CONGRATULATIONS CANADA

The greatest players in their sport do it when it matters most.

It doesn't matter if they played well, or poorly. They have the skill set to win a game at any time.

That's what Sidney Crosby did on Sunday afternoon to lead Canada to a 3-2 win over the USA and a gold medal.

Crosby had been a non-factor the entire game, failing to squeezing off two forgettble shots in regulation, including a flubbed breakaway. But in overtime, he made a play for the ages.

Crosby split a pair of defensemen as he sprinted into the USA's zone with the puck. He couldn't control the puck, and it went into the corner, but Jarome Iginla scooped it up, in part, because Crosby had occupied two defenders.

As he fell down, Iginla slid a pass to Crosby, who snapped a hard wrist shot between Ryan Miller's pads.

Suddenly, the man who had done nothing all game, created a moment that will last a lifetime for Canadians.

There's a still image that stays with you during the various slo-mo replays of New York Islanders goalie Dwayne Roloson's two remarkable saves against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night: The 40-year-old netminder clutching the top of the cage with his glove hand to swing his body across the crease and rob Todd Fedoruk of a goal.

It would be an incredible save on its own; combined with his goal-line stick save on Steve Downie a split second earlier, it becomes one of the best goaltending moments of the year:

Kudos to the on-ice officials and Toronto's video officials for getting the call correct.  

The second save is the more compelling highlight, but that stick save was of a Matrix/Neo quality of savvy confidence.

Roloson would make 24 saves in what turned out to be a 4-2 loss by the Islanders to the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning; none better than the two he made in the clip above. Miikka Kiprusoff has company in the "save of the year" competition.

While the son of the Maple Leafs GM is the latest, Canadian athletes have a long history of dealing with the stigma of revealing their homosexuality in the world of sports

Brendan Burke, the son of Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, talked with espn.com about the difficulties of coming out as a homosexual in the world of sports.

Brendan Burke's comments echo those of many gay and lesbian athletes that have been public identified, willingly and unwillingly, as being homosexual.

Here are a few of Canadian sports figures, past and present, who have come out:

John Damien - Although not a name known by most Canadians, John Damien changed the way human rights are viewed in this country. Once a highly-paid racetrack official in Ontario, Damien was fired from his position in 1975 for being homosexual. After a long career at the tracks, the Ontario Racing Commission offered Damien a letter of recommendation and $1,700 to go away quietly.

It's an offer Mr. Damien didn't take. Instead, he waged a decade-long war with the province and its human rights commission, trying to get his case heard. The fight sent Mr. Damien into bankruptcy, but he refused to drop his complaint.

"I won the day. I wouldn't buckle in on it and wouldn't disappear," Mr.Damien told The Globe and Mail in 1985. "If you stand up, you're not a loser."

Eventually, Mr. Damien won out - sexual orientation was added to the list of protected human rights in Ontario as a result of the case. He didn't get to enjoy his victory for long, however. Damien died of cancer in 1986.

Mark Tewksbury - The first Canadian athlete to voluntarily reveal his sexual orientation while still competing, Mark Tewksbury has long talked about his struggles in the world of sports. A multiple medalist as a swimmer at the Barcelona and Seoul Olympics, Mr. Tewksbury worked as a motivational speaker for a financial company before he was fired because of his sexual orientation.

Mr. Tewksbury continued to work as a motivational speaker and became an advocate for gay rights. He joined the board of directors for the 2006 World Outgames, held in Montreal, and wrote about the experience of being a gay athlete in his autobiography.

Nancy Drolet - Nancy Drolet won a silver medal as a member of the women's hockey team at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. She was a well-known hockey player, playing for Canada in six world championships and becoming Team Canada's third highest career scorer.

In 2002, she was dropped from the Olympic team. That same year, she married her long-time partner Nathalie Allaire in Quebec after the province legalized same-sex marriages.

Toller Cranston - Toller Cranston was a dominant force in Canadian figure skating during the 1970s. He held the title of Canadian national figure skating champion for half the decade (1971-76) and took home a bronze medal at the 1976 Olympics in Austria. (The gold medalist that year, Britain's John Curry, outed himself before the finals.) Mr. Cranston went on to become a commentator with the CBC, covering televised figure skating for the network.

Mr. Cranston wrote about his affairs with both men and women in his two autobiographies. In the second, 2007's When Hell Freezes Over, Should I Bring My Skates?, he discussed his relationship with Czechoslovakia's Ondrej Nepela. Mr. Cranston is one of the many Canadian figure skaters to publicly reveal his homosexuality, including Matthew Hall and David Wilson.

Mark Leduc - One of the few openly gay boxers, Mark Leduc was an underdog at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Surprising opponents and commentators alike, the light welterweight came away with a silver medal. He turned professional soon after the Games, only to retire in 1993.

After leaving the ring, Leduc announced that he was gay. He became an active supporter of gay rights and dedicated his time to helping those with AIDs in the Toronto area. Mr. Leduc died earlier this year. He was found in a hotel sauna in July, a victim of heat stroke.

NHL boss should be fired over his discredited agenda of expansion in souther United States

As we await the decision on the fate of the Phoenix Coyotes, there is an interesting angle to the story that should be front and centre -- why does the NHL continue to push its southern U.S. strategy when everything seems to suggest it hasn't worked?

More to the point, how has NHL commissioner Gary Bettman managed to keep his position despite numerous problems and fiascos south of the border? In just about any other job, he would have been turfed out with last week's salad.

Let's examine the facts. Phoenix is just the tip of the iceberg.

Nashville, Atlanta and Dallas are all experiencing financial problems. Tampa Bay and Columbus are right behind them, all feeling the pinch of heavy debt loads, difficult economic conditions and operating in markets where professional hockey ranks behind figure skating and kennel shows in terms of viewer interest.

If the NHL controls the franchises, like Bettman says, then why would you put one in a location that has neither an appetite for the product nor owners with the financial clout to carry the team through good times and bad?

Note that in each and every case, the teams are located in the U.S. With the exception of Edmonton, the Canadian clubs in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal all are in the top half of franchise values and have become successful organizations.

The Maple Leafs, despite their woeful record, are the most valuable franchise in the NHL and one of the most valuable teams in the world, although they trail the NFL, several professional soccer, MLB and NBA teams by a long shot.

And how about the owners? The NHL has argued despite the problems it faces in Phoenix, Jim Balsillie is not the "right" kind of person that should be running an NHL club.

The league claims he lacks integrity and good character, presumably characteristics he lost over the past five years since trying to acquire both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators.

Back then he was deemed to be OK. What has changed?

Nothing really, except for the fact the commish can't stand him since he spoiled his ludicrous plans to have the NHL take over the Coyotes by plotting with Jerry Moyes to put the team into bankruptcy protection.

But Bettman saw nothing wrong with breaking bread with owners such as John Rigas and William (Boots) Del Biaggio -- both convicted of fraud and currently residing in federal prisons.

Rigas and del Biaggio apparently demonstrated the good character necessary to be owners in the NHL.

There is a long list of NHL proprietors who have been convicted of criminal wrongdoing -- think back to Harold Ballard and Bruce McNall, and although we cannot blame Bettman for all of them, it demonstrates that the selection process is far from perfect.

In another profession, with different bosses, Bettman would be collecting unemployment insurance.

His handling of the labour strife with the players resulted in a lost season and further damaged the reputation of the league.

The lack of a big-time U.S. television contract is one of the key reasons the NHL has not been successful in the U.S., and we can point the finger of blame for that failure right at Bettman -- it was his job to get one and he has failed miserably.

In the end, should the NHL prevail in Phoenix and Mr. Bettman one-ups Mr. Balsillie, what will it all mean?

Well, for starters, the NHL and its owners will have to dig into their pockets to prop up the failing franchise again this season.

Last year's losses totalled around $60 million, and this year's uncertainty definitely will result in larger deficits.

The bigger question is: Just how long will the owners support Bettman's strategy before they pull the plug?

And how long will they support the man behind the strategy?

Bettman may win this battle in the desert, but his war in the U.S. is far from over.