This is  the story of a sweet little boy who might not be the smartest kid, but we love him anyway. Look, there he is now...




He just woke up, and he's asking his brother Wally about writing on his shoes...

Hey Wally...

Yeah Beav?

Is today Friday Wally?

No Beav, why do you ask?

Because someone wrote "T.G.I.F." on my shoes

That's for "Toes Go In First", ya dope!

Gee Wally, why ya gotta be all mean and stuff? I've got a buncha junk to do today, like my paper route, and being NHL Commissioner.

NHL Commissioner? Beav, what do you know about hockey?

Nuthin' Wally...They just asked me if I wanted to be commissioner, and I said OK. Besides, I might be able to make enough to get a new bell for my bike!

So what kind of stuff do you have to do?

Well, today, I've got to decide who plays in the outdoor game on New Year's Day.

Gee Beav, What are ya gonna do?

I dunno...everyone on ESPN seems to think the coolest teams are the ones in New York and Boston, so I guess I'll let them play.

In New York or Boston?

Gee Wally...I hadn't thought about that. Maybe I'll have them play one year in New York, and the next year in Boston.

Gee Beav, the other teams will sure get sore at that.

But Wally, it's New York and Boston! Their baseball teams have been rivals for years and stuff!

Yeah Beav, but what about hockey? Are they rivals? Are they even in the same division?

Um, gee Wally, they aren't.

Well, maybe they play each other in the playoffs a lot...look at your stat book there...when was the last time they met in the playoffs?

(shuffling through the book) Gee Wally, they haven't met in the playoffs since 1973. Golly, that's 35 years.

That's a really long time Beav.

Yeah Wally...maybe I can get some other Original Six teams to play...Hey! Maybe the Canadiens and Maple Leafs! I mean, hockey is Canada's national game, right?

Sure Beav, but since you've been running things, you've let two teams leave Canada. If you don't come up with something quick, the league is gonna tell Mom and Pop, and you're gonna get it!

Later that day, Beaver Bettman comes home after meeting with the angry NHL players and owners, only to find Wally waiting for him...




Gee, those hockey people are mean and stuff.

I talked to Pop. He had an idea. You can have the game in Chicago. That way, you can help revitalize the game there and junk. Besides, they can play the Red Wings, who just won the Stanley Cup, and they have been rivals for years. Dad said if you have the game in Wrigley Field, you can even get real nice television shots, with people on the rooftops and stuff.

Boy, Dad's smart. I don't know what I'd do without him

I know what you mean. Without him around, you might have done something really stupid, like wind up cancelling a whole season or something like that.

So that night, Beaver and Wally went to sleep, secure in the knowledge that their problems had been solved for that day. Tune in next time for another episode of LEAVE IT TO BETTMAN!