An update on the Chicago Blackhawks…(see my previous blog):

The Blackhawks have just beaten the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference semi finals.  They will pay the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Finals – the winner of which will play for the Stanley Cup!  Blackhawk fever has well and truly arrived in Chicago!

The Stanley Cup is awarded annually to the NHL playoffs champion. It has been referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley’s Mug or Lord Stanley’s Cup. The Stanley Cup is surrounded by numerous legends and traditions, the oldest of which is the celebratory drinking of champagne out of the cup by the winning team. Unlike the trophies awarded by the other three major professional sports leagues of North America, a new Stanley Cup is not made each year.  Cup winners keep it until a new champion is crowned. It is unusual among trophies, in that it has the name of the winning players, coaches, management, and club staff engraved on its chalice. The original bowl was made of silver and has a dimension of 18.5 centimeters in height and 29 centimeters in diameter. The current Stanley Cup, topped with a copy of the original bowl, is made of silver and nickel alloy. Today, it has a height of 89.54 centimeters and weighs 15.5 kilograms.

Chicago last won the Stanley Cup in 1961.  This represents one of the longest droughts in US professional sports (not nearly as bad as the 102 years of the Chicago Cubs – the longest winless streak in sports…)

This is the year!

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