Ladies night

You’re 18 years old, you just won a gold medal in the Olympic sport that is, by far, the most meaningful and popular in your country. And the icing on the cake is, you did it on your home soil in front of an arena full of ravenous fans.

What do you do?

This is not a trick question. You celebrate. Celebrate like you never have before, and as if you never will again for this reason.

The Canadian women’s hockey team did that on Thursday night after beating the United States 2-0 in the gold medal game at the Winter Olympics. But apparently they exceeded some unknown fun limit, because the International Olympic Committee has an issue with this party.

About a half hour after the game, after fulfilling all their media requirements, the Canadian women returned to the ice with champagne, beer and cigars.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a good start to a celebration. Players frolicked on the ice, drank, smoked and reveled in their success.

But the IOC declared that the partying was, “not what we want to see.”

Perhaps not, but it was what they wanted to do.

“If they celebrate in the changing room, that’s one thing,” IOC executive director Gilbert Felli said, “but not in public.”

Why not? It’s not like the arena was still full and they were pouring shots of Canadian Club whisky for 8-year-olds in the stands. And anyone who’s ever smelled a hockey changing room knows that’s no place to have a party.

Part of the reason that such a big deal is being made of this is that some of the players were not of legal drinking age in British Columbia, making them the first teenagers in the history of the world to partake in underage drinking.

Come on, let them have their fun. This was the culmination of years of hard work and preparation come to fruition. They earned this.

Cruel, cruel world

Three years ago, could any football fan have imagined the day when LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook were released? The fact that both received their walking papers this week speaks to the fact that the NFL is a cruel business. When players have outlived their usefulness to one team, no matter what they've done in their careers, they are expendable.

Tomlinson was the NFL's leading rusher in 2006 and '07, with 1,815 and 1,474 yards, respectively. He scored a combined 46 touchdowns for the Chargers in those two seasons and was named league MVP in '06.

Westbrook never was and never will be in Tomlinson's class, but for a few years, he was the Eagles' best player. He ran for 1,217 yards (the league's 10th-leading rusher) and seven touchdowns and caught 77 passes for 699 yards in 2006. That's 1,916 yards from scrimmage, folks. And he outdid himself in '07, establishing career highs with 1,333 yards rushing and 771 receiving yards on 90 catches for a grand total of 2,104 yards from scrimmage.

Two years later, both of these guys are unemployed.

Granted, that won't last. Both Tomlinson and Westbrook, especially Tomlinson, will have jobs come summertime. Neither is the stud he used to be, but they can contribute in a multi-back system.

Both Tomlinson and Westbrook were due huge roster bonuses in March, which obviously was a key factor in their release. Above all, the NFL, like other pro sports leagues, is a business, and the smart business decision for the Chargers and Eagles was to dump these guys.

It's just difficult to believe that these two former superstars have so quickly fallen from grace.

Former Bruin brewin' trouble

By the time you were old enough to fend for yourself, but still too wet behind the ears to understand it all, at some point, you likely were told to read everything fully before you sign your name to it.

Ed O'Bannon is probably wishing he'd listened.

In 1995, O'Bannon, and brother Charles O'Bannon, helped bring the UCLA men's basketball program back to prominence. He left UCLA after winning the national title in his junior year, and was selected No. 9 overall by the New Jersey Nets.

He never averaged more than six points in three NBA seasons, and eventually found his way to Europe to play. Nowadays, O'Bannon, who never earned his degree, sells cars in Las Vegas.

Why do I bring this up? Because O'Bannon is the lead plantiff on a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA. He feels he deserves a piece of the pie for the NCAA using his likeness in video games such as EA Sports' NCAA Basketball.

The NCAA contests O'Bannon lost those rights when he signed his scholarship, to which O'Bannon claims that paperwork was an inch think and he did it without a lawyer present.

Boo hoo. Cry me a river. You should have read it. Here's the bottom line: You never made it, and now you still want to cash in on your college days. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Go rub your championship ring before selling a BMW.

And by filing this suit, O'Bannon is pretty much ruining it for other small-time athletes who are thrilled to be using their own likeness in the game. I knew a kid who was the quarterback for Maine a few years back. He told me it was awesome to use himself in a video game. Yeah, it must be a thrill. But because of this lawsuit, those days are numbered.

One-man show

Those who really know hockey can attest to the value of an otherworldly goaltending performance. A hot goalie can lift an otherwise average team to new heights.

By no means am I a hockey expert, but that seems to be what's happening with the United State's men's team at the Winter Olympics.

Ryan Miller has made himself a household name. For those who hadn't heard of him, you ought to know him by now, especially after his 42-save performance on Sunday night in Team USA's upset win over gold-medal favorite Canada. The U.S. was out-shot 45-23 in that game, and with the talent Canada boasts, the Americans had no business winning.

But they did, and Miller, who will return to tending goal for the Buffalo Sabres next week, deserves much of the credit.

The guy has been on fire, and as hockey fans know, when a goaltender gets in this kind of a zone, there's no telling how far he can carry a team.