MIXED ZONE
SOCHI, Russia — We’re relying on translators to pass on accurate quotes here in Russia, so we never quite know if what we’re hearing is what’s actually being said.
LATEST CASE IN POINT:
Mikhail Chekanov, coach of the Russian women’s hockey team, who’s spent the previous 25 years of his career coaching men. When asked about how he’s had to change tactics since joining the women’s team, he had this to say.
“I can talk to boys in harsher tones and in a more overpowering voice. With young women, you become careful about the words you choose. The girls behave more emotionally when they are on the ice. They let out cries, like ‘Wow.’ If (the player) gets scared of something, she will yell out ‘Oh, I’m frightened!’ We all laugh about this.”
We’ll listen for that when the Games begin.
SPEAKING OF WOMEN
We can only imagine what Katey Stone might say if asked whether her players get frightened when they’re on the ice. The head coach for Team USA, she’s the only female coach in the women’s hockey tournament and the first woman to lead the U.S. at an Olympic Games.
When asked about her unique status here in Sochi, she said she had “bigger fish to fry.”
“I wish I wasn’t the only female coaching in our tournament, but that’s the way it is,” she said. “Like I have said all along, it’s an honour to be representing the United States. I have a job to do, and that’s our focus.”
$6-MILLION MEN
The Olympic Village will be awash with millionaires when the men’s hockey teams arrive next week, led by Canada and the United States, the only two teams whose 25-man rosters are comprised only of NHL players. Team Canada’s players are worth a combined $160 million, or $6 million per player on average. The U.S. is next at $130 million, followed by Sweden — which boasts 24 NHL players — at $90 million. Russia sits fourth with a salary total of $64 million and 16 NHL players.
DID YOU KNOW?
Seven countries are competing in the Winter Olympics for the first time in Sochi: Dominica, Malta, Paraguay, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga and Zimbabwe.