It's Bettmans time to walk

[LeafErikson]

Ever think that the USA TV situation would be magnitudes worse if there was a Commissioner that was not Bettman?

The NHL has made many changes in the last few years. Shootouts, calling penalties much more strictly but you say Bettman won't address the NHL's problems.
Bettman would get criticized regardless of what he does. The fact that a bunch of hack reporters on Sportsnet think he will get fired is beyond irrelevant to the situation.

There was a player comittee that was put together a few years ago, started in large part by Brendan Shanahan, who took it upon themselves to discuss, and help the league come to better conclusions on what would make the game better. And Bettman has little, to nothing to do with those dicussions. He's not a hockey guy, I wouldn't even call him a Basketball guy, he's a lawyer, that happens to deal with sports, who got hired by the NHL. His main concern should be with puting the right people, in the right jobs, to make the league better, in which case, in certain, very large areas, ie the TV contracts with VS/OLN which is a joke, and the disasterous Eastern Conference Final coverage on NBC, etc.

And I point to a team like Chicago, and I know some people disagree with me, that the NHL has a place in this, but I really believe it should be put upon the NHL to ensure the teams aren't handcuffing themselves, like Chicago has (due to one pigheaded owner), by blacking out it's local viewers.

I just really believe this man is the worst salesman in sports. He's done a horrible job with TV contracts, with team locations (I won't point out which cities I believe that applies to), and just overall selling of the game as a whole. And I wonder why, really, that owners are content with the situation as it is. There has been rumours that they are looking at someone from NASCAR, to come in to replace him, but nothing concrete from the owners suggesting they're ready to make a move like that, which baffles me, regardless of the league making money. They league has glaring issues, which this man refuses to aknowledge.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

OK, too many zeroes. Well, the Globe did it for you and if the teams average just $45 million in salaries for next season, some $5 million below the cap, then the projected league revenue is $1.35 billion for next season.

If anyone here cannot understand the basic flaw in this statement, you should probably sit on the sidelines in this forum when the topic of the salary cap, NHL revenues, and most subjects that touch those two are discussed here. Seriously - and the sad part is, some of you (and probably a lot of others outside of HF) will buy that statement hook, line and sinker and SWEAR TO GOD the books are being cooked as a result.

On to the anti-Bettman commentary ...

Wirtz started the blackout of the Chicago market in the 1991 playoffs - two NHL Presidents before Gary Bettman was hired as Commissioner.

kdb has pointed out multiple times, the NHL didn't even have a major TV contract when Bettman was hired. (Remember SportsChannel? Yeah, no one else does either - but they held the NHL's TV rights for a few years late in Zeigler's reign and in Gil Stein's reign.)

Bettman has little if anything to do with the rules changes, period - the Board of Governors has the final say on what rules changes are put into effect.

In the last round of expansion, Houston (a top-10 U.S. market) would have had a team if there had been any plans for a new arena when proposals were submitted. Hamilton's application was so incomplete, they didn't even make the final round IIRC. Oklahoma City had a better application than Hamilton. And again ... the final decisions on who got expansion teams were made by - Bettman? No. Daly? No. TSN? No. The Tooth Fairy? No. The Board of Governors got the final say, and it was their votes that decided who got expansion teams. That's all Bettman's fault .... ?

Seriously ... if you just don't personally like the guy, fine - but at least try to understand how the pieces fit together, instead of laying all the blame for anything that even remotely seems less than stellar at the feet of Gary Bettman.

 

[Phaneufed]

I believe someone said this before, but i'll say it again:

Gary, there's a problem when that when a team wins a stanley cup, out of all the emotions of joy and happiness, their fans still take the time to boo you.

 

[Crazy_Ike]

I believe someone said this before, but i'll say it again:

Gary, there's a problem when that when a team wins a stanley cup, out of all the emotions of joy and happiness, their fans still take the time to boo you.

Say it as many times as you like, it still comes up sounding empty every time. Commissioners get booed. Fact of life.

Threads like these continue to make me wonder if the OP believes Bettman should be holding a gun to people's heads and forcing them to watch hockey. "Market more" has become the nebulous buzzword of choice among people who don't want to actually go into specifics as to what should be done.

Fact is, hockey is well known in the states. It has plenty of exposure for some time now. The problem is, most americans don't CARE. They can't be made to care. They don't relate to hockey and don't WANT to relate to hockey. Just because you think it is the greatest sport on earth does not make it so, especially with people who did not grow up playing it, can't play it casually even in the winter, and many of whom couldn't afford to get into it even if they could.

"Market more". Feh. How about the people saying that "think more".

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Gary, there's a problem when that when a team wins a stanley cup, out of all the emotions of joy and happiness, their fans still take the time to boo you.

Gary Bettman isn't employed by the fans. He's employed by the owners.

For one of the ten thousand posts which explain this thoroughly, please see post six in this thread.

 

[LeafErikson]

On to the anti-Bettman commentary ...

Wirtz started the blackout of the Chicago market in the 1991 playoffs - two NHL Presidents before Gary Bettman was hired as Commissioner.

Just because Wirtz started as a pre Bettman problem, doesn't mean he's not a current Bettman problem. Owners who handcuff the ability of their team to sell themselves, hurt their own team, and they in turn, hurt the league.

kdb has pointed out multiple times, the NHL didn't even have a major TV contract when Bettman was hired. (Remember SportsChannel? Yeah, no one else does either - but they held the NHL's TV rights for a few years late in Zeigler's reign and in Gil Stein's reign.)

This doesn't mean the current deal(s) isn't/aren't absolutely garbage, and things like what happened with the ECF, should not be acceptable.

Bettman has little if anything to do with the rules changes, period - the Board of Governors has the final say on what rules changes are put into effect.

Yes, this is something I've mentioned aswell, this is one area where he really can't be blamed. The hockey people in the sport make these decisions, Bettman is not a hockey person.

In the last round of expansion, Houston (a top-10 U.S. market) would have had a team if there had been any plans for a new arena when proposals were submitted. Hamilton's application was so incomplete, they didn't even make the final round If I recall correctly. Oklahoma City had a better application than Hamilton. And again ... the final decisions on who got expansion teams were made by - Bettman? No. Daly? No. TSN? No. The Tooth Fairy? No. The Board of Governors got the final say, and it was their votes that decided who got expansion teams. That's all Bettman's fault .... ?

It doesn't totally lie on Bettmans shoulders, but he deserves a large part of the blame for failure. Ultimately the running of the league, and any percieved failure, will always fall to one person, and that will always be the commisioner, right or wrong in some cases.

Seriously ... if you just don't personally like the guy, fine - but at least try to understand how the pieces fit together, instead of laying all the blame for anything that even remotely seems less than stellar at the feet of Gary Bettman.

Like I said before, right or wrong, the guy is the face of the way the NHL is run, and people will always look to him for answers to why decisions are made, what can be done to make things better. Blame will fall to him if a team moves, blame will fall to him when a fiasco like the preakness pregame happens again. But unfortunatly, owners have this vail of ignorance in their face, that because the league overall is making money, there's nothing wrong.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Just because Wirtz started as a pre Bettman problem, doesn't mean he's not a current Bettman problem. Owners who handcuff the ability of their team to sell themselves, hurt their own team, and they in turn, hurt the league.

So pray do tell, what is Bettman supposed to do about it? He has no power to seize the team, compel Wirtz to make things more fan friendly, or otherwise force Wirtz to do anything for the betterment of the league. And let's face it - Wirtz doesn't give a hoot about making anyone happy, otherwise he would have been working on this for much of the last 10 years.

So honestly ... what is Bettman supposed to do?

This doesn't mean the current deal(s) isn't/aren't absolutely garbage, and things like what happened with the ECF, should not be acceptable.

It's called "contractual obligation". NBC had the rights to the Triple Crown races before they had the rights to the NHL; furthermore, the Triple Crown races have always had better ratings than the NHL (and in most cases, the NBA while we're making comparisons across sports). If Bettman had said, "We'll give you the rights to televise the NHL but you have to put us first" and NBC had said, "Forget it - we'll go on without you" and the NHL had been left without a TV deal except for Versus, would that really have been a smart move? I'm sure some people would have applauded Bettman for looking tough, but c'mon ... when you have a chance to make some money, you don't try to get greedy when you have little leverage to improve things.

