Gary Bettman: Hockey Hall of Famer

In this football-centric world we live in, people rightfully lament Roger Goodell for the uninspiring job he's done as NFL commissioner since 2006. I won't bore you with his resume but as you know, it's considerably weak to quite weak.

Yet for every "-gate" suffix you can think of involving the Roger Dodger, he's not the worst among the active Big Four commissioners at his job. Far from it, in fact.

The worst commissioner in professional sports today is the NHL's Gary Bettman, who has improbably outlasted every fellow Big Four commissioner who held office when he took over in 1993. And he's now enshrined forever in the Hockey Hall of Fame after the class was announced on Tuesday.

Bettman has overseen not one, not two, but three work stoppages in his tenure. One of them (in)famously wiped out the entire 2004-2005 season, Stanley Cup and all. When the NHL returned to action in the fall of 2005, the only national TV contract the league could procure stateside was on something called the "Outdoor Life Network." Foreshadowing the watering down of the Winter Classic, I suppose.

Bettman has forced the Quebec Nordiques, Hartford Whalers, Minnesota North Stars and Winnipeg Jets logos into a graveyard.

That's not my father, that's former Quebec Nordiques great Claude Julien rocking the finest uniform this league has ever seen.

The only reason Winnipeg rose from the dead earlier this decade is because it's the offspring of far and away Bettman's most ill-conceived Sun Belt Expansion team, the Atlanta Thrashers.

Bettman awarded Atlanta a franchise for the beginning of the 1998 season, this despite Atlanta already having failed once as an NHL city in the '70s. This despite Atlanta, host of the Braves during that run to five World Series in the decade, led the National League in attendance just once during the stretch.

Bettman allowed the OG Jets to fly away to Phoenix and become the Coyotes, where they've been flailing around in the desert wind ever since. The NHL bought the 'Yotes out of bankruptcy in 2009; during said time frame, the team hasn't finished any higher than 28th in attendance. Even when Phoenix made the Western Conference Finals in 2012...it finished dead last in attendance. But don't worry, after the lockout wiped out nearly half of the 2012-13 season, attendance rebounded all the way to 29th for the 'Yotes.

Decent sweater...for a minor league team.

Sun Belt Expansion has produced a few solid franchises in the Lightning and -- for now -- the Predators and Golden Knights. Let's see how long those waves ride. Carolina, which stole the Whalers, did win a Stanley Cup in 2006. In defending that title the following season, the Hurricanes couldn't even finish in the top half of the league in attendance (18th) and now haven't made the playoffs since '09. They've finished dead last in attendance in each of the last three seasons, becoming the first team ever to finish 31st in attendance this season. Keep that in mind for if/when Nashville or Vegas regress to the mean.

People know all about how few South Florida sports fans tuned in to LeBron's Heat, not to mention that albatross of a stadium for the Marlins. Shocking to say, they aren't tuning into the Panthers, either. Florida finished dead last in attendance in 2008, rose back to respectability by finishing 17th in 2013...and regressed to dead last by 2015.

It looks like Seattle is going to be awarded the 32nd NHL franchise in short order, evening out the conferences with two divisions of eight teams each. I'm glad Seattle is getting a crack at the league but why expand when you can relocate any one of those moribund teams from the southern United States?

Every sport today has issues with replay, slowing games down in real time to determine if Dustin Pedroia's finger came off the bag at second for a millisecond or if Jesse James failed to survive the ground. Hockey's off-sides challenge takes the cake for worst of the bunch, though, and it's not even close. Why should Zdeno Chara's skate blade being 0.000000000000001 centimeters ahead of the puck on the offensive blue line matter when Brad Marchand scores 1:15 later after the Maple Leafs have had three chances to clear the zone?

I can't even

Is it longevity that's getting Bettman into the Hall? So what if he's been in charge for a quarter century? He's nothing more than a compiler in that regard.

Compiling financial growth for the league, to be 100 percent fair. There's also a little thing called inflation and if you're telling me he's the only empty suit out there who could have overseen said growth, spare me.

