Love on and off the court

Cartoon by Kelsey Hipkin

Valentines Day is coming up sports fans!

Time for Cupid to dust off the old bow and give couples that shot in the ass to make lovely-dovey dinners and share roses, wine, and maybe a little afternoon delight. It’s a holiday that brings on not only throes of passion but also throes of hate and parties dedicated to those that have disbanded it altogether. But in the spirit of all that is red and fluffy (aside from those special handcuffs you’ve been saving up for Feb.14) The Reflector is showcasing the top five power couples in sports. There are couples that like to do it on ice, couples that like to rip off their shirts once they’ve scored and couples that like keep a few extra balls in their pockets. So without further ado, let the games begin.

5. Andrew Ference and Krista Bradford Ference– Edmonton-born Andrew was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins before being traded to the Calgary Flames. He was a fan and media favourite in Calgary and was a part of the Flames run to the Stanley Cup playoffs in ’04. He was traded to Boston in 2007. Krista was an X-Games snowboarder and an alternate on the U.S. Snowboarding Team for the Nagano Olympics.

4. Jamie Sale and David Pelletier-Two skaters meet, become partners, win a gold medal and live happily ever after. No, this isn’t the synopsis for The Cutting Edge, it’s Canada’s 2002 Olympic sweethearts figure skaters Sale and Pelletier. The pair seemed a sure thing for gold when a judging controversy dropped them to second. The next day the judge came clean and the pair took the gold in a tie with Russia. The skating gold was only Canada’s third in the Olympics. The pair married in 2005 and now skate professionally.

3. Brett Hedican and Kristi Yamaguchi– Continuing with a little love on ice we turn to beauty meets brawn with figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and hockey player Brett Hedican. Yamaguchi has an Olympic gold medal to her credit from the ’92 Olympics. She’s won two World Figure Skating Championships and can even do her thing off the ice, as she was the celebrity winner of Dancing With the Stars in 2008. Hedican has played with the Blues, Canucks, Panthers and Hurricanes and is sporting a Ducks jersey these days. He won the Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006 and even has a day named after him, Brett Hedican day is August 12 in his hometown of North St. Paul, Minn. The couple has two daughters.

2. Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf– In their hey day Agassi and Graf ruled from their throne atop the tennis courts of the nineties and into the new millennium. Agassi has 68 singles titles and sits at third in the all-time earnings list with over 30-million bucks. The Las Vegas native also has a gold medal under his belt from the 1996 Olympics. He retired in 2006. Andre was definitely a hit with the ladies, first with his streaming long hair and stylish headbands and then with his freshly-shaven dome. German -born Graf has 107 titles to her name. Tennis and feminist icon Billie Jean King was once quoted saying, Steffi is definitely the greatest women’s tennis player of all time.” She is the only woman to have won all four Grand Slam singles tourneys at least four times.

1. Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm– In a pairing of rawhide meets the pitch (soccer pitch that is) we have Nomar and Mia. He won two AL batting titles with the Red Sox with whom he made his major league debut. Currently a free agent the six-time all-star won rookie of the year in 1997. Garciaparra has the distinction of being one of twelve players to hit two grand slams in one game, he accomplished the feat with the Red Sox May 10, 1999. Hamm was named women’s FIFA World Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002. She played for the U.S. National Team winning gold, silver and gold in the Atlanta, Sydney and Athens Olympics respectively. The couple has twin girls.