Tim Murray and Dan Byslma Have Been Fired

[inkman]

What's so bad about it? I think a thorough search is a good thing.

A couple months earlier would have been ideal. Hopefully nothing is missed, transaction wise, during the search

[Doohicksie]

Could the quick firing of other key guys, who you would think would be needed in an interim period, indicate that a new team is ready to go?

 

[PromoTheRobot]

Well, I'm hearing that he was in the Pegulas' ears to s-can GM TM. I'm reading screen caps of texts from a team source who said Brandon was envious of the public popularity that GM TM enjoyed for his quirky style.

 

He's a bad guy who continues to exert his influence where it has no place.

 

 

Is she not a co-owner of the Sabres? She might not be, strictly speaking.

 

 

Those are GM TM's guys, I reckon.

 

 

A fan of facts on a message board, then? Haha - yeah, definitely good luck to you, then.

 

Fwiw, I've met Brandon twice. Not like a one-on-one sit-down, but peripheral interaction. The more extensive of the 2 meetings was at a 10-person (round) table under a tent at St. John Fisher. My own personal opinion (not a fact!), based on a mostly visceral reaction: He's not a good guy. Is most likely a bad guy. He's not a guy I want involved in managing my favourite teams, 

 

So basically you've got nothing.  BTW the jealousy of GMTM being popular is hilarious. Maybe jack Eichel's in his crosshairs now?

Edited April 20, 2017 by PromoTheRobot

[nfreeman]

Everyone knows Brandon sucks but no one can say why, other than to blame him for moving camp to SJF or the Toronto Series...you know, making money for the team. a.k.a. his job. <_<.  I'm all ears if anyone wants to PM me and set me straight.  All I know is I've read post after post of frustrated fans looking for a scapegoat. If it's not Brandon, it's Overdorf, or Berchtod, or the midget trainer, or the guy who drives the team bus.

 

Again:  if his job is SVP-marketing, then you're right.  But his job is team president (and was GM for a while too).  That means he's accountable for them becoming the biggest joooooooooooooke in the NFL.

[Stoner]

Careful, I have a habit of being right. Accidentally, but I'll take it.

[Taro T]

Well, we do rely on the national media to break any significant news on the Sabres. Maybe they've been busy with other stuff. LaFontaine was a total surprise. Terry can be stealthy in those sneakers of his.

 

 

Again, my team=Sabres.

There's several minor things on the Sabres side which I won't mention because they'll come across as petty. But remember, he hasn't even been in charge for a full year.

 

The elephant in the room is that he HAS contributed materially to the failures of the other sports team & has now been given the keys to "your" team. Several of those contributions were brought up. There are enough red flags up that I don't want him anywhere near the hockey department.

 

Let me turn this back to you. WHY should he be the President of the Sabres / WHAT has he done to improve the Sabres?

[Doohicksie]

They've hired 3 coaches (4 with McDermott who hasn't coached a game yet).  That's hardly enough to say - can't start over every 2 years.

 

I will say this:  I don't remember much from my economics class, but one thing I remember is that it was stressed that one should not judge the value going forward of a commodity based on the investment made in said commodity to date.  In other words, the moment you realize you don't have the right man, you move on.

[TrueBlueGED]

Again: if his job is SVP-marketing, then you're right. But his job is team president (and was GM for a while too). That means he's accountable for them becoming the biggest joooooooooooooke in the NFL.

Even if it were purely marketing he's responsible for, then the lackluster game day presentation, the ham handed nature of things (season ticket increases on DNA appreciation day, etc), weak sauce fan appreciation day gifts (lol crappy sunglasses), and so on...that stuff doesn't speak highly to his acumen. Yea, both teams sell a lot of tickets, but it's now looking more and more like that's just a function of the market. After all, Roger Goodell makes the NFL owners plenty of money, however...

Edited April 20, 2017 by TrueBlueGED

[That Aud Smell]

Everyone knows Brandon sucks but no one can say why, other than to blame him for moving camp to SJF or the Toronto Series...you know, making money for the team. a.k.a. his job. <_<.  I'm all ears if anyone wants to PM me and set me straight.  All I know is I've read post after post of frustrated fans looking for a scapegoat. If it's not Brandon, it's Overdorf, or Berchtod, or the midget trainer, or the guy who drives the team bus.

