When the NHL first agreed to send its players to the Olympic Games in Nagano in 1998, this was what the league had in mind. A great, great tournament with people talking about hockey for a week or more.

Not sure why it took four tries to the Olympics to get it right. Mostly it's just the nature of hockey were upsets happen, where Canada and the U.S. didn't even come close to getting medals last time around in Italy.

Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller should get a standing ovation in Pittsburgh tomorrow night...even if he's sitting on the bench resting as NHL play resumes. What a great performance he gave Team USA throughout the tournament. A young team never would have come close to a silver medal without great goaltending, and Miller provided it game after game.

I know USA fans are disappointed. But in some respects, Canada's overtime Gold Medal win was almost an ideal ending. Canadian players were under tremendous pressure to win gold. Had they lost, it would have haunted them for years.

One of the great days of each winter is the arrival on the doorstep of the new Baseball America Prospect Handbook. I love it for work reasons, love it for fantasy baseball reasons...it's just good stuff.

Those of you that are really dialed into the Rangers on a serious basis, reading your Jamey Newberg Reports and all, already know some of the stuff I'm writing here. Consider it a refresher course.

Most of you aren't quite that overloaded on Rangers prospect information. You're excited about Vlad Guerrero hitting cleanup, but not quite sure how long you have to hold your breath for the Arlington arrival of No. 5 Jurickson Profar (Answer: A LONG time, but worth the wait).

The good news for all Rangers fans is that the folks at Baseball America who do a very thorough and reasonably accurate examination of farm systems, have the Rangers ranked No. 2 this year behind only Tampa Bay.

Great day for hockey fans starts at 2 p.m. Dallas time when Team USA makes it on to the big network. Yes, NBC is willing to show a little hockey during the daylight hours, so USA-Switzerland is on the big dial this afternoon.

Don't sleep on the Swiss. Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller has helped turn Anaheim around since a slow start in the NHL season and he has been very good in this tournament. The longer it takes USA to build a 2-goal lead and get comfortable, the scarier this game will be.

But the bigger game, really, comes at 6:30 Central when Russia faces Canada. Going into the Olympics, these two teams -- along with defending champion Sweden perhaps -- were the odds-on favorites to win. Now one of them isn't even making it to the semis.

It's great skill against great skill, Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby. Should be intense. And that won't be the end of good hockey action with Sweden-Slovakia and Finland-Czech Republic to follow late into the night.

If USA wins, the winner of the Finland-Czech game is up next. Czech Republic nearly lost to Latvia last night but with goalie Thomas Vokoun, I think the Czechs are the scarier team for USA to have to beat to get to the Gold Medal game.

The Chargers have cut ties with running back LaDainian Tomlinson. It's not that this comes as a surprise, but it's just a reminder of the short time in the spotlight running backs are able to maintain any more.

Tomlinson was the best back in the league the last decade. He was probably the No. 1 pick in your league's fantasy draft as recently as 2007, maybe even 2008. And now he's probably done.

LT talks about going to another team and trying to win a championship. He may get a job somewhere but it won't be a major role. Tomlinson averaged 3.3 yards on 223 carries last year. The numbers are declining all too rapidly.

And while there are lots of backup or part-time back positions to be filled, most teams don't even have a back that plays a major role any more.

A little later than some, I finally managed to see ESPN's documentary "The U'' on the University of Miami, part of the network's 30-on-30 series. Even if I might have found a way to trim it down from two hours to 90 minutes (there must be 50 different references to Miami players or people around that scene telling us they were viewed as "thugs,'' -- yeah, we get it), it is mostly great stuff.

Seeing both the '80s version of Jimmy Johnson and the modern, white-haired-but-slimmed-down Florida Keys Jimmy is a treat. He's good because he gets to talk about his three favorite subjects: Beating the crap out of other teams, south Florida and, of course, Jimmy.

Seeing the highlights of the Penn State loss that cost the Hurricanes' back-to-back titles (they might have won three in a row if not for a fumble call on Cleveland Gary in South Bend in '88) reminded me of what Johnson told me once about Vinny Testaverde.

