Martin settles for silver at curling worlds.

CTV - Scotland’s David Murdoch defeated Kevin Martin of Edmonton 8-6 on Sunday in the gold medal game at the world men’s curling championship in Moncton, N.B. Murdoch stole two in the 10th end to win his second world title in four years and earn his third consecutive victory over Martin. Martin, who defeated Murdoch in last year’s championship final in South Dakota, previously lost twice to the Scot in Moncton, in the last draw of the round robin and in Friday’s one-versus-two playoff game.

“Hell of a game,” Martin said. “They had us in a little trouble there — a lot of rocks in the four foot and theirs was in the middle,” he added. “I had to hit my last one a little thicker. It was close. We actually moved shot rock. It was close.”

Martin and his team — third John Morris, second Marc Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert — were attempting to become the first repeat men’s champions since fellow Edmonton skip Randy Ferbey won back-to-back world titles in 2002 and 2003.

With the game tied at 6 and a crowded house in the 10th end and lying shot rock, Martin threw away his first stone, thinking he could only make things worse for himself if he put it in play. That forced Murdoch to play a quiet tap-back to lie shot, which he did. Martin then missed his pivotal last shot — an attempted run-back double takeout — allowing Murdoch to steal two and take the title. “Never easy to lose, especially when you have the hammer, but they made the shots and got us in big trouble,” Martin said.

Third John Morris wasn’t in total agreement with Martin throwing away his first stone. “It was a team decision. I probably wouldn’t have thrown it if I was throwing, but Kevin was happy with it and we support him in his decision,” Morris said. “It was a bit of a gong show. It’s disappointing not to come home with the gold medal…. I guess it’s better at a world final than an Olympic trial final. We’ll have to regroup and bounce back next week.”

Earlier on Sunday, Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud beat Ralph Stoeckli of Switzerland 6-4 to take the bronze medal.

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Davidson questions job security after loss to U.S.

The Canadian Press - HAMEENLINNA, Finland - The pressure of the 2010 Olympics on Canadian coaches emerged when women’s hockey coach Melody Davidson suggested she could lose her job after losing 4-1 to the U.S. in Sunday’s world championship final. The usually stoic Davidson was devastated by Canada’s performance because her team had performed well at the world championship prior to the final. The Canadians had beaten the U.S. 2-1 in Friday’s playoff game, but were outplayed Sunday.

“Coaching is coaching and if you don’t perform you don’t go on,” Davidson said. “If we’re not going to perform in the final game, that’s on my shoulders and we have to be able to perform. If we can’t, maybe Hockey Canada has to look at a change.
“There’s no excuses for that performance out there today. None whatsoever.”

Davidson, from Oyen, Alta., is under contract to coach the Canadian women at the Olympics in Vancouver next February. She had Canada so well prepared for the 2006 Olympics that their gold-medal looked easy and she followed that up with a world championship in 2007.

Davidson was general manager of the program last year when current assistant coach Peter Smith was head coach and Canada lost its world title to the U.S. in Harbin, China. The women’s hockey team has perhaps the best odds of winning an Olympic gold medal for the host country, but defending champions losing four of their last six games to the U.S. makes the top of the podium look less certain. “Our goal is still to be in that gold-medal game in Vancouver and to work hard to bring home gold there for Canada,” Davidson said. “This was a bit of a step back in my mind.

“I want to coach this team and I want to be with these players, but since we made my job full time we’ve only won one gold medal and that was in 2007.”

The Americans won their first back-to-back world titles and are 3-0 versus Canada in their last three finals.
“To have that feeling two years in a row, there’s nothing like it,” U.S. captain Natalie Darwitz said. “It’s going to be a lot different next year. The stakes are going to be higher. “When next season starts, it’s a whole new ball game.”

Defenceman Carla MacLeod of Calgary was named the tournament MVP with two goals and six assists in five games. She found little solace in the honour in the face of two straight world championship losses to Canada’s archrival. “It’s two-fold now. It’s double-whammy,” MacLeod said. “There’s not many good emotions going through my body right now. We’ve got to somehow turn a new leaf here heading into the next year.”

Canada and the U.S. have scheduled six exhibition games against each other next winter.

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Canada not cheating by limiting access to Olympic venues prior to Games.

