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Eric the Idle Sad to see Lindros' talent wasting away
The biggest mystery in sports to me is Eric Lindros. Why isn't the best player in professional hockey playing professional hockey? Oh, I know about the concussions and I've heard the rumors about how and why his Philadelphia Flyers teammates pretty much hated him, but isn't this a business? Doesn't somebody make a decision somewhere that puts this guy back on the ice? Is it his perilous physical condition or his reputation as a squeaky clubhouse wheel that makes him a liability? What? Is it simply his salary demands? His name came back into the news this week when he was invited to be part of the Canadian Olympic Team's orientation session in September. It made you remember that the guy is still only 28 years old, an eight-year veteran, 6-feet-4, 236 pounds and that even if he never has won a Stanley Cup with the Flyers, he certainly laid the groundwork for a couple of Cups for the Colorado Avalanche when, as the Quebec Nordiques, they traded his rights in 1992 for seven solid players, the core of their team. Something is weird here. A gift that virtually 100 percent of the males in North America would love to own is being squandered. The best talent in a high-profile game is being wasted. Isn't somebody going to budge somewhere? It all reminds me of the second biggest mystery in sports. If Barry Sanders is the best running back in professional football, well, why isn't he playing professional football? Leigh Montville's commentaries appear regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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