PROBIE4PREZ 58 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 (edited) Bettman loves Canadians FACT! Linky Please refrain from banging your head against your computer screen Edited November 17, 2009 by PROBIE4PREZ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opie 308 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 The one question I would have liked to see is what did Balsillie do that was worse than the situation in ANA this year or NAS last year? Two owners who without a doubt have shown to be less than "Quality" owners! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ComradeWasabi 109 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 I can't really fault his answers, only the fact that he's a hostile witness throughout what I read of the interview. To be fair, we DON'T know about some of the Coyotes' operations, and while he comes off as an ******* when he talks down to the interviewer and dances around some questions, I can't really condemn him for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Louisville 112 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 This guy is like interviewing George Bush. He acts like a dick and has the nerve to insult our intelligence. Q: You were booed when you presented the Stanley Cup—and that was in the United States. A: I was booed presenting the Stanley Cup in Detroit to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Had I been presenting it in Pittsburgh I probably wouldn’t have been booed. Really? I remember you being booed in 2002 when you were at the Joe. Were those Hurricane fans? What an idiot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doc Holiday 0 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 This guy is like interviewing George Bush. He acts like a dick and has the nerve to insult our intelligence. Really? I remember you being booed in 2002 when you were at the Joe. Were those Hurricane fans? What an idiot. What do you want him to say? "Yeah, the Wings fans just hate me. Doesn't that suck?" Cripes some people have some serious irrational hatred for the guy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Louisville 112 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 What do you want him to say? "Yeah, the Wings fans just hate me. Doesn't that suck?" Cripes some people have some serious irrational hatred for the guy. Irrational hatred? Who the hell are you to tell me why I dislike Bettman? I was just pointing out that the answer rubbed me the wrong way. He's been booed in more arenas than the Joe. A better answer would have been something along the lines of "You can't always be liked everywhere by everyone blah blah blah" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theman19 47 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 What do you want him to say? "Yeah, the Wings fans just hate me. Doesn't that suck?" Cripes some people have some serious irrational hatred for the guy. The point the guy was trying to make is a valid one. I don't think i've ever seen a single stanley cup presentation where we wasn't booed in the last nine or ten years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mmamolo 287 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 I have to give it to Bettman, I really think he handled that interview pretty well. I'm easily a very strong advocate against Bettman and a lot of the decisions he has made during his tenure as Commissioner and although he doesn't always posses great soft skills while being interviewed you can't argue with some of the points he made. Granted, some things he said were said directly to deflect away from the question at hand but he does raise some good points. I was impressed with soem of his answers but I think he'd get a lot farther with the media and fans if he explained things a little more clearly. I felt like I had to read in between the lines a lot and that's even on answers where I was givign him the benefit of the doubt. A lot of times ppl in positions like his will use vague answers to circumvent answering the real question but in opportunities to make his case that much more reasonable he doesn't always come at you with enough to persuade you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StevieY9802 6 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 The point the guy was trying to make is a valid one. I don't think i've ever seen a single stanley cup presentation where we wasn't booed in the last nine or ten years. He was booed in 1997. Wings win Cup at home and the first one in 42 years and he gets booed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doc Holiday 0 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 Irrational hatred? Who the hell are you to tell me why I dislike Bettman? I was just pointing out that the answer rubbed me the wrong way. He's been booed in more arenas than the Joe. A better answer would have been something along the lines of "You can't always be liked everywhere by everyone blah blah blah" Of course. Pardon him for not responding perfectly to a loaded question (it wasn't even a question, just a statement). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toby91_ca 620 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 This was probably my favourite part: Time will tell whether or not this franchise was actually destroyed over the summer. If Phoenix does in fact fail, is Bettman going to try and point to the events of this past summer as the reason for the failure and ignore the entire history of the franchise and it's financial failures leading up to this past summer? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z and D for the C 712 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 (edited) I swear to god if Gary Bettman was the president and he was asked about the war in Iraq he'd deny that there was a war and just say they the troops are over there having a tea party. And economic problems? No such thing. People are just realizing money isn't everything and there are smiles all around. Edited November 17, 2009 by Z and D for the C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CaliWingsNut Report post Posted November 17, 2009 I like this thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carman 387 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 I'm glad Bettman is in charge. People will always need to blame something because it's out of their control. He is a great commissioner and will be looked back on for improving the league, not harming it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Electrophile 3,554 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 Gary Bettman and Bud Selig are two of the worst commissioners in North American professional sports. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esteef 2,679 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 You guys better ease up on Bettman or he's gonna get Crosby to punch all of you in the ass! esteef Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 This was probably my favourite part: If Phoenix does in fact fail, is Bettman going to try and point to the events of this past summer as the reason for the failure and ignore the entire history of the franchise and it's financial failures leading up to this past summer? And he'll completely ignore the fact that he was 50% of those summer events. He could have dealt with each situation differently. He's responsible, as the commissioner, to deal with situations like that. That's what they pay him for. Hell, he's a friggin' lawyer so he can't fain ignorance either. But what else do you expect from a villain? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CaliWingsNut Report post Posted November 17, 2009 (edited) Yes the league needs someone to blame and Bettman is it. However, he has done jack s*** for this league. He's nickel and dimed the game into a profit from where he started, but no way has he done anything great at all for the sport of hockey. Bettman has taken the league off major TV stations through his brilliant negotiating, put the league in risk of being dissolved TWICE, and now has made a mockery of the league in some vendetta against Balsillie that could have been resolved much easier. Most fans of the sport can't even legally watch a whole season due to this man and his brilliance. Edited November 17, 2009 by CaliWingsNut Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carman 387 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 My sarcasm is my downfall. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CaliWingsNut Report post Posted November 17, 2009 My apologies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carman 387 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 No problem, I tend to not think thoroughly through most things I post on the internet so, sometimes my sarcasm makes me like the idiot that I probably am, but didn't mean to portray. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CaliWingsNut Report post Posted November 17, 2009 "that’s part of what gets those of us who work going every day" Hrm... he's a real hard worker.... I wonder what his secretary thinks of this comment? Q: We want to give you a chance to respond to the broad perception here in Canada that you feel the future of the game lies in the United States—and that the real reason the NHL was in court this summer was to keep Canada from getting more teams. .... Look, what was going on in Phoenix was an attempt to, not just circumvent, but eviscerate all of our rules and procedures as to the two most important decisions that any sports league has to make: one, who’s going to own franchises and be partners in the league; two, where your franchises are going to be located. That was what Phoenix was about. I don't think this is why the NHL was in court, but nice non answer! Q: Prior to this summer, did you see operational problems with the Coyotes? A: This team wasn’t particularly well run, and in a challenging economic climate, coupled with a variety of other factors, it was less than ideal circumstances. Listen, we have a pretty good track record of fixing these things—Winnipeg and Quebec notwithstanding. And you know, there’s been a lot of speculation about Quebec City getting another arena and wanting a team, and that’s something we’re going to want to look at, at the appropriate time. That's it... blame it on Moyes. Again. While floating rumors (that are over a year out) to appease Canadians. Q: What about southern Ontario? A: If we’re relocating, or if we decide to expand, then we’ll see who the applicant pool is, where they want to play, and it’ll get a very good, hard look. We don’t have this master list somewhere where we’ve ranked cities. Umm... so the NHL went to court without doing said research in the case they lose? Smart. Q: Let’s talk a bit about how the league is weathering the recession so far. The early season figures for attendance in a lot of NHL cities seem to be down. A: It’s all over the lot. I think about half the clubs are up, half the clubs are down. We’re probably, if you take Phoenix out of the mix—which is a unique circumstance—I think we’re somewhere around flat or within a percentage point. Lets put I think in front of all my "stats" so it really means I had no answer at all! If he doesn't know these figures... Q: The legal files and the legal strategy that suggested that he was unsuitable as an owner. That wasn’t personal? A: Not by me. The owners decided they didn’t want him as a partner. Yep... has nothing to do with him... he only represents all those people who said they hate him. Q: Still, it’s hard to remember a one-year period of time when there was as much media scorn, fan anger kind of directed at you. That can’t have been easy. A: I sensed it in some quarters, but it wasn’t universal. I would submit if you went across our fan base most people would probably tell you they understood what we were doing and why. Listen, I know that we were the subject of a campaign that we decided not to participate in or even try to defend ourselves. We pride ourselves on trying to do the right things. And this notion of tumultuous, I’m not sure I get it. We came off an incredibly successful season, our Stanley Cup finals may have been the most viewed in years, our attendance for four years in a row set a record, our revenues four years in a row—all coming back since the work stoppage—set a record. Short memory.... Lockouts anyone? Ironic he only states profits since... Q: It’s been suggested there’s some sort of rift between you and Wayne Gretzky, who was coaching the Coyotes and believes he was owed $8.2 million when the league bought the Coyotes out of bankruptcy. Is there? A: No, not on our side, and we have made it very clear that we will be extraordinarily helpful and proactive in trying to help him recover what he believes he’s entitled to. Other than the fact we haven’t offered to make a payment right now—on something that really isn’t our obligation—I’m not sure there’s much of an issue. This is something that will continue to work itself out over time. Yeah... Screw Gretzky, but we'll help him find a new job! Q: The NHL, probably more than any other sports league, is a custodian of the game. Here in Canada, surveys conducted by Reginald Bibby, a well-known sociologist, show a steep decline in the proportion of young people following the league compared to past decades. There are also stats that show, over the past 15 years, fewer young males are playing the game. Do these trends worry you? A: Obviously we want our game and our fan base to continue to grow, and that’s a priority to us. I haven’t had a chance to review the Bibby report in depth, but two things jumped off the page at me. One, it appears that all the major sports are down pretty dramatically, and we’re still number one in Canada. Two, that part of it relates to diversity. Our following in families where the parents and the child were born in Canada was vastly different [higher] than where either parent or the child was not. All sports and all forms of entertainment find themselves in a more fragmented place than ever before, because of access to everything through digital media. Is it something we’re focused on? Absolutely. But you haven't had a chance to review it... Q: So did you make an error joining the Olympics in the first place? A: No. I mean, it’s been a mixed bag. Salt Lake City was great, okay? Vancouver will be great. If you go back and you think about it and you look at the coverage and everything else, Japan and Italy, not so great. in our market = good, everyone else = bad Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shady Ultima 40 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 He's an idiot. The thing about younger Canadians no longer watching is a huge issue. Something he should be addressing. The simple fact is, a lot of my friends who were diehard Leaf fans no longer even WATCH the sport. That's a combination of the Leafs being horrid and because of the fact that they CAN'T! I get lucky and catch a game on CBC when the Wings play a Canadian team. Other than that, I have to stream if I'm at home... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Inultus 12 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 When people living in their hometown team's market can't watch them, the commish is doing something wrong. That goes for us not being able to see the Lions when they are blacked out as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 Bettman loves Canadians FACT! I didn't know he was a beer drinker. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