Yes, this is something I've mentioned aswell, this is one area where he really can't be blamed. The hockey people in the sport make these decisions, Bettman is not a hockey person.

It doesn't matter whether the Commissioner is a hockey person or not - the Board of Governors is solely in charge of making those calls. The Commissioner could be Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Rick Tocchet, or Nerflarx, the 12th enigma of Scion in the 8th Perplex of Haverhill and the Board of Governors would still be making the final call on rules changes and who gets expansion teams.

Like I said before, right or wrong, the guy is the face of the way the NHL is run, and people will always look to him for answers to why decisions are made, what can be done to make things better. Blame will fall to him if a team moves, blame will fall to him when a fiasco like the preakness pregame happens again. But unfortunatly, owners have this vail of ignorance in their face, that because the league overall is making money, there's nothing wrong.

Change this entire discussion to baseball, and change "Gary Bettman" to "Bud Selig" and mention Selig's ineptness, the decline in TV ratings, the steroids controversy, and blah blah blah ... and you know what? The owners still support him, and people are showing up at ballparks in record numbers shelling out hundreds or thousands of dollars to support their favorite team - so while fans may hate his guts and wish he'd leave yesterday, the fact is the guy is going nowhere because he has the support of the owners as a whole.

Carrying on about "why is Bettman still the commish, how much longer until he gets canned, blah blah blah ..." is in all honesty a waste of time and effort. If anyone here really wants to see him leave, the easiest way to help facilitate that is to quit supporting the NHL. Completely. Don't watch hockey, don't go buy tickets, don't buy jerseys or pucks or other merchandise, don't visit hockey sites - just drop it cold turkey and go on.

Will anyone here do it? Well, I've seen people screaming about it for 5 years now at HF, and it's apparent none of them have left the sport - which should tell you how "dedicated" the anti-Bettman movement is to creating a situation that gives the BoG reason to think about dumping him.

 

[Sotnos]

Say it as many times as you like, it still comes up sounding empty every time. Commissioners get booed. Fact of life.

I wonder if some of these folks have never watched another sport. Like you say, it's a given that these guys get booed.

"Market more". Feh. How about the people saying that "think more".

This thread is kinda embarrassing, to tell the truth.

 

[LeafErikson]

So pray do tell, what is Bettman supposed to do about it? He has no power to seize the team, compel Wirtz to make things more fan friendly, or otherwise force Wirtz to do anything for the betterment of the league. And let's face it - Wirtz doesn't give a hoot about making anyone happy, otherwise he would have been working on this for much of the last 10 years.

So honestly ... what is Bettman supposed to do?

Talk to him maybe? Try to come to a common ground with the man, he's hurting one of the leagues largest markets, and why? His belief that if people can't see the team on tv, they'll show up at the arena? I understand that there's nothing that Bettman can do legally to interveen in this situation, but I think there's more to be done, than nothing.

It's called "contractual obligation". NBC had the rights to the Triple Crown races before they had the rights to the NHL; furthermore, the Triple Crown races have always had better ratings than the NHL (and in most cases, the NBA while we're making comparisons across sports). If Bettman had said, "We'll give you the rights to televise the NHL but you have to put us first" and NBC had said, "Forget it - we'll go on without you" and the NHL had been left without a TV deal except for Versus, would that really have been a smart move? I'm sure some people would have applauded Bettman for looking tough, but c'mon ... when you have a chance to make some money, you don't try to get greedy when you have little leverage to improve things.

They should have never put themselves in that situation period! If it was ever a possibility that something like that was going to happen, you move the game to a different time, different day, but you don't have your game shut out of a major network, in overtime of a deciding game, in the conferance final, that's just not good for business. Just walking away and saying, hey, there's nothing I could do, is bs, and is unfair to the fans of the game, who were actually watching. I'm sure there's a fan or two on these boards that missed that OT, who really wanted to see it, how is that good for the game?

