BusinessWeek: Bettman gets thumbs down
TSN.ca Staff
1/6/2005
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has been given a failing grade by a major business magazine in the United States.
BusinessWeek ranks Bettman fifth on its list of seven worst managers in 2004. Rankings were based on submissions from 130 writers and editors from around the world.
"Arenas have been empty since Sept. 15, when National Hockey League owners locked out the players," said the magazine regarding Bettman's selection. "NHL finances are in shambles, and the weak TV deal signed with NBC last spring suggests the league has little leverage and is now a second-tier sport."
The magazine does give Bettman credit for attempting to unite the owners, whom it calls "an undisciplined bunch (that) should shoulder much of the blame for wildly bidding up salaries."
"(Bettman) finally has owners marching in lockstep toward a tough new contract - even if their unanimity is about a decade too late."
NHLPA boss Bob Goodenow doesn't escape unscathed either.
"Little prudence has been shown by NHL Players Assn. chief Bob Goodenow, who might have been wise to heed Bettman's warnings that the unsustainable rate of salary growth was undermining the business on which players depend for their livelihood," says BusinessWeek.
The magazine concludes by saying, depending on the outcome of the dispute, Bettman could easily find himself on the list of Best Managers in one years time.
"If the league holds out and wins a salary cap - or even settles for a hefty rollback - Bettman could end up looking like a shrewd crisis manager. But it was a crisis that should never have happened."
It has not been a good week for the NHL boss. The Sporting News ranked Bettman 40th on its list of the 100 most powerful people. That's a drop of 27 spots from a year ago. NHLPA boss Bob Goodenow was ranked ahead of Bettman, 39th.
Both found themselves behind Janet Jackson's 2004 Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction" on the Power 100 list.
