If you are able to get the obscure cable channel Bettman thinks will be the saviour of the “New” NHL, then you probably saw his idea of how the league should be advertised. Promoting the coming playoffs Bettman’s marketing idiots have spliced together clips from the movie “300″ with clips of hard-hitting hockey. To associate our beloved sport with a movie that depicts beheadings and spurting blood throughout is, IMHO, a very bad idea. Hockey’s only other national advertisement for the past week or so has been the over-and-over replay of the Simon stick-swinging incident which is then coupled to the Tuz’s bone-headed play on Moore, and then McSorely…you get the idea. Now Bloody Bettman follows that up with an ad that promotes more violence. Hey, don’t get me wrong, I love it when they drop the gloves or there’s a good CLEAN hard check, but associating hockey with the ultra-extreme violence of this movie just ain’t smart. We have plenty of NHL highlight plays and foot-stompin’ tunes that would promote the NHL in a much better fan-growing light than what our idiot commissioner and his immature marketing boys are doing. I thought the idea was to tone down the ultra-violence? What are the younger fans and players to think about how the game should be played when they see this commercial and the movie? Stupid, Gary, plain stupid.

Deposit two cents here.