Like a tornado

I’ve left this NHL gambling scandal to my newly minted bloggin’ colleague Damien Cox for most of the day, but with the news cycle turning over and another round of leaks appearing, this more and more seems like something that’s not just getting messier, as Damien says. It’s whirling like a tornado.

According to the latest reports, “a source close to the investigation” has dropped some more hints this afternoon to the Associated Press on the nature of the wiretapped conversation that is part of that investigation, the one that was leaked to the Newark Star-Ledger. This all followed on leaks from police sources to the AP alleging that Gretzky’s wife was one of the gamblers.

Leaving aside for a moment the discrepancies between what Gretzky told reporters Monday and what the leaked wiretap suggests, there's a nasty battle playing out here, the cops waging this p.r. battle, carefully dropping off crumbs as they attempt to make the charges stick and, presumably, coerce plea bargains and gather witnesses. Aside from those already charged, though, the gamblers have done nothing wrong legally. For the ins and outs of what's legal and not in New Jersey, where the charges have been laid, here's a link and an excerpt:

Q: Were the people who bet through the ring charged? Is it a crime to bet with a bookmaker?
A: No, they weren't. Strictly speaking, it is not a crime to place a bet, according to John Hagerty, spokesman for the state Division of Criminal Justice. "The act of betting is not illegal. The act of accepting a bet and making money off of a bet is considered promoting gambling and that's a crime," he said. But soliciting friends to use your bookmaker, or placing bets for others with a bookmaker, could be prosecuted, he said.

None of this matters, because at least for now this is being played out in a different kind of court. The status of Gretzky’s participation with Team Canada seems the least of his worries, and hockey's status in the U.S. isn't exactly about to take a hit because it really doesn't have any. Far more important is that this thing has the potential, if handled badly, to end up as the worst scandal in Canadian sporting history, and in terms of a fall from grace, among the worst in sports, period. I mean, Gretzky called in front of a grand jury? Unfathomable, up until today. "This is like seeing Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron thrown into the dock," says Eric McErlain at Off Wing Opinion.

But just remember -- neither the man nor his wife have been charged with anything, nor do they appear to be guilty of anything (except poor judgment, and if that $5,000 coin toss bet is true, a problem). If he’s smart – suddenly, that’s an open question – then he lays it all out, as soon as possible.
Oh, and in other news, the Olympics start Friday. Remember them?

Bloggers first

(UPDATE: For more on the NHL gambling scandal, including links to this morning's latest update, Damien Cox's new blog, The Spin, is up and running on thestar.com)

The morning links, (Almost) All-Blogger Thursday edition, size XXL:

Detroit-based Beyond Boxscores comes down like a ton of torn tickets on alleged bookmaker Rick Tocchet, making the case for zero tolerance on sports gambling of any kind: "Why do I hold such an anti-gambling stance? I guess it's because I don't want there to be any indication that the sports we watch are contrived. I don't even want to consider the possibility that the miracles of sports history were, perhaps, not quite so miraculous."

Jes Golbez says what's the big deal?: "I don't give a rat's ass. I really don't."  To that, James Mirtle suggests there are 500,000 reasons to give an ass, rat or otherwise.

Down in Carolina, the Acid Queen bounces off Jes, head-fakes Mirtle and goes hard to the net:

"Unless the League does something serious in response to this to distance themselves from the people involved--even Wayne Gretzky, if it comes to that--then I really do think that there will be some serious and potentially irreparable damage done to what little image the NHL has left."

There's tons more out there, and it has Vancouver Canucks OpEd running for cover. Can't blame 'em.

Elsewhere, the Raptors went into overtime last night (again) and lost to the Spurs 125-118 (if nothing else this season, these Raptors are entertaining in their all-offence, no-D approach, the Spurs shooting an unbelievable-in-any-universe-but-the-Raptors' 59 per cent off Tony Parker's slashing setups). I'll take the blog rant lead: as good as Mike James' fourth quarter was (check out the Popcorn Machine's GameFlow -- James had 18 points in the fourth to go with two rebounds, two assists and a steal), his ball-hogging overtime period undermined it all. No Tim Duncan (out with flu), old pal Sean Marks (where'd he get that jump shot?) and Rasho Nesterovic fouled out, and James is still putting his head down and hell-bent driving? No wonder they didn't get a field goal in nine overtime possessions. Oh, one more thing: the just-like-old-times moment came when Antonio Davis missed a triple putback from two feet away late in regulation that would've avoided overtime entirely, but A.D. actually played all right in his 33 minutes, 12 over his season average.