Having just won the Heisman, Testaverde embarked on the usual winter banquet circuit before the Fiesta Bowl. Johnson said that when Testaverde practiced in Arizona before the Fiesta Bowl, he was awful. He said he really wanted to start Steve Walsh but couldn't figure out how to bench a Heisman winner.

I remember being in Vail in the fall of 1996, watching Team USA beat Canada in the World Cup, watching with Stars scouts and coaches, many of whom were not cheering for the good ol' USA but their native land to the north.

That was great hockey. Sunday night was even better.

I don't know how to describe the depth of the skill of the Canadian team other than to say they have players like Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and the Stars' Brenden Morrow playing on their third and fourth lines. They seemed to come at USA goalie Ryan Miller in waves all night.

Even though Sidney Crosby's redirection on the power play with 3:06 to play merely cut USA's lead to 4-3, I still thought we were looking at overtime.

There was one incredible play to come when Canada won a faceoff in the offensive zone with 2:34 to go and the Americans were unable to clear the puck until 1:12 remained. In between, everyone on the ice for Canada had scoring chances.

It should be a very instructive back-to-back for the Mavericks and their new players this weekend when they travel to Orlando Friday and then host the Miami Heat Saturday night.

New center Brendan Haywood, getting plenty of minutes after Erick Dampier suffered a broken finger in Oklahoma City Tuesday, tangles with the Magic's Dwight Howard Friday. If Haywood gets into immediate foul trouble, who guards Superman? Dirk?

Caron Butler, who was very solid defensively against Kevin Durant, causing the Thunder star another rough shooting night, gets a suddenly hot Vince Carter Friday and maybe All-Star Game MVP Dwyane Wade Saturday.

I say maybe because Wade limped off the court Wednesday night in the first quarter with a straned calf and was wearing a walking boot after the game. So we'll see on that one. But these back-to-backs are a considerable strain on Coach Rick Carlisle's ability to fit new players into the Mavericks' schemes.

And as we can see from the way the Thunder, Jazz, TrailBlazers and others have come out of the gate from the break, the rest of the West isn't waiting around for the Mavs to get ready.

Now that men's hockey is underway, I will make time to watch some Olympics. Even if that means watching USA in the afternoon instead of NBC, which favors figure skating and taped skiing, at night.

It's also going to be nice to watch Olympic hockey played on NHL-sized rinks. Normally they play on the bigger sheet of ice which some wrongly assume has much to do about the superior Olympic product. Neither the bigger ice (which we won't see) nor the less physical play (which we will see) has a lot to do with why these games are good.

It's much simpler than that.

Take the best players from 30 NHL teams and stick them on six or seven rosters. You can call them Russia, Canada, Sweden, Czech Republic, USA and Finland or you can call them any other names you like. It's going to be a great product when the quality of the league is squeezed down to a handful of teams.

When you switch from being a beat writer to a columnist as I did 12 years ago, one of the things you miss (on a list you could write on Sarah Palin's hand) is road trips. Mind you, you don't miss ALL of the road trips.

But when I first heard my days as the Stars beat writer were over after three years, I thought, "No more Calgary-Edmonton trips? No more Kokanee Gold pints after a late game?''

Or something like that.

So, anyway, I'm glad that the post-All-Star break run for the Mavericks (one that just became much more interesting in the eyes of fans) starts tonight in Oklahoma City against a hot team and a red-hot scorer in Kevin Durant, No. 2 behind LeBron James in points per game (29.7). Looking forward to seeing how Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood look running the floor with Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and all.

It's not so much about their totals tonight. It's the first game after no real extended practices with the team. But there's not a lot of time and the Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the teams trying not to just make the playoffs but climb up into the top four for a first-game homecourt in the playoffs. The Mavs, staggering into the break at 2-5, need a boost from the former Wizards.

And quickly.

Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw answered questions about the Mavericks, Cowboys and the All-Star Game.

Click into the coveritlive module below to view the replay:

The NBA All-Star Game's dunk contest grew into a tiresome event long ago. That's why the league is hoping that Dallas' Spud Webb will be able to revive it this weekend.

