It's Thursday

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

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Today is July 3rd, the 184th day of 2014. There are 181 days left in the year.

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Some big names remain on free-agent market.

On the phone with Steve Yzerman.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Writer Dave Barry is 67. Tom Cruise is 52. Yeardley Smith (voice of Lisa Simpson on The Simpsons) is 50. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is 43.

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Tampa, FL. -- Johnathan Drouin and Anthony DeAngelo hit the ice together for the first time Wednesday, as the Tampa Bay Lightning’s annual development camp opened at Brandon Ice Sports Forum, but the experience was very different for the pair of first-round draft picks in 2013 and 2014.

Read the rest here.

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The city of Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain on this date in 1608.

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2014 U.S. Under-18 Select Team Announced

Twenty-two players will participate in Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Twenty-two players who participated at the USA Hockey Boys’ Select 17 Player Development Camp have been chosen for the U.S. Under-18 Select Team that will compete at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup Aug. 11-16 in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia. The Boys’ Select 17 Player Development Camp took place June 30-July 2 at the Northtown Center at Amherst in Williamsville, N.Y. This roster features five players who helped the undefeated U.S. Under-17 Select Team capture first place at the the 2013 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament, held in Trnava, Slovakia. They include Brock Boeser (Burnsville, Minn), Tory Dello (Crystal Lake, Ill.), Brent Gates (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Thomas Novak (River Falls, Mich.) and Troy Terry (Highland Ranch, Colo.). For a complete roster, click here. For complete Ivan Hlinka coverage, including Team USA schedule and news, click here. The Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup is an annual event held each August for national under-18 teams from around the world. Named for one of the first Czech hockey stars, the tournament began in 1991 as a three-team showcase. Between 1997 and 2002, the format shifted to the current eight-team tournament. It was then named after Hlinka in 2007, three years after his passing. NOTES: The 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup will include teams from Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States … With a second-place showing in 2013, Team USA has finished in the top three of the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup 11 times since the tournament began in 1991. The U.S. earned first place in 2003, second on eight occasions (1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2010, 2013) and third twice (1991, 1995) … The 22 players on the roster represent 12 different states. Michigan leads the pack with five representatives, Illinois has four, Minnesota three and Massachusetts has two … The annual USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp provides top young players with concentrated on- and off-ice training and instruction as well as the opportunity to compete at the national level against other top players from their age group. ************************************************ John Wise flew the first dirigible in Lancaster, PA on this date in 1878. ************************************************ Regina, SK. -- Saskatchewan Roughrider defensive end Ricky Foley has been named a CFL Gibson's Finest Player of the Week. Read the rest here. Coming up, the Saskatchewan Roughriders travel to Toronto to take on the Argonauts on Saturday, July 5th. Game time from Rogers Centre is 3:00pm 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 ESPN2. (There will be no stream on ESPN3 in the lower 48.) ************************************************ Idaho became the 43rd state to join the United States of America on this date in 1890. ************************************************ . 2014 CFL.ca Game Notes: A look at Week 2. Landry: Black, Argos defence ready for redemption. Please visit the league's official website, cfl.ca. ************************************************ The FTC is filing suit against T-Mobile for sticking customers with millions of dollars of bogus charges. [They charged extra if you dialed with your left hand, if you butt-dialed, or if you answered the phone by saying, "Yello!"] ************************************************ Tampa, FL. -- Buccaneers.com contributors Scott Smith and Andrew Norton debate the players on the Bucs’ 2014 roster who are most likely to show up on next year’s NFL Top 100 list. Read the rest here. ************************************************ The first cable across the Pacific Ocean was spliced between Honolulu, Midway, Guam and Manila on this date in 1903. ************************************************ New York, NY. -- A sweep. The perfect tonic for a team hoping to salvage a season. Read the rest here. ************************************************ According to a study 11% of Instagram users posting under the #nofilter tag are in-fact using a filter. Quit yer lying! ************************************************ San Francisco, CA. -- Ryan Vogelsong reminded observers what the bottom line is in competitive athletics. Read the rest here. ************************************************ "Fruit Garden and Home" magazine was introduced on this date in 1922. It was later renamed "Better Homes and Gardens." ************************************************ Jimmy loves chocolate milk. ************************************************ You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as dental work. ************************************************ Today in Elvis History: 1960 - Elvis Presley's father, Vernon, announced that he would remarry. Elvis' mother had died two years before. ************************************************ A man who decided to take a nap in a Poland parking lot survived after a car reversed over his head. The man dozed off to sunbathe. But he soon woke up when a car accidentally reversed over his head and left him trapped underneath the car. The 25-year-old somehow avoided serious injury. ************************************************ Today in Beatles History: 1965 - The Beatles ended their European tour at the Plaza de Toros Monumental in Barcelona, Spain.  1967 - In London, John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney appeared at a party thrown for the Monkees.  1976 - The Beatles album "Rock'n'Roll Music" hit #1 in the U.K.  1982 - "The Beatles Movie Medley" hit #10 in the U.K.  2005 - Paul McCartney's London Live 8 performance of "The Long and Winding Road" was made available for download. ************************************************ Russia used its informal veto power to block the hit Netflix series House of Cards from filming scenes at the U.N. Security Council in New York. A source says the Russian delegation denied the request saying that the chamber needed to be kept open and available for unanticipated crises. ************************************************ Today in Sports History: 1912 - Rube Marquard of the New York Giants set a baseball pitching record when earned his 19th consecutive win.  1937 - Del Mar race track opened in Del Mar, CA.  1947 - The Cleveland Indians purchased the contract of Larry Doby from the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League. Doby became the first black player to play in the American League.  1966 - Tony Cloninger (Atlanta Braves) became the first National League pitcher to hit two grand slams in one game.  2001 - The National Basketball Association (NBA) owners unanimously approved to move the Vancouver Grizzlies to Memphis for the 2001-02 season. ************************************************ Chic Young’s comic strip character, "Blondie" was first heard on CBS radio on this date in 1939. ************************************************ Coming Up: Tonight -- MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals 3:45pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 7:08pm EDT Friday -- MLB -- San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 6:40pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 7:08pm EDT Saturday -- CFL Football -- Saskatchewan Roughriders at Toronto Argonauts 3:00pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 4:08pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 7:15pm EDT Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway 7:30pm EDT Sunday -- Verizon Indy Car Series -- Pocono Indy Car 500 at Long Pond, PA. 12:00pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 4:10pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 8:00pm EDT ************************************************ That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, see you tomorrow.

