This is a time-honored unwritten rule for guys. Everyone wants a cool-sounding nickname but the truth is few of us are actually cool enough to deserve it. This is why we don't allow our friends to have unwarranted nicknames like "Ace", "Stud", "D-Money", etc. The nicknames we are given have more to do with reality, which is why, for example, my brother's nickname is Chester (as in 'the Molester' due to his penchant for much younger girls back in the day) and not "Destruction", as he wanted but certainly did not deserve. This is why I have friends with nicknames like "Baby Huey", "Little Buddy" (yes, that's a Gilligan reference), "the Brown Guy" (you'll have to use your imaginations here), and "SNAFU". My own nickname of "Ogre" pre-dates Shrek and goes back to 'Revenge of the Nerds'. Hardly flattering.

So, you ask, what does this have to do with hockey? Well, I'm glad you asked because amongst the myriad reasons that I loathe a certain NHL team located in Michigan, is the fact that they chose an undeserved nickname. Toronto and Montreal are cities that live and breathe the sport and both actually embody the name "Hockeytown" while clearly the use of it by Detroit is clearly just a marketing gimmick brought to us by the same conglomerate that gifted us with the brilliant "Pizza! Pizza!" in reference to what can only best be described as a 'pizza-like substance'.

Detroit, you already had some pretty decent and well-earned nicknames in "Motown" and "the Motor City". But you always have to go one step too far. So, what the rest of the nation knows (even the non-hockey fans) about the city is that you are regularly named the most dangerous big city in the country and that no one would ever actually say "Hey, let's go visit Detroit!". Clearly, its the least desirable of the the Original Six cities to visit but it wouldn't surprise me if it came in 30th out of all 30 NHL cities. Therefore, though you may have tried to use your fancy marketing team to cover up the reality, you don't fool us and we all know that Detroit is really just a

They know it, too. How many of their fans actually live in the city?

Ed. Note - Proving once again that Blackhawk Nation stretches across oceans, I present to you reader and ex-pat furryogre's recap of Cristobal Huet's day with the Cup in Grenoble, France. As we've seen throughout the whole goalie ordeal, Cris has handled the situation with more grace and dignity than could have possibly been expected, and it's nice to see that he's still appreciated somewhere. --McClure


The Stanley Cup in Grenoble

Though I think it’s pretty certain that tomorrow’s event at the Eiffel Tower will provide the most news-worthy article and the more prestigious photos, I wanted to share my brush with the Stanley Cup today with my fellow Hawk fans.

Living in Europe, some of us brave souls endured getting up at 2am every morning to watch games streamed over usually-poor internet feeds. Then we had to watch the parade from thousands of miles away. As much as I would have loved to have gone to a game, I think I was more bummed about missing the parade and the huge party. But, unlike our poor friends in the UK, I received the ultimate stroke of luck – I live a little over an hour from Grenoble, France, the hometown of Cristobal Huet. It was announced a few weeks ago that The Cup would be presented to the city today at the rink of the team where he played his junior hockey.

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