What hockey needs right now is "someone like Alan Eagleson," a high-profile player agent insisted in an interview. "And I don't mean a crook,' said the agent, who asked for anonymity not wanting to have his named linked with the disgraced former head of the NHL Players' Association.
"I mean, we need someone who could do what Eagleson did, which was work both sides of the street,'' continued the agent as the impasse between the NHL and its players continues. "He did that better than anybody.
"Right now, you have Gary Bettman entrenched in his position and Bob Goodenow entrenched in his. It's like two stubborn generals butting heads. You need someone who can find some common ground."
That someone, for now, doesn't exist.
THIS AND THAT
Mike Commodore, Pierre Dagenais and their ilk can voice their views on salary caps but until a high-priced, high-profile player comes out and challenges the union's position, no one on the inside will even bother to take notice ... Corey Hirsch's impassioned column in yesterday's Sun should be mandatory reading for all the locked out NHL players who have heisted jobs from those whose livelihood depended on European hockey ... The only thing slower than Nik Antropov: Drew Bledsoe setting up in the pocket ... This is why Finnish hockey rarely progresses: Raimo Summanen coaches Team Finland to the final of the World Cup of Hockey, plays the tough guy, upsets some softies and instead of getting thanked, he gets fired ... I'm going out for Halloween in a costume no one would recognize. I'm going out as a World Hockey Association player.
HEAR AND THERE
When the camera zoomed in on the World Series MVP and the announcer asked: "Hey, Manny Ramirez, what are you going to do now that you've won the World Series?" Didn't you want him to say: "I'm going to get a haircut." ... With all their World Series winnings, you think the Red Sox could afford new batting helmets with logos ... Somewhere Cito Gaston has to be smiling: He continues to lead the genius, Tony La Russa, in World Series wins by a 2-1 margin ... Bud Geracie of the San Jose Mercury News dishes up this fine piece of trivia. The last time the Red Sox won the World Series, there was no Stanley Cup presented in the same season. No, it wasn't because of a lockout but an outbreak of influenza in the 1919 final between Montreal and Seattle ... And according to the website, consumerfreedom.com, which monitors the U.S. governments standards for obesity, 43 of 50 rostered players in the World Series would be considered overweight. I wonder if Mickey Lolich knows about this.
SCENE AND HEARD
The Carlos Delgado watch has begun and here is the Andy Van Hellemond betting line on where the Jays slugger is going in free agency: Baltimore 3-1; Seattle 6-1; Dodgers 8-1; Yankees 100-1 ... My all-time three favourite Hurricanes: Michael Irvin, Arturs Irbe and Hazel ... The Houston Astros have bought out playoff hero Jeff Kent but want to bring him back at a lower price ... All these years later, and I still get a laugh over George Armstrong's cameo performance in the terrible hockey movie, Face-Off ... Maybe if I was the head of CFL officiating, I wouldn't be returning reporters telephone calls, either. But accountability from the league would be appreciated, especially with interest on the upswing ... Young quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is so great that everyone will soon know how to spell his name.
AND ANOTHER THING
I suppose if you could have a CFL with Roughriders and Rough Riders playing against each other you can have a CIS with Axemen playing X-men ... Has any team ever performed worse in a World Series than the very talented St. Louis Cardinals? ... Memo to Goodenow: Salary caps can work. Andrei Kirilenko just signed a six-year, $86-million US contact with the Utah Jazz, guaranteed. And I know what you're thinking -- who in hell is Andrei Kirilenko? ... Is pro wrestling off the map again, or does it only seem that way? ... By about the time you read this, Eric Tillman will be out as general manager of the Ottawa Renegades ... Alexis Rios may evolve into a star one day but you check his birth certificate and you realize the Blue Jays phenom is just one year younger than Albert Pujols ... Just wondering: Do ex-Jays Terry Adams and Sandy Martinez get World Series rings for just hanging around the Red Sox? ... And hey, whatever became of Garry Unger?
