Gary Bettman Has A Rather High Opinion Of Himself

The Commish knows exactly how to soothe the feelings of the Minnesota Wild fan who got into a bit of a thing with Vancouver forward Rick Rypien...take him out to dinner.

An irate Rypien grabbed heckling Minnesota fan James Engquist while heading to the dressing room following a confrontation with Wild enforcer Rob Staubitz near the Vancouver bench. The two had fought earlier in the game. In addition to suspending Rypien, a 26-year-old Coleman, Alta., native who is in his sixth pro season, the NHL fined the Canucks US$25,000.

"It's a real eye-opener for me, so I think I'm going to come back real strong and better than ever," Rypien said in his first public comments since the incident occurred. "I think I'm going to be more focused and more determined to play the game that I love the most."

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has reportedly offered to take Engquist to dinner and provide him with a pair of tickets for another Wild game. The move came after the fan told a Minnesota newspaper he was contemplating legal action against Rypien for the incident, which lasted a few seconds before Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault and teammate Manny Malhotra quickly intervened.

If I ever had to have dinner with Bettman, I'd sue for emotional distress. Besides, wouldn't most hockey fans rather spend time with someone from the NHL who actually likes hockey?

As for the incident itself. Six game for Rypien, fine. I mean, it's not like it got out of hand or anything.

What Did We Learn: Game 7- Cleveland 30, New Orleans 17

For the second time in three weeks, the defending Super Bowl champions were done in by that which was one of their great strengths- their offense.

Four interceptions by Drew Brees. Two of those INTs were returned by defensive end David Bowens for touchdowns. Remove those scores from the game, and the Saints win. The same can be said of the Arizona game.

Colt McCoy didn't beat anyone. The defense, as ever, did their part.

On special teams, the Cleveland coaching staff dialed up a spectacular fake punt and a very impressive lateral on a punt return. Cleveland players reported some eye gouging and crotch punching by Saints players later in the game.

One can only say the same things over and over so many times. Yes, it helped that Scott Fujita was able to recognize formations and substitutions he'd seen with the Saints, but the fact remains that if the Saints don't turn the ball over, they win the game. Cleveland scored one offensive touchdown, much like the Cardinals previously.

Now Pittsburgh looms, with the strong probability of being 4-4 after eight games. Then comes a trip to Carolina, where the Saints seldom play well.

The fact of the matter is, there are no games that the Saints can count on winning for the rest of the way out. 9-7 may be enough to make the playoffs as a wild card, but it seems entirely likely that the Saints will suffer the embarrassing fate of not making the playoffs in their title defense. They may surprise us- predicated entirely on the offense rediscovering itself- but I wouldn't put any money on it.

Early Western Conference thoughts...

Well, collectively not even ten games in, we have some genuine surprises in the West so far. We'll see over time what the longer-term trend is, but let's start in the Central Division.

Ladies and gentlemen, in first place and undefeated in regulation, I give you your Nashville Predators. They had a three-game stretch of overtime losses to Montreal, Washington, and Pittsburgh, but then righted the ship against Dallas and Pittsburgh on the road. They appear to have improved in net with the addition of Anders Lindback, and they're giving up a sterling average of 2 goals per game.

Detroit, St. Louis, and Chicago all check in with at least four wins... a 1-0 overtime win for St. Louis over Pittsburgh was particularly noteworthy, and Detroit somehow just keeps cooking along. Chicago does not appear to have corrected their goaltending woes with Marty Turco... much like in Dallas, he seems to be solid in net until the waning minutes, and then fails to make that one key save.

Finally, Columbus is showing some interesting sparks with a pair of victories over Chicago. They're still wildly inconsistent, but if the season ended today, all five Central Division teams would be in.

Over in the Pacific, Marc Crawford has the Stars up and humming... a couple of key victories over Detroit and St. Louis, along with what is currently the 6th-rated offense in the league have them off to an impressive start. I'm not convinced that their blue line is deep enough to sustain a run, but they're rocking so far.

Los Angeles is right there with the Stars, as key wins over Vancouver and Colorado have them rolling. They recently lost G Erick Ersberg to the KHL, but he wasn't exactly a favorite of the coaching staff. D Drew Doughty has a hand injury that will keep him out for a week.

San Jose, Anaheim, and Phoenix are kind of a mess right now... the Sharks have beaten up on some weaker sisters, Anaheim can't keep the puck out of its own net, and the Coyotes are just kind of all over the place. The Coyotes looked strong in their opener against Boston, then didn't win another game except for a strong win over the Kings.

Finally, the Northwest is pretty much the weakest division in hockey right now, more so than the Southeast. Calgary is on top of the division playing .500 hockey, followed closely by Colorado. Both are entertaining teams to watch, but have had some nightmarish games defensively. Vancouver, who should be running away with things, is also playing .500 hockey despite massive upgrades along the blue line.

Careful followers of the discussion here and at Ace of Spades HQ will know that I'm not much of a believer in Roberto Luongo, and I think that will play itself out this year as well. Much like the San Jose teams of recent years, goaltending is what stands between Vancouver and the Cup.

Finally, Minnesota and Edmonton are in rebuilding mode, though Edmonton's Jordan Eberle is exciting to watch. That said, the Oilers have dropped four straight as of this posting...

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see who can sustain the pace in the West. Any thoughts?