I saw this story earlier in the week and forgot to mention it because I was more concerned with the liberty and freedom of Vancouver’s Green Men, but someone recently purchased a Wayne Gretzky rookie card for $94,163 from an online sports memorabilia auction. It is apparently an incredibly rare, flawless O-Pee-Chee card from 1979, and SCP Auction basically called it the most valuable modern trading card on the planet.

*stares at pile of Jose Canseco Rated Rookies, sighs*

Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Washington Capitals 3 (Series: 3-0 TB)

The Washington Capitals scored three goals in the second period (big deal, football players do that just by kicking the ball) to grab a 3-2 lead over the Lightning heading into the third period. It really looked like Alex Ovechkin and Co. were going to splash some water on the red hot Lightning and climb back into this series. Instead, Caps goalie Michal Neuvirth allowed two goals in the third, which I have been told is not a good strategy.

Tampa’s Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone scored the tying and game-winning goals, respectively, within 30 seconds of each other and the Lightning have now won 6 straight games as the 5-seed.

Fun Fact: The Lightning are the second most popular sports team in Tampa behind the Buccaneers. The Rays rank 714th.

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The most marketable face of pro hockey’s most unstable franchise is gone. Wayne Gretzky, who happens to be one of the greatest players to ever play the game, has quit as head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.

“This was a difficult decision that I’ve thought long and hard about,” Gretzky said in a statement Thursday on his Web site. “We all hoped there would be a resolution earlier this month to the Coyotes ownership situation, but the decision is taking longer than expected.

“Since both remaining bidders have made it clear that I don’t fit into their future plans, I approached general manager Don Maloney and suggested he begin looking for someone to replace me as coach. Don has worked hard and explored many options. I think he has made an excellent choice, and so now it’s time for me to step aside.”

Gretzky’s replacement seems to be in hand, though no announcement has been made. And there’s a good chance that this could be it for the end of the Coyotes in Arizona, and the league-wide ramifications of the sale could be zzzzzzzzz…