So who really is Joe Battista and does he belong with the Sabres

[I am Defecting]

 

 

 

You just won SabreSpace. Well done.

 

Onward, Sausage Fanbois!

Marching as to war,

With the cross-ed Sabres

Going on before.

 

Mars, the royal Master,

Leads against the foe;

Forward into battle,

See those fanbois go!

 

At the sign of triumph

Terry's host doth flee;

On, then, Sausage Fanbois,

On to victory!

 

(Chorus)

 

Onward, Sausage Fanbois!

 

Marching as to war,

 

With the crossed Sabres

 

Going on before!

 

 

 

 

[drnkirishone]

How on earth can people fail to see this as worthy of discussion?

for the same reason I don't talk about the person at petsmart wearing that purina one tshirt that told me how my dog would be so happy if I switched him from the food he is on to purina one............

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

I love when Yuri gets it going....I feel like the helicopter mom with kids she swears are deathly allergic to anything but soybeans, and she can finally take a long weekend to travel with just the hubby to a bed and breakfast in Vermont and make sweet, missionary love....possibly more than once....

[SwampD]

for the same reason I don't talk about the person at petsmart wearing that purina one tshirt that told me how my dog would be so happy if I switched him from the food he is on to purina one............

So you want your dog to be sad?

[That Aud Smell]

for the same reason I don't talk about the person at petsmart wearing that purina one tshirt that told me how my dog would be so happy if I switched him from the food he is on to purina one............

 

I see. ... I think.

 

Your view of this as a topic of conversation is quite different from shrader's, though.

 

I think.

[Marvelo]

Following the NHL lockout, about ten years ago, Jeremy Jacobs' team, the Boston Bruins, finished with 74 points, tied for 5th worst record in the NHL. Things looked bleak, but the Bruins kept trying to win. The following year, they finished with 76 points, seventh worst in the NHL, which was slight improvement, but still, a major disappointment, so the Bruins kept trying to win.

 

The next year, 07/08, Jacobs fired Harry Sinden, and hired Bruins legend Cam Neely as Vice President of the team. They kept trying to win, and made the playoffs that year with 94 points. The next two years they made it to the conference semi-finals, and Neely was promoted to President of the Boston Bruins, not Hockey Operations, or Hockey Related Business, but the Entire Organization, because trying to win was of sole importance to Jacobs. The following season, the Boston Bruins, won the Stanley Cup. It took Neely four seasons.

 

Way back in the day, in 1975, under Jacobs' new ownership, the Bruins experienced immediate success, finishing first in the Adams division for 4 consecutive seasons. Under Jacobs' ownership they had appeared in 4 Stanley Cup Finals, but never won it all with Jacobs, prior to Neely's arrival.

 

If we are comparing owners, Terry Pegula inherited a team that finished first in the Northeast division with 100pts the year before he bought the team. The following year, while the Bruins were winning the Cup, the Sabres regressed to 96 points. Having failed to capture any top free-agents talk turned to drafting well. The following year, the Sabres regressed further to 89 pts, and talk turned to rebuilding. The following year, the Pegula's Sabres finished with 48 points in 48 games, and there was talk of intentionally tanking. This season, the Sabres are on pace for 55 points, and 23 wins, among the worst totals in franchise history. We already expect next season to be worse.

 

Intersting factoid: Cam Neely won the Bill Masterson trophy in 1994, and won the Stanley Cup as Bruins team President in 2011. Mario Lemieux won the Masterson trophy in 1993, and won the Stanley Cup as co-owner of the Penguins in 2009. Pat LaFontaine won the Masterson trophy in 1995, and I've never heard of Joey Battista, but he sure as hell ain't Patty Lafontaine.

 

I was in on a conversation with Bruins fans the other day and they were talking about Neely. They said when they see him up close in person, the man's a terrifying sight. A big guy with an enormous temper who anyone would be afraid of. Even the current players. Not only that, he was the quintessential Bruin.

 

Who is the quintessential Sabre? It's Perreault. But the man for all his talent, could be intimidated, as what happened in '75 in the Finals. Lafontaine? Ultimately as an executive at least, he's a quitter.

 

My point? The Sabres have always been in search of a character model. The bottom line is when push comes to shove, the character issue is at the core of the Sabres' problem. They've never settled on a character for the team, they kept switching depending on which way the wind blows. In the early years, they modeled themselves after the Canadiens. When the Sabres finally hit their stride and looked to be able to win a Cup in '06, they stockpiled the smaller, faster, more clever players. It always comes back to the smaller players we remember around here, except for the French Connection or a Mogilny.

 

But when they say the Big Bad Bruins or the Habs or Red Wings, these teams have a blueprint for success year after year, generation after generation. They pretty much know what type of player is a "Red Wing" type. We don't know what a quintessential Sabre is.

