How about them Penguins!!!

[The Swegian]

I am not a hockey fan by any stretch of the imagination ... but hockey does have the absolute best tradition with regards to the championship trophy. The stories are legion about what the players do during their day with Lord Stanley's Cup. My favorite story was about a hockey player who waited until he won the Cup to get married because the Cup was the "best Man" at his wedding. The wedding and reception pictures were fantastic.

Chris, those are some of the greatest stories indeed. I had a near "brush with the Cup" a few years ago. During the annual Brainerd event, my brother and I always visit a nearby restaurant called Zorba's. It's a bar & grill type joint and is usually quite busy when the NHRA is in town. In 2006, when Carolina won the Cup, Bret Hedican played on the team. He was a defenseman on that team and happens to be from the Twin Cities. Well, he is married to figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, and they own a cabin in the Brainerd area. Turns out, his day with Cup was spent in various places around the Brainerd area, including Zorba's. The story has it that he was letting anyone who wanted to, take a drink from the Cup. We were there at the time, just not in the same part of the restaurant (it has two levels), so we didn't know what was going on. We ate and got out of there as fast as possible as it was quite crowded...we assumed it was because of the race fans. Now, I cannot confirm if the story if him being there with the Cup and letting folks drink from it is true, but how cool would that have been if it is true?

I've also heard stories of guys, who on their day with the Cup, actually play street hockey games with their buddies and children, and the winner gets to hoist the Cup.

Definitely some cool traditions.

 

[tomcat]

Congrats to the Pens!! That was a great series, I thought the Pens / Caps series was good, but the Finals was GREAT. I love the way the kids on the Pens play the game, the way it should be played. ( With the exception of Game 5 ). A lot of other pro athletes should look at how hockey players conduct themselves on AND off the ice and take notes. But next year.......GO STARS!!!