Never mind Quebec icing its own hockey team. How about British Columbia fielding a baseball team?
Of 22 Canadians to have played in the major leagues this season, eight hail from the Pacific province, an impressive .364 average.
A Team B.C. batting lineup features a heart of the order certain to cause palpitations in opposing pitchers -- Jason Bay (Trail), Justin Morneau (New Westminster) and Aaron Guiel (Vancouver).
On the mound, an impressive pitching rotation could be built around right-hander Rich Harden (Victoria) and left-hander Jeff Francis (Vancouver), with rookie Scott Mathieson (Vancouver) as a third starter.
The bullpen offers a tag-team of righty Ryan Dempster (Sechelt) and lefty Adam Loewen (Surrey).
Mr. Bay is a two-time all-star, while Mr. Morneau was named the American League most valuable player this season.
To no one's surprise, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame recently named Mr. Morneau as winner of the Tip O'Neill Award as the top Canadian player of the year.
Among the runners-up was a little-known ballplayer from Prince George.
The teenaged catcher has all the tools: a cannon for an arm and an uncanny ability to get on base. Yet, despite obvious skill and an eagerness to master the position, this is one player who will never be drafted by a major-league club.
Amanda Asay, 18, was amazed to see her name listed on the Tip O'Neill ballot alongside those of celebrated stars such as Mr. Bay and Mr. Morneau.
"Nobody knows who I am," she told her hometown newspaper. "Guaranteed, I rank last when you compare salaries."
Ms. Asay was nominated for the award, named for a 19-century baseball star from Woodstock, Ont., on the strength of her performance at the women's baseball World Cup last summer. The teenager had nine hits in 18 at-bats, a sterling .500 average in a game in which even the greatest hitters fail two times out of three.
Canada took the bronze medal at the tournament in Taiwan in August.
The only Canadian to be named to the World Cup all-star team was a recent high school graduate with honours in slugging.
In spite of Prince George's short playing season, Ms. Asay has emerged as the future of women's baseball in Canada.
The summer game is her birthright. Her father played baseball, her older brother played baseball, and she has found a diamond to be a girl's best friend ever since she first took a swat at a ball perched atop a tee.
Most of her teammates growing up were boys, and, at the start of every season, it seemed she had to endure the whining complaint, "I don't want the girl on my team."
She made it a goal to change minds before the season ended. "I always felt I had a little something extra to prove," she said.
As a catcher, she is the one player who faces her teammates. It is the most demanding position in the sport, physically gruelling on the knees due to constant crouching, a hypochondriac's nightmare for all the aches and pains caused by foul tips and wayward pitches. The position also demands a keen intellect.
"By the way a batter stands, I like to figure out their weaknesses," she said. "If they're crowding the plate and they're a strong hitter, they're daring you to throw it inside so they can crank it. If they're a weaker hitter, they're crowding the plate so you don't throw it inside because that's their weak spot."
She has a catcher's physique at 5 foot 9, 180 pounds. At the World Cup, she was used as a backup, with most of her playing time coming at first base or as designated hitter.
Canada faced the United States in the tournament opener. The teams have an intense rivalry. As she stepped to the plate for her first at-bat, Ms. Asay took a moment to appreciate the situation.
"It was nerve-racking, realizing you're playing for your country and you've got 'Canada' on the front of your shirt."
She promptly struck out.
After that, she made more hits than outs. She knocked in nine runs for Canada and got her team's only base hit in a game against the host Taiwanese, saving her teammates from the ignominy of being subjected to a no-hitter.
Within days of returning from Asia, she began classes at Brown University in Providence, R.I., where she studies science when not playing hockey for the Bears. The team struggled through the first half of the season, recording just two wins, 11 losses and one tie. Ms. Asay recorded one assist and a lone goal.
"On the power play. I was at the point. Took a slapshot. Caught the mid-lefthand side of the net.
"Stick side."
She began the season as a forward, although her coach has moved her back to the blueline to shore up the defence.
"I'm able to pin and move my check," she said.
The two-sport athlete remains undecided about a future career away from the rink or diamond. Meanwhile, she enjoyed a winter break at the family home in Prince George, where she presented a Brown rugby shirt to her father (a high-school science teacher) and a Brown sweatshirt to her mother (a nurse).
Her own wish list was no more extravagant than a request for DVDs of some of her favourite shows ( House, The Simpsons and Grey's Anatomy). Besides, getting to play baseball for her country on the world stage and then being nominated for an award is reward enough.
"For Amanda to bat .500 at the highest level that women's baseball has to offer -- a World Cup -- that speaks volumes," Mr. Morneau said when it was announced he had won the Tip O'Neill Award. "I have a lot of respect for her."
For her part, she was surprised Mr. Morneau had even heard of her.