Speaking of growth, the game was growing via NHL players participating in the Olympics, which was originally a Bettman notion. He inexplicably pulled the plug on it this past winter. Just too much of a good thing I guess.

Bettman's hockey epitaph will forever be the three lockouts he's overseen and it is simply mesmerizing he'll now be immortalized in Toronto for it. Bear in mind that Bud Selig has a bust in Cooperstown despite cancelling the 1994 World Series and overseeing the death of the Expos, this all could mean Goodell is on a fast track for Canton. What's next, David Stern shows up in Springfield for murdering the SuperSonics and the whole Tim Donaghy thing?

Here's a few other thoughts on this year's hockey hall class, which Bettman aside, is quite strong.

• Former St. Louis Blues great Martin Brodeur, who also spent some time with the New Jersey Devils, is perhaps the best goaltender in the history of the NHL. Brodeur was around for so long that in David Puddy's iconic Seinfeld scene, it was a Marty Brodeur jersey he was wearing. That episode aired in 1995; Brodeur was still in Jersey through the end of the 2014 season. 

• Marty St. Louis has now completed his journey from undrafted to the Hall of Fame. You know where he played his college hockey? That's right it was a state school in New England that cut its varsity football program in 1972 to put a stronger emphasis on hockey, the University of Vermont. Too bad another school in the region can't follow suit.

• Very cool to see Willie O'Ree get his due as a Hall of Famer for breaking the NHL's color barrier as a member of the Bruins in 1958. He had only 14 points in 18 career games with the B's, but it goes without saying his induction transcends production. And is also a good reminder that the Bruins actually broke hockey's color barrier before the Red Sox fielded an African-American player; the Red Sox were the very last (pre-expansion) MLB team to do so, when Pumpsie Green debuted in 1959. 

• A couple of Massachusetts products in Jeremy Roenick (Thayer) and Keith Tkachuk (Malden Catholic) missed the cut again. Things are going fine for the Tigers, with Hingham's own Jay O'Brien being selected in the first round of last weekend's draft by the Flyers, but it's another story for the Lancers. MC recently announced it's going to stop playing its fellow Catholic Conference opponents in football, and one can only wonder if the school is long for the Catholic Conference altogether. 

College Football Players to Watch in 2018 (Part 2 of 5)

Just like last season, I will be doing a five-part series of posts, each post featuring five players to watch for this fall. Some players on this list are so obvious that you don't need a reminder to watch them, some could be busts, and there will certainly be players outside of these 25 that will have impactful seasons. Also, I must add that the order in which these players are listed is not a ranking system. Without further ado, part two of five:

(Read part 1 here)

Ed Oliver, DT, Houston Cougars

(Highlights here)

Ed Oliver has been on my list, along with almost everyone else's, for a few years now. He came into his freshman year at Houston as a five-star recruit, attracting the attention of many. And as Ed Oliver enters his junior year, that same attention has been garnered with the defensive tackle being ranked the No. 1 college football player in the country by Sports Illustrated. It is believed by many that Ed Oliver could go first overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Oliver has earned All-American honors in both of his seasons at Houston, won the Outland Trophy in 2017 (awarded to college football's best interior lineman), and was the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 290 pounds, watching Ed Oliver's mobility can leave a spectator's brain in a state of confusion and shock. His ability to deny engagement with offensive linemen and get into the backfield makes it look easy. He tallied 73 tackles in 12 games last year, with 16.5 of those being tackles for loss. Just like the two previous seasons, we should all be expecting big things from Ed Oliver in 2018 for his final season before the NFL.

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin Badgers

(Highlights here)

Jonathan Taylor made a name for himself in a massive way throughout the 2017 season, as he broke Adrian Peterson's record for most rushing yards by a freshman. Taylor finished with 1,977 yards, which was the third most in the country. The star freshman added 13 rushing touchdowns on top of his record-breaking yardage performance.

Taylor's consistency throughout his freshman season might be more admirable than his incredible final numbers. The New Jersey native recorded triple-digit rushing totals in ten of the Badgers' fourteen games. In the four games that he didn't reach the 100-yard mark, he still rushed for 87 yards against Utah State (averaging 9.7 yards per carry), 80 yards against Northwestern, 73 yards against Illinois, and 41 yards in a disappointing BIG 10 Championship loss to Ohio State.

