Now that Tim had come into the picture, everyone seemed on edge. OC had told me that he felt Herb was just trying to mess with their minds. Jimmy Craig told me that he felt Herb was doing whatever it took to win the Olympics. Herb had been cut from the team in 1960 and Jimmy felt Herb would do whatever it took to win a gold medal. Ramsey felt that bringing Tim in now was ridiculous. And Rizzo tried to believe that everything would be okay.

Rizzo and I tried to carry on as best we could. We watched Dallas every week and OC was joining us, wanting to see what happened to JR. Rizzo continued to struggle on the ice and every day at the end of practice I felt my stomach tighten because I feared Herb would call Rizzo into his office.

I sat at practice watching the boys run a play. Rizzo had the puck and was barreling down the ice. Rizzo shot the puck and missed the net entirely. Even I sighed in frustration.

"Damn it" Rizzo yelled.

"Come on, Rizzo." Herb snapped.

"I know coach. I know." Rizzo said almost with his head hung down.

"If you knew then why did you do it…again?" Herb snapped. Rizzo just looked more defeated. I noticed OC and a few of the other boys looking at OC with concern. "You better start putting the puck in the net Rizzo or you're not going anywhere. And don't think I won't do it!"

Rizzo stood up and looked even more defeated. I was suddenly overwhelmed by emotions. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, I wanted to slap Herb, I wanted to hug Rizzo…I wanted to crawl out of my own skin. I looked down at the floor to keep from crying.

"Come on Johnson, Line up!" Herb yelled. I sat quietly the rest of practice.

I felt numb. Something told me that if somebody didn't do something, Rizzo would be cut and soon. I was so furious. I mean it would be one thing if Rizzo was cut and the remaining 20 on the team had been with us since June. But Tim did not deserve a spot on our team. Who the hell was he to come in with less than 3 months left till opening ceremonies?! The other 21 guys had worked their asses off for almost 6 months, putting up with Herb, running drills and we won't even mention the Norway incident! These boys had bonded and became great friends, Tim had no place here. And it was obvious that the boys were not warming up to him in the least.

That night I found my dad sitting in the living room of our apartment. He was reading the newspaper. I saw a headline reading that our Embassy in Pakistan had been attacked. Below that was a headline that talked about the continuing hostage crisis in Iran.

"Dad we need to have a talk." I said.

"Chev, what's wrong? You have been quiet all evening, and you just picked at your dinner." Dad said as I sat next to him. "That's not like you. You have been really happy lately."

"Why is Tim Harrer here? He has no right whatsoever to a roster spot. Those boys have worked and played their hearts out for the past 6 months, and none of them deserve to lose their spot to someone who comes in at the last minute. I don't care how good he is." I said.

"I didn't think you would be this upset about it." Dad said.

"Dad, every one of those boys is special to me. I have been with them for the past 6 months, they are practically my brothers. It was killing me to think that we still had to send one of them home, but now two of them? Dad, it's not right."

"I agree with you, Chev. I wasn't happy about Herb bringing Tim here either. But its Herb's call. And since Tim was at try-outs in June, he can't be declared ineligible. And I think it has affected the team." Dad said.

"You do?" I asked.

Dad took my hand, "You have seen how the boys are a bit…subdued lately. All of them are scared to death of being cut. And everyone including you is looking at Tim like he has the plague. And I don't think it's fair that someone just waltzes into a roster spot because they are having a good season in college."

"What can we do?" I asked.

"I am not sure. Sometimes talking to Herb is like talking to a brick wall, you know that. Doc has said to Herb that he doesn't agree with this but Herb just said that Tim was the kind of player he was looking for." Dad said. "And I don't mean to upset you, but Tim will get a roster spot. If I were you, I would brace myself to say goodbye to two of your friends."

Tears well up in my eyes. Dad pulled me into a hug and held me. He thought I was upset about losing my friends…he was partly right. I was going to lose a friend, but I was also going to lose my boyfriend, who I loved so much.

Happy New Year to all my faithful readers!

I thought it was time for some father/daughter time in this chapter!