Sports | Bettman blindsided by backdoor dealings

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Left In The Dark
Published 6/24/2008 by Paul at KK Hockey
... that two of his closest NHL confidants – L.A.’s Philip Anschutz and Minnesota’s Craig Leipold – had lent San Jose banker Boots Del Biaggio a combined $17 million (U.S.) to help him pay for a $25 million stake in the Nashville Predators. NHL owners were speechless, according to a source who attended the meeting, as Bettman grumbled he had been in the dark. Neither Anschutz nor Leipold had made him aware of the cozy back-door deal. continued

Bettman caught off-guard
Published 6/24/2008 by noreply@blogger.com (Richard Pollock) at IllegalCurve.com
... closest NHL confidants – L.A.'s Philip Anschutz and Minnesota's Craig Leipold – had lent San Jose banker Boots Del Biaggio a combined $17 million (U.S.) to help him pay for a $25 million stake in the Nashville Predators. NHL owners were speechless, according to a source who attended the meeting, as Bettman grumbled he had been in the dark. Neither Anschutz nor Leipold had made him aware of the cozy back-door deal. Read the entire article here. The news just keeps getting worse ...

Nashville Predators co-owner owes more than $35 million
Published 6/24/2008 at Puck Daddy
... owner Craig Leipold, two of Gary Bettman's closest ownership allies in the League, lent Boots a combined $17 million to help fund his $25 million stake in the Preds -- without telling Bettman, according to Rick Westhead of the Toronto Star. (Check out the Bobby Orr/ ...

Well His Name Isn’t Gary Fretman
Published 6/25/2008 by The OFB Team at On Frozen Blog
... the Nashville Predators . . . Anaheim Ducks owner Henry Samueli has pleaded guilty to lying to federal authorities. Gary Bettman seemed unperturbed: “The Samuelis have been terrific owners. They’re perhaps the most community-minded and charitable people in all of Orange County,” Bettman said. “I am not going to fret about something that may or may not be substantiated at the end of the day.” Read all about it at The Star. ...

What's Next for the Ducks Owner?
Published 6/25/2008 by Eric McErlain at FanHouse
... My guess is that the NHL will wait until everything is official before deciding on the length of his suspension. So how long does Samueli deserve? If you're Rick Westhead at the Toronto Star, the only fitting punishment for Samueli is forfeiture of the franchise. Then again, this is the same Rick Westhead who mused out loud about how ...

MYFO Editorial: Open Letter to Gary Bettman
Published 6/26/2008 by ReasonableDoubt at Melt Your Face-Off
... bigger perks. It took you long enough to realize that that is a federal crime. Of course, you leave the team in the hands of a lame duck (ugh) GM who has one foot out the door and a nice house picked out on the lake near Toronto when he goes to work for the Maple Leafs next year. Why wasn’t a plan put in place sooner, Gary? What were you waiting for? What in the hell have you been doing for the last few months, Gary? But that’s not the worst part. The worst part is this, which the Toronto Star sums up for us. Apparently, MYFO’s ...