Los Angeles celebrated the Kings’ second Stanley Cup title in three years with a parade of flatbed truck floats and double-decker buses through the city that ended in a rally at their Staples Center home on Monday.
Players hoisted the glistening silver Stanley Cup for the fans that lined the parade route behind police barriers and cheered the Kings, who prevailed after a record-tying 26 playoff games and three Game 7 wins away from home.
“It was an emotional, exhausting ride,” Conn Smythe Trophy winner Justin Williams told the crowd outside the arena. “For us to come out on top after you poured everything that you had into it, and it was good enough, words can’t describe it.”
Photo: AFP
The Kings clinched the NHL title in fitting fashion by beating the New York Rangers in their longest game in franchise history — a 3-2 victory in double overtime that lasted nearly 95 minutes before Alec Martinez’s Cup-clinching goal.
More than 300,000 fans lined the streets surrounding Staples Center, two years to the day of the parade to celebrate the 2012 Cup.
There was elation that day at the team finally reaching the top in their 44th season in the NHL. This time there was a sense that something big was growing.
Photo: AFP
With most of their team intact for the future, the Kings have the foundation for what could prove to become a perennial powerhouse.
“We’re starting to become a hockey town,” captain Dustin Brown told the crowd before confetti rained down.
At the rally following the parade, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said: “We have the best sunshine in the world, but we own the ice too.”
Big cheers rocked the arena for coach Darryl Sutter and general manager Dean Lombardi, who began laying the groundwork for the Cup runs when he arrived in Los Angeles in 2006.
“This franchise has now evolved to a different level,” Lombardi told the crowd. “I feel like the luckiest man in the world.”
“You see this baby, right here?” Sutter asked as he tapped North American team sport’s most famous trophy. “She’s been gone for a couple of years and we’re happy she’s home.”
After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open on Wednesday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the women’s singles quarter-finals. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while
BIG NAMES GONE: Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals. Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open. “I want to win the matches that are ahead of
Liverpool are in advanced talks with former AFC Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola as they seek a replacement for Arne Slot, reports said on Tuesday. Iraola has emerged as Liverpool’s top target to replace Slot, who was sacked on Saturday last week after a turbulent second season in charge. Liverpool have reportedly agreed a deal in principle to bring the Spaniard, who left Bournemouth at the end of this season, to Anfield. Sporting director Richard Hughes was heavily involved in hiring Iraola during his time at Bournemouth and is again spearheading the recruitment of the highly rated coach. The Reds are
KNICKS TAKE LEAD: San Antonio put on a 9-0 run to be up 95-94 with just over 2 minutes to play, but the rest of the game belonged to the New York Knicks It was past five minutes through the third quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday and the New York Knicks’ 11-game winning streak was in major jeopardy. The Knicks missed nine of their first 10 shots in the early part of the period and trailed the San Antonio Spurs by 14 points. They were floundering. Then something crazy happened. The Knicks found new life from an unlikely source: The Spurs. New York rallied to tie the game by the end of the period, gave up the lead briefly late in the fourth quarter, and pulled away late for a 105-95
RSS