A tarnished legacy

I have been fortunate enough to be in the same lockerrom as Wayne Gretzky when he was with the New York Rangers, standing literally inches away from the greatest player in hockey history as he would talk post-game.

One annoying trait about him was that he would never speak above a low tone, forcing the media crush around him to lean in with their notebooks, tape recorders and microphones. For being the best ever at what he did, Gretzky never seemed comfortable being in the spotlight.

He may have to learn to get comfortable with that real soon.

According to Thursday's edition Newark Star-Ledger, Gretzky was caught by New Jersey state wiretaps talking about the multimillion-dollar gambling ring allegedly helped run by his friend and Phoenix Coyotes assistant Rick Tocchet.

Gretzky, the NHL's all-time scoring leader and the Coyotes' coach, denied any knowledge of the ring on Tuesday.



But law enforcement sources told the Star-Ledger that the Hall of Famer spoke about the ring, and that investigators are looking into whether he placed any wagers through his wife, actress Janet Jones.

According to the newspaper, Jones waged $500,000 on sporting events during the past six weeks, including $75,000 on last week's Super Bowl. Authorities are considering whether to issue a subpoena ordering Gretzky to testify before a state grand jury, sources told the paper.

This has the opportunity to become very ugly, especially if it is found Gretzky placed bets, especially on hockey. Think Pete Rose.

What do you think? I'd like to know.