Today is Friday, Jan. 6, the sixth day of 2017 with 359 to follow.
The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury. Evening stars are Neptune, Venus, Mars and Uranus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include French battlefield leader St. Joan of Arc in 1412; Frenchman Jacques Montgolfier, who, with his brother, invented the hot air balloon, in 1745; German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the ruins of ancient Troy, in 1822; poet Carl Sandburg in 1878; silent movie cowboy star Tom Mix in 1880; Sam Rayburn, D-Texas, former speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives, in 1882; Lebanese writer Khalil Gibran in 1883; actors Danny Thomas in 1912 and Loretta Young in 1913; crossword puzzle constructor and editor Eugene Maleska in 1916; baseball Hall of Fame member Early Wynn in 1920; golf Hall of Fame member Cary Middlecoff in 1921; pollster Louis Harris in 1921 (age 96); bluegrass musician Earl Scruggs in 1924; auto executive John DeLorean in 1925; author E. L. Doctorow in 1931 (age 86); U. S. football coach and broadcaster Lou Holtz in 1937 (age 80); Hall of Fame golfer Nancy Lopez in 1957 (age 60); Hall of Fame football player, actor and broadcaster Howie Long in 1960 (age 57); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd) in 1946; actors Bonnie Franklin in 1944 and Rowan Atkinson in 1955 (age 62); and filmmaker John Singleton in 1968 (age 49).
On this date in history:
In 1759, George Washington married widow Martha Dandridge Custis.
In 1838, in Morristown, N. J., Samuel F. B. Morse and his partner, Alfred Vail, publicly demonstrated their new invention, the telegraph, for the first time.
In 1912, New Mexico joined the United States as the 47th state.
In 1914, the day after the Ford Motor Co. announced the „$5 Day,“ more than 10,000 men jockeyed for places as each sought to become one of the army of 22,000 workers who would benefit under the $10,000,000 profit-sharing plan.
In 1919, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, died at the age of 60.
In 1925, Paavo Nurmi, known as the „Flying Finn“ and regarded as the greatest runner of his day, set world records in the mile run and 5,000-meter run within the space of 1 hour in his first U. S. appearance, an indoor meet at New York City’s new Madison Square Garden.
In 1942, a Pan American Airways plane arrived in New York, completing the first around-the-world flight by a commercial airliner.
In 1950, Britain formally recognized the communist government of China.
In 1961, Vice President Richard Nixon made official that he had been defeated by Sen. John F. Kennedy in one of the closest presidential elections in history.
In 1984, the first test-tube quadruplets, all boys, were born in Melbourne, Australia.
In 1993, dancer and choreographer Rudolf Nureyev and jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie died. Nureyev, who was 54, died of cardiac complications. (It was later confirmed that he had AIDS.) Gillespie, 75, died of cancer.
In 1994, American skater Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed on the right knee in an attack that forced her out of the U. S. Figure Skating Championships. The assault was traced to four men with links to her leading rival, Tonya Harding.
In 1999, an agreement ended a six-month player lockout by owners of National Basketball Association teams.
In 2005, Edgar Ray Killen was arrested in connection to the murders of three civil rights workers in 1964. He was found guilty on June 21, 2005, the 41st anniversary of the crime, and sentenced to 60 years in prison.
In 2010, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only officially recognized survivor of both the 1945 U. S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that led to the Japanese surrender in World War II, died of stomach cancer at age 93 .
In 2011, U. S. President Barack Obama named William Daley, a Wall Street executive, to be his chief of staff.
In 2013, Syrian President Bashar Assad, standing defiantly against pressure to step down, called on Syrians to fight rebels, which he deemed „enemies of God. “ His speech was broadcast nationally.
In 2014, Martin Walsh became Boston’s first new mayor in more than two decades, succeeding Thomas Menino.
A thought for the day: „Problems are only opportunities in work clothes. “ — Henry Kaiser