The Canadian Press - WHISTLER, B.C. - Aksel Lund Svindal has spent plenty of time training with the Canadian alpine ski team over the years. But late last month, the reigning overall World Cup champion from Norway could only stand on the outside the fence and watch the Canadian team practise on the downhill course that will be used for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
At least Svindal had company. Austria’s Michael Walchhofer, the World Cup downhill champion, also was barred from training on the Whistler course.
Max Gartner, Alpine Canada’s chief athletics officer, makes no apologies for hanging out the Canadians only sign.

“There are a lot of resources getting spent on making this training possible,” said Gartner. “We told all the other teams . . . we cannot have anybody train with us. “This is a Canadian advantage we are not going to give away.”

Erik Guay, one of the Canadian skiers looking to win Olympic gold next February, has no problem with limiting access.“I think a lot of the time Canadians can be too nice,” the Mont-Tremblant, Que., native said in a recent interview. “If you look at any other nation, they would be doing the same thing. “We’re not letting anyone come and train on the hill. I think that’s important. It will give us the advantage for once. We never really have the advantage. I think we will at home.”

Athletes and sports officials talk about the home-field advantage that goes along with hosting the Olympics. Canada’s goal at the 2010 Games is to win more medals than any other country. The Vancouver organizing committee, known as VANOC, spent $580 million building or upgrading venues for the Feb. 12-28 Games. All were open at least one year in advance to give Canadian athletes time to practise in the facilities.
This has raised the question of how much access should be given to athletes from other countries. Is Canada cheating by slamming the door in their faces? Would Canada lose its edge by giving foreign teams too much time to train in the Olympic venues?

Chris Rudge, chief executive officer for the Canadian Olympic Committee, said Canada is following the rules when it comes to foreigners using venues. “It’s not inappropriate for us to have more time on these facilities than some of the other countries may have, as long as we are not prohibiting them from their fair share,” said Rudge. “We are investing considerably to bring these Games to Canada. A return on that investment is expected by Canadians. “I don’t think we are doing anything at these Games that is inconsistent with what has gone on at other Games in the past.”

Cathy Priestner Allinger, a VANOC executive vice-president, bristled at the suggestion the Canadian beaver is turning into a weasel. “We’ve absolutely been fair,” said the former speedskater who is in charge of sport and Games operations for VANOC. “In fact, we have exceeded what is required of us.”

Each sports federation sets rules for international competition and practice time in Olympic venues prior to the Games, said Priestner Allinger. Usually a World Cup event or world championship competition is staged at a facility. Not only does this give the athletes a chance to familiarize themselves with the venue, it’s an opportunity for organizers to work out any bugs.
“We are obliged to run the sports events for every discipline so that anyone who is eligible to compete at those events can get onto our venues,” she said. “The training varies depending on who owns the venue and what the requirements of that sport might be.”

Between January and the end of March, seven World Cup events were staged at Olympic venues in Vancouver and Whistler. In addition, the Four Continents figure skating meet was held at the Pacific Coliseum and the world single distance speedskating championships at the Olympic Oval in Richmond.
Both the world junior and world wheelchair curling championships were used to test the Vancouver Olympic Centre, site of the curling competition during the Games.

A controversy erupted in March when it was reported long-track speedskaters from outside Canada were being denied training time at the Richmond Oval.
Brian Rahill, high performance program director for Speed Skating Canada, denied anyone was being treated unfairly.

Some of the teams had not followed proper protocol in booking time, he said. Others were denied access because there was work being done in the building.
“No one has been turned away,” said Rahill.
In some instances, VANOC and the sports federations have increased access.

The new track at the Whistler Sliding Centre - home to bobsled, luge and skeleton - is so fast and technical, extra training weeks have been added, said Priestner Allinger. That didn’t happen prior to the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, said Jeff Christie, a luge athlete from Vancouver. “At the Olympics in Italy we had zero extra,” said Christie. “They actually gave us less than exactly what we were supposed to get. They didn’t have any qualms about it because they gave their home team the advantage. “In a sport like luge, that’s the way it goes. I go onto other tracks in the world, a lot of the German tracks, where I get six runs before a World Cup event and they train on it their whole lives.”

Priestner Allinger said management at the Pacific Coliseum, home to figure skating and short-track speedskating, has offered ice to other countries on a pay-as-you-go basis. So far, most countries have not taken the arena up on its offer, she said.

