WWHBD?

You don't have to pay very close attention to women's hockey to know that Cammi Granato has been one of the mainstays of the U.S. national program since its inception. And now that she's been left off the pre-Olympic squad, ESPN.com has become rage central.

Here's John Buccigross:

Ben Smith, head coach of the U.S. women's national team, cut the face of women's hockey from the team last week in cold and merciless fashion...

Granato's former U.S. national teammate, Sue Merz, summed up the events of the past week to me in one word over the phone Friday: "Disgusting."

"This says to me that women's hockey means nothing to USA Hockey," Merz said. "What kind of example does Ben Smith give to the younger girls on the team? If Cammi is treated this way, what does this mean for me in the future?"

Perhaps that nobody, not even Granato, is entitled to a roster spot? Buccigross continues:

Chris Bailey, who played with Granato on the gold-medal team in the 1998 Nagano Olympics, said, "The two biggest mistakes USA Hockey has ever made is not having a post-Olympic tour in 1998 and cutting Cammi Granato."

Imagine USA Soccer cutting Mia Hamm. Would they ever even think of doing that?

Some of Granato's teammates claim Smith is a power-hungry coach, one who once said he couldn't work in the NHL because he couldn't coach players who make more money than he does...

When it comes to class and grace, Granato is in a class with Bourque and Beliveau. But Smith and others wanted her out. Bourque and Beliveau left the game of hockey in championship fashion because they were classy contributors. Granato deserved the same.

And at EJ Hradek's blog (which really isn't a blog at all), he's ready to pile on:

In the U.S., Cammi Granato is the face of women's hockey. Last Wednesday night, longtime American women's coach Ben Smith decided to slap that face...

If the decision to cut Granato wasn't questionable enough, USA Hockey decided it was going to do its best to sweep it under the rug.

For the first 23 minutes of a Thursday conference call announcing the tentative roster for the 2006 Olympics, Granato's name wasn't mentioned. That's right, you cut the biggest name in the sport and you don't mention her name for 23 minutes.

Hello? Is anybody awake?

Now, I'm not here to dispute Cammi Granato's greatness, something that's all too apparent to those who had a chance to watch her play. And she's part of American hockey royalty, as the sister of Avalanche assistant coach Tony, and wife of ex-NHLer and former ESPN announcer, Ray Ferraro. There's no doubt that she carries weight inside American hockey, and probably will for the rest of her life.

But does that entitle her to lifetime tenure on her country's Olympic squad?

It was just about a year ago that Brett Hull, one of the greatest to ever play the game -- and perhaps the greatest American to ever wear the national team colors -- put together a pair of back-to-back performances in the World Cup of Hockey that had to be the worst of his long career.

Then Team USA Head Coach Ron Wilson made him a healthy scratch for the next game. And then Wilson did it again. And he did this to a player who during the inaugural World Cup in 1996, was more responsible for victory than any other player with the exception of goalie Mike Richter.

Remember the outcry? Yeah, me neither.

Then again, isn't this the same national program whose most famous coach was so hated by his players, that they gave him the nickname the "Ayatollah"?

So I simply ask this question: What would Herb Brooks do?

You know, the same Herb Brooks who was cut from the 1960 U.S. Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Team right before the games. The same Herb Brooks who got to watch that team win a Gold medal from his couch in Minnesota, and had his father point out that Team USA head coach Jack Riley must have cut the right guy? A man who was so driven to win Gold at the 1980 Winter Olympics, that he drove his players with a ferocity that hadn't been matched before or since.

I would never presume to speak for anyone, least of all the greatest coach in American hockey history. But Brooks did leave something behind that gives a window into his thinking -- a personal letter that he sent to all the members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Hockey Team a few months after the victory at Lake Placid. I found the text in the final chapter of Wayne Coffey's The Boys of Winter:

Personally, this year was not only my most enjoyable year in coaching, but also my toughest. Toughest because it involved making so many difficult decisions regarding the makeup of our final team.

Because of that, and because I wanted to be as objective as possible, I stayed away from close personal contacts with you. I did not want the U.S. Hockey Community to say that regionalism and/or favoritism entered into my final selections...

If there was any team I wanted to identify with on a personal basis, this was the team. Hopefully, that day will come.

Does Cammi Granato belong on America's Olympic squad? I have no idea. But it certainly doesn't seem implausible that a veteran player at age 34, especially a female at age 34, might have lost a step.

Age is cruel in sports. And as we're finding out, it's perhaps all the more cruel in women's sports, where youth is served without regret or pity.

Team USA head coach Ben Smith might very well be a control freak who could never coach in the NHL. But ultimately, he's responsible for the team he'll put on the ice in Turin next Winter. And the last time I looked, the only coaches who have ever led Team USA to Olympic Gold in hockey are named Riley, Brooks and Smith.

Yes, it's unfair that Granato, a class act, didn't get to leave the game on her own terms. But she isn't the first. And let's not pretend she'll be the last.

Eric 12:57 AM

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