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For a league that is allegedly trying to rid itself of staged fights and other egregious examples of unnecessary violence, the NHL has an odd way of comporting itself.

Witness the fight picked by commissioner Gary Bettman Monday, when he demanded Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi get on side with a bloated plan for a new $890 million arena for the hometown Flames.

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“If this project is going to happen, the mayor needs to embrace it, the city needs to embrace it … If he’s not prepared to embrace it, then the people will have to deal with that,” Bettman declared at an address to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

This project was announced without all of the homework being done. It’s not even half-baked. It’s not even in the oven yet.

“I’m having trouble understanding why there hasn’t been further progress on CalgaryNEXT,” he said. “No matter what anyone thinks of the proposed CalgaryNEXT project or the cost of the project, the cost is never going to be lower than it is today.”

Ooooh, jeepers. As they used to say on SCTV, “That’s scary, eh kids?”