Gretzky Gambling Case: Much Ado About Nothing (Unusual)

Why is the Wayne Gretzky gambling story dominating the headlines? Apparently his wife bet on football games. Big deal. Hundreds of thousands – if not millions - of people bet on sports every year. Some do it legally. Many more do it illegally.

In fact, had these very same bets been placed in Las Vegas - where sports gambling is embraced and encouraged by lawmakers - then this wouldn’t even be a story. If I need to ask you where something happened before I decide whether or not I should care ... then I probably didn’t care to begin with. Tell me O.J. Simpson killed two people and you’ve got my interest ... regardless of what state he did it in. Tell me Janet Jones bets on football and I really don’t care ... regardless of what state she does it in.

Now, find out that either Wayne Gretzky or his wife bet on hockey and you’ve got yourself a story ... but we have seen no evidence whatsoever that suggests they were betting on hockey ... and I doubt we ever will. It’s a relatively small ethical leap to place a sports bet that isn’t technically legal -– whether it’s with a bookie, an offshore internet operation or in your office pool. However, it’s a huge ethical leap to violate the one sacred rule of athletics and bet on your own sport.

Right now, all Wayne Gretzky is guilty of is incredibly bad judgment ... and he’s paying for it by having his previously impeccable image tarnished forever. Unfortunate, but he has no one but himself to blame.

However, that doesn’t make him Pete Rose. Rose had incredibly bad judgment AND bet on his own sport (actually his own team!). [Q: How do you know Pete Rose is lying? A: His lips are moving.]

Professional athletes know they can get away with almost anything except betting on their own sport. Rose knew the ramifications and chose to cross that line anyway. Gretzky may very well have broken the law and – if he did – should be punished accordingly ... but he did NOT bet on hockey. At least not according to the latest odds out of Las Vegas ...

Final 2005 Grades for New York Teams

2005 is over. Time to hand out grades to the professional sports franchises in New York. By New York, we include the football Giants and Jets (which are really New Jersey teams) AND the Buffalo Bills (which really is a New York team). First a look at each team's winning percentage [and record] during calendar year 2005 (including playoff games, if any):

Team Giants Rangers Yankees Nets Mets Islanders Devils Bills Knicks Jets	Winning Pct. [W-L] .706 [12-5] .667 [22-11-5] .581 [97-70] .563 [49-38] .512 [83-79] .486 [17-18-2] .471 [16-18-5] .313 [5-11] .296 [24-57] .222 [4-14]

Collectively, New York teams went 329-321 for an entirely uninspiring .506 winning percentage. Five teams had winning records, while five others lost more games than they won. Three teams (Yankees, Nets, Jets) played post-season games. One other team (Giants) played well enough in 2005 to qualify for the playoffs in 2006. Three other teams played a sport (hockey) which - through its own stupidity - didn't even have any playoffs in 2005.

GRADES:

Yankees: C+
For most teams, a 95-67 regular season, a division title and a trip to the playoffs would merit a significantly better grade than a C+ -- the Yankees aren't most teams. With the highest payroll and winningest tradition in sports history, nothing less than winning the World Series is truly acceptable ... and for the last five years the Yankees' final game of each season has been a playoff loss. Not acceptable. Maybe Johnny Damon can help change that in 2006.

Mets: B-
How do the Mets finish 12 games worse than the Yankees and still get a better grade? Lower expectations. New-additions Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran led the Mets to 83 wins and a third-place finish -- a 12-game improvement over 2004. After adding Pedro Delgado and Billy Wagner, it will take another 12-game improvement and a trip to the playoffs to earn better than a C+ in 2006.

Giants: A-
Rebounded from a disappointing 6-10 season in 2004 to capture the NFC East with an 11-5 mark. Tiki Barber was the New York sports MVP of 2005 (sorry A-Rod). Eli Manning may never be the best quarterback in his family but he's the best in the New York ... by a wide margin (sorry Chad). Note: 12-5 record for Giants includes winning final game of 2004 regular season, which was played in 2005.

Jets: D+
Why not an F? It might seem like ages ago, but the Jets actually started 2005 with a two-week playoff run which - with better coaching and placekicking - could have easily lasted at least another week. The 2005 season began with high hopes but - like so many other season in J-E-T-S history - quickly disintegrated into frustration ... desperation ... embarrassment ... and, finally, talk of rebuilding from scratch. Not pretty.

Bills: D
Finished 9-7 in 2004 and seemed to found a stud running back in Willis McGahee, so Bills fans were not prepared to go 5-11 this season. McGahee proved to be a workhorse but it turns out replacing Drew Bledsoe was harder than expected as neither Kelly Holcomb not J.P. Losman distinguished himself at QB.

Nets: B
Finished the 2004-05 season with a 32-22 run to make the playoffs, only to get swept in four straight by the Miami Heat. Started this season 9-12 before winning eight straight to end silly speculation over coach Lawrence Frank's job security and Vince Carter's value to the franchise. If these Nets played at Madison Square Garden, New York would once again be the great basketball city it still considers itself.

Knicks: F
The reason New York City can no longer be considered a truly great basketball town. Finished last season by losing 36 of their final 53 games. The arrival of Larry Brown raised expectations but the team has done the inconceivable -- they'll actually gotten worse under the tutelage of the Hall of Fame coach. The Knicks receive New York's only failing grade for 2005 ... and they've earned it. While the Jets were nearly as bad [excluding their playoff run that began the year], there are two big differences:

1. The Jets always played hard ... unfortunately, the same can't be said for the Knicks.
2. The Jets still own the high draft pick they earned through their losing ways ... the Knicks dealt their pick - maybe a #1 overall - to Chicago in the Eddy Curry deal. Oops.

Rangers: INCOMPLETE
Devils: INCOMPLETE
Islanders: INCOMPLETE
Sorry, but when the hockey pucks that are in charge of your sport cancel an entire season, you don't get a grade. Check in again next year.