Thursday, February 14, 2002
Life will never be the same for Sale, Pelletier
By BRUCE GARRIOCH -- Ottawa Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- There's a strange twist to this whole Jamie Sale and David Pelletier scandal: It might actually be the best incident that ever happened to them.
No, it's not good that they had the gold medal stolen away from them in a sport which is known for judging which is questionable at best, but the debate that has raged since it happened has reached monumental proportions.
For their part, Sale and Pelletier have never had this much publicity. Turned on the television Tuesday morning and there they were on NBC's Today show talking about the outrage over losing to the Russians.
While the Canadian Olympic Association was calling for an investigation by the International Skating Union to get to the bottom of what happened, Sale and Pelletier were gladly speaking to every microphone they spotted.
Nobody will forget the tears rolling down Sale's face as she accepted the silver medal following the event at the Delta Center and the questioning by the NBC broadcasters of the judging they'd just witnessed.
Figure skating isn't a sport that appeals to the masses and it doesn't need a slap in the face like it just received because it only hurts its credibility.
However, this has done nothing to hurt Sale and Pelletier's profile.
Interview requests for them yesterday were declined because according to officials "they need to step back and take a bit of a break from it all," but it might not be good for them if the gold medal gets turned over to them.
Right now, they're getting the sympathy vote from the millions of viewers who know that they should have received gold and this has done nothing to hurt their popularity.
FUN AND GAMES: Toronto G Curtis Joseph is planning to enjoy the Olympic Games with his children. He'll likely try to attend speedskating, luge and figure skating events during his 12-day stop in Salt Lake. "I wanted to go to downhill skiing in Nagano, but the days I wanted to go the events were cancelled," said Joseph. "I don't think I'll be going to any downhill here because I'm not sure standing there for three hours is a good way to relax the day before a game." ... American writers can't run into a Canadian counterpart without asking the question: "Are you outraged?" The answer: Who isn't? ... A question:How do you learn to ski jump?
THE MEDAL PLAZA: A Finnish journalist says the Senators need look no further than Jarmo Kekalainen for the GM's job if Marshall Johnston decides to step down. Of course, that will be a moot point if Ottawa gets eliminated in the first round of the playoffs ... Wore an L.A. Lakers jacket I picked up at the all-star game two weeks ago, but all I got was dirty looks from Utah Jazz fans. The person I got this from tells me it used to belong to Shaquille O'Neal ... Australian athletes have been warned not to buy Valentine's Day roses from florists outside the Olympic Village because there's concern about biochemical terrorist attacks ... Nobody knew it was possible, but the security checks outside the MMC have been stepped up even more since the FBI issued the warning about possible terrorist attacks ... Britain's Princess Anne had lunch with the British Bobsled Team at the Village the other day ... Country star Lee Ann Rimes was spotted at a downtown shopping centre getting a manicure and massage the night before the Opening Ceremonies.
2002 Games Columnists
