The Stanley Cup is back in Florida, as the Panthers won a thrilling Game 7 over the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, on Monday night. 

The team wasted no time parading Lord Stanley’s Cup around South Florida, as Matthew Tkachuk, Aaron Ekblad and many others were spotted in Fort Lauderdale celebrating their victory less than 24 hours after defeating Edmonton. 

And since it is summer in Florida, what other way would you celebrate than by taking the Cup to the beach. 

Tkachuk, surrounded by teammates and fans alike, took the Cup across the street to the beach, where he decided to take it into the Atlantic Ocean. 

Think of it as a sort of baptism for the Cup, as it’s the first time in Panthers franchise history they have won the hardware. 

Panthers fans were screaming as Tkachuk, Ekblad and others held the Cup above their heads, giving it the customary kiss all while the waves came rolling in from the ocean. 

PANTHERS WIN STANLEY CUP IN THRILLING GAME 7 OVER OILERS

Tkachuk said after the victory to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that winning the Cup was no longer a dream – it’s reality. And it was a grueling two years for the Panthers – they lost in the Final to the Vegas Golden Knights last season in five games – to finally get that inaugural trophy in the team building. 

So, this celebration is a culmination of tons of hard work, and the Panthers are clearly letting loose now that their names will forever be etched on the precious metal. 

Panthers players share champagne after beating the Edmonton Oilers at the Amerant Bank Arena on June 24, 2024, in Sunrise, Florida. (Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

Through the Panthers’ 24 games in these playoffs, Tkachuk posted 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) to help Florida get the job done. 

He joined the Panthers last season after the Calgary Flames traded him following six seasons with the squad that drafted him sixth overall in 2016. 

Tkachuk posted a 109-point season in 2023, and though he would have 88 this past regular season, every Panthers fan knows the importance he makes at left wing for this hockey club. 

Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers lifts the Stanley Cup after beating the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena on June 24, 2024. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

The celebration has only begun for Tkachuk and the rest of his Florida teammates, who will have their team parade on Sunday.  

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Ronda Rousey couldn’t sleep.

It’s not that she wasn’t tired.

She was exhausted after shattering a knuckle at WrestleMania 35. Finally in her hotel bed after surgery, Rousey had a cross-country flight to Los Angeles in five hours.

Then inspiration struck. The former UFC champion and then-WWE superstar had been trying to work on a screenplay, but had only come up with a one-line synopsis: “Two wanted assassins with an unwanted pregnancy learn that giving life is harder than taking it.”

“Do you ever get an idea in your head and you’re laying in bed and then you won’t let yourself go to sleep and you keep repeating it in your head over and over so you don’t forget it by the morning?” Rousey said during a phone interview with The Times.

Sleep never came for Rousey, who typed all five hours in her hotel room and continued on the flight.

Five years later, that screenplay idea is now set to be a graphic novel. A Kickstarter campaign launches July 25 for “Expecting the Unexpected,” a Rousey-written 160-page book with illustrations by award-winning comic artist Michael Deodato slated to be published next year by Artists Writers and Artisans.

Through the Kickstarter campaign, fans will have 30 days to order the book, with access to a variety of special offerings, including limited and signed editions, variant artwork, bonus pages and the opportunity of being drawn into the novel as a character.

The story revolves around a notorious hitwoman who goes by the code name Mom, because she wears a fake baby bump filled with weapons. After she sleeps with a fellow assassin, however, Mom becomes pregnant for real and has to come to terms with the notion of becoming a parent … with a bounty on her head.

In an early look at the novel, provided by AWA, one thing becomes clear upon first view of Mom, with her long hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, muscular arms, white tank top and some very familiar-looking facial expressions:

Mom is Rousey.

“I’m particularly pleased with how I captured Ronda’s essence in the Mom character — her mannerisms, personality, and even her laughter,” Deodato said.

The lead male character’s name is Hapa, the nickname of Rousey’s husband, former UFC fighter Travis Browne. Their first child together, La’akea Browne, was born in 2021.

“It really is our story — even though it didn’t really happen,” Rousey said, adding with a laugh, “ I didn’t really go on a spree of fighting all these people.”

Ronda Rousey and Travis Browne attend the Kids’ Choice Sports Awards on July 19, 2018, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

(Willy Sanjuan / Invision / Associated Press)

She explained: “The whole story is just the story of me and my husband. Our journey trying to get pregnant, having a baby, our becoming parents — you know, the process from when you become pregnant to when you accept the task of being a parent. … When you actually come to that realization and live up to it is I think a process that isn’t really covered in anything I’ve really seen so far. That was kind of a personal journey that was really important to us.”

Rousey was 21 when she became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo, taking home bronze from the 2008 Beijing Games. She became a superstar as a mixed martial artist, winning six UFC women’s bantamweight title bouts before retiring from MMA in 2016. Rousey remained in the spotlight as a professional wrestler, becoming a WWE triple-crown winner before retiring last year.

By 2019, Rousey had appeared in numerous movies and TV shows, but never a leading role. She wrote ‘Expecting the Unexpected” hoping to be the star, but realized she was too unproven.

That’s when she landed upon the idea of a graphic novel, a literary form she had become “a closet nerd” for as an adult.

Writing the script was just the start. .

“This has a lot of action sequences in it,” she said, “I wrote all the choreography for it in the script and I actually had to film them and perform the choreography with a couple of friends of mine in a wrestling ring.”

Deodato, the comic artist, then turns it into illustrations.

It’s a lot of work, but Rousey said she’s enjoying the process.

“I originally intended on this being a movie, but I really think that this is the way it was always meant to be, as a graphic novel. Maybe that’s the path that I was meant for more, to be a graphic novelist,” Rousey said.

