NEWEST LEAF'S HAT TRICK

Couldn't help but notice Mike Peca wore an Azzurri cap at his introductory press conference as the newest member of the Leafs this morning.

Peca's from Toronto, he's of Italian descent, so there's a distinct possibility that his feelings toward Italy's World Cup champions are true blue.

Still, anyone who's a diehard football fan knows about the out-of-the-woodwork types whose pride in the ancestral homeland surfaces every four years for the World Cup, and lasts only as long as said country is in the tournament. Is Peca one of those guys? When have you ever read or seen him saying anything about how he's a hard-core Azzurri fan?

This trumps questions of how Peca and Darcy Tucker will get along as teammates,, seeing as how Tucker nearly ruined Peca's career with a dirty "low-bridge" hit in the 2002 Leafs-Islanders playoff series.

Mike Peca's feelings as it relates to his choice of headwear should tell you almost everything you need to know about how bona fide he is as a player and a leader. Someone, please, dig up proof that Peca wasn't just wearing an Azzurri cap since they just won the World Cup. Find an article about him professing undying interest in Italian soccer, or wearing an Italy hat after the last World Cup, when the Azzurri had an unexpectedly early exit.

The Leafs can ill-afford anyone who's a fair-weather type.

Yes, Peca's proven it on the ice through his stops in Buffalo, Long Island and Edmonton, but remember, past history really can't be taken for granted, especially nowadays in the NHL.

OTHER BUSINESS

• Tip of the sun visor to Canada's women's fastpitch team, which won bronze at the World Cup of Softball with a 2-0 win over the Australians on Monday in Oklahoma City. Thankfully, this country still has some national teams that can win a medal in a major international competition. You know who I'm talking about.
• Here's one of those wire service dispatches that always makes you wonder what is really happening: Actor Russell Crowe, who once "pitched" a phone at someone in a fit of pique, is taking a hands-on approach with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, an Aussie rugby team that he part-owns.
  
  On the pitch itself, the Rabbitohs have won only once in 18 matches this year. This begs the question: Can Crowe motivate them by saying, "If you win, you're excused from having to see my band play?"
• If not for this CP story, would anyone remember that the 30th anniversary of the Montreal Olympics are coming up?