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XNine

macrumors 68040
Original poster
I'm sure you've all heard about the alleged involvement of Wayne Gretzky's wife and the Assistant Coach of the Pheonix Coyotes being part of an illegal betting ring.

Here's more:
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=60631

I wonder if Gretzky really never did bet, as he claims. After all he was caught within the last month on a wiretap asking his Assistand Coach Rick Tochett (a former NHL player himself) for protection for his wife.

I always knew there was something up with that guy. :eek:
 
I think we're gonna learn a lot more about this as time goes on... I like to think that Gretzky himself didn't do anything illegal, but he really could be stained by this if it turns out close business associates of his (and his WIFE) were breaking the law.
 
What an unfortunate abbreviation in the title. :D

It's too bad to see "The Great One" involved in this. It'll be interesting to see how he tries to spin himself out of the wiretapped conversation.
 
clayj said:
I think we're gonna learn a lot more about this as time goes on... I like to think that Gretzky himself didn't do anything illegal, but he really could be stained by this if it turns out close business associates of his (and his WIFE) were breaking the law.

Yeah, how in the hell could you NOT know about what your WIFE was doing with 100k? Stupidity. IF anything at all, he'll be guilty by association just on account that he did nothing to try and stop his wife from doing these things, and by talking with his assistant coach about "protection." He obviously knew what was going on. Hockey's "greatest player..." Hrmph. Hockey's biggest tool... well, beside Bertuzzi of course. :p
 
hcuar said:
Dog... I only read the thread to find out what an ass coach is... :p
This is an ass coach:

krzyzewskimike.jpg
 
puckhead193 said:
i wonder if gretzky's was involved if they will kick him out of the hall of fame....

That's certainly a possibility. My guess is he wasn't involved but perhaps knew about what was going on but chose to ignore it, like many other illegal things I suspect he saw going on (e.g. drug use) during his many years in the NHL.

I always figured that wife of his was bad news when she forced him to go to L.A. to play with the Kings so she could have a movie career, like that ever happened.
 
dejo said:
I always figured that wife of his was bad news when she forced him to go to L.A. to play with the Kings so she could have a movie career, like that ever happened.
Gretzky was on the kings? ;) :p
 
jtalerico said:
Not a big Duke fan, Clay?
Heh. Not ANY kind of Duke fan. I will not root for Duke under ANY circumstances.

My first inclination was to post a picture of Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren... then I thought of using a picture of Bobby Knight... then I remembered how much I hate the Dookies. :)
 
clayj said:
Heh. Not ANY kind of Duke fan. I will not root for Duke under ANY circumstances.

My first inclination was to post a picture of Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren... then I thought of using a picture of Bobby Knight... then I remembered how much I hate the Dookies. :)

Miss State played Duke in the second round of the NCAAs last year. We played well, but for someone like us, it was a bit overwhelming. From the outside I love watching Duke, UNC, any of the big time programs. But I gotta wonder: how does Duke, with it's high tuition and acceptance terms, win?

In regards to betting: I don't have much respect for a pro player of any sport. Something like this doesn't surprise me.

In regards to the severity of the crime: my grandfather (45 years ago) and my best friend (14 months ago) committed suicide because of their inability to handle gambling debts and the fallout from gambling. It's hard to define what crime is worse than another when it affects the people around you.
 
I doubt he did it, it doesn’t make sense.

He is extremely wealthy so it doesn’t make sense for him to risk his reputation just for some money.
 
killuminati said:
I doubt he did it, it doesn’t make sense.
Gambling is an addiction (ask Pete Rose). What makes sense to you and I does not necessarily make sense to the super-rich.
 
To those on the attack of these betters (not necessarily any who have posted yet)...

<rant>
I don't get why everyone is making such a big deal about this. I see nothing wrong with betting on anything as long as you don't participate directly in what you are betting upon. These people didn't bet on hockey, they bet on football and basketball. Just because sports figures are richer than you or more famous does that make it wrong for them to do it and you to not?

The point is, if athletes want to waste their money on betting, that's their choice. Do they need the money? No (well assuming with their incomes...). But it is their money. I don't feel people should or have the authority to dictate what people should or shouldn't do with THEIR money. If they want to bet, let them bet.

You have the choice just like them to do what you will with your money. They are not being self destructive with drugs or hurting you. So let them do what they choose and live your own life for a change and not proclaim who has the right to bet. People say things like athletes need to be held to a higher moral standard, blah blah blah. What it boils down to in my opinion is the jealousy of having the ability to bet large wages for entertainment. Get over it. Sheesh. </rant>
 
^ I agree that betting in and of itself is not the issue. I think that there's still some gray area as to if any betting took place on hockey.

Even then, if the bets weren't placed on games in which Gretsky coached or played, then who cares?
 
iSaint said:
But I gotta wonder: how does Duke, with it's high tuition and acceptance terms, win?
Two words: Mike Krzyzewski. (How that name gets pronounced "Shishefski" is beyond me.)

The success of any college program depends on the coach. When Dean Smith left Carolina, UNC struggled for years until another really good coach (Roy Williams) was brought in.

When Krzyzewski leaves Duke, they too will struggle until they find a really good coach to replace him.
 
I have yet to hear a good explanation as to why betting on sporting events is illegal. A participant in the sport, yes. But everyone else?
 
puckhead193 said:
i wonder if gretzky's was involved if they will kick him out of the hall of fame....

That's really really unlikely, unless he bet on NHL games. If he bet on other sports, even illegally, then it doesn't really taint him as a player, just as a person. It would take some serious wrongdoing to get the greatest player of all time removed from the hockey Hall of Fame.
 
aloofman said:
I have yet to hear a good explanation as to why betting on sporting events is illegal. A participant in the sport, yes. But everyone else?

The problem is that gambling isn't illegal, but running BETTING RINGS, especially national ones, are highly illegal as they don't have a gambling license. A lot of the money is laundered in these rings, and I'm sure the government is tracking a case of missing money tied to one of the gamblers and OOPS! stumbled upon this information. IT's not like an office pool (which I understand are illegal anyway) because a lot of the money is stolen.

I heard from a co-worker that the ring has ties to a mob family out east as well.
 
puckhead193 said:
Gretzky was on the kings? ;) :p

The Whalers are coming back to Hartford? What? ;) :p

Seriously. Hockey threads are so irrelevant that they devolve into discussions of Mike Krzyzewski and misspellings of "Gretzky."

May it all be true. May hockey come crashing down to earth so that we can go back to a reasonably sized league with offensive minded rules.

With one of the teams in Hartford, of course.
 
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