Phone Call for Mr. Cup

From Sunday's New York Times: Phone Call for Mr. Cup, Mr. Stanley Cup (Reg. required), about a guy who has gone through life sharing a name with one of sports' holiest grails:

In a perfect world for Cup, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr would skate on the same line again, and people would stop confusing him with the oldest and most well-known sports trophy in North America.
"Sometimes it's hard just to order a pizza," Cup said. "As soon as I tell them that the pizza is going to Stanley Cup's house, they hang up on me."

Cup, a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, has agreed to serve as U.S. network OLN's "ambassador" during the conference finals, so he'll get to hold his namesake after years of declining invitations and keeping a low profile -- or, as low as he could:

Eight years ago during the N.H.L. playoffs, Cup, then a coal miner in Maysville, Pa., visited Toronto with several co-workers. One night during that trip, they entered a bar filled with Maple Leafs fans. One of Cup's friends eventually told a bartender that Stanley Cup was in the house.
"At first I had to prove it," Cup said. "But after showing the bartender my identification, he spread the word and the place just went crazy. They wouldn't let us pay for anything after that."

A JABS standing O for Stanley Cup.

Vaguely (and depressingly) related: Torontonian may move Penguins.

Comments

[denial]

i didn't expect this at all: I cannot stand the NHL playoffs.

Here's the thing that is so non-standable. It's not that the refs are reverting to pre-lockout mode; they clearly aren't. It's not because the talent level on the ice is diluted; it's frankly quite amazing. It's not because there are no engaging storylines -- rookie goalies, Teppo "hello" Numinen making it to the 2nd round after TEN tries, thereby releasing him from the "angel of death for his team" fraternity...and it's certainly not because the Leafs are out of it. Certainly. Utterly.

No, the hockey is remarkably good -- the missing red line and the no-line-change-on-icing thing are really shining as brilliant ideas. the quick faceoffs, the loud buildings, the way the boards literally BEND in San Jose... it's just wonderful. I'm even starting to appreciate those giant noisemakers (though I imagine they make us look incredibly stupid to people in other countries).

No. My problem is squarely with the broadcasters.

Everyone -- save for those calling the game (with a few exceptions) -- seemed to get the TPS Report that the game was changing/will change/has changed, and have adjusted accordingly. Everyone from coaches to the guys doing instant replay seem to get it: that things are different.

All except most of the broadcasters. They are still 'stuck' in that mode where they had to distract people FROM the tedious game, and they did that by filling in neutral zone trap and 3-scoring-chances-a-period hockey with inane babble about...well, inane babble covers it I guess.

But now the game is just qualitatively better. It's interesting to watch. Plays can actually start at the GOAL LINE -- which means that hockey can go from nothingness to somethingness in a matter of seconds (which is a lot like soccer, you know).

Some broadcasters -- both the play by play guys and the colour guys -- have handled this pretty well, probably cuz they were good at this before the lockout. I mean Jim "that's robbery!" Hughson, Gord Miller (easily the best play by play person around), Armitage is good, Cuthbert is okay (though he seems to flake out a lot these days), and to a lesser extent, Pierre McGuire is good, too -- though he still gets lost inside the LENGTH of his analysis, which is usually very interesting though. Even Glenn Healy, who hardly deserves to tell hockey players how to play (I mean, it's Glenn Healy ...), can add comments in between plays and not overtop them. And he seems to be pretty vicious towards the players, which is a nice touch (unlike, say, Kypreos who did a horrifying political dance when asked about the fact that Tie Domi pretty much mailed it in the moment he signed his new agreement).

The rest of the play by play guys and the colour guys, however, just plain suck.

Bob Cole is far too busy creating drama -- like he was MC'ing a fundraiser -- than actually calling the game. I am now unable to listen to him, because I'm just plain tired of hearing that so-and-so "looks like he wants to go all the way". Harry Neale is just plain tired and is going through the motions; probably because this is the 10 millionth time he's done this. The only times he seems to get fired up is when I think that someone outside tells him to add more Ooompf.

Neale is not as painful as Andy Murray, who is so deadpan that I expect a flatline buzz, someone to yell "clear", and a bang to occur at any time. They might as well get Steven Wright to do analysis if it's going to sound like a Speak and Spell.

The worst, however, without any question at all, are the smarmy, know-it-all goalies who ask themselves questions and then answer them (how conveniently tedious).

I'm talking Greg Millen, who is REMARKABLY opinionated about what's good and what's not good for a goalie that, I think, was 70 games under 500 for his career. I'm not saying that he doesn't or shouldn't give his opinion; but he's not assessing the game, he's EVALUATING it. It's like going to church.

I'm also talking about John Garrett, who has been to the same finishing school as Millen -- the kind that turns medicore goalies into pundits who Have Done No Wrong.

It's like being stuck in a corporate box with Cliff Claven. Two of them, in fact.

The problem here is that, after a brief decade or so interuption, the game itself has RESUMED its primacy as the story. In other words: the game is interesting again -- it is ENOUGH. We don't need people with low self esteem projecting their personalities on top of the game. We don't need Garret or Millen to tell us with absolute certainty (which comes from absolutely NOWHERE, i must add) what's going on with the game.

We just want to watch the game.

Maybe (maybe) before the lockout, networks needed these types to prevent us from realizing that the game was tedious. I mean, 10 seconds without one of them telling me what I think might cause me to snap out of my trance, right?

But now the game is good. It's fun. Things happen FAST. Broadcasters need to readjust and serve the game, NOT use the game as a diving board into their Ocean Of Opinions. If Garret and Millen et al think that they're so fascinating to listen to, they can write books called "Hockey According to Me", and see if either of them crack the top 100,000 sellers list. They'll be about as coveted as their rookie cards.

So broadcasters -- those of you who can read, and it's okay if you need help with this -- change the line up.

And speaking of line up. Ron McLean is going insane. It's time for Kelly Hrudey to take over, and it's time for Don Cherry to recognize why he hasn't had a job inside the NHL since Trudeau.

[Kent MacDonald]

Wow... what was that all about?

[denial]

how am i supposed to know?

about every 3 or 4 months i come here and vomit. and then i feel better for a while.

someone could at least give me a glass of orange juice.

[Carla]

denial - You could just watch the games with the sound turned down, y'know. ;-)

[cy]

welcome back, d., and here's a tip along the lines of Carla's: the Mute button.

[Jlo]

I agree, McLean has gone off the deep end, but Don Cherry has been really good, I think. He has stuck to analysis and, maybe because the Leafs aren't in it, he isn't a homer for anyone.

Did anyone notice that the replays all suspiciously stopped just as Spezza's chance rolled towards the goal-line? Am I the only one who thinks someone in the CBC truck saw that it went in, and they decided not to show it? If so, good, Sens suck, go home Alfredsson.

[cy]

JLo, now you're being mischievous. The replay stopped because the puck did. The big question I had was whether the Sabre defenceman covered it up somehow, but it had definitely stopped and he seemed to just pull back from putting his hand on it. This series is far from over, though -- for one thing I've got a San Jose-Buffalo office pool ticket for the Cup final, and I NEVER win these things.