[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 87 (Thursday, June 10, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4857-S4859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 549--CONGRATULATING THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS ON WINNING 
                          THE 2010 STANLEY CUP

  Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Burris) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 549

       Whereas, on June 9, 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks hockey 
     team won the Stanley Cup;
       Whereas the 2010 Stanley Cup win is the first Stanley Cup 
     win for the Blackhawks since 1961, when John F. Kennedy was 
     president and the Peace Corps was first established;
       Whereas the Blackhawks joined the National Hockey League in 
     1926 and have a rich history in the League;
       Whereas the Blackhawks were 1 of the original 6 teams in 
     the National Hockey League;
       Whereas, during a very difficult period for the National 
     Hockey League, the Blackhawks remained a strong and 
     competitive team, winning the Stanley Cup in 1934, 1938, and 
     1961;
       Whereas the Stanley Cup championship appearance in 2010 is 
     the first for the Blackhawks since 1992;

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       Whereas the Blackhawks posted a regular season record of 
     52-22-8, and the team dominated opponents during the 
     playoffs, with 12 wins and only 4 losses, including a sweep 
     of the number 1-seeded San Jose Sharks to win the Western 
     Conference championship and advance to the Stanley Cup 
     finals;
       Whereas General Manager Stan Bowman, Head Coach Joel 
     Quenneville, President John F. McDonough, and owner Rocky 
     Wirtz have put together and led a great organization;
       Whereas several Blackhawks players competed in the Olympic 
     games and faithfully returned to the Blackhawks to help 
     secure a championship, including--
       (1) Patrick Kane, who played for the United States;
       (2) Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook, and Duncan Keith, who 
     played for Canada; and
       (3) Tomas Kopecky and Marian Hossa, who played for 
     Slovakia;
       Whereas all 34 active players, whose shared goal was to end 
     the 49-year championship drought, collectively contributed to 
     a victorious season, including Kyle Beach, Bryan Bickell, 
     Dave Bolland, Nick Boynton, Troy Brouwer, Adam Burish, Dustin 
     Byfuglien, Brian Campbell, Brian Connelly, Corey Crawford, 
     Jassen Cullimore, Jake Dowell, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser, 
     Jordan Hendry, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Marian Hossa, Cristobal 
     Huet, Kim Johnsson, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Tomas 
     Kopecky, Andrew Ladd, Shawn Lalonde, John Madden, Antti 
     Niemi, Danny Richmond, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp, Jack 
     Skille, Brent Sopel, Jonathan Toews, Hannu Toivonen, and Kris 
     Versteeg;
       Whereas the 2010 Blackhawks players follow in the giant 
     footsteps of the great players in Blackhawk history who have 
     had their numbers retired, including Glenn Hall (#1), Keith 
     Magnuson (#3), Pierre Pilote (#3), Bobby Hull (#9), Denis 
     Savard (#18), Stan Mikita (#21), and Tony Esposito (#35);
       Whereas the city of Chicago welcomes the first championship 
     in the city in 5 years with open arms;
       Whereas a new generation of young fans in Chicago and 
     around the State of Illinois are discovering the joy of 
     championship hockey; and
       Whereas the Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, San 
     Jose Sharks, and the Philadelphia Flyers proved to be worthy 
     and honorable adversaries and also deserve recognition: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) congratulates the Chicago Blackhawks on winning the 
     2010 Stanley Cup;
       (2) commends the fans, players, and management of the 
     Philadelphia Flyers for allowing the Chicago Blackhawks and 
     the many supporters of the Chicago Blackhawks to celebrate 
     the first Stanley Cup win for the team in 49 years at the 
     Wachovia Center, the arena of the Philadelphia Flyers; and
       (3) respectfully directs the Enrolling Clerk of the Senate 
     to transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to--
       (A) the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks hockey organization; and
       (B) the Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz.

