Gary Bettman is an idiot. I never thought this was possible, but he’s as dumb as his mentor, NBA commissioner David Stern.

Stern is annoying because he rules the NBA like a ruthless dictator.

If a player or coach voices his opinion – and it conflicts with Stern – the person is fined. Some players don’t want to talk to media, they get fined. If you criticize a ref, you get fined. If your name is Mark Cuban, you get fined.

I know Stern has really changed the game and he’s done good things for basketball, but if he has that much control over how the league does things, maybe he should make players use fundamentals?

Basketball is one of the world’s most popular sports and with the exception of a few American players, the only people who play the game the way it should be played are international players. People like Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and the majority of those on this summer’s Dream Team are too wrapped up in their egos to play basketball.

The way Stern changed the NBA and the lack of fundamentals, relates to the NHL because of the way Bettman has changed the game to fit more like the NBA.

For the most part, the NHL is in most NBA cities. Most teams share an arena.

Bettman has tried to run the NHL like the NBA for too long.

The divisions are now East and West like the NBA and just about every city that has a team in the NBA has an NHL counterpart … that plays in the same arena.

Bettman’s realignment of the conference to East and West and the divisions to be named by geographic locations is a bad thing because now it’s just a cookie-cutter league.

The game has completely lost its luster.

There’s nothing like having the historical references like the Campbell and Wales Conference, or the Addams, Norris, Smythe or Patrick Divisions.

I suppose the only thing that prevented him from changing the name of the Stanley Cup is that some upset French Canadian would have killed him…with a hockey stick.

The biggest crime was allowing the relocation of teams.

As a Minnesotan, it was a sad day for me when the North Stars moved to Dallas.

Granted, the state of hockey has a team again, but the league is different now.

The Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix and became the Coyotes. Why would you move a team from Manitoba? Likewise, the Quebec Nordiques moved to Colorado and became the Avalanche, replacing the old Rockies of the NHL. Well, why couldn’t Colorado receive an expansion team? Do people in Florida actually care about hockey so much that they need two teams (the Lightning and Panthers)? The Thrashers came to Atlanta; the Hartford Whalers packed up and left for the Carolinas to become the Hurricanes. There are also teams in Nashville (Predators) and Columbus, Ohio (Blue Jackets).

Expansion is a good thing for the NHL, but when you put hockey into weird locales…LIKE THE SOUTH…you shouldn’t expect to do well at all.

Had the Lightning not been so good last year, there probably wouldn’t be much excitement in Florida.

I find it hard to believe that Texans stop watching football to tune into the Stars and I find it even harder to believe that North Carolinans, Georgians, Ohioans and Tennesseans put down their skunky beer and stop watching NASCAR long enough to watch NHL teams – although, with marketing strategies just like the Minnesota Wild, if you visit Nashville, you’ll see that there is some love for the Predators…not as much as the Titans or Volunteers, but there’s some love.

In a nutshell, Gary Bettman is an idiot.

Bettman’s reason for this lockout is loss of revenue. Forbes magazine said this week that the NHL only lost $96 million, not $224 million, as Bettman has said. Forbes said that the NHL didn’t factor in some forms of revenue, like TV deals and luxury suites, when evaluating its financial state.

Even if ticket sales are down, the fast growth of the NHL and the relocation of teams to non-traditional hockey locales is the reason why no one cares about the NHL.

I would argue that the best expansion team in the last 15 years has been the Minnesota Wild, and not just because I’m from Minnesota or am mad that I never got the chance to see the North Stars play live.

Aside from being in a great location for hockey, the the Wild front office has nostalgia into account and marketed Minnesota’s rich hockey history accordingly to the fans.

When we got the new hockey franchise, it was like having a newborn child. You love them automatically. And, although it came unexpected, the long run into the Stanley Cup playoffs where we upset the Avalanche in 2003 was awesome.

Add to this the banners declaring Minnesota the “State of Hockey” and “Wild Fans No. 1,” the North Stars leaving for Dallas (until the day I die, I expect that Wild fans will always boo the Dallas Stars whenever they come to St. Paul) and the best thing Gary Bettman and the NHL has done is give Minnesota an expansion team.

But, granting Minnesota a team doesn’t outweigh the bad decision making and the second lockout in six seasons is a good enough reason for Gary Bettman to leave the NHL or face harsh scrutiny from fans. 

Reach Adam Crowson at Winonan@Winona.edu