by Jes

Wayne Gretzky, aka "The Great Whiner", apparently got bored and wanted a new revenue stream for his spoiled family to bet on NFL games.

The product? A fine vintage wine ... fitting, given that Gretzky was/is the biggest whiner in the game.

The Canadian icon is lending his name to a line of Niagara wines, which he unveiled Tuesday at his downtown Toronto restaurant, Wayne Gretzky's. The classy label bears the No. 99, a number the National Hockey League retired when Gretzky ended his career in April, 1999.

A Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery is planned for Niagara by 2009.

But the man considered by many to be the greatest hockey player of all time, admits his knowledge of wine isn't great. He's not a collector of wines, but enjoys a glass or two with wife, Janet, over dinner.

Gretzky is leaving the job of winemaking to the experts, his partner and Niagara winery owners Peter Jensen and Laura McCain-Jensen and their winemaking team, Rob Power and Craig McDonald, at Creekside Estate Winery in Jordan Station.

Gretzky, the NHL's all-time leading scorer who won four Stanley Cups in his career, knows a winner, and he senses one with his wine.

"I don't know a whole lot about wine. I can tell you if I like the taste of something or if I don't like the taste of something," Gretzky, 46, told Osprey News Network.

"When Peter (Jensen) gave me the first couple of bottles to let me sample it, I felt strongly that it's very good tasting wine, and people are going to enjoy it."

How many off-ice ventures of Gretzky's have failed? Hmm?

Here at Hockey Rants, we called up our favourite Molvanian psychic and got a glimpse into the three main product lines that Gretzky's vinery will produce.

1. A young Riesling wine that is fairly cheap, sweet, has exceptional taste and clarity, and achieves the highest rating on the market. This will be the best wine on the market, by far, and is best sipped with a big side of Alberta beef.
The newly-founded Chateau de Lemieux presents a challenge, but the bottles are known for breaking easily.

2. An medium-aged Chardonnay that has a flashy black-and-silver label, is very expensive, and not quite as sweet as the Riesling. It's very popular in the USA, especially in California. It's a good wine, but not worth the massive price tag. Good with sushi.

3. A very well-aged and bitter Merlot, with grapes that were picked well past their ripened state. Experts are afraid to give this wine a bad score, despite the fact that it's a terrible wine and not effective with your dinner. Highly overrated, especially by the Canadian media. Despite the bitterness, experts continue to drink just to fit in with the mainstream crowd.

Labels: Gretzky, off-ice silliness

It seems Canadian 'lifestyle' magazine, Chatelaine, has run out of interesting people to put on their cover, so they are resorting to featuring the heavily airbrushed Gretzky Girls...




As you can find out in the article on their website, Wayne's trophy wife is having such a rough go at it, having to be away from her breadwinner so often. It's enough to bring a tear to one's eye, really...

Though the couple is seldom apart for more than 10 days at a time, it's still a long-distance relationship that leaves Janet a weekday parent to Paulina, Tristan, Emma and 14-year-old Trevor. (Sixteen-year-old Ty Gretzky goes to prep school in Minnesota.) "We've done this for a couple of years now, but I don't think we're going to be able to do it next year," says Janet. "This travelling back and forth is kind of getting to us."

Moments later, however, Janet sounds resigned. Moving to Phoenix would cause too much upheaval for her older kids, who enjoy life in L.A. Besides, she adds, Phoenix is only 50 minutes away by plane and it's never hard when she has her children with her. "It's when I have to leave my children that I don't like."

Oh, how could the kids possibly MOVE to another city! *GASP* They might be scarred for life!! Such anguish, pain, and misery... a 50 minute plane ride on a private plane? That must be so hard for you. Shall I crack open a bottle of Cristal to ease your suffering?



After drinking enough coffee to wake the dead, I actually managed to finish this terribly boring article, which sort of (very lightly) addresses that pesky gambling scandal:

"They were trying to paint something that just wasn't true," she adds. "It's unfair that Wayne and I have had a great marriage for 20 years and a nice family, and the people in the media could care less if they are trying to cause friction in your marriage, trouble in your family, and make your kids feel a certain way. That was a little hurtful because it was like, 'Why? What have we ever done to you?' "

Well, you did steal Gretzky away from Canada and take him to LA. *cough*

Loan Sharking, which was part of the allegations, and illegal betting, are criminal acts, babe. The media certainly made a bigger-than-it-should-have fuss about it, but your fingerprints are on the gun, so you ought to expect questions.

Overall, just a spoiled bunch of people.

Labels: Chatelaine, gossip, Gretzky, Kill...me...now

by Jes

According to TSN.ca, the Phoenix Coyotes have already begun the process of gutting their management team and starting from scratch (again) after a woeful season which saw the Coyotes finish dead last in the Western Conference with 67 points.

General manager Mike Barnett, assistant general manager Laurence Gilman, and Senior Executive and Vice President of Hockey Operations, Cliff Fletcher have been let go.

Barnett joined the Coyotes as Vice President and GM in 2001, leaving behind a successful career as a player agent with Wayne Gretzky as his marquee client.