So basically you've got nothing.  BTW the jealousy of GMTM being popular is hilarious. Maybe jack Eichel's in his crosshairs now?

 

I'm not sure where you land on my having nothing. I'm comfortable forming an opinion with the information I have. I've heard stories from people I know who have first-hand knowledge of ... things our hero's done. I've read accounts of team insiders who say that he's as insecure and self-advancing as you might fear or think he is. There have been reports that he remained actively involved in matters of player-personnel decisions, while he publicly stated he has nothing to do with that side of the house. And now there are reports that he helped poison the well on this cleaning of house with the Sabres.

 

If it better suits your world view to think that Russ Brandon is just a good money-making dude, then, as I've said to others, fair play to you. The house of illusion is cheap to build, but drafty to live in.

[darksabre]

Who around here was the one that said they heard the B-Sens were happy to be rid of Murray? Does this validate that claim?

[That Aud Smell]

Oh, and alla this too.

 

Even if it were purely marketing he's responsible for, then the lackluster game day presentation, the ham handed nature of things (season ticket increases on DNA appreciation day, etc), weak sauce fan appreciation day gifts (lol crappy sunglasses), and so on...that stuff doesn't speak highly to his acumen. Yea, both teams sell a lot of tickets, but it's not looking more and more like that's just a function of the market. After all, Roger Goodell makes the NFL owners plenty of money, however...

[Doohicksie]

Careful, I have a habit of being right. Accidentally, but I'll take it.

 

Yeah, well even a broken clock is right twice a day.

 

I hope you are right to be honest, but the only way to maintain my sanity wrt being a Sabres fan is to mock the whole thing as a tire fire.  Don't worry, I'll be back on the bandwagon by draft day.  Then I'll be all Go Sabres!

[Taro T]

Everyone knows Brandon sucks but no one can say why, other than to blame him for moving camp to SJF or the Toronto Series...you know, making money for the team. a.k.a. his job. <_<.  I'm all ears if anyone wants to PM me and set me straight.  All I know is I've read post after post of frustrated fans looking for a scapegoat. If it's not Brandon, it's Overdorf, or Berchtod, or the midget trainer, or the guy who drives the team bus.

Making money is only part of his job. The ####ing team is ALSO supposed to WIN. THAT is also his job. You can (& will) continue to discount his decisions that have made money AT THE EXPENSE OF WINS. Many of us here won't.

 

Being a fan, while realizing both parts of the job are important, I care FAR more about the wins. If the team wins, in the long term, the team will make more money than it will via the short term marketing BS. So, looking at it from that perspective, he isn't even good at making money for his boss.

[Stoner]

I'm not sure where you land on my having nothing. I'm comfortable forming an opinion with the information I have. I've heard stories from people I know who have first-hand knowledge of ... things our hero's done. I've read accounts of team insiders who say that he's as insecure and self-advancing as you might fear or think he is. There have been reports that he remained actively involved in matters of player-personnel decisions, while he publicly stated he has nothing to do with that side of the house. And now there are reports that he helped poison the well on this cleaning of house with the Sabres.

Reports? The TB thing? Isn't it a fake news parody account?

 

The house of illusion is cheap to build, but drafty to live in. I mean, I could put on a shawl, but that's what I covered up grandma's body with. -- Jack Handey

FIFY.

[PromoTheRobot]

I'm not sure where you land on my having nothing. I'm comfortable forming an opinion with the information I have. I've heard stories from people I know who have first-hand knowledge of ... things our hero's done. I've read accounts of team insiders who say that he's as insecure and self-advancing as you might fear or think he is. There have been reports that he remained actively involved in matters of player-personnel decisions, while he publicly stated he has nothing to do with that side of the house. And now there are reports that he helped poison the well on this cleaning of house with the Sabres.

 

If it better suits your world view to think that Russ Brandon is just a good money-making dude, then, as I've said to others, fair play to you. The house of illusion is cheap to build, but drafty to live in.

