Jim Gregory in the Hall of Fame? Really? By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor ‘ ee year’s Hockey Hall of Fame induction class is without a doubt the greatest in history. Each player enshrined this season made an inerasable mark on the game in a different way. That is, everyone except Jim Gregory, who was inducted in the “builders” category. I mean, come on, Jim Gregory? The man coached one year in the NHL! Of course, it probably helped that he is the current chairman of the Hall of Fame induction committee. That’s right, that’s not a misprint. The man “For Gregory, it seemed that the more he screwed up and failed, the more he more he screwed up and failed, the more he was rewarded. In 1967-68, when the Canucks were back in the old Western Hockey League, Gregory coached the team to a bleak 26-41-5 record. This apparently impressed the Toronto Maple Leafs, who hired him to be an assistant coach the next year. Gregory spent one year as an assistant, during which the Leafs missed the playoffs, before he was promoted to the General Manager position. Huh? Gregory was Toronto’s GM for ten years, and during that time, the Leafs missed the postseason twice, inducted himself into a never came higher the Hockey Hall of was rewarded. than third in their Fame. division and never This is just another indication of the declining standards of the Hall. Think about it, the Hall of Fame is meant to be for the people who truly were some of the greatest of all time. People, who shaped the sport of hockey, people that we'll never forget. That just isn’t Jim Gregory. For Gregory, it seemed that the went to the Cup final. After taking over leadership of the Hall of Fame selection committee in 1986, Gregory oversaw the enshrinement of players who really didn’t deserve to be there, such as Dick Duff, Herbie Lewis, and Buddy O’Connor. For some reason, according to Gregory, these players have more right to be there than Glenn Anderson, Pavel Bure, and Carl Brewer. Take Brewer for example. Here’s a guy who was a superstar defenseman for years, won_ three Stanley Cups—compared to Gregory’s zero cups—and was a pivotal force in bringing down the corrupt Alan Eagleson administration in the NHLPA. This radical overturn uncovered the fact that the owners had been misallocating player’s pension funds, which resulted in a $40 million lawsuit. Sounds pretty impressive to me. How Jim Gregory managed to worm his way into the company of far greater and more deserving men is beyond me, but it is a black mark on the Hockey Hall of Fame. Getzlaf Signs Five- Year Extension By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor Rai Getzlaf, 22, and the Anaheim Ducks have agreed to a five-year contract that will keep the team’s young star in Anaheim until 2013. The long-term deal is worth $26.625 million, and averages out to $5.325 million per season. The deal locks up one of the Duck’s brightest young stars, and protects the team from losing another young player to a restricted free agent offer sheet. Before the start of this season, Anaheim had Dustin Penner signed away from them by Kevin Lowe’s Edmonton Oilers. Getzlaf, selected 19" overall by Anaheim in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, is one of the team’s best young players. He won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks last season, scoring seven goals, and adding ten assists for 17 points in 21 games. Last season, Getzlaf played all 82 games, scored 25 goals with 33 assists for 58 points. He also had 66 penalty minutes while establishing himself as one of the league’s top two- way forwards. Getzlaf, along with Corey Perry, who was chosen 28" overall by the Ducks in the same draft as Getzlaf, star goaltender Jean- Sebastian Gigure, Bobby Ryan, and perhaps the best all around defenseman in the NHL, Chris Pronger, form the nucleus for the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Ducks must now set their sites on locking up Corey Perry, whose entry-level deal will expire at the conclusion of this season. NFL Player dies in Tragic Shooting By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor 66 S afety” Sean Taylor, 24, has died after spending two days in a coma following a break-in shooting. Taylor was shot in the early hours of November 26 after an unknown number of people broke into his home and shot Taylor in the leg. Taylor suffered severe blood loss, and doctors feared for his life during a lengthy emergency surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Taylor never awoke from his coma. The former Washington Redskin was involved in an armed assault case, where he was arrested on June 5, 2005. Charges were filed but the case was eventually dropped as both sides reached a plea bargain. Taylor was not with the Redskins at the time as he was rehabbing an injured knee. An intruder shot him in the upper leg in his Florida home. Taylor died in hospital at 3:30 AM, Taylor’s home was the target of a previous break-in, which was why Taylor was carrying a machete at the time of the attack. Taylor had his house ransacked and a knife was left on Taylor’s bed. No arrests have been made as of this time. Taylor’s eventual cause of death was massive blood loss. Doctors feared that even if Taylor had recovered, the former Pro-Bowl player would have had lasting brain damage. Signs of forced entry were discovered at the home. His girlfriend and infant daughter—both of whom were present at the time of the attack—survive Taylor. Neither of them were wounded in the break-in. Sean Taylor was the fifth overall pick in the 2004 NFL entry draft. Washington selected him after a superb four-year career with the University of Miami. He had been signed to a seven-year, $18-million contract. At the time of the shooting, Taylor was tied for the NFC lead with five interceptions. 2