WHERE'D THE YEAR GO... FEBRUARY

As 2006 draws to a close, we are reminded of a few of the events that brought us closer to you: Dick Cheney shooting a guy in the face, premium ice cream price wars, dogs that were mistakenly issued major credit cards, and others who weren't so lucky ... In our continuing quest to secure a lower rung on the inferno, Out of Left Field looks back at the wild 'n' nutty month of February.

So much for the days when you could actually remember each Canadian medal winner from a particular Olympiad, let alone the days when a Canuck athlete winning a gold medal was so rare that you often got let out of school early when it happened.

"We" -- that includes the people who did little more than watch the 17-day Turin/Torino extravaganza from their rec rooms and offices, one hand fondling a mouse or channel-clicker and the other second knuckle deep in Timbits -- kicked ass, albeit in modest, slightly sheepish Hoser fashion. Cindy Klassen, the Lou Marsh Award winner, was the Games' most-decorated athlete with five medals. Canada won a personal-best 24, third in the overall standings, and won in 10 disciplines, more than any other country. We won almost as many medals as the Americans, although after yesterday, maybe it's not such a good idea to go around pointing that out.

Hockey Canada got its comeuppance for beatifying the likes of Steve Downie and Todd Bertuzzi thanks to the poorly performing men's hockey team, but the story of Canada at the 2006 Olympics was the accomplishments of the women athletes -- Klassen, Chandra Crawford (pictured) Clara Hughes, Jennifer Heil, Beckie Scott, Sara Renner and the hockey team.

Crawford ensured that Canmore, Alta., will now be known for more than its Tier II Junior A hockey team, the Eagles, and a character on Royal Canadian Air Force who had a dog, Norm.

Norway, meantime, showed nice guys can finish first, and this Swedish-Canadian was one-quarter delighted when the Tre Kroner women upset the Americans in the women's hockey semifinal.

Other than that, not much else happened in February. Well, there was this football game called the Super Bowl (it was played in Jerome Bettis' hometown of Detroit, and the refs blew a couple of calls, but you might not have heard about that).

Then, on the final day of February, the Toronto Raptors started acting like a real NBA team, poaching reigning executive of the year Bryan Colangelo from the Phoenix Suns. It was almost surreal, this whole notion of the Raptors being a real NBA contender.

On a personal note, February was a month of transition. Yours truly left the daily newspaper sportswriting game, leaving the Simcoe Reformer for the rarefied air of the Ottawa Sun.

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.