Afternoon Scoop

 Over the weekend we all took notice as a 42 year old Zamboni driver was called into action as emergency goalie for the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes.  Yesterday, Zamboni Steve, whose real name is David Ayers stopped by the Today Show to share his experience.   Ayers is the father of three and the manager of a nearby rink.  He drives the Zamboni at the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  When the NHL designated a rule specifying all arenas have an emergency goalie available to each team Ayers gladly signed on truly believing he would never has to suit up.  That all change Saturday night when he call the call to not only suit up , but to play against his beloved home team protecting the net for the visiting Hurricanes. The rest is history, and a night the man who thought his hockey days had ended 15 years ago will never forget.  David's full Today Show interview is below.

Nascar driver Timmy Hill is no stranger to racing. In fact, he is in his 9th year of Cup Series racing. Timmy was born ebruary 25, 1993 in Port Tobacco, Maryland. Timmy is the son of former NASCAR driver Jerry Hill and brother of current driver Tyler Hill. Hill is currently two races into his first full-time Season in the NASCAR Cup Series. He will spend 2020 driving the No. 66 Toyota Camry for MBM Motorsports. Hill will also compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (where he won rookie of the year honors in 2011) driving the No. 61 and 66 Camry for MBM. Hill has competed in 94 Cup races over 9 years with his best finish coming in the 2017 Brickyard 400 where he came in 17th. His second best finish was in this year's Daytona 500 where he placed 27th. He followed that performance with a DNF in Vegas. Hill an the rst of the gang from the Nascar Cup Series are headed west to California for the Auto Club 400.   For more about Timmy or your favorite driver visi...

   In the last 18 months, social medias app Tik Tok has become something of a social barometer for the young, trendy and young and trendy at heart.   The app has a dark side as millions of users compete for a worldwide spotlight in 15 seconds or less.    Two recent Tik Tok "Challenges" are making national headlines due to their inherent dangers.    The Skull Breaker Challenge  Skullbreaker puts three friends jumping next to each other as the outside buds kick the middle jumper's  feet out from under him. The middle person crashes to the ground,on their back and hitting their head . Injuries have been logged in Miami, New Jersey and Arizona.  In Daytona Beach, Florida, police have charged two high school teens with misdemeanor battery and cyberbullying after injuring a classmate.   ‘Cha-Cha Slide’ Challenge    The  ” ‘Cha-Cha Slide’ challenge,” involvesdriving recklessly to the beat of  ...

February 24th 1963 The Rolling Stones started a Sunday night residency at The Station Hotel in Surrey. They were paid $41 for the gig. 1965 - The Beatles The first full day of filming took place for The Beatles movie Help! ' with the group riding bicycles on location near London Airport, England. 1969 - Jimi Hendrix The Jimi Hendrix Experience played their last ever-British performance when they appeared at the Royal Albert Hall. 1973 - Byrds The Byrds made their final live appearance when they played  in Passaic, New Jersey. 1975 - Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin released their sixth album Physical Graffiti.John Paul Jones had proposed quitting the band during recording to become choirmaster at Winchester Cathedral, England 1976 - Eagles The Eagles 'Greatest Hits' became the first album to be certified platinum by the R.I.A.A. 1992 - Kurt Cobain Kurt Cobain married Courtney Love in Waikiki, Hawaii. 2000 - Carlos Santana Carlos Santana won eigh...

 Act II shocked the bow tie right off of Orville Redenbacher Monday  with the announcement that they are releasing cotton candy flavored popcorn.  Conagra  foods made the announcement Monday in a conference call then immediately distributed the information to the public at large.    Food bloggers spread the details far and wide on social media, specifically touting the fact that the new flavor will pop blue.   The cotton candy goodness will be sold in  a 5 pack, but no release date has been revealed.   When it does come out, it will be called LLama Party and comes with temporary llama tattoos in the box. 

NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson died Monday morning at the age of 101, according to NASA.  Johnson created the calculations allowing American Astronauts to orbit the Earth.    Johnson and other African American women at NASA were brought to the forefront in the 2016 film "Hidden Figures."

A thrift store in Belgium received an unusual donated item: an album full of photos showing a mystery woman posing with celebrities. Employees were going through boxes of donated items when they found an album filled with pictures of a woman posing with celebrities including Keanu Reeves, Elijah Wood, Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise, William Shatner, Johnny Depp, Drew Barrymore and Bruce Willis. The store's policy is to destroy any personal photos found inside donation boxes, but in this case the uniqueness of the photos inspired the staff to attempt to identify the woman in the photos using social media. The woman in the photos has been identified as Maria Snoeys-Lagler. Snoeys-Lagler was former member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association who died in 2016 at the age of 87. The woman's daughter now has possession of the album and the one of a kind photos of her mother.

 Heart's Ann Wilson Announced a solo tour earlier this week beginning April 26th in NJ. Wilson is fresh off the mega successful Heart Reunion tour last year, and is looking forward to showcasing the efforts from her 2018 solo album, Immortal.   Ann will be in Pittsburgh on May 15th and Albany on May 6th. The entire tour schedule is below.   Ann Wilson 2020 Tour Dates April 30 -- Englewood, NJ @ Bergen Performing Arts Center May 1 -- Mashantucket, CT @ Foxwoods Casino May 3 -- Derry, NJ @ Tupelo Music Hall May 4 -- Huntington, NY @ Paramount Theater May 6 -- Albany, NY @ Egg Performing Arts May 7 -- Medford, MA @ Chevalier Theater May 9 -- Atlantic City, NJ @ Hard Rock May 10 -- Annapolis, MD @ Maryland Hall For Creative Arts May 12 -- Alexandria, VA @ The Birchmere May 13 -- Wilkes Barre, PA @ F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts May 15 -- Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE, Benefit May 16 -- Elizabeth, IN @ Caesars May 18 -- St. Charles, IL @ Arcada...

 A medical journal in India has compiled information leads us to believe that we could all become victims of our own vanity.  The Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care in India shared findings of a study comparing selfie related deaths to fatal shark attacks.  According to their data  259 people worldwide died in 137 selfie-related accidents between 2011 and 2017, while just 50 people were killed by sharks.   An unrelated survey uncovered the following shocking statistics: 41% of us have already risked our safety in pursuit of a selfie. Men are more likely to take risky selfies 61% of males would accept the challenge of a cliff-edge photo, compared to 38% of females.  Have you ever taken a risky selfie?  Comment below

   Billy Joel is aggravating his neighbors with  his plans to add 12 horses to his 25 acre estate in Oyster Bay Long Island.  There are concerns that this plan could create a 'stink pot" as some of his fellow long Islanders put it.  Officials held a public hearing. At the conclusion they decided to launch an engineering study regarding the project. 

The Fripp Island Golf & Beach Resort in South Carolina teamed with breast cancer charity run Pledge the Pink to gather 3,753 to break the Guinness record for longest line of plastic flamingos.   T he previous record was 2,253.

1959 - Jimi Hendrix 16 year old Jimi Hendrix made his stage debut  at  a synagogue in Seattle 1963 - The Beatles The Beatles drove through the night from Liverpool to London to appear on the live lunchtime BBC radio program "Parade of the Pops." They did  'Love Me Do' and 'Please Please Me". There total airtime on the show? Just over 4 minutes 1977 - Stevie Wonder Winners at this years Grammy Awards included Stevie Wonder for Best album with 'Songs In The Key Of Life', 1980 - Bon Scott AC/DC singer Bon Scott was pronounced dead on arrival at a London hospital after a heavy night's drinking.  The report said he drank himself to death. 1988 - Kylie Minogue Kylie Minogue was at No.1  with 'I Should Be So Lucky.' Minogue had been and actress on an  Australian soap opera. 1991 - Bob Dylan Bob Dylan was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the 33rd annual Grammy' Awards. 2003 - Today is the 17th anniversary of the tragi...

      NASCAR hits Sin City this weekend for the second race of the 2020 season, the Pennzoil 400 from Las Vegas .  last year's race took place on March 3rd and ended with Joey Logano holding off teammate Brad Keselowski for the win.   Coverage begins Sunday at 2:30  on WYDC Big Fox. Highlights From The 2019 Pennzoil 400

This Day in Music 2/18 1990 - Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury made his final public appearance on stage  to accept the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music along side his Queen bandmates. 2004 - Dido Dido was named on of the top 10 highest grossing musicians of 2003($26.9 million) 2005 - Britney Spears  After US Magazine printed 5 pages of pictures from her honeymoon with K-Fed, Britney Spears lashed out  at the publishers and contributors.   US addressed her concern by saying: "Britney should start her own magazine if she'd like to dictate her own coverage."

