Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Chronicles of Stanley: Steven Tyler loving Cup, hospital surprises

The Chronicles of Stanley is an occasional series this summer that tracks the Boston Bruins as they each get their special alone time with the Stanley Cup.

The circle is complete for the Boston Bruins and Steven Tyler.

Please recall back in Oct. 2010 when Tyler delivered the National Anthem before a Bruins' home game with a "hideous shrieking" performance that we likened to "an alley cat with strep throat after a Novocain injection."

Or, in summary, it sounded like Steven Tyler in 2010.

But seeing as how the Bruins themselves went from an underwhelming regular season to clutching the Stanley Cup, it's only appropriate that Mr. American Idol Judge himself had a chance to do the same last week.

From the Aerosmith fan site Aero Force One:

One of the most prestigious trophies of all of sports, The Stanley Cup made its second visit to Aerosmith's studio, "Pandora's Box," on Friday. The band's producer, Jack Douglas, arranged to have the Cup there with some of the Bruins training staff. The boys took about an hour off from recording while they posed for pictures with Lord Stanley's bowl.� As you may remember back in 2003, Boston native Jay Pandolfo of the champion New Jersey Devils brought the loving Cup to the same studio when the band was recording "Honkin' on Bobo" with Jack. D�j� vu all over again!

Of course, this sort of dignitary visiting Aerosmith is the same old story, same old song and dance my friends:

Joe told me they used to rehearse in the visiting teams locker room. He said it was very common to see the likes of Andre the Giant, Bruno Sammartino and George the Animal Steele walking by as well as Bruins greats Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito or fashion plate of the day Derek Sanderson.� Also, 1972 was the last year the Bruins won the Cup.

If we could fire up the DeLorean and arrange a conversation between Phil Esposito and George "The Animal" Steele ?

Check out this link for more images, including the Stanley Cup becoming infinitely cooler when Joe Perry allowed it to hydrate him.

(Coming Up: The Cup invades New Hampshire; meets cute old ladies and Brutus Beefcake; and try to hold back the tears during a children's hospital visit.)

The Cup Hits The Tiki Deck

When people find out about the Cup coming to town, especially in a place like Tewksbury, Mass., you can expect one or two or a thousand people to suddenly flash mob the Chalice:

You know your event is big time when Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake (a huge B's fan, incidentally) is on the scene. Here's more from the club:

Boston Bruins equipment manager and New Hampshire resident Keith Robinson was the guy who took the Cup to Tewksbury, and he was determined to make his visit to Newburyport a little more low-key. He brought the Grail to Michael's Harborside, a restaurant; from The Eagle Tribune and Kris Summit, the joint's manager:

About 200 people were able to get up close and personal with the Cup after it was placed outside on the restaurant's tiki deck shortly before 11 p.m. The lower-level deck offered plenty of room for fans waiting in line for their chance to touch it as well as great vantage points for the folks taking in the scene from the deck above.

Summit said the Cup's appearance was kept quiet, per Robinson's request, to avoid a duplication of its appearance in Tewksbury, a fundraiser that drew thousands of people in a short time. "It was absolutely awesome. Customers were amazingly gracious and organized. Nobody got out of hand; they were so ecstatic to see it," Summit said.

Here's the Cup's arrival at the Harborside:

Robinson also had a chance to bring the Cup back to his native New Hampshire, as you'll see in this news report. Cute old lady and Stanley Cup tattoo alert! (Though not a combination of both.)

The Cup in Rochester

On Sunday, Rochester-native Derek Repucci, an assistant trainer and massage therapist, arranged to have the Cup on display at the Rochester Arena where it drew a solid crowd and a police escort on the way out:

Fans started lining up at 4:30 a.m. for the Cup, and the crowd totaled around 2,000 people. From Fosters:

Mayor T.J. Jean read a proclamation naming July 10, 2011, as Derek Repucci Day in Rochester.

"An amazing day," said the mayor, lauding the many people who made the day a success on very short notice, naming volunteers from Rochester Youth Hockey, the arena staff and the local police department, among others.

Repucci called the championship and ensuing days some of the most unbelievable moments in his life.

"Since I was 19 years old and a freshman at Springfield College, my goal was to be involved in the National Hockey League," said Repucci, who holds a master's degree in exercise science.

His brother Kyle, principal of Epping Junior/Senior High School, stood proudly by, commenting he knew his brother could do anything he set his mind to, "and here he is proving it."

Damn good massaging in the playoffs, Mr. Repucci. Damn good.

We Need The Stanley Cup, Stat!

Some of the best Stanley Cup visits are the surprise visits. Like when Bruins trainer Scott Waugh spend some of his day with the Cup on Monday to bring it around to South Shore Hospital.

From The Patriot Ledger:

Rita McSweeney of Weymouth (pictured above) said she hopes the Cup would make her get better soon after Waugh placed the trophy beside her. "It is absolutely unbelievable," McSweeney's daughter Karen Hunter said. "I was in the cafeteria and I heard it (Cup) was coming and I hurried back."

The Cup's presence left Robert Catyb awestruck when Waugh placed it on his bed. "This is fantastic," said Catyb after he touched the trophy. "I can't believe it. I've seen some great trophies before, but this is the best.� The Bruins deserve to have it. I can't believe I touched the Stanley Cup."

Awesome stuff. See more images here.

And now, please adjust your tissue boxes accordingly and Waugh takes the Stanley Cup to Massachusetts General Hospital and MassGeneral Hospital for Children.

Hockey rules.

Angela Marcello Paz Vega Rebecca Mader Eva Green Lauren Conrad

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