Tuesday 9 December 2014

After weeks of denying expansion rumours, Gary Bettman fuels them, denies them some more.

Hearing Gary Bettman speak is so revolting, an insult to everyone's intelligence.  He's trying to get everyone to not read too much in the fact that he's 'not objecting' to a billionaire holding a season-ticket drive in Las Vegas.  To me, I'm reading quite a bit into it.  They've selected a robber baron to join their monopoly, and the location they'll use to pluck taxpayers of their public funds from.

Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago that he was eye-rolling and condescending to the media scrum he was facing that the league hadn't even considered expansion, they just weren't there yet, they hadn't even taken the mental journey to evaluate this, so he couldn't discuss it with the scribes if they'd undertaken that fanciful, unrealistic trip themselves?  Wasn't he supercilious and not only evasive, but outright mendacious in his responses?

There might be very good reason for Gary Bettman to not want to discuss these matters openly, but he's supposed to the be the Commissioner of the League, and he acts like a cheap shill instead, completely the opposite of Jean Béliveau, whose word meant something and treated people with respect.

He could choose to remain above the fray and withhold comments, like when Marc Bergevin says he's always looking to improve his team, but he won't discuss rumours or specifics before he announces anything, since it's harmful to the process and disrespectful to the players.  Instead, he wades into the mire with glee, lecturing everyone out of one side of his mouth while in his actions he clearly is doing the very opposite, and spatters anyone within range with his filth.

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