12/22/24
February 07, 2006
Coyotes' Rick Tocchet implicated in sports gambling ring.: Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet financed a nationwide sports gambling ring in which about a dozen current NHL players placed bets, authorities said Tuesday. Among those thought to be involved are the Penguins' Mark Recchi, Wayne Gretzky's wife Janet Jones, and the ring could also be tied to the crime family of Bruno Scarfo.
Betting on your own sport should always bring a lifetime ban.
posted by commander cody at 02:05 PM on February 07, 2006
Wow, this is pretty big. Nikki Scarfo ( a relative of Bruno)was known to promote Gambling houses in the NJ and Philly area. It's no coincidence that 2 former Philly players in different areas are included in this thing. What's surprising to me is that Janet Jones is mentioned and not the great one himself. Who knew that Rick Tocchet was making money on the cards I was playing.
posted by BlogZilla at 02:08 PM on February 07, 2006
Do you really think Janet is the one with the betting habit?
posted by garfield at 02:15 PM on February 07, 2006
Man, garfield, I just don't want to think about that. And if it turns out that they bet on hockey, then, whoah, off with their friggin' heads.
posted by NoMich at 02:19 PM on February 07, 2006
I guess it's going to a be a late night on the meat grinder over at Satriale's.
posted by dzot at 02:22 PM on February 07, 2006
Will they give Tocchet and Recchi lifetime bans, fines, or will they get off the hook. The article seems to imply that none of the hockey people involved bet on hockey -- they bet on basketball and/or football. So if that's true, fines, suspensions maybe, but no lifetime ban.
posted by fabulon7 at 02:22 PM on February 07, 2006
If they don't bet on hockey, who cares? How can you suspend someone who didn't do anything wrong? Well, except Tocchet. He most certainly appears to have done something wrong. It seems pretty clear to me that pro athlets, who make astounding amounts of money on sports, gamble on sports. A lot.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 03:37 PM on February 07, 2006
In all seriousness, if these guys were dealing with the mob, then we have a very serious problem. What happens if one of these players and/or coaches that are, allegedly, involved gets in a deep hole with the mob?
posted by NoMich at 03:43 PM on February 07, 2006
I wholeheartedly agree with Weedy. It says that they did not bet on hockey, so who cares? Michael Jordan did it, so why can't anybody else? Pete Rose was banned because he bet on baseball. Bottom line is don't bet on your own sport. The Mob connection was probably so they can name-drop and get pussy...
posted by wingnut4life at 03:54 PM on February 07, 2006
The Mob connection was probably so they can name-drop and get pussy... Right, 'cause professional hockey players aren't surrounded by puckbunnies as it is. They need to name drop mob guys' names. Makes perfect sense to me.
posted by NoMich at 04:07 PM on February 07, 2006
We just have to wait and see what happens
posted by sirtt22 at 04:41 PM on February 07, 2006
Gambling should be legalized and then all these problems go away. If the proper system is put in place, then even the government could share in the revenue. And maybe then such things as property taxes and sales taxes could be reduced.
posted by snaphook21 at 04:42 PM on February 07, 2006
Gambling should be legalized and then all these problems go away. If the proper system is put in place, then even the government could share in the revenue. And maybe then such things as property taxes and sales taxes could be reduced.
posted by snaphook21 at 04:43 PM on February 07, 2006
What happens if one of these players and/or coaches that are, allegedly, involved gets in a deep hole with the mob? I dunno. Try asking a random Russian player.
posted by fabulon7 at 05:25 PM on February 07, 2006
Whether or not it should be legalized is not the point. Tocchet was stupid to ever get involved in this type of thing. And he was even stupider to get caught. And as for Gretzky, don't you think he should have had the brains to maybe say to his assistant coach that what he was doing probably wasn't a good idea? Since his wife (yeah, right) was placing bets with the guy, he must have known. I'd say maybe Gretzky took too many hard knocks during his career and it has impaired his judgment, but then I remembered nobody was ever allowed to touch him.
