Bettman messed it up!

[Superman54 91]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/6844396

[Zeta Power 40 1]

good article

[Legionnaire11 0]

Al Strachan... what else is there to say? He didn't even make one general point in that whole article. Is it breaking news that the NHL has a poor television contract?

Other than that, the league as a whole in the two seasons since the lockout, has posted record highs for attendance and revenue intake.

So guys known for poor journalism to begin with (such as Strachan) need to review their views on the sport, they use their journalism powers to express their views on Bettman and non-traditional markets, while completely ignoring concrete facts.

Unfortunately, too many so called "fans" of the game are too quick to jump on board. Instead of just enjoying the game that they supposedly love so much, they spend all of their time looking for reasons to rip on the leadership, markets, fanbases, etc. It's pretty pathetic actually that you hear this kind of stuff from NHL fans more than any other league.

[DEVILSWATERBOY 10]

Bettman has been the achiles heel in the league since he was awarded that position way to go Bettman you blow great article

[maltbymaniac 13]

great article,now off with his head.

[Superman54 91]

Al Strachan... what else is there to say? He didn't even make one general point in that whole article. Is it breaking news that the NHL has a poor television contract?

Other than that, the league as a whole in the two seasons since the lockout, has posted record highs for attendance and revenue intake.

So guys known for poor journalism to begin with (such as Strachan) need to review their views on the sport, they use their journalism powers to express their views on Bettman and non-traditional markets, while completely ignoring concrete facts.

Unfortunately, too many so called "fans" of the game are too quick to jump on board. Instead of just enjoying the game that they supposedly love so much, they spend all of their time looking for reasons to rip on the leadership, markets, fanbases, etc. It's pretty pathetic actually that you hear this kind of stuff from NHL fans more than any other league.

The ratings are terrably low though. NHL was just embarressed by NBC, that alone shows how Hockey is being viewed now. The lockout really messed thngs up and Bettman in my view was the reason for that. The sport needs to grow again and with Bettman thats not gonna happen.

[DEVILSWATERBOY 10]

Al Strachan... what else is there to say? He didn't even make one general point in that whole article. Is it breaking news that the NHL has a poor television contract?

Other than that, the league as a whole in the two seasons since the lockout, has posted record highs for attendance and revenue intake.

So guys known for poor journalism to begin with (such as Strachan) need to review their views on the sport, they use their journalism powers to express their views on Bettman and non-traditional markets, while completely ignoring concrete facts.

Unfortunately, too many so called "fans" of the game are too quick to jump on board. Instead of just enjoying the game that they supposedly love so much, they spend all of their time looking for reasons to rip on the leadership, markets, fanbases, etc. It's pretty pathetic actually that you hear this kind of stuff from NHL fans more than any other league.

Lets be for real here most of the teams in the NHL do not sell out unless they have the big market teams coming into there barn (like the Rangers, Toronto, Boston, Montreal, Detroit, Jersey) these are your biggest draws around the NHL were ever they go: facts are Versus is the biggest insult to the game and this is directly Bettmans doing with his so called new NHL it is a joke and the bumm needs to step down we need old time hockey back to save the sport!

Edited June 4, 2007 by DEVILSWATERBOY

[Legionnaire11 0]

so... does it matter if they have a premier television package?

do you watch the game? do you enjoy it? does it affect your enjoyment of the game if it's getting less than a 1 rating? does that rating affect the on-ice product?

seriously, I think half the "problems" the NHL has are being made up by it's own fans/journalists who have a small **** syndrome. Just beacuse the NHL isn't rivaling MLB or the NFL, then it's somehow a horrible thing that has to be fixed. When in reality, hockey fans are going to find the game on whatever channel it's being broadcast and they're going to enjoy watching it. If the majority of the country doesn't care about it, that doesn't mean that I can't love the game just as much as I always have.

Get over it. It's a niche sport. Don't let that get in your way from just being a fan.

[aflac9262 211]

so... does it matter if they have a premier television package?

do you watch the game? do you enjoy it? does it affect your enjoyment of the game if it's getting less than a 1 rating? does that rating affect the on-ice product?

seriously, I think half the "problems" the NHL has are being made up by it's own fans/journalists who have a small **** syndrome. Just beacuse the NHL isn't rivaling MLB or the NFL, then it's somehow a horrible thing that has to be fixed. When in reality, hockey fans are going to find the game on whatever channel it's being broadcast and they're going to enjoy watching it. If the majority of the country doesn't care about it, that doesn't mean that I can't love the game just as much as I always have.

Get over it. It's a niche sport. Don't let that get in your way from just being a fan.

Do I watch the game [on Versus]?

