The reports of Wayne Gretzky's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Gretzky, who turned 38 years old on January 26, led the North American team to an 8-6 victory over the World at the 49th annual NHL All-Star Game. The Great One collected a goal and two assists to help pace the attack, earning MVP honors in the process. And somewhere a young man yelled "Yee-haw! I'm Wayne Gretzky! Yee-haw!" Wait a minute, that was me. Never mind.

Along with the honor of being named MVP, Gretzky was also presented with a 1999 Dodge Durango. Apparently, a Durango is some sort of vehicle. I thought it was one of them wild Australian dogs. Don't kid yourself, them boys is crazy. They're deadly dangerous. A Durango ate me baby.

Gretzky estimates that he's won 16 or 17 cars during his illustrious playing career. No word on how many wild dogs he's won. He's given all the other cars away, but plans on keeping this latest prize.

"I want to keep this to be a reminder of this game," said Gretzky. "I had a wonderful weekend in the city of Tampa Bay, and it was a fun game. After 21 years of professional hockey, 20 in the NHL, I just feel like this is the one thing I want to keep; I want to have it and I want to remember it. I don't want to forget it."

The game itself was a beautiful display of offensive creativity. The clubs waged a wide-open, skating affair that produced more excitement than Starsky and Hutch's two-part Las Vegas adventure.

Rob Blake by Meredith Martini

The game's 14 goals were scored by 14 different players. That's odd. Gretzky, Mike Modano, Luc Robitaille, Paul Kariya, Mark Recchi, Ray Bourque, Rob Blake, and Darryl Sydor connected for North America, while Marco Sturm, Teemu Selanne, Pavol Demitra, Mattias Ohlund, Mats Sundin, and Sergei Zubov provided the World goals.

The game was explosive from the opening faceoff. Each team had glorious scoring chances early. Alexei Yashin banked an apparent tap-in off the side of the North American net only moments before Eric Lindros cruised down the slot and one-timed a snapper into Dominik Hasek's chest. It was clear from the start that generating goal scoring chances would not be a problem.

North America got on the board first at 4:09 of the opening period. Chris Pronger ventured deep into the left wing corner of the World zone and threw the puck to the net. The centering attempt hit a defender and came directly to Robitaille in front. Dominik Hasek denied Lucky Luc's shot, but the cagey winger tied up Nicklas Lidstrom long enough for Modano to barge in and chip the loose rebound over a sprawled Hasek for the 1-0 lead.

The World knotted things at 9:42 of the first. The goal was credited to Sturm, but should have rightfully gone to Peter Forsberg. The slick Swede was gliding in at the right wing circle when he attempted to lead Sturm with a backdoor pass to the left post. Blake managed to disrupt the pass, but inadvertently deflected the puck between the pads of Martin Brodeur. Sturm pulled the trigger and would have scored had the puck reached him, so that must have been enough to convince the official scorer.

It didn't take North America long to recapture the lead. Just 24 seconds after the World tied it, Robitaille put North America back in front at 2-1. The goal came as a result of a three-on- two break. Wendel Clark drove the net on left wing and brought Alexei Zhitnik with him, isolating Sergei Zubov on the right side against Jeremy Roenick and Robitaille. Roenick froze Zubov and then dropped a pass back to Lucky Luc who laced a shot through Hasek's five-hole.

Brodeur preserved the 2-1 lead by stoning Martin Straka on two shots from the low slot after Demitra set up the little Czech center with a swell pass from behind the cage. Hasek responded with a huge save of his own, turning aside a two-on-none at the expense of John LeClair and Brendan Shanahan. Shanny sort of messed up. He carried the puck on right wing and simply waited too long to move it to LeClair. By the time the pass arrived, LeClair was at the lip of the goal crease and could only redirect a shot into Hasek's stacked pads.

Mark Recchi by Meredith Martini

North America stretched its lead to 4-1 before the end of the first period thanks to two goals within a 33-second span. Kariya swatted a rebound behind Hasek at 16:45 and Recchi converted a two-on-one with Gretzky at 17:18. Alexei Zhitnik was the poor soul back on the two-on-one. Gretzky abused him with a flawless pass. All Recchi had to do was put his stick on the ice.

The first period began on even terms, but North America clearly took control over the second half. The North Americans held a 4- 1 lead on the scoreboard and a 19-9 advantage in shots.

The second period opened much as the first ended. Only 17 seconds were gone when Modano won a faceoff in the World's right wing circle to Bourque at the right point. The future Hall-of- Famer eyed up the net as he moved to the top of the circle and then blew a wrist shot over Arturs Irbe's left shoulder to put North America ahead 5-1.