posted by dyams at 05:50 PM on February 07, 2006
Fuentes did not disclose the bettors' names and said charges against more individuals were possible. He described one of them as a "movie celebrity." I was going to say Charlie Sheen, but there are no hookers involved. This is pretty scary stuff. The off-chance that any current professional player would get into a big hole to the mob means they should be removed from whatever sport they get paid to play. That's too big a chance to take with the image of an entire league.
posted by wfrazerjr at 06:03 PM on February 07, 2006
Right, 'cause professional hockey players aren't surrounded by puckbunnies as it is. They need to name drop mob guys' names. Makes perfect sense to me. Well, yeah! After banging so many pucksluts, you gotta go after some Mob pussy...
posted by wingnut4life at 06:09 PM on February 07, 2006
These are big names we're discussing. I want to know if they had some college guys in the loop who were throwing games and shaving. If so, I want some of my damn money back. You see they also had some crooked damn cop involved (wow big surprise). If there was some scamming here, I'm going to pull Tocchets prison jersey over his head and pound him. Or try to anyway. I played a hell of a lot of cards in 1 of the areas in question. And as far as I know, cards were a big part of this (via a couple of Philly based detectives that go to the gym I go to), and how often do you see NHL games on your football/basketball cards. But then again, what do cops know anyway.
posted by BlogZilla at 06:17 PM on February 07, 2006
now that you can place legal bets over the internet, it doesn't make any sense to bet with a bookie anymore. tocchet and the players implicated should be smarter than that. i think anytime you put "gambling" and "athletes" in the same headline there will be some overreaction. i don't think the betting on sports is a big deal, just do it legally and don't bet on the sport that you play.
posted by erkno11 at 06:29 PM on February 07, 2006
Follow up: ... He refused to say whether any of the NHL-related people were betting on hockey. "I’m sorry," he said. "I can't answer that question." Lt. Col. Rodgers said the investigation into this aspect of the operation is "complex and far from complete." Even though Superintendent Rick Fuentes of the New Jersey State Police has been quoted as saying the betting was on games other than hockey, Rodgers is not prepared to unequivocally say there wasn't betting on hockey. "There are many more stones that have to be turned over before we can say that," Rodgers told TSN. "We have a duty to finish exploring." Sources in New Jersey say the police are not only exploring whether any of the hockey people bet on hockey, but whether any of them may have supplied inside information to aid and abet in the illegal betting operation. ...
posted by NoMich at 06:57 PM on February 07, 2006
I don't think any athlete should gamble while they are playing. As stated before "what happens if they get into deep?" Let's see you owe me $50,000 but I will forget about it if you help throw the game and make me alot of money. Just my opinion. Too many people bet on sports. Even if you are not betting on your sport, someone is and you could get in too deep. If they do absolutely have to gamble they should have a debit card where you can only bet with money you pay up front, not a credit card where you bet with money you have to pay later. Go to the casino and throw down some money on the table, when it's gone go home and don't get any markers.
posted by skydivemom at 07:36 PM on February 07, 2006
Do you really think Janet is the one with the betting habit? Well, I'm pretty sure they would have mentioned Wayne if they could prove it was him. The fact that they said it was Janet means they've got something on her specifically... DAMN YOU JANET! I knew you'd corrupt our Canadian golden boy! You Hollywood hussy! *sob* /shakes fist, runs off
posted by grum@work at 07:45 PM on February 07, 2006
Don't worry about Wayne. There is something about being considered the greatest. If he is guilty of anything, he's more likely to end up like Jordan than Rose.
posted by BlogZilla at 08:17 PM on February 07, 2006
They bet on everything but hockey, what a joke, of course they are going to say that. Pete rose never bet on baseball.
posted by chuy at 08:49 PM on February 07, 2006
If I'm a reporter the first question I ask Janet is, "Can you name four teams in the ACC?" or "Who won the NFC North this year?" A search of Harney's house recovered more than $250,000 worth of Rolex watches and nine plasma-screen televisions, including two from his bathroom. Now that's a throne room.
