And the winner is:
The Phoenix Coyotes, AKA Gary Bettman's Folly
Zero! Zero teams in Hamilton! Ah ah ah!
Memo to Gary Bettman: Kill yourself. Everything you have done to the NHL has been a catastrophe. Glow Pucks. Reebok Edge Jerseys. Expansion. Killing an entire season. Killing half a season after the best media coverage and exposure the league ever had in 1994. Eliminating traditional, awesome division and conference names in favor of bland geographical ones. Letting NBC cut off an overtime playoff game in favor of two hours TALKING ABOUT horsey racing. The current state of officiating. All can be laid at Bettman's feet. Which brings us to the grandest of all of Bettman's ill-planned debacles, the Phoenix Coyotes.
Simply put, the team does not work. It makes no money, and drains revenue from real teams. I don't know if my buddy Derek bought that Milan Lucic sweater, but if he did, a lot of that $150 or so he paid went straight to Phoenix.
Bettman's steaming turd of a folly is starting to stink in the sweltering sun of Phoenix. But instead of admitting he made a mistake, Bettman is digging in, to the point of dereliction of his duty as Commissioner. The facts: Bettman's job is to act in the best interest of the league. That can be widely interpreted, but one thing that is not open for interpretation is money. Jim Ballsillie has offered $212 million for the team, but Bettman has rejected that offer, and is only considering offers that wil keep the team in Phoenix. By the way, those offers he IS considering are well below Ballsillie's. So Bettman is waging a personal war, both against Jim Ballsillie (whom he seems to despise for the shameful crime of being a competent businessman) and the vast majority of folks who are shouting, "Gary, move the fucking team!" Since Bettman refuses to accept the most lucrative, sensible deal for the league, he is no longer doing his job. He is Acting in Bad Faith.
Luckily, this may be out of Bettman's hands now. The Coyotes are in bankruptcy, and the courts get to decide the team's fate. Judge Redfield Baum has told Bettman to STFU, that ALL offers will be accepted in the team's auction, including Ballsillie's (which happens to be the highest so far).
Unfortunately, Phoenix is not the only poorly-located team, just the worst. The Tampa Bay Lightning have abysmal attendance. (21st in the league) What happened to all those fans who packed the St Pete Times building when the team was winning the Stanley Cup? Oh, they don't go to games anymore? They're fair-weather fans? Shocking. The Predators (27th) suck revenue from every northern team because of their horrible attendance. The Atlanta Thrashers: 29th in attendance. Source here
Hockey in the desert does not work. Bettman's plan to bring the sport to southern audiences has been a colossal failure, and Phoenix is exhibit A.
This has turned into a rant against GB, but really, he and the Phoenix Coyotes are inextricably linked. Congratulations on winning the hereby-named Phoenix Coyotes trophy, Gary. You must be truly proud. You arrogant piece of shit.
By the way, I'm not the only one who feels this way.
Check out this great video of Detroit fans booing the jackass. And good on the Red Wings fans for making it clear it was NOT Pittsburg, or even Sidney Crosby, they were booing. It was all for Bettman.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/227304-gary-bettmans-act-is-wearing-thin?=related-tabs
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/197395-the-nhls-demise-in-phoenix-gary-bettmans-mistake
http://www.garybettmansucks.com/
http://www.firebettman.com/
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