This Olympic loss doesn't hurt as much

As this is written, it has been a little over two hours since the great game ended. Canada nudged the USA, 3-2, in overtime in the Gold Medal Game in the Olympics before a roaring, adoring crowd in Vancouver. As so happens in these cases, the winning play was a bit of a fluke. A puck bounced an official's skate right to a Canadian player, who forwarded it to Sidney Crosby, who has the fastest wrists since Hank Aaron's heyday. Crosby did what he does best ... and the party was on.

But some losses don't hurt too much. Oh, it would have been grand if the USA, a huge underdog that dumped the Canadians fair and square a week ago, had won the game. They made a noble comeback, stunning the hometowners with a goal in the final minute of play to force OT.

But the beauty of this sport is the game wasn't going to end in a tie. You play to win and the locals made the right play. There was nothing the Americans could do but shake the winner's hand, wish them well and head home.

Hockey is a misunderstood sport by many because, at times, it is played crudely. Then there are times -- and this game was one of them -- where its majesty is there for all to see. Both goalies were superb today. The passing was excellent, the hits were solid and clean and the defenses were stout. There was constant plays and counterplays. Canada's early 2-0 lead looked safe and shaky at the same time. And just when the hometown crowd thought they could exhale their breath, the Americans made a remarkable play to force bonus overtime.

In the end, the sport may turn out to be the biggest winner. When the game is played as it was today, even the nonfans stopped what they were doing to watch. Losing is ... well ... disappointing and frustrating. But today was the rare game when the losing team had no reason whatsoever to question anything they did. They did everything they could but win. Deep down inside, one suspects most of the players probably know this already. But it needed to be said publicly anyway.

Nothing to cheer about here

We had some very sad news in our little part of the world yesterday. Two longtime Catholic schools - St. Bernard's High School and Holy Childhood Grade School - announced they will close for good at the end of the school year. St. Bernard's served the Rice Street area of St. Paul for 119 years. It was always a small school ... and that is what probably did it in. But it kept a lot of kids on the straight and narrow path while not trying to beat anybody over the head with a Catholic message. I did the p.a. for their football games for years. They rarely had good teams but they always played hard and fair.

I have a lot of friends who graduated from there and who work there. They are fine people, credits to society.

We need schools like this and Holy Childhood to keep some sanity in the world.

Last night, I was working a hockey game involving Como Park, a public school that has always been a big athletic rival of St. Bernard's. To a man, the CP people were shaking their heads in disbelief and sorrow at the news.

I am sure the decision by the archdiocese was a sound one based solely on the financial situation of the school ... and the parish. All I can say is the decisions hurts like hell.

It's the little things you miss

Yesterday, I made the final step to recovery from my little heart episode. Dr. Kravitz removed the penicillin PICK that has been in my right arm for five weeks. Now I can take a shower without a bag on my arm and I am no longer dragging a bowling ball around with me.

It's amazing the little things you miss.

From what I read and heard, it sounds like President Clinton's problem yesterday was very similar. Great bodies think alike. Hope he doesn't end up with a PICK, too.

Welcome to our world

There is much ado being made tonight about a big snowstorm in the Washington, DC area. Word is anywhere from 1-2 feet of snow is going to fall in a span of roughly 30 hours.

That's a lot of white stuff. Being a glass half-full guy, I see a bright light in their troubles. The next time we grumble to them about weather difficulties, those folks might be a bit more sympathetic to our plight.

One can only hope.

Scoops can be risky business

It used to be that it was a big deal to get a scoop that would run in the next day's paper. Such, sadly, is no longer the case. Today's scoop gets on the internet in a matter of seconds. By the time a paper writes it, half the world knows the story ... if it turns out to be true.

There was a big hullabaloo here yesterday when Mark Rosen, a longtime TV sports guy here, reported that Joe Mauer, the Twins' catcher, had an agreement for a 10-year contract. You could hear the sighs of relief from Bagley to Yankton because catchers who can hit and throw like Mauer are rare commodities, indeed. The fear was that if Mauer, who can become a free agent after the 2010 season, ever got on the market, the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers would offer him more money than the combined GNP of, say, Canada.

But the signs of content have turned to worry again. Seems Mr. Rosen has had to backpedal a bit on his claim the deal was done. By the time the 10 p.m. report came around, he was offering up the idea that the "framework" for such a deal is in place.

In short, the pen has not come out and the deal is not done.

This is what happens in a competitive society where TV guys double up on radio and want to scoop everybody else. In the past, a TV guy could make an outrageous claim and, if it wasn't in the papers, it would be forgotten a day later.

No longer.

I know Mark a bit. He is a good guy. I am sure he thought he had enough to break a story. But TV guys often misunderstand what print guys know: that a card laid is a card played. Even if the story turns out to be true down the line (say, tomorrow or even a week from now), it was not correct when he said it. In the newspaper biz, your butt gets in a lot of trouble for making that sort of mistake. In TV, if your ratings are good enough, such a mistake tends to get forgotten.

Those who do remember, however, will keep it in mind the next time they hear a "scoop" come from Mark.

TV sports guys used to have 2 or 3 shows to do in a day. Total time on the air: roughly 10 minutes. Not a lot of time to get in trouble.

But it is different now. With updates, radio shows, tweets and facebook info, the chance for mistakes are much higher. Losing your credibility is a bit like your virginity. You never get it back totally.

Hope there are some budding TV journalists out there who are paying attention.