The Italian Kid Did It!

[Porous Five Hole]

OSP is out with a new book and spent 22 pages on his Sabres ownership. I’ll save you all of the cringy anecdotes (there’s plenty—he ballwashed himself a few times over) and summarize the four things that I thought were the most interesting: 
 

1)”So, do we owe a games-played bonus to Jeff Jillson?”

BTG was furious that the team missed a 250k end of season games-played bonus in his contract (which he states was signed with SJ) for a player who was not playing particularly well.  Darcy and team wasn’t aware of the clause and it kicked in. 
BTG asked how much of the bonus his previous team, San Jose, was going to pay. The answer was none. So he asked who was responsible for reviewing the contract and therefore who was
responsible for missing the addendum. No one answered, so he asked
“who was going to pay me back the lost money.”
“What happened then could almost have been a farce on stage.
There we were in my glass-walled sunroom sitting around a table,
bathed in sunlight, in silence. The discomfort in the room was
palpable- at least it was for them. I was happy to sit in silence and I'm good at it. The others fidgeted and looked as if they liked to be anywhere but there with me in that increasingly hot sunroom. 
Everyone knew that it was Darcy's department that had missed the
rider, so he was feeling particularly uncomfortable. I let the silence go on for forty five minutes - I just sat there. Larry was the first to break.  He decided to escape to the patio, but due to the stressfulness of the situation, did not see the glass doors were closed. He walked head first into the glass doors and ended up on his prostate with a welt on his face.”

Eventually, Darcy offered to repay BTG his 250k. Golisano said that wouldn’t be necessary and moved on. 

2) Drury & Briere D-Day

BTG stated the team was within 100k of the cap during their last year here, and signing both players at UFA would be impossible.  Especially given the inevitable raise each were in line for. The team decided to focus on signing one, and the one was Drury. His upside was less, but his leadership was the driving force behind deciding he was the one. 

“There is a Buffalo columnist who insists that we subsequently
reached an agreement with Drury and then reneged on it- this is
pure fiction. Although we had discussions with his agent that at one
point appeared as if they might lead to a contract, they never reached
fruition. When it became clear that Chris was headed toward the best
offensive season of his career, ultimately finishing with 37 goals, his
agent asked that we defer further discussion until the postseason.”

So interesting. We all know what happened next.  
So all was true that Briere never got an offer (until perhaps the last moment, and it was below market). BTG gushed about Drury & Briere and harbored no ill will. 
 

3)The sale to Pegs.
“The owner of a cell phone manufacturing company (Balsillie) showed some interest and offered $165 million if he kept it in Buffalo, but $235 million if I helped him to move it. In the end, I decided not to sell.
I then got an offer from Terry Pegula…The offer was $189 million, a lot less than I could have commanded without the clause, but I was happy. I'd had a great seven years. I'd bought the franchise for around $7.5 million and when the dust settled I'd made about $I50 million.”

I do not know where the 7.5 figure came from.  
 

4) He met his future wife, Monica Seles, at the outdoor game. I had no idea…

Edited July 12, 2022 by Porous Five Hole

[woods-racer]

He made his money in the check cashing business. Cashed checks and made a lot of money doing it to the people that could least afford it and then got lucky when he took a chance on a hockey team. He is what he is. OSP sums him up.

Thank you for sharing. I'm surprised anyone would actually read a book about him.

[Porous Five Hole]

2 minutes ago, woods-racer said:

He made his money in the check cashing business. Cashed checks and made a lot of money doing it to the people that could least afford it and then got lucky when he took a chance on a hockey team. He is what he is. OSP sums him up.

Thank you for sharing. I'm surprised anyone would actually read a book about him.

Thanks.  
I’m sure this will shock absolutely no one, but Paychex gifted a copy to each of their employees. My wife works for Paychex and received it today.  

[woods-racer]

Just now, Porous Five Hole said:

Thanks.  
I’m sure this will shock absolutely no one, but Paychex gifted a copy to each of their employees. My wife works for Paychex and received it today.  

Now that makes total sense as to how you not only knew about the book but also got a copy without me worrying about your sanity.

