The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 38

D2 THE GAZETTE montrealgazette.com SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2008 NHL HOCKEY Rogers Cup features few Canadians morning briefing Wings using, abusing Stanley Cup ,1.1 FUN WITH BABIES One was baptized, another left PAT HICKEY Standing Pat "The depth of Canadian tennis leaves much to he desired. gift CANWEST NEWS SERVICE The Stanley Cup is experiencing quite an offseason. The Holy Grail of the National Hockey League has had its share of exotic and even erotic experiences over the years, and this summer is proving to be a busy one for the Cup, as each member of the Detroit Red Wings gets a chance to show off the silver chalice. This week, the Cup was used in a baptism for the daughter of Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom's cousin. "Tomas came up with the idea when we were sitting in his summer cabin kitchen a week ago," Robert Sundstrom told Associated Press.

"Me and my wife thought it would be fun to christen our daughter in such a priceless object." The Sundstrom's seven-week-old daughter, Alva Felicia' was baptized during a ceremony in northern Sweden, near Holmstrom's hometown of Pitea. Watching the proceedings were two members of the NHL's security staff, who kept guard over the Stanley Cup. In 1996, Colorado Avalanche defenceman Sylvain Lefebvre also used the Cup to baptize his daughter. The Cup has begun a cross-Sweden tour, as each of the seven Swedish members of the Stanley Cup winning Red Wings get his chance to keep the 115-year-old trophy for a day Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Mikael Samuelsson, Andreas Lilja, Johan Franzen and Niklas Kronwall will still get their chance to show off the hardware later this summer. This month, Wings forward Kris Draper admitted that his di-aperless daughter, Kamryn, left a little present in the Cup in June.

"A week after we won it, I had my newborn daughter in there, and she pooped in the Cup," Draper told reporters. "That was something. We had a pretty good laugh. "I still drank out of it that night, so no worries." Three weeks ago, Detroit defenceman Chris Chelios left the Cup at Malibu Beach, a month after teammate Brett Leb-da dropped it while at Chelios's Detroit bar. This week's Cup adventure is just another tale in the history of professional sports' oldest North American trophy Among the other uses and abuses of the Cup: Canadian tennis fans should be justifiably proud of Alek-sandra Wozniak's victory in Stanford, last week, and it appears that Frank Dancevic has regained his position as a top-100 player on the men's side.

But the draws of the Rogers Cup events this month indicate the depth of Canadian tennis leaves much to be desired. Dancevic was the lone Canadian to win a match this week in Toronto. Frederic Niemeyer and Peter Polansky exited in the first round of the main draw, while Milan Pokrajac, Philip Bester, Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil lost in the first round of qualifying. There are four women in the main draw of the women's event which begins this morning at the Jarry Tennis Centre. Wozniak qualified for a direct entry and Stephanie Dubois is close to the top 100 and is making a living at the game.

The other two wild-cards illustrate the lack of depth. Marie-Eve Pelletier of Repentigny is on the downside of her career at age 26. She has earned less than $25,000 this year. Sharon Fichman of Toronto has a wild-card bid only because there's nobody else in contention. She was heralded as a can't-miss prospect when she was 14, but her progress hasn't matched her promise.

She took some time away from tennis two years ago because she was burned out This year, her official earnings stand at a shade over $5,000 and she hasn't played a tournament in six weeks. Hardly someone you would describe as anup-and-comer. The good news for Fichman is that, unlike some other youngsters who dreamed of pro success, she has retained her amateur status and is eligible to accept a tennis scholarship at a U.S. university The price is right and so is the show: Qualifying at the Rogers Cup begins this morning and fans can pick up free tickets for the final round of qualifying tomorrow. What do you get for free? A chance to see some pretty good tennis players.

For example, the qualifying draw includes Alexandra Stevenson. The daughter of Sfij'-'-' -J g5 -i A A- rati VC- 1 I I js -f2 f. i 4" ifii "-f g- Him mi- ni STEVE SCAIA VANCOUVER SUN Red Wings' Dallas Drake hoists Sadie Chobanuk above the Stanley Cup as he visits his hometown of Rossland, B.C., on July 16. The Cup has a long, messy history with babies this offseason. habsinsideout.com 1994 Cup win with the New York Rangers, took the Cup to an East Side New York strip club.