Other host nations have also played it close to the vest on the issue of Olympic venue access.
Peter Judge, chief executive officer for the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association, remembers the World Cup events hosted by the U.S. team prior to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. “Their mogul course builder built the course differently for all the World Cups that led up to the Games, but for their home-field advantage training camp, built it the way it was going to be for the Olympic Games,” said Judge.

Priestner Allinger said the Turin organizing committee also played some tricks. “I can tell you the Canadian short-track team and the figure skating teams did not get on the ice once in Turin prior to the Olympic Games,” she said. “They chose to hold a sport event that was the European championships, so it excluded America.”

Gartner thought he had an agreement in place for Canadians skiers to train with the Italian team on the Olympic course prior to Turin. “They played all sorts of games,” he said. “We ended up getting no training.”

Judge recently had an argument with a friend of his from the Australian Olympic team. The Australian was angry his skiers were prevented from practising on the Olympic moguls course at Cypress Mountain. The freestyle association used $15,000 from the Own the Podium program to build the course for a training camp, said Judge. “How could I justify going to my funding partner and saying ‘You are going to give us X amount of dollars to build this course so we can have training, and then we are going to let one of our prime competitors come on and train?” he said.

While some sports closely guard their venues, cross-country skiing has an open-door policy. Any athlete can go to Whistler Olympic Park, purchase a ticket, and ski the course. “Our sport culture around the world has never been to restrict asses to a venue,” said Al Maddox, executive director of Cross Country Canada. “For us to take that approach would be quite odd within the sport. “We’ve always enjoyed having the ability to go the Olympic venues to whatever degree we wanted to. Why would we impose that suddenly on our competitors just because it’s in Canada. It would have been bordering on unsportsmanlike behaviour.”

Judge said Canada is doing nothing wrong. “I honestly believe that’s business,” he said. “If you look at any other business model, you wouldn’t be inviting your competitors into your research and design labs. “You keep those things to yourself.”

There’s no doubt the more training Canadian athletes enjoy on the Olympic venues, the better chance they have at winning medals. Still, there is no guarantee. During the Salt Lake City Games, American freestyle skiers won three silver medals but no gold. Italy won 11 medals in Turin. The country’s alpine skiers and bobsledders were kept off the podium.

Christie said in luge, and any other sport, the best athletes will always find a way to win. “The top 10 athletes in the world aren’t the top 10 for no reason,” he said. “It’s because they are really good at what they do and they adapt quickly.”

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Sponsor puts athletes on fast track. ‘A match made in heaven’.

Calgary Herald - April 8, 2009 - Canada’s national luge team hopes to be hurtling down the fast track at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics after landing a $1-million title sponsor. “It’s a match made in heaven, it really is,” gushed 21-year-old team member Alex Gough of Calgary, moments after Fast Track Capital.comhad been introduced as the Canadian Luge Association’s first title sponsor during a media conference Tuesday at Bowness Sportsplex. “It’ll allow us to do all those little last-minute things we need to do with our sleds, the ability to continue to develop on the technical side and use different facilities for training,” added Gough, who finished fourth at the world championships. “It’s a huge boost, a huge vote of confidence to have someone like Fast Track come in and support us in these extremely difficult times. It gives us a lot more security.”

The sponsorship, which will put a little more than $200,000 annually in the hands of the CLA through to 2014, was landed through a unique campaign during February in which team members publicly flaunted the fact that positions on their helmets, sleds and body suits were For Sale. “I immediately went to the CLA website after I saw the news piece on the For Sale signs, phoned Tim (CLA executive director Farstad) and said, ‘Hey, I want to do this,’ “ said Fast Track Capital founder and CEO Darren Weeks. “Three days later, I came to Calgary to see a luge race and that’s what did it.”

In fact, there were a number of companies willing to help out the 10-member luge team for the drive to 2010 but Fast Track was the only one willing to commit long term. “It’s important to do it long term because we don’t want all that hard work to drop off,” added Weeks. “When I commit to doing something, whether it’s in business or personally in sports, it’s always been long term. Success takes time.”

Needless to say, the company name is a perfect fit for a sport where athletes obtain speeds up to 152 km/h. All of Canada’s Olympic teams have been funded by the Own The Podium program since 2004 but no one is certain whether that will continue after 2010.With corporate sponsorship (there’s still plenty of secondary room on the athletes’ sleds and sliding suits), the CLA and any other Olympic sport organization is not only able to develop a level technical and training field, but also ensure the future of the sport.

