European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 16, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday. February 16,19bb the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary open olympics eases Nof beef wi1knkver and olympic hockey i Pla de in Sarajevo four year ago. In Calgary this week in Al Benville. France four years from Luhv _ americans will always measure the tournament against heir team s stirring Gold i so. What made thai Little Miracle at Lake Placid so appealing was hit it am that pulled it off and How Thev did it a Bunch of College kid drawn from diverse backgrounds they were absolute amateurs in the truest tradition of inc games and they won me cold he beating professionals. It was David against t in blah ant what do you know the Lille Guy won. The Ioc s posture on Pla for pay athletes in thigh a s was to Wink and look the other Way. De spite hug television revenues despite the Strong likelihood that he russians and others were Proba Bly making More Money than Juan Antonio Sama ranch the olympics were still being marketed As an Amateur Competition. Team Usa played by those Ruks then and does today too eschewing help from inc null. Hut after inc confusion of Sarajevo in 1984. With some olympians already under contract to professional hockey learns the Ioc changed inc rules and acknowledged reality by allowing pros to play in the tournament. In three nights before the Ciao of is were to begin. Edmonton oilers1 goalie Andy Moog shows up in inc nets for team Canada and Steve Tambellini of the Vancouver canucks scores Canada s first goal As the Host country beats the soviets 3-2 for the second straight Lime. For some to rest victories bring Sweet revenge forcing the soviets to Swallow a Dow of Ihetu own Medicine. Cyl something is not quite right with this partic ular prescription. The Ioc seems to have taken the easy Way Oul. Instead of gelling Tough and bang so amateurs from the games it went the other Way and embraced professionalism. Given the rules trampling that was going on thai was the simplest cleanest solution but that docs not make it the Best one. The Mcaa for exam ple faced with a similar dilemma As student athletes signed contracts with professional sports agents has refused to Cave in. It s a very difficult said Prince Albert of Monaco a member of the Ioc who is competing in the two Man bobsled Here. "1 think in order for the olympic movement to slay with its time h has to consider these questions. But it s certainly a big step Forward and t Don t know quite How to handle these issues cd. I think president Sam ranch and inc executive committee a a going in the right direct that direction seems headed for open games a come one come All olympics. Is that what inc Ioc really wants it s going to tale Lime for it to be accepted by everybody but that s certainly Down the Road print Albert said. The Only Way the olympics As a sports festival or Ai the greatest sports Competition in the world can survive is to have the Best of let s have heavyweight Mike Tyson bos in Seoul next summer and Larry Bird Lead the . Basketball team. If the games have come to mean Only a calculated Eon Lesl to accumulate the biggest Booty of shiny medals Hen i hair purpose has been clouded. They Are supposed to be a Celebration of sport the kind of joyous proud stand up and cheer Celebration Hinl tic key amateurs Mike Eruzione Ken Morrow Jim Craig and Mark Johnson gave their Fillow Nien cans in 1980. Olympics from Page 21 tragedy played Oul on an olympian Mage death mingled with defeat for a v in Man who had been favored to win Dan Jan to wort a stunned vac am look on his face kit watery Eves unfocused Afier rising from a Neari due Ginji fall on the first turn of the Solo Mctyr race. Lii world sri it Champion had hoped 10 give the United slates its Fibril medal. By wanted desperately to Honor a sister he had diet of leukaemia Highl hour and for whom he. And the other , skaters had dedicated their it fails. Mitre was no shame in losing no loss of Honor but it Hurt More because of the Way it happened. , Pai cd with Japan s Yasushi Kuroiwa in the second race of the event showed his Over anxiousness first with a fair Man. They lined up again and broke cleanly. Jansen Clad head to toe in the skin Light red and Blue . Uniform that resembles a spider Man outfit spurted to the Lead with giant powerful strides. Coming around the first turn however Jain a left skate suddenly gave Way and i. Sprawled on the ice crashing hard Antn Man alongside the track and taking Oul Suroiu Auila his outstretched legs. A Pawn Rose quickly As if he thought the rate would is ill go on. When he real i edit was Over he threw his arms in the air pulled Back his Hood then Bent Over and buried his face in his hands lie stood there for the longest moment and finally up pulling his hands on his head in a gesture of futility and disbelief. As soon As he fell my heart Sank said f Rik Henrikson. Hie . Team Cap Tain. I m not used to seeing so Man bad things happen in a Short period of Lime Ai a Lime that s supposed lube As wonderful As the a inn said he was t sure what happened. I Nash i gripping the ice really Well he said la Felt like ii slipped out from under or and the next thing 1 knew i Wai in the nut. I Felt the Best 1 Eier fell Hie last two weeks. Maybe ii Juil was t meant to Jansen 22. Had health problems of Ilii own lat year missing much of the sea son Afier but he came Back Strong winning the world sprint title last weekend at Home in West Al is wis. His sister Jane berts. 2t, a Mother of Ihm who found out 13 months ago she had leukaemia was Loo sick to accompany him to Calgary. Jansen spoke to her Early sunday our hours before she died and hoped she could watch him in a Gold medal on television. She could t hold the Telephone so their parents held it for her. She could understand me bul she could t talk Back he said. He asked his brother Mike to give her a kiss for him. Jane died Al 9 57 . Eight hours later Jansen went out to compete he said because that s what Jane would have he will have another rare in the 1,000. Another Chance for Gold then will return Home for a funeral next saturday that was purposely delayed until after his events Are Over. It s very important he said of i not race my family does 1 want me to go Home now. And i know Jane would t Wsul a Siren sounds Al he Saddle come each time a hockey team scores a goal followed by a Little music and a Cowboy figure on inc scoreboard who leads he crowd in a loud there was plenty of Yaho oing As swe Den routed France seeded last among he 12 teams in the Competition 13-2 in an opening round game. Sweden passed with precision con trolled the puck to nose us the game and fired 44 shots on goal Wilh machine gun rapidity at bewildered Trench goalie vat Folio. Although in was hardly an even match up and the French a Tel into inc game certain they would lose it provided fans Wilh a Chance to see a different Brand of hockey than they re used to seeing in the National hockey league. By contrast fourth seeded Canada heal Poland 1-0 in a More Hilling much less artistic manner. Switzerland upset Finland 2-1 in the sunday s other game. Two Lime world champions Ekaterina Gord Mcva and Sergei Grinkov won the Short program pairs figure skating com petition sunday night. They were Fol Lowed by 1984 olympic champions Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev. The United slates took Bird Wilh Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard and fourth Wilh Gillian Wachsman and Todd Waggoner. The pairs Competition concludes with tuesday night s freestyle routines. In the 70-Mcler ski jump Nykanen soared the same 294 feel on each of to attempts to win his third olympic medal and the first men s Gold in this year s Gam i. He was a 70-meter runner up and a Mctyr Winner in 1944, american Speed Stiller Dun just n holds his head after falling id the 500 meters
