Wait...what??

Did you know that the Stanley Cup Final and the NBA Finals are going head-to-head tonight? That's right, both start at 8 pm ET.

If you're the NHL, and you're Gary Bettman, how on earth do you allow this? Given the inroads the NHL has made in popularity this year, how on earth do you allow your Final series to go head-to-head with the NBA? David Stern can live with this because he knows more casual fans will gravitate toward the NBA Finals than the Stanley Cup Final, especially given the Lakers-Celtics matchup and the presence of Kobe Bryant. How can Bettman have allowed this?

Shouldn't Bettman have called Stern (his old boss at the NBA, by the way) and worked with him to schedule the NHL games around the NBA games? Not only would that have been in the best interests of the NHL but it also would have been in the best interests of the fans who would like to watch both (like me). Now most fans will have to either go to a sports bar, set two televisions next to each other, or record one on the DVR, hope the other doesn't tell us the score of the other and shut ourselves off from the outside world in order to avoid the result. Really smooth.

There is no reason why these games have to go head-to-head when both sports always offer an off-day between every game. I hope Bettman will be proud when this really, really exciting Stanley Cup Final featuring two major markets and currently tied at two games a piece draws a rating below 1.0 tonight. I'm sure the suits at NBC will be thrilled too. At least they're not paying for the NHL rights.