Rene Robert calls out LQ and TG

[frisky]

Not sure if this is being discussed elsewhere but I thought it was worth talking about. If it is, please move this to the appropriate topic or remove.

 

Rene Robert is frustrated just like the average Joe

 

Maybe some more heat from people other than the us cattle will have more of an impact. But, not likely. Off-season has just barely started too.

[carpandean]

Too bad that there's his history with the alumni club and none of his teammates will come out publicly in support, because the FO will just brush it off for those reasons.

[darksabre]

Rene Robert for GM.

[Kristian]

Robert is right on the money with calling out Quinn for knowing nothing about hockey.

 

With regards to OSP - I think he's spending enough, certainly more than the criminals would have, had they still been in charge, but as long as he's letting Larry the Moron run the show, he might as well flush that money right down the crapper cause that's all Quinn will get you.

 

Fire.... Quinn... Now...

[tom webster]

Too bad that there's his history with the alumni club and none of his teammates will come out publicly in support, because the FO will just brush it off for those reasons.

 

 

Exactly, interesting that silent man DiPofi is the only one who would comment for the story.

Also, I'll predict right now that PA will once again lambast Bucky for not revealing his other sources even though its the cornerstone of journalism integrity.

[val james]

More ex-players should call these idiots out. Rene says it all the fans deserve better. Sabres management knows how to f things up.

[Claude_Verret]

Robert: "What's your background, Larry?"

 

Quinn: "I'm a land developer."

 

Robert: "Do you think I could do your job?"

 

Quinn: "No, I don't think you could."

 

Robert: "Then what makes you believe you're a hockey man?"

 

:lol: Awesome!

[tom webster]

More ex-players should call these idiots out. Rene says it all the fans deserve better. Sabres management knows how to f things up.

 

Got to say, I love your screen name. Brings back memories of a Saturday afternoon long ago.

[FogBat]

QFT:

 

Robert: "What's your background, Larry?"

 

Quinn: "I'm a land developer."

 

Robert: "Do you think I could do your job?"

 

Quinn: "No, I don't think you could."

 

Robert: "Then what makes you believe you're a hockey man?"

 

NO KIDDING!!!

[R_Dudley]

QFT:

 

Robert: "What's your background, Larry?"

 

Quinn: "I'm a land developer."

 

Robert: "Do you think I could do your job?"

 

Quinn: "No, I don't think you could."

 

Robert: "Then what makes you believe you're a hockey man?"

 

NO KIDDING!!!

 

Only thing missing is the tag line ; "Yeah But I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last Night"

[Stoner]

Got to say, I love your screen name. Brings back memories of a Saturday afternoon long ago.

 

With Val? Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Stoner]

Exactly, interesting that silent man DiPofi is the only one who would comment for the story.

Also, I'll predict right now that PA will once again lambast Bucky for not revealing his other sources even though its the cornerstone of journalism integrity.

 

You have it wrong. Again. I never criticized Bucky for not revealing his sources. I criticized him for not telling us enough about who his sources are. "A source tells me that the Sabres are interested in dealing Tim Connolly at the deadline" is shoddy journalism. "A source, an assistant general manager of a Western Conference team, tells me..." helps me out as a reader because I can at least evaluate the source. The reason Bucky never gets that specific is that either he's making it all up, or his source is the lady who cleans LQ's bathroom at night. I've also criticized the use of "reportedly" -- The Blackhawks are reportedly shopping Murray Bannerman. Who "reported" it? All of those qualifiers are just efforts to gussy up rumors, 99% of which have no basis in fact, to make them respectable enough to put in the fish-wrapper. Did you just put "journalism" and "integrity" in the same sentence with Bucky's name? Loved those trade deadline bombshells Bucky put out...

 

As for the use of anonymous sources, to me it's more applicable to the case of someone who wants to blow the whistle but fears for their livelihood or even life. Is it really applicable to Buffalo Sabres hockey? I guess. Maybe the other players include Playfair, Roby, Rob Ray, Bert and the like. They could lose their jobs if quoted. But what if it's someone who just wants to hide while getting their opinion in the paper? That cannot be tolerated! Wait, that's the basis of message boards!

 

Anyway, as for Robert's comments, he's probably right. Good for him for putting his name on it. But I find it a little -- not sure what -- but a little something that a key player on a team that became a contender in 75 and proceeded to #%^$#! the bed in the playoffs for the rest of the decade would not understand how difficult it is to keep that contender status. Given the fact he didn't criticize the players (or Bucky didn't use those quotes), I wonder if he owns up to the disappointments lumped on Sabres fans in the mid to late 70s. "It's so sad that fans have to pay the tab all the time and not get the results." All the time, including the 70s, eh Rene?