No, because I don't got it! Not all cable companies are willing to pay these high prices which Comcast forks to these other companies for a channel that is probably outdrawn by your local PBS station.

Made up problems? I think not, you just don't hear this type of criticism for nothing. This league is starting to get a tweed bit careless, and continues to take their fans they got now for granted. Come on, how do you go from NHL on FOX, ESPN, ABC to NHL on Versus. That's surely telling you something.

It doesn't have to be a niche sport either. There were times when the NHL was probably nearly as popular as the NBA at times in the past. Now the NHL has bowed out and in the gutter they go. There's nowhere to go but up to be honest. Face it, the league chooses money over fans. Declining ESPN was evident of that. Instead of getting less pregame/postgame coverage, they cut a significant amount of the fans in the US from getting national games. It's just sick.

Edited June 4, 2007 by aflac9262

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Get over it. It's a niche sport. Don't let that get in your way from just being a fan.

Not really. Hockey is a way of life here in Canada. And we couldn't give two flying ducks what the status of the league is in the US but for the fact that it dictates the overall growth of our beloved sport due to your population being 10 times ours.

[ChitownWingsfan 54]

Hahaha love seeing Bettman get pwned in public, especially by Fox Sports, of all people.

Seriously though, there is absolutely no reason why the NHL shouldn't be one of the premier league in North America, and on ESPN at least once a week, if not more. If I can turn on FOX and watch cars driving or ESPN and watching bass fishing, I should be able to catch a hockey game without jumping though hoops, which is exactly what watching on Vs is. Then again, I live in a town where the home team can't even broadcast their home games so what does that say?

[zata40 3]

Gary Bettman is as good of a Commissioner as Gretzky is a coach

[wingnut22 81]

Hahaha love seeing Bettman get pwned in public, especially by Fox Sports, of all people.

Seriously though, there is absolutely no reason why the NHL shouldn't be one of the premier league in North America, and on ESPN at least once a week, if not more. If I can turn on FOX and watch cars driving or ESPN and watching bass fishing, I should be able to catch a hockey game without jumping though hoops, which is exactly what watching on Vs is. Then again, I live in a town where the home team can't even broadcast their home games so what does that say?

I agree with you. There are several channels that have shows devoted to watching guys fish....now it has been awhile since I went fishing (like 8 years) but why would I want to watch some other guy fish? the NHL needs to realize that if they want to expand their fanbase, then they need to have it much more accsesible to the fans. That being said, I think one thing that discourages people from becoming fans is the reaction they get from "long time fans." I have seen many people who jump all over someone for not knowing something about the sport or if they ask a question about what is going on. I understand that sometimes people could care less and pull out comments such as "Why do they keep aiming that 'puck thingy' at the big guy in front of that net-mabob, thats really mean?" but when people show a genuine interest in learning the ins and outs of hockey I have seen them get shot down or treated like because they dont know what icing is they dont deserve to watch the game. Hockey fans IMO tend to act more elite than other sports fans.

[Yzermaniac192005 0]

Gary Bettman is as good of a Commissioner as Gretzky is a coach

[vangvace 12]

so... does it matter if they have a premier television package?

do you watch the game? do you enjoy it? does it affect your enjoyment of the game if it's getting less than a 1 rating? does that rating affect the on-ice product?

seriously, I think half the "problems" the NHL has are being made up by it's own fans/journalists who have a small **** syndrome. Just beacuse the NHL isn't rivaling MLB or the NFL, then it's somehow a horrible thing that has to be fixed. When in reality, hockey fans are going to find the game on whatever channel it's being broadcast and they're going to enjoy watching it. If the majority of the country doesn't care about it, that doesn't mean that I can't love the game just as much as I always have.

Get over it. It's a niche sport. Don't let that get in your way from just being a fan.

Three labor disbutes (two while he's been commish), 4 teams going bankrupt, loss of a ful season, constant rule changes, killing of divisional playoffs, two ref system, and a continual downward trend in popularity since 1994.

Expansion to St. Paul, Atlanta, Nashville, and Columbus and moving of teams

If it was truely a niche sport Nashville wouldn't exist and we'd still be in the Norris Division

[Guest bullocks]

Al Strachan HATES Gary Bettman. He's quite the comedian.

[ChitownWingsfan 54]

Expansion to St. Paul, Atlanta, Nashville, and Columbus and moving of teams

I dont think the expansion to St Paul and Nashville has been bad for the most part. However if I were Bettman, I'd move Atlanta to Portland or Seattle, Columbus to Cleveland where there are actually, you know, people and move Detroit to the East Conference.

