0202230431
DETROIT FREE PRESS
020223
Saturday, February 23, 2002
METRO FINAL
1A
Photo LAWRENCE JACKSON/Associated Press. Photo JOHN
DOMAN/Knight Ridder Olympic Bureau. Photo ROBERT SULLIVAN/Agence
France-Presse.
Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman celebrates his goal that opened the
scoring in Canada's 7-1 victory over Belarus in the Olympic semifinals. He
later assisted on the game-winner and another goal.
American goaltender Mike Richter deflects a Russian shot in Friday's
semifinal. He was peppered with 19 third-period shots.
Brett Hull of the Red Wings finds himself at the center of Team USA's
celebration after its 3-2 victory over Russia.
MITCH ALBOM FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
SALT LAKE 2002 WINTER OLYMPICS. DAY 14. SIDEBAR ATTACHED.
Copyright (c) 2002, Detroit Free Press
HOCKEY: U.S. TO FACE CANADA, 3 P.M. SUNDAY
CAPTAIN VS. AMERICA
IT WASN'T 1980 AGAIN, BUT RUSSIA STILL LOST
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah -- It was the Olympic hockey semifinals, and standing
behind the U.S. bench, wearing a dark suit, was Herb Brooks, the same coach
who 22 years ago guided the Miracle on Ice. Standing behind the Russian bench,
wearing a light suit, was Slava Fetisov, who was on that ice in 1980 as a
defenseman for the Soviet Union.
So that's how you knew this game had history.
And here's how you knew it was all in the past: Skating out with the lineup
cards was captain Igor Larionov for Russia and captain Chris Chelios for Team
USA.
"Chris," Igor said, grinning.
"Hey," Chris said, nodding.
They are teammates on the Red Wings. And four days from this game, they would
be back wearing the same uniform, cashing the same company check, no matter
what happened at these Salt Lake Olympics.
For all the ghosts that the media wanted to conjure for this game -- yes, it
was USA-Russia, yes it was the final weekend, yes, it was the first Olympics
on American soil since Lake Placid -- the fact is, nothing is the same. All
the players on the ice Friday were NHL professionals. All live well off U.S.
dollars. All speak English. There were no soldiers on their side, no students
on ours.
So when this showdown began and it was terribly one-sided, you almost weren't
surprised. Here was Team USA, with seemingly every fan in the place behind it,
all but toying with Russia, racking up shot after unanswered shot, goal after
unanswered goal. The Americans came in waves. The Russians came in drops. The
Americans hit. The Russians got hit.
The score after two periods was 3-0, USA, with shots on goal 38-11 in
America's favor.
If Al Michaels were here, the only thing he'd holler would be "Do you believe
in MEDIOCRITY? . . ."
Time to dig deep
Ah, but don't sell nationalism short. Maybe we all soak in the same hot tub
now. But just before the last 20 minutes, Fetisov pulled his Russian players
together and asked them something.
He asked them "to show a little character."
Coming from Fetisov, the Russian demigod of hockey, a soldier's soldier, the
man who opened the door for all his Russian brothers to cross over to the NHL,
such words are not taken lightly. Russia came out flying and firing, and
within 11 seconds had scored one lucky goal, and 3:10 later had scored a
hard-fought one.
The score was 3-2.
And the game everyone wanted was on.
"We knew we would be under siege," Brooks would say. They were. The Russians
threw everything they could at U.S. goalie Mike Richter, forcing Richter to
make saves on his back, on his knees, with his knees, even one that we're
still trying to figure out -- a puck that appeared to go in and out of the
net.
The Russians put nearly twice the shots on Richter in the third period than
they'd put the first two combined. Surely if they came back from 3-0, they
would keep going and win. The crowd was standing now, the yelling was
guttural, the nerves audible. And by the time Russia pulled goalie Nikolai
Khabibulin with 45 seconds left, these were no longer NHL players out on the E
Center ice. Their uniforms had melted into their skin, and this really was
about country and kin.
And then it was over. The United States held on, 3-2, to reach the gold-medal
game. The horn sounded, the players jumped the wall. With rock music pounding,
the U.S. fans and players had a mini-lovefest on the ice.
Fetisov, who had been haunted by such a scene 22 years earlier, stood alone
behind the empty bench, chomping on gum, staring vacantly. Finally he looked
one time to the rafters and disappeared down the hall.
More complaints
In the press area afterward, someone asked Fetisov about the non-review of
that in-and-out goal. He said, clearly upset, that he couldn't understand why
they didn't review it. Someone asked about the refereeing -- which so angered
several Russian players, Daniil Markov was given a gross misconduct penalty
for arguing after the game ended, and will be suspended for the bronze-medal
game.
"The referees did not help us," Fetisov said. "It is human nature. They live
here. They work here. They are not going to make calls in a third period."
You listen to that, and you start thinking, "Uh-oh, I wonder if this is going
to be put on the Russian team's list of protests."
And then you realize, sadly, that this is what Russia has become at these
Olympics, a country so split and decimated that it makes more news in
threatening to walk out than it does with the victories. More news in
complaints than medals.
The fact is, beating Russia in 2002 is not the modern equivalent of beating
the Soviet Union in 1980.
But that parallel may lie someplace else.
"We knew about the history today," said American Phil Housley, the veteran
Chicago defenseman who scored one goal Friday and assisted on another. "We
read it everywhere. But to me, those 1980 guys will always be the greatest
upset in the history of sports.
"What we're doing here is different. Our game Sunday against Canada -- that's
going to be huge."
That's the upset America could boast about. Player for player, America can't
compete. Superstars? Canada has Mario Lemieux, Joe Sakic, Steve Yzerman. Team
USA can't point to its "star" player -- partly because there isn't one.
And tradition? Well. Just ask any Canadian.
If there is any miracle on ice this year, it will come Sunday, if this group
of U.S. players finishes its streak with a golden touch.
As for the Miracle on Ice references? I offer what Brooks said with the first
question of his post-game news conference.
"Herb," a reporter asked excitedly, "did those last wild 10 minutes today
remind you of anything?"
"Yeah," Brooks said. "The last 10 minutes."
Bye bye, nostalgia.
Hello, Sunday.
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or albom@freepress.com. Catch "Albom in
the Afternoon" 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760). Also catch "Monday Sports
Albom" 7-8 p.m. Mondays on WJR.
SIDEBAR
MEDAL COUNT
Leaders through 69 events
.........................................G.........S.........B.........TOTAL
Germany...........................10.......16........7..........33
United States....................10.......11........9..........30
Norway.............................11.........7........4..........22
Austria................................2.........4.......10..........16
Russia................................5.........6.........3..........14
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COLUMN;OLYMPICS