It wasn't the big show - the TV telecast of the Winter Olympics hockey match between Canada and the United States. But this version - the Royal Canadian Air Force hockey team versus the NORAD Western Air Defense Sector - had the same opponents. And this Canadian-U.S. hockey match was just as important to the guys skating on the ice.

"It's all about bragging rights," said John Austin, a master sergeant with NORAD. "It's a pretty big deal."

Friday, about the same time the Olympic version was occurring, the local rendition had a similar result. Canada won. In the 20th edition of this annual Joint Base Lewis-McChord hockey shootout, Canada -  home of hockey and winter sports - has dominated the series.

The overlap of the Olympic and JBLM hockey matches was significant to the players.

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A U.S. Army soldier was killed and seven were injured during a training exercise involving a large gun at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Ukraine parliament removes President Viktor Yanukovich, who flees Kiev in “coup.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has signaled that he will seek to protect cyber warfare funding and Special Operations in the Pentagon's 2015 budget.  At the same time his aides are pushing cutbacks in pay and benefits.

U.S. Air Force revealed today the existence of a new set of classified electro-optical satellites - the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program - designed to spot other satellites and space debris.

The requests, known in military parlance as unfunded priority lists, were standard practice until former Defense Secretary Robert Gates began intercepting them from the top brass.

President Barack Obama will award 24 Army veterans the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry during a White House ceremony March 18.

The Department of Defense recently expanded its zero tolerance policy for the use of illicit drugs to include synthetic marijuana, commonly known as "spice."

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Friday afternoon that he will not reopen the Medal of Honor nomination for U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Rafael Peralta. 

There are increasing fears that the F/A-18 Super Hornet's assembly line may be shut down because of dwindling orders, as the Navy prepares for a new generation of warplane - the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Personnel from the U.S. military and Japan Self Defense Forces engaged in the week-long Integrated Air and Missile Defense Wargame V.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his government and U.S. helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft had signed a long-dormant contract to co-produce an initial batch of 109 utility helicopters.

The Obama administration is poised to scale back funding for the U.S. military's most elite forces, which spearheaded the fight against al-Qaida and embodied the Pentagon's rapid post-9/11 budget growth.

Will Cambodia's Phnom Penh be the greeting point for interplanetary visitors to Earth?

How your car is tracking you.

10 musicians you need to know right now.

Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon roll out History of Rap Vol. 5.

Trippy ice crystals.

Here's a fun trick for pyros (which is pretty much every human ever).

Are you ready?

SATURDAY, FEB. 22 2014 >>>

1. We couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday night than on a hot date with ourselves listening to loud rock and roll and watching tough-as-nails roller derby chicks knocking each other on their asses. Yes, our Saturday night will be spent with Dockyard Derby Dames characters such as Anita Hit Sum Won, Booty Trapp, Sass E Smaxx, LocoComotion, Hit O' Honey and Brat Capone crammed at the front of the flat track jumping around, screaming my lungs out, picking fights and hocking loogies. Being up close and personal blows away watching the action on television. Hell, with a beer garden, girls in fishnets, funny announcer guys, mascots in full-body spandex  - this is entertainment at it's fullest. The whistle blows at 6 p.m. in the Pierce College Health Education Building. After the bout everyone will head to the Fan Club Sports Bar in Lakewood.

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You may think you like beer, but have you spent hours on end discussing the qualities of hops while sampling more than 160 home and commercial microbrews? That's exactly what went down last night when the 2014 JBLM Brewfest consumed the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Club.

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LIVE MUSIC SATURDAY, FEB. 22 IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

4th Ave Ale House Olympia - Downtown. Speakerbox, Mr. Von, Bishop Bishop, D-Logic. 9 pm. $5.

B Sharp Coffee House Tacoma - Downtown. The Kareem Kandi Band. All Ages. 8pm to 11pm. free.

Bob's Java Jive Tacoma - Central. Blackstone Rangers, Midday Veil, People Under The Sun. 9 pm.

