Time stands still for a player like Lemieux.(athletic performance of hockey player Mario Lemieux)

Michael Jordan had it. So did Babe Ruth and Joe Montana, Jim Brown, Wayne Gretzky, Magic Johnson, Bobby Orr and Bill Russell. They all had the ability to make the players around them look pretty. good, too.

Mario Lemieux always has belonged in that same galaxy of all-star athletes. Others, however, have said the quiet French Canadian is not passionate about the game he plays.

I hope they all watched Super Mario dissect the Maple Leafs last week in his first game in 3 1/2 years, getting one goal and two assists. His actions spoke louder than any words could.

"From the get-go he looked like John Elway or Joe Montana, a quarterback coming out of the huddle, surveying the defense and then picking it apart with play after play," Maple Leafs goaltender Curtis Joseph told reporters afterward. "There are players out there in all sports who make great plays, but not many who can dominate a game like that ... and do it after being retired for more than three years."

And, as always, Lemieux did it with an exclamation point.

First shift. First pass. GOAL!

It took Lemieux 33 seconds to let the hockey world know the hands are still there, the desire is still there and the magnifique mystique is still there.