Sith Lord Gary Bettman, the killjoy that he is, has apparently had enough of the public bickering between Brian Burke and Kevin Lowe and told both men/boys to STFU.
Playing the role of School Marm, Bettman had a teleconference with the aforementioned GMs, and let them know that their insults are 'tarnishing' the league.
Despite my assertion that Burke/Lowe are acting like little children, I agree with The Hockey News' Adam Proteau in that the league shouldn't be trying to put a halt to this petty feud. It makes for great press!
It doesn't matter whether you believe Burke's notion that Lowe single-handedly drove up player costs with his lucrative offers to other teams' restricted free agents, or Lowe's assertion that Burke is "an absolute media junkie" who deserves little credit for building the Ducks into a Stanley Cup champion.
What matters here is people are talking about hockey in July – and, most importantly, the next time the Ducks and Oilers play, there will be a huge buildup of hype and anticipation regarding what the next chapter of the dueling GMs will read like.
Yes, Monsieur Bettman, what hockey needs is LESS press coverage, not more.
Sure, the feuding looks unprofessional, but the NHL is in the business of providing entertainment. When there are no games on TV, why not let fans get their hockey fix through other means?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-07-2008 @ 4:52PM
Bill said...
Hay, fighting is allowed in hockey, so tell Bettman to STFU and get those two on the ice & let them go at it. Then if he’s so inclined to stop them he can pretend to be the linesman that breaks them up.
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7-08-2008 @ 2:40PM
grapevinesooner said...
To be fair, the midget's in a no win situation here.
If he does nothing, it adds fuel to the fire that he's a yes-man puppet of a commissioner. Squelch the bickering, and he's seen as a PR idiot.
To be sure, I've seen MLB do the same thing with front office execs with the Red Sox would wage public wars with Steinbrenner and the Yanks. I think publicly, they're telling them one thing while privately saying, 'psst, we haven't gotten coverage like this in years. You think you could kick it up a notch?'
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