Blog post: Gary Bettman is good for the game

[Ties5o11]

My friend, and really brief SportsHoopla Poster has a blog now. One of his first posts argues that Bettman is good for the game.

Soap Box Time: Gary Bettman is Good For the Fucking Game |

(warning Canuck fans, he hates your team, and is not afraid to take some cheap shots at them).

Anyways, I agree with his post for the most part- which I understand puts me in the minority here.

 

[puckhead]

I don't think he's good for the game.
but I DO think he's been very, very good for the owners.

 

[Ties5o11]

I don't think he's good for the game.
but I DO think he's been very, very good for the owners.

Do you have reasoning behind this, or are you just being cynical?

What about increased ratings, play on the ice, huge TV contact, increased exposure, etc? These things are obv good for the owners, but also for the game as a whole.

 

[OregonDucks]

I think he can do a better job as marketing the NHL in the United States and maybe get more TV exposure. Make hockey available on certain key days on NBC. Like NBA on NBC use to happen every sunday you would get two sometimes three games a day. Do something like that for hockey. Like Tuesday night Hockey on NBC or something like that. ANd if they already have something like that just goes to show how much marketing he does for hte league because I haven't heard about it.

 

[puckhead]

Do you have reasoning behind this, or are you just being cynical?

What about increased ratings, play on the ice, huge TV contact, increased exposure, etc? These things are obv good for the owners, but also for the game as a whole.

all of the things you listed are financial ends. so that is good for the owners.
it also trickles down (or aught to) to be good for the health of the league as a whole,
but having 6 of 30 teams rumoured to be in various degrees of financial trouble says that this really does not trickle down to the general health of the league.

The FACT that the NHL surreptitiously took control of one of its teams, and has in fact been in control of that team for a season and a half is not a healthy environment, and puts the league in the position of a conflict of interest. It took several months for this information to become public. That closed door dealings on something this important is ridiculous.

The head of referees has been caught referring to players in communications at alleged to referees as "little fake artists", and suggesting the fouls against his son be looked at more closely. And Bettman didn't have a problem with this. referees are accused of holding vendettas against players (Auger / Burrows). The league obviously found some fault, as they wouldn't let Auger work a Nucks game for a year, but no sanction, no slap on the wrist, no word ever came from the league. That's very bad optics.

Id the NHL increasing in stature? of course it is. there have been a few very exciting seasons in a row, NFL is entering strike mode, NBA is imploding (stagnating?), and the Olympics brought some terrific games to a new audience. Bear in mind this new audience is the one that Bettman is threatening to withhold his players from in 2014. good move Gar!

just my two cents.

 

[Curtrain]

He is a smart man and a smooth talker. But no, he isn't good for the game. Someone in his position could have and should have done a lot more. Although he would like to, he also can't take credit for the Canadian dollar.

I loved his interview with CBC when it became official that the Thrashers were moving to Winnipeg. He acted like he was "righting a wrong," while at the same time hinting he was doing Winnipeg a favour. The truth was he had no choice. The NHL owning two teams? Total disaster, but I think he would have gone for it if he could have got away with it. If it was not for the bad press he got from Pheonix the Thrashers would still be in Atlanta.

 

[Ties5o11]

Good posts, I will disagree respectfully. It was Bettman's prerogative that led to the rule changes that has improved the game, and it was also Bettman's stubbornness that made him so loyal to OLN (now Versus), that has paid off pretty nicely. Now NHL fans have hockey on TV pretty much whenever they want.

I think the man deserves some credit.

 

[MrMagooo]

Personally I hate the Versus deal. I loved it when ESPN had the deal. Tuesday and Thursday every week had hockey.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

My thoughts on Bettman: He had a chance to take hockey to another level in 94 with the biggest market in the US winning the cup, the NBA's best player not playing, and baseball going on strike.

His expansion experiment to try and spread the game, so far has not worked, and probably never will.

He was the commissioner during not 1, but 2 work stoppages. He sucks.

 

[maddogmark25]

Personally I hate the Versus deal. I loved it when ESPN had the deal. Tuesday and Thursday every week had hockey.

Versus (or whatever its gonna be called) will be showing more than 2 games a week and its a bad thing? People, lets not grow a lovefest for ESPN because of their hockey theme song and Gary Throne; their priorities are, and always have been, somewhere else

Pre-lockout, Bettman was disaster, but post-lockout he has done a very good job in growing the league in terms of popularity; its almost at an all-time high at this point

 

[SLY]

I would still watch, but would be very disappointed if I had to view NHL on ESPN. I like VERSUS.

 

[Comeds]

Personally I hate the Versus deal. I loved it when ESPN had the deal. Tuesday and Thursday every week had hockey.

Years before ESPN's coverage ended it was good. The last few seasons each year ESPN cut the number of games they aired. By the time they were done they were treating the league poorly and continue to do so to this day. I am glad they are not on ESPN.

ESPN is a garbage network and if they didnt have the NFL they wouldnt be viewed as nearly as big or important as they are now or as they claim to be.

 

[TiLoBrown]

I think hes good for the game, but bad for the Devils...well, hes proven to be bad for the Devils

 

[Jimmy_the_Tongue]

He's been good to my Penguins.... I don't call him Uncle Gary for nothing....

 

[dash]

He's been good to my Penguins.... I don't call him Uncle Gary for nothing....

lol...He knows how to rig a lottery draw, I'll give him that...

/I keed, I keed

 

[mattola]

He is a smart man and a smooth talker.

furthest from it. He is a Spin Doctor.

 

[ELYEAH82]

I think he has been good and bad. Getting the National TV deal on VS is huge, they show way more games than ESPN would be. The Shoot out is a great addition, I dont know anyone who wanted to see a tie, decreasing their relevancy in playoff seeding was kind of dumb imo. I think he should have removed Campbell once his kid was drafted, clearly that is a conflict of interest even if he isnt handing out punishment for their games, he can still effect them by punishing other eastern conference foes. The punishment in general is a joke, he needs clearly defined suspensions and stick to them. This whole bite thing was ridiculous.

 

[juliansteed]

I don't know if he is good for the game or not. Its tough for me to tell how much credit or blame he deserves for anything that happens under his reign. But I don't think he's as bad as some make him out to be. It seems anytime something bad happens, everyone wants to blame Bettman, but anytime something good happens nobody wants to give him any credit.

 

[blindbaby]

FWIW I'm on the fence, but leaning towards he hasn't been all that bad for the game. His smug attitude doesn't do him any favors in perception, that's for sure.

 

[maddogmark25]

He is certainly better IMO than the other commissioners we have to deal with: