The Oscars Red Carpet Jewelry Fashion

Amy Adams wins the “Red Carpet Bling” award wearing $1.35 million worth of emerald and diamond jewelry from Cartier, including a platinum and diamond emerald haute joaillerie secret watch bracelet worth $1.025 million. The bracelet features a 30.75 carat carved emerald and 575 diamonds (15.38 cts.). It’s matched with platinum and diamond ct. stud earrings worth $35,000.

An inability to sign

The Oscars Red Carpet Jewelry Fashion

Amy Adams wins the “Red Carpet Bling” award wearing $1.35 million worth of emerald and diamond jewelry from Cartier, including a platinum and diamond emerald haute joaillerie secret watch bracelet worth $1.025 million. The bracelet features a 30.75 carat carved emerald and 575 diamonds (15.38 cts.). It’s matched with platinum and diamond ct. stud earrings worth $35,000.

An inability to sign

weekend update

This weekend my boyfriend's law school had a casino night formal:I wore this Milly cocktail dress:This picture is really dumb because I was goofing around but I thought it showed off the dress well:
So much fun! Hope you had a good weekend.

2010 Team Canada Sidney Crosby Jersey

After their failure to medal at the 2006 Olympics, there could not have been more pressure on Canada to win gold as hosts of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

The 12 teams in the tournament were divided into three groups of four teams each based on their IIHF World Rankings. Following the completion of group play, the group winners, plus the fourth ranked team, were given byes into the quarterfinals where they would await the winners of elimination games among the eight remaining teams.

Group A was won by the United States following an exciting 5-3 win for the Americans what was in doubt until the final minute before an empty net goal provided the final margin.

Hard fought Group B belonged to Russia while defending gold medalists Sweden went undefeated in Group C. Finland advanced as the fourth ranked team with 6 points in their group, the same as the Czech Republic, but earned the bye thanks to a better goal differential thanks to big wins over Belarus and Germany.

In the Elimination Round, Switzerland defeated Belarus 3-2 in overtime, the Czech Republic downed feisty Latvia 3-2, also in overtime, Slovakia beat plucky Norway 4-3 and Canada dominated Germany 8-2.

The Quarterfinals had the United States advancing with a 2-0 win over the Swiss, Finland shutout the Czechs 2-0, Slovakia upset Sweden 4-3 to end their hopes of a repeat and Canada dominated Russia 7-3.

The Semifinals paired the United States with Finland and Canada and Slovakia. In the first game, the United States streaked out to a shocking 6-0 lead a little over half way through the first period on their way to a 6-1 win and a place in the final.

Canada got two first period goals by Patrick Marleau and Brendan Morrow and then at 16:54 of the second period Ryan Getzlaf's goal gave the Canadians a 3-0 lead, which was enough to defeat the Slovaks, who scored two goals three and a half minutes apart midway through the third period to make for a tense finish. Canada was able to hold on to earn a rematch with the United States in the final with gold on the line at home and on an NHL sized ice sheet.

The dream matchup between the two North American rivals was a tense affair with both teams getting their chances to score until Jonathan Toews beat US goalie Ryan Miller on the short side to take a 1-0 lead at 12:50 of the first, the only goal of the period and the first time the United States had trailed in a game the entire tournament.

Jonathan Toews opens the scoring for Canada

The second period was more of the same, with hard hits, great saves and little scoring as the tension in the arena rose. Finally Corey Perry coming down the slot fired a loose puck past Miller for a 2-0 Canadian lead at 7:13.

Corey Perry puts Canada up by two

The Americans responded with a goal from Ryan Kesler that squeaked between Roberto Lunogo's body and arm at 12:44. The remainder of the second period was played even, as the shots on goal finished at 15-15.

