Phil Pritchard, "Keeper of the Cup," displays the Stanley Cup at Johnny Mercer's Pier in Wilmington, North Carolina. The Stanley Cup is touring the state as the Carolina Hurricanes battle the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals.

It's been lost, damaged, kicked and even stolen! But this weekend the NHL's Stanley Cup received some warm Southern hospitality as it hit the beaches of North Carolina. Girls in bikinis and families out for a day in the sun turned out to see the cherished Stanley Cup.

As the Carolina Hurricanes and the Detroit Red Wings battle to see which team will take home the prized silver trophy, the investigative group of 123nc.com is providing armed guards and 24-hour security as the Stanley Cup makes its way across the Tarheel State.

Wayne Truax, vice president and chief investigator of the Castle Branch Investigative Group based in Wilmington, North Carolina, says security will be a focus during the NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

"We are working with the NHL to insure the safety and protection of hockey's most prestigious and valuable symbol while the Stanley Cup is in North Carolina," said Mr. Truax. "The investigative group of 123nc.com was selected because of its expertise and history of providing businesses and consumers the highest level of professional investigative services." Mr. Truax is also a NHL security representative and offers protection to NHL referees during the regular hockey season.

"Our job is to make sure that some of the cases of abuse and neglect in the history of the Stanley Cup are not repeated," said Truax. "Of course we would welcome the opportunity to have the Stanley Cup presented to our own hometown team, the Carolina Hurricanes, but our job is to make sure it gets to the champions safe and sound."

Throughout its long and colorful history, The Lord Stanley Cup has ended up on the frozen Rideau Canal (Ottawa, 1902), been left on the roadside after a flat tire (Montreal 1924), stolen from a showcase by a fan (Montreal, 1962), and given a whirlwind tour of New York's bars, nightclubs and firehouses (New York 1994). Full-time security for the Stanley Cup has been required since 1995.

If the Cup Could Talk - The Stanley Cup has no equal in sports, no trophy past, present, or future, that can match its bearing and dignity. The Cup finally has a chance to tell its tales--why three are no names for the 1919 season, who was the first player to lift the Cup and take it to the people, the keepers honored with escorting it through victory celebrations. We her of the Cup's beginnings and the road it has traveled to the end of its first century. Knowing these stories can enrich the Cup's future. No matter what the hi jinks or tragedies, the Cup's charisma only heightens with time.

Why Is the Stanley Cup in Mario Lemieux's Swimming Pool? : How Winners Celebrate With the World's Most Famous Cup - The Stanley Cup, steeped in tradition and lore, revered by any player to set foot on the ice-drop-kicked into a canal?! Follow the true exploits of the most celebrated of sport's trophies beyond the champagne toasts and all-star embraces. Why is the Stanley Cup in Mario Lemieux's Swimming Pool is a wild, globe-trotting romp filled with zany, surprising, and often touching accounts of what really happens once hockey's greatest quest has been conquered and the celebration begins-off the ice.

What did the sport's greatest players do when, king for a day, they spent an eventful twenty-four hours with the Stanley Cup? The prestigious trophy has held everything from beer to infants, and has been carted from Moscow's Red Square to Bob's Big Boy. Why is The Stanley Cup in Mario Lemieux's Swimming Pool? includes: * Stories of raw emotion and personal triumph-a visit to Mike Keane'S one-hundred-year-old grandmother's nursing home, and a presentation by Joe Nieuwendyk to his blind professor during a reception at Cornell University * Raucous anecdotes of high comedy-nights abandoned on street corners, visits to strip clubs, golf course hi-jinks, and a trip to the bottom of Mario Lemieux'S pool * Unbelievable twenty-four-hour world travel to Sweden, Russia, and beyond, mysterious tales of the Stanley Cup ghost, and reflections from hockey's greatest of the greats - - Howe, Gretzky, Esposito, and Hull.