by GABRIEL MORENCY

After a week of eighth and 10th place finishes that left Canada languishing at the bottom of the medal pool with world sporting powers like Eritrea and Azerbaijan, the hardware is starting to mount for a Canadian contingent that was expected to win between 12 and 14 medals coming in to Athens. And while the United States and China are hardly looking over their shoulders, the Danes and Poles are no doubt shaking in their Games-sanctioned Adidas as Canada comes on with a late push.

Team Canada's hockey team will not be afforded the luxury of such a slow start when the World Cup of Hockey starts next week in Helsinki, Finland. Unlike most North American sports leagues that proclaim their winners as "World Champions," this truly is a global affair. Games will be played in Helsinki, Stockholm, Montreal, Prague, Cologne, St. Paul and Toronto, as hockey's elite eight (CAN, CZE, U.S.A., GER, FIN, RUS, SWE, SVK) play a World Cup for the first time since 1996, when the U.S. beat Canada at the Forum in the final.

Don't look for a repeat, as the Americans are an ageing group with no experience between the pipes. Canada is the team to beat, and the world knows it. Head coach Pat Quinn has an explosive mix of size, strength and speed to go along with a trio of Montreal-born goaltenders (Brodeur, Luongo, Theodore), each of whom could be the starter on any other team in the tournament. Russia has been weakened by player disinterest but will still ice a dangerous team capable of scoring early and often, led by Atlanta Thrasher sniper Ilya Kovalchuk. With goalies Nikolai Khabibulin unwilling and Evgeni Nabokov unable to suit up, they will need to score early and often to avoid an early exit in tourney. But without NHL-calibre goaltending, they won't score enough.

Canada's main threat will come from the Czechs and Swedes, who are every bit as loaded as the Canadians are. Don't forget, it was the Swedes who thrashed Team Canada 5-1 at the 2002 Olympic Games before Tommy Salo's meltdown against Belarus. Any team with Peter Forsberg on it is a dangerous one. Even without Dominik Hasek on the roster, the Czechs' international record speaks for itself, and former Canadien Tomas Vokoun is more than capable of carrying the load. Fortunately for Canada, they won't see the Czech Republic or Sweden until the playoff round, as they play in a group with Russia, Slovakia (could be a dark horse) and the United States.

With the NHLPA and the league ownership groups about as close to settling their differences as Israel and the PLO, consider videotaping the action - it could be a while before NHL play gets under way. Besides, you'll want to see Mario Lemieux accept the abomination of a trophy that is presented to the winning captain after Canada beats the Czech Republic 2-1 in the championship game.

Splash and Go

The Molson Indy returns to Montreal this weekend for a third spin around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Much like the Montreal Expos, the demise of CART (or Champ Car World Racing, as the series is now known) has been greatly exaggerated, as organizers expect upwards of 150,000 fans for three days of open-wheel racing. Unlike F-1, which attracts well-heeled tourists from around the world, Champ racing is embraced by gear heads from St-Henri to St-Eustache, not only for its affordability, but for its accessibility as well. While F-1 paddocks are secured like freaking Area 51, Champ allows fans to enter the paddock, pit lanes and everywhere else in-between for the price of what a Ferrari hat alone costs. With Paul Tracy, Alex Tagliani and Patrick Carpentier running three, four and five respectably, expect to see all three Canucks go hard in the final Canadian stop of the year.

Tracy (or "Nutsack," as he likes to be called) and Tagliani have been jawing at each other all year long, with Nutsack telling Tags to shut up and win something. He did, and is now just 16 points behind Tracy and would like nothing more than to win his second race of his career in Montreal. He will.

Prediction: 1. Alex Tagliani 2. Sebastien Bourdais 3. Paul Tracy

Pigskin Prognosticator

Thursday, Aug. 26
Montreal (–9) at Winnipeg: Montreal
Friday, Aug. 27
Toronto (+5) at B.C.: B.C.
Sunday, Aug. 29
Ottawa (+9) at Edmonton: Ottawa

Sports Rage with Gabriel Morency is vented weeknights 11 p.m.-2 a.m. on TEAM 990 AM. This column appears bi-weekly. Comments: sportsrage@team990.com