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, Chicago has its cold days, and icy 
sidewalks in the winter. But this year's winter proved to be the right 
opportunity for the perfect conditions for Illinois' most recently 
acclaimed sons and daughters, the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, which 
won the Stanley Cup last night in Philadelphia.
  The city of Chicago and State of Illinois have some of the best 
sports fans in America, particularly when it comes to hockey. Last 
night the fans received their reward as they watched Towes, the 
youngest captain in the National Hockey League at age 22, hoist the 
Stanley Cup over his head as the team ended a 49-year drought and again 
became the National Hockey League champions; 49 years, and now 
champions again.
  It gives us Cubs fans hope. The fight song of the team begins, ``Here 
come the hawks, the mighty Blackhawks.'' The team lived up to that song 
last night as they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers and in a hard-
fought game in overtime in the sixth game of the series. An amazing end 
to a great season. Just over 4 minutes and 6 seconds into the overtime, 
2010 Olympian Patrick Kane scored with an amazing shot you have to see 
to believe. His efforts were matched by goals from teammates Dustin 
Byfuglien, Patrick Sharp, Andrew Ladd, and 21 saves by the fabulous 
goal tender Antti Niemi.
  The last time the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup was 1961. John 
Kennedy was President. They also won that cup in six games with the 
assistance of hockey legends Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, and Murray 
Balfour. Who can forget those legendary players?
  This is the fourth Stanley Cup win for a team with a rich hockey 
history that began in 1926. Today we celebrate the players who will be 
tomorrow's legends. This achievement was not achieved without the hard 
work and determination on the part of the team, the front office, and 
those incredible players.
  I congratulate their coach, Joel Quenneville, on his unbelievable 2-
year run in leading the team to victory; also to team president John 
McDonough who brought new life to the Chicago Blackhawks, and the city 
of Chicago, and owner Rocky Wirtz, maybe the only major sports owner in 
America who is cheered wildly whenever his name is mentioned at a game. 
He assembled a strong office team that developed the Blackhawks into 
champions. This victory was the result of the exceptional gamesmanship 
of all of the players and all of the work from the staff and the 
assistance and encouragement from owners and fans.
  I congratulate all of them for this remarkable achievement. I am 
proud to have the Blackhawks in my State of Illinois. Illinois sports 
fans have developed patience when it comes to their teams, and truly 
great things can come to those who wait.
  With two Illinois teams earning national championships in 5 years--
that is the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Blackhawks--our fans can 
celebrate the recent triumphs and hope for many years to come.
  Now I have a resolution that I have sent to the desk. It is working 
its way through the Senate, and we are hopeful that before the end of 
this session, with the bipartisan cooperation of cheering for these new 
Stanley Cup champions, we will be able to enact this resolution and 
send it off so tomorrow's victory parade and rally will be complete. I 
know they are waiting anxiously for the receipt of the Senate 
resolution. So I hope we can get this done this evening.
  Mr. BURRIS. Last night, and well into this morning, the sounds of 
celebration rang through the streets of Chicago.
  Throughout the city, a proud anthem was sung, an anthem which begins:
  Here come the Hawks--the mighty Blackhawks.
  Many consider the Stanley Cup to be the most difficult trophy to win 
in all of professional sports.
  But last night, thanks to an extraordinary Blackhawks team, the 
historic Stanley Cup has returned to Chicago for the first time in 
nearly half a century.
  This incredible season caps an impressive renaissance for one of the 
National Hockey League's oldest and most storied franchises.
  When Rocky Wirtz took the helm of this organization following the 
loss of his father, longtime Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz, he moved 
aggressively to restore his team to excellence.
  He reached out to the Chicago community, which comprises some of the 
greatest sports fans in the world.
  He brought fresh talent to the team's roster and coaching staff, and 
partnered with Chicago institutions like WGN-TV to bring hockey to a 
wider audience.
  As a result, he was able to catch lightning in a bottle, and set his 
team on the path to a truly historic season.
  From the very beginning of this year, every Hawks fan could tell that 
this team showed some real promise.
  Time and again, they battled adversity and overcame it.
  Time and again they were tested, but in each successive game, they 
laced up their skates and took to the ice with growing confidence and a 
fiery will to win.
  Finally, after a dominant regular season and an outstanding showing 
against playoff opponents, only the Philadelphia Flyers stood between 
them and their first national title in 49 years.
  There is no question that both of these teams deserved to be in 
contention for the Stanley Cup.
  There is little doubt that these fine athletes, from Philadelphia and 
Chicago, are among the very best in the sport of hockey.
  So it was no surprise that this year's Stanley Cup Finals proved to 
be an exciting and hard-fought series of games.
  I congratulate the Flyers and their fans on an outstanding season, 
and I applaud their sportsmanship throughout the year. They played with 
grit and determination, right up to the very last moment.
  But in the end, there can be only one champion.
  And last night, in a thrilling overtime performance that brought the 
city of Philadelphia to a standstill and the City of Chicago to its 
feet, the

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Blackhawks indisputably won the Stanley Cup.
  That is why I am proud to join my good friend Senator Durbin to 
introduce a Senate Resolution in honor of this team.
  And I ask my colleagues to join with us in celebrating this 
remarkable achievement.
  I congratulate the owners, the entire coaching staff, and every 
member of the Blackhawks organization.
  And I applaud each and every athlete who took part in this incredible 
victory.
  Their names are etched forever into Chicago sports history, just as 
they will soon be etched into the Stanley Cup Trophy itself.
  Finally, I would like to congratulate the people of Chicago, and 
Blackhawks fans all over the country, who have kept the faith for 49 
years, never doubting that greatness would one day return to their 
hockey team.
  I got married in 1961. That is the last time they won the Stanley 
cup.
  Their day has finally come, and this championship belongs to them.
  I am proud to join them in celebration, and I am eager to see the 
Stanley Cup on display back home in Chicago, right where it belongs.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts. I certainly want to offer my 
congratulations to the city of Chicago. Being from Massachusetts, 
having the World Champion Red Sox, Celtics, New England Patriots, 
Bruins, New England Revolution, I can certainly appreciate the victory 
that was brought to the city of Chicago. Certainly when the President 
has them to the White House, I am hoping he will offer the same 
courtesy to the NCAA Champion Boston College mens' hockey team as well.

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