Jonathon Gatehouse
Gary Bettmanâ€™s two-decade reign has brought fans lockouts, soaring ticket prices, on-ice tinkering, and the heartbreaking departures of Canadian teams for American markets, and seen the centre of NHL power shift to Manhattan. Many hardcore hockey followers are convinced the commissioner is out to ruin the game this country loves.,Still, when Bettman took over in 1992, the gross revenue of the National Hockey League was US$400 million. This season, the figure will be closer to $3.3 billionâ€”an eightfold increase. If that were the only criterion by which to judge Bettmanâ€™s tenure, heâ€™d be a business success story. But on his watch, professional hockey has expanded beyond its traditional strongholds and shown it can prosper in unlikely placesâ€”even on American networks. And the best players in the world now all ply their trade in the league that Gary built.,By taming the NHLâ€™s famously fractious owners, all but busting its playersâ€™ union, and by enforcing lawyerly discipline on everything from trash talk to Jim Balsillieâ€™s efforts to crash the party, Bettman has become a figure of almost unrivalled power in the business of sport. His influence shapes leagues in other countries, dictates the schedule of the Olympic Winter Games, and spills onto the ice itself with innovations such as the shootout and a second referee, and with crackdowns on obstruction and headshots.,In ,The Instigator,, Jonathon Gatehouse details the unlikely ascension of a lonely New York City kid from a single-parent family who never played hockey and can barely skate to the sportâ€™s biggest job. It examines his motivations, peels back his often aloof demeanour, and explains how a true outsider manages to lead, confound, and keep order in the game Canadians love.
Sports,Hockey,Sports,Sports,Nonfiction,Biography
The Instigator