It doesn't matter whether the Commissioner is a hockey person or not - the Board of Governors is solely in charge of making those calls. The Commissioner could be Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Rick Tocchet, or Nerflarx, the 12th enigma of Scion in the 8th Perplex of Haverhill and the Board of Governors would still be making the final call on rules changes and who gets expansion teams.[

Where did that come from? I never argued that GB made decisions on rule changes, in fact I actually said he doesn't, he has nothing to do with that. I understand he has no input in the areas in which teams are placed, but he is the face of the league, he's the man at the top, and when teams fail, or are failing, he's the one who has to be there to answer the questions to the reporters, and fans, as to why it failed.

Change this entire discussion to baseball, and change "Gary Bettman" to "Bud Selig" and mention Selig's ineptness, the decline in TV ratings, the steroids controversy, and blah blah blah ... and you know what? The owners still support him, and people are showing up at ballparks in record numbers shelling out hundreds or thousands of dollars to support their favorite team - so while fans may hate his guts and wish he'd leave yesterday, the fact is the guy is going nowhere because he has the support of the owners as a whole.

Which really gets me, I don't get it. If I'm an employer (owners), I would be happy with positives, but I would also have a keen interest in ever aspect of the game, and wonder why we're showing + in one area, and major negatives in another. And why are owners ignoring other owners, say Leopold in Nashvilles situation, and not looking at shortcomings of the league as possible answers to his situation? The leagues overall health, is a bad mask on some really bad problems with league.

Carrying on about "why is Bettman still the commish, how much longer until he gets canned, blah blah blah ..." is in all honesty a waste of time and effort. If anyone here really wants to see him leave, the easiest way to help facilitate that is to quit supporting the NHL. Completely. Don't watch hockey, don't go buy tickets, don't buy jerseys or pucks or other merchandise, don't visit hockey sites - just drop it cold turkey and go on.

No one is going to do that, and it shouldn't have to come to that for Owners to want change, when there are, atleast in my opinion, major glaring issues with the league. I guess what I'm saying/agreeing with you on is maybe Bettmans issues are just as much the BOG's fault for ignoring them. And there is a point in discussing this, it's why I come to this board, to talk hockey, every aspect of it. This is a subject I havn't chimed in on a lot, and I find it very interesting, and confusing.

 

[puck57]

There was a player comittee that was put together a few years ago, started in large part by Brendan Shanahan, who took it upon themselves to discuss, and help the league come to better conclusions on what would make the game better. And Bettman has little, to nothing to do with those dicussions. He's not a hockey guy, I wouldn't even call him a Basketball guy, he's a lawyer, that happens to deal with sports, who got hired by the NHL. His main concern should be with puting the right people, in the right jobs, to make the league better, in which case, in certain, very large areas, ie the TV contracts with VS/OLN which is a joke, and the disasterous Eastern Conference Final coverage on NBC, etc.

And I point to a team like Chicago, and I know some people disagree with me, that the NHL has a place in this, but I really believe it should be put upon the NHL to ensure the teams aren't handcuffing themselves, like Chicago has (due to one pigheaded owner), by blacking out it's local viewers.

I just really believe this man is the worst salesman in sports. He's done a horrible job with TV contracts, with team locations (I won't point out which cities I believe that applies to), and just overall selling of the game as a whole. And I wonder why, really, that owners are content with the situation as it is. There has been rumours that they are looking at someone from NASCAR, to come in to replace him, but nothing concrete from the owners suggesting they're ready to make a move like that, which baffles me, regardless of the league making money. They league has glaring issues, which this man refuses to aknowledge.

One slight clairfication about the genuius of Shanahan and the competition committee. All the things they discussed and were treated as heroes for in the press were discussed many times by the nhl gms and higher ups involving rule changes and things to make the game more exciting. It makes me just shake my head every time I read about how great Shanahan was for bringing together that committee when all the things they talked about had already been brought up in and outside the league- yet he somehow get all the credit. Unbelievable.

 

[Sens Rule]

Nerflarx, the 12th enigma of Scion in the 8th Perplex of Haverhill

That is the guy (organism) that should be commissioner. Make it happen board of governors!