 A Total of 29 snakes have been tossed outside of a fire station in England over the course of a week. Last week  pythons were discovered wrapped in pillowcases.  This week 15 corn snakes and a carpet python were found in a bin behind the same fire station.    Authorities are unsure if they were dropped at the same time and not discovered or if the shameless snake skippers made a return trip.   The reptiles have been checked by a vet and are free of any form or a reptile dysfunction.   The RSPCA  is  working with local authorities to locate the slithery sidewinders responsible.  More information can be found at  CNN.COM  or  UPI.COM

Good Morning America recently did a  story on the new phenomenon of RAGE  BAKING.   A few years ago Kathy Gunst was struggling with bubbling rage over many political and social issues in the world.   IMAGE GOOD MORNING AMERICA The renowned chef, and author took her frustration to the kitchen and whipped up a pan full of stress relief. She posted exploits to social media with the hashtag #Ragebaking .    Before long the internet  was loaded with rage bakers relieving stress one confectionary treat at a time.        Gunst told GMA,  "The science of baking became very soothing to me, the idea that if you measure your flours and you put in all your ingredients and you whip the butter, you will get results."  Visit GOODMORNINGAMERICA.COM   for the full story.   

 Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney had a classic shootout for the one and two spot in Daytona last night with Hamlin taking the win by the second closest margin in the storied history of the Great American Race.  Here are the top ten finishers from Daytona.  1 #11 Denny Hamlin 2 #12 Ryan Blaney 3 #17 Chris Buescher 4 #36 David Ragan 5 #4 Kevin Harvick 6 #14 Clint Bowyer 7 #62 Brendan Gaughan 8 #32 Corey Lajoie 9 #6 Ryan Newman 10 #42 Kyle Larson  See the full results at Foxsports.com 

 It was one of the most exciting conclusions to the Daytona 500 in history, albeit overshadowed by image MRN.COM the horrible last lap crash that sent Ryan Newman to the hospital with serious injuries. As the world pensively watched in simultaneous prayer and terror Denny Hamlin won his second Daytona 500 in as many years. Hamlin barely edged out third generation racer Ryan Blaney for the win.   It was also the second closest finish in 500 history.  Hamlin just happens to have been involved in the tightest Daytona finish as well.   Overall it was the 3rd Daytona 500 victory for Hamlin. The number 11   led 79 of the race’s 209 laps and picked 50 regular and 10 bonus points for the win.       Making this win more remarkable is the fact that Hamlin had to start from the back of the pack after NASCAR inspectors found an irregularity during the pre-race inspection on Sunday.   MRN.COM repo...

  Ryan Newman's horrific accident in the closing moments of the Daytona 500 captured the nation's attention last night and overtook social media. Newman related topics shot to the top of social trends as various hashtags were used to share the latest information. The following tweets retell the tense and anxious hours that followed as we all awaited some news... good or bad.. Luckily when the news came it was better than most expected, but still worrisome.  These were the tweets we were all waiting for. pic.twitter.com/euuHYxPHxj — NASCAR (@NASCAR)  February 18, 2020 NASCAR provides an update on Ryan Newman.  pic.twitter.com/rZpVKyKeRt — FOX Sports (@FOXSports)  February 18, 2020 pic.twitter.com/QTIVlzmSWz — Ryan Newman (@RyanJNewman)  February 18, 2020  Earlier tweets convey the concern we all felt.  No official word yet. Please join us in sending prayers for  @RyanJNewman ,  @roushfenway , the...

  A recent TV report claimed that the same laughing gas used by dentists could be effective in the delivery room as well.   Experts have long debated the safety and effectiveness of nitrous oxide being used in childbirth. The topic has become so widely discussed that the mayo clinic has created an FAQ.    The site covers everything from side effects to reasons why some moms are taking this route.  The FAQ Can be found by  clicking here.   

  Tonight the Buffalo Sabres travel to Ottawa to for game 4 in the season series against the Senators. Buffalo is on hot streak right now, having won 4 of their last 5 games and coming of a convincing      5-2 win over Toronto. Ottawa has a 2-3 record in their last 5 games and is coming of an overtime win against Dallas.         Buffalo has seen some key players returning from injury in the last week and may be as healthy as they have been all season.  The dark horse in terms of health may be the presence of the flu in the Buffalo locker room; Sabres forward Michael Frolik missed Sunday's  game with the flu.    The puck drops at 7:30 tonight. 

Image: USA TODAY    It all begins again today!  The 2020 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series kicks off with the 62nd running of the Daytona 500.   The festivities are set to begin under sunny Florida skies with driver introductions at 2:15 followed by the invocation and national anthem at 2:53.  The anthem will be  punctuated by a fly over by the US Air Force Thunderbirds. President Trump is giving the command to start engines at  3:06. President Trump is the second sitting president to give the famous command.   George W. Bush was grand marshall in 2004.     The 200 lap/ 500 mile race is divided into three stages. The first stage ends on lap 65, the second on 130 and the final stage ends with the waving of the checkered flag.     Coverage begins at 2:30 on WYDC Big Fox.  You can watch is live online by visiting   https://wydc-tv.com/  and clicking the FOX NOW icon. 

