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Subject: Women-in-Hockey Digest V1 #187
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Women-in-Hockey Digest Thursday, March 26 1998 Volume 01 : Number 187
In this issue:
Re: Beatrice Aeros
Miller
Re: Miller
Re: Miller
Re: Miller
Cricket Atmosphere (was Re: Miller)
Re: Cricket Atmosphere (was Re: Miller)
Re: Cricket Atmosphere (was Re: Miller)
Re: Cricket Atmosphere (was Re: Miller)
High School Coaches
Minnesota women's team
Re: Cricket Atmosphere (was Re: Miller)
Re: Cricket Atmosphere (was Re: Miller)
Olympic Experience summary - finally!
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Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 09:01:22 -0500 (EST)
From: Brian John Rodgers
Subject: Re: Beatrice Aeros
i think the money given to women's hockey by beatrice is great. but, at
times i think more attention in Canada should be paid to the university
game. the aeros did not blow out the U of Guelph team at that tourney, in
fact i believe they only beat them by 2-0.
i believe the U.S. will continue to be successful because most of their
players come out of the collegiate system. the aeros can by no means by
considered a watermadk team for the state of women's hockey in Ontario.
the team is made up of girls of any age, and it is easy to recruit people
to a winning team. but what competition do they have. in the senior aaa
division of the cowhl there are only 2 real teams that compete at that
level, the aeros and the mississauga chiefs, with scarborough as a
possible contender. many current aeros played in the OUA.
the canadian university system would be the best choice for developing
young players. practice everyday, access to off ice training facilities,
good, and getting better, competative hockey.
but, unlike recruiting for a club team, university teams must find players
that are also academically eligible, and that have the funds to go to
university. right now the U.S. colleges are heavily recruiting Canadian
players. if more players would stay home, it would be better for Canadian
Hockey. if the best players continue to go to the states to attend
college, this in effect allows the U.S. girls to compete with the best
calibre athletes, and increases the quality of hockey.
as Canadian universities do not give out athletic scholarships, it becomes
an easy choice to go to the states. i believe it would be in the best
interest to Canadian women's hockey if private corporations would create a
scholarship system to allow home grown talent to stay at home and play in
the canadian university system.
i think it is great large corporations are donating money to womens
hockey, but i think the best women's hockey system in Canada is being
ignored. The U.S. has already figured out that the college system is the
best possible training ground for national team players, not a club
system. how long before Canada figures this out. Heck, certain high
profile Team U.S.A. players, Cammi Granato and Karyn Bye, found the
Canadian university league good enough to train in.
It is time that Canada starts to invest in the younger players, and
provides access to the best possible training system, the university
league, by providing funding for our girls to stay home and play at home
in a system designed to give players all the ice time and training they
need.
johnny r
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 13:10:51 -0500
From: "Cindy Goodman"
Subject: Miller
Okay I couldn't resist. It's nice to see sanity is slowly starting to be restored at the CHA. One down....
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 11:46:21 +0000
From: email@hidden (DAVE BAKER)
Subject: Re: Miller
> Okay I couldn't resist. It's nice to see sanity is slowly starting
> to be restored at the CHA. One down....
Cindy,
Let me know if you are going after me next.....
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 14:11:22 -0500
From: "Cindy Goodman"
Subject: Re: Miller
Dave really you flatter me. But surely your not suggesting I had anything to do with that? Since when does Bob Nicholson need any help making decisions? Besides when I made my views public it was way before the writing was on the wall so to speak. I believe this grave was dug by the owner.
>>> DAVE BAKER 03/25/98 06:46AM >>>
> Okay I couldn't resist. It's nice to see sanity is slowly starting
> to be restored at the CHA. One down....
Cindy,
Let me know if you are going after me next.....
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 13:28:21 -0800
From: "Phil & Debbie Cottrell"
Subject: Re: Miller
Cindy and Dave said:
>nice to see sanity is slowly starting to be restored at the CHA. One
down....