Ryan Kesler's goal gets the US on the board

Again, the third period wore on as the two teams punched and counterpunched, yet both failed to yield a goal. With no penalties called, waiting for a power play proved futile. With time running out and desperation setting in, the United States pulled Miller from their goal with 1:27 remaining for an extra attacker. With time now running out on the Americans, Patrick Kane hurled the puck at the Vancouver goal. It bounced off of Lunongo and was banged in by Zach Parise with 25 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

Parise's late goal puts the party on hold and gives the US hope of stealing the gold

After seven minutes of play, during which many hoped someone, anyone, would score as to avoid having the gold medal decided by a shootout, Canada was leading 6-4 in shots, Jarome Iginla passed the puck off the boards to Sidney Crosby, who had a clear path to the goal. He took a few strides before shooting the puck, which went under Miller's pads before he could close the gap, ending one of the most memorable games in the history of the sport.

Crosby beats Miller to win gold

The goal sent the arena, and all of Canada, into a delirious celebration.

Crosby begins the celebration of his golden goal

The gold medal was the eighth for Canada and their second in three tries after a 50 year drought.

Canada poses for a team picture after receiving their gold medals

Today's featured jersey is a 2010 Team Canada Sidney Crosby jersey as worn during the gold medal final in which Crosby scored the gold medal winning goal in overtime. Crosby had worn the assistant captain's "A" earlier in the tournament but for the final it was worn by Iginla and Chris Pronger.

With the ruling that countries could not carry the logos of their national organizations as their main crest, the usual Hockey Canada logo was replaced by a maple leaf which contained an intricate design full of symbols of Canadian culture and heritage, including an eagle, thunderbird, moose, beaver, maple leafs representing past gold medals and fleur-de-lis as well as a hockey player.

This jersey was a big improvement over the Nike Swift jerseys introduced in 2006 where each team wore essentially the exact same jersey only with their countries colors changed. By 2010, the designs began to diverge, with each country having it's own unique designs once again, although with certain elements shared, which is natural when they all come from the same source.

This jersey is adorned with several logos, including the Vancouver 2010 Olympic logo on the left sleeve, the controversial Hockey Canada logo on the right sleeve and finally the Canadian Olympic Committee logo on the bottom right of the back of the jersey in the location formerly occupied by the IIHF logo.

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Today's video selections begin with the Top 10 plays of the tournament, followed by highlights from the gold medal final.

Oscars!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is the most fabulous, bestest ever night of the ENTIRE YEAR.

Yes, Oscar night is upon us. I cannot wait. Who do you think will be the best dressed? Who will be a trainwreck? In just a few more hours we'll find out!

I will, BabyWP permitting, try to live tweet the red carpet. Check me out @EsqWearsPrada.

‘Prince’ Anhalt to Wear $200,000 worth of Jewelry for the Oscars

I’m not too proud to hit into the TMZ video vault on occassion and what better time to go into that treasure trove than on the day of Oscars, even if this story is laced with a bit of crazy. Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, better known as Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husband, will be attending the Oscars, so he says, or maybe he will be attending one or more of the Oscar parties. Whatever, he needed some serious

‘Prince’ Anhalt to Wear $200,000 worth of Jewelry for the Oscars

I’m not too proud to hit into the TMZ video vault on occassion and what better time to go into that treasure trove than on the day of Oscars, even if this story is laced with a bit of crazy. Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, better known as Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husband, will be attending the Oscars, so he says, or maybe he will be attending one or more of the Oscar parties. Whatever, he needed some serious

Jersey Customization Videos

A member of the sports jersey forums at JerseyCentral.org recently posted some videos which show just how jerseys are customized and we found them rather interesting and wanted to share them with you here at Third String Goalie.

This first video is a quick one minute overview of how a jersey is customized.

The second video runs three minutes and obviously shows more detail about the process involved.

Here are tips for outfitting your club team if you are ordering a set of jerseys, which quickly shows the differences between screen printing, heat sealed and tackle twill embroidery.

This final one mainly deals with issues faced with creating baseball jerseys, which button down the front, an approach not even Reebok has tried yet in the NHL.

