Wayne Gretzky is a former professional ice hockey player and is currently part-owner and head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is regarded as the best player of his era and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by sportswriters, coaches, and fans. Along with his many awards and achievements, he is the only player to ever have his playing number, 99, officially retired across the entire National Hockey League. He set 40 regular season records (including 9 MVP awards and 10 scoring titles), 15 playoff records, 6 All-Star records, and won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers. He was the only player to total over 200 points in a season, accomplishing the feat 4 times. He retired from playing in 1999, becoming Executive Director for the Canadian national men's hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics. He became part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2000, and their head coach following the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1772: HMS Resolution set sail from Plymouth, England, under the command of Captain James Cook. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Resolution_%28Cook%29)

1793: Jean-Paul Marat, a leader in the French Revolution, was murdered in his bathtub by Charlotte Corday. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Marat)

1878: The major powers in Europe redrew the map of the Balkans in the Treaty of Berlin. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berlin%2C_1878)

1923: The Hollywoodland Sign was officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, California. The last four letters of the sign were later removed in 1949. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Sign)

1985: Live Aid benefit concerts, organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia, were held in London and Philadelphia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Aid)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

To-morrow comes, true copy of to-day,And empty shadow of what is to be;Yet cheated Hope on future still depends,And ends but only when our being ends. -- John Clare (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Clare)