This Cup not meant for drinking
A word of advice to members of the world champion Chicago Blackhawks about the Stanley Cup, which was on display in Las Vegas the past three days for the NHL Awards show at the Palms: Make sure you wash it before you eat or drink out of it.
Among the many misadventures the sterling silver championship trophy has had over the past 117 years was an encounter in 2008 with the newborn daughter of Detroit Red Wings center Kris Draper.
"I had (her) in there, and she pooped in the Cup," he said. "That was something. We had a pretty good laugh."
But that didn't stop the celebration.
"I still drank out of it that night, so no worries," he said.
Doug Weight of the Carolina Hurricanes can rest easy knowing the accident took place two years after his family ate a giant hot fudge sundae out of the Cup.
But then again, in 1940, members of the New York Rangers reportedly took turns urinating in the Cup. Team management also burned a mortgage on Madison Square Garden in it that year. Not surprisingly, the Rangers didn't win another Stanley Cup until 1994.
■ GAGA FOR BASEBALL -- The New York Mets took an obscene gesture made by singer Lady Gaga at a game at Citi Field earlier this month and turned it into a promotion -- "Go Gaga for Wright" night -- for Wednesday's game against the Detroit Tigers.
A Yankees fan, Gaga gave the finger to Mets fans during a June 10 game she attended at Citi Field. The promotion is part of a campaign to get third baseman David Wright voted to the National League All-Star team.
The first 20,000 fans who arrived Wednesday received a blue foam hand with the index finger extended and the words "Make Wright #1" printed on it. The index finger was described as "the best finger" on a commercial promoting the event.
While the team was amused by the actions of Lady Gaga, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, a longtime Mets fan, was not, especially after the singer was escorted to his empty luxury box without his permission shortly after giving the finger.
"This woman is a jerk. I hate her," he said this week on New York sports radio station WFAN. "I can't believe they put her in my box, which I paid for. You give people the finger, and you get upgraded? Is that the world we're living in now? It's pathetic.
"And why is she giving the finger? How old is the finger? How'd it even get to be the finger? Somewhere along the line, somebody decided this is the bad finger."
Seinfeld also joked about her name, saying "You take one 'A' off of that, and you've got gag."
Lady Gaga also created controversy Friday, when she invited herself into the Yankees' clubhouse while the game was still going.
"Oh, please. Wake me when it's over," Seinfeld said. "Get an act. Rhinestone bikinis and giving people the finger."
Sounds like an act about nothing.
COMPILED BY TODD DEWEY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
