Congratulations Pittsburgh Penguins
You Earned It!
Posted on 06/15/2009 8:35:27 AM PDT by flattorney
06.15.09: Pittsburgh Officials Prepare for 350,000 fans at Penguins' Victory Parade
The City of Champions has gone Cup crazy. As Pittsburghers basked in the glow of a second pro sports championship in four months, the Stanley Cup toured PNC Park on Sunday, Sidney Crosby talked about the excitement of a two-title town and people crammed hotels in advance of today's celebration parade Downtown. "It's been an amazing couple of days," Penguins winger Bill Guerin said after throwing out the first pitch at yesterday's Pirates game. "This city is just crazy about it right now. It's awesome. Pittsburgh's such a huge sports town. The fans ... incredible. It's been wild." The Penguins' Stanley Cup victory parade starts at noon today and will take the same route the Steelers did in February after they won their sixth Super Bowl title. It will proceed through Grant Street, loop to the Boulevard of the Allies and end at Stanwix Street. Several Downtown streets will be closed. Pittsburgh officials are planning for the parade to draw as many as 350,000 people, the number who turned out for the Super Bowl victory parade, said Joanna Doven, a spokeswoman for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.
"For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a trimphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting.” - General George S. Patton Jr.
The 2009 NHL Awards will feature announcement of the League's top regular-season performers in a host of categories including most valuable player (Hart Trophy), outstanding goaltender (Vezina Trophy), outstanding defenseman (Norris Trophy) and outstanding rookie (Calder Trophy).
Two winners already decided:
Alex Ovechkin: Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy - Highest regular season goals
Evgeni Malkin: Art Ross Trophy - Highest regular season scoring points.
PensBurgh's Awards Picks:
Hart Trophy: Evgeni Malkin, Center, Pittsburgh Penguins
Vezina Trophy: Tim Thomas, Goalie, Boston Bruins
Norris Trophy: Mike Green, Defenseman, Washington Capitals
Calder Trophy: Steve Mason, Goalie, Columbus Blue Jackets
Lady Byng Trophy: Zach Parise, Left Wing, New Jersey Devils
Selke Trophy: Mike Richards, Center, Philadelphia Flyers
Masterton Trophy: Richard Zednik, Left Wing, Florida Panthers
Jack Adams Award: Andy Murray, Head Coach, St. Louis Blues
FlA's Pick: Best Steal of the Season: Evgeni "The Tongue" Malkin for stealing Alyonka Larionov from Alex Ovechkin.
TAB
TAB
Thanks for the post 'flattorney'!!
I'm not even a Pittsburgh fan, and I'm laughing my @ss off at this one. The NHL's leading scorer in 2008-09 and the leading scorer in the Stanley Cup playoffs doesn't belong in the NHL?! ROFLOL.
? No pics
? No Red Wings in the awards picks list,, I know, I know it’s another NHL conspiracy,, maybe the owner can cry to Obama and his families democrat buddies.
Really, I was a nervous wreck after both game 6 and 7's period 3's
I love it when a series goes to a 7th game. The tension and excitement is almost palpable; too bad only one team showed up to ready to play and win at this one. Still, it was a good series.
Tim Thomas FTW!
Rather have the Stanley Cup riding through Boston. Maybe next year...
Red “X”’s on my screen. Either it’s me or perhaps you could try to post the pix again...
I most certainly would enjoy them!
The Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy goes to Ovechkin (automatically). He is a natural born scoring machine. If he learns to be patient, and wait for the rest of his line to catch up when he enters the ‘O’-zone, then he has a very good chance of wining the big prize (Stanley Cup).
The Art Ross Trophy goes to Malkin (automatically). And he earned it! He's worked hard on all aspects of his game, and his English! This year he showed that while Sid is the “Face of the NHL”, Geno is the engine that drives the Penguins.
Calder Trophy - Awarded to "the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League" - Just my opinion, but Steve Masonshould win this! He is a hell of a goalie, and will be a "franchise goalie" ($$$)! Columbus made the playoffs in very large part because of Mason! It's too bad he ended up facing Detroit in the first round. He will only get better in the years to come.