posted by 86 at 08:08 AM on February 08, 2006
I totally agree with Weedy. It seems like this started out as the equivalent of an office betting pool and just grew—largely due to the sheer quantity of money that this office makes. I mean, illegal gambling is illegal gambling, but this is being blown way out of proportion because of the "sports people betting on sports! the horror!" angle. This isn't the Black Sox or even Pete Rose. Not even close.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 08:24 AM on February 08, 2006
Dr John, they're talking about almost $50,000/day. And that's a really big office. Are these people making more money than you're average Joe? Sure thing. But don't fool yourself into thinking that they don't run into the same financial problems as everyone else. You hear about it everyday from retired players or the down-on-your-luck active pro athlete. If Kevin Stevens can blow through his salary on $10 pieces of rock, it's not so hard to imagine Tocchet or another person involved getting in too deep with the money that's involved here. It is a gambling ring operator's wet dream to get a pro player on his list. There is a very good reason for that. And there is a very good reason that every professional player in every professional sport is lectured over and over about not gambling on any sport. This is not "the equivalent of an office betting pool" by any stretch. This is big. This is huge. Illegal gambling is not just illegal gambling when pro sports players, coaches, and executives are involved. At that point it becomes an entirely different and very ugly beast.
posted by 86 at 08:44 AM on February 08, 2006
If and when they could attempt to take The Great One down, they would. As of yet, they can't. If anyone bothered to read the 40,000 articles published on this subject the investigators have so far found no betting on anything but mainly football games. It seems quite unrealistic to forecast doom for those named, because the NHL seems to be nonexistent in sports-betting prohibitions due to their rules and changes in the last year. If anyone has placed their dinero on something they should not have, we'll be knowing it soon.
posted by mrhockey at 08:58 AM on February 08, 2006
Anyone that thinks this issue is being blown out of proportion needs to wake up. Pro athletes involved in organized gambling is a huge problem. I'm sure many are assuming Wayne Gretzky's involved, but hiding behind his wife just in case it was ever found out (as is just what happened). Tocchet taking this much money as the ringleader would be a great way for him to be found dead for "suspicicous reasons." It's not some "little office pool." It's serious, big-time business for individuals who don't give a shit if they're dealing with pro athletes or their prissy, high-society wives. As for them not betting on any hockey, I'd be very surprised if somewhere along the line they didn't. That's what everyone's left to wonder when these idiots get involved in this type of thing.
posted by dyams at 09:07 AM on February 08, 2006
In a slightly related note, I find it a bit...unusual...for the New Jersey state government to go after an illegal gambling ring. Since NJ has their own LEGAL gambling, this has the feel of a "take out the competition" type operation. Yes, the government should go after illegal gambling rings, but it still smells a bit like some sort of conflict of interest... I'm sure many are assuming Wayne Gretzky's involved, but hiding behind his wife just in case it was ever found out It may look that way, but then you have to figure that if he did something like this that he is planning on letting Janet take all the heat (otherwise, why hide it). Maybe it's pure idol worship, but I just don't think Gretzky is the kind of guy who would let his wife face legal problems for something he's doing.
posted by grum@work at 09:39 AM on February 08, 2006
I find it a bit...unusual...for the New Jersey state government to go after an illegal gambling ring. Since NJ has their own LEGAL gambling, this has the feel of a "take out the competition" type operation. It's probably because they suspect mob involvement. I wouldn't give a shit about this if it was just some rich players swapping money in friendly bets, but because the mob could be involved, it's kind of freaking me out about my favorite sport. This could do a lot of damage to the NHL and they better be ready with their ban hammer if everything does stink to high heaven; no matter who is involved.
