The NHL's Great experiment

Let the comparisons begin.

National Hockey League superstars are making their first foray into Olympic competition, similar to the "Dream Team" approach of stockpiling National Basketball Association All-Stars on the United States' squad for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.And while it may not be fair, this is one of the most anticipated hockey tournaments in the history of the sport - an eight-team race for Olympic gold involving some of the world's best and highest paid professional athletes.

It also represents the best opportunity to inject some octane into what has been thus far (Picabo excepted) a vanilla Olymics for the folks back in the States. Oh, and did we mention that CBS could use a good kickstart for its sagging ratings too.

The original Dream Team was as advertised, featuring the likes of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and the Utah Jazz's duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton.

The NHL Olympians, which include names like Gretzky, Hull, Lindros, Ritcher, Roy, Forsberg, Federov, Bure and Hasek are a star-studded, 125-player package spread over not just one national team but many - mostly among the six medal contenders of the United States, Canada, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic and defending Olympic champion Sweden.

"I know there'll be tendency for some people in this country to look at our 1998 Olympic hockey squad as another `Dream Team' like in basketball at Barcelona and Atlanta," said David Ogean, executive director of USA Hockey.

"This, of course, isn't the case because the U.S. never has dominated the world in hockey as it has in basketball. So, we prefer to look at the '98 Olympics as the `Dream Tournament.' It should be as good as any ever held because the change in the hockey landscape means Canada no longer is a slam dunk to win."

The U.S. proved just that in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey championship, when the Americans shocked their neighbors to the north by claiming the best-of-three series. The victory solidified the Americans' belief in themselves; it gave Canada the impetus to improve and regain its worldwide bragging rights. Here's a quick look at the similarities and differences between the Dream Teams of hockey and basketball.

- SEASONS: Basketball is a winter sport . . . except when it comes to the Olympics. The sport has long been a part of the Summer Games schedule, which make it possible for collegiate and professional players to compete during their regular seasons and then come together as an Olympic team.