outrage." He added that there "will be zero tolerance" at

TORONTO -- When Bob Nicholson woke up Friday morning, he turned to the business section of the newspaper and noticed a good omen hours before announcing his resignation as Hockey Canada president and CEO. "I saw that gold had just gone up, so I thought it was the right time to make this announcement," Nicholson joked. Nicholsons tenure will be remembered for 44 gold medals in mens, womens and sledge hockey at various levels in the past 15-plus years. He knows his legacy will revolve around the strength of Hockey Canada, but he really wants to be remembered for his impact on people. "I want it to be about kids, kids playing the game," Nicholson said. "If we have a lot of kids playing the game, were going to win gold medals." Nicholson, 60, has a chance to add a couple more before leaving June 1, but after that the job will fall to someone else. Jim Hornell, chairman of Hockey Canadas board of directors, said hell put together a "blue-ribbon selection committee comprised of many stakeholders in the game to identify and appoint a new president and CEO." Whether Nicholson has any input on that decision is up to Hornell, Nicholson said. In the meantime, hell take some time to relax. "Im going to go out to Penticton, Ive got a spot in Mexico, Im going to go sit up there in a hammock and read a book and just enjoy life for a bit," said Nicholson, who also plans to travel to Minsk, Belarus, in May for the mens world championship. Nicholson said he started to consider resigning just after the Sochi Olympics, when Canada won mens and womens gold yet again. "I have known Bob since I was 15 and he has done so much for my career and for hockey in Canada," said Hayley Wickenheiser, who helped lead the womens team to gold. "No one is more passionate about winning and developing hockey than Bob. He has been a big supporter of womens hockey and is a big reason behind our success." Hornell took time in his remarks at Fridays news conference to point out that Nicholson made major personal sacrifices for Hockey Canada, that the Penticton, B.C., native "has put hockey ahead of so many people and groups competing for his attention." The only time Nicholson got emotional during Fridays remarks was when he talked about sister Lois, wife Lorna and their kids, Mandi, Marijean and Grant. "Lorna, youve done an unbelievable job," he said, choking up. In saying goodbye to an organization he has been a part of since 1990, when it was the Canadian Hockey Association, Nicholson shared stories about his past and hopes for the future. One came from a long conversation with Wayne Gretzky. "We were having a laugh and he says, Bob, I remember when you started and wed go out for dinner and I wanted to order dessert and you said, Hey Wayne, we cant afford that. And Id sign a jersey and wed get dinner paid for," Nicholson recalled. "Weve come a long ways." Chief operating officer Scott Smith, who has been mentioned as a replacement for Nicholson, said the organization had 23 employees when Nicholson started and just under 120 now. Nicholson said he had to get introduced to some of the staff recently because the group had grown so big. Managing and building that will be someone elses job. As for what Nicholson does next, he said he doesnt quite know yet. "Im going to see if I can get my old job back in Penticton on the golf range picking up golf balls for the summer," he joked. "But seriously Im going to stay here till June 1 and Im going to take some time. Ive been at this, I dont know how to go half-speed and Im going to enjoy some time in Penticton, see my mom, see my kids. Im sure Im going to do something, but theres certainly nothing in the immediate future." Nicholson will stay on as vice-president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, where he can represent Canadas interests on that world stage. At some point an NHL team could come calling, but he brushed that off for now as speculation. Asked what advice hed give to his successor, Nicholson again brought it back to the people, not the medals. "Care about the game, make sure its safe, make sure that youre in Flin Flon and all the small (towns with) minor hockey across the country," he said. "Talk about sledge hockey, talk about womens hockey. The other stuff will come." That includes more gold medals. Under Nicholson, Canadas men snapped a 50-year Olympic drought at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, won on home soil in Vancouver in 2010 and again in Sochi in February. But the career highlight he pointed to was something different. "Maybe in Torino, going and watching our sledge team win for the very first time," Nicholson said. 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"Villarreal deeply regrets and condemns the incident that happened," Villarreal said in a statement on Monday. "The club has already identified the (culprit) and has decided to withdraw his season tickets, permanently." After the match, Alves said humour was the best way to combat racism in sport. That sentiment has led fellow football players, officials and even political figures from around the globe to respond with solidarity by picturing themselves eating a banana. Barcelona teammate Neymar posted a photo of himself on Instagram holding a peeled banana alongside his son, who was holding a doll that resembled a banana. Fellow Brazil teammates Hulk and Fred also lent support via their social media accounts. Argentina striker Sergio Aguero and Brazil womens striker Marta both posed for photos while biting into bananas, while former Brazil international Roberto Carlos also posted an internet photo of himself with the fruit. "We have suffered this in Spain for some time," Alves said Sunday. "You have to take it with a dose of humour. We arent going to change things easily. If you dont give it importance, they dont achieve their objective." Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who has been actively condemning racist acts in Brazilian football, also expressed her support to Alves, while Italiaan Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Italy national team coach Cesare Prandelli also shared a banana in a photograph.dddddddddddd "The player had a daring and strong response to racism in sport," Rousseff wrote on her official Twitter account. "Confronted by something that unfortunately has become too common in stadiums, Alves had attitude." Rousseff praised Neymar for getting behind his teammate and reiterated that Brazil will "raise the flag against racial discrimination" during the World Cup. FIFA President Sepp Blatter also commented on Twitter, saying that "what (Alves) tolerated last night is an outrage." He added that there "will be zero tolerance" at the World Cup. The match referee on Sunday included the 75th-minute incident in his match report, so Villarreal could face a fine. "Our club would like to express its firm commitment to promoting respect, equality, sportsmanship and fair play both on and off the field and our absolute rejection of any act that is contrary to these principles, such as violence, discrimination, racism and xenophobia," Villarreal added in its statement. Alves has often been subjected to racist taunts and called fighting racism "a lost war" in January 2013 after segments of Real Madrids fans abused him with monkey chants during a match. Madrid defender Marcelo, who is also Brazilian, was also recently greeted with monkey chants by a section of Atletico Madrid fans this season. Former Barcelona striker Samuel Etoo was convinced not to walk off at Zaragoza in 2006 after fans berated the Cameroon striker with racist chants. Two years earlier, Spain fans at Madrids Santiago Bernabeu Stadium infamously greeted Englands black players with monkey chants during an international friendly match. ' ' '