Three more hoops items I've been holding in the queue: Raptors HQ has their usual excellent Euro roundup; and with Chris Bosh a cinch to be named to the all-star team tonight, here's a Bosh-KG parallelogram from Aaron Miller; and from Raptorblog, Scott Carefoot welcomes back Antonio Davis. (And yeah, it's not a blog, but I'll make an exception for Bill Simmons' latest, for the priceless Vince Carter yarn at No. 11 alone).

From the Morning News: In search of Puppy Bowl II.

And from the non-bloggers out there:

Morning links Lines of the Night are back! In the NBA, we give you Gilbert Arenas, coming to an All-Star Game near you: 45 points, with that 23 of 25 from the line setting a franchise record previously held by Moses Malone. And in the NHL, Flyers rookie Mike Richards steps up in lieu of missing Forsberg and Gagne with three goals on three shots, and Philly keeps pace with the streaking Rangers.

Team Canada update: Jay Bouwmeester in for Scott Neidermayer.

Team Egypt update: Mido -- the man, the moaner.

And finally, a Rome newspaper has come up with a novel approach to counter extremist Ultra fans: hand out copies of Life is Beautiful.

Odds and ends

I've been working on the webdesk, but here's some afternoon updates from wires and elsewhere on the NHL gambling scandal:

Sports Illustrated's Michael Farber is calling the Rick Tocchet case the biggest crisis of Gary Bettman's time at the head of the NHL, which when you think of it (the lockout, Todd Bertuzzi, the Fox puck), is saying something:

In the wake of the police probe, Bettman has to disassociate the league and its teams from lotteries that are popular in western Canada, find a solution to the Pittsburgh Penguins' future that does not involve casino slot licenses and work vigilantly, in conjunction with the Players Association, to root out any problem among the players.

Cut the Pro-Line/casino cord? Not likely, unless this thing is heading out of control. But in a world where the ownership of fantasy league stats are grounds for litigation, anything is possible.

Hockey Page refugee John LoFranco sends along a link to Joe Boughner's Media Scout post in Maisonneuve (thanks JLo!), Boughner wondering with plenty of justification about the use of anonymously-sourced information:

The coverage of this story raises two other serious concerns, though: the use of an anonymous source and the publication of libellous material. While Tocchet has been formally charged and has responded publicly to those charges, another individual named in the Big Seven coverage has not been charged with anything, let alone convicted. The person’s name first appeared in an Associated Press article based on anonymous sources. Using an anonymous source can be a dangerous practice at the best of times, but using someone else’s anonymous source is irresponsible.
(snip)
Linking someone to criminal activities when he or she hasn’t been formally charged or offered a comment on said activities is libellous—plain and simple. Under more lax U.S. libel laws, such practice has become standard, but in Canada, such allegations are only permitted in very specific situations.

Along those lines, an interesting little tidbit buried at the bottom of this Arizona Republic report from this afternoon:

Hagerty also said some of the reporting from Canada has “taken considerable liberties” with the facts of the case.
Hagerty said the vast majority of those who placed bets likely would not be charged. But, he said, the investigation could result in more arrests.
“Some of the individuals who placed bets potentially face criminal charges depending on the nature of their activity and the level of activity and whether they were involved in any acts that were illegal in the state of New Jersey,” Hagerty said.

Meanwhile, over in Turin, where they're playing an Olympic hockey tournament pretty soon that is fast becoming overtaken by this news, the COC is saying "it's an NHL issue", and really what else would you expect them to say? Oh, and in case you're playing Pro-Line or some other kind of playing tonight, rest assured: The odds are unchanged.

 

NHL betting scandal

Here they are after a day at the spa (as if!), the morning links:

Lots and lots of stories out there surrounding Operation Slapshot, a New Jersey police gambling sting that yesterday netted Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet, who was the alleged bankroller of the operation. According to authorities its customer base including Wayne Gretzky's wife Janet and a dozen current and former NHL players -- but not J.R., he said:

Los Angeles Kings forward Jeremy Roenick, who in 2004 said he had bet on sports for years but had stopped "cold turkey" after a warning from his former team, the Flyers, yesterday told the Star he was aware of the gambling investigation but insisted he has no involvement.
"I have not been contacted by anyone about this," Roenick said. "I am not a suspect."

Not Gretzky either, as he told the Arizona Republic:

"Absolutely not. I never bet. Anytime there is a spouse involved, that's what people are going to think. She's her own person. I think that had I been involved, I would have gotten a phone call. I'm pretty hard to hide."

The real smoking gun here is not who made bets or how many and on what, with other reports suggesting this involves NHLers at the ownership level as well, the investigation ongoing in five cities. It's the gambling ring's ties to organized crime. That's where this becomes a major, major scandal that's going to drag on, each name like a little drip falling on the head of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman:

The probe is expected to widen, officials said, and is focusing on a number of prominent NHL players and management officials who may have placed illegal bets with the ring.
"It's huge," one official said of the investigation's scope.
(snip)
State police said the New Jersey ring ran a sophisticated operation that handled bets on football and basketball. In one 40-day period, more than 1,000 wagers totaling more than $1.7 million were placed by clients nationwide, officials said.
Some gamblers placed their bets by calling Harney's cellphone while the 40-year-old uniformed trooper patrolled the New Jersey Turnpike in his police cruiser, officials said.
(snip)
Investigators say that Harney is connected to the Bruno-Scarfo Philadelphia crime family, but did not elaborate. In general, people running illegal gambling operations in mob territory are expected to pay "tribute" or a portion of their proceeds, to organized crime members, law enforcement officials said.
When state troopers searched Harney's home in Marlton late Monday, they found $250,000 worth of Rolex watches and nine flat-screen televisions -- two of them in the bathroom, officials said.

Otherwise, some quick links:

Leafs beat the Thrashers, but have perhaps lost Carlo Colaiacovo for the season.

Antonio Davis checks in to Raptors practice, thus ending the latest NBA soap opera.

The Pistons lose to the Hawks. I'll repeat that: The Pistons lose to the Hawks.

Beer leaguers make the NHL cry uncle.

And this from the African Cup of Nations, where Egypt and the Ivory Coast will play in Friday's final: Egyptian Mido's furious touchline demonstration upon being substituted late during the host's semifinal victory has resulted in the Spurs forward being suspended for six months. Sort of takes the shine off the victory parties, doesn't it?

Hockey and betting

Just what the NHL needs in the wake of last year's lockout: A gambling scandal spreading like ripples on a quiet pond, lapping up even on the shores of Chez Gretzky.

So nobody bet on NHL games, as the league's designated spokesman Bill Daly was quick to point out: "We understand that Mr. Tocchet's conduct in no way involved betting on hockey," said Daly, pouring a teaspoon of water on the brushfire.

Tocchet: "It's not a hockey-related issue. It's a football thing." (Glad we cleared that up.).

And Wayne Gretzky, whose wife Janet has been named in the AP reports as one of the, um, I'll-take-anything-anything-but-hockey gamblers, has this to say about his assistant coach: "Everyone in the world is innocent until proven guilty."

True enough. And every bet is a winner until it's in the books.

If there's any consolation, baseball's been through this. Football and basketball, too. Now it's hockey's turn for the first time in a long time, and off these early reports it may not be as bad as the other times, perhaps -- all bets suspended until final confirmation, of course:

Babe Pratt of the Leafs got nine games in 1946 for betting  on NHL games. He didn't bet against his own team, though, and the sentence that isn't mentioned in his Hall of Fame bio.
And Conn Smythe, who traded away Pratt after the short suspension, knew a bit about gambling. According to one oft-told yarn, he won $20,000 on a couple of hockey games in the mid 1920s and used the money to buy the Toronto St. Pats, who he renamed -- the Leafs. Later, he parlayed winnings on a horse bet to buy King Clancy, and the Leafs are on their way.

Imagine how different history would have been if Smythe had have lost those bets. I mean, this guy might well be selling shoes today.

Sittler's record night

Busy morning round here with appointments and work (yeah, it happens, fancy that) getting in the way of the serious business of blogging.

I can't let this day go by without a mention of it, though -- 30 years ago tonight, Darryl Sittler's NHL record 10-point night happened, against Boston's Dave Reece, a goalie who vanished as quickly as he appeared.

RON BULL/TORONTO STAR

Sittler's final goal -- No. 6 on the night -- 30 years ago today.

(For a PDF file of the sports front page the day after -- actually, it was two days after, The Star not publishing a Sunday paper back in '76 -- click here.)