>
>Cindy,
>
>Let me know if you are going after me next.....Dave
Hey Dave, don't get paranoid, we have nothing against you...you're only
trying to introduce cricket match atmosphere into hockey, that's all :) ("Oh
I say, well played there, Mr. Odjick, fancy a cup of tea after this
inning?") Hardly a capital offence...though a period of lengthy imprisonment
might be in order :):)
Phil, Victoria, BC
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 17:05:25 -0500
From: Val Schmitt
Subject: Cricket Atmosphere (was Re: Miller)
Phil & Debbie Cottrell wrote:
> ("Oh
> I say, well played there, Mr. Odjick, fancy a cup of tea after this
> inning?")
This reminds me of a cartoon (Close to Home by John McPherson) that I
keep tacked on my cube wall. It's titled "Hockey in heaven" and shows a
bunch of old toothless hockey players complete with wings saying:
"Bob, I want to apologize for brushing against you with my stick on that
last play."
"Forget about it, Skip! I took it as a gesture of good will!"
"My word, Phil, what have I done?! I've knocked you down! Are you ok?! I
feel just awful!"
"Really Ted, I'm fine! I know it was an accident! It's all part of the
game!"
Hey, isn't that just like those Hall of Fame games at the start of the
All Star weekend?
- -- Val
=================================================================
Val Schmitt http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/9687
play: email@hidden work: email@hidden
** Nighthawks Ice Hockey C Team #22 ** Go SJ Sharks! **
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 15:36:57 +0000
From: email@hidden (DAVE BAKER)
Subject: Re: Cricket Atmosphere (was Re: Miller)
Can someone please fill me in? What do these cricket references have
to do with me? If people aren't happy with my contribution to this
forum, I will be happy to leave.
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 20:09:42 -0500
From: Val Schmitt
Subject: Re: Cricket Atmosphere (was Re: Miller)
DAVE BAKER wrote:
> Can someone please fill me in? What do these cricket references have
> to do with me? If people aren't happy with my contribution to this
> forum, I will be happy to leave.
Um, Dave, my cricket reference had nothing to do with you. It was just
funny. Honest.
(Can you and Cindy please take some quaaludes and chill out a little,
again? The rest of us are a little tired of the whole Miller thing. I,
for one, appreciate both of your contributions only when you're not
sniping at each other.)
(And is quaaludes really spelled with 2 aa's? My spell checker must have
taken some itself!)
- -- Val
=================================================================
Val Schmitt http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/9687
play: email@hidden work: email@hidden
** Nighthawks Ice Hockey C Team #22 ** Go SJ Sharks! **
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 17:33:40 -0800
From: "Phil & Debbie Cottrell"
Subject: Re: Cricket Atmosphere (was Re: Miller)
A rather hurt sounding Dave said:
>Can someone please fill me in? What do these cricket references have to do
with me? If people aren't happy with my contribution to this
>forum, I will be happy to leave.
For God's sake, Dave, chill out. I was just having a bit of fun with the
"Trash Talking" thread of some weeks ago in which you championed a rather
higher level of behaviour and deportment among players and fans than has
historically been the case. Hence the cricket analogy.
There's no need for wounded pride or "I'm going to leave" statements. What
would we do without you? Don't answer that, Cindy :)
Phil
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 20:39:58 EST
From: IllonaGF
Subject: High School Coaches
I was wondering if anyone on this list is coaching girl's high school
hockey. I am considering a position and wanted to talk with someone who has
experience. Please e-mail me at email@hidden
Thanks :o)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 23:06:50 EST
From: Pngwn7
Subject: Minnesota women's team
A woman from our hockey team is moving to Minnesota and is interested in
playing. This is her first year playing, but she is very aggressive and a
strong skater. She will be moving to Willmar, MN around mid-June. If anyone
knows of a senior women's team who is looking for players in that area, could
you let me know.
Thanks.
Trina
Springfield Scream
email@hidden
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 05:07:25 +0000
From: "TeePee Communications"
Subject: Re: Cricket Atmosphere (was Re: Miller)
On 25 Mar 98 at 20:09, Val Schmitt wrote:
> (And is quaaludes really spelled with 2 aa's? My spell checker must
> have taken some itself!)
