Bettman's 2nd Gig

[RaiderZar]

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

It all makes sense now...the height...the endless counting...

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

He's not that guy in the Dos Equis commercial is he? My god he's come back from the dead.

 

[Darkstone42]

One gig. Two gig.

Two gigs! Ah-ha-ha!

 

[juliansteed]

1 NHL lockout.ahahaha...2 NHL lockouts..ahahaha...3 NHL lockouts.....ahahahahaha!

 

[dash]

This NHL labour strife has been brought to you by the number '3' and the letters 'F' and 'U'...

 

[juliansteed]

1 Coyotes fan ahahahaha!

2 Coyotes fans ahahahaha!

3 Coyotes fans ahahahaha!

4 Coyotes fans ahahahaha!

5 Coyoes fans ahaha......No wait that's just Janet. She has money on this game.

4!!!! 4 Coyotes fans!!!! AHAHAHAHAHA!

 

[mattola]

3 hahaha 3 times I have caused a lockout hahaha 8 hahaha 8M I make haha 0 haha 0 fucks I give hahaha

 

[puckhead]

I do love our local hockey coverage.....

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

 

[RaiderZar]

1, ahahah. 1 day til lockout.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

book coming out about him ...

he ate the salmon burger at the flying beaver as the vancouver riot was taking place lol

How Gary Bettman Spent The Vancouver Riots

As a rule, the NHL commissioner doesn't like to hang around once his duties are done. At the end of the 2011 finals in Vancouver, he awarded the Cup to the Bruins, passed on some congratulations and commiserations, and was in a chauffeured SUV on his way to the airport within minutes. The crowd inside Rogers Arena was unruly after the Canucks' loss, but those who had gathered in the downtown streets anticipating a celebration were far uglier. The rioting started at the intersection of Georgia and Hamilton, only a few blocks from the rink, with people flipping over porta-potties and lighting a vehicle on fire. An initial police charge was beaten back with rocks and bottles, and the youthful and heavily intoxicated mob responded with a celebratory verse of "O Canada." As groups moved throughout the downtown, smashing windows, looting stores, and setting more cars ablaze, those who had stuck around the rink for a post-game reception—including many VIPs and most of the NHL staff—were locked in for their own protection.

At the Flying Beaver in suburban Richmond, a bar and grill just beyond the airport fence that overlooks the mighty Fraser (slogan: Give'r on the River!), the mood was sombre. During the game, it had been standing room only, with fans in Canuck sweaters screaming and clapping thundersticks, and a siren occasionally wailing from behind the bar. Now, only a couple dozen patrons remained, nursing their beers and watching the riot unfold on the big-screen TVs.

The five guys who walked in wearing nice suits would have stood out at the best of times. But it was the little one who drew most of the attention. Less than an hour after people in the pub had been booing him every bit as lustily as the fans at the game, Gary Bettman was suddenly standing among them. "It was like one of those scenes in the movie where the bar goes all quiet and every head turned," he says. The private jet wasn't quite ready to head back to the airfield in New Jersey, so the commissioner, his deputy Bill Daly, spokesperson Frank Brown, NHL vice-president of marketing Brian Jennings, and a hulking ex-cop from league security, had gone in search of dinner.

There was a bit of grumbling at the bar, and a couple of regulars threw epithets over their shoulders as they weaved their way to the washroom. But mostly, people were excited. They approached politely to shake hands and seek autographs. Several had their pictures taken with Bettman. When the floor manager called the owner—who was stuck downtown among the mob—to pass on the celebrity sighting, he had her send over a couple rounds of the house specialty: espresso, vodka, Kahlua, and milk in a rocks glass—a.k.a. The Shaft.

Munching his meal while watching cop cars burn was a bit surreal, but otherwise it was a typical Canadian outing for the NHL commissioner. All that free-flowing abuse from the stands never seems to amount to much when people encounter him face to face. They're respectful, even friendly. It's the kind of thing that allows him to think that maybe, deep down inside, fans really do understand and appreciate him. And the salmon burger at the Flying Beaver was terrific.

When you're Gary Bettman, you take comfort wherever you can find it

 

[RaiderZar]

4, ah-ah-ah. 4 days of lockout.
4, ah-ah-ah. 4 Calling Birds. Ah-ah-ah.