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| n poured in a game-high 26 points, |
| EDMONTON - Peter Pocklington, the man who launched the Edmonton Oilers dynasty, then loathed for decades for trading Wayne Gretzky, welled up with tears Friday when he came home to a standing ovation.Thank you Edmonton. Thank you, said Pocklington as a full house of fans at Rexall Place stood and cheered him at a reunion celebration of the 1984 Oilers team that won the teams first Stanley Cup.I wasnt sure what was going to happen, said Pocklington. He then paused and added, As you can imagine.Paul Coffey, who played for the Oilers from 1980-1987, was impressed with the crowds reaction. What just happened proved the people of Edmonton have a lot of class, Coffey said.Pocklington, 72, told the crowd that when he owned the Oilers he likened it to what he learned while walking one day past a field in France.There were men working in a field, he said, patiently and laboriously chipping away at stone blocks.One by one, said Pocklington, he asked the men what they were doing.Carving designs into the rock, they told him.Until he got to one final rock chipper, the only one who saw not the task, but the goal.I said: What are you doing? And he said Why, Im building a cathedral, said Pocklington.And this is what we wanted our team to do in this city, build a cathedral.Five cathedrals later, we had it done, he said to another round of applause.Pocklington, an entrepreneur from Ontario who made his first fortune selling cars, bought the Oilers when they were still in the old World Hockey Association.In 1978, he snapped up and signed teenage hockey wunderkind Wayne Gretzky from the Indianapolis Racers.A year later the Oilers and three other WHA teams joined the NHL.By 1984 Gretzky was the nucleus of a wildly talented group of kids who had taken the NHL by storm with their free-flowing criss-crossing European style of hockey.They lost in the Stanley Cup final in 1983 but the next year they won it all, and won four more championships by decades end.This week, old teammates returned for a 30th-year reunion, marching Friday night to bagpipes, clad in their Oiler jerseys and holding aloft the Stanley Cup.Gretzky, the NHLs all time leading scorer, was joined on stage by teammates including Coffey, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr.Earlier in the week, Pocklington said he debated long and hard about whether he should come at all. Writers on local social media gave him some free advice: stay home.One newspaper ran an online poll on whether Pocklington should be booed. Two thirds said yes.To them, the man known as Peter Puck will always be the one who sold Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 for $18M Cdn.The Gretzky sale came after the Oilers had won four cups and were only getting stronger.The sale was a gut punch to Edmonton. Diehards burned Pocklington in effigy. Radio stations doctored the popular Bobby McFerrin song to soothe a savage fan base (Ooh oo-ooh ooh ooh oo-ooh. Dont worry. Waynes Happy Now.)In Ottawa one politician demanded the trade be stopped as Gretzky was a national treasure.Earlier this week, Pocklington kept a low profile during reunion festivities, granting only one interview to a select group of journalists.During it, he reiterated the mantra that the sale was inevitable. Gretzky was a depreciating asset sure to command a stratospherically large contract that could not be sustained, he said.What about the angry masses, he was asked in Wednesdays interview.I dont really give a damn what the unwashed have to say, he replied.It was a fairy tale Stanley Cup run that didnt have a happy ending.Gretzkys departure marked the launch of a star exodus that had actually begun a year earlier, when an unhappy Coffey was traded to Pittsburgh in 1987.After the final cup win in 1990, the players were sold off or traded en masse to cut costs in a league that was seeing the gap widen between the haves and haves not.By 1992 Pocklington threatened to move the team to Hamilton unless he got a better revenue deal on the home rink. By 1997, awash in debt, he sold the team and moved to southern California.There he has continued to dabble in various enterprises while running afoul of the law.Currently he faces possible jail time in the U.S. for violating the terms of his probation stemming from his 2010 admission of perjury in a bankruptcy fraud case.Those troubles still loom.But for one brief moment Friday, a hard-headed businessman and a city that had felt abused and betrayed let bygones be bygones and joined as one to remember the glory of their times. Ryan Callahan Lightning Jersey . The former Detroit Red Wings captain was named to the Order of Hockey in Canada on Wednesday along with former womens national team captain France St-Louis and legendary university coach Clare Drake. Tyler Johnson Jersey . 