A North Carolina married couple of 70 years have a weekly ritual. Each Tuesday they drive to the corner store and buy a Cash 5 lottery ticket.  They've played the same numbers for over three decades across multiple states with no luck.  That all changed on their 70th wedding anniversary when their diligence finally paid off in a big way.  At nearly $700,000 in prizes it's safe to say this will be an anniversary they won't forget.  The lucky lovers, James & Maxine told lottery officials that they plan on taking a cruise.

Incubus will be hitting the road this summer with 311 for a 35 city run.  This is first time on 20 years that the two rock titans are touring together. Badflower joins the co-headliners for the entire tour.  The trek begins in Auburn Washington on July 15th  and wraps up in September in Indiana.  They are stopping at Darien Lake on July 19th and in Syracuse on July 21st .

   Celebrities are never shy about sharing their opinions.  It stands to reason that Hollywood would take to Twitter to share their reactions to Sunday night's latin infused half time performance featuring Shakira and  Jennifer Lopez.   The reaction was mostly positive, but as with anything there were some that were not impressed.   TOOFAB.COM compiled a list of the best and meanest tweets from the show.      Watch the Super Bowl LIV Live visual album now & relive your favorite moments from the @Pepsi Super Bowl LIV Halftime show w/ @JLo , @Shakira , @JBalvin & @sanbenito , the National Anthem w/ @ddlovato and America the Beautiful w/ @YolandaAdams : https://t.co/TegS1UhgC6 #SBLIV pic.twitter.com/D0vQCHC9Vz — NFL (@NFL) February 3, 2020

    KISS will be stopping by Buffalo one last time later this week, but the End Of The Road Tour is far from the end for the self professed "Greatest Rock Band In The World".  KISS manager Doc McGhee made the announcement during a Q&A session on the KISS KRUISE.  He says they are in the middle of development with hopes of releasing it in 2021.   He says the film will focus on the early days of the band and how they came to be.   McGhee says nothing is for sure and it has to all come together, “So for us now, for a biopic, like a Bohemian Rhapsody or something like that, it’s important to make sure you have the right partners, and you don’t get Jackass. You get something that’s true to what Kiss is.” Read More: Kiss Plotting Biopic on Band’s Early Days and Formation | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kiss-biopic/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

  Here are my favorite commercials from the Super Bowl.   Which one did you dig?  Google had far and away the best commercial of the night, but the others posted here get an honorable mention for sure.

Image: CNN   It was almost time to flip the channel with 8 minutes left in the Super Bowl when Patrick Mahomes and his stellar teammates engineered one of the most exciting comebacks in recent history.    It is a story that had been told twice before in the this year's post season, but with so much more on the line; An entire city looking to end a 50 year championship drought,  a coach with 206 wins as a head coach...but never a head coaching win in the big game, and a word wide audience wincing at the thought of another super-blowout.   The 24 year old eventual Super Bowl MVP didn't disappoint as the boys from KC racked up successful scoring drives enroute to their 31-20 victory.    The Sporting News broke down the numbers from last night's comeback.    Here are the highlights. Kansas City’s win on Sunday was their first appearance in the Super Bowl in 50 years and their first as an NFL Team The Chiefs’ racked up 190 yards in...

Photo:Yahoo News     7 year old Rory Clark from  Morgantown WV is early on in her Girl Scout Career, but she is already achieving big things.   The first grader has sold cookies in all 50 states in this year's campaign.  She told Yahoo News, “Well, it started at my school [where] we did a postcard exchange and [when] I got home mommy said, ‘Hey, how about we try to sell Girl Scout cookies to every single state?’” Rory tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “I was like, ‘Sure, it’s gonna be kinda challenging, but I think we can do it.’” In addition to traditional face to face selling, Rory also used the available online platform to reach potential buyers.    Girl Scouts will be selling their trademark cookies in a neighborhood near you through mid March or early April, depending on the region. 

image:  NBC SPORTS    Former Redskins coach, three time winning Super Bowl Coach, and 4 time NASCAR Cup Series Championship team owner Joe Gibbs was honored during the NFL 100 Ceremony prior last night's big game, but it wasn't the only honor for the 79 year old sports legend.   Gibbs was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC last Friday night.   Joe Gibbs Racing has amassed a total of 8 racing championships (4 in the Cup Series and 4 in the Xfinity Series) and a total of more than 400 trips to victory lane.