>
Yes it is.
*********************************************
Tim Pacan - TeePee Communications
Women's Hockey Website:
http://web.idirect.com/~teepee/hockey.htm
*********************************************
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 08:20:21 -0500
From: "Cindy Goodman"
Subject: Re: Cricket Atmosphere (was Re: Miller)
Val wrote:
The rest of us are a little tired of the whole Miller thing
If you can speak for all the "rest" of the list, how about the other "rest" of us that are a little tired of just talking about mouthguards, hockey pants, skates and roller hockey? I mistakenly thought that this list was for conversing about all kinds of issues to do with hockey, and not just the best equipment buys. We don't have to mention Miss Miller's name to talk about where the future of the Canadian Women's program is going. That's all I would like to do, honest. My comment yesterday simply reflected that I felt they (CHA) finally took a step in the direction of correcting the problem. Please don't confuse my comments with that of Mr. Baker's. I have no wish to get into a war of words with him or anyone for that matter. As for the quaaludes well actually I wasn't aware that I needed to "chill out" but whatever. They don't work the same way for everyone.
So, anyone know what is the best inside mouthguard to use?
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 09:36:58 -0500
From: Val Schmitt
Subject: Olympic Experience summary - finally!
OK, OK, I'm alive. I've been trying to deny it, but people keep seeing
me breathe... So after many requests I've finally written a summary of
our Olympic trip and my reflections on it. I mean no disrespect to the
Canadian team or fans, but my account is predictably partisan to the US.
What can I say - the recent generations of my family are American, even
if some before that were Canadian!
==============
The Olympics started at the airport, with signs and volunteers waiting
to meet competitors, officials and family members, then whisking them
quickly through their own lines. For the rest of us there was the normal
confusion of customs, baggage collection, and then a foreign airport and
train terminal full of foreign visitors! But you could immediately tell
that Japan was "dressed up" and excited about hosting the Olympic Games.
Banners and posters were on display everywhere, in the cities, subways,
shops, trains - everywhere! There was definitely a different feeling
than the Japan I'd left 4½ years ago, when a single "gaijin" would rate
stares and comments. Now whole groups could walk down the street with
barely a second glance. However, throughout our trip people kept asking
us what we were competing in, with my husband Rob eventually trying to
claim I was a speed skater (couldn't be further from the truth!). One
girl at a hockey game asked me which player was my sister. I guess they
didn't expect plain fans to come to the Games. And to be honest, they
were right. We were a definite minority - not being related to a
competitor, part of a sports organization, a member of an Olympic
delegation from Sydney or Utah, or retired and rich. I'd bet we mangled
some statistician's numbers along the way. ;-)
Our Olympic Experience was really fun, but a bit stressful because of
all the running around and transportation issues. We were staying with a
friend, and her apartment is 30 minutes from Matsumoto station, which is
a minimum 50 minute train ride to Nagano station, which is then 30-90
minutes by train/bus/feet from the various event locations. Our first
day we left the apartment at 6 am and didn't get home till after 1 am
that night. We ended up skipping some of our planned events because it
was going to be ridiculous to try to get everywhere (and I had
underestimated our ability to be in multiple places at the same time!).
Our motto for the Games and my scheduling of events was "It seemed like
a good idea at the time". In the end we saw men's curling, the men's
figure skating short program, women's 500m speed skating (round 1),
men's hockey Russia-Finland and USA-Canada, and women's hockey
USA-Canada and gold medal game. The women's final was, of course, the
most exciting part, and it was our last event, so that made it even more
special. I still have goose bumps from the feeling after the win!
The weather was very extreme - but in many different directions. The
first day it poured continuously and we got soaked, even after we bought
umbrellas. (Rain was the only form of weather that we hadn't prepared
for!) The next day it was sunny and gorgeous. The day after that it
snowed all day. Then sun; then rain; etc. But other than the first day
of rain, the changes didn't bother us since we skipped all of the
outdoor events. I know it was playing havoc with the skiing schedules
though!
