Hartley Miller's Slap -Shots May 19th Edition
The Burnaby Express completed a remarkable season, pasting the Yorkton Terriers 8-2 in the
Royal Bank Cup (RBC) final in Brampton, Ontario. Although the ride is over for Burnaby’s Co-Owner/General Manager/President, and PG Sports Hall of Famer Darcy Rota, the memories will last a lifetime.
The 53 year old Rota experienced a lengthy career in junior, and the N-H-L. He played with the Vancouver Canucks when they reached the 1982 Stanley Cup final, and suited up with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 1971 and 72 as they competed for the Memorial Cup.
Although Rota enjoyed a successful career he never won a championship, until now. Rota helped build the Express from scratch. He was awarded a BCHL expansion franchise that began play in 2001. The team spent four seasons in Coquitlam before moving to Burnaby, just a year ago. “It's very exciting for me, my family and for the organization after just five years to be a national champion at the Junior A level. It is just an unreal feeling. It's very difficult to put into words,” said Rota while enjoying a victory pizza (I'm sure with all the works).
Burnaby was not considered an elite team when the season began. They started with a 4-9 record, and finished the regular season, 8th overall, with a 34-20-1-5 record. The Express dumped Langley, Chilliwack, Victoria and Penticton to earn the Fred Page Cup Championship. The Doyle Cup followed, and they ousted Fort McMurray in 6 games.
At the RBC, Burnaby lost its opener, in overtime to host Streetsville, then won three straight round robin games, before a miraculous 3-2 semi-final triumph over Ft William. With two minutes left in the 3rd period, the Express trailed 2-0. Most teams would have been done, but Burnaby scored at 18:07 and 19:48 of the final period before notching the winner at 6:19 of overtime. “This is a great character team. They don't seem to care who scores or does what. It's all about each other and being happy for the team and success we have as a group” said Rota.
The Express lineup included six 20-year-olds. Among them high scoring forward Geoff Irwin, who was with the PG Spruce Kings in the 2005 playoffs, and defenceman David Simoes, who is from Vanderhoof. Simoes was acquired from the Merritt Centennials, one of many successful trades pulled off by Rota this season. As many as a dozen players are eligible to return when Burnaby attempts to qualify for the 2007 RBC in Prince George.
Amidst the celebration, Rota was thinking about one special individual. “The one thing for me, a lot of people in Prince George would know my father. Of course he passed away last June (of cancer) and he was a key volunteer for our organization. I know he was watching with a great smile on his face and his spirit was there for sure. This was for my father”!
This championship proved that nice guys don’t always finish last. “I'm as competitive as anybody. Even though I guess I'm considered a nice guy, I love to win and it's amazing how the coffee tastes better in the morning when you win” said Rota. Tim Horton’s, Starbucks, or from his own kitchen, Darcy's coffee has now been brewed to perfection.
From the quote rack:
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"I can't even answer this until someone explains how Reggie Evans went unsuspended after what he pulled."
Mark Stein of espn.com, after a Denver Nuggets forward grabbed the groin of L.A. Clippers centre Chris Kaman, from behind, and yanked during a playoff game.
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"Ernie, I don't know where you get your cookies at, but the rest of us don't get ours there."
TNT commentator Charles Barkley, after fellow broadcaster Ernie Johnson said that Evans "got caught with his hand in the cookie jar."
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"This is nuts."
TNT's Kenny Smith on the same incident.
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"Quite often you hear about guys who like to get into the opposition's head. Hardly ever do you hear them wanting to get into their pants.''
Bill Lankhof of the Toronto Sun after Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry told Sports Illustrated that he sleeps in the game shorts of the opposing team the night before a game.
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“Bill, meet Reggie Evans of the Denver, um, Nuggets”.
Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, on Lankhof's above comment.
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"I was under the impression that Kobe Bryant had left town to accept the award during the second half of Game 7 against the Suns.''
Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun, who was caught off guard when Steve Nash was named the MVP of the NBA.
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"The CY Not-So-Young award."
Elliott Harris of the Chicago Sun-Times, on a possible trophy for 40-year-old Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux, who won five of his first six decisions this year.
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"Just wait for the Indy 200 at the end of the month."
NBC's Jay Leno, on a certain race taking a hit due to rising gasoline prices.
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And in case you missed it……..
The Dallas Morning News has put together some data regarding major sports in the
US and how much money they get annually for TV rights:
NFL $3.74 Billion
NBA $767 Million
MLB $713 Million
NASCAR $560 Million
NHL $ 68 Million
And how was your week?
Hartley Miller is the sports director for radio stations 94X and the Wolf@97fm. He also writes for the
PG Free Press. His e-mail address is hmiller@94xfm.com
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