Steve Rockey writes:
>My recollection is that the 1980 team was about 2/3 Minn with a good
>contingent from Mass.
 
Yes, the 1980 team had four members from Mass. and 12 of the 20 players
(60%) were from Minnesota, with Wisconsin and Michigan each having 2.
 
It seems to me that the performance of the Olympic Team will not have as
much to do with where the players are from as how good the players are.
There was little argument in 1992 that the majority of the best players
available to play were from the East (at least, there wasn't that much
of an argument here nor from people I had spoken to).  I can understand
people being upset that this player or that one wasn't chosen, but those
picking the team have to try to put those things aside and simply put
together the best team possible.  I just can't buy the argument that it is
bad policy to build a team that happens to have a majority of players from
one region or state, assuming that those players earned their way onto the
team and were the best for the job.  BTW, even though the 1992 team was
Eastern-heavy, most of the staff including the GM and coach were from the
West.  They had a difficult job to do and seemed to do it pretty well.
---
Mike Machnik    [log in to unmask]   Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.)    *HMN*