 

It's not so much a love of Brandon as a hatred of witch hunts. What's stopping you and Taro from just spilling the beans? Lay it all out. The fact he's a d-bag is not a reason. Many awful people are good at what they do. But if you can give me proof that he actually did something to hurt the team, I'm listening.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

As for canning the heads of scouting:  I'd guess that the new GM will want to put his own guys in those spots, and this was just clearing the decks for him to do so.

 

It does lend credence to the notion that TP already has something cooking.

 

The problem is what if there is nothing cooking and this process takes some time.  Would it not be better to keep these guys around doing their jobs?

 

That could be problematic too.

[PromoTheRobot]

Making money is only part of his job. The ####ing team is ALSO supposed to WIN. THAT is also his job. You can (& will) continue to discount his decisions that have made money AT THE EXPENSE OF WINS. Many of us here won't.

 

Being a fan, while realizing both parts of the job are important, I care FAR more about the wins. If the team wins, in the long term, the team will make more money than it will via the short term marketing BS. So, looking at it from that perspective, he isn't even good at making money for his boss.

 

C'mon Taro. Lay the cards down. Connect the dots. Are you indicting Brandon for being a part of an organization that doesn't win? I've worked in radio for decades. They don't fire sales people when the ratings suck.

[Stoner]

Making money is only part of his job. The ####ing team is ALSO supposed to WIN. THAT is also his job. You can (& will) continue to discount his decisions that have made money AT THE EXPENSE OF WINS. Many of us here won't.

 

Being a fan, while realizing both parts of the job are important, I care FAR more about the wins. If the team wins, in the long term, the team will make more money than it will via the short term marketing BS. So, looking at it from that perspective, he isn't even good at making money for his boss.

Here's an interesting issue that could reveal itself tonight. The Bills, from what Howard Simon said this morning, could have to play two road games to finish next season because of stadium inavailability due to the World Junior tournament.

[PromoTheRobot]

Here's an interesting issue that could reveal itself tonight. The Bills, from what Howard Simon said this morning, could have to play two road games to finish next season because of stadium unavailability due to the World Junior tournament.

 

Brandon, that bastard! What depth won't he stoop to?

Edited April 20, 2017 by PromoTheRobot

[nfreeman]

It's not so much a love of Brandon as a hatred of witch hunts. What's stopping you and Taro from just spilling the beans? Lay it all out. The fact he's a d-bag is not a reason. Many awful people are good at what they do. But if you can give me proof that he actually did something to hurt the team, I'm listening.

C'mon Taro. Lay the cards down. Connect the dots. Are you indicting Brandon for being a part of an organization that doesn't win? I've worked in radio for decades. They don't fire sales people when the ratings suck.

 

Dude. 

 

He's not a sales person.  He's the team president.

 

And are you going to continue to pretend that Rex, Whaley and the Toronto series weren't his babies, or that they didn't hurt the team?

[Stoner]

There's several minor things on the Sabres side which I won't mention because they'll come across as petty. But remember, he hasn't even been in charge for a full year.

 

The elephant in the room is that he HAS contributed materially to the failures of the other sports team & has now been given the keys to "your" team. Several of those contributions were brought up. There are enough red flags up that I don't want him anywhere near the hockey department.

 

Let me turn this back to you. WHY should he be the President of the Sabres / WHAT has he done to improve the Sabres?

I won't take the bait and defend Russ Brandon!

[Taro T]

Dude. 

 

He's not a sales person.  He's the team president.

 

And are you going to continue to pretend that Rex, Whaley and the Toronto series weren't his babies, or that they didn't hurt the team?

Clearly he is.

[Brawndo]

Per Dreger

 

Working sources on Sabres house cleaning today. Told decision was purely ownerships and neither Eichel nor the players in general influenced

[Stoner]

Brandon, that bastard! What depth won't he stoop to?

:w00t:  Well, if you're trying to end a 37-year playoff drought, maybe you keep the stadium open for a late home game you might need.

[TheAud]

Here's an interesting issue that could reveal itself tonight. The Bills, from what Howard Simon said this morning, could have to play two road games to finish next season because of stadium inavailability due to the World Junior tournament.

That would be such a blessing. The Bills have been burdened with an inordinate number of late season home games by which time:

a) The preponderance of harder-to-win road games have stacked the deck against their already slim playoff chances by the end of the season and

b) The weather has become, shall we say, chillier, making it less desirable for fans