 

In the end, I just look at this as Bucky's devious way of getting his opinion in the paper (again), this time in the voice of Robert. I wonder who initiated the process. I'm betting on Bucky.

[Taro T]

Too bad that there's his history with the alumni club and none of his teammates will come out publicly in support, because the FO will just brush it off for those reasons.

Add in the poor regard that the French Connection and management had for each other in the late '80's, and I don't see any way that the team takes any of his comments to heart.

[bottlecap]

I could see them taking his number down. :blink:

[joe w bags]

Just don't see this as all so black and white. The owner and Larry Quinn the villains. Fact is the owner purchased team when there were few who would, great to tell him to sell team , the question is to who? I am guessing Mr. Golisano would at this gladly sell team realize some profit and get rid of the headache. It makes sense to me he would hire a man to look after his financial interests and he did so with Larry Quinn. To Quinns credit , I believe the Sabres are on somewhat stable footing these days or at least there is some light at end of tunnel.

It would seem where the problem lay , that the owner has not asserted that those in his employ, do the jobs they are paid to do , and allow each the autonomy to do their respective jobs, ultimately accountable by the relative success of their actions.

Larry Quinn need be told to stick to business side and allow the hockey people to do their jobs. In end if Quinn cannot respect the General Manager to do so, either a buffer need be placed between the two, ( this should be the owner) or a general manager who Quinn will respect put in place,( I believe Darcy a fine general manager, but if he not allowed to do his job, whats the point), or Quinn bought out and shown the door.

But give the owner and Quinn some due , they are not all bad. What is needed is job distinction and each minding their own business.

[LabattBlue]

Quinn did not return a telephone call Friday. Several former Sabres believe Quinn should be removed from daily operations related to personnel and replaced by someone with more hockey knowledge and experience. Robert recalled a conversation with Quinn a few years ago like this:

 

Robert: "What's your background, Larry?"

 

Quinn: "I'm a land developer."

 

Robert: "Do you think I could do your job?"

 

Quinn: "No, I don't think you could."

 

Robert: "Then what makes you believe you're a hockey man?"

 

 

Robert is my hero!!! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Quinny!

:worthy: :worthy: :worthy: :worthy: :worthy:

[tom webster]

Just don't see this as all so black and white. The owner and Larry Quinn the villains. Fact is the owner purchased team when there were few who would, great to tell him to sell team , the question is to who? I am guessing Mr. Golisano would at this gladly sell team realize some profit and get rid of the headache. It makes sense to me he would hire a man to look after his financial interests and he did so with Larry Quinn. To Quinns credit , I believe the Sabres are on somewhat stable footing these days or at least there is some light at end of tunnel.

It would seem where the problem lay , that the owner has not asserted that those in his employ, do the jobs they are paid to do , and allow each the autonomy to do their respective jobs, ultimately accountable by the relative success of their actions.

Larry Quinn need be told to stick to business side and allow the hockey people to do their jobs. In end if Quinn cannot respect the General Manager to do so, either a buffer need be placed between the two, ( this should be the owner) or a general manager who Quinn will respect put in place,( I believe Darcy a fine general manager, but if he not allowed to do his job, whats the point), or Quinn bought out and shown the door.

But give the owner and Quinn some due , they are not all bad. What is needed is job distinction and each minding their own business.

 

And I would hope this distinguishes me and others like me who do believe that these guys have done a lot of good but at the same time they deserve a large share of the blame for what's happened the last two years. My biggest problem with TG is that he was all too willing to accept credit as the captain of the ship and the guy who brought the can do leadership to the organization and now he hides in the shadows and lets his "captains" take all the grief,

[tom webster]

You have it wrong. Again. I never criticized Bucky for not revealing his sources. I criticized him for not telling us enough about who his sources are. "A source tells me that the Sabres are interested in dealing Tim Connolly at the deadline" is shoddy journalism. "A source, an assistant general manager of a Western Conference team, tells me..." helps me out as a reader because I can at least evaluate the source. The reason Bucky never gets that specific is that either he's making it all up, or his source is the lady who cleans LQ's bathroom at night. I've also criticized the use of "reportedly" -- The Blackhawks are reportedly shopping Murray Bannerman. Who "reported" it? All of those qualifiers are just efforts to gussy up rumors, 99% of which have no basis in fact, to make them respectable enough to put in the fish-wrapper. Did you just put "journalism" and "integrity" in the same sentence with Bucky's name? Loved those trade deadline bombshells Bucky put out...