“The immediate benefit is that we’ll be able to make sure we have everything in place for that final push,” said Farstad. “That we’ll have that extra coach around, the equipment we need, that everything will be ready for our competitors. We’ve had to focus all the Own The Podium money on Olympians and now we’ll have money to make our sport sustainable.”

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Vanoc expects no profit in 2010 Games with economic slump.

Vancouver Sun - April 1, 2009 - The organizers of the 2010 Winter Olympics no longer expect to leave a financial surplus for future sport development. The same worldwide economic downturn that has bankrupted companies and left tens of thousands of people without jobs has also eaten up — for now — any potential Olympic profit, John Furlong, the head of the Vancouver Organizing Committee, said Wednesday.

Furlong said Vanoc is struggling just to make sure it breaks even when the Games end next year. Vanoc doesn’t have the same financial stability as Calgary did when it left a surplus from the 1988 Olympics that blossomed into a $200 million endowment, he said. “It is not business as usual. It is not like it was. We will be very happy to get to break even, and if we get beyond that, well, we will have thought we did far more than anyone thought possible.

“To leave a financial legacy against everything that is going on today would be quite an achievement. We want to, but nobody is going to be running around today predicting that,” Furlong said.

Vanoc has never quantified how much of a surplus it hoped to generate. It received $110 million from the federal and provincial governments for a trust fund to look after the future needs of the Nordic and bobsled venues and Richmond’s fast-track speed-skating oval.
It also agreed to give the Canadian Olympic Committee and the IOC each 20 per cent of any profits from the Games, and to put the remaining 60 per cent into the venue trust fund. But Furlong said that is unlikely to happen now.

His comments came as the International Olympic Committee’s Vancouver Coordination Commission wrapped up its penultimate visit with a caution from commission chairman Rene Fasel that Vanoc now “cannot rest on its laurels.”

Fasel said the IOC found no significant problems with efforts to date and that a spate of recent test events had raised confidence in Vanoc’s operations. But the IOC also knows Vanoc is struggling financially because of the worldwide recession. “Vanoc will also need to remain vigilant to any risks that may present themselves over the coming year while continuing to enhance its overall operations,” Fasel said.

Furlong said he was still working on a plan to bring medal presentation ceremonies back to Whistler’s celebration plaza, but won’t have an answer until later this month.

Vanoc’s financial problems are complicated by the fact the IOC still has not signed the last two of 11 promised top sponsors. As a result, Vanoc is $30 million short in its $1.7 billion budget. Gilbert Felli, the IOC’s executive director of Olympic Games, said he still hopes to find sponsors in the life insurance and health products categories, but suggested Vanoc would have to live within its means if they don’t materialize.

Vanoc executive vice-president David Cobb said he expects the IOC to make up the difference. “Clearly the IOC knows that it is in our budget and it is a big amount of money, and if it was to disappear it would be a challenge for us,” he said.

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1988 Legacy according to the athletes.

Chandra Crawford, cross-country skiing

Chandra Crawford has never been shy about crediting the spirit and legacy of the 1988 Calgary Olympics for her cross-country skiing success. “I gave the legacy of the 1988 Olympics full credit for my gold medal at one point,” says Crawford, who took the women’s sprint gold at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.

“Being able to drop in to this facility (the Canmore Nordic Centre) and be exposed to high-level races, I am absolutely a product of that wonderful legacy.”
Crawford was four when the Canmore Nordic Centre played host to the 1988 cross-country and biathlon competitions; her dad, Glen, in fact, worked on the CTV crew at the time.

Clara Hughes, long track speed skating

It took one look at the family TV set in Winnipeg in 1988 for Clara Hughes to realize Calgary was going to play a significant role in her future. “I can pretty much guarantee that I would not be a speed skater without the 1988 Olympics,” says Hughes. “That was the first time I ever saw speed skating. I saw Gaetan Boucher skate on television and it captivated me. It absolutely changed my life and gave me a dream. I knew on that day that I wanted to do that, too.”

