The Mighty Ducks play the Blackhawks tonight, and in
Chicago, Brian Hanley writes that "the shame here is that
two of the NHL's best players," Mighty Ducks LW Paul Kariya
and RW Teemu Selanne will be at the United Center, "and
short of Selanne arriving for the game in a wedding dress,
no one will pay them much attention." Kariya, who said he
is "more than willing" to take on a larger promotional role
for the league, said, "You can't take it personally. ... All
I try to do is go out and play hard every night. I don't
really think about (exposure). You just take whatever comes.
... Sometimes (sensationalism) sells -- like [Dennis]
Rodman, for example. I think hockey players in general are
a little more low-key." Many of Selanne's sponsorship
opportunities are in his native Finland where he "is in high
demand." Selanne: "There's not too many sports heroes in
Finland." But Hanley writes that the league "should be
thinking long and hard about why fans are not flocking to
see these two top talents. ... [When] Penny Hardaway's li'l
puppet friend is better-known in this country than some of
the NHL's best and brightest, the league better start
pulling some strings of its own on Madison Avenue and get
its stars some gigs" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 10/21).
