Happy Mom's Day!

I had every thought on penning a Mother's Day article about the sacrifices moms make in the wake of their children becoming hockey stars. But it donned on me that every single mom out there that drives her child to hockey, that brings warm cocoa and snacks to games and practices, that cheers and supports her child through wins and especially losses, that smiles and has tears well up in eyes when her child waves to her in the crowd is already the Most Valuable Parent in the world. That's not to say that dads are any less special, but today is Mom's Day, and she she deserves her chance at being an MVP.

I want to say thank you to my Mom for putting up with my obsession over the game of hockey, for supporting me when I played and when I still play, and for never once telling me she couldn't drive me to a game no matter where the game was or how insignificant the game of shinny was in her life. Mom, you certainly are an MVP. Thank you for always being there for me.

Today, I'm just going to link to some excellent Mother's Day stories from around the Interwebs because I want to spend my day with my MVP. I'll also tack ona special story that I'm following here at home just below. But I do want to spend time away from this monitor today with Mom. Is that selfish? Some may say yes, but she's my Mom and she deserves some heartfelt thanks today.

• Paul Lukas of UniWatch Blog pens a great tribute to his Mom.
• Paul Kukla of Kukla's Korner advises that no bodychecks be thrown on Mom today.
• Five For Howling has your standard "flexing for mom's camera" Mother's Day picture.
• Mile High Hockey brings about memories of early morning hockey practices.
• Atom Bomb Bikini's Rob Ullman brings you some mom-themed illos.
• And that seems to be it. Hmph.
  

The RBC Cup, played for by the best Junior-A teams in the nation will be decided tonight in Dauphin, Manitoba as the hometown Dauphin Kings square off against BC's Vernon Vipers.

The Kings advanced to the RBC Cup Final last night by downing the La Ronge Ice Wolves of Saskatchewan by a 6-2 score. The Dauphin Kings have been perfect through the RBC Cup schedule thus far, and played the Vernon Vipers on May 1 on the opening day of the RBC Cup Tournament. Dauphin won that close game by a 6-5 score.

Earlier in the day, the Vernon Vipers advanced to the RBC Cup Final by downing the Brockville Braves of Ontario by a 2-0 score. Vernon's only loss at the tournament thus far was to Dauphin, so this match will have some intrigue as the two best teams in the tournament will meet to decide which team is hockey's best in the Junior-A ranks this season.

Game time is 2PM CST today from Credit Union Place in Dauphin, Manitoba. The game will be carried live on TSN starting at 3PM EST, so hunker down in front of the old TV with Mom, and watch the best teams from the Junior-A ranks in Canada battle it out for the right to be called "Champions". I'll have a full wrap-up this week on the RBC Cup and the championship team.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!