Archives for January 28, 2003

'Giambra wants to meet face to face with both men, "These guys have much more money than I do. I have no indication how much they have, how much they're prepared to spend. That's something that I hope that maybe by bringing them together, they could begin to ferret out who's got how much and who's willing to put how much of their money in."'

'Mark Hamister confirmed this morning he did receive a request and says he would agree to such a meeting, saying, "I am open to sitting down with good people to talk about doing the right thing."'

'Golisano said he believes Hamister's bid is "in trouble" because of Hamister's reliance on public assistance. The PayChex company founder says he has reduced his offer and is seeking no public money, saying "I don't think taxpayers would be happy about having to subsidize Adelphia."'

'"Entertaining Sabres Playoff Notions," read the sign at Buffalo's ESPN2 contest Monday night against the Nashville Predators. Fittingly, there wasn't a single person within 50 feet or several rows of the sign. No one in their right mind would want to claim it based on the Sabres' 5-1 defeat in front of 10,799 surly fans.'

'The delay centers around a list of roughly three dozen conditions that Adelphia's creditors faxed to Hamister late Wednesday. The list came less than 48 hours before Hamister expected to sign his deal to buy the Sabres, several sources revealed Monday.'

'Hamister first claimed a new $5 million sound system would attract more concerts. After realizing how stupid that claim was, he changed his story. The $5 million sound system was really to “enhance the customer experience in the 100 level seats at Sabres games.”'

'The Sabres (15-24-7-3) weren't in anywhere near as pleasant a mood afterward, as Coach Lindy Ruff ripped his squad for a lackluster effort. Buffalo had posted shutouts in three of its previous four games and had gone 5-0-2-1 in its past eight outings.'

' The Predators came within 16 minutes of getting a shutout last night, but remained the only NHL team not to record one this season when the Sabres' Chris Gratton scored.'

'7: The number of points the Predators (3-0-1) have picked up in their four trips to Buffalo.'

'The league granted another extension last week to Mark Hamister, who leads a group trying to assume control of the Sabres. Hamister is offering $33 million in cash and assumption of $7 million in debt to buy a team that was recently valued by Forbes magazine at $92 million. If McKee and two teammates are not paid money due them, they can file a grievance and seek free agency. "It's not something I want to do right now," McKee said. "Down the road, if it looks like the money isn't going to be given to us, that might be the only option."'