It was interesting to be back in Japan (I'd lived in Japan for 3 years,
not
so coincidentally residing mostly near Matsumoto, the next biggest city
in
Nagano Prefecture - this was one of
the main reasons for our trip). I remembered more of the
language than I thought I would, but still not as much as I used to
know. I found myself remembering big, intellectual words, but forgetting
everyday names for food or directions. (Something like remembering the
translation of "machine tool" but forgetting how to say "vegetarian".
OK, you're fine at a factory, but kinda screwed for lunch!) The town I
lived in is much more built up now, but my neighborhood was pretty much
the same. Overall, people were much less surprised at seeing foreigners,
and less surprised at my speaking Japanese. Instead of people trying to
speak English to me, they'd keep going in Japanese until I hit a wall. I
guessed that with so many non Japanese speaking visitors around, it was
a bit of a break to let me speak their own language.
We were very surprised at both the events, and in Nagano City, to find
Christian Americans proselytizing. One large group of kids was
especially obnoxious, loudly singing Christian music under the gate of
Zenkoji temple, then marching down the main street back towards the
station. They seemed to have no idea that they were invading the grounds
of arguably the holiest of Buddhist temples in Japan and forcefully
thrusting their own religion on the happily Buddhist and Shinto Japanese
citizens. Luckily the Japanese we saw didn't understand very much of the
singing or signs being carried, and just seemed amused at what they
assumed was youthful enthusiasm.
Another surprise was the lack of good old Capitalism at these games!
There were no real programs or posters anywhere - and an almost total
lack of souvenirs, especially those that were sport specialized. The
only thing handed out at events was a one to two page printout of the
names and order of the competitors. Considering how many visitors did
not know the rules of the sports they were attending, this was extremely
puzzling. Most Olympic memorabilia had only the Snowlets or Olympic
Rings, but even that was difficult to find in any real variety. After
searching the Curling venue's shop and then the Karuizawa Station
Olympic shop, we finally got a poster at a gift shop where the clerk
took it down from the window and gave it to us as a gift. Although we
were told it was an over-reaction to the negative image of the Atlanta
games salesmanship, for us the reputation of the Japanese as cutthroat
businessmen was destroyed by the lack of "Olympic things" to buy. The
few souvenir booths at the events didn't take credit cards (not even
Visa, regardless of their advertising!) and at hockey games the booths
closed as soon as the game ended. The Americans were actually arguing
with the clerks to please let them buy anything while they slowly exited
the arena!
Our first event was Curling, which was fun to watch, but slow. I
compared it to baseball, where, if you know the rules and strategy - and
care - it's exciting, otherwise it can be long and boring. There were
lots of empty seats even though the event was sold out. (We had to get
tickets through our British friends.) Near us, some rookie Texan fans
were adopted by two Minnesotan and Wisconsin fans (one was the sister of
a player), who explained the rules and strategies. They also told the
Texans about Curling "etiquette", which says that you don't cheer bad
throws, only good ones. Unfortunately, the Japanese fans didn't get this
message, blowing the ever-present horns and banging their painted shells
together every time the opposing team missed a shot. The equipment was
quite interesting, consisting of unusual shoes, some with attachments
for the bottom of the "stopping" shoe's sole that gave traction, and the
sweeping brooms. One of the Germans had an ergonomic broom stick, shaped
sort of like a lightning bolt, with a horizontal handle in the middle of
the stick. The actual sweeping part of the brooms were solid plastic,
and the bottoms looked like a kitchen scrubber for non-stick pots.
Sitting near us was a couple from the Salt Lake Olympic contingent.
They'll be working the curling events in 2002 and said their venue will
be a converted hockey rink, not a specific curling arena like Japan's.
