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Old 01-24-2025, 07:24 AM   #21
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I didn’t know he was Jewish and I don’t really care to be honest. The point is that from a fan perspective Bettman wasn’t a good commissioner. He made poor decisions often when it came to the consumer of his product, kind of like the dude in the gif.
His relentless pursuit of a salary cap saved every small market in Canada and probably a bunch in the United states.

Every fan from Ottawa to Calgary should squarely look the man in the eye, shake his hand, and say "thank you".
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Old 01-24-2025, 07:35 AM   #22
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Ahh, I doubt the Flames would still be in Calgary if it wasn't for Bettman back in the late 90's/early 00's. He also turned a million dollar business into a billion dollar business.
Losing the flames was a possibility but not a guarantee. The billion dollar business has now made it expensive for the average person to go to games, the TV broadcasting deals are ridiculous in Canada, games are frequently shown in 720P due to old technology, multiple lockouts, NCAA contracts structured so players can sign as free agents after 4 years.

These are all things in his control where he has dropped the ball.
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Old 01-24-2025, 08:01 AM   #23
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Losing the flames was a possibility but not a guarantee. The billion dollar business has now made it expensive for the average person to go to games, the TV broadcasting deals are ridiculous in Canada, games are frequently shown in 720P due to old technology, multiple lockouts, NCAA contracts structured so players can sign as free agents after 4 years.

These are all things in his control where he has dropped the ball.
It's expensive to go to NBA and NFL games too, but that has more to do with what professional sports has become.

And to say to lose the Flames was only a possibility, I'm guessing you don't remember the Save the Flames campaign?

The Colorado Avalanche wont the Stanley Cup in 96, and they lost money. The NHL was not in a good place financially in the 90's (except for the big market teams). Bringing the cap into the NHL saved a lot of teams.

I really have a hard time blaming Gary for 720P resolution...
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Old 01-24-2025, 08:17 AM   #24
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I didn’t know he was Jewish and I don’t really care to be honest. The point is that from a fan perspective Bettman wasn’t a good commissioner. He made poor decisions often when it came to the consumer of his product, kind of like the dude in the gif.

Calling for a lifetime suspension for that speaks more to someone’s own delicate sensibilities, and that’s not my problem.
You used the most prevalent racist gif of the momen, ostensibly to make a point about quality control.

You could have used the dolphins from Hitchhikers guide saying “so long and thanks for all the fish”.

Could’ve used Django’s troll face after blowing up Candieland.

Could’ve used a lot of GIFs.

You went with Elon Musk giving a sieg Heil, from two days ago.

We have no choice but to take you at your word you didn’t know Gary Bettman was Jewish - you still lacked the awareness to check.

But you had the awareness to double NSFW your post, so you knew it was ####ed up.

Maybe just put your paper bag over your head and think about what you did.
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Old 01-24-2025, 08:28 AM   #25
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Honestly, I definitely think we should be more grateful, at the end of the day Bettman has steered the 'Good Ship NHL' through more than it's fair share of rocky shoals and storms and I think he's done very well.

Revenues are up, the Cap has been rising steadily, lockouts have been minimal, Franchise values are WAY up, Ron McLean has been getting soundly beat down, expansion has been steady and sustainable....there are lots of positives.

I'd say the only thing I never got was the bafflingly inexplicable 'Arizona Experiment.'

Overall I think the NHL has been stewarded fairly well by Bettman and his eventual successor is going to have big shoes to fill.

We'll miss Count Bettman. Plus...I love how he is an absolute sport about being booed when he awards the Cup!
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Old 01-24-2025, 08:30 AM   #26
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Originally Posted by Jiggy View Post
It's expensive to go to NBA and NFL games too, but that has more to do with what professional sports has become.

And to say to lose the Flames was only a possibility, I'm guessing you don't remember the Save the Flames campaign?

The Colorado Avalanche wont the Stanley Cup in 96, and they lost money. The NHL was not in a good place financially in the 90's (except for the big market teams). Bringing the cap into the NHL saved a lot of teams.

I really have a hard time blaming Gary for 720P resolution...
I do remember the save the flames and their financial issues at the time, now fast forward 30 years and how are they paying dividends back to the city? Surely with their strong financial position they funded their own arena and have won multiple Stanley cups in that time.

And I’m not here to change your (or anyones) mind, I’m just voicing my opinion. You don’t have to blame Bettman for poor video quality, but it shows a lack of investment in his product.