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney. The team didnt release any details on the contract. http://www.lightninghockeyonline.com/Lightning-Jason-Garrison-Stanley-Cup-Jersey/.com) - Manchester United remained in the top three in the Premier League on Friday as Wayne Rooney scored two goals and assisted on another in a 3-1 United win over Newcastle at Old Trafford. Valtteri Filppula Lightning Jersey . After going 10-6 in 2012, the Vikings regressed this year, done in by a leaky defence and an ongoing inability to find stability at quarterback. Frazier finished 21-33-1 in three-plus seasons. Custom Lightning Jersey .J. Watt and the Houston Texans. Ben Roethlisberger passed for two touchdowns and wide receiver Antonio Brown added another on a gadget play during a decisive surge late in the first half, helping the Steelers rally for a 30-23 win over the mistake-prone Texans on Monday night.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - The 24th-ranked St. Johns Red Storm will take the court at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon, as they battle the Fordham Rams as part of the MSG Holiday Festival. It has been a strong start to the season for Steve Lavins Red Storm. After ending Syracuses 55-game homecourt winning streak on Dec. 6, St. Johns made light work of Fairleigh Dickinson (74-52) to move to 7-1 on the year. The only blemish on the teams record is a 73-66 setback to top-10 foe Gonzaga, but the Red Storm come into this contest with a three-game win streak in tow. Tom Pecoras Rams have struggled out of the gate and currently sit one game under .500 at 3-4. However, Fordham has played better of late, entering off back-to-back wins over Siena (69-67) and most recently, Monmouth (68-58 OT). These two teams are very familiar with one another, as this represents the 86th matchup between them and the sixth straight season they have met. St. Johns holds a 64-21 series advantage. St. Johns recorded a 46-point romp over Fordham in last years MSG Holiday Festival (104-58), the largest margin of victory in the 105-year history of the series. The Rams had their chance to win in regulation against Monmouth, but missed some free throws down the stretch, setting up an extra session. However, Fordham took control in overtime and posted the 10-point win. Freshman Chris Sengfelder recorded his first career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way for Fordham. Junior Mandall Thomas and freshman Eric Paschall were instrumental in the victory as well, posting 15 points apiece. Offensivve proficiency hasnt exactly been a strength for Fordham this season, as the team is netting a modest 65.dddddddddddd1 ppg on a poor .389 shooting overall. The team also suffers from a -2.0 turnover margin, but has been solid on the boards, with a +6.1 rebounding edge. Despite his youth, Paschall is the go-to- guy at the offensive end, averaging 18.8 ppg on a solid .494 shooting. Thomas (13.1 ppg) and Sengfelder (10.7 ppg) are key contributors offensively as well. Junior forward Ryan Rhoomes provides a presence up front with 8.7 points and a team-best 11.6 rebounds per contest. St. Johns is a dangerous team with the ability to win games at either end of the floor. The Red Storm are averaging 73.2 ppg on .445 shooting, while holding foes to just 61.5 ppg and well below 40-percent shooting (.366), including a mere .295 from behind the arc. Four players are currently averaging double figures in scoring, giving the Red Storm a balanced attack. DAngelo Harrison leads the charge in the backcourt, averaging 19.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per outing. Fellow guards Rysheed Jordan (14.4 ppg) and Phil Greene IV (12.3 ppg) provide perimeter depth, while SirDominic Pointer (12.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and Chris Obekpa (7.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg. 4.1 bpg) are enjoying strong seasons up front. Harrison poured in a game-high 26 points, Greene added 16, Pointer 12 and Obekpa dominated in the low post with 11 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks, as St. Johns made light work of Fairleigh Dickinson last time out. The Red Storm shot a sizzling .569 from the floor overall, while limiting the Knights to just .373 efficiency. wholesale stitched jerseys wholesale jerseys wholesale nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys china ' ' ' |
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posted on: 11/06/2015 03:00:24 AM
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