Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site houem.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!houem!agd From: agd@houem.UUCP (A.DEACON) Newsgroups: net.sport.hockey Subject: Olympic Hockey Message-ID: <222@houem.UUCP> Date: Wed, 8-Feb-84 15:26:24 EST Article-I.D.: houem.222 Posted: Wed Feb 8 15:26:24 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 10-Feb-84 02:23:17 EST Organization: Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ Lines: 69 I thought this new group would liven up with the Olympics starting. I'll listing the scores of the games and then some of my observations about the US-Canada game. Results of first round game: Canada 4 USA 2 Czech 10 Norway 4 Finns 4 Austria 3 Swedes 11 Italy 3 USSR 12 Poles 1 About the US game: 1. This team doesn't have the spark or the desire to win that the 80 team had. The 80 edition refused to lose while the 84 guys looked as though they were all waiting for someone else on the team to come through. 2. The Canadians made the US play the Canadian game instead of the US game. The bigger, stronger Canadians outmuscled the US team and took away the skating game of the US. 3. Perhaps after thrashing the Canadians in their last two meetings and noticing that the Canadians had won only 2 of their last 19 or so games, the US thought it couldn't lose. 4. The US power play, after having looked strong in the pre-Olympic games, was anemic. The shadowing of LaFontaine had a lot to do with that. 5. The US didn't play well it its own zone and had a considerable amount of trouble getting the puck out of their own zone. 6. The conditioning that let the 80 team wear down the competition in the third period did not seem to be there last night. 7. The goal at 27 seconds of the first period by Canada deflated the US and they were never able to recover. 8. With another loss to the Czechs on Thursday, the US is essentially eliminated from the medal round. Other items for some thought include: - the way ABC showed only about 40% of the game was very frustrating, - seeing John Denver at all is ridiculous, - there was very little insight provided by the commentators, instead they relied on cutesy stuff, - the coverage given to the hockey eligibility controversy was microscopic. Anyone else care to join in? Art Deacon AT&T Bell Labs