Names in the Game
LONDON (AP) -Some of the home-team fans in the NHL's season-opening series were a very long way from home.
"I've come all the way from Orange County for this,'' Kings fan Tony Gerlech said Sunday. "It's an added bonus to be here. I love London, but I'm definitely here for the hockey.''
The Kings and the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks opened the NHL season with a home-and-home series at London's O2 Arena, which looked a lot like any other NHL arena.
"Apart from the accent of the guys serving behind the bar and the river outside it feels similar to any NHL stadium,'' Ducks fan Shaun Helguson said. "They've done a great job.''
And a little thing like the Atlantic Ocean didn't stop many from making the trip to the British capital.
"It is definitely a great excuse to get over here. I've been looking for a reason for years but never had one,'' said Mark Shawalah, a Ducks fan from Anaheim. "I'd never have come over here if it wasn't for the Ducks. I try not to miss any games.''
The games in London were the first two regular-season NHL contests in Europe. Both games were sold out, with fans in the crowd wearing a wide variety of hockey shirts.
The Ducks won Sunday's game 4-1, but the Kings took the opener, also 4-1. The teams alternated being the "home'' team, even though they wore the same uniform each night because they only packed one set each.
The fans didn't seem to mind that one bit, or the fact that they had so far to go to see their favorite players.
"I don't think the standard of hockey is any different after them traveling. They have to do a lot of traveling back home, too,'' Los Angeles-resident Joseph Dunbar said. "Hockey gets some bad press at home so it's great to see an amazing atmosphere like this thousands of miles away from home.''
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BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The football carried by Boise State running back Ian Johnson when he scored the winning points in the New Year's Day Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma is coming to Idaho's capital for good.
Jim Hoepf, a resident of Phoenix, near where the bowl game was held, plans to present the pigskin to Boise State officials before the Broncos' home game next Sunday against New Mexico State.
Ian Johnson scored the game-winning 2-point conversion and then tossed the ball into the stands after Boise State's 43-42 overtime victory against the Sooners. He followed that up by proposing to girlfriend Chrissy Popadics immediately afterward.
Hoepf has had the ball on the display in his home ever since.
"We've had our 15 or 20 minutes of fun with it,'' he told the Idaho Statesman. "I'm sure going up to Boise next week will be a great experience.''
School officials said the ball will likely be placed next to the Fiesta Bowl Trophy at Allen Noble Hall.
For his trouble, Hoepf won't be left empty-handed: He's getting Broncos sports paraphernalia, a replacement ball and possibly a chat with Broncos coach Chris Peterson. But with a teen son who is now a high-school senior, Hoepf says he has a better idea for a way the school could thank him for returning the ball.
"I would take in-state tuition,'' he said.
Read more at www.msnbc.msn.com
