[The Horrible Esthete]

When I say "blown out of proportion" I simply mean that surely there are much more important things that the police and FBI can be dedicating their resources too. A gambling ring involving pro athletes? I mean come on, who cares what these guys are doing with their millions? If this is what they do for kicks, so be it. They aren't selling drugs to children. They aren't beating up their spouses. They are looking for an adrenaline rush.

And I'm sure you'll say that it impacts problem gamblers who got drawn in and blah blah blah. But guess what, if those same problem gamblers hadn't found this ring, they would have found another, and then another, and then another. And if the FBI shut down all of the illegal gambling rings in the world, there's a place called Nevada where this is perfectly legal.

As for Wayne not knowing about Janet's involvement, I can certainly see that scenario. The guy is on the road for what, 300 days a year? On top of his duties with the Coyotes, Team Canada, Ford, McDonalds, and his video game, how much time do you really think he is spending in LA with his wife and kids? I probably spend more time with my wife in a week than he does with his in six months. And let's face it - a guy with the kind of money that Wayne has hires an accountant to manage and invest his money. With a net worth of more than $100 million, would $500K even show up on Gretzky's radar? I don't think so.

That being said, if it turns out that anyone associated with the NHL - even Janet - was betting on hockey, then I'll certainly change my tune.

First of all, I'm with you in that i don't think gambling amongst multi millionaires is a "heinous" crime. But what you and i think is irrelevent. It is illegal, and at this scale, in the scope of the law, it's a serious offense.

So now you have the foremost ambassador of the game lying about his wife's involvement. The contradiction between what he says and what investigators have discovered only begs for speculation about what other untruths he might be guilty of - like the extent his own involvement.

Not good. At all.

Gambling and high-profile sports personalities do not mix. The reason why illegal gambling draws attention from the feds is that there is no oversight and regulation, and usually involves unsavory characters somwhere along the line who regularly operate outside of the law. And since gambling is addictive behavior, time and time again, people get carried away, it begins to snowball, and things start to get real messy.

This type of thing can wind up threatening the inegrity of the NHL in a number of ways. It's not something to take lightly, IMO.