Hockey

Only one team in men's Olympic hockey history has been able to win a gold medal on home ice and that team - the United States - accomplished the feat twice (1960 and 1980). Indeed, the Americans had an extraordinary run in 2002 as well, going undefeated in the preliminary round to win their pool and winning both quarter-final and semi-final matches before falling to Canada in the final.

So Olympics on North American ice have been very, very good to the Americans, something general manager Brian Burke and coach Ron Wilson are acutely aware of. Burke is doing his utmost to play down the Americans as a factor in the tournament, suggesting the outside world gives them no chance, even if they, internally, believe they can be competitive.

Fact is, the outside world likes the Americans' chances just fine. They begin with some solid options in goal, including the reigning Vézina Trophy winner, Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins. Thomas has a great deal of experience internationally after playing years in Finland before finally getting his NHL break. Depending upon how Thomas's year starts, another intriguing choice will be the Buffalo Sabres' Ryan Miller, who has a tendency to run hot and cold. Miller, when on his game, is about as dangerous a goaltender as there is in the NHL - and in a tournament that features a single-elimination knockout format, he would only need to catch fire for a week or so to carry a team to a gold medal.

Defensively, the aging warhorse, Chris Chelios, will play an off-ice role for the team, but his Detroit Red Wings' teammate Brian Rafalski, who plays on the No..1 pair for the Stanley Cup finalist, figures to be an impact player with his ability to move the puck and find a teammate in open ice.

Burke stresses the U.S. team's youth, and during the Stanley Cup playoffs, it was a point made by the Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane as well: As good as the United States may be in 2010, its young core of players will be entering its prime by 2014 when the Olympics will be held in Sochi, Russia - an event the NHL has as yet not committed to.

Kane is the undisputed leader of that emerging nucleus, and so far, all the doubts about how his comparatively modest size would adapt to the NHL's robust style of play have been put to rest: There's been no problem at all. Kane's crew will also feature Phil Kessel, who had a breakout season for the Bruins last year, and Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown, an emerging power forward and one of the NHL's least well-known stars.

All in all, Burke's unstated goal - of lying in the weeds, flying under the radar - makes a lot of sense in theory, but almost no one involved in the actual Olympic exercise is buying it for a minute.