 

As for the use of anonymous sources, to me it's more applicable to the case of someone who wants to blow the whistle but fears for their livelihood or even life. Is it really applicable to Buffalo Sabres hockey? I guess. Maybe the other players include Playfair, Roby, Rob Ray, Bert and the like. They could lose their jobs if quoted. But what if it's someone who just wants to hide while getting their opinion in the paper? That cannot be tolerated! Wait, that's the basis of message boards!

 

Anyway, as for Robert's comments, he's probably right. Good for him for putting his name on it. But I find it a little -- not sure what -- but a little something that a key player on a team that became a contender in 75 and proceeded to #%^$#! the bed in the playoffs for the rest of the decade would not understand how difficult it is to keep that contender status. Given the fact he didn't criticize the players (or Bucky didn't use those quotes), I wonder if he owns up to the disappointments lumped on Sabres fans in the mid to late 70s. "It's so sad that fans have to pay the tab all the time and not get the results." All the time, including the 70s, eh Rene?

 

In the end, I just look at this as Bucky's devious way of getting his opinion in the paper (again), this time in the voice of Robert. I wonder who initiated the process. I'm betting on Bucky.

 

I was all set to respond with a "point taken" until you had to throw that last paragraph in there.

I agree with a lot of your post with the difference being I assume most intelligent people know that there is always two sides to what they read while you seem to assume that most people are like sheep hanging on every word that is written. If columnist had to write every story as if their readers were morons and thus had to know every juicy detail that led up to a story every column would be ten pages long.

[sabreskings3623]

WOW. Robert for GM. Thank you Rene, for reiterating what we've all been saying. He's the unofficial spokesman of the Sabres fans. He's damn right too, about everything he said. Talk about thrashing the management and ownership, and rightfully so. LOL @ anonymous current Sabres stating they share Robert's opinions.

 

 

Also, Robert had this to say:

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabresnh...ory/644285.html

 

Rene Robert spoke last week on a variety of topics concerning the Sabres. Here are the best of the rest of his opinions:

 

• On Blackhawks Assistant GM Rick Dudley, who some believe would improve the Sabres’ front office: “He would be the perfect candidate for this job. Rick isn’t a good hockey man. He’s a great hockey man. He built Tampa Bay into what became a Stanley Cup champion. But [Larry] Quinn would have to relinquish his power, and won’t do that. He’s a control freak who wants to run everything. As long as these guys are running the show, they will never have a strong man to stand up to them.”

 

• On the departures of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere: “To me, when you want to build a championship team, you build around the nucleus players that are going to make you a winner, not around borderline players. What I don’t understand is that they let their key players go, then you give [Tim] Connolly a $4.5 million contract. He’s played 50 games or whatever [98] in three years, and he gets a $1 million raise.”

 

• On the scouting staff, which was replaced by video in a cost-cutting measure: “You can scout on television and video and still watch players? Come on. That is absolutely the joke of the league. When all the scouts were here—Larry Carriere, Don Luce, Terry Martin, Jim Benning, all those guys—they’re the ones who built this franchise that took them to the Presidents’ [Trophy]. They were the ones who went to Darcy and said, ‘This is who you should draft.’ They’re all gone.”

 

• On why certain teams, such as the Red Wings, are consistent winners: “Tell me Buffalo can’t do the same thing. All they ask you is that you put out an honest effort on the ice. That’s all the fans have ever asked for. Sure, they would love to get a Stanley Cup champion. But if you put the effort out there, they’ll support you. They’ll go through the walls for you. I know because I’ve been there. It’s so sad that fans have to pay the tab all the time and not get the results.”

[Stoner]

I was all set to respond with a "point taken" until you had to throw that last paragraph in there.

I agree with a lot of your post with the difference being I assume most intelligent people know that there is always two sides to what they read while you seem to assume that most people are like sheep hanging on every word that is written. If columnist had to write every story as if their readers were morons and thus had to know every juicy detail that led up to a story every column would be ten pages long.

 

It's all about integrity and transparency. Bucky could have said he got a call from Robert, who wanted to talk, or that he ran into Robert during the season and asked him what he thought of LQ and TG. Given Bucky's reputation (and his status as a column writer, not a straight news guy for the most part), the background for the story is important.

[Stoner]

WOW. Robert for GM. Thank you Rene, for reiterating what we've all been saying. He's the unofficial spokesman of the Sabres fans. He's damn right too, about everything he said. Talk about thrashing the management and ownership, and rightfully so. LOL @ anonymous current Sabres stating they share Robert's opinions.

 

 

Also, Robert had this to say:

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabresnh...ory/644285.html

 

Not current Sabres, according to the story.

