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I was at a bookstore yesterday and I went to the cashier to buy a hockey records book. She asked me "Does it matter that the bag is see-through? Is this a gift?".

I don't expect people to be psychic, but when people first hear that I am a hockey fan, I see the look on their face. It is another look all together when I say that I have played hockey.

I read a book last year called "Cold Cocked: On Hockey" by Lorna Jackson. It was to be about a women's perspective on hockey. I was very excited when I read the back of the book, she made a comparison: only great hockey players come from Ontario, is like saying only great country singers come from Nashville. For the most part that's where my agreement ends. She later went on to talk about how women wearing a jesrsey is like being "intimate" with their favourite player.

Why should me wearing a jersey be any different than a guy? I wear a jersey to support my team, because I love the game. Maybe she has only met the "fashionable" female hockey fans who like hockey because it is the "in" thing to go.

Hockey History Notes:
The Stanley Cup was donated by Fredrick Arthur Stanley, Lord Stanley of Preston. He was the Governor General of Canada from 1888 to 1893. The cup that he donated was purchased for about $50 and was originally called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup.

The first team to engrave their roster on the cup was the Montreal Wanderers after winning in 1906-07.

There have been several engraving errors over the years. In 1937-38 Boston Bruins' Pete Palangio's name appears twice, once spelled correctly and once incorrectly as PALAGIO. The Toronto Maple Leafs won in 1962-63, the team name was spelled LEAES. The Boston Bruins had a similar error in 1971-72, their name was spelled BQSTQN Bruins. Another series of errors happened when the Montreal Canadiens won 5 consecutive times from 1956 - 60. Jacques Plante had his name spelled different each time.

The current presentation cup was made in 1963, and is authenticated by the Hockey Hall of Fame seal that can be seen on the bottom of the cup when players lift it above their heads. The replica cup that sits in the Hockey Hall of Fame was created in 1993.

The Stanley Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America.