LET’S hear it for yester- year’s unknown Olympic ath- lete, the guy who's reputed to have said: “If, chrough the medium of sport, we can serve the cause of interna- tional harmony throughout the world, then the Games will have served a noble pur- pose.” A great piece of senti- ment, ch? With four days still to gain the Winter Olympics at Nagano, let’s see how it’s deing: For openers, a member of Canada’s men’s curling team, George Karrys, prefaced Sunday's gold medal final against Switzerland with these immorta! words: “Probably the 50th or €0th- ranked club team in Canada could beat the best team: in Europe.” Then the Canadians took to the ice and immediately got their backsides paddled by Switzerland, 9 3. Karrvs may at least take comfort ia the knowledge that his words will go down as the Canadian sports quote of the year. It’s right up there with ex- Argonaut football coach Leo Cahill’s: “Only an act of God can beat us,” after which the Argos blew a big lead and iost to Ottawa in the 1969 Eastern final. George’s words will, indeed, make fine motiva- tional reading, for the European teams coming to Kamloops in April for the World Curling champi- onships. Canadian women’s hockey coach Shannon Miller accuses American piayer Sandra Whyte of taunting Canada’s Danielle Goyette about the death 10 days ago of her Alzheimer’s-stricken father. The Americans denied it, but didn’t deny that Sandra north shore news @ SPORTS Advancing causes harmony mSandraz may have called Danielle a bitch. Ah, ves, if through the medium of sport etc., ete. .... And then there's snow- boarding and Ross Rebagliati’s gold medal. Rarely in Olympic history, as the Times of London noted, “If you think there’s nationalistic collusion in figure skating, just wait until (ballroom dancing).” has the International Olympic Committee looked to be such a bunch of out-of-touch nitwits. It was the IOC’s idea — not the International Ski Federation’s — to bring in the snowboarders. This was to give the Games a greater appeal to youth. You will note that the ski establishment — under whose wing the IOC placed the snowboarders -~ didn’t move a ruddy inch to help the Whistler snowboarder get his medal back. That’s under- standable. Put it down to professional jealousy. The meteoric rise of snowboarding, as an alternate means of getting down a mountainside as quickly as possible, is putting a large dent in the ski industry’s wal- let. This in turn, of course, is a threat to the living stan- dards of all those big name alpine racers, who have lucra- tive cont vt» with the ski equipmen’ “aanutacturers. Thev'd ike to see the snowboarders get lost. Who knows, the marijuana flap may be just the cool they need. Plus, of course, the case of the Austrian snowboarder who totally trashed his hotel room. Doubtless, the Times added, after a passive smok- ing binge. While you're thinking about that, think about this: the Emperor Theodosius of Rome abolished the original Olympics in 392 A.D. when the Roman athletes, angered by Greek charges of protes- sionalism, went on a ram- page. They set fire to the ath- letes’ housing and trashed everything trashable in and around the main stadium. As for Rebagliati, who really was the victim of pas- sive pot smoke (if he'd actu- ally used a joint, his nanogram count would have been over 400, not just 17), it’s estimated that before the controversy erupted his medal win would make him a coo! million in commercial deals. After the controversy? At least three million. And how about the longest continuing flap in Winter Olympic history — the figure skating Hap in the ice dance competition? It puts one in mind, does it not, of that old definition of an honest politican — one who, when he's bought, stays bought. So it is with some judges in figure skating. Always has been, always will be. In bis brief tenure as TOC president, between Avery Brundage and the current potentate, Juan Samaranch, an Irish peer named Lord Kilannin, tried without suc- cess to remove from the Olympics all sports where the placings couldn't be decided by a stop watch, a tape mea- sure or a ball or a puck in the back of the net. He reasoned that third party judaments were wide open to corruption and caused nothing but ill will in a sports carnival dedicated, not only ro winning medals, but to promoting goodwill and camaraderie among the athletes. He was, of course, right. But the rest of the Olympic brass shot him down. ‘Tiis came at a time when the f rice of television rights had started its trip to the stratosphere. It’s the old truth about he who pays the piper. TV particularly covets figure skating and, in the Summer Games, gymnastics. That’s because these sports capture a market not normal- ly reached in jock broadcast- ing: an overwhelmingly female audience. Up to 80 percent say some experts. Thus judgment activities not oniy will remain, bur will proliferate. Next on the Olympic docket: ballroom dancing. Hyou think there's nationalistic collusion in tig- ure skating judging, just wait until this new darling rangoes onto the Olympic dance floor to advance the cause of inter- national harmony ete., ete., ete. ; Ladies’ Golf Camp with James Legault and Ann Carroll Begins March 2; Register now! Seymour Creek Golf Centre 315 Seymour Boulevard, North Vancouver Gust east of Highway #1, enter off Mt. 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