On Memorial Day it is common that towns will have parades. It is an opportunity for the community to get together. A Memorial Day plaques are a great way to thank those who helped to coordinate the parade or to hand out to the participants.

A plaque is especially nice to hand out to children that are participating. Many times children will with march with their girl scout or boy scout troop, with their school’s marching bands or with their athletic team. By presenting a child with a plaque at the end of the parade shows them that they are part of something special. It also reminds them of why they are marching. Participating in a Memorial Day parade will instill a sense of patriotism in a child.

With the world of technology today awards can be created in so many forms, styles and customizations. With the variety of plaques they are able to produce nowadays you may see them become more wide stream. Plaques can be produced in a wide variety of materials such as wooden and acrylic plastic. They are doing things with plaques today that are really neat for kids and team sports such as photo plaques. You can have the player photographed on the plaque or the entire team. I think photo plaques make great team gifts for after the season, win or lose kids will honor and cherish these mementos.

Whether you are looking for a great corporate awards or a really neat sports awards check out these great plaques by Crown Awards.

Glass plaques have become a very popular corporate award. With the impression option in the glass plaques, companies can engrave the workforce name and the modified message for each and every worker that is awarded. Ideal corporate award like glass plaques take the affair to altogether next level by generating positive waves into the company. This will certainly enhance worker morale and company’s productivity as well.

The routine that garnered a 3rd-place win was learned almost entirely from scratch in just three days prior to competition!

“Small Team is for schools that cheer with eight girls or less,” explained JHS Cheer Coach Jeni Wyant. “It’s meant for small schools to compete.

“It’s a 2-1/2 minute routine with constant cheers, stunts, jumps and tumbling. We competed against 15 schools and took third place!”

Wyant explained that the girls had practiced a routine since August, thinking it would be less stressful at State Competition time to use the same routine that they had practiced for Homecoming.

When the girls performed at Exhibition at Cedar Falls High School the week prior to State, their evaluation was “kind of low.”

“We came in on Monday and talked about what we could do to make this better,” said Wyant about the routine they’d been practicing for months. “We revamped the entire tumbling sequence.”

She explained that the tumbling included back handsprings, forward rolls, and back tucks.

On Tuesday, the cheers were improved, and on Wednesday, they revamped all the music. Finally on Thursday, more complicated stunts were integrated into the program, retaining the beginning stunt and the pyramid in the middle of the routine.

“The girls basically learned a whole new eight-count dance on Friday,” Wyant said. “They pulled off a third place! The girls call it ‘third place in three days.’”

The cheerleaders in Small Team were Taylor Boies, Jessica DuBois, Kelsie White, Blair Morris, Skylar Clayton, Kayla Rummans and Kelliann Frush.

These same cheerleaders, with the exception of Kayla and Kelliann, performed the 5-Person Stunt. This competition is a full minute of constant stunts to music. There were 11 teams competing.

Wyant praises and credits her assistant coach Tara Murphy for all her work and ideas in helping get the Jesup cheerleaders so far in competition.

“She’s been cheering since she was in third grade and has competed on many cheer squads [at different levels],” said Wyant about Murphy. “She works for the National Cheer Academy. Her contract (for JHS) is from November through March, but she volunteered her time to help us out. Without her, I don’t know how I’d have pulled it off this year.”

The Jesup cheerleaders practice two hours every single night, with five of the girls practicing two routines back-to-back. They do conditioning throughout the summer three nights a week, as well.

“They make it look easy,” said Wyant about the stunts, “because they have two-hour practices, doing their routines up to three times.”

This is the third year of State competition for the JHS cheerleaders, and they have brought home three trophies and two plaques, ranging from 1st through 6th places.

Some were won by former Citizen employees who now work for the Arizona Daily Star, and I eventually sorted those out, walked across the courtyard, and dropped them off at the Star’s front desk so my friends could have some keepsakes.

But I was fascinated by the mystery of an old trophy and lugged it back to my work area last Tuesday.

