Let the rumors begin!

Well, well, well. Yesterday Former Flyer Rick Tocchet — who played with the team for two stints from the 1980s on — was charged with financing an illegal sports betting ring.

What makes it more interesting is that reports have said ex-Flyer (and now Penguin) Mark Recchi and Janet Jones, who is the wife of Wayne Gretzky. If she’s calling in bets, who is she calling them in for? Oh, also, in a shocker to no one, Jeremy Roenick might be involved.

And now anyone who’s anyone is thinking of possible offenders with baseless speculation. Well, no, not baseless, but you think of how some players could be connected to this thing. You see, police said that some current NHLers placed bets, as well as a “Hollywood movie star.” Ooh!

Nobody really knows who could be involved. But it could be anyone! Well, anyone connected to hockey. So we have like 500 white male suspects, all bulky and 6 feet and up.

Oh, and look how New Jersey State Trooper James Harney, who allegedly helped run the gambling ring:

Capt. Al Della Fave, a spokesman for the state police, said Tocchet had met Harney years ago when Harney was a bartender at a Holiday Inn near the sports complex in South Philadelphia. Tocchet was a regular bar customer there.

If you needed any evidence about how cool hockey players are, you just need to know that Rick Tocchet regularly drank at a Holiday Inn. Near the Spectrum.

In unrelated news, Eric Lindros was reportedly friends with Joey Merlino when he was in town. Zing!

Betting sting nabs ex-Flyer Tocchet, N.J. trooper [Inky]
Yesterday: All of Northeast Philly’s childhood idol, exposed