>The planet’s top eight hockey playing nations began a two-week quest for international bragging rights this week, as the 2004 World Cup of Hockey got underway in arenas across North America and Europe .

> The United States , Canada , Russia and Slovakia are squaring off in the (pardon them, Rand McNally) North American Division, while the Czech Republic , Finland , Germany and Sweden comprise the European Division.

> For our Canadian friends who may have conveniently suffered amnesia, the U.S. stunned the Great White North in the championship of the 1996 World Cup. The Americans rallied from a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 1 of the best-of-three finals to claim the next two games by identical 5-2 scores, causing a spike in the prescriptions of Prozac from British Columbia to the Maritime Provinces .

> Canada is now out to settle the score, with the help of Detroit ’s Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby . Numerous other Red Wings will try to lead their homelands to the cup, including the Swedish triumvirate of Nicklas Lidstrom , Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg , the United States’ Chris Chelios , Russia’s Pavel Datsyuk and the Czech Republic’s Jiri Fischer .

> Unless you have access to ESPN2 or CBC , you’re out of luck as far as watching any game involving the U.S. or Canada, but here’s the complete schedule for what could be the last NHL -caliber hockey you see for a while (all times are Eastern). Keep track of results by visiting www.wch2004.com.