Hughes followed that dream to Calgary. She moved there in 2000 to train at the Olympic Oval and took up permanent residence on the national women’s long track team, with which she has won a bushel of Olympic, world championship and World Cup medals.
Calgary’s Olympic Oval has become her second home.
“I often have this feeling inside when I’m walking up to the Oval and approaching the entrance,” she says. “I’m always wondering, ‘What was it like for the athletes competing in those Olympics when they were walking through these doors?’ “It sends shivers up my spine and it’s definitely a huge motivating factor. You can still feel the energy from the Calgary Olympics in the air and I think it’ll always be here.”

Michelle Kelly, skeleton

When Michelle Kelly steps on the starting line for a World Cup women’s skeleton race, her focus is completely on the track. But somewhere in the recesses of her mind is the comforting thought that few athletes on her circuit have prepared like she has and much of that preparation can be traced back to the 1988 Winter Olympics. “I’m not from Calgary and I wasn’t there to be a part of the Games,” says the Fort St. John, B.C., product.

“But I remember sitting at home and watching them on TV, and certainly when I moved down and got recruited into the bobsleigh program you’re always reminded of it. “But the biggest legacy is that without the facilities that are still in Calgary, there’s no question that myself and the other athletes wouldn’t be at the level we’re at. I mean, they’re world-class facilities; they were then and they still are today.”

Zina Kocher, biathlon

Biathlete Zina Kocher of Red Deer believes recent improvements at the Canmore Nordic Centre, $26 million worth, funded mostly by the Alberta government, has played a role in her improvement.
The improvements, among other things, brought the Canmore facility back to world-class standards, allowing it to hold World Cup cross-country races. “And I think it’s great for the younger generation of biathletes that the world junior and youth biathlon championships will be held there in 2009,” says Kocher, who has trained at the Canmore facility since 2000.

John Kucera, alpine skiing

John Kucera was not even four years old when the cauldron was lit at McMahon Stadium to open the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. The Canadian downhill skier has reaped the benefits ever since. His first time on skis, he recalls, was at Nakiska. And when he didn’t have time to get into the Rockies, he headed to Canada Olympic Park (COP).

“It’s a pretty important place for young ski racers,” says Kucera. “I’d say maybe from the age of 12 until about 16, I probably skied there twice a week at night. It’s a great place to train in the technical disciplines. And for club skiers, they didn’t charge. You could go up there after school, it didn’t take time away from education and it’s a great place to get some extra training in.”

Regan Lauscher, luge

The legacy of ‘88 goes beyond facilities, says Red Deer’s Regan Lauscher, who has competed in luge at two Winter Olympics. There’s also an ambiance to the place. “When I first started training, I really had no dreams of gold at the Olympics,” she says. “I didn’t start sliding to compete in the Olympics. I just had a lot of fun doing it. But one of the turning points that I remember was thinking, ‘Oh, the Olympics were here. A lot of amazing athletes have been in these facilities and on this track.’

“You need those reminders because some days are gruelling in the gym and you want to do what everybody else does. It’s hard, it’s tough, but knowing that other athletes have gone through the same thing and gone on to be great, that’s still motivation for me when I train.”

Pierre Lueders, bobsled

If the ‘88 Games hadn’t been staged in Calgary and had all those legacy facilities not been built, Pierre Lueders would not be the greatest bobsled athlete in Canadian history. “I don’t think we’d really have a sliding-sports program,” says Lueders, a four-time Olympian and a winner of Olympic gold in 1998 and silver in 2006.

“I think it would be a fringe sort of a sport. And, certainly, we wouldn’t be having the successes we’re having now without those facilities. “(COP) is where I learned to drive. Prior to then, the Canadian athletes had to go to tracks in Europe to learn. The 1988 legacy allowed athletes such as myself to learn right at home.”

Warren Shouldice, freestyle skiing

When Warren Shouldice is on the road travelling the World Cup aerials circuit, he has his laptop with him.
On the hard drive of that laptop is a very significant photo. The photo, taken in 1993, shows a 10-year-old Shouldice sitting beside his younger brother Kenton at the top of the 90-metre ski-jump tower at Canada Olympic Park.

No, Shouldice didn’t take up ski jumping as a result of the experience, but that tower certainly played a role in stoking his Olympic ambitions. “My dad actually took me to watch the ski jumping practices (in 1988),” recalls Shouldice. “I loved Eddie the Eagle. I thought he was the greatest guy ever. That’s probably where it all started. As long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to go to the Olympics.”