As in all the arenas and stations, there was a lot of pin trading going
on. Some Japanese ladies even came by and gave us origami and decorative
fans as gifts; as suspicious Americans, we're still waiting for the
catch! ;-) There were four matches being played at once, but it was
impossible to watch all of them at the same time. We concentrated on the
USA-Germany match right in front of us, occasionally catching throws in
Japan or Canadian matches. Our funniest memory from the Curling was the
sound of the skip directing and encouraging the sweepers to go faster by
yelling "Hard, HARD!". Unfortunately for their level of seriousness, in
the stands that sounds like "Argh, ARGH!" and so we decided they're all
really just pirates…
At the men's figure skating short program (which was nice, but not
terribly memorable) I realized we were sitting in front of Mrs.
Shanahan, Mrs. Blake, Mrs. MacInnis and another Canadian Significant
Other. I couldn't help but listen to their conversations (they talked
all night, barely even registering that the competition was going on!),
and as they made comments like "Wayne gave Janet his portable phone…",
"that was Brendan calling", and "did you know Brett’s girlfriend very
well?", after a while it was clear who they had to be talking about!
They struck me as typical Pro Sports Wives, very glamorous, very
supportive of their husbands, but not terribly interested in sports. The
only one paying attention to the skating was a former figure skater
herself, who midway through the competition left the group to go sit
with some other Canadian fans closer to the ice. (We were in the third
to last row of a steep stadium…) A few of the amusing things I overheard
were 1) after Mrs. Shanahan answered her portable phone, assuming it was
her father, by saying "Hi Dad", she commented to her neighbor, "Brendan
said he liked the sound of being called Dad." Hmmm, little Shanahans on
the way soon? 2) One of the wives complained that the woman organizing
the charter flight for the team and family members had told her that the
women wouldn't bother to wear makeup on the 10+ hour flight, but when
she got there, she was the only one who wasn't ‘made up’! One of the
other women reassured her that she'd looked great anyway, and hadn't
that been a beautiful outfit she'd been wearing… 3) Mrs. Shanahan said
that Theo Fleury had been annoyed to discover that he wouldn't be able
to wear his number because that was Brendan's number now, even though it
hadn't been in the past. Seems league seniority was the determining
factor, not length of time with a particular number.
We were in the newspaper! During our wait for the beginning of the
women's 500m speed skating, I was stopped by a young Japanese man who
asked if he could talk to me. Turns out he was a newspaper reporter, and
wanted to interview a foreigner at the Olympics. He was a bit shocked
when I replied in Japanese! We talked about why I knew the language,
why we'd come to the Olympics and what my
thoughts of the Games, Japan and the Japanese people were. He was quite
surprised when I compared curling to baseball, which has near religious
status over there, and amused when I said that my mother curls in
California. He eventually took our picture and gave us his business
card, telling us the article would be in the paper within 2-3 days. For
the next 4 days, we confused the kiosk attendants by buying Sports
Nippon, a newspaper entirely in Japanese, and reading through it each
morning on the train. On the day that I'd nearly lost hope of actually
seeing our article, there it was, sandwiched between Shimizu winning yet
another speed skating medal, high school judo competitors and a couple
holding up their fishing catch! The actual article didn't contain all of
our conversation, but had a cute twist on what actually happened,
claiming that he was heartbroken to find out at the end of the interview
that I was married!
The first women's USA-Canada hockey game was a good, exciting game. The
high point for me was when Tony Granato and his wife sat directly in
front of us. At first I didn't realize who it was (I sat there trying to
connect him to work or our health club), then I nearly squeezed Rob's
leg in half as I figured out it was a hockey player - a Shark - TONY
GRANATO! His wife was wearing a USA jersey with Cammi's #21, and Tony
was wearing a white AT&T Olympic sweatshirt that many of the family
members had received. Rob's first reaction was how un-large Tony is.
Since I hadn't brought my Sharks jersey (why would I wear it at the
Olympics, I'd only need USA stuff… sigh), and I figured Tony was there
as a fan and family member and didn't need to be bugged, we left him
alone, except to tap him on the shoulder after Cammi's goal and say
"Wasn't that your _sister_ who just scored? Congratulations!" The most
amusing part of sitting behind him was when the American sitting next to
us asked us if we would take a picture of him and his Japanese
girlfriend - Tony started to turn around to say he'd be happy to have
his picture taken, then realized he wasn't being asked and sheepishly
sat back down again. Tony was very excited and enthusiastic about the
game - he waved to his parents sitting in another section after Cammi's
goal, and took a picture of Cammi's image on the jumbotron. All in all,
everything I've heard about him appears to be true, and he seemed
absolutely thrilled to be watching his little sister compete in the
Olympics.