[ReneRobert]

As a lifelong RR fan (obviously), I appreciated his comments, but I think you have nailed a key point here PA. For all the complaints about the team making the playoffs 2 of the past seven years, yet making the conference championships both times, we can all remember a team that made the playoffs every year, often raising hopes with 100+ points, then falling apart in the playoffs when faced with teams (the Islanders being the first example in 76 and 77) who worked harder and were in better condition.

 

Being a Sabres fan is hard. Being a Sabres fan with a historical sense is torture.

 

You have it wrong. Again. I never criticized Bucky for not revealing his sources. I criticized him for not telling us enough about who his sources are. "A source tells me that the Sabres are interested in dealing Tim Connolly at the deadline" is shoddy journalism. "A source, an assistant general manager of a Western Conference team, tells me..." helps me out as a reader because I can at least evaluate the source. The reason Bucky never gets that specific is that either he's making it all up, or his source is the lady who cleans LQ's bathroom at night. I've also criticized the use of "reportedly" -- The Blackhawks are reportedly shopping Murray Bannerman. Who "reported" it? All of those qualifiers are just efforts to gussy up rumors, 99% of which have no basis in fact, to make them respectable enough to put in the fish-wrapper. Did you just put "journalism" and "integrity" in the same sentence with Bucky's name? Loved those trade deadline bombshells Bucky put out...

 

As for the use of anonymous sources, to me it's more applicable to the case of someone who wants to blow the whistle but fears for their livelihood or even life. Is it really applicable to Buffalo Sabres hockey? I guess. Maybe the other players include Playfair, Roby, Rob Ray, Bert and the like. They could lose their jobs if quoted. But what if it's someone who just wants to hide while getting their opinion in the paper? That cannot be tolerated! Wait, that's the basis of message boards!

 

Anyway, as for Robert's comments, he's probably right. Good for him for putting his name on it. But I find it a little -- not sure what -- but a little something that a key player on a team that became a contender in 75 and proceeded to #%^$#! the bed in the playoffs for the rest of the decade would not understand how difficult it is to keep that contender status. Given the fact he didn't criticize the players (or Bucky didn't use those quotes), I wonder if he owns up to the disappointments lumped on Sabres fans in the mid to late 70s. "It's so sad that fans have to pay the tab all the time and not get the results." All the time, including the 70s, eh Rene?

 

In the end, I just look at this as Bucky's devious way of getting his opinion in the paper (again), this time in the voice of Robert. I wonder who initiated the process. I'm betting on Bucky.

[Stoner]

And I would hope this distinguishes me and others like me who do believe that these guys have done a lot of good but at the same time they deserve a large share of the blame for what's happened the last two years. My biggest problem with TG is that he was all too willing to accept credit as the captain of the ship and the guy who brought the can do leadership to the organization and now he hides in the shadows and lets his "captains" take all the grief,

 

We totally agree on the last sentence. Write down the date!

[tom webster]

It's all about integrity and transparency. Bucky could have said he got a call from Robert, who wanted to talk, or that he ran into Robert during the season and asked him what he thought of LQ and TG. Given Bucky's reputation (and his status as a column writer, not a straight news guy for the most part), the background for the story is important.

 

 

He said it was a telephone conversation last week. Given that Robert obviously wanted to get his story out there allows me to infer that he called Bucky but I ma not sure I see what difference it makes. If Bucky sought out Robert it would have been at the suggestion of someone who didn't want to go on record. I would guess that to be Dudley, but that is just an educated guess.

By the way, Bucky's reputation is far different then your opinion of him.

[joe w bags]

No disagreement . I believe Mr. Golisano could have(wish he /had/would) interced and establish that Larry Quinn do what he does best and allow the hockey people to do what they do best. It does appear that this has not happened. The notion of Larry Quinn assessing what hockey people should do as he said from top to bottom ludicrous. Thing is I do believe Quinn a capable man if he stays within his expertise, he has shown this. Mind you if he were to keep meddling, the Sabres will need only extreme good fortune to rise above anything other than mediocre.

The Larry Quinn factor is really why its hard to comment much on Darcy, and Lindy for that matter, we just don't know how much autonomy they have to do their jobs to their best capability. Unfair to rag on them if their hands are tied. Sadly it appears this case and given Larry Quinn is more than a employee, he actually has ownership stock in team, a most difficult proposition . All talk about who to draft, who the leaders are, ect ect, almost redundant, if players , agents, ect are looking over Darcy's shoulder to Quinn , who knows what the respect factor is.

 

And I would hope this distinguishes me and others like me who do believe that these guys have done a lot of good but at the same time they deserve a large share of the blame for what's happened the last two years. My biggest problem with TG is that he was all too willing to accept credit as the captain of the ship and the guy who brought the can do leadership to the organization and now he hides in the shadows and lets his "captains" take all the grief,