WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY PLAYS TO RAVE REVIEWS

     SI's E.M. Swift on the "ill-timed, underexposed" World Cup
of Hockey: "If you remember what games were like in the old six-
team NHL, the World Cup of Hockey was your chance to relive the
past. ... The good news is that this tournament's format will be
used" at the '98 Olympics. Swift: "They are skills that deserve
center stage" (SI, 9/16 issue).  ESPN's Charley Steiner, on
Tuesday's Canada-U.S. World Cup of Hockey Finals Game One: "It
was hockey at its most intense beauty" (ESPN's Charley Steiner,
"SportsCenter," ESPN, 9/11). The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL's David
Shoalts notes a survey of hockey people, players and coaches
affiliated with the World Cup, who suggest improvements for
future games: confine the tournament to fewer cities, play more
games in Europe, and adopt a tournament format that produces a
Final Four (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 9/12).