Kirsten Dunst Poses Nude for Bulgari’s New Ad Campaign

Actress Kirsten Dunst has been out of the spotlight for at least a year but now she’s back in a big way by baring all for a new Bulgari fragrance and jewelry advertisement.

With Florence’s Boboli Gardens as the backdrop, Dunst wears little more than purple fabric, jewels from the Italian luxury jeweler’s new Mediterranean Eden Collection and a large bottle of Mon Jasmin Noir, the company’s new

Kirsten Dunst Poses Nude for Bulgari’s New Ad Campaign

Actress Kirsten Dunst has been out of the spotlight for at least a year but now she’s back in a big way by baring all for a new Bulgari fragrance and jewelry advertisement.

With Florence’s Boboli Gardens as the backdrop, Dunst wears little more than purple fabric, jewels from the Italian luxury jeweler’s new Mediterranean Eden Collection and a large bottle of Mon Jasmin Noir, the company’s new

2006 Sweden National Team Mats Sundin Jersey

Looking to atone for their shocking defeat in 2002 at the hands of Belarus, Sweden came into the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy ranked second in the IIHF world rankings.

They were grouped with Slovakia (ranked 3rd), the United States (6th), Russia (7th) and qualifiers Kazakhstan and Latvia.

The Swedes opened their tournament on February 15th with a strong 7-2 win over Kazakhstan to get themselves off to an important fast start. They ran into a buzzsaw the very next day and were soundly thrashed by the Russians by a score of 5-0.

Fortunately for Sweden, overmatched Latvia was up next two days later and Sweden regained some confidence and momentum with an easy 6-1 victory. 24 hours later they had another one in the win column after a narrow 2-1 defeat of the United States. This set up a final Group B game against Slovakia with first place in the group on the line.

Unfortunately things went as poorly for Sweden as possible, as they went down to defeat 3-0 at the hands of the Slovaks, their second shutout in five games. That, combined with Russia's 5-4 win over the Americans, dropped Sweden down to third place in the final Group B standings and a Quarterfinal matchup with the second place team in Group A, who already had scored surprising defeats of both Canada and the Czech Republic in the preliminary round of group play.

However, Switzerland has also shown themselves to be inconsistent, having allowed winless Germany and Italy to tie them. They also showed they were entirely beatable in their 5-0 loss to Finland.

Sweden answered the challenge in fine style and easily ousted the Swiss from the tournament with a 6-2 win, again giving their confidence a boost when they needed it most. Next up for Sweden was the Czech Republic, who impressed no one in the preliminary round by losing three times, beating only Germany and Italy to do just enough to advance. Given a new life in the Quarterfinals, The Czechs upset Group B winners and rivals Slovakia 3-1 after an empty net goal with three seconds remaining.

Sweden earned their shot at a gold medal with a solid 7-3 trouncing of the Czechs.

Meanwhile in the other half of the bracket, the Russians had eliminated the previous gold medal winning Canadians, while Group A winners Finland ousted the United States 4-3 and then dumped Russia easily by a score of 4-0 to set up the gold medal showdown with their classic rivals Sweden.

The gold medal final opening faceoff

The red hot Antero Niittymaki got the start in goal for unbeaten Finland, while Henrik Lundqvist was named the starter for Sweden. Each team survived a penalty in the first period before Jorgen Jonsson was sent off at 14:15 for hooking. 30 seconds later Kimmo Timonen put Finland ahead with an assist from Teemu Selanne when his shot from the point trickled through Lundqvist's legs for a rather soft goal. Sweden was again penalized a little over a minute later, but held fast and the first period concluded with Finland ahead 1-0 on the scoreboard but trailing in shots 9-7.

Saku Koivu watches the puck squirt through Henrik Lundqvist

The intensity picked up in the second period when Toni Lydman of Finland was penalized at 3:52 which allowed Sweden to equalize at 4:42 when Henrik Zetterberg banked one in off of Niittymaki's leg as he came out from behind the net from Mikael Samuelsson and Christian Backman.

