Bettman on CBC tonight

[jds 20]

Boy, Bettman is getting pissed off with Ron MacLean asking the hard questions about the state of various franchises. He's such a greasy character (Bettman that is). Funny to watch. And on his birthday no less :D

[Konig von Kuhlem 0]

I saw that too! :lol: It was like the answer to every question was the exact opposite.

[jds 20]

He's such a weasel although if I ran a business I would want him at the front deflecting every negative thing and trumpeting every positive thing. Still think he's a dick in hockey terms from a fan point of view.

[ktang 34]

I actually had to agree with Bettman; MacLean spent too much time (almost the entire segment) focusing on the health of 5+ franchises. Bettman is there to answer some tough questions, but to be fair to him for appearing, MacLean should have given him something positive (and there is a lot) to talk about also.

[jds 20]

Yeah, but he is such a pro at avoiding questions that is something to watch him work his black magic.

[shotty 7]

Ron Mac is one of the highest paid employees of a public broadcasting corp. he is essentially the voice of intelligent Canadian sports fans. we dwell on the fact that bettman is a dink, and he exploits it for our enjoyment.

[chippa13 1844]

Always fun to hear the "I hate Bettman" vitriol. Before Bettmen and expansion the NHL regular season was the joke of the sporting world, 21 teams and 16 playoff berths. Before Bettman there was no national television contract in the States

[jds 20]

Where's "The States"? :D

[chippa13 1844]

In that place that keeps all the Mexicans from making it to Canada.

[SirJW 207]

YouTube - June 2nd, 2010 After 40 Minutes with Ron MacLean & Gary Bettman Blackhawks Vs. Flyers HNiC

[tro 4]

True Story: Ron MacLean jumped into the Delaware River to save a man who was taking his own life this afternoon.

http://twitter.com/JeffMarek/ who works at HNIC

No word if the man attempting suicide was Gary.

Note: I haven't read this anywhere else, so I don't know what Ron did.

here is the story http://www.fan590.com/news/nhl/more.jsp?content=h3547564

[hamstercaster 2]

I just watched the interview and love him or hat him, Betteman fared pretty well and actually made sense. You have to give him kudos to admitting his and the league's mistakes with Quebec and Winnipeg and trying to fix those mistakes before thinking of relocating/expanding to new markets.

[Chadd 916]

I just watched the interview and love him or hat him, Betteman fared pretty well and actually made sense. You have to give him kudos to admitting his and the league's mistakes with Quebec and Winnipeg and trying to fix those mistakes before thinking of relocating/expanding to new markets.

I usually like MacLean, but that was a shitty interview. His goal was to put Bettman on the defensive from the outset and try to connect two somewhat unrelated topics, franchise values and revenues to make the case for another team in southern Ontario. What Bettman didn't say is that relocated team would kill the Sabres, something I think we all know would happen. And there is no reason to put a team there that is going to result in another problem in short order.

MacLean has been using his position as a bully pulpit more often over the last couple years and it's sad to see a professional sink to those depths.

[Law Goalie 147]

The CBC is pushing him to take that approach. There is an incredibly ill-conceived push at the CBC to become more 'hip and cool' which the executives think means 'rude and pushy.' Supposedly this makes interviews seem less stagey, but in reality it just makes the interviewers look like unprepared fools whose principal rhetorical strategies are interruption and appeals to the lowest possible interests. They've even made their news anchors stand behind a big translucent desk while the feature presenters and interviewees lean precipitously on the other side, like they're trying to ask where to get some puff in an unfamiliar bar.