There was no mention of the Citizen on the engraving, and I wondered why The Diamond Bill’s Sportsmanship Award, given during the Tucson Soap Box Derby in 1950, is in our custody and why only three names are on the award.

I probably should be busy hunting for a job in my spare time, with the closure of the Citizen looming. But that part of my brain that has made me a good reporter and editor just wouldn’t let this go.

I found out the Citizen used to be one of the sponsors of the Soap Box Derby. I’m still trying to find about Diamond Bill’s, so maybe some longtime Tucsonans can enlighten me because I couldn’t find anything in our archives.

I looked at the last name on the trophy, 1955 winner Tommy Ricksecker, and told my podmate – the immensely talented page designer Jennifer Lum – that I was going to use the enormous font of information available at my fingertips (the phone book) to see if any Rickseckers were listed. I discovered two.

I got Tom’s number during the first call, and the 66-year-old Ricksecker laughed last Wednesday when I got him on the phone and told him about my discovery.

“I didn’t win the local title, so I didn’t get the chance to go race in the nationals in Ohio,” Ricksecker said.

The Citizen had the trophy, he said, because he had to give it back before the 1956 races. I couldn’t find out if the sportsmanship award was ever given out.

I was only able to give Ricksecker half of his memories. The trophy had been topped with a big Soap Box Derby insignia and mounted on a wooden base, he said.

But that’s not the end of the story. Early last Wednesday, former podmate M.J. McVay, an immensely talented page designer, mentioned that she knew some Rickseckers back in her hometown of Findlay, Ohio.

And, yep, the Tucson Rickseckers have cousins in Findlay, and, yep, M.J. went to the same church as cousin Paul.

It’s a small world after all.
Originally posted by Dave Petruska.

trophies & awards

The prize? Bragging rights.

“We don’t race for money,” said Charlie Ashton, co-owner of Tea’s Hobby Shop and R/C Raceway Park. “It is all for bragging rights, trophies and plaques.”

And there ought to be plenty to brag about.

“(The nationals are) the biggest thing up in this area as far as R/C racing,” said Ashton. “It’s a big get-together of some of the top drivers in the Midwest.”

As of Monday, they had 70 drivers registered and 150 entries for the three-day event that will start Friday. Racers will be traveling from as close as Rochester, to as far away as Nashville, Tenn. to compete in the dirt-oval racing event.

Ashton is very happy with that number considering the track just opened in September and hosted its first event in November.

“We are excited to have this many people coming,” he said. “For us, it’s our first big race, since we have only been here for a few months. First of many, hopefully. We are aiming to grow to over 200 entries in the future.”

But for now, he is just excited to host the event and get in a little racing of his own.

“It’s all about the friendships and camaraderie of racing,” Ashton said.

He is also looking forward to seeing some of the talent that the racers will bring.

“That’s probably the funnest part. Seeing the level of racing that they can do, just seeing that all in one place is really fun.”

Originally posted by Sarah Doty.

Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina’s 6-9 junior All-American from Poplar Bluff, Mo., has been chosen winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as the nation’s top college basketball player for the 2007-08 season.

Hansbrough received the trophy at the USBWA’s annual college basketball awards breakfast this morning in San Antonio. Drake coach Keno Davis was presented with the Henry Iba Award as the USBWA’s Coach of the Year and LSU-Shreveport’s Josh Porter was presented with the USBWA’s Most Courageous Award at the breakfast as well.

Selected by the USBWA two years ago as its national freshman of the year, Hansbrough was a dominating force for North Carolina this season, leading the Tar Heels to the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio, a No. 1 ranking in the national polls and a school-record 36 wins.

He was the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year and led the league in scoring and rebounding with averages of 23.1 and 10.5, respectively.

Hansbrough is the fourth player from North Carolina to receive the USBWA player of the year award. The others are Phil Ford (1978), Michael Jordan (1984) and Antawn Jamison (1998).

