What’s with the Worlds? Why don’t Canadian fans care about the World Championship of hockey? By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor very year the IIFH men’s world Be championship roles around and every year it is generally ignored by hockey fans across North America, despite it providing excellent, exciting hockey that can rival the NHL playoffs. While there aren’t many people against the world championships per se, but there are few who follow it closely and there is little emotion involved among Canadian fans, regardless of how good or bad Canada performs. It’s safe to say also that the worlds don’t attract nearly the same amount of publicity or public attention as the NHL post-season, the World Junior Championships or the Olympics. So why don’t most fans care all that much about the annual World Championships? There are several reasons. First, and most importantly, the world tourney takes place at exactly the same time as the playoffs in the NHL, and most hockey fans are so absorbed in what’s happening over here that most have little time to spare for a tournament taking place half way around the world somewhere in Europe. Then there’s the player factor. Because of the conflicting schedule with the NHL, most of the world’s best are already committed to the playoffs and are as such unavailable for the worlds. That leaves players whose teams either didn’t qualify for the post-season or who have been eliminated in first round. Therefore most fans don’t recognize the worlds as a premier competition because the Sidney Crosbys and Joe Thorntons of the league aren’t there to showcase it. Canada still wins medals every year because the country is so deep in talent that it really doesn’t matter if our very best aren’t able to play. Plus, it’s hard for the fans to take the Worlds seriously when some of the players out there don’t. Most still remember Dion Phaneuf begging off the team a few years ago, even though Calgary had been eliminated from the playoffs, because he wanted to go to Hawaii instead (although to be fair, it was with Elisha Cuthbert). Every year the list of players who opt not to compete seem to outnumber the ones who do, and whoever is responsible for managing the Canadian squad invariably has to deal with a ton of “no” decisions. In large part, it comes down to motivation. The Olympics are different because they don’t happen every year and there is a sort of Olympic mystique surrounding them. However, Canadian and American kids grow up dreaming of winning the Stanley Cup, not the World Championships like the Europeans do. All that being said, there are still some great things about the World Championships. Yes, you have to jump through a few hoops in order to watch the games, as they air local time wherever they are (unlike the Olympics), and they take place almost exclusively in Europe, but the quality of play is as good as you'll find. Also, every year it seems that Canada debuts a new management head designed to gain that person managerial experience. Steve Yzerman is now the Olympic executive director for Canada after heading up the world championship side. Mark Messier, who has been apprenticing under Glen Sather with the New York Rangers, is the main man this year. The competition at the worlds is much underrated. Canada doesn’t ‘always dominate (they’ ve lost out the past two years) but the overall quality of play is still there. The World Championships deserve more respect, even if they aren’t likely to get it anytime soon. —— ae. POR ATs, y Love it or hate it, UFC is good for the city City Council approving MMA for Vancouver makes sense By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor I’m not a fan of UFC. Let’s get that out in the open right now. Yes, I know it’s very popular, and I’ve given it several tries, but to me, UFC, and for the most part mixed-martial arts in general, isn’t my cup of tea. I don’t find it all that exciting or entertaining, and I can’t understand the demographic it appeals to. It has nothing to do with the violence. Anyone who has even casually glanced at this section over the past year should know, I love boxing. UFC just isn’t for me. That being said, Vancouver “Bringing such a high- profile event to the city is a great way to capitalize on will suddenly be a mass spike in street brawls if it finds a new home at GM Place. In the age we live in, we can watch UFC on television if we want to, so it isn’t like by banning it from the city where we live will suddenly stop everyone from going to the bar to watch or buying it on PPV. Now, one area where sceptics do have a point is with the crowd that is likely to come out and watch. While there are plenty of great UFC fans out there who just like to enjoy the action, even the most ardent backer of MMA has to admit that there is no shortage of idiots out there. You know the ones; I’m talking about the guy who goes City Council’s_ the exposure that will already have been ‘© the bar on decision to permit sanctioned MMA bouts, meaning opening the gates to UFC, can only be considered a good thing for the city. Whether you love MMA or you hate it, nobody can deny that there is a broad appeal for UFC and MMA as a whole. One look at their ever-increasing PPV numbers is all the proof you need for that. So what does that mean for Vancouver? Simple; it means that UFC coming to town will generate money. People love these types of events, and when they do role around, revenues increase across the board. Be prepared for the government to tax the living hell out of it when UFC does come to Vancouver, and beyond that you have the obvious bonus of having thousands of extra people in the downtown core of the city spending money, plus the millions of viewers watching on PPV. Plus, the negative reasoning being touted by those opposed to UFC don’t really make much sense. Is UFC violent? Of course it is, but that doesn’t mean there generated by the Olympics, and is another UFC night with great way to showcase ourselves as one of the world’s elite cites.” a several sizes too small t-shirt depicting some sort of skull, tries way to hard to flex his muscles in the hopes that someone is looking at him and tries to catch anybody’s eye so that he can loudly ask in a tough voice, “You wanna take this outside?”. So I will admit that grouping several thousand of these morons together at one time probably isn’t ideal. But the faults of the few shouldn’t outweigh the many. Like I said, there are tons of average people out there that just like to watch UFC and aren’t interested in prolonged stare downs with the guy sitting across the bar from you. So the UFC should come to Vancouver, and from the looks of things, that will be happening sooner rather than later. Bringing such a high-profile event to the city is a great way to capitalize on the exposure that will already have been generated by the Olympics, and is another great way to showcase ourselves as one of the world’s elite cites.