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Familiar foes headed for showdown
Updated: Tuesday April 10, 2001 12:30 PM
Here is a nomination for the best rivalry in Olympic sports: the U.S.-Canada women's ice hockey showdown that will simmer for the rest of the year and come to a boil at world championships or Olympic Games. There are still semifinal contests to be played on Saturday at this year's world championships in Minneapolis. The U.S. faces Russia; Canada takes on Finland. But those are mere exhibition refreshers before the inevitable final on Sunday. How dominant have the North American neighbors been on the world ice stage over the years? Here are some numbers: Since the world championships were first held in 1990, the U.S. and Canada have met in all six finals. Canada has won every world title, though the U.S. won the biggest prize of all, beating the Canadians to snag gold in the women's ice hockey Olympic debut at the Nagano Games in 1998. Neither team has lost in major competition to anyone other than its bordering cousin. Throw in major international events such as the Olympics, the Three Nations Cup and the Pacific Women's Championship, and the U.S. has outscored all non-Canadian foes by a combined 357-53. Canada has outscored the U.S. 68-46, while compiling a 16-4 record against the Yanks. The scores of the last few U.S.-Canada meetings in those international events (3-2, 3-1, 2-1, 4-3, 3-1, 4-3) reflect the teams' relative capabilities. "They still beat us in the biggest one," says Canadian forward Nancy Drolet. "In every sport you have to have a goal, a way to measure yourself. Each team has the other one." In its three preliminary-round games here in Minnesota, Canada outscored its opponents (Kazakhstan, Russia and Sweden) 29-1. The U.S. outscored Germany, China and Finland 35-0. After a 13-0 drubbing of China on Thursday, U.S. alternate captain Karyn Bye admitted, "It's important that we play well now and keep ourselves together, but our real focus is on Canada."
Torch run no longer for saleRemember the run-up (or perhaps jog-up) to the Los Angeles Olympics when you could buy the privilege of running with the torch for $3,000 per kilometer as it traveled across the country? Can't do that this year. Organizers of the 2002 Winter Games are reserving the honor for ordinary citizens (and for sure a few Olympians) who have in some way inspired those around them. Nominees can be teachers, parents, coaches, community leaders or any person who has moved another to take the time to write about them. Nominations will be accepted on the Salt Lake Organizing Committee's Web site www.saltlake2002.com through April 30, 2001. The torch will travel through 46 states (Hawaii, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota are the unlucky four) between Dec. 4 and Feb. 8, the date of the Opening Ceremonies. More than 11,000 runners will each carry the torch for two-tenths of a mile. It will also travel by plane, train, bike, boat, canoe, sleigh, snowmobile, prairie schooner and even dogsled for part of its 13,500-mile nationwide zigzag from '96 Olympic host Atlanta to '02 host Salt Lake City. Torchbearers, who pay nothing, will be announced by early-September 2001.
Bubka embarks on a searchEven though Sergei Bubka won six world pole vault titles, the Ukrainian IOC member may face his most daunting challenge in August when he travels to Edmonton as an observer for the 2001 worlds. Bubka will reportedly try to locate descendants of his great uncle, a university professor who fled the Russian Revolution in 1917 and settled in Canada.
U.S. Open will test track and field's popularityWant a good barometer to measure the state of track and field in the United States? Keep an eye on the international meet at Stanford on June 9. The event recently received Grand Prix I status from the IAAF, which should guarantee a world-class field and ample sponsorship money. For now, the meet, named the U.S. Open, is still looking for a title sponsor. It will be the biggest track event held in Palo Alto, Calif. since the famed U.S.-Soviet dual meet filled Stanford Stadium in 1962. Fans there know their running, and if they don't show up in June, it will be another serious blow for the ailing sport. Sports Illustrated staff writer Brian Cazeneuve covers Olympic sports for the magazine and is a frequent contributor to CNNSI.com.
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