mario is such a nice guy no gambling with him
2007-07-08 14:53:31 · 20 answers · asked by Hey Yo Chico 6 in Sports ➔ Hockey
Did Wayne Gretzky have a gambling problem? Cause I thought it was his wife who had it... hmm.... must of missed the news.
Don't try to read to much into this, I mean whats done is done, why ask our selves "what if he would have stayed healthy" or what ever, he didn't and therefor he isn't considered the best ever by the majority. He was a damn good player but bad luck caught the best of him, and even the he was dominant, he gets respect for that and I think he gets enough. What if Mike Bossy played longer, he was breaking records for points and he was a defender. Would he be concidered the "Great One"?
2007-07-08 14:58:18 · answer #1 · answered by The Problem Solver 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No doubt Mario was a fantastic player. Like Wayne he had the advantage of having some of the TOP players in the NHL to work with. That Oilers championship team was probably the greatest team to ever play the game.. Lemieux and Gretzky's numbers are so inflated.
If Lemieux didn't slack all those years during his offseasons, he probably could have been the best scorer. We'll never know.
Look at the guys Lemieux had in his career:
Rob Brown, Paul Coffey, Zalapski, Ulf Samuelsson, Larry Murphy, Kevin Stevens, Mark Recchi.Bob Errey Dan Quinn, John Cullen... Those players alone will give you at least 90 assists. Add in a Jagr.. add on another 80 to 90.
Gretzky had Coffey, Kurri, Lowe, Tikkanen, among others.
The season Lemiuex had when he was sick and came back almost halfway into the season and overtook Lafontaine proves his abilities. I don't doubt that.
2007-07-09 20:55:59 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe. He was a great player, but clearly he has a hint of gambler in him because he was a great player (all the great ones do) and is trying to keep the Penguins afloat as their owner.
If you're trying to compare him with Gretzky, need I remind you that Gretzky is also a team owner, in his case the Coyotes. Gretzky's problem right now is that he's not a good coach (another thing that great players seem to have in common, with the possible exception of Larry Bird).
2007-07-09 00:54:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mario was one of the greatest hockey players ever to live. You can't really quantify these things. He had talent AND heart and grace as well and was fun to watch. However Gretzky was outstanding too and so were Orr and Richard...
...don't be so hard on Gretzky he is a fine human being as well as 'The Great One' (he earned that title, there are many reasons why he is so revered)
2007-07-08 22:41:24 · answer #4 · answered by megalomaniac 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Actually yeah you must of missed something because Gretz DOES gamble, but he does it LEGALLY. It was his WIFE that had the problem with ILLEGAL gambling. Anyway when you go by the Points Per Game we see the two are basically even. So why debate the issue about if he had stayed healthy and all these other things? I think that he played as good as he did AND did it WITH the injuries and health problems that is what makes him who he is. That is what makes him one of the best players. That he did it WITH the injury issues and didn't whine about being hurt.
2007-07-08 22:12:12 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Yes. He never played a full season- due to his cancer, so on and so forth. he was just unlucky, but despite that, he still posted numbers that were unbelievable. He also played after Grez retired in the clutch and grab style of the 90's- people always ramble here about how different eras and styles have different greats- well, Mario played in one of the lowest scoring periods in hockey's history. Wayne played in the one with the most scoring.
Mario is the magnificent one for a reason... He's better.
2007-07-08 23:05:40 · answer #6 · answered by The Big Box 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
That's one heck of an opinion. It's really hard to say. What happened happened so we'll never really know. All we can do now is speculate as to what could've been. Gretz is always gonna be the "Great One" but Mario certainly could've been a challenger for that title.
2007-07-08 22:39:00 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
tough to say - he was a totally different type of player. lemieux was huge. 6'5" to gretzky's 6'1." he could outmuscle you if he needed to, or he could deke you out of your shorts. in 92-93, he scored 160 points in 60 games. and he wasn't even healthy the whole time.
however, there was one big flaw in both gretzky and lemieux's games: defense. neither one could play that side of the puck worth a lick. great, great offensive talents, but 6-4 and 8-5 games only take you so far.
2007-07-09 11:03:27 · answer #8 · answered by rive_sud 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, what the hell does gambling have to do with anything in your question? It was his assistant coach who was charged with whatever illegal gambling crime the feds nailed him on. His wife also placed bets but the FBI never charged her.
Second, yes, if Lemeuix didn't get cancer, he could've been Gretzky's rival. But, hey, that's life.
2007-07-08 23:05:20 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
golden goose what do you mean a better suppoting cast?essier was center so that didnt help him. yeah coffey and kurri but lemieux jagr and stevens and one of most underated players ever ron francis.
but to answer question just compare the amount of years lem was healthy and take that cut off to gretzky. waynes numbers were always higher
2007-07-08 22:55:05 · answer #10 · answered by hunterdoo99 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