That Aud Smell

There definitely seems to be some interest from PSE in having Russ Brandon and other separated execs be the scapegoats for why attendance was poor. But by how much could Buffalo have outbid the other contenders? How much more were the Buffalo ticket packages when compared with the 2018 event? The 2020 event? I keep coming back to the idea that most of the (over)pricing blame belongs to the NCAA. And I also think that there was a peculiar storm of hockey fatigue/hockey malaise that afflicted this market at this time.

I can’t create an inventory right now. I did recently create a short list of Terry’s bad decisions/bad decision making instances — in another thread, I think. For present purposes: I think Terry is susceptible to being bamboozled — both by sycophants (Brandon) and bullsh1t artists (Ryan).

Yeah, yeah.

I have no issue with any owner tinkering, or meddling, for that matter. It's their team. The decisions just better be good ones, more times than not. I'm not sure what you're asking in terms of the type of owner that I (but not me personally?) would prefer to have. If I do have a preference, it's for the sort of owner who's mostly hands-off on the sports personnel side of things. With that said, I understand the need and desire for an owner to have a hand in making decisions such as a decision to draft a franchise QB. The decisions just better be good ones, more times than not. I also tend to agree that Terry operates in good faith, with good intentions. Increasingly, that's not enough for me to say that I support him.

I tend to agree with @PASabreFan that this is regularly stated as a proposition that tends to insulate Terry Pegula from criticism. And I also tend to agree that it's, at best, a questionable proposition, and, at worst, a fallacious one. Hehe. I said fallacious. Also, I think I may now understand what PA was getting at with Terry being insulated.

I will continue to disagree with the 8-season sample size being too small. And will again not touch the tank issue. I'm not sure where the "I don't trust the rich DBs" stuff is coming from. I know I've grown to distrust or mistrust (?) Terry Pegula as a pro sports owner. But it's not because he's rich.** It's because he makes bad decisions. ** Being absurdly rich is a prerequisite for the role he occupies, after all.

This was outstanding work.

For my part, I generally don't find @PASabreFan's criticism of Terry Pegula to be tiresome. If anything, his skepticism about the guy proved prescient.

I understand you find it remarkable. For my part, I find it somewhat ... remarkable as well, but probably for precisely the opposite reason you do. (I'd really thought it'd be a majority of the votes saying "fire the owner," or close to it -- given how badly the team has performed since the 2011-2012 season.) In any case, if you look again at my post, I was saying that I didn't follow a specific part of your thinking. And still don't.

Given how online takery skews negative and how bad the team’s been for so long, I wasn’t sure what you meant. I thought maybe this is what was meant. I don’t follow this.

really good post. this portion especially resonated with me.

Then why would Russ Brandon have been leading the press conference to announce the award back in 2017? Why would PSE have issued a press release (see below)? https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/buffalo-awarded-2019-frozen-four-and-2022-ncaa-mens-basketball-tournament/c-288903414 I'm not privy to the details, but I have it on very good authority that the Pegulas had a great deal of skin in the game. If this event ended up upside down (and it clearly did), then the Pegulas lost money. Maybe the NCAA did too. I have no way of knowing of how that deal gets structured -- how the risk is allocated. Not for nothing: When One Direction (sp?) came to the football stadium, there were reports making clear that the Pegulas were the reason that huge acts were being booked into WNY (U2 soon followed - and there were others along the same lines). For acts like that, the tour bears little or no financial risk for playing a certain venue -- the host(s) provide a guaranteed payout and then make it work (or don't) on the host's end. And that was why PSE was getting a lot of love (deservedly so) -- they were taking on the risk so that Buffalo could have a world class event. I suspect there were similar dynamics at play with the Frozen Four. Hence Terry's having taken to calling the event the "Effing" Frozen Four over the past several months. Dude needs to go drill some more wells now. Agreed. One thing the local schools are expected to do is provide a lot of foot soldier volunteers.

I like that saying myself. And I think it fits here.

Agreed. And there's such a shift from how people want to consume sports (increasingly from the comfort of their homes) and what sports people want to consume (many teams beyond their home teams - thanks in large part to increasingly legalized betting and fantasy sports (but also in part to the incredible amount of coverage and information available to all fans)). And I will tip my hat to PSE for talking about these trends.