"It was the first time I'd seen our customers eager to touch something besides our dancers," Scores spokesman Lonnie Hanover said. In 1905, members of the Ottawa Silver Seven decided to punt the cup over the Rideau Canal on the Ottawa River. ACENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Too many punches? George Foreman had memory lapse. George, Part I Did you catch George Foreman on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live? Kimmel asked Foreman who has a new reality show called Family Foreman how he kept up with his five sons, since they are all named George. Said Foreman: "Originally they had nick-' names.

I can't remember them, they had nicknames." 'George, Part II Foreman did remember the nick- name of one of his Georges: one who was supposed to be the last one, we called after a stoplight." predictions With NFL camps opening up, everybody has their preseason picks for greatness. So let's look back. The San Francisco 49ers were the popular, hip pick last "season, and more than one publication figured they were really going to take off. "A very interesting dark horse" Pro Football Weekly said. "(A) division title within reach," the San Jose Mercury News said.

"Playoff Run in San Fran," Athlon Sports said. No, no and no. The 49ers got Tost in the fog bank at Park on their way to a woeful 5-11 record. So what is the consensus now? Let's just say nobody's making the same mistake again, despite new offensive "cd-ordinator Mike Martz. Sporting News picks the 49ers last behind Seattle, St.

Louis and Arizona in the weak NFC 'West. Athlon says the 49ers will finish ahead of only the Rams. "Of course, Martz was with the Rams for seven years, which must mean that Athlon figures they're improved without him. Do the Bartman You remember Steve Bartman? The Cubs fan who tried to catch a foul ball in the stands but wound up interfering with out-Jielder Moises Alou in Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series between the Cubs and the Florida Marlins? The Cubs, of course, went Jan to lose and Bartman went on "to find his place in infamy. Screwing up could have been worth his while, but Bartman turned down a $25,000 offer Jrom show organizers at the Na-' tional Sports Collectors Convention just to sign a photo of the -incident.

There must have been a ratch. 'All the Benjamins St. Louis Rams rookie defensive end Chris Long, son of Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long, a six-year, deal, revealing what he will do with some of the money. "I've got some debts to pay off with my parents" Chris Long said. up and living in your 'college town, you tend to accumulate a bit of a debt to your family." What did they give him, a platinum mattress, gold sheets 'and a palladium pillow? An editorial in the French news- paper Liberation after cyclist Ricco became the third kicked out of the Tour de France because of a failed drug "test: "As a sport, cycling is dead.

As a spectacle, it is still running -Jike a chicken with its head cut off." LOS ANGELES TIMES OPEN Weir double-bogeys ninth to stay 6-under In 1991, it was found at the bottom of Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux's swimming pool. Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin used it as a feed bag in 1994 at Belmont race track. A member of the Edmonton Oilers, reportedly Mark Messier, took the Cup the night after their 1987 championship win to the Forum Inn, a strip club located Mike Weir's unfinished second preferred-lies allowance afforded the invaluable assistance. "Between the mud and the wind and the rough, nobody could be under par if we couldn't touch it," he said. Veteran pro Billy Mayfair, a cancer survivor looking for his On the 3 p.m.

ATP Tennis: Rogers Cup, CBC, SRC. PGA Golf: Canadian Open, Global, CBS, RDS. 4 p.m. MLB Baseball: New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox, RSE, FOX. Horse Racing: Breeders' Cup Challenge from Saratoga, ABC.

5 p.m. IRL Racing: Edmonton Indy, TSN. 7 p.m. Tennis: Rogers Cup, CBC For updated scores and sports round SUNDINORSUNDOUT? Follow the free-agent drama on our comprehensive Habsblog. across the street from Northlands Coliseum.