Norris Trophy - Awarded "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position" - Green or Lidstrom? Lidstrom or Green? Either one would be a good pick. But I'm going to go with the one I met personally. The one who was an offensive defenseman in the Ray Bourque mold, and one of my Hershey Bears favorite - Mike Green!
The Lady Bing Trophy - This is awarded “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability”. If I was to consider the playoffs, my pick might be different, but these are regular season awards. Zach Parise has earned the award for his consistently high quality play.
The Vezina Trophy - Awarded to "the goaltender adjudged to be the best at this position". - Of all of the awards, this one should be the closest. Steve Mason was the reason Columbus made the playoffs.Nicklas Backstrom was, as always, the model of consistency. But Tim Thomas was incredible in net all year, and it was unfortunate that his teammates let him down offensively in the post season. He will be a force to reckon with next year!
Selke Trophy - Awarded to the forward who "demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game". - My pick is Pavel Datsyuk. The fact that this Red Wing was injured was a big help to the Penguins in winning the Stanley Cup. This guy is a lesson to all defensemen on how to play the position!
The Masterson Trophy - Awarded to "the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey" - This is a tough one. Any of the 3 candidates would be a good selection. I'd have no problem giving it to all three of them. While my heart goes to the 47 year old Chelios, my head says that Richard Zednik will win.
The Jack Adams Award - Best coach - This is one I don't know a lot about any of the candidates. The award is supposed to go to the coach “adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success”. Being a Penguins fan, I would pick Dan Bylsma, but hindsight is not permitted, and these are regular season awards, so pick your own among the following - Claude Julien (Boston), Andy Murray (St. Louis), Todd McLellan (San Jose). I'm guessing Boston's Claude Julien.
And finally, - the Hart Trophy - awarded to the “player adjudged most valuable to his team”Finalists: Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit), Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh), Alex Ovechkin (Washington)
I think the winner will be the media darling Alexander Ovachkin. And he certainly is a good choice. A natural goal scorer, the Washington Capitals would not be the team they were without Ovechkin (and coach Boudreau) to lead them,
But the same could be said for Evgeni Malkin, who developed into the superstar he is today. While Crosby seems to be the media darling and Gary Bettman’s designated “face of the NHL”, Geno quietly went about scoring and assisting his way to the top of the stat sheet, leading the NHL with 116 points. With all of the injuries and losing streaks the Pens suffered through, Malkin stood out as the consistent leader, on the ice and in the locker room,day after day.
It's pretty much a given the Alex Ovechkin will win the MVP (Hart Trophy) for the regular season, but Malkin and Paval Datsyuk were both MVP’s as well.
All in all, it was a very good regular season. And there can be no doubt about it - The NHL Playoffs were exceptional!!
Game 7 was an instant classic! And the TV ratings proved it!
Good luck to all the nominees and congratulations to the NHL for providing a stellar season that is sure to be talked about for years to come!
FYI - The NHL Network will be showing all seven Stanley Cup Finals games on Saturday June 20th!
Game 1 will begin at 8:00 AM and Game 7 will start at 8:00 PM.
A great Father’s Day gift for me and all Pittsburgh Penguins dads!!! (not so much for Red Wings fans)
Hart Memorial Trophy, Most Valuable Player: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington
Vezina Trophy, Goaltender: Tim Thomas, Boston
William M. Jennings Trophy, Fewest Goals Allowed: Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez, Boston
James Norris Memorial Trophy, Defenseman: Zdeno Chara, Boston
Jack Adams Award, Coach: Claude Julien, Boston
Calder Memorial Trophy, Rookie: Steve Mason, Columbus
Maurice Richard Trophy, Goal-Scoring Leader: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington
Art Ross Trophy, Points Scoring Leader: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh
Frank J. Selke Trophy, Defensive Forward: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, Most Gentlemanly: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit
King Clancy Trophy, Hockey Humanitarian Contribution: Ethan Moreau, Edmonton
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, Sportsmanship, Dedication: Steve Sullivan, Nashville
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jean Beliveau
Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award: Jarome Iginla, Calgary
Lester B. Pearson Award, Outstanding Player: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington
TAB
The NHL announced today that Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien was named the winner of the 2009 Jack Adams Award, which is awarded "to the head coach who has contributed the most to his team's success,". Defenseman Zdeno Chara was named the winner of the 2009 Norris Trophy, which is awarded "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". Tim Thomas was named the winner of the 2009 Vezina Trophy, which is awarded "to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position." The Bruins were presented with these honors during the 2009 NHL Awards at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas.