The Wisconsin Badgers are causing some serious buzz, as one of the nation's most consistent programs as of late hopes to be a legitimate contender for the playoff. Not that they've been completely out of the playoff picture in recent years, but the expectations are now undoubtedly higher. It's time to beat Ohio State. And with the Badgers in the national spotlight, expect to hear plenty of chatter about Jonathan Taylor as he sets out to continue 2017's success.

Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama Crimson Tide

Tua Tagovailoa is probably the only player in the country with his amount of starting experience that is on a first name basis for spectators across the country. That is partially due to his last name being wildly difficult to pronounce/spell, but also mainly due to his legendary performance that brought Alabama yet another National Championship. Now, Tua still hasn't been officially named the starting quarterback for the Tide in 2018, but the everlasting buzz of Tua replacing Jalen Hurts in the second half against Georgia gives me the sense that Tua is their guy. I may just be blinded by the hype, but I do think Tua puts his team in a better position to succeed than Hurts does. Tua has an absolute rocket arm, which would pair very nicely with his young, talented receiving corps.

If there's any program that can afford to take a risk at quarterback, it's Alabama. Again, I believe Tua to be far more talented than Jalen Hurts. But if experience is a concern, the Crimson Tide field a roster so talented and well-rounded that a mediocre quarterback can still avoid tallies in the loss column. You can't help but think the National Championship presented a polarizing swing of emotional momentum amongst the Alabama quarterbacks, with Tua being on the right end of that spectrum. It should be noted that Tua was hurt for a large portion of spring practices, so hopefully that won't slow down his progress heading into the fall. If I'm wrong and Jalen Hurts is named QB1 over Tua, I'll simply just sit and wait until Tua takes the job back.

Greedy Williams, CB, LSU

(Highlights here)

Andraez "Greedy" Williams has one of the best names in all of college football, without a doubt. It's right up there with Texas Longhorns receiver Lil' Jordan Humphrey and former Texas A&M receiver Speedy Noil. And on top of Greedy Williams' fantastic name, he's got some serious talent. In Greedy's first season as a redshirt freshman, he led the SEC in interceptions with six (fourth most in the country). He is listed as NFL.com's 20th best player in the country for 2018, he earned first team All-SEC honors in 2017, and is being deemed the next big thing out of the LSU defensive backfield. LSU boasts some incredible defensive back alumni, including Tyrann Mathieu and Patrick Peterson of the Arizona Cardinals.

Greedy Williams is listed at 6 feet two inches, and 182 pounds. His long frame allows him to stay in stride with receivers while preventing an offensive connection once the ball is in the air. In his redshirt freshman season, Greedy recorded a total of 38 tackles and had ten passes defended, the fourth most in the SEC. Williams is an absolute ball hawk as one of the premier cornerbacks in the country, and we'll get to see him go to work in LSU's season opener against the Miami Hurricanes.

Cam Akers, RB, Florida State Seminoles

(Highlights here)

Cam Akers heads into his sophomore season in presumably varied circumstances than when he first committed to Florida State: no Jimbo Fisher as head coach, coming off of a season in which the 'Noles finished 7-6, only tallying three conference wins. Granted, some of FSU's problems came on Labor Day Weekend when Deondre Francois was injured against Alabama. But 2017 presented many more issues in Tallahassee than an injured QB.

Despite his team's uncharacteristic season, Cam Akers still turned plenty of heads with his play. His numbers weren't anywhere near the top of the nation, totaling 1,025 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns, but the explosive manner in which he plays is certainly worth noting. Akers also proved himself to be pretty useful in the passing game, catching the ball 16 times for 116 yards and a touchdown. In 2017, Akers broke Dalvin Cook's rushing record for Florida State freshmen. Akers hit the triple-digit mark in rushing yards four times last season: 121 yards against Miami, 115 yards at Duke, 199 yards against Syracuse, and 117 yards against Louisiana-Monroe. Regardless of the Seminoles' potential problems this fall, Cam Akers will be sure to put on a show for anyone watching.