Steeped in a tradition that spans three centuries, the Stanley Cup is the most storied trophy in all of professional sports. To raise it means you've won it, and to win it means you've survived an epic journey fraught with untold difficulties. Ross Bernstein, the best-selling author of more than 40 sports books, including The Code and Slap Shot Original, interviewed more than 100 current and former NHL players and coaches who have had privilege of raising Lord Stanley's holy grail above their heads after winning hockey's ultimate prize.
Raising Stanley
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
--This text refers to the
Kindle Edition
edition.
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Ross Bernstein is the best-selling author of more than 40 sports books and has appeared on thousands of local and national television and radio programs over his career, including CNN, NPR and ESPN, as well as on the covers of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today. As a sought after motivational keynote speaker, Ross speaks to corporations and groups around the country about the inspirational legacy of his late friend and mentor, Herb Brooks, the coach of the fabled gold medal winning 1980 "Miracle on Ice" hockey team. Ross, who had actually been working with Brooks on writing a series of motivational/self-help books at the time of his tragic passing in 2003, honors the legacy of his friend and mentor through a program based on the topics of Passions and Legacies entitled: "When it Comes to Team-Building, Leadership & Motivation, Do you Believe in Miracles?" Putting many of the life-lessons and ideologies he learned from the fiery coach into a practical business application, Ross' interactive, entertaining and thought-provoking presentation aims to inspire others to follow their dreams and maybe, just maybe, even create their own miracles. Ross and his wife have one daughter and currently reside in the Twin Cities, MN.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
About the book, from its author: Ross Bernstein,
This review is from: Raising Stanley: What It Takes to Claim Hockey's Ultimate Prize (Hardcover)
To raise the Stanley Cup means that you have reached the pinnacle of professional hockey success; it means you are a champion -- the best of the best. Each player's epic journey to get to that sacred place has a unique and meaningful story behind it, however, and those stories are at the very core of "Raising Stanley." For more than two years Ross Bernstein researched, met and interviewed more than 100 players and coaches who all share one common denominator -- they had the distinct privilege of hoisting Lord Stanley's holy grail. You see, to raise it means you have won it. Hockey players are extremely respectful as well as superstitious when it comes to the Cup. In fact, no player will ever even touch it unless he has won it. So, when he actually gets to raise it above his head for the first time, it is undoubtedly one of the proudest and most profound moments of his life. Some stories will make you laugh out loud; like the one about Shjon Podein, who was so excited about winning the Cup in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche that he refused to take off his equipment for the next 24 hours. That's right. Wanting the moment to last forever, he kept his entire uniform on -- skates and all -- and partied like a rock star all night long throughout the streets of Denver. Some will make you cringe; like the one about Mike Modano, who, despite suffering from incredible pain, insisted upon getting his busted hand shot up with novocaine between each period of every playoff game because he didn't want to let his teammates down during Dallas' 1999 Stanley Cup run. Some will bring tears to your eyes; like the one about Phil Esposito, who talked about how tough it was for him to slip his 1970 Boston Bruins championship ring off his dad's finger at his funeral just before they had to close his casket. And some will inspire you; like the one about Brendan Shanahan, who took the Cup to his father's grave site the morning after leading his Detroit Red Wings to the title in 1997 so he could personally thank him for all the sacrifices he had made for him over the years -- from 5AM practices to getting a second job -- just so he could live out his childhood dream. You will read not only about what it meant for the players to raise the Cup, but also about the deeper significance of how that achievement has effected or changed their lives. The raw emotion and personal stories of determination, courage and perseverance are woven into life lessons and practical business takeaways that can be taken back to the office and put to use immediately. The playoff beards, the dramatic game-sevens, the closed-door captain's practices, the coaching wisdom, the bench-clearing brawls, the crazy superstitions, the "playoff make-up" (the cuts, stitches and bruises on their faces), and of course their "Day with the Cup" -- it all comes to life in the ensuing pages. Inspirational, poignant and hilarious stories on the quest to claim hockey's ultimate prize, that's what this is all about. (A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book proudly benefits the Herb Brooks Foundation, of which Ross Bernstein serves as the President of the Board of Directors.)"For me, winning the Stanley Cup was the most important thing I accomplished in my career. It was a long journey getting there too, 14 years to be exact before we finally won it. I went through a lot of tough seasons in Detroit before we were able to eventually get it right. So, to look back now at what it means, I would have to say that it has clearly defined my career. The Cup is so special because it's so hard to win. That two months of playoff hockey after already going through six months of the regular season really wears on you. So, when you are the last team standing at the end, that means you've survived and that you're the champion. I'm just extremely proud to have played my entire career in Detroit and that I was able to be a part of bringing three Stanley Cups to that great city." -- Steve Yzerman, Stanley Cup Winner with Detroit 1997, 