posted by NoMich at 09:50 AM on February 08, 2006
This is not "the equivalent of an office betting pool" by any stretch. This is big. This is huge. 86, I suggested that it started out as that, and grew. I agree it's huge. I just don't think Rick Tocchet woke up one day and said "You know what's missing in my life? A gargantuan continent-wide illegal gambling operation." This would've started on a scale which we all deem acceptable, but because of the sheer quantities of money available to the people involved, it would've grown to a ridiculous size. At some point it no longer became acceptable, and I'm just wondering where that point is. Pro athletes involved in organized gambling is a huge problem. Serious question: why more so for them than any other random person? I'm not arguing a point here, but rather asking for information. There seems to be a bit of a knee-jerk reaction when sports figures are caught gambling on sports, and I've never totally understood why. Throwing games would require a heck of a lot of organization and effort. Is it because they might be privy to insider information that the rest of us don't have? I realize I sound like a total simpleton here but I'm genuinely curious to know why this is such a huge problem. On preview: okay, yeah, the possibility of a mob connection is worrisome. Still no detail available on that, though.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:54 AM on February 08, 2006
grum, betting on sports is illegal in New Jersey. They allow horsetracks, casinos (limited to Atlantic City), lotteries, bingo, etc, but not sportsbooks. That said, the conflicts of interest when a goverment gets involved in any type of gambling are wide and varied. It's been a long and complicated road in this country and it'll never be one that is settled or easy to comprehend. Fun fact: One of the first legalized gambling operations in the US was a lottery for Thomas Jefferson's wife. TJ died and left his family with some serious debt. The lottery was held to benefit his survivors. Good Doctor, I'm not sure there is a clear line and I guess I find that all the more reason that these types of folks need to be awfully careful about what they gamble on, how they gamble and how much they gamble. If anything they need to error on the side of caution. Throwing games would require a heck of a lot of organization. No it doesn't. Ask Boston College folks. That school was involved in a point shaving scandal not long ago and what amazed a lot of people was how easy it was for those involved to pull it off.
posted by 86 at 10:19 AM on February 08, 2006
I've been reading about hockey's long history of betting scandals. Babe Pratt is in the Hall of Fame after being banned for betting on hockey and then reinstated. Conn Smythe apparently bet his Rangers severance pay on a hockey game, and he used his winnings to buy the St. Pats (Leafs). I don't know other sports very well--are there any similar cases, where betting didn't mean banination?
posted by goatdog at 10:52 AM on February 08, 2006
I don't know other sports very well--are there any similar cases, where betting didn't mean banination? Michael Jordan had a huge gambling problem. Then he "retired" (the first time). Then he came back. Infer what you will... grum, betting on sports is illegal in New Jersey. They allow horsetracks, casinos (limited to Atlantic City), lotteries, bingo, etc, but not sportsbooks I did not know that. I assumed the AC casinos had their own sportsbooks as well. Thanks for the info.
posted by grum@work at 11:37 AM on February 08, 2006
I just don't think Gretzky is the kind of guy who would let his wife face legal problems for something he's doing I dunno, he was willing to let her bleed to death after a giant pane of glass fell on her... I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
posted by fabulon7 at 11:37 AM on February 08, 2006
That was quite the line back in the day for the Coyotes: Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick and Rick Tocchet have all been implicated in gambling over the years. The Philly Inquirer has more, including Tocchet's organized crime connections from back in the day. When the TV movie gets made, hopefully Marah gets a slot on the soundtrack.
posted by yerfatma at 11:51 AM on February 08, 2006
posted by NoMich at 02:57 PM on February 08, 2006
Oh come on! My office pool involved more people than what is shown in that diagram! My take: iffound guilty then Tocchet should be suspended for a significant amount of time (6 months? 1 year). If there are players who made bets through this ring, then they should be fined ($10,000?) and suspended (10-15 games). The league has no authority over Janet Jones Gretzky, so I don't think there is no punishment to be handed out to the Gretzky family by the league.
posted by grum@work at 03:44 PM on February 08, 2006
I don't think you clearly understand graph, grum. There are female (or hippy dude) crossing guards involved. And busts of unkown men! And slap shooters! Don't just look at the graph, man, *see* the graph.
posted by NoMich at 03:53 PM on February 08, 2006
If you ask me, a lifetime ban is justifiable regardless of whether or not there's discovery that the players wagered on hockey. From the NHL's perspective it's simple: you have participated in an illegal gambling operation, and that participation brings with it a cloud of suspicion over the legitmacy of our sport. The fans will necessarily question whether bets were made on hockey, whether it is proven or not (as seen above). The image of the NHL, or any professional league, is too fragile to respond weakly to anyone who threatens to snap the weak thread of legitimacy. Done. Out. (Yep, would say the same for Jordan, as big a fan of his as I am.) Yes, the government should go after illegal gambling rings, but it still smells a bit like some sort of conflict of interest... I don't see how eliminating illegal activity can ever be considered a conflict of interest. Law enforcement agencies have a tough enough job without worrying about their own hypocricy in this regard. Go get the bad guys -- if there is additional incentive to go get a particular set of bad guys because it benefits the legal activities of the state, fantastic. Those arrests are likely to have greater benefit to the citizens of the state as well.
posted by BullpenPro at 04:07 PM on February 08, 2006
grum, I think this may turn out to be much bigger than it looks right now. Once you get up into the millions, someone has to handle that money for you (well, way before millions, but you get the idea). And those folks aren't nice people. And when you get in trouble with them, there's no lawyer in the world can help you. So you feed them info. And that hurts the game's rep. Right after a lost season. Ol' Soft Touch Gary Bettman is going to have to purify the game with a blast of white-hot justice. It'll be interesting to see if Gretzky comes out of this untarnished. The Bruins' Travis Green has been mentioned as a bettor; if he bet against the Bruins previous to, say, January 15th, I don't think that's questionable.
posted by yerfatma at 04:42 PM on February 08, 2006
Hockey flat-out will not stand for any of this crap, however big or small, and those implicated will be banished. Having "only" Gretzky's wife implicated, at this point, may be the only thing that allows the greatest scorer ever to survive, but Tocchet is going bye-bye. And if it's found they were doing any type of action whatsoever on hockey, or that insider information was provided on NHL games to gamblers, then even The Great One may be made invisible. The fact he'd let his wife get involved in this and risk ruining his flawless reputation is beyond belief.
posted by dyams at 08:31 PM on February 08, 2006
Well, the NHL has now hired Robert Cleary, the guy who headed the Unabomber case, to investigate Tocchet.
posted by wfrazerjr at 08:40 PM on February 08, 2006
Bottom line is this: If he bet on hockey, he should be banned. But if they find that he didn't, than leave it alone. Why is it that the U.S. Government can do what it wants with gambling revenues, and not anyone else? A classic case of "Do as I say, not as I do." They're just mad because they didn't have their hand in the cookie jar.
posted by wingnut4life at 09:21 PM on February 08, 2006
This is obviously bigger than the graph indicates. Plasma TVs, Rolex's??? Crooked cops?? Scarfo?? I want my money back for those cards I played damn it. Maybe it's pure idol worship, but I just don't think Gretzky is the kind of guy who would let his wife face legal problems for something he's doing. When asked in an interview about his wife being involved, Gretzky actually smirked and said, "you'll have to ask her". Of course there are 2 scenario's here. 1. She was betting for them both 2. He didn't know anything about it and she was creeping. This would mean she was creeping around entirely(placing her bets, picking up winnings, chatting it up on the phone all the time with Tocchet). Do they have separate accounts? Were the winnings being placed in joint accounts? Could you imagine finding out your wife is involved this way? Which one seems more realistic?
