Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

Well, we finally have our answer - THIS is what it takes for Gary Bettman to look good as Commissioner of the NHL:

- the NBA Gambling Scandal which has called into question the integrity of the entire operation; the dress code doesn't seem like such a big deal right now, does it?

- Michael Vick's despicable (allegedly) actions related to dogfighting; the NFL hasn't had any recent legal problems amongst its players, right?

- Bud Selig's refusal (until Tuesday night) to be in attendance for Barry Bonds allegedly tainted homerun record chase

Yep, as long as a firestorm hits every other pro sport in the US, Bettman comes up smelling like roses. Well, sort of... Gary is facing some allegations himself (which he has denied, not surprisingly). Jim Balsillie, the guy who put up $238 million to buy the Predators, and his lawyer aren't real happy with the way things went down in Nashville. In fact, Balsillie's lawyer has accused Bettman of emailing Preds' owner Craig Leipold and telling him not to continue dealing with Balsillie.

Is that really something that Bettman should be doing? Just because he wants to keep that franchise buried in Nashville or at least somewhere south of the 49th, should he actually be influencing the decision of the owner of a private franchise? Kind of makes you wonder what Bettman has promised Leipold since Balsillie's bid was worth $50 MILLION MORE than the highest competing offer.

I'm not exactly Warren Buffett, but if someone wants to buy my car for $500 more than the other guy who's interested, I'm already trying to figure out just how loud I'll be able to crank up my new surround sound system. Something stinks here, and it's not Bettman's breath. Especially when you consider that Bettman could easily find a way to block the sale in the end. We've already seen how much power he wields among the NHL Board of Governors when the voting came down on the current unbalanced schedule.

But all of this is flying under the radar right now because Sidney Crosby isn't into dogfighting, Bill McCreary isn't fixing playoff games, and Martin Brodeur isn't accused of being on the juice as he looks to rewrite every goaltending record in the book.

Yep, all Bettman needs is a year full of soap operas in the NFL, NBA and MLB and he'll probably be in line for a contract extension.