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If it's broken ... fix it
But really, their third-place finish at the world championships isn't all that different.
They finished behind the same couples they complained about finishing behind in Nagano. The only change being that the gold medallists from Russia chose not to attend.
So second became first, third became second and the fourth place that Kraatz and Bourne were so disturbed about became bronze.
They didn't change and the judges didn't change how they marked them. And in the end, they lose and so does their sport.
THIS AND THAT: Ken Dryden is being sought for the leadership of the Conservative Party, which would be a natural move for him. From one hopeless cause to another ... Mark Messier is blaming Trevor Linden for the verbal thrashing he took recently from Gino Odjick. But Odjick is standing by his words, critical of Messier's leadership in Vancouver ... Already, Jose Canseco is charming the locals. There he was at the Raptors game the other night at Maple Leaf Gardens, along with Shawn Green and Alex Gonzalez. Green and Gonzalez signed all kinds of autographs for kids. Canseco refused ... Much ado about nothing: The U.S. hockey team not being invited with the rest of the Olympians to the White House. The truth is, the invitation is for April 28 and most of the Olympians will be involved in Stanley Cup playoffs at the time ... Besides, word is that the White House is especially sensitive about questionable behavior these days ... A fight nobody asked for: Evander Holyfield vs. Henry Akinwande. On the undercard: Chris Osgood-Patrick Roy II.
HERE AND THERE: In a move belying logic and foresight, the Argonauts are planning to have their home games blacked out on television in the Metro Toronto area. This will mean that no one will pay to see them play and no one will watch them on television, either ... Come to think of it, if my starting quarterback was Kerwin Bell, I'd be insisting on blackouts also ... Jaromir Jagr will win the NHL scoring race this season with the lowest point total in a non-strike year since Stan Mikita won the scoring crown with 87 points in 1967-68 ... The baseball season is less than a week old and already there are 70 players on the disabled list ... The easiest $3 million ever made: Mike Tyson throwing one punch at Wrestlemania. And now Vince McMahon is talking about being Tyson's promoter if and when his boxing suspension is lifted ... I see where Oliver Miller was suspended for one Raptors game for "conduct detrimental to the team.'' And I wonder, in the wake of the Latrell Sprewell arbitration, how exactly is that defined? ... Be still my heart: Alex Gonzalez hitting with men on base.
SCENE AND HEARD: I keep changing channels: Can't find the CFL draft on television anywhere ... There is a new book out on Yogi Berra. When asked about it, Yogi said: "I really didn't say everything I said.'' ... I like Michael Landsberg a lot, but no one could make Off The Record work on TSN. Last week, there was a wrestling tag-team and a FM disc jockey talking about Eric Lindros' lawsuit against a Philadelphia radio station. Click ... This from an astute radio caller: The difference between Steve Stavro and Premier Mike Harris: Only one of them is making the teachers rich ... Those stickers on the helmets of Sharks' Dave Lowry and Ron Sutter are in support of their former teammate, Doug Wickenheiser, who is battling cancer ... Whatever became of Wild Bull Curry? ... Truth in numbers: the Devils have stopped scoring since Doug Gilmour was injured ... Everyone knows Mats Sundin is the best Maple Leaf but how many can tell you that their second best player this season has been Darby Hendrickson, which tells you how much trouble this franchise really is in ... This is how great the NCAA basketball tournament was: Not even CBS could mess it up ... What if you had a world figure skating championships and nobody bothered to show up?
AND ANOTHER THING: In case you were wondering, yes, the Carolina Hurricanes have slashed ticket prices for the coming season ... If you really want to see Wayne Gretzky and Messier on Team Canada together, why not at the world championships this spring? ... If the Edmonton Oilers lose Curtis Joseph to free agency, they may rue the day they turned down the Islanders' offer of both Tommy Salo and Eric Fichaud for Joseph ... This could only happen in Toronto. One week, Lonny Bohonos is on waivers and available to anyone in the NHL. The next week, he is in the headlines and on the Maple Leafs' first line. Before ever playing a game ... Outfielder Dwight Smith was all set to sing the American national anthem at the second home game of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Wednesday. Only one problem: He was let go the day he was scheduled to sing. Another anthem singer had to be found ... The best thing about the CFL draft? No second-guessing ... The early epitaph of the Blue Jays season: Combined, Roger Clemens and Pat Hentgen give up one run in their first starts and the Jays manage to play it into a split against Minnesota.