Thanks Gary, ass.

Posted by Nathan from Jonny Ericsson's ice cream truck on 04/15/09 at 03:09 PM ET

Go Gary! Keep the sport moving forward.

Posted by canesice on 04/15/09 at 03:18 PM ET

“Record numbers?” Not including your pet projects, Nashville, Phoenix, and Tampa Bay, Gary.Ass?

Stop lying, you imp.

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 04/15/09 at 03:19 PM ET

Go Gary! Keep the sport moving forward.

Best sarcastic reply I’ve ever read on any forum.

That was sarcasm, right?

Posted by Nathan from Jonny Ericsson's ice cream truck on 04/15/09 at 03:28 PM ET

I’m waiting for some Detroit fan to comment on how his first tweet was that he’s on his way to Pittsburgh.

Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 04/15/09 at 03:44 PM ET

The unedited version of Gary’s letter:

Dear Fans,
There is no suspense like NHL playoff suspense, except the suspense we feel at NHL offices right now due to the fact we have no idea if we’ll have teams in Phoenix or Atlanta next year. No drama like NHL playoff overtime drama, except the drama in wondering if NBC will pay us one hundred or one hundred and fifty dollars next year to cover our great game.  No sacrifice in sports like NHL playoff sacrifice, except the sacrifice I expect you people to engage in as you suspend reality and really believe I don’t care what team wins the Cup - go Pens – and there is no human being, anywhere, comparable to my adopted son, Sidney Crosby.

So welcome to the confusion and anger you’ll feel over the next two months as we do everything short of demand certain outcomes to ensure Sid’s Penguins hoist the Cup this June.  We look forward to watching our officials rise to an even-more mind-boggling level of incompetence and out and out thievery in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

We have the 19th best sport, ratings-wise, we have the best player in Sid, we have the best trophy and we have absolutely crazy fans that still buy tickets to a game I have tried my hardest to ruin. Thank you all, suckers, for supporting us in record numbers once again during the 2008-09 season. Thanks, too, to Atlanta, Phoenix, Carolina, L.A., Florida, Tampa Bay, Long Island, and New Jersey for allowing us to believe 11,000 people in attendance is really 15,068. The season was absolutely fantastic, in spite of my tinkering, and I believe the playoffs will be even worse, officiating-wise. I hope you spend more money so I can have more money.

Gary Sidney Bettman

Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste. Marie on 04/15/09 at 03:51 PM ET

I’m waiting for some Detroit fan to comment on how his first tweet was that he’s on his way to Pittsburgh.

It is fitting, isn’t it?

Posted by halomasterd4n on 04/15/09 at 04:05 PM ET

2nd Tweet: “One lucky fan this summer will win a custom-built jackatoreum, in which clips taken out of context are continuously played, giving the impression that the Pens win the cup.... again!  Thid himself may even arrive, if he once again needs an individually crafted way to get out of the unofficial suspension for not playing in the all-star game! Enter the contest now!”

Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 04/15/09 at 04:27 PM ET

Maybe the most shocking thing about Bettman’s twitter is the implication he ever leaves Pittsburgh.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 04/15/09 at 05:29 PM ET

The most inane thing about his letter to the fans is that it is completely unnecessary.  The fans already know how fantastic the sport is - that’s why they are already fans of various hockey teams.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/15/09 at 06:40 PM ET