What's been airbrushed out of that long ago night was the role Harold Ballard played -- and you knew he did, Ballard making so much of Sittler's performance afterward. But before, it was a little bit different story. This from Frank Orr's sharp report in the (Monday) Feb. 9 Star:

Sittler's epic performance came one day after the latest of owner Ballard's carefully pipelined assaults against the dignity of the people he employs.
In ranting No. 345, Ballard claimed he was "determined to find a sensational centre" to play between the team's two top wingers, Lanny McDonald and Errol Thompson.
"We'd set off a time bomb if we had a hell of a centre in there," said Ballard.
<snip>
"Undoubtedly Mr. Ballard will figure his little blast inspired me to set the record but it just isn't that way," said Sittler. "Maybe now he won't have to hunt quite so hard for that centre he wants."

Two things about this: Who's more improbable to be involved in a similar catfight now --Mats Sundin, or the anonymous bunch who dip into the petty cash to pay him?

And: Was this the finest post-1967 moment in Leafsland, given that the playoffs since have invariably ended in disappointment?

Recalling Jonathan Bender

Over the weekend, the announcement that Jonathan Bender has "discontinued his NBA career" caused barely a ripple.

Here in Toronto, though, Bender's seven years in the league have been of more than passing interest, and there was some irony in his announcement within hours of Antonio Davis being traded back to the Raptors -- as Tim Foran noted in the comments to Friday's Davis-Rose trade post. Raptors GM Glen Grunwald selected the then-high schooler Bender in the 1999 NBA draft, then dealt him to Indiana for Davis. It was a key trade in the Raptors' brief ascendancy, and the first in a long series of events that led to the acrimonious departure of Davis for Jalen Rose, who later was traded, two GMs' later, for -- Antonio Davis. Funny how that works.

What's forgotten about Bender is just how good a prospect he was, and there was genuine debate about whether or not to take him and keep him in that draft (and, for a couple years after, some thought to re-acquiring Bender when his career appeared to stall out in Indiana, but those injuries were already a red flag). In the short history of the Raptors (up until a couple of years ago, anyway, and I doubt this has changed), two of those May/June draft-eligible player workouts resulted in the visitors maxing out on the charts the club uses to measure ability, and making observers drool. One was Vince Carter. The other was Jonathan Bender. In more than one way, Bender was one of the most important people in Raptors history, without ever actually making it here.

Recommended reading: Over at the Sports Law Blog, an excellent take on Bender's lot  from Michael McCann:

"There is another way of looking at this story: by skipping college, Bender attracted the interest of NBA teams before his chronic knee problems became apparent to NBA scouts. As a result, he was able embark on a 7-year NBA career, during which time he earned (according to my calculations) about $29.5 million. Had he matriculated to Mississippi State, and watched his knee problems worsen there, he would have certainly had a shorter NBA career, and he may have never had an NBA career. In other words, had he taken the "safe" route and attended college, he may have never earned a dollar playing basketball, let alone $29.5 million. And yet now, if he wants, he can attend Mississippi State and take all of the courses he wants--and be able to focus on those courses rather than on basketball (something which would have been impossible had he matriculated to Mississippi State in 1999). And of course, if he does go back to school, he'll also having millions of dollars in hand (kind of like the Olson Twins at NYU)."

The e-mail bag

Time to reach into the bag:

Oh, the suspense. With the Antonio and Kendra Show put off until Tuesday, e-mailer CyberSteak sends in a few ACC signs he's working on:

1/"Make Mine A Double Double!"
2/Show up in a garbage bag and a sign that reads "Just In Case"
3/"Waive Kendra"

Meantime, another emailer, Mama Dukes, takes a more conciliatory tack (and optimistic, considering Davis hasn't even arrived yet):

"I hope that T.O. gives a big Welcome Back to Antonio Davis. I think our young team looks very interesting and I can hardly wait to see AD come back with all his talents and strength and then, when Alvin Williams returns... BLAM ... I can see it.... can you???? Kendra, please come back with the kids, I think the Canadian air is better for y'all!!!"

Not to mention the metric system, eh?

