Kukla's Korner Hockey
The Pinnacle Of Our Sport
by Paul on 02/21/10 at 07:51 AM ET
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from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star,
On Saturday night, Czech fans held a mini-parade after Jagr and Friends had knocked off tiny Latvia. Several miles away on Davie St. in the west end, a tiny clutch of Finns carrying their national flag chanted, “Suomi, Suomi” as they began the long trek to Canada Hockey Place to see their heroes take on Germany.
Saturday afternoon, Norway and Switzerland staged a marvellously entertaining round-robin game that included a penalty shot in the opening minute, with the Swiss ultimately eking out a 5-4 overtime victory. The Norwegians, without a win so far, were understandably distressed, but that didn’t stop them from raising their gloved hands to applaud the fans as they departed the ice surface….
That is why, you see, Gary Bettman would be wise to tone down his we-may-not-want-to-do-this-anymore rhetoric a wee bit.
This is a hockey street party at which you don’t want to be seen as the guy who won’t move his car. If you don’t like this, you don’t like hockey, which is fine, of course, but hardly the stance one of the sport’s leading statesmen wants to be perceived as taking.
What is making this tourney soar — and an unforgettable conclusion will still be necessary to make it truly historic — is that there is flavour to this beyond the NHL, beyond what the colourless World Cup produces or even, for that matter, the occasionally exotic world championship.
This is the best of everything the game can offer from pretty much every nook and cranny of the known hockey universe. This is the pinnacle.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Oiympics,
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