Hard to believe it has been 24 years since 5-foot-7 Spud made those amazing dunks at Reunion Arena. Has to register as one of the three or four best moments in NBA dunk history.

And I'm happy for Spud, a friend and genuinely good guy that you will see about town although most people don't get many words out of him. He has come to terms with being known as "the dunk guy'' although because he played on something less than the NBA's great stages as a Hawk and a a King, his career is highly underestimated.

He wasn't just a short guy that teams would bring off the bench to entertain the crowd.

On certain days, like this one for example, it seems silly to even write about what the Mavericks should do to contend. They started a lineup last night in which their youngest player in terms of experience in the league was Eddie Najera (10th season) and lost by 36 points.

That's a team with a past, not a future.

And that may be what Rick Carlisel is stuck coaching these days. Still, their record, despite the recent run of awful play, has them scrapping for a top four spot in the West. And the mere fact that they ARE so darned old means that if the right trade deal comes along, they have to consider it.

When owner Mark Cuban says he's not trading newcomer Roddy Beaubois, I figure that's just owner-talk. When one of our columnists whose name rhymes with Othella Harrington writes it (well, his first name doesn't rhyme with that but wouldn't it be interesting if it did?), I figure that's just slow-day columnist talk. I've been there.

I have been a fan of The Who since junior high. I have been a fan of Bruce Springsteen since college.

And I don't want to see either one of them or anyone like them at Super Bowls any more.

The best concert I saw in my teenage years was The Who at Memorial Auditorium in Dallas. Summer of '71, I believe. They played 5 or 6 songs to get going, sounded great and then all of a sudden Keith Moon was playing the opening notes from Tommy's Overture. For the next hour without a break, skipping only 2-3 songs, the band played the double-album of Tommy start to finish.

By the time they got through "We're not gonna take it'' and finished, to paraphrase the band "the crowd went crazy (as Tommy hit the stage).''

Saw the Who 2-3 more times. "Who's Next'' is a classic album. And at times I have considered "Quadrophenia'' better than "Tommy'' though not as ground-breaking.

For those of you not quite old enough to remember, the AFL and NFL merged after the 1969 season to end the competition between the two and create the massive enterprise that has become today's NFL.

While the decision was made for economic reasons, there was also the sense that the 10-year old AFL was catching up to the NFL in talent on the field. After Green Bay won the first two Super Bowls rather easily, you know all about Joe Namath's guarantee and the New York Jets' stunning upset of Baltimore as a 17-point underdog the next season.

Bettors still loved the NFL a year later, and the Minnesota Vikings were 13-point favorites, but the Kansas City Chiefs, seen as a team of the future, humbled a team from the past, 23-7.

So the Super Bowl was all even at 2-2. When the leagues merged and formed two conferences, the Colts, Steelers and Browns switched to the AFC. But whatever happened to the 10 original AFL teams? Although they started off strong following the merger, the original group has won just 10 of the 40 Super Bowls played since the Chiefs beat the Vikings.

The Saints were built on an explosive offense and a high-risk defense that thrived on turnovers. Having to face three future Hall of Fame quarterbacks in the post-season was no easy task. But New Orleans survived and thrived.

The Saints beat Arizona's Kurt Warner, Minnesota's Brett Favre and the Colts' Peyton Manning to capture their first Super Bowl. All three are first-ballot Hall of Famers. The Saints limited the production of Warner and Manning and beat up Favre enough before intercepting him to win the NFC title game.

The last Super Bowl winner forced to run the table against all Hall of Fame-bound QBs was the '93 Cowboys. They made it back-to-back Lombardi Trophies with wins over Favre (how long has this guy been around?), the 49ers' Steve Young and Bills' Jim Kelly.

Young and Kelly already are Hall of Fame members.

Prior to that, the last team to make a similar (but not quite Hall of Fame run) was the '75 Steelers who knocked off Baltimore's Bert Jones, Oakland's Ken Stabler and a true Hall of Famer in the Cowboys' Roger Staubach for their second Super Bowl trophy.

There were at least 33 reasons to make fun of Sunday's Pro Bowl. Right up until the game kickoff on ESPN, anyway.

