HOCKEY / LISA DILLMAN : Lindros Is a Star Who Has Yet to Shine

Maybe the pacifier-toting, diaper-clad fans in Quebec were right about the Philadelphia Flyers’ Eric Lindros.

More and more, it seems that hockey has found its first, truly nasty star player, a boor with major marquee appeal.

“Darth Vader,” as Pierre Page, Quebec’s coach and general manager, has come to refer to Lindros.

Dare we say that young Darth has been acting poorly of late?

Who knows what happened in that Whitby, Ontario, nightclub? Lindros is accused of elbowing a woman there, pouring beer on her and then spitting beer in her face. He has filed a countersuit.

His innocence or guilt--hers as well--will be determined in court, if the case ever gets there. But Lindros’ attitude in the wake of the incident has been childish and mean-spirited.

Lindros has made two memorable public comments in the last few days. At Toronto’s Pearson Airport, Lindros spotted a Toronto Sun photographer and said: “If you don’t put that camera away, I’ll kill you.”

Later, after he had been to the police station, he said, “I got some ink on my fingertips, but I smiled for my mug shot.”

Police said Tuesday that Lindros was mistakenly handcuffed after surrendering, but they declined to apologize.

Lost amid the nightclub controversy was the fact that Lindros and his supposedly sprained knee were fit enough to be cavorting on a dance floor. For that, the Flyers should fine Lindros, who had been held out of the lineup since suffering the injury on Nov. 22.

And, finally, for those who thought Lindros was the going to be the next Wayne Gretzky, the early returns are in.

Not even close--on the ice, or off.

Maybe they will rename it Milhockee: There are historic arenas where the ambience is so compelling that you overlook the squalor during a hockey game. The rats in Boston Garden don’t seem as menacing while sitting in the presence of the ghost of Eddie Shore.

So what if you get splashed by the equivalent of six-pack of beer before the game is over? Bobby Orr checked here.

At the other end of the edifice spectrum are the new-age, technological wonders. The Olympic Saddledome in Calgary is somewhat futuristic and leaves the spectator somewhat cold. No intimacy, no commitment, like a former spouse. You almost wonder whether the building can be used to chase UFO’s after the hockey season is over.

Caught in the middle is a building such as the dungeon-like Forum. It gets darker the higher you go in the stands. Near the top, they should hand out flashlights with the programs.

From here on in, there should be one model for any new hockey arena--the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, home of the Bucks, the Marquette Warriors and the minor league hockey Admirals. The $71-million facility seats about 18,600 for basketball and 17,800 for hockey and soccer.

“It’s one of the best buildings I’ve been in,” says King President Roy Mlakar says.

What earned his admiration are several characteristics of the building. Fans can actually see the ice from the luxury suite level, which is between the upper and lower concourses. In many state-of-the-art arenas, luxury suites are near the very tops of the buildings. Telescopes should be installed in those suites.

Mlakar also praised the “sight line” in the Bradley Center. Even though the building has futuristic aspects, the ice surface doesn’t seem far away and the spectator can get much more of a feel for the game’s action.

The Kings played the Chicago Blackhawks at Milwaukee last week in their first of two neutral-site games. From a player’s standpoint, the facility was NHL caliber. In fact, the ice surface was probably better than that in some NHL buildings.

And speaking of the NHL, what are the chances of Milwaukee joining the league?

Admiral owner Lloyd Pettit, showing amazing foresight and proper disgust, pulled Milwaukee out of the NHL’s wheel-of-fortune game when expansion franchises were awarded two years ago. For him, the idea of paying $50 million to acquire an expansion team was unthinkable. Two groups, of course, did bite at the $50-million fee--Ottawa and Tampa Bay.

Pettit decided to wait. Either the price would drop when the NHL owners needed more money, or the long-running recession would force existing teams to look elsewhere. And now, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Hartford Whalers have both approached Pettit about relocating, according to NHL sources. Minnesota and New Jersey might not be far behind.

The thought here is that there will be an NHL team in Milwaukee by next season.

Which one?

How does the Milwaukee Lightning sound?

Goon etiquette: ESPN had a boxing analyst rate the Tie Domi-Bob Probert fight. For several days, Probert’s wipeout of Domi was one of the major topics around the league, bringing out the baser side in sports talk hosts and their callers.

King Coach Barry Melrose didn’t like the hoopla preceding the fight and said he wouldn’t tolerate one of his players behaving like Domi, hyping the contest to every reporter with a pen and pad.

And King enforcer Marty McSorley said: “I’m not going to say I think it’s bad or good. I’m not sure. It was a premeditated type of thing for reasons away from the hockey game.”

McSorley also decried Domi’s publicly announcing before the game that he was planning to fight Probert.

“Why tell the world?” McSorley said. “I think it makes it easier for the guy you’re going to fight, if he knows you’re coming after him.”

Iron Darryl: In Chicago, there was a collective sigh of relief when former coach Mike Keenan pulled out of town last month. Now, however, there is word that Coach Darryl Sutter might be just as tough on his players as Keenan, possibly tougher.

“I probably don’t take losing as personally as Mike did,” Sutter told the Chicago Tribune. “It’s not a personal affront to me. If we lose, I’m part of the losing. As I tell the team, I know we’re not going to win (all) 84 games, but I expect you to be prepared to win 84.”