When first asked, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, said he was unaware of any gambling accusations against the Coyotes assistant coach, Rick Tocchet. He supposedly first learned of it when Tocchet called to tell him. Gretzky went on to say “It’s hard because I love the guy. I just hope it all works out for him”. Two days later Mr. Unaware unfortunately gets a slap shot to the head when it is revealed that he was recorded talking to Tocchet in the last month about how his eye candy wife, actor Janet Jones, could avoid being implicated in this scandal. She has been named along with several other NHL players for placing bets on college and professional sports over a 40 day period. A little New Jersey based ring that placed more than 1,000 wagers of over 1.7 million dollars.
Gretzky, the devoted husband, pretty much let the mother of their 5 children know that besides loving Tocchet, he also loves her despite not knowing anything. He said “My wife is my best friend. My love for her is deeper than anything. The reality is, I’m not involved, I wasn’t involved and I’m not going to be involved.” What a sweet way to say “Hey Janet, I’ve got your back”. Are you catching any of this? “Uh, honey, after you take the kids to school, pick up the dry cleaning and get my skates sharpened, could you transfer that money so we can cover the Super Bowl bet”? Check. Wayne sure has a lot of love to go around for all those other people involved...The scary thing is that two of the people named in this mess are supposed to be the soft cushions on either side of Gretzky; his assistant coach and his wife. What a lovefest...
You don’t really hear much about hockey like you do about other sports. I think the main reason that this has become such a crisis in the sports world is because of Janet Jones. After all, she was once a movie star of such low budget cult classics like The Beastmaster, and also the Flamingo Kid and American Anthem. Oh and that little semi-nude pictorial in Playboy, March 1987, in which Janet made the cover didn’t hurt either. She also made work out videos, was engaged to tennis star Vitas Gerulaitis and dated Bruce Willis.
Mrs. Wayne Gretzky, gambler, wife and mother of 5
Actually, I think this is the bottom line. While hockey players are prohibited from placing bets on the NHL, legally or otherwise, there are no rules that do not allow them from placing legal bets on other sports. But when these same athletes, coaches and gorgeous wives start high-sticking with wise guys and organized crime via gambling rings, that’s when the word “sieve” shouldtruly be chanted. This is not debatable. There is just no room for that in any sport. Even if it does make hockey seem important for a brief moment in time.
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