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Spotlight: Cammi Granato, Ice Hockey
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Posted: Friday March 05, 1999 12:21 PM
Granato is focused on bringing home a gold for the U.S. |
Born: March 25, 1971, Downers Grove, Ill.
Residence: Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Upcoming Event: IIHF Women's World Championship, Espoo and Vantaa, Finland, March 8-12
Worth Watching Because: Cammi Granato is the U.S.'s best-ever women's hockey player. No longer just known as the little sister of 11-year NHL veteran Tony Granato, Cammi is the only athlete to have competed in the USA Hockey women's international program since it started in 1990, and is the alltime leading scorer for the National Team with 44 points (27 goals, 17 assists) in 20 games.
The U.S. -- with a 15-4-1 mark and four silver medals in the previous World Championships -- is the top seed in the eight-team field following its resounding triumph at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Four-time world champion Canada (20-0 in WC play) is the second seed and will have extra incentive because of its humbling 3-1 loss to the U.S. in the gold-medal game in Nagano.
The March 1 TSN Challenge in Brampton, Ontario, provided an inauspicious preview of what the U.S. may face: Despite being outshot 31-24, Canada won 6-1, with Granato scoring Team USA's lone goal. The Canadians also beat the U.S. twice in last December's Three Nations Cup, 2-1 and 4-3 (shootout). Will the Americans be able to rise to the challenge once again? If so, Granato figures to play a huge role.
Greatest Success: Captain of the 1998 Olympic team that won the first women's ice hockey gold medal.
Quote/Unquote: On the Olympics: "It's just so amazing what we went through and there is nothing that can match that feeling again."
Cool Fact: When not competing for the U.S., Granato serves as the radio color commentator for the NHL's Los Angeles Kings on KRLA-AM 1110. "This is the hardest thing I've ever done," she says. "Hockey always came naturally and it was fun to push yourself to higher levels. This is kind of painful." She skates before or after Kings practices and sometimes even gets into informal pickup games with coaches and players.
Come back next Friday for a new Spotlight.
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