Sports

Avalanche’s Stanley Cup rings ‘amazingly done’

Published

3 years ago

October 12, 2022

admin

6:43 PM ET

Associated Press

DENVER — For their sparkling Stanley Cup run, the Colorado Avalanche picked up some snazzy rings to commemorate the moment.

How about these numbers: 669 diamonds, 18 custom-cut sapphires — plus two more round sapphires — and 42 rubies. All told, its gemstone weight checks in around 18.5 carats.

Not only are the rings eye-catching, but so is the accompanying box. When opened, it plays a video of the Avalanche hopping onto the ice to celebrate the franchise’s third Stanley Cup title by dethroning the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 in June.

The players, coaches and team members received their keepsakes Monday night in a private dinner ceremony.

“They’re pretty incredible,” said defenseman Cale Makar, who won the Conn Smythe as the postseason MVP. “I don’t think they could be any more perfect. Super amazingly done.”

One more celebration awaits — a banner-raising party with the capacity crowd at Ball Arena before the season opener Wednesday night against Chicago. Then, no more celebrations.

“We have to flip the switch and get ready,” Colorado forward Mikko Rantanen said.

A Cup defense has proven difficult. Only two teams have repeated in the cap era, which began in 2005 — Tampa Bay (’20, ’21) and Pittsburgh (’16, ’17).

“Long season and shorter offseason and then get ready for a new season — it makes it so hard,” said Rantanen, whose team will play in Calgary on Thursday and face former teammate Nazem Kadri. “You just have to be laser-focused. … We know what we did last year and how you need to win.”

About those rings: Crafted by Jostens, the jewelry pays tribute to all the small things. There are 19 diamonds set in the snow moving toward the logo to honor the legacy of Hall of Fame forward turned executive Joe Sakic. Those diamonds are .22 carats, which is an homage to the 22 years of ownership by the Kroenke family.

The burgundy-colored “A” is made out of six rubies, which marks Colorado winning the Cup in six games over Tampa Bay. The background on the right side features 72 diamonds to represent the 72 combined regular-season and playoff wins, which ties for the most in NHL history. There’s also two sapphires to signify the ’96 and ’01 Stanley Cup wins.

“Very beautiful. It’s hard to describe it,” Rantanen said. “I didn’t know what to expect really. And it was a lot better than I thought. I was just so happy to see it.”

Same with Makar.

“Obviously a good keepsake, something that you have forever as a memory,” Makar said. “Hopefully, we can keep adding to the collection.”

Sports

Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

Published

1 hour ago

July 8, 2025

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Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

Field Level Media

Jul 8, 2025, 04:16 PM ET

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz accepted an invitation on Tuesday to compete in Monday’s Home Run Derby in Atlanta.

Cruz is the fifth player to commit to the competition, held one day before the All-Star Game. The others are Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.

Cruz, 26, is known for having a powerful bat and regularly delivers some of the hardest-hit homers in the sport. His home run May 25 at home against the Milwaukee Brewers had an exit velocity of 122.9 mph and was the hardest hit homer in the 10-year Statcast era.

But Cruz has never hit more than 21 in a season, and that was in 2024. He’s on track to set a new high this year and has 15 in 80 games.

Cruz has 55 career homers in 324 games with the Pirates.

Cruz will be the first Pittsburgh player to participate in the Derby since Josh Bell in 2019. Other Pirates to be part of the event were Bobby Bonilla (1990), Barry Bonds (1992), Jason Bay (2005), Andrew McCutchen (2012) and Pedro Alvarez (2013).

Overall, Cruz is batting just .203 this season but leads the National League with 28 steals.

Among the players to turn down an invite to the eight-player field are two-time champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies and 2024 runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

Defending champion Teoscar Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers recently turned down a spot as a consideration to nagging injuries.

Top power threats Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers also are expected to skip the event.

Sports

Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

Published

1 hour ago

July 8, 2025

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Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

Field Level Media

Jul 8, 2025, 01:40 PM ET

New York Yankees All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr., after making 28 starts in a row at third base, is moving back to second base starting with Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, manager Aaron Boone said.

Boone confirmed the change on the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast on Tuesday.

Chisholm, who is batting .245 with 15 home runs, 38 RBIs and 10 steals in 59 games, has recently been bothered by soreness in his right shoulder, which he said is an issue only on throws.

He said he prefers to play second base and prepared in the offseason to exclusively play in that spot before injuries played havoc with Boone’s lineup card, starting with Chisholm’s oblique injury in May.

Third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera went down with a season-ending ankle injury on May 12.

DJ LeMahieu manned second base while Chisholm was at third, but Boone has a better glove option in Oswald Peraza, a utility man with a stronger arm plus defensive skills across the infield.

LeMahieu, 36, is batting .266 with two home runs and 12 RBIs this season.

Sports

White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

Published

1 hour ago

July 8, 2025

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White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

Field Level Media

Jul 8, 2025, 03:55 PM ET

The Chicago White Sox reinstated outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Robert, 27, has struggled this season through career lows in batting average (.185), on-base percentage (.270) and slugging percentage (.313). Through 73 games, he has amassed just 16 extra-base hits (eight doubles, eight home runs) in 285 plate appearances.

He does have 22 stolen bases in 28 attempts and is just one shy of his career- high in steals.

In a corresponding move, the White Sox optioned infielder Tristan Gray to Triple-A Charlotte. Gray was just recalled before Monday night’s game but did not play.