vould like to rectify the misconception concerning gruin winger Cam Neely’s injury. As Neely himself aid in the ‘“‘Inside Hockey’’ segment during January 5th’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, ‘‘The hit in ame three is something that I have really no respect or-- you know, that particular type of hit and the ay, you know, he placed it. But it happened in game ix, I actually went to hit him this time in the corner; : ducked, and as you duck, you bend you knees,.and ny thigh-- I skated right into his knee.’’ Besides, fameulsson’s illegal check hit Neely’s right leg, and twas his injured left leg which removed him from lay. full became only the second player in NHL history to ecord two consecutive 50/50 (Fifty goals in 50 ames) seasons. Hockey’s only other two-year 50/50 sthe Los Angles Kings’ Wayne Gretzky; ironically, julls’ fiftieth came during a game against the Kings. _ must-read for Brett Hull fans is the article ‘‘Shoot- ig Star’’ in the February 1992 issue of Saturday ight. he St. Louis/Boston trade on the seventh of Febru- fy was perhaps the dumbest trade ever by Harry inden. The rumour of a Janney/Oates deal first peared in the Guardian on January 9th. Blues’ G.M. on Caron and Bruins’ Sinden are both well-re- yected for their trading ability; Caron has definitely it-dealt Sinden player-wise as Oates is nearing itty, but Janney is twenty-four and Quintal twenty- tee. However, Caron might find that he has drasti- ly reduced player morale on his team; Oates and fett Hull were not only a serious scoring combina- 1, but they were also close friends. The Blues gain good defenseman prospect in Quintal anda great aymaker in Janney; the Bruins gain in Oates a jint-scorer and the potential for a potent line with im Neely or Steve Leach, The long-term edge goes he blues, but the immediate impact is debatable. bth teams lost their first games after the trade. ney had one assist; Oates, two. le new O-Pee-Chee Premier cards are out and are Hing quickly. The cards are heavier than last year’s, ist more, and are justas nice, The card backs are ferent than last year’s; they are more colourful and ok better. Wayne Gretzky s announcement of his probable retirement at the end of this year’s ‘‘Mediocre’’ season made me mad. I was furious. Many athletes admit that pleasing fans is an important aspect of being an athlete, but Gretzky’s selfish behaviour takes too much away from the fun of the game. Obviously Gretzky cannot play hockey for fun; there is more to hockey than point production (like defense, but we know that Gretzky lacks that.) One small consolation in Gretzky’s retirement is that he will probably never coach because of his lack of defense. The hockey Panthers salvaged one point from their _ Fredericton road-trip this past weekend. Saturday the | Panther lost 5-4 to the division-leading team from U.N.B.; Sunday, they managed a 7-7 tie with St. Jn the 28th of January, St. Louis Blues’ winger Brett | !homas. This weekend they play two home games _ against St. Thomas -- check the paper for game times. If you Canadiens’ fans are disappointed with Shayne Corson’s play lately (as if you pick out one player playing poorly), bear in mind that his father is inthe hospital with throat cancer. Mr. Corson is only fourty-four and Shayne is extremely close to him. Shayne Corson’s spirit is truly admirable. Speaking of playing poorly, wasn’t Ric Nattress’ goal beautiful Saturday night against the Canadiens? 26/ INI cVEN BEFORE “HE *FiRST COMMERCIAL, VIEWERS KNEW PooR SCOTT WAS 7 NOT GOING TO MAKE iT To “FINAL JWOPARpY “ 5 ‘ \ in February 13,1992 Page 27