posted by BlogZilla at 09:31 PM on February 08, 2006
Of course there are 2 scenario's here. 1. She was betting for them both 2. He didn't know anything about it and she was creeping. This would mean she was creeping around entirely(placing her bets, picking up winnings, chatting it up on the phone all the time with Tocchet). Do they have separate accounts? Were the winnings being placed in joint accounts? Could you imagine finding out your wife is involved this way? Which one seems more realistic? Uh, there are more than two scenarios. She may have placed one bet, she may have told someone something out of context, the cops could have it wrong, the press could have it wrong - I mean, good lord - the story broke a day ago. We know a press release and a couple of stunned comments.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:17 PM on February 08, 2006
Gretzky discussed gambling op before Monday
"During a news conference Tuesday night, Gretzky said he had no knowledge of any gambling allegations until Tocchet called him Monday night. He also said his wife would speak to reporters at some point about allegations against her. "
posted by garfield at 10:40 AM on February 09, 2006
I'm sitting on the fence on this one. I can't fault players for betting on sports when I do it myself. Of course you can't bet on your own team or even sport. On the flip side, one of the rules of the office pool was that it was for employees only. To get around that we would buy multiple cards and let our friends, relatives, spouses, etc. fill them out and put our own names on them. So I'm sure it is possible they may have been betting on hockey indirectly. Since it was an illegal ring the NHL should let the government handle it first and let all that shake out before deciding if and when to ban anyone. Didn't Jeremy Roenick supposedly quit gambing a few years ago after getting into a large debt? I remember seeing it on ESPN or something but can find anything about it. The one search result I thought was gonna be a sure thing said "Article no longer available".
posted by njsk8r20 at 12:46 PM on February 09, 2006
The Newark Star-Ledger today says Gretzky knew about the ring. They have recordings from phone wiretaps to prove it.
posted by goatdog at 01:39 PM on February 09, 2006
Re: Goatdog's link Wow. Just ... wow. Here's a pretty damning paragraph: State wiretaps in the unfolding NHL betting scandal caught Wayne Gretzky discussing the multimillion-dollar gambling operation run by his friend Rick Tocchet before the ring was dismantled Monday, according to law enforcement sources. So at the very least, Gretzky was aware Tocchet was running an illegal gambling operation. It would be my guess that if an NHL coach or owner was aware of this, he would be expected by the league to report it to the NHL brass for them to handle it. I don't know exactly where this is going to go, and it appears that the ring may have only been operating for six weeks ... but if Gretzky knew, he's got to be removed, whether he knew there was mob involvement or not.
posted by wfrazerjr at 02:04 PM on February 09, 2006
Whatever. I knew my friend was growing dope in his apartment. Because I didn't turn him in I should be evicted? Should baseball players be banned because they knew some of their teammates were taking steriods, even though they weren't themselves? - But failed to report it? Don't get me wrong - this is an interesting story and a big deal - but if we're waiting for multiple heads to roll, let's have some legal footing in the first place. None of the people who made bets have done anything illegal, unless they've profited off other people's bets made (i.e. they're taking a cut of the action). So Janet so far is guilty of nothing except maybe taking the Seahawks and the points. Part of me can't help but think this is a huge millionaire football pool gone totally haywire. We're being blinded by the size of the pot, that's all.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:51 PM on February 09, 2006
So at the very least, Gretzky was aware Tocchet was running an illegal gambling operation. It would be my guess that if an NHL coach or owner was aware of this, he would be expected by the league to report it to the NHL brass for them to handle it. I don't know exactly where this is going to go, and it appears that the ring may have only been operating for six weeks ... but if Gretzky knew, he's got to be removed, whether he knew there was mob involvement or not. I'm not sure if he needs to be removed, but Gretzky DEFINITELY needs to be punished. Even if the punishment is strictly for show (10 game ban & $15,000 fine), there has to be some indication from the NHL that illegal gambling is NOT to be permitted in the NHL. Tocchet, however, should probably get the "death penalty" (lifetime ban). It's one thing to be a participant in a gambling pool (that doesn't involve betting on hockey). It's another thing entirely to be the primary financial stakeholder in a gambling organization that might have ties to the mob. Part of me can't help but think this is a huge millionaire football pool gone totally haywire. It probably is as you describe, but Tocchet is in too deep to be excused for this. If it was really just a pool among friends (where Tocchet was the organizer/money-keeper), then I've got no problems with it (but would still give Rick a big suspension). But if it's cross-country and has mob connections and dirty cops involved...oh boy.