 

But for now, if there's any defining characteristic of a Sabre, it's that the owners stop short and don't pile on the talent when the team has a chance. Individually, the quintessential Sabre is a hard-luck quitter; he will ultimately be pushed out of the way at crunch time.

[bunomatic]

I was in on a conversation with Bruins fans the other day and they were talking about Neely. They said when they see him up close in person, the man's a terrifying sight. A big guy with an enormous temper who anyone would be afraid of. Even the current players. Not only that, he was the quintessential Bruin.

 

Who is the quintessential Sabre? It's Perreault. But the man for all his talent, could be intimidated, as what happened in '75 in the Finals. Lafontaine? Ultimately as an executive at least, he's a quitter.

 

My point? The Sabres have always been in search of a character model. The bottom line is when push comes to shove, the character issue is at the core of the Sabres' problem. They've never settled on a character for the team, they kept switching depending on which way the wind blows. In the early years, they modeled themselves after the Canadiens. When the Sabres finally hit their stride and looked to be able to win a Cup in '06, they stockpiled the smaller, faster, more clever players. It always comes back to the smaller players we remember around here, except for the French Connection or a Mogilny.

 

But when they say the Big Bad Bruins or the Habs or Red Wings, these teams have a blueprint for success year after year, generation after generation. They pretty much know what type of player is a "Red Wing" type. We don't know what a quintessential Sabre is.

 

But for now, if there's any defining characteristic of a Sabre, it's that the owners stop short and don't pile on the talent when the team has a chance. Individually, the quintessential Sabre is a hard-luck quitter; he will ultimately be pushed out of the way at crunch time.

 

Thats why it was so important to jettison Regier and bring in a new philosophy. Its starting to change slowly as we draft players with size, grit and talent near the top of the draft. More are on the way. Too bad TP didn't start with a clean slate when he bought the team. We'd possibly be entering a real competitive phase after 4 years when the kids were finally putting it all together.

[Hellinator]

I have always felt you need to have a Selke level type of leader on your team for it's character...we had it and Darcy didn't account for intangibles when it came to salary offers.

[Jsixspd]

So, T-Pegs creates a job position just for this Battista jamoke, and people are down with it. "Yeah, he does a great job at..... what is it he does again?"

 

T-Pegs creates a position for Pat LaFontaine, and people are like "Well, it's ok they let Pat go.... it was just a made-up position anyways - he wasn't needed".

 

I dunno .... if given the choice of getting rid of one of the two made up jobs, I myself would have rather seen Pat LaFontaine stay, and the Pedo-State alumni given his walking-papers. .

[IKnowPhysics]

[K-9]

Guess I offended somebody. My apologies.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

[That Aud Smell]

 

funny stuff.

 

even so, absent speculation (and i would suggest that there's some edumacated guessing going on too) - what's the point of a message board?

[IKnowPhysics]

Gracias.

 

There's no problem with speculation, except for its occasional treatment as fact by some that can't or don't want to differentiate.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

 

Just wondering, were you put in time out for this graph?

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

 

 

Just wondering, were you put in time out for this graph?

 

Nope. Poor Chz is bringing in the bacon now and the Sabres are but the collection on her lint screen in the dryer of life......

[Andrew Amerk]

 

 

I don't think we ignore or forget it. It's his team, sure. Know what? It's OUR team too, in some important sense. So the grousing and hand-wringing about what the fook is TP doing? Those are the qualities of an 'owner' shining through. A mere passive fan -- someone who may take more of an easy come, easy go attitude (I'll just watch House of Cards if the Sabres stink) -- may take the view, 'meh. It's his team. He'll do what he wants.' Fans who are deeply invested will complain, sometimes bitterly, soemtimes lyrically sometimes absurdly (I'm looking at you, Ghost, and yes you, PA (with love)).

 

It is our team, too. We're asking that TP be a good steward of it.

 

TP doesn't have to do anything for the fans, if he doesn't want to. It's his team and his money.

 

Being a die-hard fan doesn't make you a decision maker for the team, and it doesn't obligate an owner to cater to the fan base.

[Stoner]

TP doesn't have to do anything for the fans, if he doesn't want to. It's his team and his money.

 

Being a die-hard fan doesn't make you a decision maker for the team, and it doesn't obligate an owner to cater to the fan base.

 

You're not saying anything.

 

He's a terrible owner. Refute that.

[That Aud Smell]

I don't think we ignore or forget it. It's his team, sure. Know what? It's OUR team too, in some important sense. So the grousing and hand-wringing about what the fook is TP doing? Those are the qualities of an 'owner' shining through. A mere passive fan -- someone who may take more of an easy come, easy go attitude (I'll just watch House of Cards if the Sabres stink) -- may take the view, 'meh. It's his team. He'll do what he wants.' Fans who are deeply invested will complain, sometimes bitterly, soemtimes lyrically sometimes absurdly (I'm looking at you, Ghost, and yes you, PA (with love)).