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Talk to him maybe? Try to come to a common ground with the man, he's hurting one of the leagues largest markets, and why? His belief that if people can't see the team on tv, they'll show up at the arena? I understand that there's nothing that Bettman can do legally to interveen in this situation, but I think there's more to be done, than nothing.

I'll pick apart the rest of your comments later (unless someone beats me to it - which is highly possible).

What can Bettman do to force Wirtz to [insert desired course of action here]? NOTHING. There is nothing that gives the Commissioner (and formerly the President) the power to force any owner to take any course of action or allows him to seize control of a team because the owner is a complete idiot and ruining the team. If the President had wielded that kind of power, it very likely would have been used in the past on Harold Ballard, former owner of the Maple Leafs, for being a general *******. It wasn't - why? Because that power doesn't exist. Period.

Wirtz won't put games on TV as long as the United Center doesn't sell out on a nightly basis - the "logic" is that if the home games are available on local TV, it discourages people from paying to go to the arena and then plunking down another $40 on beer, dogs, pizza, and other stuff. (It actually started as, "we're popular? Good - I'll put games on PPV and stick it to the fans, and soak in even more money" but that idea quickly died when fans absolutely refused to pony up; the team started to go into the toilet shortly after, and we're at the current line of thinking.)

If Bettman did try to get Wirtz to [insert desired course of action here], there would be 29 other owners looking on in horror thinking, "*** - Bettman's telling us how to run our team?" and Bettman would be out on his ass shortly after - and then the owners would find a new commissioner who would clearly understand the message that was sent: "Don't try to tell us what to do."

In short: Bettman has no power or authority to tell any owner how to run his/her team. None - so thinking, "But he could ...." is useless. He can't, unless he wants to get fired - and then whoever over would understand that if he tries it, it'll be a short tenure running the league.

 

[LeafErikson]

Say it as many times as you like, it still comes up sounding empty every time. Commissioners get booed. Fact of life.

Threads like these continue to make me wonder if the OP believes Bettman should be holding a gun to people's heads and forcing them to watch hockey. "Market more" has become the nebulous buzzword of choice among people who don't want to actually go into specifics as to what should be done.

Fact is, hockey is well known in the states. It has plenty of exposure for some time now. The problem is, most americans don't CARE. They can't be made to care. They don't relate to hockey and don't WANT to relate to hockey. Just because you think it is the greatest sport on earth does not make it so, especially with people who did not grow up playing it, can't play it casually even in the winter, and many of whom couldn't afford to get into it even if they could.

"Market more". Feh. How about the people saying that "think more".

Read the article on the first page, it outlines one really good issue. The fact the associated press is covering for major newpapers in the Stanley Cup Final throughtout the country, is a sad fact of where the league stands. Why is that acceptable? Why does the NHL just live with the fact that they're not getting covered the way other major sports get covered in their championship finals?

 

[LeafErikson]

I'll pick apart the rest of your comments later (unless someone beats me to it - which is highly possible).

What can Bettman do to force Wirtz to [insert desired course of action here]? NOTHING. There is nothing that gives the Commissioner (and formerly the President) the power to force any owner to take any course of action or allows him to seize control of a team because the owner is a complete idiot and ruining the team. If the President had wielded that kind of power, it very likely would have been used in the past on Harold Ballard, former owner of the Maple Leafs, for being a general *******. It wasn't - why? Because that power doesn't exist. Period.

Wirtz won't put games on TV as long as the United Center doesn't sell out on a nightly basis - the "logic" is that if the home games are available on local TV, it discourages people from paying to go to the arena and then plunking down another $40 on beer, dogs, pizza, and other stuff. (It actually started as, "we're popular? Good - I'll put games on PPV and stick it to the fans, and soak in even more money" but that idea quickly died when fans absolutely refused to pony up; the team started to go into the toilet shortly after, and we're at the current line of thinking.)

If Bettman did try to get Wirtz to [insert desired course of action here], there would be 29 other owners looking on in horror thinking, "*** - Bettman's telling us how to run our team?" and Bettman would be out on his ass shortly after - and then the owners would find a new commissioner who would clearly understand the message that was sent: "Don't try to tell us what to do."