It's Wednesday

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

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Today is July 2nd, the 183rd day of 2014. There are 182 days left in the year.

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First day of free agency sees West get even more wild.

Official 2014 free agent signings tracker.

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

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Today's Birthdays: Polly Holliday (Flo on Alice) is 77. Writer-director Larry David (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm) is 67. Lindsay Lohan is 28.

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Tampa, FL. -- A week after finding a way to keep Ryan Callahan in Tampa Bay, the Lightning have landed two of his former teammates to help him.

Read the rest here.

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Richard Henry Lee’s resolution that the American colonies "are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States" was adopted by the Continental Congress on this date in 1776.

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Regina, SK. -- Sunday is a day the Rider Nation won’t soon forget.

Read the rest here.

Coming up, the Saskatchewan Roughriders travel to Toronto to take on the Argonauts on Saturday, July 5th. Game time from Rogers Centre is 3:00pm 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 ESPN2. (There will be no stream on ESPN3 in the lower 48.)

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New York City’s first elevated railroad officially opened for business on this date in 1857.

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. CFL.ca Power Rankings: Stamps top inaugural 2014 list. Video: Top 10 Plays of Week 1. Please visit the league's official website, cfl.ca. ************************************************ NUMBER FOR THE DAY - 3,472: Images pinned on Pinterest every minute. ************************************************ Tampa, FL. -- Here's a sampling of media reports on the Buccaneers today. Read the rest here. ************************************************ The U.S. Congress established the Army Air Corps on this date in 1926. ************************************************ New York, NY. -- David Price resides on a different planet these days. Read the rest here. ************************************************ A British bank had to close for the day after a man walked in and purposely defecated throughout the lobby. [Would someone please get Shia LaBeouf some professional help?] ************************************************ San Francisco, CA. -- Tim Lincecum, who made history with his nine-inning effort last Wednesday, shaped Tuesday night's outcome against the St. Louis Cardinals with his fourth-inning performance alone. Read the rest here. ************************************************ American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart disappeared in the Central Pacific on this date in 1937 during an attempt to fly around the world at the equator. ************************************************ Jimmy checks out his juice. ************************************************ Facebook recently announced that there have been more than 1 billion interactions on the social network about the World Cup games. ************************************************ Today in Elvis History: 1956 - Elvis Presley recorded "Hound Dog," "Don’t Be Cruel" and "Any Way You Want Me (That's How I Will Be)."  1956 - Ed Sullivan called Elvis Presley's manager to see if Elvis would make an appearance on his show.  1958 - The Elvis Presley film "King Creole" opened.  2004 - Elvis Radio debuted from a specially designed studio in the plaza of Graceland. The satellite radio station features a continuous variety of Elvis Presley music. ************************************************ Following the comedy hit of 2011, Horrible Bosses 2 is on the way with Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day back together, this time working for themselves with a new business. The film comes out in November. | trailer link ************************************************ Today in Beatles History: 1961 - The Beatles ended a 92 night stop at the Top Ten club in Hamburg, West Germany. The stop began on April 1.  1964 - Paul McCartney played piano for Cilla Blacks recording of the Beatles' "It's for You." ************************************************ At Mount Rushmore, Theodore Roosevelt's face was dedicated on this date in 1939. ************************************************ Today in Sports History: 1903 - Ed Delahanty (Washington) died from a fall from a railroad bridge at Niagra Falls.  1941 - Joe DiMaggio got a hit in his 45th consecutive game.  1994 - Colombian soccer player Andres Escobar was shot to death in Medellin. 10 days earlier he had accidentally scored a goal against his own team in World Cup competition.  1995 - Hideo Nomo became the first Japanese player to be selected for a major league baseball All-Star Game.  1996 - Alex Rodriguez became the third youngest player to be selected to the American League All Star team. Dwight Gooden and Ken Griffey Jr. were the two younger than Rodriguez.  2002 - A record 62 home runs were hit in 16 major league baseball games. ************************************************ An object crashed near Roswell, NM on this date in 1947. The U.S. Army Air Force insisted it was a weather balloon, but eyewitness accounts led to speculation that it might have been an alien spacecraft. ************************************************ Coming Up: Tonight -- MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees 1:05pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals 10:15pm EDT Thursday -- MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals 3:45pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 7:08pm EDT Friday -- MLB -- San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 6:40pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 7:08pm EDT Saturday -- CFL Football -- Saskatchewan Roughriders at Toronto Argonauts 3:00pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 4:08pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 7:15pm EDT Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway 7:30pm EDT Sunday -- Verizon Indy Car Series -- Pocono Indy Car 500 at Long Pond, PA. 12:00pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 4:10pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 8:00pm EDT ************************************************ That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, see you tomorrow.

It's Tuesday

It's Tuesday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is July 1st, the 182nd day of 2014. There are 183 days left in the year.

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NHL Network-U.S. to broadcast 2014 NHL free agency with full-day coverage on July 1.

NHL trade tracker: 2014 offseason deals.

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

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Today's Birthdays: David Prowse (best known for playing the physical form of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy) is 79. Dan Aykroyd is 62. Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Homicide: Life on the Street) is 52. Pamela Anderson is 47.

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Philadelphia, PA. -- Teddy Purcell missed a late Sunday phone call from Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman late Sunday night. By the time he checked his phone, there was also a text message from Yzerman that came in just after the phone call.

Read the rest here.

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The U.S. Post Office issued its first adhesive stamps on this date in 1847.

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Regina, SK. -- The Saskatchewan Roughriders may not want to admit they sent a message to the CFL, but they did on Sunday night as they completely dominated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 31-10 to open up defence of their Grey Cup championship.

Read the rest here.

Coming up, the Saskatchewan Roughriders travel to Toronto to take on the Argonauts on Saturday, July 5th. Game time from Rogers Centre is 3:00pm 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 ESPN2. (There will be no stream on ESPN3 in the lower 48.)

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The U.S. Congress established the Bureau of Internal Revenue on this date in 1862.

