Debate? Prepared? Who's BIGGER Wayne GRETSKY or Brett FAVRE?

[woodbuck27]

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-Domino-s-Pizza-ad-forgotten-benefit-of-G?urn=nhl,98452

Tuesday, Aug 5, 2008 8:20 ET

Video: Domino's Pizza ad, forgotten benefit of Gretzky trade

By Greg Wyshynski

The 20th anniversary of Wayne Gretzky's trade from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings is Saturday, and it's being treated with understandable fanfare.

The NHL has dedicated a Web page to the Gretzky trade, covering everything but the kind of underwear Mike Krushelnyski was wearing when he heard about the deal. The NHL Network is devoting more time to revisiting the trade this week than ESPN has dedicated to FavreWatch 2008. And Leahy has some sort of strange Mario-based protest going.

Meanwhile, hockey historian Joe Pelletier does the big picture thing:

"For many Canadians, the date of August 9th, 1988 marks the date Canada started losing control of hockey, although in reality it was more of an awakening to a long time reality than a beginning."

In California, it was a shock to the system:

Gretzky made hockey seem cool. Cool enough where ad wizards believed it was now every kid's dream to have The Great One skate up to their door with a piping hot pizza in his hands. Because that's the way he likes it:

Hey, and best of all: He apparently avoided the Noid.

GO PACK GO!

[Harlan Huckleby]

really Woody, how can you even compare an American with a Canadian?

[mraynrand]

Do they still play Hockey for money?

[mission]

really Woody, how can you even compare an American with a Canadian?

yeah, it's not even comparable.

if that place wasn't so damn third world, we woulda taken it over already.

ehhh, just leave em be...

[CaliforniaCheez]

Wayne popularized inline skating in California and brought some visibility to the sport. He was in the Stanley Cup Finals but didn't win the cup.

Sadly, that fad faded and "street" hockey is rare.

Wayne was such a superior talent. I will never forget watching Wayne in person. Once when he was still with Edmonton, I had the best seat in the rink and saw him come down the ice on a 2 on 1. The defenseman and the goalie played it perfect. Somehow he got the puck through to his linemate who scored. Gretzky got the assist. How did he do that was what everyone was asking. It was a great play by everyone involved.

I have seen Favre make plays where you wonder how the ball got there. Favre doesn't get the credit for greatness that Gretzky gets.

Edmonton got a lot in their trade for Gretzky but most of those draft picks never panned out.

I think with Wayne it shows you should never trade quality.

Gretzky after the trade ended up bouncing around the league.

How many people remember him as a St Louis Blue??

I prefer athletes that go the Jerome Bettis route and take less money by staying. Their aftercareers are better also.

[motife]

That is a hard comparison. I imagine Gretsky was FAR more of a celebrity in Canada than Favre was in the U.S. though.

So I would agree Gretsky was bigger as the most famous person in their respective countries.

[Patler]

In the hockey world, the trade of Gretsky was absolutely huge. It changed the perception of the NHL "upstart" teams in the nontraditional southern and western areas. It was devastating to a lot of NHL traditionalists. The trade was shocking enough, but where he went was brderline unacceptable to many. The impact in Edmonton was unbelievable. In many ways, Gretsky had "saved" NHL hockey at a time many thought it would go under. There was even speculation that the trade was orchestrated to simply further the publicity and growth of the league. He was the ONLY real face of the NHL for many fans and quasi-fans. He was the only story of interest to most new fans of the league. The trade of Gretsky affected all of the NHL for years to come.

The trade of Favre is interesting to rank and file NFL fans, but really has no impact on the NFL overall. It doesn't really change anything about the league as a whole.

[pbmax]

The odd thing, in trying to jump start hockey in the States and out west, Bruce McNall, the owner of the Kings at the time, was eventually jailed for fraud after his collectible coin business collapsed around his ears and he had no other assets to back himself up.

He has been accused of smuggling art, antiquities and coins out of other countries illegally and, if I am not mistaken, gave an interview before his jail time in which he all but admitted he had done some of these things.

I think his conviction centered on bank fraud.

In the hockey world, the trade of Gretsky was absolutely huge. It changed the perception of the NHL "upstart" teams in the nontraditional southern and western areas. It was devastating to a lot of NHL traditionalists. The trade was shocking enough, but where he went was brderline unacceptable to many. The impact in Edmonton was unbelievable. In many ways, Gretsky had "saved" NHL hockey at a time many thought it would go under. There was even speculation that the trade was orchestrated to simply further the publicity and growth of the league. He was the ONLY real face of the NHL for many fans and quasi-fans. He was the only story of interest to most new fans of the league. The trade of Gretsky affected all of the NHL for years to come.

The trade of Favre is interesting to rank and file NFL fans, but really has no impact on the NFL overall. It doesn't really change anything about the league as a whole.

[Patler]

The odd thing, in trying to jump start hockey in the States and out west, Bruce McNall, the owner of the Kings at the time, was eventually jailed for fraud after his collectible coin business collapsed around his ears and he had no other assets to back himself up.

He has been accused of smuggling art, antiquities and coins out of other countries illegally and, if I am not mistaken, gave an interview before his jail time in which he all but admitted he had done some of these things.

Yup. it seems one of the few "treasures" he acquired legally was Gretsky!

[BZnDallas]

Favre was bigger: 6ft 2in 101kg. vs. Waynes 6ft 0in. 84kg.

[Noodle]

Re: Debate? Prepared? Who's BIGGER Wayne GRETSKY or Brett FA

"For many Canadians, the date of August 9th, 1988 marks the date Canada started losing control of hockey, although in reality it was more of an awakening to a long time reality than a beginning."

GO PACK GO!

This is crap. The real date is Sept. 2, 1972, when Team USSR delivered an epic 7-3 smackdown to a way overconfident Team Canada if the first game of the Summit Series.

C'mon Woodie, are you sure you're Canadian?

[bobblehead]

Favre was bigger: 6ft 2in 101kg. vs. Waynes 6ft 0in. 84kg.

brett is a few bicuits over 101kg. Did you see him in NY in that Tshirt?