FOOLISH DECISION
Fred Faour: Yet another reason why Gary Bettman is the worst commissioner in sports
Feb 19, 2018, 7:52 am
The U.S. men's hockey does not include NHL players. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Are you watching the men’s hockey at the Olympics? Nope, me either. It’s a shame, because every four years I watch the Olympics primarily for the hockey. Growing up, it was the best college kids against the world. More recently it has been the best in the NHL.
This year, it is a collection of overseas players who are mostly marginal former NHLers and a couple college kids. There is no charm of the young against the established, and no thrill of seeing our best against their best.
One man is to blame for killing the Olympics.
The NHL’s Gary Bettman is the worst commissioner in the four major North American sports, and that is saying a lot in a world where Roger Goodell is alive and breathing.
The other leagues
The NBA might have the best. The league replaced the smarmy, self-promoting David Stern with Adam Silver, who handled the Donald Sterling fiasco with aplomb and has since been extremely progressive, even touting the benefits of legalized gambling.
Baseball’s Rob Manfred could not help but be an upgrade over Bud Selig, and at least talks a good game.
Goodell is an unabashed dictator whose heavy-handed handling of small controversies has turned them into big ones that have damaged the fabric of the league.
And Bettman is far worse.
He presided over an entire lost season of NHL hockey. He steadfastly and arrogantly refused to allow the Coyotes to move to Hamilton, Ontario, denying Canada -- the hockey hotbed of the world -- another team which would have had a deep pocketed owner. Meanwhile the Coyotes still do not have a home.
When Bettman reluctantly acquiesced to Atlanta moving to Winnipeg... Well, all that team has done is sell out every night since relocating and put itself in place for a serious playoff run this season.
He still steadfastly refuses to allow struggling teams to move, even with vibrant potential markets in Seattle and Houston. Bettman once told me at a meeting of sports editors that he did not view Houston as a viable market because “we already have Dallas.” Anyone who lives in Texas knows what an ignorant statement that is. But that’s another rant for another time.
And yet for all his flaws, Bettman outdid himself by not allowing NHL players to go to South Korea for the Olympics.
The players wanted to go. The fans wanted to see it. NBC -- the NHL’s TV partner -- certainly wanted it, because of the money they spent on the Olympics. But Bettman -- hiding behind what he said was the owners decision -- refused to send his players.
The excuses
We have to interrupt our season for two weeks. Yet each team has a five-day break and the All-Star break. Combine those and what have you missed?
The players might get hurt. A risk? Sure. Now ask Jack Eichel and Nathan MacKinnon -- who were injured recently -- if where they got hurt matters. In fact, the Olympics -- being on bigger ice -- creates much less risk of injury.
We don’t want to disrupt our season. Ratings dip during the Olympics anyway. The casual fans who would be into the NHL are watching Olympics.
This is how the Olympics used to be. No, the Olympics used to be college kids and juniors against Soviet pros. We already have a similar tournament minus the Soviets -- it is called the World Juniors. Why not reprise that here? If you aren’t going to send the NHL, send the kids. This is a collection of has beens, mediocre players and a few college kids mixed in. That's not to say they are not good people who are enjoying the Olympic experience, but the reality is they should not be there.
Ratings are best when the U.S. is good. This team is not. There is nothing compelling. After the US had a terrible performance in the NHL’s World Cup, this group is likely to also miss out on a medal. And not giving the US a fighting chance is shortsighted. Potential new fans are lost. The Olympics are a once every four year opportunity, where you can bring new eyes to the TV sets that might go on and become NHL fans. Not to mention the lost revenue for bars that pack the house when the US and Canada play. It’s not just me; no one cares. Maybe that will change in the medal round if the US somehow makes a run, but it is unlikely.
Failure on two fronts
Bettman’s decision damaged both the Olympics and the NHL. A team of NHL Americans probably would not beat Canada, but they would have had a shot. Instead, NBC tries to force feed mediocre athletes in all sports who have no shot at winning on us and sell them as legit. They would not have to do that with a US team that would be loaded with young talent.
And viewers who never watch the NHL would get to see exciting young players like Auston Matthews, Eichel, Zach Werenski, and Johnny Gaudreau team up with veteran superstars like Patrick Kane…Who knows if they are the same players in four years? It’s really just silly. The NHL is missing out.
Instead, no one is interested in Olympic hockey. And the boost the NHL could have gotten is lost, because Bettman is a short-sighted idiot. It’s time the NHL realized it and found an Adam Silver of hockey, someone who will move the sport forward, not hold it back.
Somehow, Bettman endures. And hockey continues to suffer for it.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
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