So, I took another lazy weekend off to help prepare myself for the next 8 months blogging in the regular season and of course are next Stanley Cup victory. Because of that their is a backlog of news. I will breakup today's post into three section. The first section will be Stanley Cup related, the second will be focused on the Rookie camp and the third will focus on general news and the Selanne/Niedermayer retirement watch. So thanks for checking in and here is the latest news.
Ryan Shannon, George Parros and Mike Hartigan are the subject of the latest Stanley Cup Journal update.
Ryan Shannon
First thing that morning, Ryan and his girlfriend Jessica took the Stanley Cup to the local police station, and then headed over to Body Tuning, the gym at which Ryan works out during the summer.
By 10:30, the Stanley Cup was at the Darien Ice Rink, where Ryan spent more than a few hours through the years honing his on-ice craft. Waiting there were 2,000 fans, waiting excitedly to meet Ryan and make a donation so they could get their picture taken with the Stanley Cup. Monies raised went to the Obie Harrington-Howes Foundation, benefiting people in Connecticut living with spinal cord injuries. Harrington-Howes was Ryan's first hockey coach, and was paralyzed in 1997 after a swimming accident at Jones Beach in New York. The morning of autographs and photographs raised almost $6,000 for the foundation. "He (Obie) was my first house league coach," said Shannon. "When something like that happened to him, it was a tragedy, but he's still the same happy guy. He's always smiling and always encouraging people. I want nothing more than to be a role model myself just like that."
By 1:00PM, the Stanley Cup was in the Shannons' backyard, continuing the celebration. Although inclement weather threatened the party, it didn't dampen Shannon's spirit. "Nothing's going to ruin my day today!"
George Parros
With the fun continuing, George and his family took the Stanley Cup by private plane to the family farm in Washington, Pennsylvania, a city just outside Pittsburgh. Several hundred were on hand for a pig roast that featured the presence of the Stanley Cup.
Besides freshly-cooked pork and ribs so good that the juices dripped off your elbows, the feast included beans, coleslaw, cakes and pastries, all watered down with champagne and (gulp) moonshine.
George devised a plan to get the Stanley Cup into the barn so that the celebration could be a little more private. He smuggled the Cup through the house, down into the cellar, through a long, dark tunnel that extended past the back of the house and ended in the barn. Ten people, carefully selected, were waiting for George to arrive so that they could party with the Stanley Cup. The barn was filled with hay and bats, not so carefully selected, that would flutter by occasionally, scaring the cluck out of George and his friends. It wasn't long before most of the people at the pig roast had converged on the barn to see why there were extraneous hoops and hollers emanating from the supposedly empty structure.
At 2:30, a giant bonfire added a golden glint to one side of the Stanley Cup. The Parros party concluded at 4:45.
Mike Hartigan
As if there isn't enough pressure on a young player to be participating in his first-ever Stanley Cup playoffs, Mark Hartigan had the further burden of knowing his mother had suffered a relapse in her battle with cancer. Mark's Mom, Debbie, died during the Ducks' successful path to the Stanley Cup, and Mark flew home to be with his family during the first round of the playoffs. Although he spent only six games with Anaheim during the regular season, and added one more in the playoffs, Hartigan was next to celebrate with the Stanley Cup, taking it to Fort McMurray, Alberta on Saturday, August 25.
Mark's brother Colin hosted the Hartigan celebration at his home. After food and drinks, accompanied by many emotional toasts, the gang boarded a bus that embarked on a tour of some of the area's businesses that had meaning to Mark.
First stop was the firehall, followed by a visit to Robert Vargo at Alberta Motors, the area's largest General Motors dealership. Mark visited patients at the hospital, then stopped at the Dugout Coffee House and Youth Centre. Finally, Hartigan carried the Stanley Cup into the Thickwood Arena to show those on hand. A ball hockey tournament was in full swing, so Mark offered a photo of the winning team with the Stanley Cup, which promptly turned up the tempo several additional notches.
To wind down a busy but wonderful day, the bus took the Hartigan party back to Colin's home to settle into an all-night party for family and friends. Although the celebrating was special, the most extraordinary moments may have been a reflective time when Mark and his family took time to study the engraved names on the Stanley Cup — Taylor, Morenz, Broda, Howe, Richard, Mahovlich, Orr, Clarke, Dryden — knowing full well that within weeks, the name 'Hartigan' was going to be added to the Stanley Cup's legacy.
Read the rest of the article at the Stanley Cup Journal - Link
The Cup Keepers Photoblog was updated
See the rest here - Link
Colgate University Updated their flickr account with one more Andymac photo
The Stanley Cup showed up at Morton's in Costa Mesa
The Stanley Cup Visits Newport (Beach) Sports Musuem
Thanks to members of the official Ducks message board for this pointer. Here is the description of the event from their website.
The Newport Sports Museum will be hosting Lord Stanley's Cup on Friday, September 14th from 1-3PM. This event is open to the general public and free of charge, so bring your friends, family and camera and to see the most prestigious trophy in sports before it officially ends its tour for the year!
Housing over 10,000 authentic pieces of sports memorabilia including a Hockey collection to rival that of the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Newport Sports Museum offers the perfect backdrop for the event. In addition to seeing the Stanley Cup in person, sports fans will also be able to enjoy the Museum’s 15 themed rooms featuring artifacts that span the sports world from a baseball room with team signed balls from every World Series champion to a golf room with golf bags carried by five US Presidents.
Make plans now to come out to the Museum on September 14th from 1-3pm to see the Stanley Cup along side thousands of other unique sports treasures.
Get more info about the museum here - Link
That is it for Stanley Cup News, check back in little bit for part 2 of tonight's posts.
