In Pittsburgh, Dejan Kovacevic writes having NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman present the Stanley Cup to the winning team has been "embarrassing for so long, and it was never uglier than" it was following the Penguins' series-clinching victory on Sunday at Bridgestone Arena. Predators fans "didn’t just boo the commissioner, as every NHL city does," but they also booed Penguins C Sidney Crosby "through the Conn Smythe presentation, then the actual awarding of the Cup." Kovacevic: "How about not having Gary Bettman present the Cup anymore?" (DKPITTSBURGHSPORTS.com, 6/13). ESPN's Tony Reali said, "The annual booing of Bettman (was) even more vociferous after the goal that wasn't" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 6/12).
OVER THE POND: THE MMQB's Peter King noted the NFL's four games in England this upcoming season "sold out by the end of April, and the market has sold approximately 40,000 season tickets for the four games." The NFL is also "preparing a stadium to be shared" with EPL club Tottenham Hotspur, with the agreement between the league and Tottenham to "put a minimum of two games there per year starting in 2018, and with separate entries and locker room and playing surfaces for the two games. That stadium has a capacity of 61,000. With the NFL’s two current venues in England seating 84,000 (Wembley Stadium) and 74,000 (Twickenham Stadium), selling 61,000 seats eight times "seems pretty manageable" (MMQB.SI.com, 6/12).
HEADING DOWN UNDER? NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league will "continue to look at" playing future games in Australia. He said, "What do we have, eight players from Australia right now?" While acknowledging Australia is a "relatively small country on a global basis," he said, "Generating great players is also ultimately what's critically important for this league, so if by playing a game there, we can get even more Australians to be passionate about this game, to be playing and engage in it, it might be worth our while” (“The Starters,” NBA TV, 6/12).
