[laliber]

(David) Stern sensed the potential trouble in 1993 while the NHL was in search of a new commissioner. So he looked around his own office for someone so incompetent that if they got the job, the NHL would be marginalized by their mismanagement and never again be a threat to the NBA.

Naturally, Stern recommended one of his assistants, Gary Bettman, for the job.

:lol:

the mouse over says it all
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://garybettmansucks.com/">http://garybettmansucks.com/</a><!-- m -->

[cferneyh]

cferneyh you're not actually defending Gary Bettman are you? hock:

I'm not pro-Bettman and I'm not anti-Bettman. I'm just tired of the constant bitching and whining that sportswriters do regarding the NHL (and by extension, Bettman) all the while NEVER stating their brilliant ideas as to what can and should be done to make the game more popular in the US (since that seems to be everyone's bone of contention - that **gasp** the NHL isn't as popular in the US as other professional sports leagues).

I think I'm also annoyed that too many of these guys seem to pass of their personal opinion as fact. I know for a FACT that the NHL does a lot of market research with both hard core and casual fans, and a lot of decisions made by the league are a direct result of this feedback, while clowns like Strachan, Cox, et al. continuously act like the NHL doesn't understand their customers, simply because the league does things that Strachan, Cox, et al. don't like, or don't understand.

Frankly, being a sportswriter has to be the easiest job on the planet. All you do is bitch about the league that you cover, or the GM of the team that you cover, using the benefit of hindsight. Plus, 99% of your readers only remember your last column. So when you bitch about the unbalanced schedule for example, no one remembers that two years ago you were advocating it......but you'll be the first person to bitch about a bad trade made three years ago.

OK, there. Now I feel better. [/rant]

Oh, and to all the whiners: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=194496&hubname=">http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=194496&hubname=</a><!-- m -->

...the league announced Thursday that it attracted 3,193,093 fans to 187 total games and posted a per-game average of 17,075 in January, the highest in the NHL's 89-year history.

But I thought the NHL was doooooooooooomed!

[tth_fan]

I'm not pro-Bettman and I'm not anti-Bettman.

I don't play the fence; I'm anti-Bettman, and all fans of Canadian hockey should be

[thedarkcanuck]

bring it on habitants! :rambo:

[tigerthelion]

ok I know there's a couple of Rangers fans on here, I got a question for you...

Does Jagr ever show emotion? I only got to catch the last period of tonights game, but looking at him got me thinking, does he actually care? He looks the same no matter what is going on. One (close) offside in particular in the last 5 minutes or so, he didn't really seem to care about the call. Whereas 95% of the players in the NHL would have at least said SOMETHING to the linesman. It's a one goal game, late in the third, but it really just looked like it was just another day at work. Another game, another paycheck...any thoughts??

He doesn't have to show emotion. His statistics speak for themselves. I don't think it's a big deal that he doesn't gripe and maon to the officials. Would you think more highly of Jagr if he bitched to the refs as much as somebody like Mccabe? You don't have to act like a whiny delinquent to prove how much you care. Jagr is trying to help his team win.

[farmerdan]

ok I know there's a couple of Rangers fans on here, I got a question for you...

Does Jagr ever show emotion? I only got to catch the last period of tonights game, but looking at him got me thinking, does he actually care? He looks the same no matter what is going on. One (close) offside in particular in the last 5 minutes or so, he didn't really seem to care about the call. Whereas 95% of the players in the NHL would have at least said SOMETHING to the linesman. It's a one goal game, late in the third, but it really just looked like it was just another day at work. Another game, another paycheck...any thoughts??

He doesn't have to show emotion. His statistics speak for themselves. I don't think it's a big deal that he doesn't gripe and maon to the officials. Would you think more highly of Jagr if he bitched to the refs as much as somebody like Mccabe? You don't have to act like a whiny delinquent to prove how much you care. Jagr is trying to help his team win.

I never said he needed to whine or moan, just maybe look like he cared...

It seems anytime you see him, he's got the exact same expression on his face....none
(btw he'd probably have one mean pokerface)

[tigerthelion]

ok I know there's a couple of Rangers fans on here, I got a question for you...

