Für unsere Gäste » lot of people to understand, Levy

TORONTO -- Olympic triathlon champion Simon Whitfield isnt ready to officially retire just yet. The 38-year-old native of Kingston, Ont., said Tuesday that he considers himself "semi-retired," and theres just a "10 per cent" chance hell return to full-time racing. "Im leaving the door open simply because I dont want to pull a Brett Favre and say Im done and then come back," Whitfield said at a Toronto Triathlon Festival news conference. "Maybe I just havent come to terms with saying Fully retired, so Im putting semi in front of it to give myself an out." Whitfield said although hes currently training at less than 50 per cent, he could still decide to race if he so desired. But where it would normally take him 12 weeks to prepare for a competition, Whitfield said hed likely need between 16 and 20 weeks to ensure hes able to cover a triathlons 1.5-kilometre swim, 40-kilometre bike ride and 10-kilometre run at a high level. Trouble is, that would also mean being away for his wife, Jennie, and their two daughters, Pippa and Evelyn. "My family is my priority now and spending more time with them," Whitfield said. "I know what it takes to be at that top level and I really didnt like when people downplayed how much it took so now for me to do both is very difficult. "If I can find a place where I can balance it then Ill do that. Right now I cant so Im not going to." And time is no ally. The longer Whitfield doesnt compete, the harder it will be to close the gap between himself and the younger members of the national squad, headed up by Kyle Jones, 28, of Oakville, Ont. "I know Kyle has taken his racing to a level now that would be very hard to get back to," Whitfield said. "I think the rest of that team is stepping up so I think theyll close that door pretty quickly if I didnt get back into it very soon." Whitfield plans to compete in the Toronto Triathlon Festival on July 21. He took part in the inaugural event last year, which was his final tuneup for the 2012 London Summer Games. "As of right now I have no races on the calendar other than trying to beat my record from last year," he said. "I will be competing to be in it and not be embarrassed by some young guy." Whitfield opened his fourth career Olympic competition as Canadas flag-bearer in London. But he suffered a broken collarbone in a bike crash during the triathlon. It was a tough way to go out for the 2000 Olympic gold medallist, who also won silver at the 2008 Games in Beijing. But if Whitfields full-time racing career is over, hes more than at peace with it. "Thats the beauty of it ... I could never have asked for more," he said. "I went to four Olympic Games, I got to carry the flag and, oh, I won two medals. "Its beyond anything I ever imagined. I mean, I ran around in a Speedo, its kind of ridiculous when you think about it. But I got to do that for a living, see the world and do something I loved doing. If thats it, thats it." Alan Trivett, Triathlon Canadas executive director, said Whitfield will forever be an ambassador for the sport in this country. "I dont necessarily look for Simon to come back and be on our national team and our Olympic team as necessarily the ultimate goal," he said. "There are other disciplines and other distances that Simon could race on. "But Simon is bigger than the sport here in Canada and the more exposure he has, the more exposure the sport has so for me its not necessarily about him coming back. Simon Whitfield is the greatest ambassador we could ever have." However, Trivett admits the sport will have a huge hole to fill when Whitfield retires as an active triathlete. "Obviously, there will be a void because so many kids coming through look at it as, If Simon can do it, maybe I can do it too," he said. "The longer that goes, the next generation will know less and less about what Simon has done and its important we capitalize on that legacy over the next few years." When Whitfield does step away from racing triathlons, dont expect him to become inactive. The idea of competing in Iroman events -- 3.8-kilometre swim, 180-kilometre bike and marathon -- has its appeal. So, too, does playing recreational soccer, which Whitfield does back in Victoria in a league that also features the father of NBA star Steve Nash. "It (retirement from triathlons) will probably happen on the soccer field when I will blow an Achilles or something," Whitfield said with a chuckle. "But I still want to be able to run around at 68 like Steve Nashs dad and be able to dominate the young guys." Deandre Ayton Suns Jersey . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. 