France captain Bellemare soaks up finally making the Olympics at 40
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MILAN (AP) — Hockey was not televised, at least not for free, in France when Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was growing up there. The rare chance he got to watch the sport he loved came every four years at the Olympics. “I was born into this Olympic family where if you ever made the Olympics, it’s an accomplishment of a lifetime,” Bellemare said. Bellemare is now France’s captain at the Milan Cortina Olympics and its elder statesman at 40 after helping his country qualify for the first time since 2002. After finally getting to the NHL at age 29 and playing a decade in the best league in the world, this is Bellemare’s last big event before hanging up his skates and calling it a career. With...