Zetterberg celebrates Sweden's first goal

A trio of Finnish penalties followed and during the third one called at 13:00 on Saku Koivu, Sweden was able to take the lead at 2-1 just 24 seconds later when defenseman Niklas Kronwall pinched in from the point and received a pass from Zetterberg. He temporarily lost the puck when a Finnish defender arrived at the same time, but he was able to recover the puck and fire a quick, hard wrist shot past Niittymaki for the goal.

Finland countered at the 15:00 mark when Jussi Jokinen swooped in behind the net and sent a quick pass to Ville Peltonen who was streaking toward the net. Peltonen was able to direct a backhander past Lundqvist to even the score at 2-2. Olli Jokinen received the second assist for Finland.

Ville Peltonen evens the game at 2-2

There was no scoring for the remainder of the second period despite a pair of power plays for Finland, the second of which was cut short by an interference penalty on Jussi Jokinen just 20 seconds into the Finnish power play. As the second period ended, the shots on goal again favored Sweden, this time by a narrow 11-10 margin.

Before the fans could settle into their seats, captain Mats Sundin won the opening faceoff of the third period and Peter Forsberg took the puck and skated over the Finnish blueline to the left side of the ice. Once across the ice he sent a pass back to Sundin trailing him over the line. Sundin then moved along the boards down to the left side of the faceoff circle and sent a backwards pass out to the blueline where a wide open Niklas Lidstrom was arriving with a full head of steam. He put everything he had into his shot which found the back of the net just over Niittymaki's shoulder only ten seconds into the period to regain the lead for Sweden at 3-2.

Lidstrom receives congratulations after his goal early in the third period

Sweden killed off penalties at the 3:33 and 11:50 marks as Lundqvist shut the door in goal, as the Finns outshot Sweden 10-8 for the period, to carry Sweden to the gold medal.

Sweden celebrates their gold medals

For the tournament, Daniel Alfredsson led Sweden in scoring with 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points in 8 games, followed by Sundin's 3 goals and 5 assists, good for 8 points. Lundqvist played in 6 of Sweden's 8 games and finished with a 5-1 record and a 2.33 goals against average with a .907 save percentage.

Today's featured jersey is a 2006 Sweden National Team Mat Sundin jersey. 2006 was the year that Nike introduced the brand new Nike Swift jerseys, first seen at the World Junior Tournament on the USA and Canada. Each of the 12 participating countries in the 2006 Olympics wore the new Swift designs, except for Switzerland and the eventual gold medal winning Sweden, who were somehow able to overcome the truck-like weight and aerodynamics of the old style jerseys when compared to the new technologically advanced jerseys the rest of the field was outfitted with.

A unique addition to the Swedish jerseys from their previous sweaters was an attempt to create a "lace up" collar style, which was simply a few slits cut into the existing yoke collar and threading a white elastic threat through it, which did not actually have to be tied, as it was a single continuous piece.

Another unique feature of the jerseys Sweden wore during the 2006 Olympics was the Swedish Olympic logo added to the right shoulders, which was not added to the retail version of this jersey we purchased. After some much appreciated assistance from a friend who created an embroidery file and a helpful embroidery shop, we were able to add this vital detail to our jersey and were quite pleased with the results shown below.

The Swedish Olympic logo added to their jerseys at the 2006 games

Given the opportunity, Sweden always opts for their traditional bright yellow jerseys with blue crowns, stripes, names and numbers, but for this contest they captured gold in their road blue sweaters.

Today's video selection are highlights, including all the goals, from the 2006 Olympic gold medal final between Finland and eventual champions Sweden.

2011 Niche Award Winners in Jewelry Design

Oceanic Bangle Bracelet

The winners of the 2011 Niche Awards for jewelry were announced February 18 during the Buyers Market of American Craft show in Philadelphia. The Niche Awards annually celebrate excellence and innovation in American and Canadian craft. They are sponsored by the trade publication, Niche.

