Sunday morning homily XXIII

It's not all that often the Stanley Cup shows up at your local rink. As part of Hockey Day in Florida, though, that's exactly what happened yesterday here in our little corner of Hockey Bay.

During an afternoon of festivities, which included an on-ice clinic, it was the Cup that drew the biggest crowd, including, as you can see, Colin, and The Missus. There's just something about it, I suppose, that draws hockey fans -- its history, the players who've held it aloft and, more importantly, what it represents.

I, on the other hand, was at work. Not that I'm complaining, but it's been a long time (mid-1970s at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto during a Canadian National Exhibition) since I last saw the Stanley Cup.

Before heading out, I told Colin not to touch the Stanley Cup. He could look at it all he wanted. He could get his picture taken with it. He could even draw pictures of it. Just don't touch it, I told him.

Why? You know, just in case. There's a superstition that hockey players shouldn't touch the Stanley Cup until they've won it. Though that dream and day may be a long way off, I didn't want to jinx him. And, if it does happen, and Colin gets his day with Lord Stanley's Cup, I'll think back to this time.

Trust me, the wait will be worth it.

It gets even better

So, I'm sitting at work yesterday, punching buttons to keep as much of Tampa Bay as I can informed of the latest news, when I get a text message from a hockey-hounding colleague. It said that Hall of Famers Mario Lemieux and Al MacInnis were at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon for a youth hockey tournament.

Given that I like money and need to keep working to earn it, there was little I could do. Sure, I have some Pittsburgh Penguins pucks just waiting to be signed. I'm sure, too, I could come up with something for MacInnis. The big question, though, was would either sign.

I thought about driving over this morning, but decided against it. It's a bit of a trek and with a late-night shift later today, I wanted to kick back, chill out and spend some time with the family, even if it is running errands.

A missed opportunity? I'm not sure. It all depends on how you look at it.

Busy guy, that Moody

Fresh from his Olympics Gold project, in which he showed off his collection of autographs from 2010 Olympics hockey players, Moody, Hound Central 5.0's senior correspondent, has ramped up another hockey-hounding project. And, no, I'm not talking about his TTM blog.

Having jumped on the networking train, Moody has started reaching out to NHL players -- past and present -- for a question-and-answer feature about hockey autographs. It's called 10 Questions.

Last Monday, former NHL defenseman Ian Moran kicked off the feature. Did you know that actor Tim Robbins, of Bull Durham and Shawshank Redemption fame, once asked Moran for an autograph? Well, he did.

Tomorrow, it'll be another former NHL player, Kevin Miller. Stop back by and check it out. Thanks.