For Shame Bettman!

Big Tall

Big Tall

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Saw this on ESPN's Page 2 and all I could do was shake my head. Click on the link in the quoted piece below for the Commish himself...

Paul Lukas said:
With the NHL playoffs under way, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman took to the airwaves Thursday. If you listen to the first two minutes or so of this interview this interview, which was broadcast on WFAN in New York, you'll hear him discussing legendary hockey figure Ace Bailey, whose career was ended by an on-ice skull fracture in 1933 and who later, in a tragic coincidence, died aboard one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center on 9/11.

Amazing story. Just one problem: There were two Ace Baileys -- the one who suffered the skull fracture and the one who died on 9/11. They weren't the same person.

Getting the two Baileys mixed up is a fairly common mistake -- casual fans do it all the time. The difference is that they are, you know, casual fans, while Bettman is, um, the commissioner of the freakin' league, so you'd think he'd be just a smidge more knowledgeable about hockey history.

Should Bettman's job performance be judged on bigger issues than historical arcana? Sure, things like TV contracts, labor relations, rules changes, uniforms -- all of which he happens to have bungled. Criticism of Bettman is now so commonplace, in fact, that it's essentially become hockey's white noise, fading into the background of every game. So when he embarrasses himself by displaying his ignorance of NHL history, it's easy to just throw up your hands and say, "Same old Bettman. Whaddaya gonna do?"

But that lets him off the hook too easily. Imagine if Bud Selig mixed up Buddy Bell and Gus Bell, or if Roger Goodell mistook Art Shell for Art Donovan. And the fact that hockey has become an also-ran sport doesn't make Bettman's cluelessness any less offensive, especially since he's the one largely responsible for the NHL's second-tier status in the first place.
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Big deal, common mistake, he's the commish, not a historian. I have other problems with the commish than his knowledge of hockey history.
 
Bossy22 said:
No kidding, there are bigger fish in the frying pan than history. Would it be nice if he knew the history, for sure, is it a big deal, not at all.
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I disagree with you there. Out of all sports I think hockey cherishes their history more than any other and Bettman's ignorance is unacceptable. He has made strides since he first got the job but he's still not a "hockey guy." I still long for the days of the Campbell and Wales conferences and the Norris, Adams, Patrick and Smythe divisions. Why did hockey have to cater to non-fans and be a follower changing conference names and divisions. It worked for all those years. Oh, and how about the glow puck..... :dizzy:
 
I'm sure if you asked Bud Selig who won the 1933 World Series, he'd give you a slightly befuddled look and avoid the question. Everyone makes mistakes. As far as I'm concerned, Bettman's done a good job.
 
Iceman said:
I'm sure if you asked Bud Selig who won the 1933 World Series, he'd give you a slightly befuddled look and avoid the question. Everyone makes mistakes. As far as I'm concerned, Bettman's done a good job.
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Until he tries to move every last Canadian franchise to the States!
 
Iceman said:
I'm sure if you asked Bud Selig who won the 1933 World Series, he'd give you a slightly befuddled look and avoid the question. Everyone makes mistakes. As far as I'm concerned, Bettman's done a good job.
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This isn't some random guy though. If it was some 4th line shmuck who wasn't in hockey lore I'd say swing and a miss. But Ace Bailey?
 
If it makes you feel any better, I have no freaking clue who Ace Bailey is, so it's tough for me to get annoyed about this.
 
Yeah, and if you take Paul Lukas seriously, you might want to reconsider some things yourself. He writes a blog about uniforms, and a certain way that they should be worn. He gets his knickers in a twist if someone wears their stirrups without showing their sock or if there is a logo anywhere on anything.

Yeah I read it, but his sense of self-importance is little overrated to put it mildly

Just remember at the end of the day, Bettman works for all 30 owners, it's not like there are many things he can decide unilaterally - they all have to go through the 30 groups for it to happen. Unfortunately there are far too many Canadians that don't understand the concept of what a LEAGUE is and pile on Bettman like so many collectors dump on UD. They're all angry, it's just the anger is totally misdirected.
 
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It was a big faux pas. To mix up Ace Bailey (the reason the NHL began All Star Games) and Ace Bailey that died on 9-11.
Even after the announcer asked ' what was he 80' ? He should have clued in because Garent Ace Bailey was in his early 50's and he was the commish when he died.

The original Ace Bailey was born in 1903!
 
Meh. I despise Gary Bettman and I can forgive him for this one. In fact, I enjoy that he continually makes an *** of himself. Doesn't affect the game of hockey in the least. Bud Selig is one of the biggest mistakes in sports and baseball seems to be surviving and thriving despite that.
 

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