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Whether by good luck or bad management, I find myself sitting in familiar ground this week writing a sports column for vacationing Mark Bryson.. e â€" Actually, the timing couldn‘t be better because since Saturday, I‘ve been looking for a place to let off some steam, and what better spot than front and centre on the Chronicle The object of my wrath is the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which, given the opportune to lay a golden egg, instead came up crappers in its ruling on the Justine Blainey case. The commission had the chance to make giant strides for equality, and ended up passing the buck using blatant reverse discrimination. Justine Blainey, most of you know, is the young women who has made a career out of attempting to make the grade with boys hockey teams and after years of court battles, last week won that right by virtue of the provincial commission ruling. Fine. I have no problem with that, hockey is a sport where I feel that women should be allowed to compete against men, providing they are aware of, and play by, the rules of the game. No concessions. What outrages me is that, as a rider to the ruling, the Commission tosses in "protectionist"‘ statements that in effect, prohibit males from playing in say, women‘s hockey leagues, which are apparently "disadvantaged groups insofar as opportunities to play hockey are concerned." Bullfeathers. According to Fran Ryder, president of the Ontario Women‘s Hockey Association governing 4,300 players on 286 teams across the province, the ruling will definitely hurt women‘s hockey, taking its elite players and leaving teams poorer in depth and quality. And Ryder claims, likely accurately, that many of her teams could right now do battle with similar allâ€" male teams. That fact notwithstanding, I still support Blainey‘s claim to equal access, much the same as I supported local female high school soccer players who tried several years back to play with the boys teams. Certainly, lines must be drawn in sports like wrestling and others involving intimate contact, but by and large, team sports with proper equipment shouldn‘t offer any physical roadblocks â€" and if they do, then the participants must be willing to suffer the consequences. But it burns me to hear female pro golfers talk about challenging the men‘s tour â€" as long as they are given advantages to compensate for their shorter game. Or when female pro tennis players talk about wanting the kind of money men play for, when ticket sales, attendance and promotion hang on which male stars are on hand for particular tournaments. Is there reason to justify lessâ€"thanâ€" hourâ€"long female baseline battles being worth what a fiveâ€"set McEnroe vs. Lend] match would produce? If they want the same bucks, fine, go against the best, but don‘t expect concessions. Their brand of equality is one with favors granted â€" but none given. The Justine Blainey case can be used as much more than just a legal precedent, it will be intriguing to watch how successful she is in pursuing her career against male opponents. I wish her well, as I reiterate, I have always supported equal access in areas where common sense allows for it. But we‘ll also watch closely to see how the ruling affects women‘s hockey, participation in other sports, and whether the "protectionist" clauses, asinine as they are, receive any challenges. _ _ Don‘t think there won‘t be any, either. If Justine Blainey was from the secretarial pool, and aspired to a position as CEO of a company, it would be a wonderful opportunity. But how wonderful would the ruling be if it also stated that because the pool was a disadvantaged position, no CEO could apply to become a secretary? Real fair. Sure. No, the laurels this week go out to Justine Blainey, for standing up in the face of ridicule and standing up for what she believes. But a big dart in the backside for the Ontario Human Rights Commission for proving, once again, that equality and reverse discrimination are too often interchangeable. Jimmy Carter, the American president/crusader of discrimâ€" ination in the name of equality, would be flashing his pearlies over this one. _ _ _ Personally, I think it stinks. The skate‘s on the other foot, now Rick Campbell Chronicle Editor After being unceremoniously dumped from firstâ€" place last week in a homeâ€"ice loss to Elmira, Waterloo Siskins did