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Crawford Takes 8-year-old's Flat Stanley On Blackhawks Adventure

CHICAGO -- An eight-year-old girl from Indiana was hoping that Corey Crawford would take Flat Stanley on some adventures for a class project. The Chicago Blackhawks goaltender was happy to oblige.

Sofia Cackowski attends Greensburg Elementary School in Greensburg, Indiana, about four hours south of Chicago. A few weeks ago, Cackowski, 8, wrote Crawford a letter, asking him if he could take Flat Stanley on adventures and take a picture with the Blackhawks.

Flat Stanley, for those who may not be familiar, is a character from a popular children's book series. Because he is flat, he can travel easily around the world by being mailed in an envelope.

Crawford took pictures of Stanley in the Blackhawks locker room, in the Zamboni tunnel, and with former Blackhawks forwards Patrick Sharp and Adam Burish in the press box at United Center.

And of course Flat Stanley had to meet the Stanley Cup.

Crawford took a picture of the character in front of the three Cups the Blackhawks won in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

Crawford also brought Flat Stanley to the Chicago Auto Show, where he signed autographs as part of First Look for Charity on Feb. 8.

"He found his way around," Crawford said of Flat Stanley. "I thought it was something cool for Sofia and just something a little bit different. I don't know if it was done before, but it was just a little different."

Cackowski received the Flat Stanley, an autographed photo of Crawford and a letter from the Blackhawks signed by Crawford, at her school on Feb. 20. The items Cackowski received were placed on the bulletin board outside of her classroom on Friday.

Crawford, who was out with a concussion since Dec. 16, was activated off injured reserve on Monday. Coach Jeremy Colliton didn't say if Crawford will start when the Blackhawks play the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Wednesday (10 p.M. ET; NBCSN, NBCSCH+, NHL.TV).

For Crawford, helping out Cackowski was special.

"I mean, when you're a kid, professional athletes, they seem kind of far away and unreachable," Crawford said. "So, if there's something we could do, something like that to try and create a little bit more connection, I think it's pretty cool."

Women Both Blacked Out In New Year Attack At Stanley Flat

A MAN took exception to two unwanted "first foots" at his home early on New Year's Day.

Michael John Cronin, 42, "completely lost his temper" when he returned to his home from visiting a neighbour to find two women apparently confronting a female family friend.

Durham Crown Court heard that he was under the impression the pair, a mother and daughter. Were attacking the other woman.

Victoria Lamballe, prosecuting, said In the outbreak of violence that followed, Cronin kicked and stamped on both women, to the point where each briefly lost consciousness.

The commotion at the flat, in Stanley, was reported to police at 3.40am on January 1, amid fears that one of the victims may be seriously injured.

Miss Lamballe said when officers arrived they found the flat, at Ladysmith Court, locked and so had to force entry.

Both injured women were located and were taken to hospital for treatment, shortly after 4am.

Miss Lamballe said one of the women, the mother, suffered a bruised and swollen forehead, and had an x-ray for a potential fracture to a nasal bone.

Her daughter suffered a wound to the mouth, tenderness to her jaw and abrasions to the chin.

She told police she "blacked out" and came around to see her mother on the floor.

Her mother said when she regained consciousness she was unaware what had taken place.

Cronin was arrested and mostly made no comment, although he claimed it was self-defence.

He denied two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm.

But, on the day of his scheduled trial he changed his pleas and admitted both counts.

The case was sent to the crown court for sentence as Cronin's 23 convictions on his record include offences of violence.

Paul Cross, for Cronin, said most of those offences were committed in the defendant's younger days, although two more recent domestic-type attacks committed while in drink.

He added that the two victims in this case turned up uninvited.

Judge James Adkin described it as, "a display of explosive violence" by Cronin, while drunk.

"Fortunately, there were no really serious injuries, but both women were rendered into a rather pitiful state.

"Both were sustained assaults and it seems to me an immediate custodial sentence must follow."

Imposing a total 21-month prison sentence, he made Cronin subject of ten-year restraining orders prohibiting him from contacting or approaching either victim.

Scott Not Flat On Stanley But Worst-case Scenario Unknown

Two weeks on the sidelines for ruckman, but that might be all

GEELONG remains uncertain about the extent of Rhys Stanley's foot injury, but the worst-case scenario "isn't too bad", Cats coach Chris Scott says.

Stanley damaged the ligament and bone in his foot late in the third quarter during a breakout performance for his new club in a win over Port Adelaide last Friday night.

The former Saint played no further part in the match and was set to consult a specialist this week, however a timeframe on his recovery is yet to be confirmed. 

"We're not exactly sure at the moment. There's a few opinions out there that are a little bit different," Scott said.

"Right at this stage we're not expecting to have him in the next couple of weeks – fortunately we've got the bye next week so that gives us a little bit more room.

"But the jury's still out, so I'll wait until I get a more accurate assessment before I talk about it publicly."

Asked if there was a worst-case scenario, Scott replied: "Not that I've heard. Well, put it this way, the worst-case scenario that I've heard isn't too bad.

"Rhys has been a good player for us, but we're still in the early stages of his development as a Geelong player. So it's a hiccup, but in the context of his career with us, we think it's only a minor one."

The Cats will be forced into at least two changes for Sunday's clash with Melbourne at Simonds Stadium, which is also much-loved defender Corey Enright's 300th game.

After being subbed out of the Power win with an ankle injury, James Kelly's stint on the sidelines is also "a little bit grey" but Geelong is hoping to lose the veteran for only "a couple of weeks".

"Really with these sort of syndesmosis injuries you don't know until the latter stages of the rehab. The early signs are good, but they're not the most important," Scott said.

Jimmy Bartel has fallen short in his bid to return from a long-term knee problem to play in Enright's milestone match. 


Scott said the Cats wanted to give the Brownlow medallist and key forward Mitch Clark (calf) every chance to come back in the best shape possible after the bye. 

"We think we've been conservative with Mitch, so that's a good sign for a quick return for him, and Jimmy Bartel's missed a bit of footy," Scott said.

"It's really important for Jim and for us that he has the preparation he needs to come back and play at his best. He has said publicly I think that he's desperate to get back this week, so that does indicate that he's pretty close."

The Cats could hand a debut to 193cm defender Jake Kolodjashnij for Sunday's match, which is a near sell-out for the grand occasion when Enright joins Ian Nankervis and John 'Sam' Newman in Geelong's 300 club. 

"All the Geelong people are (enjoying the build-up). If you ask the man himself, I'm pretty sure he's keen to get it over and done with to be honest. But it's the right thing to do to pay the milestone the respect it deserves," Scott said.

"Only the third player to reach 300 games, it's very significant and made even more so because he's so well-loved in our footy club."

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