Ronda Rousey works out July 15, 2015, at Glendale Fighting Club in Glendale, Calif.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

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All that said, if presented with the opportunity, would Rousey be willing to turn her graphic novel back into a screenplay?

“Twist my arm and I’ll do it,” she laughed.

“But I’m also so happy with where I’m at. I don’t see this as a stepping stone, I see this as a new path that I never dreamed would be available to me, and I’m enjoying the scenery more than I ever thought was possible.”

EUGENE, Ore. — Just in case you were wondering, Quincy Wilson isn’t working with the benefit of vibranium. His purple kit inspired by the movie “Black Panther,” though, suggests some Wakanda abilities, especially after another jaw-dropping performance.

“No, it’s just me inside of it,” Wilson said, flashing a most-Cheshire grin.

His extraordinary capabilities may not be attributable to a potent fictional metal from the Africa of the Marvel Universe. But something is clearly special about this 16-year-old from Maryland.

Such was so blatantly true in Sunday’s semifinal of the men’s 400 meters. Wilson, the phenom from Bullis High, stole the show with a stunning time relative to his age. He ran the 400 in 44.59 seconds, the fastest time ever by an American 18 or younger.

It was his own record because on Saturday his 400-meter time of 44.66 broke the 18-and-under mark set by Darrell Robinson of Tacoma, Wash., in 1982.

He finished third in his heat, so he didn’t get one of the automatic qualifying spots to Monday night’s final. But with the fourth-best time of the semifinals, he easily earned one of the nine spots. A top-three finish Monday would mean Wilson has to delay driver’s training, and thus his license, because he’d be going to Paris.

“I’ve never been this happy a day in my life when it came to track,” Wilson said. “I’ve been working for this moment. That record that I broke two days ago … that’s 42 years of nobody being able to break that record. And I broke it twice in two days.”

16-year-old Quincy Wilson with a tremendous effort in the 400m semi! He has officially QUALIFIED for the final. 👏#TrackFieldTrials24 pic.twitter.com/nL4Nj8m5BT

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 24, 2024

The special sauce of Wilson, beyond just his obvious talent, is the kid’s heart.

At 5-foot-9 with adolescent muscles, he’s small compared to the fully grown men surrounding him. His form can be wonky, as you’d expect from a rising junior. His inexperience at this level gives his opponents a notable advantage.

But Wilson runs fearlessly. He empties his tank, embraces the pain. He believes enough to keep battling. Every meter. Every step. Every moment. He has a natural audaciousness. He’s aware enough to understand this, the history he’s making, but manages the steel to take it on.

His heart filled Hayward Field on Sunday.

Bryce Deadmon is 6-foot-3 and 27 years old. He’s an Olympic champ, a world champ, a two-time national champ. And he had inside position on the teenager as they rounded the second curve. On the other side of Wilson was Vernon Norwood, a 6-foot-2 seasoned professional who was winning NCAA titles when Wilson was knee-high to a grasshopper.

“Someone at 16 years old,” Wilson said, supposing the mindset of mere mortal teens, “they’re most likely to get scared when they go (against) big competitors. Vernon (Norwood) is 32 years old. I’m 16. I’m half his age. So I’m just running for my life.”

Imagine the juxtaposition of worlds he’s inhabited in the month of June. In high school, he’s untouchable. He breaks records just by lacing up his spikes. He’s signed an NIL deal with New Balance. He can run with the confidence of knowing he’s the man in his age group.

Then came the final turn of Sunday’s 400 meters. He was in fifth place heading into the final 100. He looked to be spent. His storybook was about to end valiantly. Because where would he get the conviction to push against so many accomplished vets?

His first-round blast was impressive enough. The semifinals were the reality check that was always coming.

But Wilson pushed back against such a notion. The youngster didn’t concede. He dug deeper. He stayed attached. Whatever his race plan was, it was gone by that moment. The new plan was his heart.

He found more in his reserves, passing both Judson Lincoln of Virginia Tech and Jenoah McKiver from Florida.

“Stay calm,” Wilson said he told himself. “I didn’t get out the way I wanted to. But like my coach said, ‘The race starts at 300.’ You look at Vernon’s interviews. He said, ‘I’ma see you at 300.’ Coming from fifth to third, it means a lot. Because if you look at me, I’m not as strong. But that’s 100 percent heart.”

Monday is the biggest final of his life. The stakes keep escalating. His life could change even more dramatically than it has already should he finish in the top 3.

It sounds like a tall order. It feels too much to ask. But watching him means knowing it’s on the table. Wilson has a force of will about him, reservoirs to tap into, a comfort in the moments.

Afterward, he may speak about what he’s doing with the giddiness of a teenager hopped up on Junior Mints after seeing a good action movie. His grin beams brighter when he talks about the love he’s gotten from Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson, reminding you he’s still an impressionable young man.

“I’m on the world’s biggest final coming up tomorrow,” he said, his eyes his exclamation points. “At 16 years old! I’m like ecstatic right now.”

But on the track, he’s far less innocent. He’s a concoction of toughness and appreciation, work ethic and humility, awe and audacity. He’s a high school superstar with the world at his fingertips. He’s also the son of a military family who’s lived in six states, a family of athletes that knows all about grind, sacrifice and focus.

“The first thing when I got off the track,” Wilson said after Sunday’s race, “my coach told me he’s extremely proud of me. He was telling me the things we’ve got to do to break down the race. He’s not caught up in the moment, and with that on my side, I think I have great things for (Monday). I can’t wait for (the final).”

Wilson said he’s got a new kit for Monday, too. It doesn’t have to be Wakanda-inspired. He doesn’t need vibranium. He’s already made of the right stuff.

GO DEEPER

Noah Lyles wins men’s 100m at U.S. Olympic track trials

(Top photo of Quincy Wilson during Sunday’s 400-meter semifinals: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)