The Rangers have confirmed a press conference for
4:00pm ET today during which WAYNE GRETZKY will likely
announce his retirement. Gretzky was to meet with
Cablevision President James Dolan this morning to discuss
his future, but he said yesterday, "I just think it's going
to take a miracle [this] morning" (Bergen RECORD, 4/16).
Gretzky said that the 2000 All-Star Game in Toronto would be
the one thing that would have him return for another season:
Gretzky: "I want to play in that game" (TORONTO SUN, 4/16).
WAYNE'S WORLD: Gretzky, on possible future team
ownership: "Obviously, I'd look at some kind of deal in the
right ownership situation" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 4/16).
HIS LEGACY: Canadian hockey writer Roy MacGregor, on
Gretzky: "He is courteous, valiant, humble, shy, polite,
deferential, a team player. And he beats Americans -- let's
not forget that. There is nobody who makes Canadians feel
as good about who they are than Gretzky" (WASHINGTON POST,
4/16). NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman: "Obviously he is the
greatest spokesman hockey, or frankly any professional
sports, has ever had. He represents everything that's right
about professional sports, about being a professional
athlete. ... His impact, both him as an ambassador of the
game and what he's done on the ice, you can't quantify it"
(CANADIAN PRESS, 4/16). USA TODAY's Kevin Allen writes "an
argument can be made that Gretzky's retirement will effect
the NHL more adversely than [Michael] Jordan's retirement
affected the NBA. The NHL is fighting an uphill battle for
television ratings and a national perspective," and now the
league will "be looking for players like" Paul Kariya, Eric
Lindros, Jaromir Jagr and others to "combine to make up for
his loss" (Kevin Allen, USA TODAY, 4/16).
POWER OF THE PINSTRIPES: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir
writes that in N.Y., WNYW-Fox will carry the Yankees game,
"forcing at least part of what appears to be Gretzky's final
game" to the MSG Network, which is available in 3.7 million
local homes compared with WNYW's 6.8 million. Sandomir
notes that with the Yankees averaging a 7.1 local Nielsen
rating for their first six games this season, Fox "has not
insisted that the station" leave the 1:00pm ET game when the
Rangers 3:00pm ET game begins. WNYW GM Michael Wach: "They
realize the importance of the Yankees to Fox [WNYW]. ...
They mandated nothing." Sandomir writes that "something of
a solution" has WNYW showing Gretzky-related highlights from
the farewell during the Yankees game and then joining the
Rangers game in progress after the Yankees game ends (N.Y.
TIMES, 4/16). Meanwhile, in Canada, CBC's "HNIC" plans to
add Sunday's farewell from MSG, but the "trouble for CBC is
it has" the Blue Jays game scheduled for 1:00pm, and "a
request with the team to have the start time switch to noon
was denied." CBC hasn't "announced how the conflict will be
resolved" (TORONTO SUN, 4/16). The NATIONAL POST's Chris
Cobb reports that Sunday's game "conceivably could attract
the largest Canadian audience ever in a regular season" game
or even the "highest-rated hockey game of all time." "HNIC"
Exec Producer John Shannon: "We have to be there for Wayne.
The country expects it" (NATIONAL POST, 4/16).