Olympics: Gretzky dropped the puck

South Park got it right.

Blame Canada.

Or maybe, more fitting - blame Wayne Gretzky.

Canada may have invented the sport of hockey, but they certainly haven't perfected it. It's been 50 years since Canada has had gold and the pressure cooker spilled yesterday afternoon.

Wayne Gretzky, the greatest player to ever pick up a hockey stick, went off on a tirade about the lack of love for his Canadian squad. He went so far as to say that most of the public wants his team to fail and blamed the "American propaganda."

American propaganda? Wayne - where do you live? Aren't the Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah? Last time I checked, Utah was part of the United States. Furthermore, the United States has a hockey team in the Olympic tournament. So, if you want to make a hissy fit about American propaganda - be my guest.

This is America and our team is playing against yours. Damn straight we want your team to lose. We want the U.S. to get the gold!

As for pointing fingers, take a look in the mirror, oh Great One. Look at the roster of players you put together to go for a gold.

Theo Flury?

Joe Nieuwendyk?

Where's Patrick Roy, someone who should have been one of the top selections to the Canadian roster?

How about the second leading scorer in the NHL, Joe Thornton, also a Canadian?

Tsk-tsk-tsk Wayne. You didn't do so hot, pal.

Looking back at the Original Dream Team for basketball, back in Barcelona, there's no question fans loved the idea of Bird, Jordan, and Johnson playing together. Most of those guys (always minus Jordan) were well past their primes, but they played and dominated anyway. Maybe Gretzky wanted to accomplish the same thing for Canada with Lemieux, Yzerman, Sakic, Lindros, and Kariya.

The big difference between those two instances was the depth and talent. The U.S. basketball bench was 200% stronger than any other team's starting five. As great as Canada looks, they aren't light years ahead in talent of Russia, the U.S., the Czech Republic, or Sweden.

Canada sure looks great on paper. Maybe Wayne should have taken the time to better assemble a youthful, more talented team if they needed to win gold and quell the boo-birds.

The U.S. has guys named Rolston, Rafalski, Young, and Miller. You may say 'Who?' But, they don't care. They are very mixed, old fogeys with new blood, and are the number one seed heading into the medal rounds.

Wayne, just take comfort in the fact that Canada could have the best looking roster in the Olympics.

But alas poor soul, names don't win medals.

Maybe South Park was too harsh. Maybe Gretzky will instead look to a popular Led Zeppelin lyric when asking why things are so nuts.

It's nobody's fault, but his own...