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Notebook: Gambling and Olympics
Jennifer Miller2/11/2006
Say it ain't so, T.G.O! And The Great One has said it ain't so. I wish I could fully believe him. First he says that he didn't know anything about the gambling ring or his wife's possible involvement and then we hear of a wire tap recording from weeks ago where he tries to find out how to keep his wife from being implicated.

This truly is the last thing hockey needs right now. Things were going so well too. A steroid scandal wouldn't be this potentially damaging. When I first heard of the allegations against Phoenix Assistant coach Rick Tocchet, I didn't give much thought to it except to think how sad it was that such a highly respected former player was possibly involved in criminal activity. At first report this was just betting on football games and that didn't seem much worse to me than the office pool. Now there's further investigation to see if players or coaches in the NHL paid debts by giving inside information or even point shaving. There is Wayne Gretzky himself evading the media and giving contradicting statements making himself look far more guilty that he would have had he just kept quiet.

And things were going so well for the league. Watching a double batch of incredible rookies and the increased scoring and all of the buzz with the shootouts. And Detroit just overtook Carolina for first overall in the league. Okay maybe some others don't care about that last one but we do, now don't we? I guess all we can hope and pray for now is that there is no finding of any games or players being compromised in this ugliness. I don't think hockey, especially in the states, is strong enough to deal with a Black Sox type scandal.

I don't even know what else to say about this matter. Nearly everything I would say has to be preceded with the word "Alleged" and that gets tiresome to type. Other than the few sketchy reports and news today that Tocchet would be arraigned on the 21st, I don't really know that much. I can't even begin to speculate on what this could mean for Gretzky's legacy or the sport itself if some of the uglier allegations or suspicions prove true. All I can say is that I have spent a lot of time lately praying that none of the twelve NHL players about to be questioned regularly wears a winged wheel. I just don't know if I could bear that.

In the meantime, the Wings have just won two very important pre-Olympic games and have one more to go on Sunday before everyone departs for whatever they have to do on the break. For some, they will be representing their countries in a dream come true while others will have the chance to rest and heal. I know some are worried about the guys staying fresh. Remember how the last two Olympics have worked out for Detroit. Those would be 1998 and 2002. Gee, I believe we might have won the Stanley Cup in those years. Sounds like a good pattern to continue. I know this is a pretty short column for me. I wish I had more to say because I surely wish we knew more about what was going on with the whole Operation Slap Shot thing. And I am in no way ready to write my Olympic preview column. We still have to beat Colorado before the guys get to think about Italy or gold.