The Universal Cynic

The following is a transcript from an audio clip that Lee Jenkins recorded for the New York Times website on late Tuesday:

Hi, this is Lee Jenkins reporting on the men’s Olympic hockey team in Turin, Italy. The result of all the upsets in the early rounds actually might have had a fringe benefit for the United States. In the quarterfinals the United States is going to face Finland, which isn’t regarded as one of the powerhouses, even though they’ve had a successful run in the Olympics. In many ways the United States would rather face a team like Finland than face Canada, which is known as the most dominant team in the field, even though they’ve lost twice.

By facing Finland, the U.S. could probably harbor some chances for an upset. Finland has only allowed two goals in the Olympics, but they don’t have that truly marquee goaltender. The Americans have had a hard time scoring goals in their first few games of the tournament, but if they can get past the Finland goaltender once or twice, they feel they can get the confidence to bust through.

The player the Americans will have to stop is Finland’s Teemu Selanne, who was actually on the verge of retirement a few years ago, but now has become the offensive star of these Olympics. Containing Selanne will be key for the Americans to advance to the semi-finals, and to have a chance at a medal.

Good luck to you!

UPDATE: The U.S. fell to Finland 4-3 early this afternoon. Doug Weight, feel free to resume your ping-pong.