And why, why would the NHL give Gary Bettman a raise? Bettman - pictured right apparently displaying his sobriety - was given a $2 million pay raise from the owners because of his… okay, I don’t really know why he deserved a raise other than the fact that he is the commissioner and the NHL is still a major sport large sport popular sport league.

The raise, and some of Bettman’s pay history, is discussed in yesterday’s Sports Business Journal, which also quotes Stephen Unger, a sports compensation consultant with KSMU in Los Angeles: “That’s a hell of a raise”. A helluva raise indeed Stephen.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand he is paid by the owners, and as far as they are concerned he has done a great job. He has helped set up a system with a salary cap which has greatly benefited the owners’ wallets and they are rewarding him for that work.

But what the hell? Honestly. A $2 million raise in the same month where the NHL helped NBC achieve the lowest-rated night in network history. Game 3 got worse ratings than Sci-Fi Channel’s “Meltdown: Days Destruct” and Food Network’s “Build A Better Burger”. That would be like being promoted after creating the worst selling product in Microsoft history; it’s not the way things work. Now I’m not an NHL executive, however I have stayed in a Holiday Inn Express before, so I know that better TV coverage during the season (enough of this Versus crap) leads to more money.

Sadly, step #1 to improving the NHL - and its media coverage - is kicking Bettman’s fat butt to the curb; that’s obviously not going to happen anytime soon. This sucks… I think I’ll hold off and just purchase the World Cup package from the Rugby Channel, because sadly I have better access to a sporting event halfway around the world than one in my same time zone.

Even worse: Bettman makes Bud Selig look good - damn good.