Similarity rank: 3.2

Sentiment rank: 0

© Source: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2017/01/06/UPI-Almanac-for-Friday-Jan-6-2017/9111483312622/
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What do you need to know about last night’s big stories? Joe McDonald gives us his take on the biggest and best. This is where we say, „Morning, Joe. “
Blue Jackets got cred: The Columbus Blue Jackets ‚ 16-game winning streak came to an end with a 5-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday. Who cares? It doesn’t matter if it continued or not because the Blue Jackets proved they are legitimate contenders. The streak — one short of the record of 17, set by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins — was further proof that John Tortorella is one of the best coaches in the league. At the end of the day, of course, the players get results on the ice, but he has built a consistent team. To make a cross-sport analogy, what type of quarterback would Tom Brady be without Bill Belichick? Brady would still be good, but it’s the coach’s philosophies and game plans that have made the New England Patriots a perennial winner. Tortorella has his players believing in themselves. The streak built a trusting relationship between the coaching staff and the players, which bodes well for the rest of the regular season and into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Editor’s Picks What happens next key for Blue Jackets
Getting so very close means a lot, but the team’s reaction after having its dreams of breaking the NHL wins streak crushed mercilessly by the Capitals will be the real legacy of the Blue Jackets. Blue Jackets‘ playoff-like intensity driving streak
Sure, depth and goaltending have gotten them to 16 wins in a row, but a certain urgency to win has been the difference for the Columbus Blue Jackets. How the Columbus Blue Jackets were built
The Columbus Blue Jackets seemingly came out of nowhere to come oh-so-close to tying the record for most consecutive wins. But who are they and how were they assembled? We break it down.
2 Related
Getting so very close means a lot, but the team’s reaction after having its dreams of breaking the NHL wins streak crushed mercilessly by the Capitals will be the real legacy of the Blue Jackets.
Sure, depth and goaltending have gotten them to 16 wins in a row, but a certain urgency to win has been the difference for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Columbus Blue Jackets seemingly came out of nowhere to come oh-so-close to tying the record for most consecutive wins. But who are they and how were they assembled? We break it down.
World junior junkies: Picture this: Moments after the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Boston Bruins 4-3 at TD Garden on Thursday, players, team personnel and the media were all watching the final minutes of regulation on television between Team USA and Team Canada in the World Junior Championship. In the visitors locker room, Oilers captain Connor McDavid was paying particular attention. He played for Canada in the 2014 WJC, when they finished fourth. He played again in 2015 and helped Canada win the gold medal. On Thursday, the game went through a 20-minute overtime before Team USA won in a shootout. The Oilers already had boarded the team bus and driven away by the time the gold medals were placed around the necks of the American players. Just another indication how beloved the WJC is around the hockey world.
Eichel scoring too: While McDavid registered two assists in Edmonton’s victory to regain sole possession of first place in the scoring race with 14 goals and 31 assists for 45 points in 40 games, fellow 2015 first-rounder Jack Eichel scored for the Buffalo Sabres , extending his points streak to five games, during which he has three goals and three assists for six points. These two players will be forever linked after they went Nos. 1 and 2 respectively in the 2015 draft. Eichel missed the first 21 games of the season with a high ankle sprain. During that time, McDavid, along with current rookies Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets , all began the season strong and haven’t let up. Eichel is more comfortable flying under the media radar, but from a competitive standpoint, it must have bothered him that he was on the outside looking in while rehabbing his injury. He has picked up his game of late and that’s a good sign for the Sabres.

Similarity rank: 2.1

Sentiment rank: 3.5

© Source: http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/18417957/nhl-columbus-blue-jackets-established-legitimate-contender-16-game-winning-streak
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P. J. Fleck is leaving Western Michigan and heading to Minnesota to coach its reeling football team.
Western Michigan announced Friday that Fleck informed the school of his decision.
The move comes three days after Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle fired Tracy Claeys following a standoff between the team’s players and the administration over the suspension of 10 players in connection with sexual assault allegations.
Coyle promised to quickly find a replacement for Claeys despite this being late in college football’s hiring season. He needs a coach to plunge into recruiting and address the deep divisions between the players that remain and the school’s administration. Coyle and President Eric Kaler flew to Chicago on Wednesday for meetings. The two sides reached an agreement two days later.
Now Fleck has little time to waste in beginning to repair a fractured program.
Players threatened last month to boycott the Holiday Bowl after expressing reservations about the university’s investigation that led to the suspension of their teammates.
Some were accused of pressuring a woman into sex during a party after the team’s season-opening win over Oregon State. Many of those players continue to be upset with Coyle and Kaler for how the situation was handled, and Coyle acknowledged his frustration over federal privacy laws that prevented him from communicating more with a confused team.
That issue isn’t going away soon, with appeals hearings for the 10 players expected to be held this month.
„I get they’re upset. I get they’re frustrated. I understand that,“ Coyle said on Tuesday. „It’s our job to find a leader who will take this program forward and unite all of them in one direction, one goal. “
Fleck guided the Broncos to a 13-1 record this season and a spot in the Cotton Bowl, where they lost 24-16 to Wisconsin.
The 36-year-old coach is 30-22 in four years at Western Michigan, with three bowl appearances. His relentless, youthful energy and motivational team motto „Row the boat! “ helped push the Broncos into the national spotlight this fall, with the campus and city of Kalamazoo abuzz over a program that had never before won more than nine games in a season.
Fleck, a star receiver at Northern Illinois who played briefly in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers, has been an assistant coach at his alma mater, Ohio State, Rutgers and in 2012 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before taking over the Broncos.
Mid-American Conference coaches have been plucked by Big Ten teams several times before, with mixed success at best. Tim Beckman started at Illinois in 2012 after leaving Toledo, and he was fired after a 12-25 record over three seasons amid allegations of player mistreatment. Darrell Hazell left Kent State to join Purdue in 2013. The Boilermakers finished 9-33 and was fired halfway through his fourth season.
Ohio State’s Urban Meyer launched his career at Bowling Green, but he had stops at Utah and Florida in between. Jerry Kill, the predecessor to Claeys, left Northern Illinois for the Gophers six years ago and went a respectable 29-29 before epilepsy forced his retirement.
When Coyle announced his decision to fire Claeys, who led the Gophers to a 9-4 record and a win over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl, the athletic director was applauded by victims‘ rights advocates and many academics at the university for responding emphatically to troubling allegations.
He was also criticized by some donors, alumni and players for reacting too harshly after Hennepin County twice cited a lack of evidence as the reason for declining to press charges.
The Gophers reached out to Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead but were turned down early in the process, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because Minnesota was not commenting publicly on its search.
„I think we all need to take a deep breath,“ Coyle said Tuesday. „We’ll go out; we’ll find a great football coach for the University of Minnesota. We’ll have a chance to move forward in a positive direction. “
—
AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo and AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell contributed to this report.

