[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15571-15572]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 176--RECOGNIZING THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE'S NEW 
JERSEY DEVILS AND NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION'S NEW JERSEY NETS FOR 
           THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING THE 2002-2003 SEASON

  Mr. CORZINE (for himself and Mr. Lautenberg) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 176

       Whereas the New Jersey Devils defeated the Anaheim Mighty 
     Ducks 3-0 on June 9, 2003 to win the Stanley Cup in 7 games;
       Whereas the New Jersey Nets won the National Basketball 
     Association (NBA) Eastern Conference Championship and reached 
     the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year before losing 
     a closely contested series to the San Antonio Spurs in 6 
     games;
       Whereas the Devils won their third Stanley Cup in the last 
     9 years, as many as any other team in that period;
       Whereas the Devils and Nets have won over the State of New 
     Jersey (where the first professional basketball game took 
     place in 1898) with their skillful offenses and stifling 
     defenses;
       Whereas the Devils and Nets have come to epitomize the 
     never-say-die spirit of the people of New Jersey and have 
     both become an important part of the State and its identity;
       Whereas the fans of both New Jersey teams have shown the 
     same spirit and determination in support of their teams and 
     deserve commendation for their loyalty in this season's 
     playoffs;
       Whereas the Devils had a 12 win, 1 loss record at the 
     Continental Airlines Arena, the most home wins in the history 
     of the Stanley Cup playoffs;
       Whereas the Nets swept both the Boston Celtics and the 
     Detroit Pistons during a 10- game winning streak in this 
     season's playoffs;
       Whereas Pat Burns, head coach of the New Jersey Devils, has 
     enjoyed the kind of success that has eluded so many other 
     great coaches, winning his first Stanley Cup title in his 
     first season as head coach of the Devils;
       Whereas Byron Scott, head coach of the New Jersey Nets, has 
     guided the Nets to the most wins in franchise history, and 
     has led

[[Page 15572]]

     them to the NBA Finals in 2 of his 3 seasons as head coach;
       Whereas Martin Brodeur, regarded by many as the premier 
     playoff goaltender in hockey history, recorded 3 shutouts in 
     the Finals, giving him 7 shutouts during this season's 
     playoffs and 20 during his illustrious postseason career;
       Whereas the outstanding playmaking abilities of Jason Kidd, 
     widely regarded as the best point guard in the NBA, has been 
     key to the success of the Nets during the past 2 seasons;
       Whereas the outstanding play of Ken Daneyko, Martin 
     Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Sergei Brylin, and Scott Neidermayer 
     has been a vital part of each of the 3 Stanley Cup 
     Championships enjoyed by the New Jersey Devils organization;
       Whereas Jason Kidd has superb teammates in Brandon 
     Armstrong, Jason Collins, Lucious Harris, Richard Jefferson, 
     Anthony Johnson, Kerry Kittles, Donny Marshall, Kenyon 
     Martin, Dikembe Mutombo, Rodney Rogers, Brian Scalabrine, 
     Tamar Slay, and Aaron Williams, allowing the team to win its 
     second consecutive NBA Eastern Conference championship; and
       Whereas the name of each Devils player will be inscribed on 
     the Stanley Cup, including Tommy Albelin, Jiri Bicek, Martin 
     Brodeur, Sergei Brylin, Ken Daneyko, Patrik Elias, Jeff 
     Friesen, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Jamie Langenbrunner, John 
     Madden, Grant Marshall, Jim McKenzie, Scott Niedermayer, Joe 
     Nieuwendyk, Jay Pandolfo, Brian Rafalski, Pascal Rheaume, 
     Mike Rupp, Corey Schwab, Richard Schmelik, Scott Stevens, 
     Turner Stevenson, Oleg Tverdovsky, and Colin White: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate congratulates--
       (1) the New Jersey Devils for their determination, 
     perseverance, and excellence in winning the National Hockey 
     League's 2003 Stanley Cup; and
       (2) the New Jersey Nets for their success during the 2002-
     2003 NBA season.

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