Baby in the Cup

It's exactly three months and two days since the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup, the most special award in all of sports. The elation is still with me. I anticipate another glorious season, especially since I'll be attending the game at which they will raise the banner in the Staples Center!

I remember the intense joy I felt when I saw that puck go into the net. I still get chills when I think of it. The on-ice celebration went on for quite a while and I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite images from that.

Here's one showing Alec Martinez and Kyle Clifford shortly after the winning goal. What is sweet about this picture is poor Lundqvist, defeated. I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.

Next, there is nothing cuter than a baby in the Stanley Cup and Kyle Clifford's baby, Brody, was so totally adorable with his fuzzy hair. It's amazing that the little guy was sleeping, but I remember when my kids were babies. They could sleep through a lot. Later, there was a family photo and, man, Clifford's wife is really pretty! She actually looks exactly like how I imagine the heroine of my work-in-progress would look. Her name is Emily Greene. Mrs. Clifford looks like an Emily, doesn't she?

Terms of Endearment #16

Turtle (v.) - to curl up and cover your head in an attempt to avoid being pummeled by another player.

Generally, this is looked upon as wimpy. Hockey's a tough sport and the players take pride in their ability to take punishment. However, some of the more skilled superstars are accustomed to being protected by their teammates and may be a little less tough.

It's hard for me to blame a guy for trying to protect his face and head from some other big, strong hockey player, especially if the person doing the pummeling is quite a bit bigger. I would do the same thing. However, I have felt embarrassment when I caught a guy on our team turtling. I was like, really, dude? Really?