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TIME again for the prose piece known as the year-ender, in which the guy at the keyboard adds up the pluses, sub- tracts the minuses and, hopefully, discovers that we broke even in 2000.

Going for us we had gicat Olympic performances by our greatest gift ever from Nigeria, Daniel Igali, and from the Games first-ever triathlete champion, Victoria’s Simon Whitield. The Lions came from the back of the field in league play to win the Grey Cup. And the North Shore can take particular p.ride in Sean Millineton’s contribu- tion. Maybe his best-ever CFL season.

And don’t forget the rich- est ball player in history, Alex Redrignez and the 10-year, $252-million contract that - took him from Seattle to the’

"Texas Rangers. Obscene? Certainly. But unlike the critics in the local dailies, I’m not stomping my feet in anger.

I'm cheering.

A few mare deals like this — and there'll be more — by the few ego-driven, billionaire idiot team owners who have killed off the fans’ world series dreams in all but half a dozen major league cities, will prick the professional sports balloon. everywhere. ;

A season-long lockout in’ 2002, when the current labour

_ agreement expires, would be a good start. Who knows, it could be the catalyst for bring- ing common sense — not to mention the priced-out work-

“cing stiff fan — back vo all seg-

“ments of the pro sport enter-,

tainment business. : Did I say that maybe we. broke even? That was careless.

_ Vancouver for

of me. We didn‘r. Canadians totally crapped out in the two main events of the Olympics — swimming and wack and field. And bringing in Holgar Osiek from Germany to replace Bob Lenarduzzi as national soccer coach changed nothing. Canadians don't know how to put the ball in

“the back of the net, so once

more we went out early in the World Cup eliminations. This also was the year

short-season, beardless Class A’:

baseball replaced the triple A brand at Not Bailey Stadium. And it was the year motor ... sports followers learned that | the Molson Indy comes to

¢ last time « next Labour Day weekend.

“It moves to Montreal,

ancestral home of the Molson

“ empire, where there’s a perma-

‘nent track and a Iot bigger

. beer market to exploit. As and . when the kindly brewmeister ©: unloads the hockey Canadiens, .

as he’s trying so hard to do,

he’ll need replacement market--

ing tools on the home front. This will be a start. There'll be

“a modicum of cheering from

:- noise-allergic False Creek resi- ° oh But he can hardly pick up his’.

The basketball Grizzlies

dents. '

remained as grisly as ever.’

.Given their on-court non-per.

formance, the regular sight 0

“fa few thousand backsides dis-

~”. guised as empty seats and the:

7 millstone of the 65-cent | ;

around their necks, how much -: more time do you give them in this city? Two, maybe three years? Chicago-based owner Michael Heiskey didn’t get to ° be a billionaire ‘holding onto losers that he couldn’t turn into winners. He sold them or dumped them. In pro sport there's a third option: hove ; them. Wouldn’t it be a hoor if * they wind up in St. Louis, © 2.” where the guy from Wal Mart ©. ° would have taken them had the NBA not shot down his transparent purchase pitch last- year?” boa No such option for Canucks owner John McCaw, -

“whose team qualifies'as both a:

winner and loser. Even though they made a pretty good run * in the last few weeks of the |!

“ 1999-2000 season, they

missed the playoffs for the. = fourth straight year. The good news is that this season’s no-

~. name lineup not only is win-

ning, but playing an entertain

: ing style as well.

Cross your fingers and hope it continues in January ..:.: and February, traditionally the

: months the Feal powers i in the"...

league start asserting them- *

selves; and just as traditionally © the months the Canucks g

into the tank. Should they keep up their current pace, the Lions will have company: asa

~ “winner, What a refreshing

thought. _As for McCaw, : Canucks can’t possibly m: money or break even for h

pucks and leave, for he owns

© GM Place. What would he p ~in the séats 50 nights a year

there were no hockey team