Judging was based on three main criteria:

• technical excellence, both in surface

2011 Niche Award Winners in Jewelry Design

Oceanic Bangle Bracelet

The winners of the 2011 Niche Awards for jewelry were announced February 18 during the Buyers Market of American Craft show in Philadelphia. The Niche Awards annually celebrate excellence and innovation in American and Canadian craft. They are sponsored by the trade publication, Niche.

Judging was based on three main criteria:

• technical excellence, both in surface

Introducing BabyWP

BabyWP is here! She made her fashionably late arrival on Feb. 15.

She is the sweetest baby. Mr. EWP and I are totally in love.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have some baby fashion shoots to do.

110-ct. Yellow Diamond on Display in London

The world’s largest known vivid yellow pear-shape diamond is now on display at London’s Natural History Museum. Known as the Sun-Drop, the 110-ct. diamond, mined in Africa, has been lent to the museum by Cora International—the diamond company that crafted the original rough diamond.
The famous gem was placed on display today in the museum’s “Vault,” a gallery for its “rarest, unique and most

110-ct. Yellow Diamond on Display in London

The world’s largest known vivid yellow pear-shape diamond is now on display at London’s Natural History Museum. Known as the Sun-Drop, the 110-ct. diamond, mined in Africa, has been lent to the museum by Cora International—the diamond company that crafted the original rough diamond.
The famous gem was placed on display today in the museum’s “Vault,” a gallery for its “rarest, unique and most

What I learned in Tucson

The sunset outside the Tucson Convention Center

I’ve been covering the jewelry industry for 10 years and I have never been to the Tucson gem shows. It was an eye opening experience in many ways and I gained more hands-on knowledge in my eight days in Tucson than I did at any other time working in the industry. There are approximately 36 gems, minerals, fossil and jewelry shows in Tucson over a

What I learned in Tucson

The sunset outside the Tucson Convention Center

I’ve been covering the jewelry industry for 10 years and I have never been to the Tucson gem shows. It was an eye opening experience in many ways and I gained more hands-on knowledge in my eight days in Tucson than I did at any other time working in the industry. There are approximately 36 gems, minerals, fossil and jewelry shows in Tucson over a

Lois Berger’s Pearl Walk

Strands of Nucleated Chinese Pearls at the Sea Hunt booth

Pearls are not just beautiful, they are complex. There are many ways of growing pearls these days and a seemingly endless number of ways to label them and quantify their beauty and value. All of this was made even clearer to me during the recent AGTA GemFair Tucson when I participated in Lois Berger’s annual “Pearl Walk.”


Lois Berger

Lois Berger’s Pearl Walk

Strands of Nucleated Chinese Pearls at the Sea Hunt booth

Pearls are not just beautiful, they are complex. There are many ways of growing pearls these days and a seemingly endless number of ways to label them and quantify their beauty and value. All of this was made even clearer to me during the recent AGTA GemFair Tucson when I participated in Lois Berger’s annual “Pearl Walk.”


Lois Berger

just a picture

don't know why, but this looks so good right now:
happy weekend!

1975-76 Winnipeg Jets Anders Hedberg Jersey

Having first played for his hometown club of MoDo in Ornskosvik, Sweden at the age of 16, Anders Hedberg, born on this date in 1951, settled into the normal career pattern for high level European players - establishing himself with a club team and annual appearances at the World Championships with his national team each spring.

Hedberg made an immediate impression with 12 goals and 18 points in 24 games in 1967-68. He also made his first of many appearances for Sweden when he played in the European Junior Championships in 1968 with 7 points in 5 games.

His second season with MoDo saw his confidence grow as he topped the point per game mark with 23 points in 19 games. He also scored 5 goals in 5 games in the 1969 European Juniors on his way to being named Swedish Junior Player of the Year for 1969.

He repeated as Swedish Junior Player of the Year in 1970 after 24 points in 14 games for MoDo and 6 goals in 5 games during his third consecutive European Juniors. He was also named to the senior Sweden National Team for the World Championships in 1970, where he scored 5 points in 9 games while just having turned 19.

