tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Bettman Has Got To Go

I have never been a Gary Bettman fan. He is arrogant and obnoxious. Moreover, he is not a hockey guy. He is only concerned about maintaining the confidence of enough team owners to keep his job. By my count, two lockouts in the last seven years, which included a lost season in 2004-2005, is the record of failed leadership.

The last lockout was centered on the establishment of a salary cap. The league got that and were poised for prosperity. Out of his own mouth, Bettman proudly announced in June that the NHL had a hugely successful season from an economic standpoint. From a fan standpoint, the contract with NBC Sports provided great TV coverage. The Winter Classic continued to be a New Year's Day event. All of this makes it hard for me to swallow Bettman's poor mouth routine.

On top of this, the summer saw a number of multi-year contracts. When I say multi-year, I'm talking about 10 and 12 year contracts. These are the very contracts that Bettman and Company want to do away with and not honor. Let me ask you, if you had a contract with your employer that says you would make $50,000 a year and he came to you and said, "you know in spite of your good performance and the fact that we are making money, I'm cutting your salary by 10%", would you be happy about that?? Probably not.

The league continues to talk about how small market franchises are struggling. What Bettman & Company will not realize that these so-called small market teams are in cities that have no business having a hockey team. You see another failure of the Bettman era is the ridiculous expansion into markets that don't give a rats ass about hockey. Two teams in Florida, three teams in California, teams in Nashville, Carolina and Phoenix is an invitation for disaster. But you see the crazy expansion allowed Bettman's bosses to make money off of the entry fees that these new teams had to pay upfront in order to have the privilege to play in a league that views its players as the enemy.

I want to believe that this season can be saved. I want to believe that hockey will begin in December. But I have absolutely no faith in Gary Bettman. Let me leave you with one last question: whatever happened to a commissioner who acted in the best interest of the game as opposed to his own best interest??