In short: Bettman has no power or authority to tell any owner how to run his/her team. None - so thinking, "But he could ...." is useless. He can't, unless he wants to get fired - and then whoever over would understand that if he tries it, it'll be a short tenure running the league.

I said "find common ground", I said "try to come to an understanding". Where in my post did I make it unclear that I didn't understand that Bettman can't force Wirtz into doing things his way? But, I think he can be pressured, he can be pressured by the NHL, and the owners could support a movement in this way. Of course he can't be forced, I'm not even getting at that, but doing nothing, isn't the right course of action. That's of course, and I'm assuming here, that he has done nothing. And if he has done something, and failed, well, I feel very bad for BlackHawks fans, not that I didn't already.

 

[Crazy_Ike]

Read the article on the first page, it outlines one really good issue. The fact the associated press is covering for major newpapers in the Stanley Cup Final throughtout the country, is a sad fact of where the league stands. Why is that acceptable? Why does the NHL just live with the fact that they're not getting covered the way other major sports get covered in their championship finals?

What makes you think that its acceptable, or that they're just living with it? The newspaper makes the call, not the league. They decided the expense - considerable for a media which is on far more of a downswing than the league - wasn't worth the coverage.

Once again, I ask you, should Bettman be holding a gun to the newspaper editors and forcing them to send people to cover something too much of their readership doesn't care about?

I also ask you, what makes you think Bettman DOESN'T talk to Wirtz? I can't honestly figure out if you actually believe Bettman believes the Chicago situation is fine. You don't really believe that, do you? Because its ludicrous. Nobody thinks that. Consider the possibility that there might be a difference between what is being done and what YOU SEE being done. Honestly, you really believe there isn't pressure being brought to bear? Does Wirtz strike you as the sort of guy who bows to pressure easily? Of course you try to qualify it as just an assumption, but if you're going to be basing Bettman's job performance on it, don't you think, maybe, you should probably have a bit more than just "oh I guess I am just assuming its true"?

It's time for some of you to start considering the idea that perhaps NOTHING would work to push the NHL anywhere near the other big sports, and stop just simplistically trying to pass blame. God himself could not make the NHL a big US sport.

NHL revenues are higher than they've ever been. Considering the adversity hockey has faced in the US, maintaining that is nothing short of a miracle. He deserved every cent of his raise.

 

[Hasbro]

I said "find common ground", I said "try to come to an understanding". Where in my post did I make it unclear that I didn't understand that Bettman can't force Wirtz into doing things his way? But, I think he can be pressured, he can be pressured by the NHL, and the owners could support a movement in this way. Of course he can't be forced, I'm not even getting at that, but doing nothing, isn't the right course of action. That's of course, and I'm assuming here, that he has done nothing. And if he has done something, and failed, well, I feel very bad for BlackHawks fans, not that I didn't already.

Look at the NFL, Rozelle, Tags and now probably Godell haven't brought Al Davis in line. The Bidwills have owned the Cardinals from the team's days in Chicago. This is the most succesful league in the country and even they can't force out owners.

 

[GSC2k2*]

I'll pick apart the rest of your comments later (unless someone beats me to it - which is highly possible).

To be honest, IB, I was thinking of chiming in, but the posts to which you are responding are frankly so poorly thought out and reasoned that it is like shooting fish in a barrel.

My preferred response is to delve into exactly what we CAN legitimately blame on Bettman. For instance, I am pretty sure that Bettman assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

It never fails to make me chuckle that people who have no clue about business (and I mean no clue at all), would think they have the qualifications to judge Bettman.

Oh, and Nerflarx is not a "hockey guy" either, by the way.

 

[GSC2k2*]

This is a subject I havn't chimed in on a lot, and I find it very interesting, and confusing.

Evidently.

 

[Metallian*]

There was a player comittee that was put together a few years ago, started in large part by Brendan Shanahan, who took it upon themselves to discuss, and help the league come to better conclusions on what would make the game better. And Bettman has little, to nothing to do with those dicussions. He's not a hockey guy, I wouldn't even call him a Basketball guy, he's a lawyer, that happens to deal with sports, who got hired by the NHL. His main concern should be with puting the right people, in the right jobs, to make the league better, in which case, in certain, very large areas, ie the TV contracts with VS/OLN which is a joke, and the disasterous Eastern Conference Final coverage on NBC, etc.