posted by grum@work at 03:31 PM on February 09, 2006
Weedy, I guess I owe you a thank you for not turning me in. fraze - what, aren't my links good enough to read? As long as no betting on hockey took place, I'm ok with most participants beyond the ring leaders. But Gretzky should've taken the fifth on Tuesday night.
posted by garfield at 03:43 PM on February 09, 2006
garfield--whoops, I didn't notice you linked the exact same article. Stupid goatdog.
posted by goatdog at 03:50 PM on February 09, 2006
The NHL prohibits its players from making wagers, legal or otherwise, on NHL games. League rules do not forbid players from betting legally on other sports (for instance, with an established Las Vegas book). But the charges against Tocchet are for illegal gambling per New Jersey law. -- ESPN I really do hope that this is just one big misunderstanding that is being blown out of proportion. Tocchet's attorney already is complaining that the NJ state police have already given the media too much information, and that in turn, it is leading to way too many rumors and speculation. This has definately turned in to a "guilty until proven innocent" deal.
posted by wingnut4life at 04:09 PM on February 09, 2006
no worries, goatdog. you summed it up more clearly anyways.
posted by garfield at 04:38 PM on February 09, 2006
Gretzky, coach and part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, can be heard on wiretaps made within the past month talking about his wife with assistant coach Rick Tocchet, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing This may indicate he only found out recently. I think Janet cracked when she found out the hammer was coming down. Investigators say about a half-dozen current NHL players placed bets with the ring and are looking into whether anyone involved in the 5-year-old operation, which authorities say had a connection to organized crime in Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, wagered on NHL games. Gretzky is not the main focus of the probe, the person said. 5 year office pool? That's 1 damn successful pool. Somebody was making some money on something. I don't think the dirty cop was the only one with 9 flat screens and a handful of rolex watches. Earlier in the week, Gretzky denied any involvement in the ring. "My love for her (Jones) is deeper than anything. The reality is, I'm not involved, I wasn't involved and I'm not going to be involved. Am I concerned for both of them? Sure there's concern from me. I'm more worried about them than me. I'm like you guys, I'm trying to figure it all out," Gretzky said Tuesday. Like I said, there were only 2 realistic scenario's. And it appears it was number 2. She was creeping. They only have him on wire taps recently, and he indicates "He is trying to figure this all out". If my wife was creeping around with the people I work with and betting my money, I'd divorce her ass for that shit alone, let alone all this negative press. I really do hope that this is just one big misunderstanding that is being blown out of proportion. Tocchet's attorney already is complaining that the NJ state police have already given the media too much information, and that in turn, it is leading to way too many rumors and speculation. This has definately turned in to a "guilty until proven innocent" deal. Man please, welcome to the life of a pro athlete or former athlete. You actually think this is bad? If this was Ron Artest, or T.O. or the like, the congressional hearings would already be scheduled, there would be 3 different threads here about the topic, and a petition on the internet asking for the judicial process to be skipped and move directly to a lynching. That's why it's never good to presume anything about anyone no matter how you personally feel about them.
posted by BlogZilla at 05:50 PM on February 09, 2006
I think Janet cracked when she found out the hammer was coming down. I think Gretzky placed bets through his wife.
posted by rcade at 06:06 PM on February 09, 2006
BlogZilla, you do have a point about it not being so bad. And rcade, you've got another point. If they're so in love and all, then he knew it from day one and was covering his own ass.
posted by wingnut4life at 06:28 PM on February 09, 2006
I think Gretzky placed bets through his wife. Fun idea. Completely unsubstantiated, but fun.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 11:31 PM on February 09, 2006
Alright, before it gets too out of control, I didn't actually pick the winner in my wife's office Super Bowl pool...I just gave her the five bucks and told her to pick whoever she wanted. Mea Culpa.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 07:25 AM on February 11, 2006
I was going to post this but the computers at school block sportsfilter, something about profanity.... Anyway, I'm interested to see how the NHL responds to this. Will they give Tocchet and Recchi lifetime bans, fines, or will they get off the hook.