Eleven Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 A winning attitude and the right people under him to actually BE a Stanley Cup contender instead of just saying so. Hey, he bought the team and "saved" them from a fate worse than death. I'm grateful. Since then, what has the ownership group (LQ is a minority owner, too don't forget) brought us? A run to the conference finals where our lack of depth on defense cost us a trip to the finals? And since then? With the Sabres (as with all things Buffalo apparently), we tend to have long memories when it comes to accomplishments. We remember things as they were, not as they are. I mean, we still see the occasional post whining about losing Briere and Drury! Hey, they are GONE! Let's try to be a little more proactive and look at what we need to do next to succeed. Peter Karamanos (owner of the Hurricanes and ) has a great business rivalry with his fellow Detroiter, Mike Ilitch. Karamanos wanted nothing more than to be the owner of a Stanley Cup-winning NHL franchise, so he could be in the same class as his rival, Ilitch. Well, he went and did it. The Hurricanes wheeled and dealed and got the pieces they needed to make an honest run for the Cup. And they won it. (Of course, now the team is reaping the results of that as they are down in the standings again). But, they are now and forever Stanley Cup Champions and no one can take that away from them. Contrast that with Tommy G. I guess he is pleased that people still slap him on the back and thank him for "saving" the Sabres (well, when he is back in the area). But what real effort have we seen from the top down to really, truly make the Sabres a "contender". Not much. If left to their own devices, the current management team will keep floundering around until the Arena is half-empty and then....well, Tommy will have to decide whether he wants to own a winner or just wants to cash out and go back to Florida. The owner's indifference has a way of running downhill... Golisano was a filthy shinpad away from the praise you are giving to Karamanos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabre Dance Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 Golisano was a filthy shinpad away from the praise you are giving to Karamanos. True - but since then.....what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korab rules Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 A winning attitude and the right people under him to actually BE a Stanley Cup contender instead of just saying so. Hey, he bought the team and "saved" them from a fate worse than death. I'm grateful. Since then, what has the ownership group (LQ is a minority owner, too don't forget) brought us? A run to the conference finals where our lack of depth on defense cost us a trip to the finals? And since then? With the Sabres (as with all things Buffalo apparently), we tend to have long memories when it comes to accomplishments. We remember things as they were, not as they are. I mean, we still see the occasional post whining about losing Briere and Drury! Hey, they are GONE! Let's try to be a little more proactive and look at what we need to do next to succeed. Peter Karamanos (owner of the Hurricanes and ) has a great business rivalry with his fellow Detroiter, Mike Ilitch. Karamanos wanted nothing more than to be the owner of a Stanley Cup-winning NHL franchise, so he could be in the same class as his rival, Ilitch. Well, he went and did it. The Hurricanes wheeled and dealed and got the pieces they needed to make an honest run for the Cup. And they won it. (Of course, now the team is reaping the results of that as they are down in the standings again). But, they are now and forever Stanley Cup Champions and no one can take that away from them. Contrast that with Tommy G. I guess he is pleased that people still slap him on the back and thank him for "saving" the Sabres (well, when he is back in the area). But what real effort have we seen from the top down to really, truly make the Sabres a "contender". Not much. If left to their own devices, the current management team will keep floundering around until the Arena is half-empty and then....well, Tommy will have to decide whether he wants to own a winner or just wants to cash out and go back to Florida. The owner's indifference has a way of running downhill... Is it indifference, or did he decide to take the wrong girl to the dance? I think Golisano knows he doesn't know jack about Hockey. Quinn somehow convinced Golisano that Quinn does. Quinn was given or allowed to purchase a minority interest in the team, and essentially entrusted to run the team. Its not going the way that we would like, and I am sure not the way Golisano would like. What we will find out over the next couple years is how big a tolerance Golisano has for incompetence. His reputation in the business world is that he has a very low tolerance for it. Time will tell if that low tolerance extends to his philanthropic investments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 True - but since then.....what? Just sayin', is Karamanos such a great owner? Is Golisano so terrible? It's somewhere in between for each of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 Is it indifference, or did he decide to take the wrong girl to the dance? I think Golisano knows he doesn't know jack about Hockey. Quinn somehow convinced Golisano that Quinn does. Quinn was given or allowed to purchase a minority interest in the team, and essentially entrusted to run the team. Its not going the way that we would like, and I am sure not the way Golisano would like. What we will find out over the next couple years is how big a tolerance Golisano has for incompetence. His reputation in the business world is that he has a very low tolerance for it. Time will tell if that low tolerance extends to his philanthropic investments. Get