This is the 50th anniversary of the USBWA player of the year award. First presented in 1959 to Oscar Robertson, it is the nation’s oldest and only one named after a player.

The USBWA named its player of the year award the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 1998 in honor of “The Big O,” named “College Player of the Century” in 2000 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. Today, with nearly 800 members, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. For more information on the USBWA and its awards and programs, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821 or 314-421-0339

Originally Written by Joe Mitch, www.sportswriters.net

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby won the Hart Trophy as the National Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player tonight, capping a sophomore season in which he became the youngest scoring champion in major pro sports history and sparked one of the NHL’s most dramatic team turnarounds.

Crosby, who earlier this month was named the youngest team captain in League history, received 91 of 143 first-place votes for 1,225 points in voting by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks, who tallied 25 first-place votes and 801 points, was runner-up.

At 19 years, 10 months, Crosby is the second-youngest Hart Trophy winner in the history of the award, which was introduced in 1924. Wayne Gretzky was 19 years, 5 months old in 1979-80 when he captured the first of eight consecutive Hart Trophies with the Edmonton Oilers.

Crosby finished the regular season with 36 goals and 84 assists for 120 points, winning the Art Ross Trophy as League scoring champion. He took the permanent scoring lead with a career-high six-point night against Philadelphia Dec. 13 and never went more than three consecutive games without a point afterward. The Penguins were 41-10-9 in games when Crosby recorded a point, 6-13-0 when he did not and 0-1-2 when he was out of the lineup.

The Penguins finished the season with a 47-24-11 record for 105 points, qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2001 and recording a 47-point improvement over 2005-06. Only three clubs in NHL history have posted a bigger gain, most recently the Winnipeg Jets’ 48-point surge from 1980-81 to 1981-82.

Other honorees included Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, who won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. Malkin launched his NHL career in memorable fashion, becoming the first player in 89 years to score goals in each of his first six NHL games. Before Malkin, only three players in NHL history had scored at least one goal in each of their first six (or more) games and all did so in 1917-18, the League’s inaugural season. The 20-year-old went on to lead all rookies in goals (33), power-play goals (16), assists (52) and points (85).

Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings joined an elite group by capturing the Norris Trophy as the League’s outstanding defenseman for the fifth time. Lidstrom becomes the fourth defenseman in League history with as many as five Norris Trophy wins, joining Hockey Hall of Fame members Bobby Orr (eight), Doug Harvey (seven) and Ray Bourque (five). Lidstrom, who earned his fifth Norris in the past six seasons, tied for the League lead among defensemen in plus-minus with a +40 rating, ranked third among all players in ice time per game (27:29) and was fifth among defensemen in scoring with 62 points (13 goals, 49 assists).

Lidstrom’s teammate, Pavel Datsyuk, won his second consecutive Lady Byng Trophy for combining sportsmanship with a high standard of play. Datsyuk led the Red Wings in scoring for the second consecutive season, matching a career high with 87 points (27 goals, 60 assists). His plus-36 rating ranked second on the club and seventh in the League overall.

Another repeat winner was Carolina Hurricanes captain Rod Brind’Amour, who won the Frank Selke Trophy as the League’s outstanding defensive forward. Brind’Amour ranked second among all NHL centers with a 59.2% face-off winning percentage and ranked third among League forwards in average ice time per game (23:19).

The New Jersey Devils’ Martin Brodeur claimed the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender for the third time in the past four seasons following a record-breaking campaign. Brodeur won an unprecedented 48 games, surpassing Bernie Parent’s mark of 47 in 1973-74, led the NHL in shutouts (12), ranked third in goals-against average (2.18) and third in save percentage (.922).

Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks won his first Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach, edging last year’s winner, Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres, by eight points (134-126). In his first year behind the Vancouver bench, Vigneault guided the Canucks to a franchise record-breaking season. They improved their wins record to 49 from a previous high of 46 and recorded the highest points total in club history with 105.

Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu accepted the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions to his community. Koivu’s exemplary support of cancer treatment and research — and, more particularly, his personal demonstration of courage as a cancer survivor — is a source of inspiration and pride to his teammates as well as the many thousands of patients and their families who benefit from his generosity.

Boston Bruins center Phil Kessel received the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Diagnosed with testicular cancer in early December, the 19-year-od Kessel played a Dec. 9 game against New Jersey, knowing he would be admitted to the hospital for surgery on Dec. 12. He missed only 12 games before returning to Boston’s lineup.

Four players who received the NHL’s statistic-based trophies June 2 in Ottawa also were acknowledged at the NHL Awards Show this evening: Crosby (Art Ross Trophy), Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier (Maurice Richard Trophy as goal-scoring leader) and the Minnesota Wild’s Niklas Backstrom and Manny Fernandez (William Jennings Trophy as goaltenders on the club allowing the fewest goals).

The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) cast ballots for the Hart, Norris, Selke, Lady Byng and Calder Trophies. The PHWA also voted on the Masterton Trophy. The 30 NHL General Managers voted on the Vezina Trophy. The NHL Broadcasters’ Association (NHLBA) submitted votes for the Jack Adams Award, and a special panel of representatives from the PHWA and NHLBA chose the King Clancy winner. Voting for these awards was conducted at the conclusion of the regular season.

Balloting results were tabulated by the accounting firm Ernst & Young, with the exception of the Masterton and King Clancy trophies. The results for these awards were tabulated by the PHWA and the National Hockey League, respectively.

Orginally Written by http://penguins.nhl.com

Major League Soccer has named its championship trophy for Denver investor Philip Anschutz, owner of the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer franchise.

The new Philip F. Anschutz Trophy — 28-1/2 inches tall, including the base, and weighing 43 pounds — was unveiled Wednesday at Tiffany & Co. in New York, on the eve of the start of the MLS playoffs, the league’s website, MLSnet.com, reported.

Anschutz is also part-owner of the Houston Dynamo.

At a news conference to unveil the trophy, which resembles a large loving cup, league Commissioner Don Garber described Anschutz as “the heart and soul of Major League Soccer.”

“We really believed that Phil Anschutz deserved a lasting legacy,” MLSnet.com quoted Garber as saying.

“Phil Anschutz believes in the sport down to its core,” he said. “He attends games almost every weekend with his family. He believes in the American player. He believes that this country has to have a top-flight league that celebrates what he thinks is the best sport in the world.”

He said the Denverite rescued the league financially a few years ago.

“In our darkest hour, we went through contraction,” Garber said, according to the MLSnet.com report. “We were really questioning what the future of MLS would be. Phil Anschutz stood up and said, ‘Even if I have to carry this league on my shoulders, I won’t allow Major League Soccer not to continue or grow.’”

The MLSnet.com report did not say whether the normally publicity-shy Anschutz attended the unveiling ceremony.

The new trophy replaces the Alan I. Rothenberg Cup, which has been retired.

Originally Written by http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles

Trophy News from ESPN

Kobe Bryant recently said he would rather win an Olympic gold medal than the NBA championship. Was he merely saying what was politically correct before the Olympics? Did he say it only because it sounds better than “I would rather win an Olympic gold medal than lose the NBA championship”? Or does an Olympic gold medal really mean more to him than a professional championship?

Only Kobe knows for sure but what about you? What sporting trophy means the most to you? Of all the things you could win in sports, which would you choose? A Super Bowl ring? The Masters green jacket? The Heisman Trophy? The Cy Young Award? A World Series? A Final Four? There are dozens upon dozens of championships and awards to win, but which would you most want to claim?

Here are a few quick caveats on my rankings:

The form of the award matters. Trophies top plaques, and the bigger the better. After all, you want the damn thing to look impressive in your trophy case.

Names count, too. Awards named in honor of a person (such as the Cy Young) just resonate more than those that, while prestigious, are named something boring and generic like the “MVP award.”

Durability counts. Generally, the longer the award has been around, the more it means.

Originally Written by Jim Caple for ESPN