The American sitting next to us was originally from Philadelphia, but
had been living in Japan for 8 years, so he hadn't even realized there
was women's hockey till he applied for tickets. His most inspiring (?)
comments of the night came after a penalty for "body contact" was
called. "Why can't they check?", to which I replied it's tradition
because they're women. His reply was "So what?!" He honestly couldn't
understand why there should be any difference between the men's and
women's games. If only more people thought that way… (Even though I
personally _never_ want to play checking hockey!)
There was a great mix of fans at the game - more, or maybe just louder,
Canadians, but not by a lot. They certainly had more flags than the
Americans. It was interesting that at 4-1 the Canadian fans started the
"na-na-na-na, hey-hey, good bye" chant, substituting "sayonara" for
"na-na-na-na". A bit early on that one, in either language. It was a
rough game - lots of collisions and falls, so lots of penalties. Both
teams played very physically. The US lines were toyed with in the third
period, as Granato and Baker started playing together then. There were
two 5 on 3’s created by successive penalties, and both teams capitalized
in the 1st penalty, so they still had the 5 on 4 advantage afterwards.
There was only one injury "dive", when Bye (I think?) stayed down just
long enough to draw the penalty, then popped back up with a smile! The
US changed goalies early in the game before it was 4-1 - it was
announced on the jumbotron, but barely noticed by the crowd. I'm still
not sure why, as it was still a competitive game at that point. Both
teams were good at keeping the puck in their offensive zone and there
was pretty good passing, though some puck hogging. The US goaltending
was so-so, but their defense was good. There was a big
change in momentum (you could even feel it in the crowd) when the second
US goal was scored. The Canadian goaltending was quite good - the goals
were not soft,
but seemed to be more defensive lapses leaving an offensive player alone
on the side of the slot, wide open for a good pass. Frankly, after the
outcome of the game we thought both teams should be upset - the US
should never have fallen that far behind, and the Canadians should never
have let them come back.
At the Men's USA-Canada game we were surprised to find that the owner of
the Assabet Valley rink (in West Concord, MA) was sitting next to us.
Carl was very enthusiastic about "his" girls in the Olympics. I'm glad
he's supported the game for a long time, and helped the careers of many
national level players, but it was hard to get past the name dropping.
It was also discouraging that he barely seemed to care that I play once
I said that it's at the lowest adult level, especially as my team
competes with one of his girls’ teams. Other people in the stands nearby
included Kelly Dyer (former national team goalie now working for
Louisville, I believe), Vicki Movsessian’s brother, the Bakers, the
Granatos, etc. All in all, the stands were more exciting than the game.
The Americans couldn't hit a pass to save their life, and the Canadians
were taking no prisoners. At least this time the na-na-na-na good bye
chant was very well deserved!
The Women's gold medal game was awesome. The US team was on top of their
game from the very beginning - they were making great passes, and good
puck handling (I particularly noticed a number of 360 degree turns that
threw off defenders at mid ice). Canada looked slow - they were missing
passes and generally just didn't look 100%. There was much less hitting
than on Saturday, making it a game more in the traditional
style of "women's" hockey - skill and playmaking became the key. Teuting
played a great game - she made key saves on 2 missed line changes where
the Canadians came in 2 or 3 on _none_! The lone Canadian goal looked
like
a good one - Whyte's defensive play left just enough space for a clean
score. From our
point of view (admittedly difficult sometimes behind the waving flags!)
it was a good, competitive game that capped an amazing period in women's
hockey history.