He initially thought it would be as a gymnast, but around the age of 13, his newfound passion for skiing, combined with a couple of gymnastics-related injuries, prompted him to take up aerials. “I feel so lucky to be where I am right now, being able to utilize these facilities. And being right in the city like that is just outstanding.”

Hayley Wickenheiser, hockey

As a nine-year-old in Shaunavon, Hayley Wickenheiser thought she’d be watching the 1988 Winter Olympics on television. But her parents, both teachers, decided the opportunity to be a part of the Calgary Games so close by was too much to pass up. So they bundled the family into the car and drove to Calgary.

“We didn’t have a lot of money for tickets, so we came and we spent time at Olympic Plaza,” says Wickenheiser, one of the mainstays on the national women’s hockey team. “Then we managed to get our hands on tickets for ski jumping, so my Olympic hero in ‘88 was Matti Nykanen, the Finnish ski jumper. I got a poster of him and I still have that poster at my house. It lit the fire for me to want to go to the Olympics some day.” She has done just that on four occasions—three winter and one summer, playing softball.

Kimiko Zakreski, snowboarding

Snowboarder Kimiko Zakreski from Calgary does most of her work on the World Cup circuit outside of North America. But Zakreski still enjoys somewhat of a hometown advantage, hailing from one of the world’s leading winter sports training cities—one of the legacies of the 1988 Games.

“I went to the National Sport School in Grade 11 and 12 and I grew up with lots of athletes,” says Zakreski. “Pretty much the entire national luge team was in my graduating class. “We trained at the Oval every day after school and that’s where the speed skaters trained. They are like machines in the gym. “When you’re young, watching that, it’s the perfect role model. It definitely had an impact.”

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Wickenheiser aging gracefully.

Vancouver Province - If there's one player in all of women's hockey with the cachet to coast for a few shifts, it's Hayley Wickenheiser. And the fact her give-a-darn meter doesn't allow her a single lazy stride might be the main reason she's been this good for this long.

Canada opened the IIHF women's world hockey championship Saturday with a 13-1 romp over China. Wickenheiser, Canada's captain, had her standard offensive outburst, this time with two goals and three assists. More impressively, though, she went all-out the entire contest. She raced for loose pucks, she blocked shots, she backchecked with fervour. She hustled like a rookie, rather someone playing in her 195th game with the national senior side and in her ninth world championship.

"That just speaks to her personality," said Canada winger Meaghan Mikkelson, 24, a St. Albert, Alta., native. "Knowing that we have to carry forward good habits from this game, knowing that we can't get complacent ... that's leadership on her part, going out on the ice and showing everybody, leading by example.

"She's someone I look up to tremendously. To be on the same team and to she how intense she is, it's something to aspire to."

How much longer players like Mikkelson get to follow Wickenheiser's lead remains to be seen. Wickenheiser, 30, admitted Saturday that after the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver she'll begin to evaluate her career on a year-by-year basis.

She's still playing in men's leagues, suiting up this season for 25 games so far with Eskilstuna Linden, a third-division side in Sweden. She also sustained a knee injury last November during the final of the Four Nations tournament in Lake Placid, N.Y., against the U.S. That injury sidelined her nearly two months.

And she and boyfriend, Tomas Pacina, have a son, Noah. He turned nine on Sunday. He's at their home in Calgary. "It'll be a family decision for me," Wickenheiser, a native of Shaunavon, said of her career after the Vancouver Games. "And I'll see what kind of opportunities there are in the game for me after 2010. But I don't have any plans to hang it up right now."

The game will miss her whenever she decides she's done. She has helped women's hockey gain mainstream attention. Last year, she was one of two women, along with Ironman competitor Chrissie Wellington, to make Sports Illustrated's 25 Toughest Athletes list.

She's often the sport's preeminent voice. When the Hockey Hall of Fame announced it would induct a maximum of two women a year starting in 2010, media types wanted a response from Wickenheiser. She was her usual thoughtful self, saying that she hoped a person with a history of the women's game would be added to the selection committee, so that the careers of female players would be judged on their own criteria, rather than being held up against the careers of male players.

"It's a responsibility that I enjoy, because I think it's important to grow the game, " she said. "For all of us, if someone has never watched a game before, you want them to be impressed. You want them to come back. Anything we can do is a good thing."

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