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. Getting Defensive: Rider pass-rushers out to blazing start. Who is Anthony Allen? Please visit the league's official website, cfl.ca. ************************************************ NEW ON DVD - Released July 1 Afflicted The Twilight Zone - Essential Episodes: 55th Anniversay Collection The Million Dollar Piano ************************************************ Tampa, FL. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Mike Evans shares his experience so far at the 2014 NFL Rookie Symposium and the big leap he is making from college to the pros. Read the rest here. ************************************************ Canada became an independent dominion on this date in 1867. ************************************************ New York, NY. -- The Rays have kept the faith in Logan Forsythe, and that faith is starting to pay rich dividends. Read the rest here. ************************************************ The Philadelphia Zoological Society zoo opened as the first zoo in the United States on this date in 1874. ************************************************ San Francisco, CA. -- The Giants have wiped the slate clean with their colossal slump. This should fill them not with despair, but resolve. Read the rest here. ************************************************ The entire town of Swett, South Dakota is for sale. [So, this year American Independence Day in Swett, South Dakota may be marked by hamburgers, fireworks, and handing over the key to a Chinese conglomerate.] ************************************************ Here's the birthday boy with Aunt Meg. ************************************************ 35 years ago today (July 1) Sony introduced the Walkman. ************************************************ Today in Elvis History: 1956 - Elvis appeared on "The Steve Allen Show." He was told not to dance and Allen had him sing "Hound Dog" to a real basset hound wearing tails.  1961 - The Elvis Presley single "I Feel So Bad's" hit #26 in the U.S.  1966 - Elvis Presley began a week of rehearsals for the film "Double Trouble."  1969 - Sam Phillips sold his label Sun Records. He was the first person to record Elvis Presley.  1972 - Elvis Presley's "An American Trilogy" hit #8 in the U.K.  2003 - The boxed set "Elvis - Close Up" was released. The set included 89 previously unreleased tracks.  2004 - The July 4th issue of TV Guide hit newsstands. Four commemorative covers were released on the same day. Each cover included a mini-CD that featured a never-before-released live version of "That's All Right." Each CD was also enhanced with CD-rom content, including Elvis trivia, downloadable Elvis screensavers, and an actual audio recording of an interview TV Guide conducted with Elvis in 1956.  2004 - The Elvis Presley album "Polk Salad Annie, Las Vegas - 1970" was released.  2005 - Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) announced that it had signed with eFashion Solutions, LLC, to manage the global web-retailing for licensed and trademarked Elvis products. ************************************************ The Federal Communications Commission replaced the Federal Radio Commission as the regulator of broadcasting in the United States on this date in 1934. ************************************************ Today in Beatles History: 1963 - "She Loves You" and "I'll Get You" were recorded by the Beatles.  1964 - John Lennon gave £20,000 for a house in Surrey, England.  1965 - John Lennon's "A Spaniard in the Works" was published in the U.S.  1965 - "Beatles VI" was certified gold by the RIAA.  1967 - The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" hit #1 in the U.S.  1968 - John Lennon opened an exhibit of his drawings entitled "You Are Here."  1969 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono were involved in a car accident in Scotland. Lennon needed 17 stitches on his face, Yoko needed 14 stitches, Yoko's daughter Kyoko got 4 stitches and Julian suffered from shock. ************************************************ United Airlines has announced that it will be eliminating a couple of the things commonly served with meals in its premium cabins - ketchup and garlic bread. United's been losing a bunch of money lately and this is just one of many ways it hopes to get back in the black. ************************************************ Today in Sports History: 1905 - Frank Owen (Chicago White Sox) pitched two complete games in one day.  1910 - White Sox Park opened. The park's name was later changed to Comiskey Park.  1917 - Fred Toney (Cincinnati Reds) pitched two complete games in one day.  1920 - Suzanne Lenglen became the first player to win three titles at Wimbledon in one year. She won the women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.  1932 - Helen Moody won her fifth women's singles title in six years at Wimbledon.  1941 - Joe DiMaggio extended his hitting streak to 44 games.  1951 - Bob Feller set a major league baseball record when he pitched his third no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians.  1982 - Cal Ripken began playing shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles.  1985 - Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers got the 1,800th hit of his career.  1995 - The NBA locked out its players. It was the first work stoppage in the league's history.  1996 - The Milwaukee Brewers ended a 19-game home run hitting streak.  1996 - Frank Thomas (Chicago White Sox) got his 1,000th hit.  1997 - Randy Myers (Baltimore Orioles) got his 300th career save.  1998 - The NBA locked out its players for the second time in its history. ************************************************ A Virginia man was arrested after he stripped naked at a pizza restaurant after a pub crawl and led police on a chase before crashing into parked cars. For his crimes Charles Mack spent his 23rd birthday in jail. ************************************************ Coming Up: Tonight -- MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees 7:05pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals 10:15pm EDT Wednesday -- MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees 1:05pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals 10:15pm EDT Thursday -- MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals 3:45pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 7:08pm EDT Friday -- MLB -- San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 6:40pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 7:08pm EDT Saturday -- CFL Football -- Saskatchewan Roughriders at Toronto Argonauts 3:00pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 4:08pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 7:15pm EDT Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway 7:30pm EDT Sunday -- Verizon Indy Car Series -- Pocono Indy Car 500 at Long Pond, PA. 12:00pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres 4:10pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers 8:00pm EDT ************************************************ That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, see you tomorrow.