When The Cup Comes To Town

The most venerable trophy in sports is coming to town:

The The Shjon Podein Children's Foundation (AKA: Team 25) is bringing the Stanley Cup to MN on March 23rd and 24th for a "Charity Cup Tour." We are excited to bring this opportunity to the great hockey fans of MN and at the same time help out a great cause, our local food shelves. In these challenging times, it is important that we come together to support the basic needs of our own communities.

Shjon will have the Stanley Cup at the St. Louis Park Rec Center on Monday March 23 from 2:00pm-6:30pm and then at O'Gara's Garage in St. Paul (adults only) on Monday from 9pm-12am. Shjon and the Stanley Cup will then travel to Rochester, MN on Tuesday March 24th and will be at Graham Arenas from 2:00pm-7:00pm and at McMurphy's Sports Bar in Rochester from 9pm-12am.

We ask that you make a cash donation to have a photo taken with the Cup. Donations taken will benefit the Second Harvest Heartland Food Bank in the Twin Cities area, Channel One Food Bank in Rochester, and Families Serving the Troops through O'Gara's. (Brian Leighton of G.B. Leighton will play an acoustic set at O'Gara's on Monday night at 9pm, further entertainment tbd.)

Interestingly enough, after Podein won the Stanley Cup (which JB used to irreverently refer to as the "Stanley Strap") with the Avs in '01, my wife had a chance to see the prize up close and personal when the bachelorette party she was with happened to cross paths with Podein, who--in the great tradition of NHL champions--was escorting Lord Stanley's trophy about town. Needless to say, she wasn't nearly as impressed by the chance encounter as I was.

This is a great opportunity for local hockey fans to catch a glimpse of hockey history and help a very worthy cause.