[DEVILSWATERBOY 10]

Rival MLB or NFL never gonna happen mainly because were some of the teams have been located threw expansion more of Bettmans ideas what a bone head

Edited June 4, 2007 by DEVILSWATERBOY

[DEVILSWATERBOY 10]

I dont think the expansion to St Paul and Nashville has been bad for the most part. However if I were Bettman, I'd move Atlanta to Portland or Seattle, Columbus to Cleveland where there are actually, you know, people and move Detroit to the East Conference.

[vangvace 12]

Rival MLB or NFL never gonna happen mainly because were some of the teams have been located threw expansion more of Bettmans ideas what a bone head

huh

Yeah Columbus has been confusing. Maybe he took population numbers during the Mich-OSU game?

[OsGOD 3]

Aye, Mr. Bettman needs to be keel-hauled and shown the way to Davey Jones' Locker.

Blimey, that scurvy dog should hang from the yardarm. Savvy?

[evil204 4]

Bettman's biggest mistake was expanding the league to 30 teams. That just doesn't work with hockey, because there simply aren't enough good players to go around. The NBA can handle 30 teams because every team pretty much needs 5 decent players. A hockey team needs 20, and when only 3 of them have any kind of skill and the rest are bums who run over each other, who is gonna watch?

Red Wings games were far more exciting 4 or 5 years ago, when our team was the Western All-Stars. Now, we've got Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and when those 2 aren't on the ice, the game is just stale. They skate up and down the ice, dump the puck in, change, and skate around some more until a power play comes. I bet Ducks fans really cared 4 years ago, when the only player they had that made something happen was Kariya.

The only way to fix the NHL is to cut the number of teams, but that's not going to happen. On the contrary, Bettman has been talking about adding even more teams.

[Urlosing96 0]

way to go butt-man. run our great sport into the ground.

PS, Nobody'll notice cuz IT's NOT ON NATIONAL TV!!!

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

so... does it matter if they have a premier television package?

do you watch the game? do you enjoy it? does it affect your enjoyment of the game if it's getting less than a 1 rating? does that rating affect the on-ice product?

seriously, I think half the "problems" the NHL has are being made up by it's own fans/journalists who have a small **** syndrome. Just beacuse the NHL isn't rivaling MLB or the NFL, then it's somehow a horrible thing that has to be fixed. When in reality, hockey fans are going to find the game on whatever channel it's being broadcast and they're going to enjoy watching it. If the majority of the country doesn't care about it, that doesn't mean that I can't love the game just as much as I always have.

Get over it. It's a niche sport. Don't let that get in your way from just being a fan.

Yes, if someone criticizes the game, it must be because they have a small penis.

I've been a fan for over 20 years. I love the game. The article is correct in the downward trend of the sport's popularity from 1994 until the present day. Which not coincidentally pretty much coincides with Bettman's tenure as commissioner.

And the major point you're ignoring is that Bettman is trying to make it a more popular sport, but the results of his actions have only marginalized it and relegated it to a niche sport, at best.

Is that not a failure?

His economic vision of the NHL has been a complete failure and cost me as a fan, a season and a half of my favorite sport. The only way I can see more than a few games is to buy DirecTV and get Center Ice.

The more marginalized the sport is, the more obstacles there are to actually enjoying it because it takes so much damn effort and resources to follow it.

I don't need everyone to love hockey. But I'm not gonna sit here and be all pollyanna about my favorite sport as I watch it get run into the ground by a Commissioner who knows nothing about and has no passion for the game.

[Wings_Fan_In_Exile 3]

It's pretty clear to me that Bettman is a business man first and hockey guy second, actually not at all a hockey guy. A lawyer from NY that studied under David Stern in the NBA.

So all his decisions are concerned with the almighty dollar (US) and not with hockey fans (especially Canadians) in mind such as screwing over Hockey Night in Canada to cater to NBC. Dumbing up the names of the conferences to be "fan friendly" while ignoring the history and tradition that most hockey fans appreciate. Goodbye Wales & Campbell Conferences

Watching hockey cities such as Winnipeg, Minnesota, Quebec City, and Hartoford lose hockey to go to places like Arizona, Texas and Carolina (although I am among the rare Coyotes fans out there) and expanding to Columbus and Nashville.

It's a shame that those hockey cities lost their teams, often to go to a city where hockey is fourth or fifth on the radar of the local sports scene (I grew up in AZ, trust me it's not hockey friendly). It also sucks to see him change the names of the conferences, change the rules and it really really sucked when he took away an entire season. And half of one some years back.

What sucks the most is all of his moves have not only pissed of hockey fans, but that his moves have FAILED. Hockey went from a sport on the rise to falling behind NASCAR and Golf! bah!

Get him outta there!