The sky was blue but Downtown was awash in black and gold yesterday as hundreds of thousands of Penguins fans paid tribute to Pittsburgh's newly minted championship team.

In an odds-defying, electrifying Game 7 Friday night, the Pens vanquished the powerful Detroit Red Wings and captured the Stanley Cup for Mario Lemieux's franchise, this time with him in the owner's box rather than on the ice. More than a few local sports fans were reminded of another batch of Pittsburgh underdogs who confounded the experts almost 50 years ago. The 1960 Pirates weren't supposed to defeat the New York Yankees either.

So it was fitting that, on the day before the parade of the Penguins, some of the hockey players took the Cup and their winning outlooks to PNC Park. Before a pregame ceremony on the field in front of the fans, the Penguins dropped by the Pirates clubhouse while the team was preparing for the game. By the description of Pirates beat writer Dejan Kovacevic, the ball players were ecstatic over the impromptu visit.

Some of the Pirates know some of the Penguins personally, but this rare convergence of teams amid the post-victory glow could only have been inspirational to the boys of summer.

Last week Pirates executives made one of the most controversial trades in years, dealing Gold Glove centerfielder Nate McLouth to Atlanta for three prospects (we were part of the chorus of critics). Yet today the team is only three games under .500 and four games out of first place in the National League Central Division.

In February the Penguins didn't look like contenders either, but the lure of the cup proved all-powerful. Now the Pirates have had a taste. May they, too, take up residency soon in the City of Champions.