnecessary 3D ultrasound pictures because of potential harm to the fetus. [Over 90% of the children are born addicted to selfies.] ************************************************ Corvallis, OR. -- Sophomore guard Malcolm Duvivier scored a game-high 18 points and Oregon State battled to the final second before falling 65-62 to Oregon on Wednesday night before an energized crowd of 9,339 at Gill Coliseum. Read the rest here. ************************************************ Prairie Farms is releasing PEEPS-flavored milk for spring. This week PEEPS milk will be available in three flavors: “Marshmallow Milk,” reduced-fat “Chocolate Marshmallow Milk” and reduced-fat “Easter Egg Nog”. ************************************************ Here's Jimmy with Creeper, Flipper and Mr. Oinks aka Piggy. ************************************************ You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as doing laundry, isn't it? ************************************************ Today in Elvis History: 1955 - Elvis Presley made his first TV appearance on the "Louisiana Hayride" show.  1960 - Elvis Presley was officially honorably discharged from the Army.  1977 - Elvis Presley's single "Moody Blue" hit #31 in the U.S.  ************************************************ A baby girl was thrown during a three-vehicle pileup in Ohio (Harrison Township) on Monday and in what some are calling a miracle, the baby opened her eyes and smiled at rescuers who found her. Rescuers found seven-month-old baby Madison 25 feet from the crash site, still strapped into her car seat after it was thrown from the van on impact. Baby Madison survived the crash with only bruises to her head. ************************************************ Today in Beatles History: 1964 - The Beatles and Brian Epstein had dinner at Oxford's Brasenose College after a day of filming scenes for "A Hard Day's Night."  1970 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono checked into the London Clinic.  1970 - John Lennon began writing songs that would appear on "Plastic Ono Band."  1996 - Yoko Ono's "Rising Mixes" was released.  2004 - It was reported that on February 24, 2004, more than 100,000 people had downloaded DJ Danger Mouse's Jay-Z/Beatles album "The Grey Album." ************************************************ Police in Portland, Oregon, arrested an 18-year-old on accusations of stealing two bicycles and a goat named Penelope. ************************************************ Today in Sports History: 1864 - In England, Oxford and Cambridge met for the first time in track and field competition.  1924 - Frank Caruana of Buffalo, NY, became the first bowler to roll two perfect games in a row.  1964 - The NFL teams purchased Ed Sabol's Blair Motion Pictures, which was renamed NFL Films.  1985 - Mike Bossy, of the New York Islanders, became the first National Hockey League player to score 50 goals in eight consecutive seasons.  1991 - Reggie Miller (Indiana) began his NBA free throw streak of 52 games.  1993 - Sprinter Ben Johnson was banned from racing for life by the Amateur Athletic Association after testing positive for banned performance-enhancing substances for a second time.  1994 - Michael Adams (Washington Bullets) became the third player in NBA history to get 900 career three-point field goals.  1995 - Dennis Rodman (Chicago Bulls) was suspended by the NBA for one game after deliberately elbowing Milwaukee's Joe Wolf.  1996 - The Dallas Mavericks attempted 49 three-pointers for the fifth straight game. ************************************************ Do you have 27 hours to spare before Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters? If so, take a shower, bring a blanket and get ready for the Ultimate Marvel Marathon: a 29 hour, 11 movie marathon that begins at 6PM April 29 with Iron Man and goes until around 10PM April 30 with an early screening of Avengers: Age of Ultron. AMC and Regal are each hosting similar events. ************************************************ Coming Up: Tonight -- NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Toronto Maple Leafs 7:30pm EST Friday --  NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild at Wichita Falls Wildcats 8:05pm EST Saturday -- Nascar XFinity Series -- Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 4:00pm EST NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Dallas Stars 7:00pm EST NAHL Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild at Wichita Falls Wildcats 8:05pm EST Sunday -- Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 3:30pm EDT ************************************************ That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, see you tomorrow.