After two more seasons with MoDo and another World Championshps in 1973, Hedberg moved to Djurgardens IF in Stockholm for the 1973-74 season and what would prove to be his final appearance for some time with the national team at the 1974 World Championships where he again impressed with 7 goals and 10 points in 10 games.

It's at this point that the words "typical" and "usual" get thrown out the window, as over in North America the hockey landscape was undergoing a revolutionary war between the established, if not staid, National Hockey League and the upstart World Hockey Association, which had made a splash in 1972 by singing Chicago Black Hawks star Bobby Hull for $1 million to play for the Winnipeg Jets.

With the two leagues competing for players to fill 14 WHA and 18 NHL rosters, up from just 14 NHL teams in 1971-72 before the arrival of the WHA, teams now began to look beyond the borders of North America for really the first time. There had been the odd cases of players born in Europe who migrated to Canada in their youth, and even some Europeans who had brief stays in the NHL, Europeans were generally regarded as inferior players who were not tough enough to survive in the NHL.

That stereotype began to fade in 1973 with the arrival in Toronto of left wing Inge Hammarstrom and even more so defenseman Borje Salming, who would go on to play 17 seasons in the NHL. Hammarstrom would play in six NHL seasons and score a high of 24 goals and 43 points, but did not set the world on fire.

It was at this point that the Jets would look to Sweden and sign not only Hedberg, but fellow Swede Ulf Nilsson and team them up with Hull.

The result was simply the most dynamic line in the history of the WHA.

The trio would light up scoreboards all over the league, with each player reaching 100 points with Hedberg's 100 coming on 53 goals and 47 assists in 65 games which was good for seventh overall in the league and WHA Rookie of the Year honors.

1975-76 would again see the trio of Hull (53 goals, 123 points), Nilsson (114 pts.) and Hedberg (105 pts.) all top 100 points and the Jets improve 25 points in the standings to capture the Canadian Division title. Once in the playoffs, the Jets would sweep the Edmonton Oilers in 4, oust the Calgary Cowboys in 5 and sweep the Aeros in 4 to capture their first WHA championship and the Avco World Trophy as the line combined for 32 goals and 65 points in 13 games.

Hedberg was again chosen as a member of the Swedish National Team, this time for the inaugural Canada Cup in the fall of 1976, scoring 5 points in 5 games.

While Hull was limited to just 34 games of the 1976-77 regular season Hedberg stepped up and led the team with a career high 131 points which saw him finish second overall in the league, which he led with 70 goals. The Jets returned to the finals to defend their title but lost in seven games to the Quebec Nordiques.

Hedberg was fourth in WHA scoring in 1977-78 with 122 points and second on the Jets behind Nilsson. His 63 goals were first on the Jets and second in the WHA. He also led the Jets in playoff scoring with 15 points in 9 games as the Jets again captured the league championship.

With their contracts having expired and the WHA on the ropes, down to just seven teams from 14 three seasons earlier, Hedberg and Nilsson signed with the New York Rangers of the rival NHL for the 1978-79 season.

While Hedberg would never reach the scoring heights he achieved with Winnipeg, he was a regular 30 goal scorer while a member of the Rangers, hitting 30 or more four times, 25 once and 20 in his final season, in which he was limited to 64 games. Following his final NHL season of 1984-85, Hedberg was named the winner of the Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.

He also was a member of the NHL All-Star Team in the 1979 Challenge Cup against the Soviet National Team.

While his obligations to the Jets and Rangers during the spring playoff season prevented him from ever taking part in the World Championships for Sweden after coming to play in North America, Hedberg was able to get one final chance to play for Sweden in the 1981 Canada Cup, held in the fall prior to the start of the NHL season, where he scored 6 points in 5 games in his final international appearance.

In 1997, Hedberg was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.

Today's featured jersey is a 1975-76 Winnipeg Jets Anders Hedberg jersey. The Jets were a founding member of the WHA and adopted this jersey style for their second season of 1973-74, which they would wear for the remainder of their time in the WHA. The Jets would adopt a new style jersey for the 1979-80 season, their first as a member of the NHL.