The game management, lack of transparency in officiating and excessive exposure to gambling are also negatives of Bettman. From an owners perspective he’s great. He’s made them all a ton of money and that’s their goal. From a fans perspective he has been a factor in making the game worse for the reasons I’ve mentioned.
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Old 01-24-2025, 08:31 AM   #27
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He's the longest serving commish in a major sport yeah?
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Old 01-24-2025, 08:33 AM   #28
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Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814 View Post
You used the most prevalent racist gif of the momen, ostensibly to make a point about quality control.

You could have used the dolphins from Hitchhikers guide saying “so long and thanks for all the fish”.

Could’ve used Django’s troll face after blowing up Candieland.

Could’ve used a lot of GIFs.

You went with Elon Musk giving a sieg Heil, from two days ago.

We have no choice but to take you at your word you didn’t know Gary Bettman was Jewish - you still lacked the awareness to check.

But you had the awareness to double NSFW your post, so you knew it was ####ed up.

Maybe just put your paper bag over your head and think about what you did.
No amount of paper bag could cover up the ugliness of doubling down on a ####ty post like that.
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Old 01-24-2025, 08:35 AM   #29
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Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814 View Post
You used the most prevalent racist gif of the momen, ostensibly to make a point about quality control.

You could have used the dolphins from Hitchhikers guide saying “so long and thanks for all the fish”.

Could’ve used Django’s troll face after blowing up Candieland.

Could’ve used a lot of GIFs.

You went with Elon Musk giving a sieg Heil, from two days ago.

We have no choice but to take you at your word you didn’t know Gary Bettman was Jewish - you still lacked the awareness to check.

But you had the awareness to double NSFW your post, so you knew it was ####ed up.

Maybe just put your paper bag over your head and think about what you did.
Sorry I want to respond to your post but I’m not seeing your name on any Jewish data bases. I don’t want to offend you so I’m trying to do my due diligence here, please advise how you want me to proceed.

In any case your point is quite silly if you’re asking every person to consider everyone’s background before making a simple post. That’s insane and luckily the world seems to be moving away from that type of attitude. Please get some thicker skin.
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Old 01-24-2025, 08:57 AM   #30
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^Bruh...take the L. Say sorry and move on.
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Old 01-24-2025, 09:25 AM   #31
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Can someone explain to me where the visceral hate for Bettman comes from?

From my point of view he's done a pretty damned good job.

He's not in charge of the (honestly awful) refereeing or discipline really, although I do think he has some sort of 'final say' or veto there.

His job was to grow the NHL in a sustainable, responsible and profitable way and I think he's done an admirable job at it.

We can blame him for lockouts, but those would have happened regardless thats just standard labour disputes.

But the NHL has never been better and a lot of that is down to his stewardship.

Oh! And TV deals! Yeah, they're not great in comparison to other major leagues, but we have to keep in mind who the NHL are. They are not NASCAR or the NFL or NBA or MLB....the NHL is down the list a little, somewhere between the WNBA and the League of Women Voters.

Plus he genuinely looks like The Count from Sesame Street. If I were him thats what I'd go as for Halloween.
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Old 01-24-2025, 09:28 AM   #32
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He's the longest serving commish in a major sport yeah?
Yes. Clarence Campbell was NHL President for 31 years. Bettman's mentor, David Stern was NBA Commissioner for 30 years. Pete Rozelle was NFL Commissioner a couple months shy of 30 years. The longest-serving MLB Commissioner lasted 24 years.

Next Saturday will be Bettman's 32nd anniversary as NHL Commissioner.
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Old 01-24-2025, 09:38 AM   #33
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Sorry I want to respond to your post but I’m not seeing your name on any Jewish data bases. I don’t want to offend you so I’m trying to do my due diligence here, please advise how you want me to proceed.

In any case your point is quite silly if you’re asking every person to consider everyone’s background before making a simple post. That’s insane and luckily the world seems to be moving away from that type of attitude. Please get some thicker skin.
Posting that gif in this thread without a) considering b) checking if Gary Bettman is Jewish is insane to me, but different strokes.
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Old 01-24-2025, 09:38 AM   #34
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And I’m not here to change your (or anyones) mind, I’m just voicing my opinion. You don’t have to blame Bettman for poor video quality, but it shows a lack of investment in his product.

