Lightning treat Stanley Cup with respect
The Stanley Cup has a
storied history and has
been all across the world
By Tim Povtak
The Orlando Sentinel (KRT)
TAMPA, Fla. — It has been to the
White Mouse, the Kremlin and the
Parliament in Canada, to the top of
the Empire State Building and the
bottom of Mario Lemieux's swim
ming pool.
Sylvain Lefebrve of Colorado used
it for his son's baptism in 1996. Ed
Olczyk of the Rangers let Kentucky
Derby winner Go for Gin use it as a
feedbag in 1994.
It has been used as so many beer
mugs and champagne glasses, parade
marshals and party favors. It has
gone bowling, golfing, fishing and
cavorting at strip clubs more times
than anyone could imagine.
It has been religiously worshiped
and badly abused.
It is what this National Hockey
League championship chase is all
about — The Stanley Cup, the most
recognized, revered, well-traveled
trophy in all of sports history.
"It's the Holy Grail," said Brad
Lukowich of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"It's a symbol of God, basically,"
agreed teammate Tim Taylor.
The Lightning open the best-of
seven Stanley Cup Finals on Tuesday
night against the Calgary Flames,
both looking t® win a title and a
chance for every player on their team
to hoist the symbol of their sport's
supremacy above his head for a
memorable lap around the rink.
ihis is a USA vs. Canada series, two
smaller-market teams that almost
seem out of place in their sport's
showcase event. Yet their single-pur
posed quest to lift that Cup overpow
ers any other subplot imaginable.
"When you lift that Cup, it sud
denly means your life is perfect,"
said Calgary veteran Martin Geli
nas, one of a handful of players in
this series to have played on a Stan
ley Cup championship team. "It's a
feeling that is impossible to de
scribe with words."
It can bring tears to the eyes of hard
ened men, like Lukowich's father
when he saw his son carrying it after
Dallas won the Cup in 1999. It can
cause flashbacks, like it did with Taylor
when he helped win it for Detroit in
1997, skating his lap and thinking
back to his childhood dreams.
It can cause regret for people like
Gelinas, who wishes now he had
shared it more with those he loved
when he helped win it in Edmonton
14 years ago.
More than any tangible object in
professional sports, the Stanley Cup
produces a sense of awe among
fans, and a died-and-gone-to-heav
en feeling among athletes who have
won it.
Hockey is a passionate, hardened
sport with a passionate, hardened,
rough-and-tumble symbol.
"The Cup is what it's all about, *
said Chris Simon, who won it in
1996 with Colorado. "It just provides
a feeling of great joy that everyone
who touches it can share. When you
win it, you want to share it."
The Stanley Cup doesn't hide in
a trophy case in hockey's hall of
fame, or behind protective glass in
the winner's rink. It's a people's tro
phy, touched by a thousand hands
every year, photographed around
the world.
It has dents and marks and plenty
of imperfections. It's a blue-collar
award in a blue-collar sport, standing
the test of time.
Although a replica often sits per
fectly for viewing in the hall of fame,
the actual Cup travels almost 300
days a year. Each player on the win
ning team of this series will have it
for 24 hours, to do as he pleases,
wherever he pleases.
It has been showered with and
slept with, locked in the trunk of a
car, thrown in a snowdrift and acci
dentally abandoned on the side of a
road. It's been stolen and recovered
several times, dropped into more
than one swimming pool, hoisted by
more than one inebriated player.
Yet often now, it is used in a more
conservative manner. Since 1995, it
has traveled with a bodyguard, some
one who serves as both a drop-off
and pick-up man, cutting down on
the abuses it once endured. It does
not fly coach. It flies in its own first
class seat, next to its keeper.
(c) 2004, the Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
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DOWNED
continued from page 7
earlier pairing had run long. That,
Panova said, may have come into play
in her loss.
"1 waited a long time before my
match and I think that kind of mentally
exhausted me," Panova said.
Head coach Nils Schyllander said
Panova made just a few mistakes.
"At this level and as a collegiate ath
lete just a few mistakes will get you,"
Schyllander said
The loss leaves the junior from
Moscow tied with Krissy Barger on top
of the Oregon all-time singles victories
list with 72.
The loss also denies Panova the
chance to break her own single-sea
son record in victories. Panova's 32
wins ties her record-breaking total
from last season.
Panova's teammate, Dominika
Dieskova, also made an early exit from
the tournament, losing to Stanford's
Theresa Logar, 6-2,6-1.
Dieskova, the first freshman ever to
make it to the NCAA tournament for
Oregon, was up 2-1 in the first set and
had a break point, but couldn't convert
on the opportunity.
Logar took control from there, los
ing only two more games the rest of
the match.
"In the first set I had some chances,
but she played solid tennis and didn't
make any mistakes," Dieskova said.
Schyllander believes the familiarity
of the courts and her recent play helped
keep Logar fresh. Logar helped Stanford
win the NCAA team tournament —
also held in Athens — on Sunday.
"She's been playing on these courts
for the last three days, so I think that
definitely helped," Schyllander said.
Kost will head to NCAAs
Oregon's Manuel Kost's hopes for a
second consecutive trip came true
Monday. It was announced he will
participate in the NCAA Individual
Tournament, beginning Wednesday.
Kost, ranked 66th in the country,
was announced as an alternate two
weeks ago, but was named part of the
64-man field on Monday.
The tournament pairings will be an
nounced later today and will determine
when and whom Kost and teammate
Sven Swinnen will play on Wednesday.
Clayton Jones is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
SPORTS BRIEF
Courtney Nagle wins
Arthur Ashe Award
Oregon senior Courtney Nagle was
awarded the 2004 Arthur Ashe Award
for Leadership and Sportsmanship
from the Intercollegiate Tennis Asso
ciation on Sunday.
The award is handed to the player
who exhibits outstanding sportsman
ship and leadership along with aca
demic, extracurricular and tennis
achievements.
Nagle helped lead the Ducks to the
NCAA Tournament for the first time
since 2000 this past season. She de
feated 64th-ranked Erin Hoe in the
last match of her career in Oregon's
near upset of Washington in the sec
ond round of the NCAA Tournament.
Nagle finished her Oregon career
third all-time on the victories list and
ended with a 65-36 record. She was
named an All-American her junior
year after receiving a bid to the NCAA
Individual Championships after post
ing a 19-16 singles record.
"I am so proud of Courtney," Ore
gon head coach Nils Schyllander
said. "She was the cornerstone of
our team and has set a tremendous
example of what we are looking for
in an Oregon athlete."
Nagle will receive the award in
August during a special ceremony at
the West Side Tennis Club in Forest
Hills, N.Y.
— Clayton Jones