Wayne Gretzky is a Gambling Degenerate?

Discussion Open Forum
21

i think gretz would have bowwed out of attending if he had done anything wrong - that’s my opinion of the man, nothing more.

interesting article on ESPN:

[quote]Two things will happen in the next 10 days: Either the Canadians will repeat as gold medal champions or they will falter. Common sense suggests neither outcome will have anything to do with Tocchetgate.

That will not stop people from tying it all together in a neat bundle regardless of how it turns out.

Canada wins and it did so in spite of Gretzky’s problems.

Canada loses and it did so because of Gretzky’s problems.

Simple enough, even if it’s entirely wrong-headed.

Gretzky seems to understand that as well.

“If we don’t win the gold medal, obviously I’ll get blamed, but I’ve been blamed for losses before. It’s not going to change my life,” Gretzky said.

The fact no one actually could recall a loss for which Gretzky was blamed is neither here nor there.[/quote]

sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter06/ … id=2330728

people are really quick to judge a guy who has done nothing in the past to merit it.

22

Canada will win or lose because they are the better team. Whine Betzsky is all over the news saying it’ll be his fault if they lose. He should get over himself. He is just there to deflect the press away from the players. Gawd he makes me sick. Last Olympics I wanted to see him drawn and quartered. The guy has a bigger ego than a pro wrestler.

Ihate him now. I hated him then. I will always hate him.

23

:laughing:

24

[quote=“Old Gobbo”]Canada will win or lose because they are the better team. Whine Betzsky is all over the news saying it’ll be his fault if they lose. He should get over himself. He is just there to deflect the press away from the players. Gawd he makes me sick. Last Olympics I wanted to see him drawn and quartered. The guy has a bigger ego than a pro wrestler.

Ihate him now. I hated him then. I will always hate him.[/quote]

You shouldn’t take the Great One’s name in vain. You could face eternal damnation watching women’s hockey.

I really don’t see what the Canadian Olympic team’s performance at the Olympics has to do with any of this. :wanker:

I also think it was weird that Gretzky said that he’ll get blamed if they lose. That’s in the coaches’ and players’ hands now. I mean, Brodeur could slip up and miss the puck because he’s thinking about a steak sandwhich or whatever.

I would like to see the amateur format come back. That was more exciting. When the US won the gold medal in 1980, it was amazing because they had to beat communist Russia who had virtual pros. I say, “Bring back the USSR (CCCP)! All hail communism for interntional hockey’s sake!”

25

Michael Jackson, O.J. Simpson, now…

26

It is always the lie that gets you :smiling_imp:

[quote=“National Post”]
Gretzky has always seemed to be blind to the failings of friends. He delayed his jersey retirement ceremony until former Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall was released from prison, after serving a four-year sentence for bank fraud. He was willing to let Tocchet onto the bench the night the scandal broke, before the NHL intervened. Wayne sticks by his people.

But he is also either clueless, or he is willfully ignorant. It is not a stretch to say he did not know Janet was betting – they live in separate cities, and she was renovating the Los Angeles-area house they are now selling for US$25-million, so good luck keeping track of money. But if Mike Barnett, Gretzky’s long-time agent and hand-picked general manager of the Coyotes, knew enough to place a Super Bowl bet with Tocchet, as he allegedly did, how did Gretzky not know?

There are dozens of similar questions, and Gretzky’s goodness cannot be an all-purpose answer. Whether or not he was involved, Gretzky has yet to offer a full accounting. The world’s foremost hockey icon would not even talk about the danger to the game’s reputation yesterday.

“It’s not for me to talk about,” he said quietly.

Hockey’s old boy network has sprung into action on his behalf, and Gretzky’s defenders have been in full throat. But this scandal keeps creeping, as do the facts. The Great One said he never bet on sports, then Janet said, “other than the occasional horse race, my husband does not bet on any sports.”

OK, maybe he does not consider horse racing to be a sport. But he might be more of a gambler than we thought – the Las Vegas Review-Journal, citing an anonymous casino executive, reported yesterday that Gretzky and his wife have lost more than US$2-million in Vegas casinos. If true, it may establish the couple as relatively high rollers, and it is not a huge step from betting on blackjack to betting on, say, football games. In gambling, the slippery slope is a well-worn road. Tocchet is proof.

Maybe after watching Gretzky walk on water for 35 years, we can not believe that he could stumble

canada.com/nationalpost/news … a61c5c&p=2 [/quote][/quote]

27

ummm i’m not seeing the lie.

28

[quote=“j99l88e77”][quote=“Old Gobbo”]Canada will win or lose because they are the better team. Whine Betzsky is all over the news saying it’ll be his fault if they lose. He should get over himself. He is just there to deflect the press away from the players. Gawd he makes me sick. Last Olympics I wanted to see him drawn and quartered. The guy has a bigger ego than a pro wrestler.

Ihate him now. I hated him then. I will always hate him.[/quote]

You shouldn’t take the Great One’s name in vain. You could face eternal damnation watching women’s hockey.[/quote]

I would rather watch chicks with sticks than sit thru anything that involved him. The Great One??..please…

So what if he led the coked-up Oilers to all those victories, sure…but they were still the Oilers…still from Edmonton…can you get any “less” great than that. Personally, I couldn’t give a crap about gambling. I am glad to see that fake smile wiped off his smarmy face, but wish it was for something more substantial, something he could be kicked out of the HoF for. Maybe this will be enough. It’s a victimless crime (pretty much), so we’ll see. I really think the true crime here is that he hasn’t stepped down from working with the Olympians. He doesn’t deserve the recognition. Ahhh…Wayne…the Pete Rose of hockey. :bravo: :notworthy:

I also hated PR, even when he was an Expo. Now if only The Springboks could get caught doing something illegal with the Yankees, I’d be in sports heaven.

Ahhh, but there’s always Kobe… :fume:

29

[quote=“Old Gobbo”][quote=“j99l88e77”][quote=“Old Gobbo”]Canada will win or lose because they are the better team. Whine Betzsky is all over the news saying it’ll be his fault if they lose. He should get over himself. He is just there to deflect the press away from the players. Gawd he makes me sick. Last Olympics I wanted to see him drawn and quartered. The guy has a bigger ego than a pro wrestler.

Ihate him now. I hated him then. I will always hate him.[/quote]

You shouldn’t take the Great One’s name in vain. You could face eternal damnation watching women’s hockey.[/quote]

I would rather watch chicks with sticks than sit through anything that involved him. The Great One??..please…

So what if he led the coked-up Oilers to all those victories, sure…but they were still the Oilers…still from Edmonton…can you get any “less” great than that. Personally, I couldn’t give a crap about gambling. I am glad to see that fake smile wiped off his smarmy face, but wish it was for something more substantial, something he could be kicked out of the HoF for. Maybe this will be enough. It’s a victimless crime (pretty much), so we’ll see. I really think the true crime here is that he hasn’t stepped down from working with the Olympians. He doesn’t deserve the recognition. Ahhh…Wayne…the Pete Rose of hockey. :bravo: :notworthy:

I also hated PR, even when he was an Expo. Now if only The Springboks could get caught doing something illegal with the Yankees, I’d be in sports heaven.

Ahhh, but there’s always Kobe… :fume:[/quote]

Why would he step down?

You may hate these athletes, but they are/were amazing. Gretzky is arguably the best ever. Pete Rose is one of the best hitters of all time.