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SUNDAY, FEB. 23 2014 >>>

1. Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem is one of the most dramatic and inspiring sacred pieces ever written, contrasting fiery climaxes with passages of heart-rending poignancy. Composed in 1874 as a memorial to the Italian poet and novelist, Allesandro Manzoni, the Requiem is one of the most moving works ever to flow from the heart of Verdi. At 2:30 p.m. in the Pantages Theater, the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra will open its concert of opera music with excerpts of the piece. That's a tough act to follow. Can baritone Kenneth Overton and the Tacoma Symphony Chorus move the audience along with lively and poignant selections from Aida, Il Trovatore, La Traviata and Carmen? Only Music Director Harvey Felder and crew know the answer. The "Major General Song" from Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance is on the set list, which means an "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" sing-along could bust out.

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The U.S. Defense Department on March 4 will propose a five-year plan that boosts Pentagon spending by a total of $115 billion over sequestration spending caps.

The U.S. Defense Department's latest military strategy review will stress the Pentagon's commitment to the Middle East.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel plans to shrink the U.S. Army to its smallest force since before World War II.

Obama will announce a new Pentagon and private-sector partnership aimed at beefing up advanced manufacturing technology in the U.S.

Navy develops "world's smallest guided missile."

Army Future: Gen. Robert Cone, commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command says leaner but still mean - if not meaner - is the future of the Army in 2025, and the time to prepare for that future force is now.

Army Future II: Heidi Shyu, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, says to prepare the Army for tomorrow, the seeds must be planted today.

Air Force Future: Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe, as well as U.S. Air Forces Africa, says growing airmen, dealing with organizational change and modernizing the force are key points to preserve airpower advantage.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno visited the Camp Humphreys Military Community today, where he got a firsthand look at many of the transformation initiatives and construction projects currently underway there.

The initiative to ban or bury the independent newspaper Marine Corps Times originated in May 'on a rather tight timeline' at the behest of Gen. Jim Amos, the service's commandant.

Defense Department wants servicemembers to "set a goal, make a plan and save automatically" in the Military Saves Week campaign that starts today.

Medal of Honor winner Staff Sgt. Ty Carter has two words for soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder: "Get help."

Let's watch an NFL stadium be destroyed.

Why Apple's recent security flaw is so scary

Sub Pop Records is opening a store at SeaTac International Airport.

Amtrak is offering "residencies" to writers.

Let's watch an NFL stadium be destroyed.

Alec Baldwin wrote a long essay in New York magazine explaining why he's had enough of public life.

Kiss won't play at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

MONDAY, FEB. 24 2014 >>>

1. It's been 50 years since the Civil Rights Act and the country is witnessing a renewed attack on voting rights, the re-segregation of public schools, gentrification, mass incarceration and entrenched job discrimination. Have something to say? University of Puget Sound organizations Black Student Union, African American Studies, Resident Student Association, and Spoken Word and Poetry Club host a "Civil Rights and Peace" poetry reading in celebration of Black History Month from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Tahoma Room at the Commencement Hall on the campus the University of Puget Sound.

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Exercise Cobra Gold 2014 - the largest multinational and multiservice exercise in Southeast Asia, which takes places annually throughout the Kingdom of Thailand - concluded Friday. This year's iteration included forces from the U.S., Kingdom of Thailand, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, and several other observer countries.

According to Rech Sgt. Sean Tobin from the 62nd Airlift Wing, aircrews from Joint Base Lewis-McChord participated in the exercise.

The 18-hour flight across the Pacific not only provided an opportunity for C-17 crews to gain experience conducting combined airdrop operations, but also gave them experience executing large-formation air refueling operations.

Read Tobin's full report here.

Marcus Luttrell, the former Navy SEAL whose story is presented in the movie Lone Survivor, is recruiting singers to perform the "National Anthem" at each of the 11 stops on his 2014 Patriot Tour. Contestants are encouraged to submit a video using the entry form on the Patriot Tour Facebook Page using the hashtag #PATRIOTTOUR. The Patriot Tour 2014 schedule includes stops in 11 cities across Arizona, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina. Marcus and his Patriot Tour team will select winners in each of the eleven cities on the tour.

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