It is our team, too. We're asking that TP be a good steward of it.

TP doesn't have to do anything for the fans, if he doesn't want to. It's his team and his money.

 

Being a die-hard fan doesn't make you a decision maker for the team, and it doesn't obligate an owner to cater to the fan base.

 

I'm genuinely scratching my head at your reply to my post. So, let me try to take it step by step.

 

TP doesn't have to do anything for the fans, if he doesn't want to.

 

Strictly speaking, this is true. Do you think it's a good idea that he carry on that way? Do you think he is carrying on that way?

 

It's his team and his money.

 

Fair enough. Does that mean you are resigned to his doing anything he damn well pleases with the franchise? Is there a limit to your ability to tolerate what he might do?

 

Being a die-hard fan doesn't make you a decision maker for the team

 

Is anyone on this internet message board suggesting that it does? (I'll answer that one: No.)

 

and it doesn't obligate an owner to cater to the fan base.

 

Let me understand: the cares of die-hard fans do no obligate an owner to cater to them (the die-hard fans). That's probably fair. The owner is never obliged to cater to the team's fans. At times, it might make business sense for him to do so, but certainly there's no obligation to do so.

 

... I'm no less confused now than I was when I started to respond.

 

He's a terrible owner. Refute that.

 

He's shown a willingness to spend a great deal of money in order to improve the franchise's fortunes and prospects. It hasn't worked out to this point in time, but the willingness to invest significant resources is a strong indicator (predictive) of TP being a good owner.

[spndnchz]

Nope. Poor Chz is bringing in the bacon now and the Sabres are but the collection on her lint screen in the dryer of life......

 

I still read every post in here bro. Well, except the politics thread.

[darksabre]

Who is the smoking man?

[IKnowPhysics]

[Andrew Amerk]

 

 

Andrew Amerk, on 20 March 2014 - 02:44 PM, said:

TP doesn't have to do anything for the fans, if he doesn't want to.

 

Strictly speaking, this is true. Do you think it's a good idea that he carry on that way? Do you think he is carrying on that way?

 

-I don't think TP has any idea at this point what to do. He has been grasping at different straws ever since he bought the team.

 

Andrew Amerk, on 20 March 2014 - 02:44 PM, said:

It's his team and his money.

 

Fair enough. Does that mean you are resigned to his doing anything he damn well pleases with the franchise? Is there a limit to your ability to tolerate what he might do?

 

-I tolerated what Golisano did with the team. Whoever owns the team, they can do whatever they want. So, yes, I am resigned to that. I do not own the Buffalo Sabres, and I have no say over what they do. Complaining on a message board does not have influence over any decision Terrance Pegula makes.

 

Andrew Amerk, on 20 March 2014 - 02:44 PM, said:

Being a die-hard fan doesn't make you a decision maker for the team

 

Is anyone on this internet message board suggesting that it does? (I'll answer that one: No.)

 

-In a way, you implied this when you said "it's OUR team too"

 

Andrew Amerk, on 20 March 2014 - 02:44 PM, said:

and it doesn't obligate an owner to cater to the fan base.

 

Let me understand: the cares of die-hard fans do no obligate an owner to cater to them (the die-hard fans). That's probably fair. The owner is never obliged to cater to the team's fans. At times, it might make business sense for him to do so, but certainly there's no obligation to do so.

 

-Not sure where you were going with this one, since you are saying you agree with me. Owners do not owe us anything, and do not need to do anything the fans want. If you need a shining example, see Pocklington and Gretzky.

[That Aud Smell]

Complaining on a message board does not have influence over any decision Terrance Pegula makes.

 

-In a way, you implied this when you said "it's OUR team too"

 

re point the first: who's saying that people come here to complan and vent in an effort to influence actual decision making? I'm not, and if anyone is, their sense of reality is skewed.

 

re point the second: that's not totally infair, but it does miss the mark. there are dozens, hundreds of examples of situations where a company, a brand, a band, an institution, (shoot) a *country* has a person who is ultimately in charge, and is contending with the very strong feelings, opinions of people who have no actual ownership stake in the entity, but nonetheless through their strong loyalty to the entity, sense of history, or whatever "lay claim" to the entity itself in some way.

 

that doesn't mean those loyals harbor illusions that they're decision makers, or that they can directly influence decisions. maybe for some it does. anyway, nor does that mean that the loyals should stop having passionate opinions on how things should be done.

 

i will admit: your view of how diehard fans relate to the team is one that confuses me. your view also appears contrary to one of the more basic reasons for a message board's existence. strikes me that this must be a frustrating/annoying place for you to be, most of the time. playing at Coach, GM, Owner is probably in excess of 75% of what goes on here.

[That Aud Smell]

tone deaf.