It Looks Like a Great Time to Hang ‘Em Up
While one nation, Canada, holds its breath waiting for Wayne Gretzky’s decision--will he or won’t he retire?--the ruminations have taken on epic proportions.
Several major daily newspapers in Canada devoted as many as half a dozen stories each to the prospect of such a move. Hockey fans hit the Internet in droves, urging Gretzky to play another season.
Some columnists, though, seem to feel the time is right to retire.
Allan Maki of the Globe and Mail in Toronto:
“You knew it when you saw him that February night in Calgary, raising his stick to a sellout crowd, a gesture of appreciation to the screams and applause that poured on him from every seat in the Saddledome.
“You knew it, too, when you heard him talking after the game, saying how special it had been to be cheered by the same people who once loathed him when he played for the Edmonton Oilers. Right then and there you knew this had to be it for Wayne Gretzky.”
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Trivia time: Who was the Calgary goaltender who had an NHL record three assists in a 13-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in 1993?
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Large legacy: Roy MacGregor of the National Post, on Gretzky’s impact:
“If he has become larger than the game itself, it is also true that the game has become smaller than it once was. He would be leaving in a year in which not a single player may reach the 50-goal mark that he himself reached in a mere 39 games. . . .
“It is also that, at 38, he leaves behind no heir apparent. Only Wayne Gretzky has ever managed to transcend the gap between the narrow world of the hockey fan and the wider fans of celebrity. Only Gretzky could appear everywhere from Letterman to the cover of Cigar magazine and be recognized by those who have never been inside a hockey rink.”
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Big-game blues: Newspaper columnist Dwight Jaynes of the Oregonian was disappointed by the quality of the Laker-Trail Blazer game on Tuesday:
“The Blazers and the Lakers meet three more times before the season is over and certainly everyone would have the right to expect there will be better games than this one.
“After all, these guys come from California--where shopping is an art and malls cozy up to every freeway exit. Somewhere, somehow, this team might locate just what it desperately needs: A Hearts ‘R’ Us store.”
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Heisman heist? The home of the Heisman Trophy--the Downtown Athletic Club in New York--is in the midst of a bitter fight in bankruptcy court.
“They want to purloin our building,” club director William Dockery said Wednesday. “We’ve maintained the integrity of the Heisman Memorial Trophy for the last 65 years and we will never allow it to be sullied.”
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Trivia answer: Jeff Reese.
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And finally: On the Cleveland Indians’ official website, https://www.indians.com, reliever Ricky Rincon is listed on the team’s all-time roster as Ricky Ricardo. During spring training, Rincon asked to be known as Ricky instead of Ricardo. He is on the 15-day disabled list with a swollen left elbow.