Does Jagr ever show emotion? I only got to catch the last period of tonights game, but looking at him got me thinking, does he actually care? He looks the same no matter what is going on. One (close) offside in particular in the last 5 minutes or so, he didn't really seem to care about the call. Whereas 95% of the players in the NHL would have at least said SOMETHING to the linesman. It's a one goal game, late in the third, but it really just looked like it was just another day at work. Another game, another paycheck...any thoughts??

He doesn't have to show emotion. His statistics speak for themselves. I don't think it's a big deal that he doesn't gripe and maon to the officials. Would you think more highly of Jagr if he bitched to the refs as much as somebody like Mccabe? You don't have to act like a whiny delinquent to prove how much you care. Jagr is trying to help his team win.

I never said he needed to whine or moan, just maybe look like he cared...

It seems anytime you see him, he's got the exact same expression on his face....none
(btw he'd probably have one mean pokerface)

It's ok to have the same expression. Have you ever seen Joe Sakic change his expression?

[cferneyh]

I'm not pro-Bettman and I'm not anti-Bettman.

I don't play the fence; I'm anti-Bettman, and all fans of Canadian hockey should be

What the hell is Canadian hockey? If you mean fans of Canadian teams should be anti-Bettman, sorry, but I don't subscribe to that notion. If you are still bitter about Quebec and Winnipeg leaving for the US, be bitter with the owners who decided to make millions of dollars selling the teams to US interests (case in point, Aubut sold the Nords for $103 million after paying $15 million for them - all after claiming that the team could not survive in the NHL without a new, publicly funded arena and ongoing government support). That's right - he wanted taxpayers to pay for his rink, and when that didn't happen as quickly as he wanted, he pocketed $88 million instead.

But your beef is with Bettman? Uh, OK.

[grimes]

cferneyh you're not actually defending Gary Bettman are you? hock:

I'm not pro-Bettman and I'm not anti-Bettman. I'm just tired of the constant bitching and whining that sportswriters do regarding the NHL (and by extension, Bettman) all the while NEVER stating their brilliant ideas as to what can and should be done to make the game more popular in the US (since that seems to be everyone's bone of contention - that **gasp** the NHL isn't as popular in the US as other professional sports leagues).

I think I'm also annoyed that too many of these guys seem to pass of their personal opinion as fact. I know for a FACT that the NHL does a lot of market research with both hard core and casual fans, and a lot of decisions made by the league are a direct result of this feedback, while clowns like Strachan, Cox, et al. continuously act like the NHL doesn't understand their customers, simply because the league does things that Strachan, Cox, et al. don't like, or don't understand.

Frankly, being a sportswriter has to be the easiest job on the planet. All you do is bitch about the league that you cover, or the GM of the team that you cover, using the benefit of hindsight. Plus, 99% of your readers only remember your last column. So when you bitch about the unbalanced schedule for example, no one remembers that two years ago you were advocating it......but you'll be the first person to bitch about a bad trade made three years ago.

OK, there. Now I feel better. [/rant]

Oh, and to all the whiners: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=194496&hubname=">http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=194496&hubname=</a><!-- m -->

...the league announced Thursday that it attracted 3,193,093 fans to 187 total games and posted a per-game average of 17,075 in January, the highest in the NHL's 89-year history.

But I thought the NHL was doooooooooooomed!

Is market research to blame then for the fact Bettman chose to sign the league up with Versus, a channel most people don't even know exists, for its national cable deal in the US?

On sportswriters: You're right, there's a lot of bad ones out there. But giving their personal opinion is what they get paid to do, they're commentators. If you don't like them, either don't read them, or complain to their editors.

On attendance: the overall numbers are great, but they don't change the fact that teams like Anaheim, Atlanta, and Nashville, 3 of the best teams in the league this year, can't even come close to selling out their buildings on a regular basis. If they can't sell tickets during a good year for the team, how will they ever sell any in a bad year?

[grimes]

I'm not pro-Bettman and I'm not anti-Bettman.

I don't play the fence; I'm anti-Bettman, and all fans of Canadian hockey should be

What the hell is Canadian hockey? If you mean fans of Canadian teams should be anti-Bettman, sorry, but I don't subscribe to that notion. If you are still bitter about Quebec and Winnipeg leaving for the US, be bitter with the owners who decided to make millions of dollars selling the teams to US interests (case in point, Aubut sold the Nords for $103 million after paying $15 million for them - all after claiming that the team could not survive in the NHL without a new, publicly funded arena and ongoing government support). That's right - he wanted taxpayers to pay for his rink, and when that didn't happen as quickly as he wanted, he pocketed $88 million instead.

