“THESE HAVE been parlous - ‘THESE P - goodwill tour of northern Europe to imes for Canadian sport. They make one wonder. Are ‘Canadians really athletes? Cr are they just =f Kidding themselves? ‘Our national under-23 s soccer team goes to Bermuda,-the object ‘of the exercise being to qualify for ext year’s Pan-American Game.: ‘So what happens? Bermuda elimi- ates our guys. Not only that, but the team from the little island in the tlantic holds them scoreless, ~. National team coach Bobby narduzzi i is left shaking his 66 I believe they NHL owners) will lift the lockout and, as ‘much as it pains their’ BOs and wallets, will : ostpone. the salary cap issue to another head; ‘He can *t believe i it. The team epresenting a piece of real estate - no bigger than Galiano,’and popu- lated with fewer people than car be: found within a two-mile radius of the Lonsdale Quay, knocks off the best a country of nearly 30 million. can assemble: It. is to weep.’ se Our national rugby side (25 of : shape. finished so far up the bill in the first wo World Cup events of the season —- at Vail and Lake Louise ~ they didn’t make a scheduled trip to Europe for the last World _ Cup event before Christmas. Instead, the entire team has been sent to alpine skiing’s version of the minors: a Nor-Am race in Montana. Says team boss Currie Chapman: “it’s kind of an epidem- ic. It’s not just onc individual strug- gling, it's the whole team.” Top Canadian at Lake Louise last Saturday was Michelle * Ruthven of these here parts. She finished 28th. Maybe Chapman should get together with Lenarduzzi and Birtwell for group therapy. But not Wayne Gretzky: A few - days back your agent was preparing to add his Gretzky and Friends the disaster scenario. But while * they started slowly and unimpres- sively in Finland and Norway, they finally found their form in Sweden. They needed those early games to skate themselves into playing. The success of the tour, espe- ~ cially in thé matter of public rela- tions, convinces me there will be an NHL season — however truncated — in the New Year. As much as it. wants/needs a salary cap, what the NHL wants most is control. it now knows that if it cancels the season, it will lose control; that the NHL - Players’ Association will proceed . with plans to stage a late winter season and playoffs of its own. A players’ league may not carry the “NHL cachet and the players cer- tainly won’t make the sort of _ money their NHL contracts call for, * but such is hockey hunger in Canada and the U.S., neither will they go hungry. ‘In imposing its lockout, the NHL created a vacuum. And as any | student of basic physics knows, Nature abhors a vacuum. Something must fill it. And the players’ union will do‘exactly that the moment the NHL says the season is over. the 30 players from B.C.), buoyed ©“: : by finishing in the top eight at the last World Cup and with a couple f international wins'since then, goes to Italy, England and France to tune up for next year's World Cup i in South Africa.’ 7. At the time this prose pice was - “written, utter disaster. Four starts -— the first three against eminently beatable opponents — and four : ‘Josses. At historic Twickenham, against the full England fifteen, a ‘61-19 slathering. ./*..More than’a loss. An acute - embarrassment, Never, in 62 years of international play, has Canada_ conceded as many points, Ian: Birtwell must be as puzzled as- Lenarduzzi. After Christmas he has to sort out the pieces and hope for better results when the tuneup moves Down Under, where nigby isn’t a game. It’s the national reli-- gion. Given the results i in Italy and” England, our guys may come home / ‘from New Zealand with name fags attached to their toes. .* Onward, onward to the ski slopes, where the Canadian women EVERYTHING ON Strikes and lockouts are eco- nomic wars. In imposing the lock- out, the owners were betting they had more economic muscle than the hired hands. But a players’ league, with all the big names evenly distributed among the ‘teams, redresses the balance of power, Temporary as such a league might be, I have a hunch the NHL’ owners don’t want to see it happen; _ * Senior models don’t want to see it grabbing off major sponsors; don’t want to sec it acquiring TV contracts, And partic- ularly don't want to see themselves losing control of the hockey busi- ness. 1 believe, they will lift the lock- out and, as much as it pains their egos and wallets, will postpone the salary cap issue to another time. t have this theory, that when’. they imposed the lockout, they fig- Reg.» up to $379.99 Y i. 1199 lynaValley Rd., N. Vancouver “‘BRolleriia 2. ~ MICROBLA DE (for Kids) Replica HOCKEY JERSEYS : ® Boys’ & Man's | All Hockey ELBOW PADS. ured fellow millionaire Gretzky would talk the players into surren- der and a return to work. Instead, he stood with the union. Then he put up his own money to organize the European junket, a wonderful PR, coup, with all profits going to charity, And he's part of the plans for the projected players’ league. No question, not only the best player there ever was, but the most powerful individual in the game. i652 Laue * Senior models Reg. up to $379. 9 25% OFF | 25% OFF | All HOCKEY PANTS ® Senior or Junior 20-40% OFPNike LPH INERS A HA TRAIN “Reg. 109.99 sale $89” Adidas “GAZELLE” RUNNER Reg. 69.99 4 $79" sole | AT THE sGuRCEII LYNN VALLEY CENTRE “ YOUGET | 6 POOL SESSIONS " §THEORYCLASSES . USE OF ALL SCUBA EQUIPMENT | USE OF ALL SNORKELLING GEAR OPENWATER TRAINING MANUAL ' (YOURS TO KEEP- $25 VALUE) SAVE BIG ON ALL YOUR SHORKELLING NEEDS hobbies) / Flexible scheduling (learn to dive while enjoying your other Comfortable 92 F indoor pool : (allows you to got home before midnite) Small (2:1) instructor-student ratio (makes fearning easy, safe and fun) ’- No charge to repeat classes “(play til you gat it right!) Custom-bullt 58' dive boat ” (nothing like {ton the coast) OURCE FOR SPORTS Gift Certificates © "Available _ Bring i in this ad and enter to WIN a ‘ FUN CLUB - free activities and E -.' discount on purchases 2.Hour Helicopter Tour of Vancouver. See the Snow Covered Peaks, Beautiful Vancouver Harbour, The Ships at Sea, The Foreshore Habitat and maybe take a picture of YOUR House!!