SI:AM | Hurricanes Snap Two-Decade Stanley Cup Drought

DAN GARTLAND 

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I was in the car for the first half of the Spurs-Knicks game on Saturday, but that meant I got to hear Clyde Frazier join the home radio crew in the booth for the second quarter, which made it all worth it. I wish Clyde could have been on the call with Mike Breen as the Knicks clinched.  

In today’s SI:AM:

🇪🇸 Spain’s 18-year-old superstar

🗽 Jalen Brunson’s place in NY history

👨‍⚖️ Pivotal week in college sports 

Not as long a drought as the Knicks, but still

Lucas Peltier/Imagn Images

The Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions for the first time in 20 years. 

Carolina defeated the Golden Knights in Vegas on Sunday night, 3–0, to claim its second title and first since 2006. 

“That’s a lot of years,” Canes veteran Jordan Staal said. “It’s amazing. This is something I’ve been going after ever since I got the first one. You want to win it again and again and again. What a feeling, what a battle. The boys were grinding today, my goodness. So many individual efforts just to keep the puck out of our net. It was an amazing ride. I’m just so proud of these guys.”

There are so many fascinating narratives surrounding the Canes’ win. Franchise icon Rod Brind’Amour lifted the Cup for the second time, this time as coach after captaining the team on the ice during its run two decades ago. The 37-year-old Staal won the Conn Smythe Trophy (the playoff MVP), becoming the oldest player ever to do so. Staal won the Cup in 2009 with the Penguins, too, making his 17-year wait for another championship the longest gap between titles for any player in NHL history. The Canes’ win is also just the second major men’s pro sports championship for a team from North Carolina. (The NWSL’s North Carolina Courage won back-to-back titles in 2018 and ’19.) CONTINUE DAN’S COLUMN ON SI 

 

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👀 The top five …

… things I saw yesterday: 

5. All the Scottish fans at Fenway Park, the day after Scotland’s 1–0 win over Haiti in Foxborough.

4. Bobby Witt Jr.’s diving catch at shortstop. 

3. Livano Comenencia’s goal for Curaçaoagainst Germany. Germany won, 7–1, but it’s still amazing that tiny Curaçao, which has a population of just 155,000 (about the size of Springfield, Mass.) scored against one of the best teams in the world. 

2. Koki Ogawa’s powerful header on Japan’s late equalizer against the Netherlands. (The goal was officially credited to Daichi Kamada, who had the ball deflect off his head by pure happenstance.)

1. All 23 runs the Rockies scored against the A’s. Incredibly, this game was not at Coors Field. The offensive explosion occurred in Sacramento, which is just 26 feet above sea level.  

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Published by RJ Hamster

I was born on 6 August 1956 in San Francisco, California to Janet and (the late) Richard Hovis. I grew up in Santa Monica, California where I attended elementary, junior high school, and high school (graduating in 1974), in addition to involvement in sports and recreation (Little League +, the Boy’s Club ++). Further, it was in elementary school – St. Augustine’s By-the -Sea Parish School that I found, and made the choice to truly journey with God. I attended Arizona State University from 1974 to 1977 – seeking to become an architect, however, I was not accepted, and, as such, I graduated with a Liberal Arts degree. Upon graduation from Arizona State University, I attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and studied City and Regional Planning at the Master’s level. I successfully completed one (1) year in a two (2) year program – I did not complete the Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning – due to personal reasons. I returned to Santa Monica where I started (October 1979) my career as graphic designer with Exxon Company, USA. I spent five years with Exxon Company, USA. While working with Exxon Company, USA I was accepted into architectural school – Sci-Arc in Southern California, however, I did not attend preferring to stay with Exxon.. In 1982 I married Laura Flosi and in April 1983 we had our one and only child – Lauren Alain Hovis – a gift from God. We moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1984 from Los Angeles, where I went to work as a graphic designer with Kitchell CEM (from 1985 -1987). From 1987 – 1995 I was an independent contractor, and a registered representative in mortgage finance, financial management, graphic design, and drafting. Further, I attended the University of Phoenix and successfully obtained a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) in 1982. I was also a member of the Scottsdale Jaycees, where I became very involved in community events and projects. In 1994, I accepted a cartography position with the Defense Mapping Agency in Reston, Virginia. As such, I relocated from Phoenix to Reston. In 1998, I was accepted and worked as a Visual Information Officer with the Central Intelligence Agency. In 2002, I worked as a Support Officer until my retirement (due to a need for shoulder surgery) in September 2018. Away from my Federal Government service, I have been involved in various organizations and activities in Northern Virginia. In November of 2011, I married Rebecca Ouellette in Santa Monica, California. I reside in San Tan Valley, AZ with my two hamster - Jess and Timothy, our fish, our lizard - RJ Lizard., and our cats - Pearl and Grey. As to hobbies, I enjoy playing sports, attending sporting events, mentoring individuals from financial management to hamsters, building models, photography, travel, multimedia design, managing partner for RJ Hamster, and jazz – smooth jazz to a samba or a bossa nova. Love and God Bless, Peter – aka RJ Hamster Jo hi

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