Only 56 seconds later, Gretzky ran the lead to 6-1. It was another two-on-one with Recchi, except this time Gretzky kept the puck the entire time on right wing and hammered a slap shot between Irbe's pads.

Just when it seemed as if North America would make it a laugher, the World came alive. Selanne started things off by storming wide on right wing around Scott Stevens and taking a remarkable backhand saucer pass from Yashin before wiring a perfectly placed wrist shot short-side over Ron Tugnutt's left shoulder. The goal came at 2:02.

Alexei Zhitnik by Meredith Martini

Demitra then made it 6-3 at 8:59 courtesy of a dazzling passing play. Sundin started things from beneath the goal line by slipping a pass out front to Zhitnik pinching down the slot. As Tugnutt and the North American defense converged on Zhitnik, the Buffalo blueliner spotted Demitra wide open at the right post for an easy tap-in.

Blake and Ohlund would later exchange goals less than a minute apart to make the score 7-4 after two periods of play. Blake's was an innocent looking wrist shot that somehow found its way through Irbe's pads. Ohlund's was a much better shot, as he stepped up from the right point and one-timed a Sundin pass just inside the left post.

Sundin and Ohlund hooked up again at 2:57 of the third to get the World within two at 7-5. Jaromir Jagr sparked the play by cycling out of the right wing corner and finding Ohlund coming late. The Swedish defender then made a sharp cut into the slot and dished a sweet pass to Sundin at the left post. Ed Belfour anticipated the play and got over in a hurry, but Sundin showed unbelievable patience and skill in pulling the puck closer to his skates to change the angle and then firing a shot under Belfour's right arm. You can't teach that sort of thing. It's all instinct. Sundin's got the goods.

The final two goals of the game were accounted for by Dallas defensemen. Sydor streaked in from the left point and drilled a marvelous cross-ice pass from Modano that clipped Teppo Numminen's stick and skipped by Nikolai Khabibulin short-side.

At 4:20, just 17 seconds after Sydor cashed in, Zubov made the score 8-6 with a tremendous highlight-reel goal. Dimitri Khristich kept the puck in high on the left wing boards and slid a pass across to Zubov at the right point. Zubie waltzed around a charging Gretzky and headed down the slot. Pronger stepped up to meet him only to have the Russian slip around him with a lightning quick backhand move. Zubov then turned the puck to his forehand and buried a wrister over Belfour's glove. The puck actually got lodged behind the back crossbar. It was something special.

There was still plenty of time left on the clock to mount a comeback, but the World really couldn't muster much else in the way of offense. It was actually the North American squad that controlled play over the final 15 minutes. Only the astounding goaltending acrobatics of Khabibulin kept things close.

Lines

North America

OFFENSE (lw-c-rw)

Fleury - Gretzky - Recchi
Kariya - Modano - Amonte
Tkachuk - Roenick - Primeau
LeClair - Lindros - Shanahan
Clark, Robitaille

NOTES: Roenick would often double-shift between Clark and Robitaille. And both Recchi and Fleury have been rumored to be heading to Broadway, so this game could have been seen as an audition with Gretzky. If that was the case, either one would seem to be a perfect fit. The threesome worked wonderfully together.

DEFENSE

Sydor - Bourque
Pronger - MacInnis
Stevens - Murphy
Blake

NOTES: All seven guys played about the same amount of time and were worked in and out on a pretty regular rotation. The pairings listed were just the first ones I saw.

WORLD

OFFENSE (lw-c-rw)

Demitra - Straka - Jagr
Naslund - Sundin - Forsberg
Khristich - Holik - Bondra
Krivokrasov - Yashin - Selanne
Sturm

NOTES: Sturm took turns with Naslund skating the left side for Sundin and Forsberg. The World was short one forward because a replacement couldn't be found in time for the injured Viktor Kozlov.

DEFENSE

Lidstrom - Numminen
Zubov - Zhitnik
Norstrom - Hamrlik
Ohlund

NOTES: Remember what I said up above about the North American defense? Well, same goes for the World...

Also, the lone World power play featured Jagr, Selanne, and Forsberg up front, with Lidstrom and Zubov at the points.

Impressive Performances

NORTH AMERICA

Wayne Gretzky (1-2-3): The Great One was a deserving MVP winner. He taught all the youngsters a few lessons on how to orchestrate a proper two-on-one and distributed the puck all game long with his usual legendary flair.

Mike Modano (1-3-4): Mikey Mo was high pointman for North America, but Gretzky is Gretzky. Any other year and Modano's four points would have been enough for a car. Paul Kariya and Tony Amonte also deserve recognition. Combined with Modano, the trio formed the game's best line, not to mention what could be the fastest unit ever assembled since the junior days of Sergei Fedorov, Pavel Bure, and Alexander Mogilny.

Darryl Sydor (1-0-1): The Dallas defender gets listed for a move he broke out in the second period. Sydor, a lefty shot, was carrying the puck wide on the right wing of the World zone when he pulled the puck behind him and then backhanded it off the inside of his right skate up to himself. And he did it in full flight without ever breaking stride. It was crafty. While not exactly Owen Nolan calling his shot over Hasek's glove, rest assured kids everywhere will be trying to master this All-Star gem.

WORLD

Mats Sundin by Meredith Martini

Mats Sundin (1-3-4): The Big Swede was a might impressive. Not many players can appear as dominant as Sundin when he's at his best.

Sergei Zubov (1-0-1): This was Zubov's kind of game. There isn't a better skating defenseman in the world. He's just effortless on his blades. And his goal was simply amazing. Easily the goal of the game.

Nikolai Khabibulin (14 saves): Khabby was the best goaltender. The only goal he allowed was deflected off one of his own men. He stopped everything else shot at him, including breakaways from Keith Primeau and Brendan Shanahan, and a flurry of unreal scoring chances from the Gretzky-Recchi-Fleury line.

Top Goals

1. Sergei Zubov, World: Zubie's goal was beautiful. If it was any prettier I'd have married it. Maybe move out to the country, start a family, raise a few pucks of our own. Seriously, how many times have I done that joke? If you're keeping track at home, feel free to let me know.

2. Teemu Selanne, World: This was a great showcase of what Selanne's all about. He moved the puck to his centerman, Yashin, at center ice and then used his powerful stride to blow right past Scott Stevens. Yashin read it properly and led Teemu down the wing with a swell backhand flip. Selanne finished the all-around splendid play with a precision wrister that left no room for error.

3. Mark Recchi, North America: Recchi gets the glory, but it was Gretzky's pass that made this one special. No one works a two-on-one better than number 99. Two things come into play. First, whether or not to make the pass. And second, the exact time to move the puck. Gretzky held onto the rock for an eternity on Recchi's goal before setting the table for an easy tap at the edge of the crease. Then in the second period, on another two-on-one with Recchi, Gretzky read that Mattias Ohlund was staying back to play the pass so he took the shot himself and beat Irbe five-hole. It was an instructional video for playmakers everywhere.

Top Saves

Nikolai Khabibulin by Meredith Martini

1. Nikolai Khabibulin, World: Khabby was sensational. His best save of the night came during a frantic shift in the third period that saw each member of the Gretzky-Recchi-Fleury line get two quality scoring chances. The most serious of which came when Gretzky wheeled out from behind the cage on the left wing side and threaded a pass through the crease to Fleury at the right post. Before little Theo could ring it up, Khabby slid across with his left pad and walled him off. Khabby's cool like that.

2. Arturs Irbe, World: Irbe gave up a couple soft ones, but he rose to the occasion on a two-on-one against Kariya and Amonte. The Mighty Duckling carried the puck on the left side and made the pass across to a streaking Amonte on the right. Irbe didn't panic. He calmly shuffled over and took Amonte's lethal snapper off his left arm, making the save seem routine. Irbe like wall. Chomp, chomp, chomp. Irbe like wall.

3. Dominik Hasek, World: Even though Shanahan kind of screwed up, Hasek still deserves credit for stopping him and LeClair on the two-on-none. It was a nice save.

Top Hits

1. Jeremy Roenick, North America: Hell, this was the only hit. JR Superstar rubbed Alexei Zhitnik into the backboards with a solid check early in the first period. He didn't crush him, but it still counts.

Wacky Game Facts

* The All-Star MVP award was the third of Gretzky's career, tying him with Mario Lemieux for the most ever. Gretzky's previous MVPs came in 1983 and 1989.

* Gretzky's three points added to his career All-Star scoring record. He now has 25 points (13-12-25) in 18 career games. In case you're wondering, Mario Lemieux owns the better points-per- game average, collecting 20 (11-9-20) in just eight games.

* Gretzky's two assists gave him 12 for his All-Star career, tying him with Adam Oates, Gordie Howe, Joe Sakic, and Mark Messier for the most ever.

* Irbe's assist on Selanne's second-period goal was the first ever recorded by a goaltender in All-Star Game history.

* Bourque's goal 17 seconds into the middle frame was the fastest ever in All-Star Game history from the start of a period.

* Ken Hitchcock was behind the North American bench and earned his first ever coaching win in an All-Star situation. The victory raised his career record in mid-season classics to 1-11.

* North America is now 2-0 versus the World, having won last year's game by an 8-7 score.

* Joe Sakic wasn't invited to play. Now that's wacky.

* At some point in the second period, I seem to have misplaced my pants...

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