But your beef is with Bettman? Uh, OK.

Mine is, yes. Sure Aubut deserves a lot of blame for the Quebec move too, but there is plenty of blame to go around. Bettman is commissioner of the league. Like the CEO of a corporation, or the captain of a ship, the responsibility for the league's successes and failures ultimately falls on him. There were 8 Canadian teams in the league when he took over, now there are only 6. That counts as a failure in my books.

[cferneyh]

I'm not pro-Bettman and I'm not anti-Bettman.

I don't play the fence; I'm anti-Bettman, and all fans of Canadian hockey should be

What the hell is Canadian hockey? If you mean fans of Canadian teams should be anti-Bettman, sorry, but I don't subscribe to that notion. If you are still bitter about Quebec and Winnipeg leaving for the US, be bitter with the owners who decided to make millions of dollars selling the teams to US interests (case in point, Aubut sold the Nords for $103 million after paying $15 million for them - all after claiming that the team could not survive in the NHL without a new, publicly funded arena and ongoing government support). That's right - he wanted taxpayers to pay for his rink, and when that didn't happen as quickly as he wanted, he pocketed $88 million instead.

But your beef is with Bettman? Uh, OK.

Mine is, yes. Sure Aubut deserves a lot of blame for the Quebec move too, but there is plenty of blame to go around. Bettman is commissioner of the league. Like the CEO of a corporation, or the captain of a ship, the responsibility for the league's successes and failures ultimately falls on him. There were 8 Canadian teams in the league when he took over, now there are only 6. That counts as a failure in my books.

And where in Gary Bettman's job description does it say "keep NHL teams in Canada"? Do you honestly believe that any of the other owners (Bettman's bosses by the way) really gave a rat's ass about keeping the Nords in Quebec or the Jets in Winnipeg? If anything, they wanted those teams to move to the US to try to drum up more interest in the game south of the border.

You guys seem to think that Bettman acts unilaterally and forces his will on the league. Sorry kids.....it doesn't work that way.

[farmerdan]

It's ok to have the same expression. Have you ever seen Joe Sakic change his expression?

yes, yes I have

[tigerthelion]

It's ok to have the same expression. Have you ever seen Joe Sakic change his expression?

yes, yes I have

I haven't.

Hey, are you watching the UFC this weekend? I'm anxious to see Rampage and Cro Cop in the Octagon but am not sure if I'll be able to watch or not.

Back on topic, HOW THE HELL DID THE CANUCKS LOSE TO THE JACKETS THE OTHER NIGHT?!!!!! :x

[farmerdan]

Hey, are you watching the UFC this weekend? I'm anxious to see Rampage and Cro Cop in the Octagon but am not sure if I'll be able to watch or not.

[off topic]yeah, i'll probably watch it, and if I can find it online again, I'll post it here again :thumb: (in the ufc thread of course)

[grimes]

And where in Gary Bettman's job description does it say "keep NHL teams in Canada"? Do you honestly believe that any of the other owners (Bettman's bosses by the way) really gave a rat's ass about keeping the Nords in Quebec or the Jets in Winnipeg? If anything, they wanted those teams to move to the US to try to drum up more interest in the game south of the border.

You guys seem to think that Bettman acts unilaterally and forces his will on the league. Sorry kids.....it doesn't work that way.

:roll:

I never implied he acts unilaterally, but the owners hired him to be their LEADER, and he has done a very poor job of that from day one.

Let's review the highlights of his tenure again:
1) 2 Canadian teams gone
2) 3 Work stoppages, including one cancelled season
3) 4 team bankruptcies
4) Franchise values that pale in comparison to the MLB, NFL, and NBA (Bettman himself still insists that the NHL is still one of the "big 4" pro sports, so its a valid comparison).
5) A terrible TV deal in the United States
6) At least 6 current American teams in markets that are economically unsustainable in the long term, based on attendance figures and local TV ratings.

With the exception of #6, which could be subject to some debate, these are all undeniable FACTS, for which Bettman, as the league's top executive, must be held responsible.