The world gets superb hockey

By Kostya Kennedy, SI

True, the Olympic experiment in Nagano was an embarrassment for the North American teams. The U.S. played badly and behaved horribly, but at least the deserving people of the Czech Republic got a gold medal and much unmitigated glee. And wherever you're from, watching Jaromir Jagr and Dominik Hasek as teammates on the world stage was a treat.

Most importantly, superb hockey was played in Nagano. The NHL must send players to the Olympics in Salt Lake City for the sake of hockey fans across the world. The national teams provide great and unique assemblages of talent, treating onlookers to elite line after elite line. We get to see great speed and gorgeous puck handling, as well as compelling player matchups that the NHL doesn't yield.

Going to the Olympics also makes business sense for the NHL. The league can tap into the global market more effectively than it is doing at present, and the Olympics is the ideal showcase for its players. Stateside, the Games will give the NHL added exposure to the casual fan and also provide hardcore enthusiasts with an entertaining break from what is typically a dreary stretch of the regular season. Let's just hope our boys don't go carousing in some dry Mormon county.

With the Olympics in the U.S. the players won't have far to travel and the NHL won't have to pause its season for as long as it did for the Nagano games. The league should bag the All-Star Game in 2002 and cut four games off each team's regular-season schedule. And they should go to Salt Lake City and let the Games begin.

Let unknowns have their moment

By David Vecsey, CNN/SI

It's ironic how the 1980 Miracle on Ice is considered a benchmark for sporting achievement, yet we don't have any interest in giving kids a chance to scratch and claw their way to glory anymore. Do you believe in miracles? You'd better, because you're not likely to see them anymore ... not unless you think Kazakhstan can get through the U.S., Canada, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Russia.

Why risk injury to your best players? Why make teammates go into corners against each other? Why make sworn enemies share a lockerroom in the middle of the season? Why disrupt the flow of the NHL season? After the Nagano Games, several teams looked as if they were starting over and it took weeks to regain their chemistry ... some never did.

Has anybody really enjoyed Olympic basketball since the U.S. started kicking sand in the face of all the 98-pound weaklings? How's this for a comparison: When Jim Craig wrapped himself in the American flag in 1980, it was an act of sheer jubilation; when Michael Jordan wrapped himself in the American flag in 1992, it was to hide the Reebok logo on his warmup outfit.

Professionals have their forum. They may say otherwise publicly, but the Stanley Cup is the prize they are eyeing. Not a gold medal.

Let's talk simple business: Does a good sandwich shop close during lunchtime? No. And February is lunchtime for the NHL. Football is done, baseball is in hibernation and the NBA is dogging its way through its interminable season. Why close shop? Some of your customers may find another place to eat.