Although not many will be surprised at the front-office shakeup, it's hard to imagine that Wayne Gretzky, who is unfailingly loyal, will simply kick good buddies Barnett and Fletcher out the door altogether ... at least not without a cushy payout pillow to fall on.

Under the management of Gretzky and Friends (or "Friends of Wayne", as Mirtle might call them), the Coyotes have made a number of bad decisions that have left the club with dim prospects for the present and future. Signing over-the-hill veterans such as Curtis Joseph, Jeremy Roenick, and Owen Nolan only blocked the younger players from getting more ice time while eating a large chunk of salary cap space at the same time.

The Gretzky Era has seen The Great One hire good friends for important positions, rather than hire based on merit. Claude Lemieux, Paul Coffey, Ulf Samuelsson, Grant Fuhr, Keith Gretzky, and Tom Kurvers were all brought on board because they just happened to be part of Wayne's nice entourage.

The scouting staff, in turn, made a pile of questionable picks (Hello, Blake Wheeler) that have left the Coyotes with a fairly meager pool of prospects from which to draw from. With poor attendance and a weak market, the Coyotes' franchise is going to need somebody with some exceptional talent to turn that club into a success. Will Gretzky finally do the right thing and hire the best candidate, even if he's not a good friend?

(Cross-posted at The Fanhouse)

Labels: Coyotes, front office mayhem, GM firing, Gretzky, Mike Barnett, Phoenix

Even though I run the Sidney Crosby Show Blog, even I get tired of all of the 'hero' worship that goes on with Sidney Crosby. Reading and listening to some pundits, you'd think Crosby could turn water into wine, iron into gold, and solve world hunger.

What is the definition of a hero?

In mythology and legend, a man, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favored by the gods.

A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life: soldiers and nurses who were heroes in an unpopular war.

A person noted for special achievement in a particular field: the heroes of medicine.

The principal male character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation

So, is Sidney Crosby a hero? Maybe under the 4th definition...but he's really just a very good hockey player.

Reuters, on the other hand, can't stop gushing over Kid Crosby...

With its bone-crunching violence, bulky armor and head-to-toe uniforms, ice hockey is an unlikely setting for a teen idol.

Sidney Crosby is shattering that stereotype. The 18-year-old is the hottest thing on ice since Wayne Gretzky, generating a Beatles-like reception at appearances in his native Canada. Now, the buzz is spreading to the United States.

Just two months into his first National Hockey League (NHL) season, the rookie leads the Pittsburgh Penguins in points, drawing comparisons to Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr.

Gretzky, Lemieux, and Peter Forsberg, yes... Bobby Orr? Since when did Sidney switch to defenseman and start making end to end rushes? Since when did Crosby revolutionize the way the game has been played?

It is not just his swift, goal-scoring plays nor his ability to withstand punishing body checks that excite fans, managers and sponsors. It is also a potentially powerful commercial appeal at a time when the NHL is desperate for a hero.

Is the NHL desperate for a hero? Does the NHL need to be saved?
If Crosby was a real hero, he'd find a way to get Gary Bettman replaced with a chimpanzee or someone with a higher IQ.

With heartthrob looks, his own brand of sports clothing and a contract worth $2.5 million with footwear manufacturers Reebok, Crosby is the sport's biggest goldmine in more than a decade.

Heartthrob looks? Crosby isn't an ugly kid, but he is (and the ladies will agree) no Jiri Slegr in the looks department.

Inside Hockey editor-in-chief Kevin Greenstein compares Crosby to basketball prodigy LeBron James, who went from high school to the National Basketball Association (NBA) two seasons ago, displaying spectacular dunks, deft passes and a veteran's savvy on the court.

Please do not compare basketball to hockey. Ever!

The NBA and basketball in general is a very individualistic game where the roster depth doesn't mean nearly as much as in hockey. In hockey, you need a strong 15-22 players to be a contender. In basketball, you need basically 2 (Jordan and Pippen, Stockton and Malone, Magic and Abdul-Jabbar) awesome talents and a bunch of warm bodies. We have seen that one lone player cannot guarantee success in the NHL unless their name is Dominik Hasek. Basketball also does not have a real minor league system and it's either NCAA or NBA for any young and talented players. Sidney Crosby played against a much higher level of talent than LeBron James did before entering the big leagues.

"He's down to earth. He's mature for his young age. He comes across as someone people can relate to," said Reebok marketing executive Len Rhodes.

Oh yes, I can perfectly relate to a multi-millionaire hockey player who has more hockey talent in his pinky finger than I do in my whole body. I can perfectly relate to a kid who has been a huge media sensation for almost a third of his life. Yeah...he's just like one of us, eh!

The 30-team NHL desperately needs a new face to attract talent to the junior leagues, sell jerseys, pack stadiums and market goods.

How the hell does the NHL need a new face to attract talent to the junior leagues? The CHL has been expanding long before Sidney Crosby ever played in the QMJHL and it's not as if he'll suddenly cause an explosion anywhere outside of Pittsburgh.

Let's get a little perspective, people!

(crossposted)

Labels: Crosby, Gretzky, Lemieux, marketing