Julien beat out St. Louis' Andy Murray and San Jose's Todd McLellan by a vote of 224 to 135 to 98 win his first Jack Adams Award. Julien, who is in his second season with the Bruins, guided Boston to the Eastern Conference's top record, finishing 53-19-10 for 116 points. This includes a two-month stretch from November 1 through January 1 where the team posted a record of 24-2-1. The club's 116 points was the third-highest total in franchise history, a 22- point increase over 2007-08 and 40 points more than 2006-07. The Bruins ranked second in the NHL in offense with 274 goals, a dramatic turnaround from their #25 ranking in 2007-08 when they tallied 212, and ranked first in the NHL in defense with 196 goals allowed. They hit the 30-win mark in their 41st game of the season (30-7-4) on Jan. 8 vs. Ottawa, the fastest they have reached 30 wins since 1929-30 (30-4-1). Julien was also the head coach of the Eastern Conference All-Star team this year. Julien coached the Bruins to their first Eastern Conference Semifinals appearance since 1999, before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes. Julien is the third Bruin head coach to win the Jack Adams Award in team history, joining Pat Burns who won in 1998 and Don Cherry who won in 1976.
Chara edged Mike Green from the Washington Capitals and Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings to win this year's award. This is Chara's third Norris Trophy nomination (2008, 2004) and first win. Chara anchored a Bruins blue line that allowed the lowest goals per game figure in the NHL this season (2.29). He led the Bruins and ranked sixth overall in the league in average ice time (26:04) and finished the regular season with a career-high 19 goals, 31 assists and a +23 rating. His 19 goals ranked fourth in the league amongst all defensemen, while his 11 power play strikes ranked third. Chara played in all 11 postseason games for the Bruins finishing with one goal and three assists. He is the third different Bruin to capture the Norris, joining legends Ray Bourque who won the award five times and Bobby Orr who won the award eight times. He was also a final nominee for the 2009 Mark Messier Leadership Award, which was awarded to Calgary's Jarome Iginla.
Thomas, who captured 22 of 30 possible first place votes, edged out Columbus' Steve Mason and Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom to win his first Vezina Trophy. Thomas - who set a career high with 36 wins this year and played in his second straight NHL All-Star Game -finished the 2008-09 regular season as the league leader in Goals Against Average (2.10) and Save Percentage (.933). He helped lead the Bruins to their highest victory (53) and points (116) totals since 1971-72, and he and teammate Manny Fernandez shared the NHL's William Jennings Trophy as the goaltenders for the club finishing the regular season having surrendered the fewest goals (196). Thomas played in all 11 postseason games for the Bruins this year, finishing with the playoff's best Goals Against Average (1.85) and second best Save Percentage (.935). Thomas is just the second Bruin goaltender in the last 50-years to capture the Vezina, joining Pete Peeters who won in 1983.