the right thing. â€" The Waterloo club now enjoys a threeâ€"point bulge MacDonald. Siskin coach over Elmira and Stratford who are knotted at 38 _ MacDonald‘s efforts in con points apiece. Siskins will now rest up After a slugbh start Sunday, Siskins drove on to _ sees them play Brantford a take a 5â€"3 lead after two periods. Shawn DuBois had _ Saturday and back home a hat trick, Greg Munroe had two and rookie Jeff Cambri({ga Winter Hawks They picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and proceeded to rattle off three straight victories to regain solid footing atop the eightâ€"team Midwestern Junior B loop with a 20â€"3â€"1 record, good for 41 points. The first of those victories came against the very same Kings, 3â€"1 in St. Jacobs Wednesday night. Sisks then went into Owen Sound and came away with a 6â€"3 victory Friday, and Sunday at home doubled Listowel Cyclones 8â€"4. As defenders clear the goal mouth, University of Waterloo goaltender Mike Bishop makes a big save against Laurier last week. t io in oo on oi ohe ahe in ohe ohe oie ate oie oo ahe ate ate ate ote ahe ahe che ohe che ohh chh ie ce ohe ce h ce che chh c Rick Campbeti Chronicle Staff So much for the ol‘ scoring binge. Anyone attending last week‘s OUAA hockey game between local rivals WLU Golden Hawks and UW Warriors expecting a repeat of their earlier 7â€"7 sawâ€"off, came away disappointed as Warriors preâ€" vailed 4â€"2 at McCormick Arena. Siskins back 0o But for both coaches involved, there were no complaints about the lower score. â€" â€" ‘"We anticipated a lowerâ€"scoring game," said Hawk coach Wayne Gowing, whose troops enter the Christmas break with an uninspiring 5â€"6â€"1 mark. ‘"‘The checking was closer and the goaltending had to be better (than the 7â€"7 game.) Warrior coach Don McKee was just as happy with his team bottling Laurier defensively as he was with the two points from the victory, which raised UW‘s record to 7â€"2â€"2. ‘"We have a hockey team that prides itself on its goals against average â€" Mike Bishop had a 2.76 goals against last year and we won a lot of games because of sound defensive hockey from the goalie out...we had the feeling that we weren‘t accomplishâ€" ing that as well this year and have worked to improve defensively." Goals more scarce but coaches happy UW beats WLUVU WATERLOO CHRARONICLE, WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 9, 1987 â€" PAGE 27 Siskins will now rest up until the weekend which sees them play Brantford at home Friday, in Guelph Saturday and back home Sunday to the luckless In Owen Sound Friday, Dan Rintche had a pair while singles went to DuBois, Munroe, Brad Haelzle, and Chris Driscoll. Goaltender Gary Robbins sparkled, foiling Owen Sound on many occasions while stopping 32 shots. But the biggest victory of the week had to be Wednesday in St. Jacobs where Siskins gave Kings a taste of "visitors"‘ medicine. Rintche, Farquhar, and Haelzle tallied for Waterloo while Scott McPherson spoiled the shutout bid of goalie Scott MuDonald.'gi)nkin coach Gerry Harrigan praised MacDonald‘s efforts in contributing to the win. MacLean, Deric Farquhar and Bob Shelp. Three of four Listowel goals came on the powerplay, while Siskins outshot the visitors 30â€"18. Other Warrior marksmen were Jim David and Ian Pound while Greg Puhalski cashed in both Laurier markers in the opening period. o o McKee, although his troops are well beyond frontâ€" running York (12â€"0â€"2), is pleased with his club‘s first half of the season. ‘‘We played York twice already tying and losing a close one, and took three of four points from Laurier â€" both tough games. My only disappointment was the loss at home to University of Toronto â€" it‘s the only game we‘ve lost at home so far this year, and you never like to lose at home. Before resuming league play, both teams are slated for New Year‘s tournaments. Warriors will travel to Toronto for the North York Cup Dec. 28â€"30 before facing Western in a crucial opener Jan. 8, while Hawks travel to Prince Edward Island for games Jan. 2 and 3. That Warriors did Wednesday as they punctured the rejuvenated Hawks (5â€"1â€"1 in their last seven) in a roughâ€"andâ€"tumble contest. The game was tied 2â€"2 after one period, Warriors went ahead 3â€"2 in the second and with minutes remaining in the contest, Chris Glover scored his second of the night with a twoâ€"man advantage to ice the victory. Scott Gardner photo