To all fellow hockey-l followers: Let me start by saying as a Canadian-born, US college hockey graduate from Ferris State in 1994, I had mixed emotions on Saturday. I was definitely disappoionted that Canada had lost on Saturday, but happy to see the BEST team win. In my opinion, Glen Sather did not choose the Canadian team correctly, too many old players who thought their presence would win. I commend the US team for showing the most heart of any team in the tournament. Now to the matters at hand. The reason I feel that the fans of Ottawa acted so terrible was due to the fact that Canada would much rather play the Russians, knowing we could whip'em. I truly feel that the fans knew if the US won, they could win the whole thing. And they did. The US collegiate hockey program should be "pounding their chests with pride". To Canadian born hockey players, a scholarship is one of the greatest opportunities that a young man/woman may have. Major Junior hockey in Canada is generally for the "star" players at 16 years of age. But if you don't develop at 16, what's left? Thus US college hockey is a big dream for MOST Canadian hockey players. I want to whole-heartedly congratulate the US team on winning but also state that Canada may still be looked to as the greatest hockey country. In the same perspective, Canada won the 4x100m relay at the Olympics. Is Canada the best sprinting country in the world? No, the US is. Thus, the hockey we saw played, and the sprints that were ran showed us that all athletes who participated were world class, and anyone could win on any given day! I'm not trying to play down the US win, just as I'm not trying to play up the Canada win in track. Craig Lisko HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.