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Sunday, January 27, 2002

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Start sending out invitations to your friends for the big bash. Plan ahead with the corner pizza shop for all the orders you'll need. Wipe that dust off the TV screen to make sure you enjoy the clearest view.

The big weekend is coming.

That's right, the NHL All-Star Game is only six short days from now in Los Angeles.

What's that? There's another game going on?

Oh ... that game.

Well, rest assured that those bearing Terrible Towels won't be the only ones whose focus is well off hockey's midseason showcase. Especially this year.

In large part because of the proximity to the NHL's two-week break to participate in the Olympics, a handful of the game's most prominent talents will not be at the Staples Center on Saturday. The league was angry that Mike Modano, Daniel Alfredsson and Curtis Joseph, among others, had made public comments that they prefer to rest for the Olympics, so they weren't invited in a not-so-subtle attempt to send a message.

But the NHL can't impose interest in the event, no matter how hard it tries.

The league rounded up the All-Star coaches, Scott Bowman and Pat Quinn, for a conference call Thursday with the expressed intent of talking about the game. But the topic came up only twice out of 19 questions, and one of those was when someone asked Quinn his thoughts on players not attending.

Quinn, for the record, stayed in their corner, describing their decision as an "onerous" one.

"If you are thinking of priorities and time, like these guys who are now playing games less than every second night to jam games in so we can go to the Olympics ... these kids are tired. Ordinarily, the All-Star Games are looked forward to. But there's no better way to do it."

Isn't there?

How about having a minicamp of sorts for the Olympic teams to prepare? You might recall that was Herb Brooks' controversial suggestion -- selfishly motivated, of course, by being the United States' coach -- before the All-Star Game last year in Denver. Think that might draw a bit more attention than North America 14, World 12?

Here's another: How about not having it at all? Not just now. Ever.

The past two All-Star Games have been farces, producing an average of 22 goals in a sport that routinely sees that many in a week's worth of regular-season action. It's no longer just about a lack of hitting. It's about a lack of anything. Defensemen don't bother to so much as wiggle a stick at an attacking forward as he skates by. Pavel Bure doesn't even bother to hang around. Remember how he bolted in the second intermission last year because he wanted to catch an early flight back to Miami?

The only one of the four major professional sports that has less of an impact with its all-star game is the NFL, which gets marginal participation only because the Pro Bowl offers a Hawaiian vacation in February. Few watch, and fewer think it matters.

And that's precisely where the NHL's game is headed. Not Hawaii, but public oblivion.

Some still care, of course.

Mario Lemieux was asked about it a few days ago, and he simultaneously defended the league's scheduling and those players who opted to skip this All-Star Game for the Olympics.

"People are always going to question what everybody does," Lemieux said. "The All-Star Game is the All-Star Game. It's fun to be a part of it."

How about it? Are there ways to revive the All-Star Game? If the Steelers win today, I'll be in New Orleans all next week, nowhere near a hockey rink. This space is yours. Send your ideas to the address below.

Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@ post-gazette.com.