Montreal fans in an ugly frame of mind by TERRY HAIG Ron Lancaster, the CFL Hall of Fame quarterback and the coach of the Edmonton Eskimos, was asked recently to assess Montreal's sporting public. His reply: "I don't think they're sports fans in Montreal...I don't think it's a good sports town. They talk a good game but just don't get it done." It is worth noting that Lancaster played most of his career in Saskatchewan, a place where CFL football appears to mean something. He also played college football in southern Ohio, where Friday night high school football games pass for high culture and former Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes--a man who once slugged an opposing player in a bowl game (and was promptly fired)--is held in the kind of regard that Indians reserve for Gandhi. Lancaster's world view, in other words, might be somewhat parochial. Still, he may not be all wrong. As the Alouettes and Expos teeter on the brink of extinction, and the Impact survives as an advertising vehicle and loss leader for the Saputo company, which owns the team. Only the Canadiens appear financially healthy. But even the Habs--a monument to better times--are having trouble these days filling all the seats. Ask any scalper. Furthermore, many of the people who do manage to turn out for professional games in this city tend to arrive in an ugly frame of mind, quick to boo and vent their displeasure at the drop of a puck. Fact is, Montreal fans are notorious front runners. They are not alone in this. Very few places exist where the fans stick with their teams through thick and thin--the notable exceptions being National League baseball fans in St. Louis and Chicago and the CFL diehards in Saskatchewan. As much as Montreal fans love to believe they're special, they differ little from sporting publics across North America. >>> One would like to believe that sports are the direct descendent of Greek theatre--catharsis supplied by players struggling with their destinies and elevating the rest of us in the process. One would like to believe that those attending sporting events are there to partake in the pure joy of watching an athlete combine a sense of physical beauty with a stunning display of physical grace, an aesthetic not foreign to those crazy old Greeks. Too bad we can't. For while the possibilities remain and are there for the taking, the marketers will not have it. It doesn't play for the buying public. The marketers would have us believe the only thing that counts is winning, that our lives will be enriched if our locals can just come out on top. What used to be a means has become just another end. Blinded by the blight of fanaticism, we are hustled to invest our passion not in things that really count, but in giant marketing scams that do little to ennoble, but much to diminish. The scary thing is we remain willing participants. >>> SAY HAIG! The noose continues to tighten around the scrawny neck of disgraced former NHLPA leader Alan Eagleson. Russ Conway, author of Game Misconduct, Alan Eagleson and the Corruption of Hockey, will reveal more Eagleson transgressions in an updated edition of his book, due out before Christmas. According to Conway, the new evidence will make it even more difficult for the Canadian government to ignore a U.S. extradition order for Eagleson that fell into a black hole in Ottawa two years ago... Scary thought of the week: local talk shows are reporting that Patrice Brisebois and Vincent Damphousse are being seriously considered as potential members of Canada's Olympic team. Meanwhile, Mighty Ducks holdout Paul Kariya will join Canada's National Team shortly to work himself into shape for Nagano... People who know say Brett Hull and other U.S. Olympians were dead serious about a boycott if Devils GM Lou Lamoriello excluded Bill Guerin from the team because of his salary dispute in Jersey. Potential disaster for the NHL's plan to market hockey worldwide was avoided when Lamoriello caved and signed Guerin... Forget the rumours of Calgary's German Titov and Zarley Zalapski coming to the Canadiens. Wishful thinking on the part of Flames management... Question for Canadiens management: If Sergei Federov wants to play here, why not use some of the $17-million profit you made last year to sign him?... Goodbye and good riddance to Raptors' GM Isiah Thomas, who brought new meaning to the word overrated... Another question: why does TSN insist on telling us that an NHL tie ended in overtime?... Expo GM Jim Beattie did his homework on Carl Pavano, the AAA pitcher Montreal got for Pedro Martinez. Former Expo Ken Macha, who managed him in the minors, says Pavano is just a better changeup away from being successful in the majors. The best thing Beattie can do is to make sure he resigns free agent Doug Strange, who will provide capable pinch-hitting and a veteran presence in their clubhouse... Claude Brochu lists his chances of getting a new stadium at 50/50. His game plan: raise $100-million from seat licences, luxury boxes and the sale of the stadium's name to a corporation, then play the federal and provincial governments off against each other. It remains to be seen if the public is ready to see public money invested in the project. However, Brochu likely already has the Feds on side.