1998, 2002 "I have been fortunate to have won six Stanley Cups as a player but winning that first one in 1980 was the most memorable. It can only happen once and for me that was my first championship. I remember the exact moment like it was yesterday. I was on the bench between shifts and I saw Lorne Henning pass to John Tonelli who in turn passed to Bobby Nystrom, who shot it past Philadelphia goalie Pete Peeters for the overtime game-winner. It was the greatest moment of my hockey career, without a doubt. When that red light went off I was officially a Stanley Cup champion." "You know, I will never forget being an eight year kid up in Saskatchewan and watching Jean Beliveau raise the Cup over his head on "Hockey Night in Canada." I knew right then and there that I wanted to do that one day. So, to finally touch it was beyond words to me. To finally be able to grab onto it and hoist it over your head and kiss it, wow, what a special moment. It was so heavy, yet light as a feather. You just feel validated, like you have earned it. I remember winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1976 and when I went to get my trophy some reporters asked me to stand by the Stanley Cup to have my picture taken with it. I said hell no, I wasn't going near that thing. I knew that you didn't dare touch it unless you've earned the right to do so. Well, four years later I earned it. "Later, when we got back to the locker room, I remember rubbing my fingers across all the engraved names on it and imagining where mine would go. Then, to drink champagne out of that beautiful silver cup, it had never tasted so sweet. What a moment. I just wanted to remember everything about it. I didn't want it to end. I would look up and study the faces in the crowd, focusing on them. My senses were so heightened, what I was seeing and hearing and smelling. I remember every moment from that day, minute by minute, it's just engrained in my head. It's so vivid. Hard to believe that was 30 years ago. Wow. "Then, to go back to back the following year, and then make it three in a row the next, followed by the fourth straight to solidify us as a dynasty -- what an amazing run that was. We were the kings of hockey back in the early `80s, no question about it. Once you won one, and got that taste of victory, then it just made you hungry for more. That was what drove us, that feeling of being the best, to be champions." -- Bryan Trottier, Stanley Cup Winner with Islanders 1980-83; Pittsburgh 1991-92; Colorado 2001 (Assistant Coach) "The Stanley Cup is the ultimate punch line to the story, and the story is what makes the punch line work. The story is of that particular season and of all the hard work, preparation and sacrifice that went into that season. The Stanley Cup is the culmination of your goals that you set out in quest of many months before. So, in the quest for anything that is hard, you have to be willing to hope it -- which is so hard because chances are it won't turn out -- and that can be extremely painful. You also have to have your teammates hope for it just as hard. You have to go through moments where it doesn't seem remotely possible and nothing seems to be working, and then fight your way back. So no matter how good your team is, you have all of those things going on over the course of a season. And if that weren't enough, you are also carrying everybody else's hopes as well, including the fans. In our case it was the fans in not only Montreal, but also the entire province of Quebec. You hope big and you hope hard and you make yourself completely vulnerable in the process. You can't emotionally prepare yourself for the possibility of it not turning out the way you hope. I mean if it doesn't go your way you've got nothing there to protect you from that disappointment. So you work and you work and then it finally happens, and everything comes together and you are the champions." "I love the moment of the celebration right after winning. Then, about a half hour later, when you are in the locker room, you go into a sort of deep mellow where you know it's done. It's over. You set out on a path and you had no way of knowing that you could get there, but you got there and you won. That is the moment that was the most gratifying for me. That was real satisfaction, to look around at your teammates and to realize that you were the champions that season. You sit and you reflect, and it feels very good. Very good. It's a quiet internal smile and it's wonderful. It's freedom. Then, you get to enjoy it that next week with the parades and the parties. Best of all though, you get to enjoy it that entire Summer. You see that scoreboard in your mind with the final score on it and you remember how good that felt. Then, when someone comes up to you and has something to say about a certain goal you blew back in December or a game you lost in February, it's as if you can just point to that scoreboard and all is forgotten. You just carry that around with you until September, when you have to work towards earning another scoreboard. It's that incredible freedom that you rarely feel about anything in life. It's amazing." -- Ken Dryden, Stanley Cup Winner with Montreal: 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978 & 1979
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great stories but the Penguins did NOT win the Stanley Cup in 1993,
By Abe's Beard (Illinois) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Raising Stanley: What It Takes to Claim Hockey's Ultimate Prize (Hardcover)
I loved this book, got it on Kindle, but it annoys me when authors/editors whoever is responsible, misses facts. Throughout the book several members of Stanley Cup winners are interviewed. These are great stories about what it took to win the Stanley Cup. At the end of the story, the player's name is listed, his team and year that they won the Cup. Pittsburgh is listed as 1992 and 1993 champions several times in the book when in fact they won in 1991 and 1992. Just wish the author/editor took more time to get this right that's all. It's a pet peeve I have but it shouldn't deter you from buying this book.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
