Gary Bettman at hearings

From Nhl.com:

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will be in a Phoenix courtroom Tuesday for a hearing related to the potential sale and relocation of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Jerry Moyes is attempting to sell the team to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. Balsillie has attached a rider to the sale, which if approved would give him the authority to move the organization to Hamilton, Ont. The NHL argues that Moyes relinquished ownership control in previously executed documented and that  only the League can approve the sale and relocation of franchise. Bettman has said the Phoenix situation is fixable by following NHL rules and regulations.

Read the entire story here.

Clearly this underscores the importance of this hearing to the NHL and all of the other major sports leagues in North America.  There is a fear that a dangerous precedent could be set today–granted an appeal would be a given–so the NHL will have all the big guns on hand in Phoenix.