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Thursday, February 16, 2006

Gretzky 2, CHB 0

I'm not saying that this is the end of the New Jersey based gambling ring issue for hockey, as Rick Tocchet's role (and possible punishment) has yet to be fully determined. But today's AP story seems to close the book on the involvement of Wayne Gretzky and wife, and according to authorities no book will be thrown at the Great One.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Wayne Gretzky will not face criminal charges in connection with a multimillion-dollar sports betting ring busted in New Jersey last week, and he is unlikely to be called to testify against others in the case, his lawyer said Thursday.

Attorney Ron Fujikawa said he received assurances from New Jersey authorities last week that the hockey great was not in any way a central figure in the criminal investigation. That's not surprising, Fujikawa said, because Gretzky did nothing illegal.

"He is not a person of interest," Fujikawa said Thursday. "We have received no indication he is somebody who will be called before a grand jury. We have received assurances that he is at most a fact witness."

A fact witness is someone interviewed informally by authorities, the lawyer said.

Gretzky's wife, Janet Jones, also is unlikely to face criminal charges in the case, her lawyer said Thursday. Jones wagered more than $100,000 through the ring, a person with knowledge of the investigation has told The Associated Press; her husband was not directly implicated.
The story goes on to note that wagering is not a crime in New Jersey (fans of Tony Soprano rejoice).

What this also means is The CHB's Tuesday insta-punditry was, as usual, just so much skate slop. What Dan called a "dreadful development for ... the legend of Wayne Gretzky" is turning out to be just another broken stick in the hockey game of life. Or something like that.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know, though, however wrong he is, I wish Dan would just stick to writing about hockey. I don't care if he knows nothing about it, because I don't care about hockey, so it wouldn't bother me.

On the note of corrections, this could be taken care of in one fell swoop:

Feb. 16: "All columns ever written for the Globe by Dan Shaughnessy have been incorrect. We apologize to our readers for confusing vicious self-promoting speculation with actual journalism. The Globe apologizes to Jeff Stone, Nomar Garciaparra, Theo Epstein, and any other names we may have neglected to mention. For a complete list, check your local phone book."

That would do it for me.

mike_b1 said...

jenny, you are too funny! want to write a few guest columns?

Anonymous said...

I simply have to respond to the recent tedium, but for now why don't I merely point out that the Black Sox were acquitted and that it does Gretzky's reputation absolutely no good to have his associate coach and wife placing bets with people who can, at best, be characterized as seedy.

Now run off like a good little boy and polish that correction that you owe Shaugnessey for, inter alia, suggesting he claimed that a particular player won a MIAA MVP trophy, or that it was his fault that Bradshaw was listed among the Superbowl MVPs introduced when the paper disclosed it was an editing error. Or maybe you should be raising your voice in protest over this self-annointed twit of a media critic and blogger who has flat-out stolen the SporTView column name -- a stunt that mostof the civilized world considers plagarism, and whose site has been publishing tawdry attacks on individualsby hackneyed third rate would-be critics (although the columnists mea culpa was so badly written it appeared to be a parody) while staging obnoxious publicity stunts such as demanding that reporters be fired for not being rah-rah enough for his taste.

As Frazier would say, I think I'm gonna 'fro up.

mike_b1 said...

What are earth are you talking about?

Anonymous said...

Da...oops, I mean Objectivebruce doesn't like BA repeatedly pointing out the poor work ethic and intellectual corruption of him and the rest of his corrupt colleagues at the Globe and in the Boston sports media.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure what Bruce's post means, but I do know I'm intimidated by his command of the English language.

Anonymous said...

Basically, OB just laid out his ulterior motives. He is in a petulant little snit because someone is following reporters in the local sports journalism community and critiquing them. Boo-friggin-hoo, OB.

Guess what OB? The days when journalists basically issued proclamations from Mount Olympus that went unchallenged because they were the only ones with the ability to get their voices heard are over, and not a moment too soon. Deal with it.

Anonymous said...

I'm not looking to save pompous asses on Mt. Olympus. But this knee-jerk obsession trivial complaints deserves condemnation. Especially when its dead wrong.

mike_b1 said...

If that's how you feel, OB, then you should be picking Dan apart, because you apparently abhor his style or "writing."

Anonymous said...

Hey OB,
Make nice or I'm telling Buzz.

Anonymous said...

Me, write columns? Sure, why not? Who's handling his latest Theo hack job?