The Show.

"Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals" - there may not be a more beautiful combination of words in all of sports ("The Miami Heat lose," "Chase Utley will be in tonight's line-up," "We will not be going Inside The Glass with Pierre McGuire tonight," "Shut up Jeff Van Gundy," and "Jon Gruden will not be on this morning's edition of Sportscenter" are all close though.) Tonight, someone will hoist the Cup, and the honorary passing of the Cup will then ensue. This tradition is perhaps overlooked and under-appreciated in the world of sports, yet its significance and symbolic value cannot be emphasized enough. It is customary that the captain of the winning team is handed the Cup first, and what he does with it from there is extremely telling. In many sports we'll see a team surround a championship trophy and then pass it around in an unorganized, blatantly random fashion. In hockey the ceremony is a little different. The captain selectively chooses who to pass the Cup on to, and this exchange says a lot about whoever is on the receiving end. It's an honorary exchange often provided to seasoned, championship-deprived veterans or heart and soul players, without whom the team would crumble.

There are times when the Cup's first recipient is obvious, for example when Ray Borque, who had gone 22 seasons without hoisting the Cup, won with Colorado in 2001. Other times it isn't so easy to guess, and with that being said, it's time to place some bets:

If Vancouver wins the Cup, I would have a hard time seeing captain Henrik Sedin passing the Cup to anyone but his twin brother and partner-in-crime Daniel Sedin. Might there be more deserving recipients? Perhaps. Guys like Kevin Bieksa, Manny Malholtra, and even Ryan Kesler could all be considered candidates, but we're talking about his bro. They've literally been together their entire lives and although some others on the team may be slightly more deserving, I don't see it happening. Brothers don't shake hands. Brothers gotta hug (name that movie.)

If Boston wins the Cup, the first thing that'll happen will be me bursting into tears and breaking my TV. Then Zdeno Chara will get the Cup, and after he lifts it up and accidently scrapes it on the JumboTron, he'll then, in my opinion, hand it to none other than Tim "Not So Slim" Thomas. I would guess Mark Recchi because he's almost older than all the players on his team combined (he is 43 and has played in the league since 1988) and could very well be in the midst of his last year in the league, however he has won two Cup's already, one with the Penguins in the 1990-91 season and one with the Hurricanes in the 2005-06 season, so with that being said I don't think he'll get it first - he'll probably get it third though. Tim Thomas has carried this team and if they win it will be because of him. He has never won a Cup, so between that and the fact that he is the heart and soul of this team, I can't see it going to anyone else. Also, I hope Brad Marchand gets it last.

Also, for those wondering, I have Vancouver winning 4-2 tonight. The power play is going to come to life tonight, Bobby Lu is going to play ok, giving up 2 goals on 27 shots, and the city of Vancouver is going to burn to the ground. Take it to the bank.