And I point to a team like Chicago, and I know some people disagree with me, that the NHL has a place in this, but I really believe it should be put upon the NHL to ensure the teams aren't handcuffing themselves, like Chicago has (due to one pigheaded owner), by blacking out it's local viewers.

I just really believe this man is the worst salesman in sports. He's done a horrible job with TV contracts, with team locations (I won't point out which cities I believe that applies to), and just overall selling of the game as a whole. And I wonder why, really, that owners are content with the situation as it is. There has been rumours that they are looking at someone from NASCAR, to come in to replace him, but nothing concrete from the owners suggesting they're ready to make a move like that, which baffles me, regardless of the league making money. They league has glaring issues, which this man refuses to aknowledge.

You use so many commas,,,,,

 

[Bear of Bad News]

the posts to which you are responding are frankly so poorly thought out and reasoned that it is like shooting fish in a barrel.

But have you ever shot fish in a barrel? It's a real pain in the ass, and it's much harder than it sounds - the barrel sticks out too far.

I much prefer shooting fish in the nude.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

But have you ever shot fish in a barrel? It's a real pain in the ass, and it's much harder than it sounds - the barrel sticks out too far.

I much prefer shooting fish in the nude.

I ....... I don't even know what to say after that.

Oh, and Nerflarx is not a "hockey guy" either, by the way.

Actually, he is - he was a great warrior in the little known game of Galactic Interstellar Skeffeltash, which is similar to what we know as hockey but advanced 8,000 years. It was his patented, "Kleptar Krauch" that thrice led Vonneur to the GIS title, the last time in a thrilling, do-or-die series over Ecoterzx 4 where the losers literally died on the playing orb after the game.

However, he probably wouldn't be a great fit for the NHL right now anyway. It was his attempt to allow skaters to use neutronic accelerators that caused so much uproar, he was banished to the Outer Realm for 20 years (in our terms, about a day and a half) and ordered to use only low velocity rocket packs that eventually caused him to retire.

 

[Timmy]

I ....... I don't even know what to say after that.


Actually, he is - he was a great warrior in the little known game of Galactic Interstellar Skeffeltash, which is similar to what we know as hockey but advanced 8,000 years. It was his patented, "Kleptar Krauch" that thrice led Vonneur to the GIS title, the last time in a thrilling, do-or-die series over Ecoterzx 4 where the losers literally died on the playing orb after the game.

However, he probably wouldn't be a great fit for the NHL right now anyway. It was his attempt to allow skaters to use neutronic accelerators that caused so much uproar, he was banished to the Outer Realm for 20 years (in our terms, about a day and a half) and ordered to use only low velocity rocket packs that eventually caused him to retire.

 

[FutureGM97]

i think the best person to be commissioner, especially for the fans, would be Don Cherry. a hard nosed guy who loves old time hockey. He was great when he first appeared on NBC this year and said the NHL needs ot be more physical. I want him!

 

[Bear of Bad News]

i think the best person to be commissioner, especially for the fans, would be Don Cherry. a hard nosed guy who loves old time hockey. He was great when he first appeared on NBC this year and said the NHL needs ot be more physical. I want him!

Don Cherry has about as much chance of being the next commissioner as you do.

 

[King_Stannis]

I'm a big supporter of a team in Winnipeg and also in Hamilton, but even I get turned off by the outright hatred some of the zealots have for the guy. Irish Blues makes a compelling summary of how he gets way too much blame.

Oddly enough, one thing Bettman could do better on is better explaining the television ratings. He should listen to Mark Cuban and tout the combined numbers in the U.S. and Canada together. In the short term people will make light of it, but if the NHL keeps doing it pretty soon it will just be accepted as time goes on. Then we won't have to hear about how reruns of Hee-Haw beat out some NHL game.

For a link to the original Cuban article, in case any of you haven't seen it, here it is...

http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2...p://www.thestar.com/article/171418&frame=true