They don't show up for me either on our server. Both photo URL's are very strange. For example the first one:
http://bl125w.blu125.mail.live.com/mail/SafeRedirect.aspx?hm__tg=http://65.55.172.39/att/GetAttachment.aspx&hm__qs=file%3df83c4a52-2406-4a6e-a26b-c79297102027.jpg%26ct%3daW1hZ2UvanBlZw_3d_3d%26name%3dQVRUMDAxODguanBn%26inline%3d1%26rfc%3d0%26empty%3dFalse%26imgsrc%3dcid%253a001301c9ef84%2524cfbc3770%252416c1fea9%2540oemhjp8w06pqmc&oneredir=1&ip=10.4.2.8&d=d331&mf=0&a=01_2864de4aaa7968a75ad53d282e306722bc1110fca555eed8cafdc5adf18c9102
Resolves to:
http://login.live.com/login.srf?wa=wsignin1.0&rpsnv=10&ct=1245383478&rver=5.5.4177.0&wp=MBI&wreply=http:%2F%2Fmail.live.com%2Fmail%2FSafeRedirect.aspx%3Fhm__tg%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252f65.55.172.39%252fatt%252fGetAttachment.aspx%26amp%3Bhm__qs%3Dfile%253dd7722499-45e7-42ef-b0c2-38634941246e.jpg%2526ct%253daW1hZ2UvanBlZw_3d_3d%2526name%253dQVRUMDAxOTEuanBn%2526inline%253d1%2526rfc%253d0%2526empty%253dFalse%2526imgsrc%253dcid%25253a001401c9ef84%252524cfbc3770%25252416c1fea9%252540oemhjp8w06pqmc%26amp%3Boneredir%3D1%26amp%3Bip%3D10.4.2.8%26amp%3Bd%3Dd331%26amp%3Bmf%3D0%26amp%3Ba%3D01_2864de4aaa7968a75ad53d282e306722bc1110fca555eed8cafdc5adf18c9102%2522&lc=1033&id=64855&mkt=en-US
Which is Windows Live [ID gets you into Hotmail, Messenger, Xbox LIVE and other places you see] and requires account and password. This is why your photo links are not properly resolving.
Suggest uploading the two photos from your hard drive to imageshack.us, which requires no account unlike photobucket.com, and then posting the URLs. Hope this is of benefit. - TAB
I had them pretty much correct, with the exception of the Norris, with Charo getting that one.
But hey! The Pens got the big one! The one I really wanted them to get!!
Congratulations to all the winners!! It was a great season!
And thank you for all your fine work posting hockey threads! You did a fantastic job! It’s clear to me that you are a true-blue, die hard hockey fan!
Pitt policeman directs lost Stanley Cup to Lemieux’s house
Giving directions to people lost in the Oakland area of Pittsburgh is nothing new for Andy Redman.
Redman, 26, of Springdale Township, has been a police officer with the University of Pittsburgh for about two years.
But when two men in a black sport utility vehicle flagged him down shortly before 9 p.m. Monday on Forbes Avenue and said they were lost and trying to get the Stanley Cup to Mario Lemieux’s house, Redman was skeptical.
Then they showed him the Cup. The Cup that Sidney Crosby hoisted over his head in Detroit after his team won Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Cup that had been paraded before hundreds of thousands gathered downtown earlier that day to celebrate the city’s latest championship.
The men, from the Hockey Hall of Fame, offered to let Redman hold the trophy and have his picture taken with it.
“It’s not that heavy,” Redman said Thursday, after getting clearance from his chief to talk about the encounter. “They say it weighs 35 pounds. It’s really well balanced. It’s really cool.”
How the keepers of the Cup ended up in Oakland on their way to Lemeiux’s mansion in Sewickley is anyone’s guess. Redman said they had a map printed off an Internet site, and other directions written on a piece of cardboard from an earlier attempt to get pointed in the right direction.
Redman said the guys from the Hall of Fame “couldn’t have been nicer” but put one caveat on his holding the Cup — don’t lift it over your head. He figures they just didn’t want to draw a crowd. Still, about 30 people gathered in the two minutes the Cup was out of its box in the back of the SUV.
He said he and a couple other officers got to hold it.
“It was exciting because even though I don’t know much about hockey, I know what the Stanley Cup means,” he said. “It’s unique among sports championships. It has history because it travels. It’s the same Cup everyone else gets. You hold it, and you’re like, wow, our fingerprints are on there with Max Talbot, Sidney Crosby, (Marc-Andre) Fleury, Evgeni Malkin ... all those guys held it, and so did we.”
Redman escorted the men to the parkway, after which the Cup reportedly went for a swim in Mario’s pool
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