Barry Goldwater can rest peacefully knowing his vision may expose the con of another hidden agenda, ulterior motive
It was a tough decision. Do I go with the above quote for the title of this article, or do I use the other equally interesting and loaded quote of Mr. Gary Bettman, ” I quite frankly don’t know who the people there report to or accountable to”.
Well, one thing is clear, they don’t answer to the same people Mr. Bettman answers to, and they aren’t concerned about anything other than making sure the taxpayers aren’t getting the shaft. I can see how that could get confusing for some people.
For Olsen of the Goldwater Group a private meeting wasn’t enough sweet battatas. Bettman did not want to do a joint press conference.
Darcy Olsen, head of the Goldwater Group, can probably see when a payoff is sweet. Come on to a press conference with me Mr. Bettman, she must be thinking to herself. Let’s tell the good people what’s really up. It’s probably like when you get to work in the morning, and the 60 Minutes news crew is waiting in your office. Oh, dang!
The issue he was addressing Tuesday night was the Goldwater Group’s insistence to stick to their principles; their mandate to protect the taxpaying public.
Uh oh! Can you see the wheels spinning folks? Do you think the “game” is being called by the Goldwater Group? Have the shenanigans of the NHL and their urban development deck of cards been met by the windstorm so to speak? Is it all ready to blow over, becoming exposed?
When Gary Bettman served Jerry Moyes proxies for the league’s assistance, he told Ron McLean on HNIC that it was to stop him from doing anything radical.
Let’s think for a moment. If this league had nothing to hide, why would there be need for proxies from the Commissioner to one of the “partners” in the club that supposedly should be privy to the privilege of deciding where arenas get built, etc, etc? Would the rules be have been different for Jerry Moyes because he wasn’t in on the “development pie”?
Was Quebec City and Winnipeg told to build new arenas or we’ll send one of the teams to Phoenix where they were never sure hockey in 105 degree heat would really heat up? Why take hockey away from hockey-crazed Canadians and see if it works in the deep south, for no better reason that I can think of, than to look for the City willing to sell out to urban development?
There’s a sucker born every minute you know. The real sales job was finding that sucker, and they did in the City of Glendale. The NHL has contributed to building a deck of cards, and the only way to keep everyone happy is to continue to build.
They may have lost focus on the fans.
It would sure explain why hockey went where hockey is not popular. Why the bottom teams have to suck off the fat of where true profits lie — in the great White North (cu-loo-coo-cu-cu-coo-cu-coo!). Why the teams in the south will always need approved welfare. Where it made no sense to most of us, it makes perfect sense, in the sense, that it may never have been about hockey operations making a profit on pure hockey operations.
Where owners were truly not happy with just getting in the green because ticket sales were greater than player salaries. The salary cap is a joke.
And so, Tuesday night, Commissioner Bettman had his bluff called. The Goldwater Group wants to air to the world, without ability to read well-written speeches, that they believe this sports league has overstepped its bounds and is taking advantage of the residents and taxpayers of a City.
The Goldwater Group knows exactly what it has here.
Ironically, we laughed at the City of Glendale’s seemingly feeble legal team and argument in court. Glendale likely laughed at Goldwater.
Who’s laughing now?
To close, let’s watch the low-key Mr. Bettman tell Edmonton why they need to cough up the big tax bucks. And for God’s sake, is he trying the “sustainability as a franchise” garbage still in Canada – - the home of hockey? Surely Mr. Bettman is aware that argument is wearing thin! And Bettman has the gall to hold the card that he will pull the plug on the Oilers if a new arena is not built??! Not a threat, eh?
So where does he propose to build the next white elephant instead?!
Where is the priority? Putting hockey where market demands, or is the real money in land and urban development? It’s time we take that to a “press conference” of the NHL. The sooner the better, for the sake of the fans and the game!
It’s quite baffling how he admits the truth, but in a way that has most of us buying into the con. Is he ready to air to the world all the evidence to show who holds bonds behind the scenes, and open up the books to the profits that surround the game? Didn’t think so!
We could look at the comment that the Coyotes were never in jeopardy, and the notion was silly, when you factor in the true source of revenues. Silly us – - the taxpayers were going to pay the freight for the true “revenue streams”, right Mr. B? Masterful means to tell us the truth while we were sleeping. A marvel!
Game over Gary! Game on Canada!
