Saturday, February 9, 2002
Ask the Great question
By ERIC FRANCIS -- Calgary Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- Wayne Gretzky will take part in an Olympic Aid roundtable this morning with a bizarre mix of dignitaries including IOC prez Jacques Rogge, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, UN secretary general Kofi Annan and Academy Award-winning actress Angelina Jolie.
Among the pressing issues to be discussed will be childhood vaccination, tobacco-free sport, AIDS prevention and the rehabilitation of Afghan refugees.
Perhaps the Great One will be able to uncover an issue far more pressing by asking Jolie what on earth she sees in husband Billy-Bob Thornton?
It might just be the only time Gretzky shows any interest in a Thornton.
ICE CHIPS:
Word is, even if Owen Nolan's back prevents him from playing in the Olympics, Joe Thornton is still an injury or two away from joining Team Canada. Gretzky and Co. seem to be convinced Thornton is a liability in his own end of the ice and will be overlooked if another player needs to be added. Instead, Anson Carter is next in line to join the squad ... Sitting next to former figure skating queen and Playboy subject Katarina Witt at Baci Restaurant Wednesday night, one thing occurred to me: God bless the Olympics ... Meanwhile, Swedish Olympic officials gathered upstairs for an open-bar affair that left one gentleman so tipsy he collapsed next to our table. While paramedics were called in to the scene, a table of unsympathetic Sun Media journalists rolled out the Swedish one-liners: "He must have been too close to a corner," laughed one, while another referred to the pie-eyed Swede as Ingar Hammered-strom ... C'mon Owen Nolan, give it up. Do the right thing. Stay home ... Gary Suter has a chance to become the second sibling in his family to win Olympic gold, which would do well to keep the peace at family gatherings: "He's always yapping about how he has a gold medal," said the former Flames defenceman of his brother, Bob, who struck gold at Lake Placid. "I've had a good career, won a Stanley Cup, played in a few all-star games. But I'd love to shut him up about the gold medal" ... Nearly one third of Utah's population was under age 18 in 2000.
BOB AND WEAVE:
After making their debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, the Jamaican bobsledders still attract plenty of media attentions. However, despite the exposure they received from the movie Cool Runnings, two-time Olympian Winstead Watt insists more should have been done to help his team: "The movie made our appeal wide, so there is more understanding and popularity (of the sport) but the company Disney should have done better to give back to our sport, our team." When asked about the Utah Olympic Park bobsleigh run, Watt laughed his team has been driving there from Evanston (Wyoming) to train. "It's 14 hours to drive but I'm a bobsled driver so it only takes me 11 hours" ... The Netherlands' two-time gold medal winning speed skater Gianni Romme refused the honour of carrying his country's flag into last night's opening ceremonies because he said it would be too cold. Boo hoo ... For those keeping tabs, the most popular beer here amongst Canadian journalists is a local brew named Polygamy Porter. It's motto: Why have just one? I couldn't make something like that up if I tried ... Rap star Coolio performed for the athletes Thursday night. That's just kinda sad ... The ratio between security personnel and athletes is 6:1 ... Alpine skiers led the way, literally, last night with 27 such skiers carrying their country's flag into Rice-Eccles Stadium. Nine cross country skiers and seven lugers were similarly honoured. Robert Petrovicky, older brother or Calgary Flames forward Ronald, carried in the flag for Slovakia. Robert played eight seasons in the NHL with five different teams and is considering a return ... As is always the case at the Olympics, pin collecting is all the rage. One of the most sought-after pins is a lime green Jell-O pin commemorating a visit from Bill Cosby declaring Utah the Jell-O capital of the world. "We've been in direct competition with Iowa for some time," laughs Gov. Mike Leavitt of the anointing based on the state's lofty per capita consumption of the jiggly dessert. "I'd say it's not our only weakness -- we devour an awful lot of ice cream, too" ... The Nevada Gaming Board has implemented a no-betting rule throughout the state for these Winter Olympics. The only bet I'd be willing to make is that nobody in Vegas cares anyway.
2002 Games Men's Hockey Coverage