Finally, regular Steven Dykstra offers this point-by-point critique of Richard Peddie, CEO of MLSE and the real killer of the Raptor franchise:

Date approved as president and CEO: March 10, 1998
Seasons at the helm: This is his 8th as head honcho
Record: 247-295 (.456) (not including this season)
Playoff appearances: 3
GMs: Glen Grunwald, Rob Babcock
Coaches: Butch Carter, Lenny Wilkens, Kevin O’Neill, Sam Mitchell.
Significant players lost: Vince Carter, Marcus Camby, Tracy McGrady, Donyell Marshall, Alonzo Mourning.
Significant free agents attracted to Toronto: 0
Most notable free agents attracted to Toronto: Rafer Alston (bust), Jose Calderon (work in progress), Hakeem Olajuwon (With all due respect to his great career, absolute bust).
Quick observations and conclusion: The hiring of Rob Babcock proves conclusively that Peddie has no clue what it takes to be a successful GM in this league. Realistically, hiring the right people is his only job. Peddie had no NBA experience when he took the job of president and, based on the Babcock fiasco, it would appear he has learned very little. ... Babcock was an inexecusable hiring, one that should lead to Peddie's termination. During the past couple of years there has been a lack of stability at the coaching position. It’s hard to attract league-wide respect when coaches are turned over so quickly. We see a consistent pattern of significant players leaving Toronto on the first possible train south. This is a direct result of a lack of stability; lack of credibility; lack of any sign that the organization has a plan for winning sometime in the next decade. ... If Peddie truly wants what’s best for the team, he’ll step aside and let the Raptors hire a talented, credible executive that can send a message to teams, players and agents that the Raptors are serious about winning.

Super Stupor

The morning links, ruled down by contact:

If there was an overlooked aspect of the Super Bowl, it was Steelers coach Bill Cowher's Supe record for earliest sideline celebrations as he signalled "first down!", the two-minute warning not even up yet. Under normal circumstances the football gods would have knocked him down in a trice (or at least sent the order down for a back-door cover). As it was, they were probably bored to sleep by a night of dropped passes, poor officiating, inept clock management, only a couple of big plays to raise it if only for a few seconds out of the general torpor. Cowher's celebration brought to mind Danny Maciocia during November's Grey Cup, but that point of comparison, tenuous as it is, was about it between the two games that are the highlight of the football year: One rocked for real, the other brought out the Rolling Stones. Full marks to the Steelers, but this was no masterpiece.

Elsewhere, the Raptors went overtime after making the wrong defensive call at the end of regulation, allowing the Clippers' Sam Cassell to get free for a game-tying 3-pointer.

Sol Campbell is back with Arsenal. An interview in the weekend Observer conducted before he left the team last week is worth reading:

"Football's not just football any more. It really isn't. People use it for their own gains. For pleasure. Use it to voice their opinions. And for power. Football's changed. Not so much the playing, but outside it's changed. People are using football for their own personal uses. It can break down a lot of barriers, and on the other hand people voice their opinions, racist or whatever."

Breaking news: Raptors deal Rose

The deal, as reported by the Star's Doug Smith:

Jalen Rose and a draft pick (the Nuggets' first rounder this June) to the Knicks for Antonio and Kendra Davis.

I don't like it much on first glance (Postscript: On second glance, I don't like it at all), but it does prove one thing: Wayne Embry is a housecleanin' maniac! First Aaron Williams goes -- never quite understood how Williams could be a minor contributor everywhere else, but in the frontcourt-starved Raptors he can't find the floor with a compass and a map.

Now in the same week comes this. Gets Rose's big contract off the books for next year, but as much as Jalen drove me nuts with his matador defence, he still could give you a bit of offence and big-cojones shotmaking, and they'll miss that. Loses a first-rounder, but watching the Nuggets this one has the look of a middle first-rounder, and that's no big deal.

Lands Davis, who hasn't got much if anything left in the tank -- over at Raptors HQ, the reviewers are already wondering if Davis pulls a Mourning; same is being speculated over at Raptorblog; And I'm last to this bitchfest 'cause I was out SHOPPING (like Wayne Embry) -- but Glen Grunwald's big contract comes back to land where it all started (and for the same guy he was traded out of town for) and as Smith points out, the room left when that one expires this summer will go a long way to re-signing Mike James (Chris Bosh making signals about that yesterday) and leaving a little left over to contribute.

As for Embry, this is what really intrigues me: he looks more and more like the interim GM who's soon going to be made the permanent GM. Not forever, as he said the other night on the broadcast, but a lot more than just keeping the seat warm.  His last shot at running the show has started here in Toronto, and I have a strong suspicion it's going to be a couple more seasons at least.