Interesting discussion.  Here is my two cents..

Unlike others, I *was* excited about the Olympic hockey.  I took in probably
8-10 games and for the most part I thought it was good hockey, certainly
entertaining.  Yes, these players are pros and paid a lot of money, but to
watch, Canada for instance on Sunday, you could not say they didn't play
with passion or heart.  Yes, some teams such as Russia had issues it would
seem with motivation or at least with consistency, but I enjoyed Team USA
and (sigh) Canada, along with others such as upstarts Belarus and Germany.

That said, I would have been *more* riveted had it been a team of college
players playing Canada for the gold medal game Sunday, but I thought the
matchup was deserving of the hype.

On the other hand, if you are going to crown an ultimate world champion,
shouldn't it be with the best players in every country?

-Deron