Free Republic

DALLAS -- After 21 seasons in the NHL, Mike Modano made it official Friday, announcing his retirement as a player. It was fitting that his farewell press conference was in Dallas -- since that's where he spent the bulk of his playing career. During his more than two decades as a player, he was an eight-time NHL All-Star who finished as the career leader among American-born with 561 goals and 1,374 points. He was a major contributor to the Stars' 1999 Stanley Cup championship, and he served as Dallas' captain from 2003-06. Modano, the first pick of the 1988 Entry...

Modano goal: whine, not win TURIN - Old. Slow. Small. Team USA was all of that, even before it took the ice against Finland. Then as Peter Laviolette watched his once-great generation of American hockey players go about its sad business of losing an Olympic hockey quarterfinal, 4-3, the coach came up with his own adjective: Disinterested. This was something he hadn't counted on, so Laviolette called timeout midway through the first period and screamed at his players that if they didn't find a modicum of passion out there, "We're done." His face was flushed. His tongue was sharp. But...