This is Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kate Upton. She's, like, famous and stuff, and she digs hockey. She can also out-chirp Sean Avery, which ranks at least third or fourth among her greatest assets.
Thanks to the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings excelling in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, we've been blessed with a higher amount of Hollywood star wattage than we've had in years during the NHL postseason.
It used to be that celebrities at playoff hockey games meant Alan Thicke and hoping that Cuba Gooding, Jr. got a free evening from shooting "Snow Dogs 2" to watch a first-round game. Now, we've got Kobe Bryant and David Beckham on one coast, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman in Nashville, and Liam Neeson and Snooki from "Jersey Shore" at MSG. That's right — Snooki. Your move, NBA.
Here's a full gallery of famous people doing famous people things during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, along one photo of Richard Marx (click on any one for more info about them):
And now, a quick list of The Five Most Random Celebrities Watching the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Besides Richard Marx …
5. Landon Donovan
Sure, everyone expects Becks and Posh (oh, we feel so U.K. tabloidy) to show up at a social affair like the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But we were a little surprised to see U.S. soccer star Landon Donovan watching the Kings and Blues' Game 4 in LA. That is until Wikipedia told us that his father was a semi-pro hockey player from Canada. Also, Donovan is an Ontario native. Granted, it's Ontario, Calif., but are you telling us someone from Paris, Texas, couldn't whip up a mean Bouillabaisse?
4. Fabolous
It's not so much that rapper Fabolous showed up for a Rangers/Senators playoff game, it's that he was rocking a Brad Richards jersey, which shows that either he or his handlers have impressive taste.
3. Brian Dennehy
The great Brian Dennehy had never held a hockey stick before taking part in the "Shoot The Puck" promo during a Chicago Blackhawks vs. Phoenix Coyotes playoff game, becoming the first man to participate in a "Score-O" like competition after having played Chris Farley's father on film.
2. Trey Parker
"South Park" has given the world one incredibly funny hockey episode ("Stanley's Cup") but we were unaware that Trey Parker was, in fact, a puckhead. We now hold out hope that this eventually leads to a post-lockout "BASEketball" makeover of the NHL rulebook, because who wouldn't want to see psyche outs replace the shootout?
(Ed. Note: As the comments note, the Kings do play that Cartman sounder during games. Perhaps this is then not so random.)
1. Louis CK (and Charlie Day, not pictured)
Hockey would appear to be the perfect sport for the intelligence and cynicism that fuels the best standup comedian on the planet at this moment. From reader Peter Plevritis:
On April 30, I was at game 2 of Rangers-Capitals. First, they showed Will Arnett on the big screen. Two seats over from Will was Louis CK and then the MSG showed him on the big screen as well. In between them was Charlie Day from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, fist clenched, nervously shaking his leg, saying "Come on! Come on!" But alas, he still wasn't shown on the screen as someone famous.
Sigh … even after "Horrible Bosses."