Stanley Cup gets lost in transit (they found it though)

The first-ever visit of the Stanley Cup to Slovakia was delayed when the Austrian Airlines regular flight from Vienna to Kosice landed in the Eastern Slovakian city Thursday afternoon with two NHL guards but no Cup.

New Jersey Devils defenceman Jiri Bicek was expected to show the Stanley Cup in a celebration on the city's main street and the party was supposed to last till Friday noon when defenceman Richard Smehlik would help bring it to Ostrava.

After frantic search, the Cup was found at Toronto's Pearson International Airport: it never left the ground.

While agreeing a situation like this hasn't happened in the last 100 years, one of the NHL guards, Walter Neubrand, said these things still can happen -- "We don't live in a perfect world. After all, it does happen that airline passengers can't find their luggage on arrival."

Still, the delay throws a monkey-wrench in the celebrations in Slovakia and the Czech Republic: even if the Cup makes it on the next flight out of Toronto, parties at Kosice, Ostrava and Znojmo and Trebic, the latter two hosted by forward Patrik Elias, would have to be re-arranged at the last minute or it may happen that at least one of the players will host his party in the Cup's absence.

Following celebrations in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the Stanley Cup is supposed to travel to Russia.

There are great stories about the Stanley Cup. The players from the winning team each get to haul it around awhile to show friends and family. Here's just a sample:

Gentleman that he is, Stanley has been spotted on several occasions at topless joints. When the Edmonton Oilers took the championship in 1987, the cup ended up on the runway with an exotic dancer at the Forum Inn, just across from the Northland Coliseum.
Talk about a great save: In 1996, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre had his daughter baptized in the cup.
In 1980, New York Islander Clark Gillies allowed his dog to eat from it. Ranger Ed Olczyk did Stanley a little more honor when he let 1994 Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin eat from it.
In 1991, Stanley was found at the bottom of Pittsburgh Penguin Mario Lemieux's swimming pool, a feat later duplicated by Avalanche goalkeeper Patrick Roy.
In 1905, some Ottawa Silver Seven players, reveling in their championship, decided they could punt the cup over the Rideau Canal on the Ottawa River. The water was frozen, and at the time the cup didn't have so many rings around the bottom, so it wasn't much larger than a football. The trophy was recovered the next day on the ice.

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