Similarity rank: 1.1

Sentiment rank: 0

© Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/article124919239.html
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With their star back in the lineup, the Portland Trail Blazers did what many teams before them have done.
They looked at a double-digit Lakers lead squarely and dismantled it.
Portland beat the Lakers, 118-109, shooting 53.1% and outscoring the Lakers, 24-9, on fastbreak points. The Lakers had a 14-point lead in the second quarter, revisiting a recurring theme by losing that lead completely by the end of the third quarter.
“Offensively, we’re still at a point where we look at a lead and we think it’s bigger than it really is,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. “In the NBA , a six-point lead is nothing.”
Added Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell: “When games get close, we kind of get flat-footed. We kind of relax. Teams with experience, they know that’s when you get on your toes and lock in.”
Back from an ankle injury that kept him out five games, Portland point guard Damian Lillard wasn’t quite at his best. But he gave Portland a boost that helped lift them over the Lakers.
Lillard finished with 21 points, including a critical fourth-quarter three-pointer that started the final Portland run to take the game. Lillard also had 10 assists and five rebounds. Portland forward C. J. McCollum led all scorers with 27 points. Russell led the Lakers with 22 points on six-of-18 shooting. He had two assists and four rebounds. Lakers forward Julius Randle scored 17 points with nine rebounds and five assists.
The Lakers fell to 13-26 and have lost 16 of their last 19 games, with only three wins since the start of December. Portland is 16-22.
Russell gave the Lakers a four-point lead with 5 minutes 39 seconds left in the game, but Portland ripped off a 13-1 run that began with Lillard’s three-pointer.
“I think it started on defense,” Walton said. “There were two plays on defense, one we had a great possession and forced an airball. Sometimes those are hard to rebound but then we left Lillard. Lillard got a wide-open three and the next time C. J. got a wide-open three. We had the momentum up to that point. It was a good feeling, but you could feel after those two plays, momentum shifted.”
The Lakers’ offense worked in the first half, especially in the second quarter, with Jordan Clarkson productive despite an elbow injury and a cold. He made five of eight first-half shots and had three three-pointers.
The Lakers opened the second quarter on a 13-0 run, propelled in part by guard Clarkson. He scored 13 of the Lakers’ 38 second-quarter points. They entered halftime with a nine-point lead.
But even before that, the lead began to evaporate. What was a 14-point advantage with 1:22 left in the second quarter fell to nine by halftime off a three-pointer by Lillard and a dunk by forward Al-Farouq Aminu.
The third quarter saw that lead die altogether, a situation familiar to the Lakers, who were one of the league’s worst third-quarter teams in December. After Portland cut the lead to five, Walton subbed out every starter except Brandon Ingram, who was in for injured Lakers forward Luol Deng.
“Honestly, I didn’t feel like we had our legs,” Walton said. “Not sure why. It felt like we came out the first couple plays we ran, we weren’t cutting hard, we weren’t pushing the ball up in the spots we wanted the ball in.”
The game was tied at 84 by the end of the third quarter, then Portland took over.
“They fought,” Lakers guard Nick Young said. “It was one of those nights. We fought to the end. Some key plays that kind of went their way. That’s where things went south.”

Similarity rank: 1.1

Sentiment rank: 4

© Source: http://www.latimes.com/la-sp-lakers-blazers-20170105-story.html
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