During this particular season the Jets wore a patch on each shoulder commemorating Canada's hosting of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. While the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL understandably wore the patch, Toronto, Quebec, Edmonton and Calgary of the WHA and Toronto and Vancouver of the NHL did not, leaving us to wonder why the patriotism and support of Montreal's Olympic Games from the Winnipeg club and none of their other fellow Canadians?

Another surprising element of this jersey is the crudely shaped numbers on the back, which look as if they may have been hand cut, a far cry from today's uniformly identical machine cut twill numbers.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1976 Sweden National Team Anders Hedberg jersey from the 1976 Canada Cup, which features the traditional three crowns cresting, known as the "Tre Kroner".

In all, Hedberg competed for Sweden on seven occasions, resulting in 30 goals and 51 points in 54 games.

Zale Corp. Profit Lauded as a ‘Turning Point’ for the Company

Zale Corp. said Wednesday that its year-over-year net income in the fiscal second quarter rose 400 percent to 27.2 million, compared with $6.7 million for the second quarter of the prior fiscal year.Revenues for the quarter ended January 31, increased 7.6 percent to $626 million, the Dallas-based jewelry and diamond retailer. Same store sales for the period increased 7.9 percent, compared to a

Zale Corp. Profit Lauded as a ‘Turning Point’ for the Company

Zale Corp. said Wednesday that its year-over-year net income in the fiscal second quarter rose 400 percent to 27.2 million, compared with $6.7 million for the second quarter of the prior fiscal year.Revenues for the quarter ended January 31, increased 7.6 percent to $626 million, the Dallas-based jewelry and diamond retailer. Same store sales for the period increased 7.9 percent, compared to a

Three things I love Thursday: Februrary 24, 2011

1. Agent Provocateur pin-up bikini:
I have a big ole crush on this swimsuit. I think I might have to add this to my collection.2. Markus Lupfer giraffe sweater:3. Alex Monroe bicycle necklace:

1980 United States Olympic Team Dave Christian Jersey

While everyone recalls the "Miracle on Ice" from February 22, 1980, many do not recall that the United States victory over the Soviet Union was not the gold medal winning game.

In fact, the tournament format in 1980 did not even have a gold medal final, as the teams were not placed in a single elimination bracket, as is the case with the Olympics and World Championships of today, for back in 1980 the top two teams from both the Blue and Red Divisions of First Round play were then placed in a new four team Final Round group.

Once placed in the Final Round group, each advancing team was scheduled to play the two surviving teams from the opposite group, with their previous game against the team advancing from their First Round group carrying over into the Final Round standings.

What this meant for the United States in 1980 was their tournament opening tie against Sweden carried over to the Final Round, as did the Soviet Union's 4-2 win over Finland, which meant the standings heading into the final four matches stood at;

1. Soviet Union 2 pts
2. Sweden 1 pt.
3. United States 1 pt.
4. Finland 0 pts.

The United States first game was their historic matchup with the Soviets, which they famously won 4-3 and later was named the Top Story of the Century by the International Ice Hockey Federation, only it guaranteed the United States absolutely nothing.

Fortunately for the United States, nordic rivals Finland and Sweden tied in their game the evening of the 22nd, (yes, the United States game versus the Soviet Union was not even in prime time on US television despite the game being played in the United States!) and the standings heading into the final two games on this date in 1980 were:

1. United States 3 pts.
2. Sweden 2 pts.
3. Soviet Union 2 pts
4. Finland 1 pt.

Heading into the final two games on Sunday, the worst case scenario for the United States was if Finland beat the United States by two goals and Sweden and the Soviet Union tied, the gold would go to the Soviet Union and the United States would drop out of the medals altogether since all four teams would have the same 3 points and the USA would have the worst goal differential.

Still, the victory over the Soviet Union left the United States fate in their own hands, as a victory over Finland would elevate them to an unreachable 5 points and earn them the coveted gold medal. Oddly, the USA was scheduled to play at 11AM in Lake Placid.