The last count I heard on Friday before the game was that 33 players selected for the game -- or picked as alternates in case of cancellations -- had turned down the opportunity to play. Some were seriously injured and a dozen were getting ready to play in a slightly more important game in south Florida this coming Sunday.

Still, when the AFC resorts to Quarterbacks No. 6, 7 and 8, you feel like the game is of questionable value. That and, oh yeah, the fact that nobody wants to hit or get tackled makes the game problematic at best.

So what happened? An entertaining 41-34 win for Norv Turner's AFC over Wade Phillips' AFC draws more than 12 million viewers and gets the game's best ratings in 10 years since it was on network TV.

While most of the reports coming out of the Senior Bowl workouts focus on the negatives with Florida QB Tim Tebow -- long, slow release, trouble reading defenses -- you know some team is going to fall in love with his intangibles and draft him too soon.

That probably needs early second round or even late first.

The Cowboys have the 27th pick. While they have needs like every team, they don't have a single need that just cries out for a first-round selection. Offensive linemen, a potential second or third wide receiver, safety -- quality at those spots can often be found beyond the first round.

We are leading with tennis today. Yes, I said it. Tennis.

There's a major going on. Wake up, people.

And you have to wake up pretty early (or stay up late) if you want to see a lot of what's happening in Melbourne at the Australian Open. Those people are way ahead of us -- 17 hours, I think.

Probably have their own apple tablets and stuff, already.

Anyway, I mentioned tennis yesterday and got a number of responses either on this blog or on email, Facebook, twitter (follow "Itstopcat") saying I should write more about tennis.

So here you go.

Federer is alive and well and in position to win a 16th Grand Slam tournament. But it didn't look that way around 1 a.m. last night.

Davydenko, a slight but really powerful Russian, won the first set and had broken Federed twice in the second. In one game, he broke Federer's serve in one minute, 15 seconds. Basically, it was little more than four Federer serves and four crushing winners on returns by Davydenko. With Rafael Nadal already out of the tournament, I thought we were seeing the emergnece of the next great thing, about to achieve a third straight win over Federer but for the first time in a major.

Then the greatness of Federer surfaced. He won every game for an hour. Davydenko made a late run in the fourth set to make the game's greatest player of all time sweat a bit. That's unusual for Roger.

Still, Federer advanced with a four-set win. My prediction is he faces Marin Cilic in the men's finals. Cilic beat USA"s Andy Roddick in the quartefinals. Cilic is so long and limber it hurts me to watch him serve. I would be in traction if someone bent my back like that.

To get there, Cilic has to beat Scotland's Andy Murray, who eliminated a slightly injured Nadal. Federer plays a rather unlikely semifinals opponent in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

...The Dallas Mavericks did what they are so good at it last night at AAC. They won a basketball game by one point.

That's 10 one-point margins in a row for Dallas.

This is the age of "Me First.'' It's all about the individuals, not the teams in sports. At least that's the case with a lot of outspoken individuals.

So I was anxiously waiting for a Saints or Colts player to step up this week and say, "You know, our whole team is going to the Super Bowl, even if they didn't do anything to help us win Sunday's game. But I was invited to the Pro Bowl this week. So I'm playing in the Pro Bowl and if that means I get injured and miss the Super Bowl, so be it.''

Sadly, all 12 Saints and Colts have announced they would skip the Pro Bowl which, in an insane move by the NFL, is being played the Sunday before the Super Bowl, not after. The replacements are pouring in.

1. Brett Favre's final pass was an interception. And it was an awful mistake. He could have run to the 30-yard line, even in his late-game limping state, and set up what could have been a regulation winning field goal from Ryan Longwell.

But don't forget what came before it. Favre got the team down to the Saints' 33 with a first-and-10 with 1:06 left in regulation. And then the Vikings stopped throwing.

Chester Taylor ran right for no gain.

Adrian Peterson ran right for no gain. Precious seconds ticked away.

Then came the ridiculous 12-men-in-the-huddle penalty with Favre frantically trying to call timeout, but it was too late.