I must admit, the inflammatory rhetoric of my last posting
made me a tad regretful.

It was motivated by, and targeted at, the loud, boorish and
uninformed hecklers who seem to be NHL mercenary goon
posters for hire on other websites.

And, to be honest, a nice rant against them felt good. But,
in retrospect, those folks won't be swayed by factual points
of view, so it's a short lived joy.

Kind of like sucking on an empty whipped cream can ... fun
for a second, but then you're left wondering what the heck
you're doing with your life.

Um, anyway ...

Let me instead approach the topic of Gary Bettman with more
intelligent recipients in mind.

Let's whittle down the scope of the argument to this:
"Has Gary Bettman earned your trust in his decade of stewardship
to merit your support in this labor war?"

Let's approach this one nugget at a time. Today, it's the sport
of hockey's equity in television.

Bettman: Hockey Needs a Television Overhaul

Bettman's focus for when (if) the league re-starts has been high
definition television, with a belief that the sharpness of the
picture will enable fans to follow the action better.

Ken Schanzer, NBC Sports President, explained it as follows:
"Let me start by saying that no sport televises better in HD
than hockey. The access to HD needs to expand first, but it's
the spectacle of the game that just shows better. It's not just
about (seeing) the puck. It's the vividness of the whole sport."

Damn if this angle of "better showcasing the sport to a new home
audience" doesn't sound like the press releases in advance of the
Fox glowing puck back in the mid 90's.

But, with NHL ratings being surpassed this year by arena football,
and with skeet shooting nipping at its heels, who can argue?

I can.

The Sport of Hockey Needs No Television Overhaul

I would argue that the sport of hockey remains rife with potential,
and all that is wrong is Bettman's misguided leadership.

The easy arguments are the success in 1994 that Bettman inherited
and squandered; and the phenomenally atrocious Fox network broadcasts
including that damn glowing puck.

But here's another perspective.

Canada's 5-2 victory over the United States for the gold medal in
the recent Olympics was the highest-rated hockey game in the U.S.
since Lake Placid in 1980.

The Sunday afternoon game drew a 10.7 national rating - that means
10.7 percent of homes tuned into a television had the game on.

That translated into 38 million people watched at least part of the
game.

(And the Russia - United States game drew almost 20 million U.S.
viewers, roughly half of the Canada game.)

No glowing puck.

No high definition television.

No fancy marketing slogans.

Just hockey - with the best players in the world, with competitive
subplots, and with freedom for the skill to shine.

So before you jump on Gary Bettman's bandwagon to a land
of shootouts, cost certainty and a fancy re-launch, think about
this.

When you last watched the NHL, did you enjoy the games?

And if not, what gives you any reason to believe that Bettman
understands or acknowledges the opportunity that he's
squandered for a decade with the greatest game on earth?

-Gabe

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