Amazingly, our seats were once again surrounded by notable hockey people
and families. Two rows in front of us was the optometrist from the IHL’s
Kansas City Blades, and directly in front of us sat the owner of the Las
Vegas Thunder (one of Manon Rheaume’s former teams, along with many
ex-San Jose Sharks) and his family. Hank and his wife Dee also own
baseball team"s", among them the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, whose teal
hats the entire family were wearing. They were surprisingly down to
earth people. Dee talked about her daughter, a surgeon with two school
age children who is a "super mom". She said she hates "women like that"
who seem to be able to do everything without tiring. Her husband's
response was only to wryly (and proudly) comment that besides raising
their own children Dee had merely graduated from law school! It was
refreshing to see someone firmly entrenched in the men's game so excited
about women's hockey. Hank said he'd seen the US team play at an
international competition last year and immediately loved the women's
smart game of skill. He commented that Manon was a great draw for the
Thunder, always good about doing promotions and community work, but that
she was a distraction for the rest of the team, and frankly, wasn't
playing IHL quality. He thought that both Manon and Erin Whitten were
ECHL level players at this point. He did say that he believed there will
be women with NHL level skills, but not for a few years, and even then
he didn't mean to imply that they'd actually make it into the NHL. Both
Hank and Dee said that in their sports experience hockey players were
the best people. She especially thought that the bruisers are the
biggest "pussycats" off the ice, particularly when you catch them with
their babies in their arms! They commented that hockey is one of the
most mental and intelligent sports, so it collects good, smart people.
Post game impressions were seen through the tears in our eyes! It was
wild to see how patriotic and involved you get in a situation like that.
We were all delirious at the end. The picture I'll have in my memory
forever was the goalies, Teuting and DeCosta, skating a victory lap
hand-in-hand. Their joy was totally shared, apparently no jealousy
between them whatsoever. Other images: Bailey standing in her skates on
the shelf behind the bench hugging her parents (?) over the top of the
glass; Cammi skating towards her parents behind the net with two big
thumbs up and a huge smile; Team Canada lined up on the blue line for a
good 5 minutes after the buzzer watching the US celebrate and waiting
for the handshake; Brown-Miller sobbing after receiving her medal; the
Canadian players standing with their arms over each other's shoulders
after the medal ceremony; an American player throwing her bouquet into
the crowd after the ceremony, where it was caught by an American woman,
she gave it to two Japanese girls who proceeded to scream and jump
up and down in excitement; the lack of the "na-na-na-na" chant, only
"U-S-A" or "Ca-na-da"; the absolute enthusiasm of the Finnish Bronze
medal team at the awards ceremony - you'd swear they'd won gold; one
Finnish player's use of the team outfit's scarf as a sling for her
injured arm; and lastly, the irony of the medals, being carried onto the
ice by petite Japanese women in kimonos, able to take only the smallest
of steps and with perfectly coifed hair and makeup, only to be awarded
to sweaty, athletic women champions (all 3 teams of them!).
TV coverage of the Olympics in Japan was as bad as it seemed to be in
the states, with one exception - you never even saw the results of non
medallists or non Japanese. And once a Japanese won a medal, that was
all you saw for days, literally! Shimizu winning the first gold in speed
skating was replayed for at least 3 days - while other events were going
on!!! At least CBS had the time delay to blame it on. Japanese TV had
2-3 stations showing the Games, and still barely got any live coverage
in. Even the Japanese papers and people we talked to commented on it.
Very strange.
All things considered it was a fantastic experience, and one I'd
recommend
to anyone able to attend future Games. The next two should be as good or
better, since representatives from both Sydney and Salt Lake City were
everywhere taking notes. Hopefully they'll foresee the few negatives
and retain all of the positives. I'd also suggest sending in for tickets
early on in the lottery process - although the price doesn't change, you
have a higher chance of getting your first choice. And, if our seats
were any indication, even the mid priced tickets are worth it. Oh, but
next time, bring your Sharks jersey!
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If you're still here after all that rambling, thanks for reading!
- -- Val
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Val Schmitt http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/9687
play: email@hidden work: email@hidden
** Nighthawks Ice Hockey C Team #22 ** Go SJ Sharks! **
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End of Women-in-Hockey Digest V1 #187
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