• Mood: Pucked up
• Music: The Hockey Song - Jughead

“He has a wife, you know . . .”

Now that I have cable TV again (after an absence of about 9 years), I am once again able to watch hockey regularly. I should explain that here in Chicago, there are no Blackhawk games carried on free TV, which has contributed mightily to the marginalization of the sport in this town; but that’s a rant for another day. The point is, I am just LOVING the Stanley Cup playoffs. I hung in there for all SIX PERIODS of the San Jose/Edmonton game the other night, and the playoffs are just starting to heat up. The following item caught my eye today. I particularly like the payment deal that Mr. Cup worked out with the network.

SALTSBURG, Pa. (AP) – The NHL’s Stanley Cup is 114 years old, about 3 feet high, 36 pounds and engraved with the names of players and coaches who have won it.
OLN’s Stanley Cup is 57 years old, 6 feet tall, 210 pounds and etched with tattoos.
The cable TV network OLN has hired a western Pennsylvania man named Stanley Cup to promote the NHL playoffs.
OLN found two people named Stanley Cup, but could track down only one. Cup, of Saltsburg, is a descendant of Pennsylvania coal miners who works at a steel mill.
OLN will fly Cup to New York City on Wednesday, where the network will tape some promotional spots. After that, OLN hopes Cup will appear at several playoff games. He’s taking vacation from work to do the promotions, and the network will cover his travel expenses and provide a small stipend.
Cup wants only three things for his trouble – a picture with the real Stanley Cup, tickets to one playoff game and another tattoo.
“I told my friends at work that when I get back, I’m going to get another tattoo,” said The Indiana Gazette on Thursday. “Definitely of the cup, as soon as I get back.”