Thursday, February 21, 2002
Sens' Martin having a ball
By BRUCE GARRIOCH -- Team Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- Senators coach Jacques Martin has a cosy setup at the Olympic Village.
While it's well-known he's sharing a room with Team Canada associate coach Ken Hitchcock, not far away is head coach Pat Quinn and assistant Wayne Fleming. Sounds like a wonderful arrangement doesn't it?
"We've got two beds in our room, two desks, two VCRs and two televisions. Pat and Wayne are next door. We share a common bathroom. It's small, but we're having a lot of fun with it," Martin said yesterday.
So, have they been fighting over who gets the shower first?
"Well, we've all got our own schedules," said Martin. "I've got a radio show (on CJRC) every morning with Michel Langevin so I've got to be up before 6:30 a.m. to do that. It works out pretty well. There are no arguments."
Well, there were rumours, being spread by those nasty Americans, Martin and Hitchcock weren't getting along.
"There was a lot of talk going around," said Team Canada assistant GM Kevin Lowe. "Like Ken Hitchcock and Jacques Martin rooming together and not talking. That was so far from the truth. It's like Jacques said, it's almost the opposite. He can't get Hitch to shut up."
THE MEDAL PLAZA: What are the chances of Curtis Joseph returning to Toronto as a free agent next season after Quinn has decided to go with G Martin Brodeur as the No. 1 man through the Olympic tournament? Just wondering .... Tickets are at a premium as the Olympics wind down. While hockey ducats are remaining high-price, a guy at the Red Rock Brewery was trying to give away seats to skeleton. "People keep asking me what skeleton is and I tell them I don't know I'm just trying to get rid of the tickets," said the man ... Whoa! This column just hit a bump because the bus driver just smashed into a cement wall ... Exciting news: Met CBC's Brian Williams in an Italian restaurant in the Main Media Centre Tuesday. Nice guy, but I was dying to ask him what time it was so he could tap on his watch ... Still trying to get my hands on a Team Canada ticket ... Sports Illustrated must have lost my invite to its big bash Monday downtown. Among the guests were Olympic gold medallists Kelly Clark and Alexei Yagudin.
AROUND THE RINGS: Give Salt Lake full marks for running a well-organized Games. The only problem is the bank machines in MMC only take VISA ... Was heading back to the hotel late Tuesday with colleague Al Strachan and I watched new troops from the U.S. Army arrive to take over the security at the MMC. The only orders from their captain: "Act civilized in public, men. Don't embarrass yourselves." That doesn't sound hard to follow ... Speaking of the Army, U.S. Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld was in the crowd for the USA-Sweden women's game Tuesday. Shouldn't he be chasing Osama bin Laden? ... Is anybody else sick of Jamie Sale and David Pelletier appearing on every talk show in North America? There's been a suggestion by a high-profile agent that these two could cash in to the amount of $4 million each once they get some promotional deals.
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2002 Games Columnists
