We can probably agree that Wayne Gretzky is Canada's greatest hockey player, that Steve Nash is the best basketball player our country has produced and that Mike Weir is No. 1 in golf.
And the greatest Olympian, now that the 2012 London Games are fading into our rear-view mirror? Has to be Clara Hughes, a 39-year-old Winnipegger who won nary a medal in 2012 but has a dazzling Olympic record dating back to 1996 that is unparalleled. The amazing thing about Hughes is not only that she has six medals to her lifetime credit, but that they were won in both Summer and Winter Olympic Games. In this era of sports specialization - of the one-trick place-kicker in football and the one-inning relief pitcher - it is awe-inspiring to realize that not only is Hughes among the world's best in cycling, but also in speed skating.
Only four other athletes have ever won medals in both Summer and Winter Games. Hughes will be 41 in 2014 when the next Olympics are held in Sochi, Russia, and she will probably be in attendance in some executive fashion, but competing? Unlikely. But never say never with Clara. She didn't compete in Summer Games of 2004 or 2008, but has been in every other Olympics - Summer and Winter - since 1996. She won a couple of bronze medals in cycling in 1996 in Atlanta.
She came home with speed skating medals in three successive Winter Olympics - Salt Lake City in 2002, Turin, Italy in 2006 and Vancouver in 2010 - and surprised absolutely no one when she said she was coming out of retirement to try to make Canada's cycling team in London. She made the 2012 team, although she failed to add to her accumulation of medals. Nonetheless, Hughes' story is an inspiring one, especially when you take into account the rest of her life's travails - a wild teenager involved in drugs, an adult life faced with clinical depression - that she has faced and overcame.
Clara Hughes is Canada's greatest Olympian, a title she will likely hold forever.
Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: "if LeBron James were to be knighted for his artistic exploits at the London Olympics, would that be a demotion, from King (James) to lord?
Harrison Mooney of PuckDaddy.com, on Tiger woods' ex, Elin Nordegren, dating Douglas Murray of the San Jose Sharks: "They have a lot in common too. Both are Swedish. Both are 32. Both only pick up a golf club when something's gone wrong. Plus, by dating a Shark, Nordegren doesn't have to worry that the guy's personality will be poisoned by a steady stream of championships."
Steve Rushin of si.com, on the resentment in the U.S. about NBC not showing a single Olympic event live: "Spoiler alert: Next February's Super Bowl was taped this morning in New Orleans. The 49ers beat the Patriots 34-17."
Phil Taylor of Sports Illustrated, on the incessant flopping in the NBA playoffs: "Oklahoma City guard Derek Fisher has been trying to trick officials by hitting the hardboard for so long that he probably takes a dive when someone bumps into his cart at Safeway."
Greg Cote of the Miami Herald: "Chinese farmer, Chen Guanming, travelled to London by rickshaw in a heart-warming, two-year odyssey through 16 countries. Guanming credited his journey to not having been informed of air travel."
Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, tweeting from the Olympics: "Interesting note: For the heck of it, LeBron entered the decathlon and took gold."
Cote again: "For the first time, every country competing in the Olympics includes a female athlete after Saudi Arabia agreed to allow two women to participate. Saudi officials said they would have done it sooner but lost track of the time because their watches had stopped in the 19th Century."
Comedy writer Jim Barach: "The U.S. men's Olympic basketball team scored a record 156 points against Nigeria. The game was so far out of reach that for a minute, Kobe Bryant almost considered passing the ball to someone else."
R.J. Currie of sportsdeke.com: "Winnipeg Jet Dustin Byfuglien pled guilty in a Minnesota court. He got two days community service for unsafe boating and a $1,000 fine for an unpronounceable name."
David Whitley of FanHouse.com, putting Michael Phelps's record Olympic medal haul in perspective: "He has more medals than 158 countries that are competing in London."
Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg: "As a result of the badminton cheating, a suspicious cloud now appears over the other backyard-party-inspired sports like horseshoes, water balloon-tossing and the potato sack races."
Steve Simmons of Sunmedia.ca: "So here's what we like to do in the backyard. Jump on the trampoline. Play a little badminton. Next up: barbecuing at the Olympics."
Kaseberg again: "McDonald's is the official restaurant of the Olympics. That must mean Jack Daniels is the official beverage of the Betty Ford Center. "
Another one from Cote: "Dennis Rodman met his father after a 42-year estrangement. Cannot confirm Dad's first words were, "Man, you're weird!"
Care to comment? E-mail brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca