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The NHL is back on ESPN, for a limited time only.More than a decade after the league and the top U.S. sports network split up, theyre reunited for the World Cup of Hockey. Starting with exhibition games Thursday and continuing Sept. 17 when the tournament begins in Toronto, live games with NHL players will be all over the ESPN airwaves for the first time since 2004.ESPN won the exclusive rights to the two-week tournament over NBC, the NHLs current U.S. broadcast partner. The World Cup on ESPN has reignited the debate over whether hockey needs the network in order to grow in popularity in the U.S.I think its good for hockey in many ways, San Jose Sharks and Canadian defenseman Brent Burns said. Obviously, they reach a huge amount of households, and a lot of people watch it if youre a hockey fan or not. It may bring in more people, let them see how great the game is and get them addicted to hockey like the rest of us.Commissioner Gary Bettman has been steadfast in his support of NBC, which has showcased NHL coverage on its main over-the-air channel and on cable via the NBC Sports Network. It has domestic TV rights for NHL games through 2021 to feature the likes of Hockey Hall of Fame honoree Mike Emrick, its top play-by-play announcer, and has promoted the sport with gusto through outdoor games and national playoff coverage that now rivals Canada in volume.But, its not ESPN, with its deep connection to American fans of all sports.When you walk into a bar, you walk into a restaurant, you walk into any place in the United States or basically the world, ESPNs on, former NHL coach and current ESPN analyst Barry Melrose said. We still have that over any other sports network in the world: the fact that were on just about everywhere all the time.Thats part of the goal with the World Cup: dropping high-level hockey with 150 of the best players into the crowded fall sports calendar to attract viewers who arent hard-core hockey fans. Bettman said last year that the NHL sees the World Cup as an opportunity to rekindle `SportsCenter interest.As SportsCenter anchor and noted puckhead Steve Levy points out, Melrose is ESPNs only hockey analyst compared to countless experts for football, baseball and basketball. Hockey has been shuffled behind the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball and soccer on ESPN, which has the rights to those sports.For this month, though, the NHL will get top billing on ESPN, to the delight of Levy and many of his colleagues in Bristol, Connecticut.Weve tried to do the best we can without having the games, said Levy, who said his reaction to the World Cup on ESPN was tears of joy. Were not afraid to lead `SportsCenter with it if its great hockey game or a specific play, something out of the ordinary. ... Hockey doominates top 10 plays on a regular basis.ddddddddddddThe NHL, of course, was once a fixture on the network when Gary Thorne and Bill Clement were the top broadcast team and Bill Pidto and John Buccigross hosted NHL 2Night. Thorne, now the play-by-play announcer for the Baltimore Orioles, said people approach him every day to tell him they loved ESPNs hockey coverage and miss him calling the sport.You did have a national sports audience that was there and I think people who were not hockey fans but were sports fans were brought into the game because it was on ESPN, said Thorne, who wont be calling World Cup games but isnt closing the door on doing hockey again at some point. They werent going out looking for hockey. It came to them. And many of them found they really liked it.The popular National Hockey Night music will be back -- Why mess with a masterpiece? Levy said. Levy, Melrose, Buccigross and former NHL goalie Kevin Weekes will call the games.Last year, NBC said other programming commitments made the World Cup challenging, and NHL Players Association executive director Don Fehr said going to ESPN was a vote of confidence the network would have a successful national broadcast.ESPN executive vice president of programming and scheduling Burke Magnus didnt want to speculate about getting the NHL back full time in a few years.We are excited to televise the World Cup of Hockey and be back in the professional hockey business, Magnus said. There are many NHL fans in Bristol. As far as rights are concerned, however, the next round is years down the road.Levy doesnt believe the World Cup is an audition for those rights, but said theres value to ESPN being good for the NHL.How can you be a big-time sport in the states and not be on ESPN? I think thats the part thats tough for a lot of people to understand, Levy said. I can tell you the players themselves get frustrated. Theyre on the road, in hotels, and they cant watch their own games, they cant watch action from around the league. Some of the people that have the (NBC Sports Network) channel, they dont know what number it is. It just seems very different than ESPN where you know exactly where youre going at all times.Though the NHLs recent deal with Sportsnet in Canada continued the trend of exclusive TV rights, Melrose and Levy suggested ESPN and NBC could at some point share coverage like other sports.Theres no reason it shouldnt be (on ESPN), Burns said. Its the best sport in the world, so youd think theyd want to have it.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno---This story corrects the surname of Kevin Weekes. ' ' '