What an absolute cluster. I've heard that the Pegulas placed blame with Brandon for his bidding on the event and subsequent pricing. But I think most of the blame must rest with the NCAA. It's their event. If they're eliciting bids that are going to inevitably yield this kind of pricing, then they're the ones ultimately to blame. We didn't attend the games, but met out for a late lunch with 2 families who generally attend the event every year. The real kick in the crotch that the NCAA delivered, IMO: Angering their loyal base. Because the dads who brought their kids to Buffalo, and paid full price to do so, were receiving a deluge of emails from the NCAA offering to sell them additional tickets for heavily discounted prices. That did not make them feel very good about having paid full price. I think that sound I heard over the weekend was the sound of air hissing out of a burst bubble.

Not for nothing, that former Dallas WR went on record this week saying the player rehab/recovery facilities at OBD are better than they are in Dallas (and they’re pretty good in Dallas). He said ownership here has it right. The Pegulas’ willingness to spend their own money is a mark in their favour.

I'd not heard that one. Like I said: I think that both his criteria and instincts for decision making are below average. I do believe he operates in good faith, though. So there's that. I feel like maybe we've kicked around the idea that, maybe, just maybe, under certain circumstances, it's actually beneficial to have an owner who keeps a close eye on the bottom line, and demands that the team be operated in a sustainable and profitable manner. The idea being: Having a boss/owner with clearly defined fiscal limits can make the decision makers more efficient, more prudent -- smarter. The related idea being: Having a boss/owner who will throw money at any problem may lead to less robust analyses by the people doing the work. Of course, Black Sunday was what it was.

Fair question. I haven't created or kept a note in my phone over time. Maybe I should have. It's an impression that's slowly settled in with me. It's been based on a lot of anecdotal things, here and there. The big one, for sure, is how he talked about McDermott as a faith-based person when explaining why he thinks he'll be a good coach. But there've been many others. He liked Gaustad in 2011. Why? It was the hand shake and direct look in the eyes. Which, fine. Gaustad was a useful NHL player. Years later, Terry was intimately involved in targeting Josh Allen. He really, really likes the kid. Why? That's less clear. But I think of the Gaustad approval in that regard. Housley as a coach was hailed as a HOF player. Wut? Add in those comments he reportedly made at the NFL owners' meeting about the Kaepernick (sp?) stuff. This goes to the business side as well. Kim's brother has a key role in the creative works of PSE. I could create a larger inventory, I'm sure; I just lack the time to do so. And not for nothing, in just listening to him speak ... I get the clear sense that he's no sharp tack. 8 years seems like a fair sample size. And I won't litigate the tank here. I've never had any interest in doing so. I still appreciate that JBOT is more of an asset-manager than a hard-boiled scout. I think that's forward thinking on the Pegulas' part. Fair.

@PASabreFan has an ax to grind? Better believe it. The Sabres have stunk _out loud_ under Terry’s stewardship. Grind away. I voted “no,” because of the old adage: Better the devil you know ... . Fundamentally, I think any observant, analytical fan has to be concerned with Terry as an owner. And it’s not because of the meddling - I’m past that, tbh. For me, I get the sense that Terry is apt to make poor decisions because he’s got questionable criteria and lousy instincts. Blind squirrels can find nuts too, though.

I was dropping in to say, "please, no." Too late, I see.

From what I understand, Whitesell is the X's and O's guy. I also hear that he's had a fairly lengthy career already -- kicked around. So, while he may be able to draw up a play to get a bucket in a certain situation, I don't have any reason to believe that he's the guy to lead your program. So -- it seems like a strange hire. Unless the plan is just to have him as a stop-gap -- to evade further poaching by Oats.

I voted for Rick, but just because. He does not need to continue to call games for anyone but himself at this point. So, if he wants to call games, then more power to him. But as someone else noted, he's lost just about any zip on his fastball -- he's mostly just throwing BP out there, so to speak.

Thing is, people do care -- the overwhelming majority of them (often, my included). This is not just an X's, O's, player-development, player-management business. It's a largely an entertainment enterprise. Phil is one of the main faces of the franchise. How he presents to the fan-base is all we have to go off of. I saw some analytics Tweets a while back indicating that, contrary to commonly received wisdom, Pominville has been a useful NHLer this season. True? My eyeball test probably won't help me. I stopped paying attention to this squad some time ago. From what I can recall, he was ... okay.

I don't think stamina or fitness is the issue. And I think what you're saying is not unfair. This team isn't good, sure. But they're not this bad -- not hardly. Hmmm.