Bettman Puts His Stamp on the Flyers/Rangers Game...

and it STINKS!

"The whimpification of the sport." Words straight from Mike Milbury's mouth. Words straight to the ears of a national audience. Words that couldn't have been more accurate, more truthful.

This is EMBARRASSING for the NHL. The only major network, besides the outdoor channel, that gives the NHL a national audience just ripped them... just completely mocked the sport. And this from an inside guy... a guy that played the game and was an NHL GM.

The scene. Colton Orr comes out looking for a scrap against Riley Cote as the Rangers are trailing 5-1 and are completely lifeless. Orr wants a momentum swing.

The linesman step in before the whistle and warn Orr. The puck is dropped and Orr squares up to Cote and shoves him the chest. The two whack each other and start to skate away, but wait, a whistle is blown and Orr is promptly handed a two-minute minor and a ten-minute misconduct.

The Rangers fans are baffled. Everyone watching NBC is baffled. What did Orr do to deserve 12 minutes worth of penalties?

"The whimpification of the sport." Even Pierre McGuire agrees.

The NBC panelists continue to tear this game apart. No passion. No life. This is the new NHL. This is YOUR NHL.

Thank God for Mike Milbury. Thank God for Brandon Dubinsky for showing some leadership. It's clear Scott Gomez and Chris Drury want Renney gone. A player's character, or lack thereof, shines through when their team is down.

Wait a second, Mara and Asham drop the gloves in the 3rd and Riley Cote somehow ends up with a ten-minute misconduct all his owns

Two tough guys... two ten-minute misconducts. Get the tough guys out of the game... even if they don't do anything to warrant a penalty. Look for something. Find something.

Find the name and number on his jersey. Forget Dion Phanuef and his flying elbow. His jersey reads "Phaneuf" on the back... no suspension.

Find "Cote." Find "Orr." They mouthed off? See ya in ten minutes.

This is the new NHL. This is Gary's NHL. This is the way he wants his sport played.

Forget what the fans want. Read the polls. This is the exact opposite of what any fan poll says.

Thank you to the Rangers "leaders" for probably just getting their coach fired. Thank you to the refs for calling lame misconducts.

Thank you Gary for this boring 5-2 sleeper. This is your product. And it STINKS.