Scorecard

Team	1997-98 GPG	1998-99 GPG	Diff.	1997-98 Win Pct.	1998-99 Win Pct.	Diff.
Maple Leafs	2.37	3.16	+.79	.421	.600	+.179
Senators	2.35	3.00	+.65	.506	.581	+.075
Sabres	2.57	3.00	+.43	.543	.690	+.147
Rangers	2.40	2.72	+.32	.415	.483	+.068
Lightning	1.84	2.08	+.24	.268	.273	+.005

NFL Follies
Two-Point Perversion

Halfway into the second quarter of Sunday's AFC wild-card game, the Jacksonville Jaguars scored a touchdown to take a 12-0 lead over the New England Patriots. Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin ordered his offense to stay on the field for a two-point conversion instead of settling for a point after. Question of the week: What's up with that? NFL teams succeeded on just 41 of 105 two-point tries this season, a conversion rate of 39%. Jacksonville had been one for two in 1998. Meanwhile, Jaguars kicker Mike Hollis had gone 45 for 45 on PATs.

Clearly, Coughlin figured that if the Jags got two, they'd be a full two touchdowns ahead. But with 36 minutes left to play, why spurn an automatic point for a less than even chance at two?

As it turned out, the Patriots stopped running back Fred Taylor at the three-yard line. The score stayed 12-0, and when New England later closed the gap to 12-10, it looked like Coughlin's first-half decision might cost his team the game. The fact that Jacksonville went on to win 25-10 doesn't mean that his choice made sense.

Considering what a conservative lot NFL coaches are, it's amazing how reckless they can be about going for two. On Oct 18 in Chicago, Chan Gailey had his Cowboys try a two-point conversion after a touchdown put them up 12-7 in the third quarter. Dallas failed; the Bears kicked two field goals and won 13-12. Bill Parcells made questionable two-point calls in Jets wins over the Panthers on Nov. 29 and the Seahawks the next week. Jimmy Johnson went to the other extreme: After Miami went 0 for 3 on two-pointers earlier in the year, Johnson had his Dolphins kick a useless PAT while trailing Parcells's Jets 14-9 with 6:25 left in their AFC showdown. Fittingly, Miami lost.

Coaches are crazy to go for two except in extreme situations or when the call is a no-brainer. A two-point conversion before the fourth quarter, for instance, is almost always a bad idea. Unless you're getting blown out or a late touchdown puts you ahead by a single point, going for two is probably pointless.

Grizzly Bear Fighter
Put 'Em Up, Furball!

Troy Hurtubise, a North Bay, Ont., inventor, has spent 13 years trying to build a protective suit that can withstand a grizzly bear attack. While testing his invention, Hurtubise (below) has been riddled with gunshots, blasted by dynamite and battered by tree trunks swinging from a giant homemade pendulum. He has been run over by trucks going 30 mph only to rise and lift his arms in victory. He has also gone bankrupt.

Having spent more than $150,000 on his project, Hurtubise—whose obsession dates to 1984, when he survived a head-butting by a grizzly while panning for gold along Humidity Creek in British Columbia—will see his Ursus Mark VI suit auctioned off this month to pay his debts. "It should be a good auction," says an unfazed Hurtubise, who expects the suit to go for as much as $300,000, "but the Mark VI is obsolete."

Obsolete, maybe, but still imposing. The rubber and titanium Mark VI stands 7'2", weighs 147 pounds and contains almost 7,630 feet of duct tape. It features air bags, a two-way radio and a "blaster can" capable of spraying bear repellent 15 feet. Unfortunately, the suit is so bulky that its wearer could barely outrun a hibernating bear. In 1995 Hurtubise challenged a grizzly but kept falling as he pursued the animal. The bear ignored him.