Wednesday, February 20, 2002

Remote Control

By ROB BRODIE -- Ottawa Sun
 Is it really about the beer?

 On the morning after a tirade that was still the talk of the nation yesterday, Wayne Gretzky offered at least one intriguing suggestion why Canada's hockey rivals at the Winter Olympics have it in for our boys in red and white big time.

 Those darned beer commercials.

 You know, the ones that insist all the other teams in the Olympics are petrified to face Canada -- to the point they're calling in fake injuries.

 Imagine, said Gretzky, you're Mats Sundin, Martin Havlat or Markus Naslund -- or any other European playing for a Canadian-based team -- having to watch those spots for the past couple of months.

 Extra incentive? Perhaps.

 "I can understand how it would make them feel," said Gretzky during a visit with CBC daytime host Ron MacLean yesterday.

 We're all for patriotism and such, but let's get real here. The world's other hockey powers stopped fearing Canada years ago -- though they surely respect the heck out of us, and know where the benchmark for international success still lies.

 Simply put, it's a silly line of advertising that should have been buried four years ago.

 But maybe MacLean had the right idea for a future campaign. "It's like a beer commercial in that rink. It's beautiful with all those Canadian fans," he said.

 Over to you, beer guys.

 THE GREAT DEBATE:

  It's been fascinating to see how Gretzky's post-game rant after Monday's 3-3 tie with the Czech Republic galvanized hockey fans across the country. Talk radio couldn't get enough of it yesterday. And, in his talk with MacLean, the Great One wasn't backing off anything he said. "Canadians can knock other Canadians," said Gretzky. "But when other people knock Canadians, you've got to stand up for them."

 GAMES TALK:

  Ottawa native John Davidson, who's doing hockey duty for NBC in Salt Lake, is loving the fallout from the Gretzky rant. "We've gone from Skategate to Hockeygate," said Davidson. "This is fabulous." ... Vic Rauter and Anna-Fraser Sproule turned in more strong work yesterday during the dramatic men's aerials finals ... McLean is obviously no fan of the new judging system being proposed by ISU boss Ottavio Cinquanta. "It's not enough we can't find a panel of nine (figure skating) judges that's not corrupt, now they want to up it to 14?" Good question, indeed.

 QUOTABLE:

  "When it comes to hockey, it's awfully tough to tell Canadians to just relax." -- CBC prime time host Brian Williams.

 TODAY'S BEST BET:

 Men's hockey quarter-final, Canada vs. Finland. After everything you just read, can it be anything else?

2002 Games News Coverage