USA coach Herb Brooks pregame speech was short and directly to the point. "If you lose this game, you'll take it to your grave. Your f***ing grave."

"He didn't have to say much more than that. We knew he was right," USA forward Mark Johnson recalled.

Unfortunately for the United States, Jukka Porvari got Finland out on top with the first goal of the game at 9:20 of the first period with a one-timer slapshot over USA netminder Jim Craig's glove. The period would end with the USA leading 14-7 in shots on goal, but trailing on the scoreboard 1-0, the sixth time in seven games they had fallen behind.

The United States evened the score at 4:39 of the second period on Steve Christoff's unassisted goal on a backhander that went through Finnish goaltender Jorma Valtonen's pads only to have Finland regain the lead less than two minutes later when Mikko Leinonen put a second shot past Craig at 6:30 on the power play. Once again, the United States held the edge in shots on goal at 8-6, but had just twenty minutes to get out of the hole they found themselves in to a team that have never won a medal, nor beaten the United States in Olympic hockey.

Just over two minutes into the third period Dave Christian skated from his own zone into the Finnish end, drew the defense toward him and passed to left wing Phil Verchota who fired a wrist shot just inside the right post to tie the game at 2-2 at 2:25.

Less than four minutes later the United States struck again when Johnson, behind the Finland goal, passed the puck to Rob McClanahan, who saw Valtonen start to go down put the puck in between his gaping legs for a 3-2 lead for the USA at 6:05.

Before the United States could relax, Neal Broten took a hooking penalty at 6:48 followed by Christian's tripping penalty at 8:54. The USA successfully killed off both penalties only to have Verchota whistled for roughing at 15:45 with the game still in doubt.

With both Broten and Christoff keeping Finland in their own zone during the power play, the puck was shot out toward the blueline, where it was intercepted by Johnson, who skated in, beat a defender, and made a backhand attempt, which Valtonen saved. The rebound however, went right back to Johnson who quickly smacked a forehander which went over Valtonen's right skate for a shorthanded goal to give the United States a 5-3 lead with 3:35 left to play, sending the arena into bedlam, as loud as it had been against the Soviets two days earlier, as the United States led for the first time all game.

The Americans were now on a roll with their ultimate goal in sight and kept up the pressure, nearly scoring twice more on one shot that hit the pipe and another off the crossbar. Finally time ran out and the United States had secured their gold medal in a game many do not even remember, especially given the attention history has focused on the game against the Soviet Union and the "two days later the miracle was made complete" treatment it received in the movie "Miracle" - all of five seconds of game footage.

Still, somewhat unbelievably, there was another game left to play between the Soviet Union against Sweden at 2:30PM. Following the Soviet's demolition of Sweden 9-2, the final placings were now all known and the medal ceremony took place on the ice with Sweden still wearing their jerseys from their game.

Following the presentation of the medals and the playing of the Star Spangled Banner, team captain Mike Eruzione famously called the rest of the team up onto the top level of the victory podium, which miraculously was just large enough, barely, to hold each and every member of the team.

Today's featured jersey is a 1980 United States Olympic Team Dave Christian jersey as worn in the gold medal clinching game against Finland on the final day of the 1980 Olympic tournament, the sixth time the United States had come from behind during their seven games.

The blue jerseys are the lesser known jerseys from the tournament, as it was the white ones they were wearing when they defeated the Soviet Union and the style which has been much more heavily marketed since then.

Our video section begins with Rob McClanahan's game winning goal at 6:05 of the third period.

This clip starts with a replay of Mark Johnson's goal with 3:35 left to play and runs through the end of the game.

The next part picks up with some of the on ice post game celebration and continues with a thrilled Jim McKay reacting to the win and scenes of the celebration on the streets of Lake Placid.

This final part includes interviews with Eruzione, Brooks, who gets a phone call from President Jimmy Carter, Craig, Johnson and McClanahan.