Super Mario

One of hockey's greatest players and finest ambassadors, Mario Lemieux, has announced his retirement (for the 2nd+ time). This is a little outside of my usual subject matter here, but Lemieux's outstanding career and determination deserve mention. His stats are untouchable by pretty much anyone but Gretzky, with a points per game of 1.88, just behind Gretzky's 1.92, by my calculation. His commitment to the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh has been unending and that's something very rare in today's professional sports. The guy is the Lance Armstrong of hockey, having fought back from Hodgkin's disease to return to the NHL. And his leadership for Team Canada has elevated some of the best players in the world to achieve great things in international competitions - the 1987 Canada Cup final is one of my earliest enduring memories of watching sports, and Mario was there right up to the big Olympic gold medal victory in 2002 (let's hope for more of the same next month!). A tip of the hat to Mario Lemieux, a true class act.