Leafs will drive to the Cup
By ROB GRANATSTEIN and THANE BURNETT -- Toronto Sun
(May 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs)

The Toronto Maple Leaf bandwagon is really rolling -- on the wheels of a 1976 Pontiac Phoenix.

Just in time for the semi-finals between the God-fearing Leafs and the dirty Devils from smelly New Jersey, super-fans Jeff Chambers and four buddies have built a moving tribute to the Buds.

Rising from the field where it had been abandoned three months ago, the Phoenix has been transformed into a Leafmobile.

A little battered and scraped, like the team itself, the car carries the hopes of the men and fans who see it.

The pals painted it Maple Leaf blue and secured hockey sticks to its sides. Stanley Cups adorn the trunk, and the hood ornament is a small replica Leaf goalie mask.

FLASHING BLUE LIGHT

There's also a tribute to injured Leaf Bryan Berard in the window. The topper is a working blue flashing light on its roof.

"We could've had the best seats for what we've spent on this," Chambers says after forking over $400 on the car, including licence plates and insurance, just to make it road -- and Leaf -- worthy. His buddies added more than $200 to the project.

"It doesn't steer too great, but it runs," says Chambers, 26, of Mississauga.

The car made it to the Hangar for a recent Leaf match-up but spends most game nights parked outside an area watering hole.

"We do it to stir the fans up ... and give the team a boost," Chambers says.

It's not hard to guess Chambers' prediction for the rest of the playoffs: "The Leafs are going all the way."

He isn't the only one who's sure of victory. The real Devils believe it themselves.

Toronto comedy team The Devil's Advocates -- comics Andrew Currie and Albert Howell -- have come out swinging.

"New Jersey? Frankly I liked the original Jersey a whole lot better," Howell says