FanHouse Gary Bettman

The NHL has always been at the forefront of the major American sports leagues when it comes to the internet. The league streams most of its games online through its GameCenter Live application and has openly embraced bloggers and websites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Given all of that, maybe it's no coincidence that an internet savvy sports fan has chosen these same websites with which to embark on an NHL social media experiment.

The NHL season opens Thursday night with four games. Two of them are scheduled to be broadcast nationally on Versus.

That's good for the NHL, until you consider that Versus still does not have a contract with DirecTV. Millions of NHL fans are expected to spend Thursday night in the dark, unable to (legally) watch the Capitals-Bruins and Sharks-Avalanche games.

The National Hockey League has plenty of irreverent, delusional, confrontational owners, often found on the edge of scandal. Some of them even end up not going to jail.

Don't you think it's time Jim Balsillie got his shot?

Balsillie is a 48-year Canadian businessman with a dream of bringing an NHL franchise to Hamilton, Ontario. Actually, calling it a dream three years and three teams into his pursuit seems trivial. Balsillie is on a mission.

We're still a few months away from the 2010 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Vancouver. The NHL is allowing players to take part in the Games for a fourth time, but this may be the last.

The idea of shutting down the NHL season for two weeks does not sit well with some owners, and commissioner Gary Bettman wants to talk with the union about the concept before agreeing to send players to the Olympics in 2014. Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin doesn't seem pleased about the idea of missing the Games in his home country.

Thursday is a big day for the National Hockey League. As its 30 teams prepare to open training camps, the league and commissioner Gary Bettman continue to fight for the right to handle the Phoenix Coyotes as they see fit.

The bankrupt franchise goes to auction Thursday, and a field of four bids appears to have been whittled down to just two. The league will be up against the original buyer, Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie. While the NHL insists that the franchise be allowed to stay in Phoenix, Balsillie's purchase is contingent on him moving it to Hamilton, Ont., and making it the seventh Canadian franchise in the league.

The drama continues.

Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago White Sox, has pulled out of the running to purchase the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes. Long thought to be the favorite to land the franchise, which has been in bankruptcy since the spring, Reinsdorf apparently had enough of former owner Jerry Moyes, as well as the so-far futile efforts to renegotiate the club's lease at Jobing.com Arena. In his place, the NHL has placed a bid. This leaves one to wonder how Coyotes fans feel about Gary Bettman taking over their team.

On Wednesday, the presiding judge in the bankruptcy case of the Phoenix Coyotes stated that all bids would be reviewed for the auction that is set to take place on Sept. 10. That ruling allows Gary Bettman's mortal enemy ... err ... I mean, Jim Balsillie a shot at owning the team.

Despite a unanimous, dark, backroom vote of no confidence in Balsillie by the league last week and numerous statements against his potential ownership, the NHL is fighting a battle that it cannot control the outcome of. No matter how they want to spin it, the league is fighting an uphill battle against the billionaire and the court whose service is to the team's creditors and not the NHL.

NEW YORK -- Friday is the court-ordered deadline to submit bids for the bankrupt Phoenix franchise, but only one term sheet had been officially submitted as of Thursday morning, from the group that includes Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the White Sox and Bulls.

There is also interest from a second group, and, according to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, there might be a third in the wings. In an interview with FanHouse in his Manhattan office Thursday, Daly said that he just got off the phone with a third party that "expressed interest."

Confirming what has already been known for several months, the NHL made it official Wednesday afternoon with a press conference at Fenway Park, announcing the 2010 Winter Classic between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins to be played at the historic ballpark.

It's the NHL's fourth outdoor hockey game (and third Winter Classic) and it will somewhat of a carbon copy of last year's game at Wrigley Field in Chicago; Original Six team that has recently returned to relevance after a number of down years hosting the game in a classic baseball stadium. Hopefully this time around we avoid the awkwardness that was "take me out to the hockey game."

One of the great Stanley Cup traditions is its presentation. Yes, commissioner Gary Bettman -- after getting booed lustily -- takes a moment to congratulate the owners and general manager who helped put the team together. But the first person to touch the Stanley Cup after it is brought out to the ice surface is not an executive or a coach. It's the captain of the winning team.

Once the captain has his moment, he picks the second player to hoist the Cup. Since we know who gets it first, the only fun we can have is figuring out who will get it second.