Cammi Granato Hockey Player Age: 26 Birthplace: N/A Residence: Downers Grove, Illinois Height & Weight: N/A Events: Women's Hockey Hear Cammi discuss college, athletics (768KB QT) CNN/SI's Michael Farber takes a closer look at Cammi Granato

Psst, hey you! Have you heard of Cammi Granato? You have? Oh, OK. Well, did you know that she plays hockey? Oh, you knew that too? Well, then, you probably know that she's the best player on the U.S. team that will be playing in the first Olympic hockey tournament for women? Yeah, I figured you did. But here's an interesting tidbit: Did you know that her older brother, Tony, plays for the San Jose Sharks in the National Hockey Lea ... you knew that, too, huh? Oh, forget it.

By now, as anyone with even a passing interest in sports can tell you, the 26-year-old Granato is the poster child for women's hockey in the United States. Seemingly every time the media determines that it needs a story about the growing popularity of women's hockey, it focuses on Granato. Overkill, perhaps, but you know what? It's well deserved. She is the all-time leading American scorer in the world championships and she's helped the U.S. win three silver medals. Like Wayne Gretzky, Granato is known as a deft passer with a soft touch. And, like the Great One, some of her teammates have said that she seems to possess a sixth sense while on the ice. Her brother Tony is among the impressed. "She's surpassed me," he says. "She's not my sister, I'm her brother."

But deserved or not, Granato hasn't always been comfortable at the center of all the attention. During her first few years at Providence College (she attended on a hockey scholarship), Tony was establishing himself as a star with the Los Angeles Kings. Cammi, hoping to avoid the impression that she was trading on her brother's fame, did her best to downplay their connection. It was almost a year before Cammi's roommate, Michelle Johansson, knew that Tony was Cammi's brother.

"At times, she felt guilty getting all the attention," Johansson says. "She thought it was because she was Tony's sister and it made a cute story. I had to tell her, 'Tony didn't score all those goals for you.' She is not Cammi Granato, Tony Granato's sister. She is Cammi Granato, premiere American women's hockey player."

Like other premiere hockey players, Granato became interested in the game when she was tiny. "I don't remember not having hockey around," she says. "It was always there for me." She began playing with the Downers Grove Huskies when she was in kindergarten -- she played with the team until junior high -- and though her mother tried to convince her to take up figure skating, Cammi always gravitated back to hockey.

Hockey has been an integral part of the Granato family's life -- Don and Robbie also played -- and it will continue to be. Mr. and Mrs. Granato, Don, Robbie and Tony will all be in Nagano to watch Cammi lead the U.S. team. A gold medal would be great, but Cammi has another goal in mind. "With the Olympics, people will know we play hockey," she says, "and they will be shocked to see that we can play at that level. What we're trying to do is be recognized for our own game and respected for it too."

Each day during the Olympics, CNN/SI will bring you TNT's Athlete of the Day, a detailed look at the personalities that spice up the Games. Check back every day for a new athlete, and be sure to catch TNT's daily in-depth coverage of the Winter Olympics.

Athletes of the Day

• February 20 - KC Boutiette • February 19 - Alberto Tomba • February 18 - Michelle Kwan • February 17 - Eric Bergoust • February 16 - Todd Lodwick • February 15 - Kirstin Holum • February 14 - Thorpe/Sheer • February 13 - Masahiko Harada • February 12 - Todd Eldredge • February 11 - Elvis Stojko • February 10 - Donna Weinbrecht • February 9 - The Forsbergs • February 8 - Picabo Street • February 7 - Cammi Granato • February 6 - Tommy Moe

Watch TNT's coverage of the Winter Olympics!