rid of Quinn, the rest of it takes care of itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 Golisano was a filthy shinpad away from the praise you are giving to Karamanos. In one of the stories on Jay McKee joining the NU coaching staff, Jay said he blamed shower water for his infection, not equipment. We (the board, not you and I) had this little debate a while back. My point was that no one will ever know where those microbes came from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korab rules Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 Get rid of Quinn, the rest of it takes care of itself. On this I think we can all agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 In one of the stories on Jay McKee joining the NU coaching staff, Jay said he blamed shower water for his infection, not equipment. We (the board, not you and I) had this little debate a while back. My point was that no one will ever know where those microbes came from. It's just a metaphor. But if you want me to blame Quinn for bad shower water, I'd be happy to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Dwight Drane Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 Have one of those charts for the price of tea in china? I do, but the price isn't down 40% in the past 5 years. Using the terms "Golisano" and "Billionaire" together these days is being pretty generous. His company is all service based and isn't backed by assets. He is a bad 72 hours away from having the Sabres being his most valuable property. Anyone that thinks he has the means or wants to be a majority owner of the Bills is nuts. If anything, he'll get his name attached to a group for the ego factor and pitch in 5%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabre Dance Posted November 2, 2010 Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 Just sayin', is Karamanos such a great owner? Is Golisano so terrible? It's somewhere in between for each of them. Well, not so much lately...BUT, he enthusiastically pursued winning a Stanley Cup and did it. So far, Tommy G. has enthusiastically pursued leaving Western New York for Monica Seles, er, um...Florida. If TG has a burning passion to own a Stanley Cup Champion, he sure does hide it well. Ah, well....we've waited 40 years for a Stanley Cup; what's another decade (or two)? I reiterate my previous judgement of this year's Sabres so far: ZZZZZzzzzzzzzz......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted November 2, 2010 Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 IMO the only reason Golisano bought the Sabres was that it would lock in the western NY vote for Governor. Note that the team was on the upswing while Tommy was dipping his toe in NY politics. SInce Tommy's moved to sunny FL his concern for what western NY has decreaed considerably, and his interest in the success of the Buffalo Sabres has gone with it. I think Tommy is putting just enough effort and cash into the Sabres to keep its value at a reasonable level, and he'll sell the first chance he gets an offer that meets his ROI goals. If TG were truly interested in winning anything he wouldn't have a real estate mogul running the operations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChimp Posted November 3, 2010 Report Share Posted November 3, 2010 Short memory anyone? Give Tommy G some credit. Almost certainly, if he had not purchased the team from the NHL, there would be no hockey team to complain about. I think it is awfully philanthropic of him to keep funding something he probably isn't that interested in. Don't you remember the lack of legitimate ownership groups that came forward last time? I believe the most promising one was the Mark Hamister group prior to Golisano. And, IIRC, his ultimate plan was to move the team. Also, I think if he wanted to make a crap load of cash, he could also have tried selling to Jim Balsille. So, all things considered, there isn't really anybody in the area who's rich enough to buy the team who's going to keep it in town. Down the road, there might not be any sports teams to complain about. You'll be stuck with minor league baseball, Niagara hockey, and local high school sports. The Bills probably more so than the Sabres at this point. LA is still looking hard for a team and have pubicly announced a while back that the Bills were one of their prime targets. So, what you're saying is, if Tom Golisano makes no moves, as far as GM and coach go, indefinitely, to build an actual winning team, while he waits for a more passionate or savvy ownership group to not only promise to keep the team in Buffalo but also pay TOP dollar, and the Sabres remain a perennial middle of the pack team, we Sabres fans should simply learn to be OK shelling out big dollars to go see a team we know can't win the Stanley Cup. See, I don't take kindly to hostage takers. And to me, that is exactly what Tommy the Hijacker is acting like. If he really cared as much about Buffalo sports fans as he claims he does, he'd find an ownership group dedicated to WNY, and sell it to them for whatever they can PAY him. Yeah, sure, not the most lucrative business decision, but he isn't propping himself up as a Bill Gates, now is he? He's propping himself up as the man who saved hockey in Buffalo. What he's doing, the way he's doing it, is doing nothing to make that legacy come true. Good sports owners almost always have to eat into their profits to build a team that can win them the big prize. The prize is why they buy teams. The prize is where they derive their glory. Tommy the Hijacker derives his glory from all the dupes who make posts like yours and sing his praises for keeping a perenially mediocre team with a HORRID management group in town to...erm...cheer....for. BOOOOOOOO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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