Messier, after celebrating the ROBERT LABERGE GETTY IMAGES didn't start off well. first Tour win since 1998, and Steve Marino were in the clubhouse with two-day totals of 8-underl34. Leading the group in the clubhouse at 7-under 135 was Carlos Franco, the son of a Paraguayan greenskeeper who grew up in Tube 7 p.m.- MLB Baseball: Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers, RSE. 730 p.m. ATP Tennis: Rogers Cup, SRC.

NASCAR Racing: Nationwide Series Kroger 200, TSN. 8 p.m. NASCAR Racing: Nationwide Series Kroger 200, RDS. Cycling: Tour de France, OLN. 830 p.m.

Horse Racing: Canadian Breeders' Championship, SCORE. news, go to canada.comsports I. sports writer Samantha Stevenson and NBA great Julius Erv-ing reached the semifinals of Wimbledon as a teenager. For local interest, there's Melanie Gloria. The Montrealer reached the semifinals of the Bell Challenge in Quebec City as a junior, but she decided that she would be better off getting an education.

Gloria recently completed her junior.year at Fresno State University where she has been one of the top collegiate players in the US. The three-time all-Ameri-can plays Jelena Pandzic of Croatia on centre court this afternoon. Gloria was denied a wild-card berth in the qualifying event last year, but she had no trouble getting in this year. Only 39 players signed up for the 48-player draw and there was room for seven Canadians. Homecoming for Premont: Olympic silver medallist Marie-Helene Premont will be competing at home during the next two1 weekends.

Premont, who leads the World Cup mountain bike standings this year, will be the favourite in a World Cup cross-country event tomorrow at Mont Ste. Anne She lived in nearby Chateau Richer and grew up on the mountain as a snowboarder before switching to a mountain bike. She won the World Cup mountain bike races there in 2005 and 2006 and was the runner-up last year Premont will also be in action next weekend in Bromont, the site of the final World Cup races before the Beijing Olympics. phickeythegazette.canwest.com CONTINUED FROM CI "I played really well, and I felt fine the last hole when I finished. But when I signed my scorecard, I could feel kind of my energy just leave my body, and I'm definitely tired now," Reavie said.

"This is by far my best start I've been hitting the ball real well all year, I just haven't been scoring well." Mike Weir of Bright's Grove, Ont, who was also tied for the first-round lead, double-bogeyed the ninth hole in his second round and was even-par through 12 holes to remain at 6-under. But Reavie provided the story of the day on a squishy Glen Abbey course that had borne the brunt of five straight days of rain, but was finally bathed in uninterrupted sunshine yesterday A self-described baseball nut who is sponsored by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Reavie said the 5 a.m. Champions Tour Coif: Senior British Open, TSN. 8 a.m. Cycling: Tour de France (Stage 20), OLN.

10 a.m. NASCAR Racing: Sprint Cup Allstate 400 at the Brickyard (qualifying), TSN. 1 p.m. MLB Baseball: Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays, TSN; Florida Marlins at Chicago Cubs.WCN. poverty before reaching the PGA Tour.

Now 43, Franco is four years removed from the last of his four career wins. He has missed more cuts than he has made this year while earning a little more than $185,000 U.S. "This week I make more putts, but the last four years, nothing," Franco said. "I make many three putts. I make two bogeys yesterday and today because I make two three putts.

That's what I tell you, my friend. When your putter is good, your game is better. When your putter is bad, I guarantee your game is lost" While some players will tee off at 7:30 a.m. ET today to complete their second rounds, two-time defending champion Jim Furyk sat comfortably inside the projected cut of 1-under. He shot a 3-under 68 Friday that put him 4-under for the tournament.

NATIONAL POST Complete Open results, Page D4 9 p.m. MLB Baseball: Arizona Diamondbacks at San Francisco Giants, RSW, RSP. 1130 p.m. Boxing (middleweight): Raymond Joval vs. James McGirt TSN.

11 p.m. PGA Golf: Canadian Open, RDS. 3 a.m. Champions Tour Golf: British Open, TSN. Programming subject to change.