pen get rn re Se an) tae oa sae 34 — Wednesday, August 6, 1997 — North Shore News ~ north shore news SPORTS West Van tennis prodigy volleys to top rankings By Robert Galster victories; his most recent triumph came in the News Reporter triple-A provincial high schocl championships. vobert@usnews.com . Although he fs currently ninpeting at the . National Tennis championships in Gatineau, WEST Vancouver’s Preston Woo is Quebec, his big test wil come on Aug. 9 with starting to turn heads as he climbs the opening of the Canada Summer Games. Canada’s amateur tennis ranks. The games will be held in Brandon, Manitoba and will fast until Aug. 23. Woo is currently the top-ranked player in As part of a contingent of more than 350 Under-16 boys’ singles as well as the Under-18 athletes representing B-C., Woo will be com- boys’ doubles standings. The Sentinel see- — peting against the best the cuuntry has to offer. ondary student has also had his share of team “Young athletes, such as Preston, through their positive attitude, work ethic and commit- PRESTON Woo’s hectic schedule isn't ment to excellence, are tremendous role mod- about to get any easier as the West els for today’s youth,” said jan Pullinger, Vancouver resident competes at the B.C.’s minister responsible for. sport. “The National Tennis Championships in people of West Vancouver, and all British Gatineau, Quebec this week before mov- = Coluntb’ ens, can take great pride in Team B.C. ing on to the Canada Summer Games. members.” THE 1997-98 produc-? sreseene tion that is the ~’ Vancouver Canucks will De a particularly poignant one, character- ized by unfulfilled promise, sold-out are-; nas, and (surprise) a - "500 performance,” ; a “But hey, that won’t begin until October so let’s all dream a oe fittle dream. ; The dream: Dateline, early June, 1998. ; The setting: GM Place, Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. The call: “And there’s regular season MVP Mark Messicr eam Passing the raised Stanley Cup to assistant captain Trevor Linden. Who would have thought a year ago that the Vancouver Canucks would fulfill years of promise and win the Big One. i And as the GM Place crowd goes catatonic; there’s a dejected Wayne Gretzky, along with his Big Apple teammates, wondering how it got away. Again, Gretzky will face the retiresent ques- _ me |. tions, And bis old teammate Messier, who discovered the fountain of youth out here on the West Coast, looks like he’s still got five years in the tank.” Okay, wakey, wakey. > 9 ~ -The reality: Dateline, April 19, 1998. .. The setting: GM Place, final regular season game, Canucks vs. Leafs. The call: “And that'll end the season for both these Canadian teams, folks, as Vancouver and the Leafs can’t decide . this thing after overtime. The scare: 0-0, It looks like once again these squads will have a head-scratching summer, trying to figure out just where their best laid plans went awry. And the Canucks in particular, considering their three highest-paid players mus- dma just 150 points between them, will have to take a serious look at their payroll situation.” The true’ value of Mark Messier is being paid in dividends ‘ ' * right now, as season tickets and number 11 jerseys are being snapped up quicker than you can say “Visa or Mastercard?” Ir’s no secret pro sports is big business, so we should be used to the giddy atmosphere that accompanies the arrival of a marquee player to a team that is just missing “that one piece ase % the puzzle.” The hockey gods know that here in Vancouver we've heralded the second coming more often than the PTL Club. The media has dutifully engaged in the prerequisite celebri- ty fawning, writing countess inches and recording miles of gipe in an effort to shed light onto the complex character of : “Vancouver's newer millionaire, ; i vt a: The questions have been asked. What of Linden’s captain- » ents : 4 AE Beeayesres : cy? Whol play with Mess? =a a Pee ees oer : 7 o- ‘O.% ty The firsts have been done: the first photo of Messier wear- , ; ing the Canucks new uniform; Linden’s first thoughts on his captaincy; Messier’s first rhoughts on returning to Canada’s West. _» No question Messier will be regarded as one of the best of his era; as he should. But dow’t hold your breath that he’ll res- cue this 500 hockey club from their typical obscurity, One player does not a team make (even if he is Mark Messier). Abbotsford Internationa] ee cheap seats TRA genni Ue y , by August Ath ‘ Fth . Oth +?