Ex-Hawk Sopel takes Stanley Cup to Pride Parade

Brent Sopel toasts the crowd while holding the Stanley Cup at Chicago's 41st annual Pride Parade. (REUTERS/Frank Polich) Tribune News Services Recently traded Blackhawk Brent Sopel took part in Sunday's Pride Parade to honor his friend, Toronto GM Brian Burke and Burke's late son, Brendan. 21-year-old Brendan was killed in an auto accident in Indiana on Feb. 5, three months after the Miami (Ohio) university senior and hockey team student manager made news by telling his parents and team members that he was gay. Sopel, who began his NHL career with Vancouver, struck up a lasting friendship with Brian Burke when he was the general manager there. "Anybody who has had to bury a child has suffered a heartbreak and this was the first thing that came to mind," Sopel said. "Everything that happened last year with Brendan coming out last year and dying three months later, it was a tragedy." When Sopel called Burke to tell him about his plan, he received ...