The game management, lack of transparency in officiating and excessive exposure to gambling are also negatives of Bettman. From an owners perspective he’s great. He’s made them all a ton of money and that’s their goal. From a fans perspective he has been a factor in making the game worse for the reasons I’ve mentioned.
TV quality has nothing to do with Bettman.

It has to do with regional NHL rights really not being the most competitive thing in the world. Sportsnet has the Flames rights because nobody else was really bidding against them (TSN reportedly had no real interest) so SN isn't going to spend a lot of money investing in something that isn't super profitable for them.

Also not sure how it's worse than when Bettman started still...maybe 50 Flames games were televised in the 90s...now we get to watch all 82 games. Is Sportsnet quality the best...nope...but I'm still happy I have the option to watch all 82 games.

And honestly you just explained everything wrong with all modern sports. Everything you said about the NHL is the exact same complaints they have about the NFL, NBA, and MLB. All major sports have refereeing problems, it's literally a complaint across every major sport, as is the expansion of gambling into every single broadcast or game.
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Old 01-24-2025, 09:40 AM   #35
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I loved Bettman. I agree with the opinion that, if it wasn't for him, the Flames may have left long ago.



In an alternate universe, maybe it was the Flames that got the Atlanta team rather than Winnipeg then? Wouldn't that be funny - both Atlanta teams moving to Calgary.
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Old 01-24-2025, 09:40 AM   #36
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Yes. Clarence Campbell was NHL President for 31 years. Bettman's mentor, David Stern was NBA Commissioner for 30 years. Pete Rozelle was NFL Commissioner a couple months shy of 30 years. The longest-serving MLB Commissioner lasted 24 years.

Next Saturday will be Bettman's 32nd anniversary as NHL Commissioner.
Well the anniversary being so close lines up with the news of planning for an eventual retirement makes sense
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Old 01-24-2025, 09:43 AM   #37
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Bettman was good for owners and making the league big business.

But is the NHL "better" now that it was? Frankly, I consider the level of hockey in the late 90s to early 00s as the golden age of skill and toughness. From this fans' point of view, hockey has just got more expensive and the product is not better.

Good for the owners.
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Old 01-24-2025, 09:46 AM   #38
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Can someone explain to me where the visceral hate for Bettman comes from?

From my point of view he's done a pretty damned good job.

He's not in charge of the (honestly awful) refereeing or discipline really, although I do think he has some sort of 'final say' or veto there.

His job was to grow the NHL in a sustainable, responsible and profitable way and I think he's done an admirable job at it.

We can blame him for lockouts, but those would have happened regardless thats just standard labour disputes.

But the NHL has never been better and a lot of that is down to his stewardship.

Oh! And TV deals! Yeah, they're not great in comparison to other major leagues, but we have to keep in mind who the NHL are. They are not NASCAR or the NFL or NBA or MLB....the NHL is down the list a little, somewhere between the WNBA and the League of Women Voters.

Plus he genuinely looks like The Count from Sesame Street. If I were him thats what I'd go as for Halloween.
Bettman is the very definition of a whipping boy for fans. Everything that's wrong with the game gets blamed on him. It detracts from actual valid criticism of things he actually does wrong (and even there it's unclear what is him and what is the board of governors).
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Old 01-24-2025, 09:47 AM   #39
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Can someone explain to me where the visceral hate for Bettman comes from?

From my point of view he's done a pretty damned good job.

He's not in charge of the (honestly awful) refereeing or discipline really, although I do think he has some sort of 'final say' or veto there.

His job was to grow the NHL in a sustainable, responsible and profitable way and I think he's done an admirable job at it.

We can blame him for lockouts, but those would have happened regardless thats just standard labour disputes.

But the NHL has never been better and a lot of that is down to his stewardship.

Oh! And TV deals! Yeah, they're not great in comparison to other major leagues, but we have to keep in mind who the NHL are. They are not NASCAR or the NFL or NBA or MLB....the NHL is down the list a little, somewhere between the WNBA and the League of Women Voters.

Plus he genuinely looks like The Count from Sesame Street. If I were him thats what I'd go as for Halloween.
It's the "cool" thing to do, most people who hate him have no basis or understanding of how the NHL is run or has grown under him and if not for him it might be as popular as the WNBA today.
Could someone else have run it and had the same results? Sure, but he did it.
Don't worry, the next guy will be considered just as "dumb" and all of us "experts" will know how to do it better.
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Old 01-24-2025, 09:53 AM   #40
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But the crowd is still going to boo the new commissioner when they present The Cup right?

Like tradition must live on.
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