Post by Ducky on Dec 6, 2004 6:09:52 GMT -5
Mon, December 6, 2004
Fans start challenge-for-Stanley campaign
By CP
EDMONTON -- If the locked-out National Hockey League isn't going to compete for the Stanley Cup this season, the venerable trophy should go back to being awarded to the best team in Canada, say three fans who have launched a campaign to free Stanley. Michael Payne, Mark Suits and Tom Thurston, Stanley Cup fans all, have determined that if the NHL can't resolve its labour dispute, the silver mug should once again be a challenge trophy open to any team up to the task.
To that end, the trio has launched a website (www.freestanley.com) which outlines their mission and the rationale behind their proposal.
"It is a lark but it's a serious lark," said Thurston.
"I play broomball, not hockey. I don't have a rumpus room with all kinds of hockey stuff on the walls, but I think there's something to be said about the Stanley Cup and Canadian tradition."
Originally called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, hockey's premier trophy was first presented in 1893 to a club from the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, which had won the title in what was then Canada's top league.
However, Lord Stanley, whose trophy has become every player's most cherished dream, wanted his Cup to reflect a national championship. Accordingly, teams from across Canada were able to challenge for the trophy and the winners kept it until they were defeated.
Long-forgotten teams like the Vancouver Millionaires and Toronto St. Patricks had their names inscribed on the trophy in the bygone days.
Possibly the most famous challenge took place in 1905 when a Dawson City team from the Yukon challenged the fabled Ottawa Silver Seven. The Klond**ers endured 23 days of travel by dogsled, boat and train to reach Ottawa where the overmatched challengers lost 9-2 and 22-3.
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Great Point, the NHL does not own the stanley cup.
Fans start challenge-for-Stanley campaign
By CP
EDMONTON -- If the locked-out National Hockey League isn't going to compete for the Stanley Cup this season, the venerable trophy should go back to being awarded to the best team in Canada, say three fans who have launched a campaign to free Stanley. Michael Payne, Mark Suits and Tom Thurston, Stanley Cup fans all, have determined that if the NHL can't resolve its labour dispute, the silver mug should once again be a challenge trophy open to any team up to the task.
To that end, the trio has launched a website (www.freestanley.com) which outlines their mission and the rationale behind their proposal.
"It is a lark but it's a serious lark," said Thurston.
"I play broomball, not hockey. I don't have a rumpus room with all kinds of hockey stuff on the walls, but I think there's something to be said about the Stanley Cup and Canadian tradition."
Originally called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, hockey's premier trophy was first presented in 1893 to a club from the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, which had won the title in what was then Canada's top league.
However, Lord Stanley, whose trophy has become every player's most cherished dream, wanted his Cup to reflect a national championship. Accordingly, teams from across Canada were able to challenge for the trophy and the winners kept it until they were defeated.
Long-forgotten teams like the Vancouver Millionaires and Toronto St. Patricks had their names inscribed on the trophy in the bygone days.
Possibly the most famous challenge took place in 1905 when a Dawson City team from the Yukon challenged the fabled Ottawa Silver Seven. The Klond**ers endured 23 days of travel by dogsled, boat and train to reach Ottawa where the overmatched challengers lost 9-2 and 22-3.
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Great Point, the NHL does not own the stanley cup.