In defense of Modano ... he loves the game. He's not in it for what "it can bring to Mike." He could have easily made lots more money for another team before this season (free agent) but decided to stay in Dallas out of respect for the team and love of the game. He may be whining about the Olympic team, but he just might be right. Maybe they should've used younger players.
I'm rooting for Modano's teammate Jere Lehtinen and Finland. Lehtinen is the heart and soul of the Stars.
Younger, faster Euro's buzzing around on a bigger sheet of ice caused problems for the US defense. Our team just wasn't defensively sound, and neither was our goaltending.
I doubt we'll ever see the days of amateurs/college players only in the lineup. Some of the younger players were great - Blake, Gionta, Gomez, Drury, Leopold - and have a great future wearing our flag in international competition. Hopefully we've got some good netminders coming up in the future.
"They should have never allowed pros to compete in the Olympics. It's been ugly ever since. What ever happened to amateurs only? That's when the Olympics were good"
It wasn't good for Canadians/Americans/Fins/Swedes/Czechs or anyone else when USSR sent their * amateurs *. They changed when there was still a Soviet Block didn't they?
The rest of the world couldn't compete when they were sending their best amateurs and they'd meet the USSR and see a super oiled machine, members of the armed forces...i guess, men.
While the rest of the world were sending boys.
marketing, all marketing and vanity.
Your comments about Modano are a riot. Modano has and always will be a puss and a me me me guy. No one else wanted an old Modano that's why he is still in Dallas.
Amateurs only? In the olden days, we were the only country that did that.
MOdano is a stand up guy. He was a stand out goal scorer early in his career. Then he adjusted his game to help his team win the Stanley Cup. He is generally recognized as one of the best in the game.