Free Stanley!

[RichardGraham]

Hi Folks,

Well, with no NHL this season after all, what do you think of THIS idea?

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<A HREF="http://www.freep.com/sports/redwings/stanley17e_20050117.htm" target="_new">http://www.freep.com/sports/redwings/stanley17e_20050117.htm</A>

***

Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central

[NoMoreNiceGuy]

Good Idea, but I didn't see where the Stanley Cup was restricted to ice hockey.

Maybe it should go to the best roller hockey team.

[DannyG]

This was the original idea behind the F.A. Cup...a months-long, single-elimination knockout tournament, which any FA registered team, from premier pro, to neighborhood tavern league, could join...lots of stories in the past about how Joe's Pub knocks off Manchester United, and the like...

Let's have an all-comers' tourney, let the pucks fall where they may, and allow hockey to be played for the fun of it once again.

<font color=purple>DannyG</font color=purple>

[NLane]

Can you imagine how much rink time we'd need? What rink has 3 weeks with NOTHING going on? That would be great but employers all over would wonder what's going on.

[dcdonkey]

Possibly the dumbest idea in the history of sports.

[GROWL]

the only problem with this is that when the nhl finally does get there act back together where will the cup be?

[Maskman]

Well we dont have to worry about it being in philly...along with the lombardi trophy!

[MDE3]

Not if you are a Canadian....Tradition is much more honored in Canada in general....maybe being a bit closer to the British heritage than this side of the border.

To Canadians steeped in hockey lore, Stanley Cup Heritage supercedes the NHL, and the NHL was basically using the Cup "on loan" in the original context of it's donation, but certainly not the original combatants for it...so the move is not all that surprising...nor to it's proponents...dumb.

What happens if there is no more NHL....a distinct, though not highly probable, possibility?

[RichardGraham]

Hi DCDonkey,

Dumber than rhythmic gymnastics?

I hereby offer my services as guardian of the Stanley Cup until this issue has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central

[DannyG]

I realize that this thread is going nowhere, but it's still fun...

You start with 800 teams, there is a draw to determine first round pairings of opponents. The home team gets the visitors at their rink, whatever "their" rink is..

You would have a number of regions, then the regional winners would advance to a single-site national venue for a weekend of the "final 16," "final 32?" Whatever...

The whole thing would take several months of single games in each round, leading up to the final, national event...this would make travel minimal for the early rounds, as you would pool the teams from areas for the early round draws...

Hey, the more I get into this, the less stupid it sounds...if somebody (probably not me) were able to get the word out, this might just work...

everybody keep dreaming...

<font color=purple>DannyG</font color=purple>