‘St. Gretzky’ finally loses his halo.

last updated 8 January 2015

Canada

Mike Strobel

Now we know how those European Muslims feel, said Mike Strobel in The Toronto Sun. Canada’s most sacred icon has become the butt of jokes. Hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky—“Canadian demigod, pure as Arctic snow, hero to all, the Great One”—has been brought down to earth through the folly of his American trophy wife. We can’t blame the comedians. “The comic possibilities are just so juicy.” Gretzky wife Janet Jones, a B-list Hollywood actress, was caught illegally gambling away vast sums on pro sports games. She went through a half-million dollars in just three months, even betting on the coin toss at the Super Bowl. And it gets worse: Jones was busted in Operation Slap Shot, a sting run by New Jersey cops who “look like they found their uniforms at Gestapo Surplus” and who “mutter darkly about gaming rings and the real Sopranos.” Even those of us who grew up revering the Great One are giggling. “A roomful of sitcom scriptwriters couldn’t pen a better plot.”