 

[Taro T]

43 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

OSP is out with a new book and spent 22 pages on his Sabres ownership. I’ll save you all of the cringy anecdotes (there’s plenty—he ballwashed himself a few times over) and summarize the four things that I thought were the most interesting: 
 

1)”So, do we owe a games-played bonus to Jeff Jillson?”

BTG was furious that the team missed a 250k end of season games-played bonus in his contract (which he states was signed with SJ) for a player who was not playing particularly well.  Darcy and team wasn’t aware of the clause and it kicked in. 
BTG asked how much of the bonus his previous team, San Jose, was going to pay. The answer was none. So he asked who was responsible for reviewing the contract and therefore who was
responsible for missing the addendum. No one answered, so he asked
“who was going to pay me back the lost money.”
“What happened then could almost have been a farce on stage.
There we were in my glass-walled sunroom sitting around a table,
bathed in sunlight, in silence. The discomfort in the room was
palpable- at least it was for them. I was happy to sit in silence and I'm good at it. The others fidgeted and looked as if they liked to be anywhere but there with me in that increasingly hot sunroom. 
Everyone knew that it was Darcy's department that had missed the
rider, so he was feeling particularly uncomfortable. I let the silence go on for forty five minutes - I just sat there. Larry was the first to break.  He decided to escape to the patio, but due to the stressfulness of the situation, did not see the glass doors were closed. He walked head first into the glass doors and ended up on his prostate with a welt on his face.”

Eventually, Darcy offered to repay BTG his 250k. Golisano said that wouldn’t be necessary and moved on. 

2) Drury & Briere D-Day

BTG stated the team was within 100k of the cap during their last year here, and signing both players at UFA would be impossible.  Especially given the inevitable raise each were in line for. The team decided to focus on signing one, and the one was Drury. His upside was less, but his leadership was the driving force behind deciding he was the one. 

“There is a Buffalo columnist who insists that we subsequently
reached an agreement with Drury and then reneged on it- this is
pure fiction. Although we had discussions with his agent that at one
point appeared as if they might lead to a contract, they never reached
fruition. When it became clear that Chris was headed toward the best
offensive season of his career, ultimately finishing with 37 goals, his
agent asked that we defer further discussion until the postseason.”

So interesting. We all know what happened next.  
So all was true that Briere never got an offer (until perhaps the last moment, and it was below market). BTG gushed about Drury & Briere and harbored no ill will. 
 

3)The sale to Pegs.
“The owner of a cell phone manufacturing company (Balsillie) showed some interest and offered $165 million if he kept it in Buffalo, but $235 million if I helped him to move it. In the end, I decided not to sell.
I then got an offer from Terry Pegula…The offer was $189 million, a lot less than I could have commanded without the clause, but I was happy. I'd had a great seven years. I'd bought the franchise for around $7.5 million and when the dust settled I'd made about $I50 million.”

I do not know where the 7.5 figure came from.  
 

4) He met his future wife, Monica Seles, at the outdoor game. I had no idea…

Not surprising he would claim no deal was ever reached w/ Drury, but it wasn't a BN columnist who was the source of the story that a deal was agreed to then sat on BTG's desk unsigned until Drury finally backed out of it.

But he's not the 1st to make stuff up in his biography and won't be the last either.

[Zamboni]

BTG had his issues and flaws …

but I’ll tell you what… if my GM was acquiring contracts without knowing every nuance and syllable and not understanding every single clause to that contract. Then being surprised at some clause that kicks in and not being able to explain it to the owner… BTG had every right to be pissed… I know I would be. Not over spending the money. But over not having the knowledge of a clause when acquiring the contract to begin with.

 

He really screwed up that whole Drury thing. My god that was bad. He really was wise with Not selling to Bastille and Hamister.

Edited July 12, 2022 by Zamboni

[Porous Five Hole]

13 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Not surprising he would claim no deal was ever reached w/ Drury, but it wasn't a BN columnist who was the source of the story that a deal was agreed to then sat on BTG's desk unsigned until Drury finally backed out of it.

But he's not the 1st to make stuff up in his biography and won't be the last either.

You’re saying he’s lying about Drury not agreeing to a deal?

[TheAud]

40 minutes ago, woods-racer said:

He made his money in the check cashing business. Cashed checks and made a lot of money doing it to the people that could least afford it and then got lucky when he took a chance on a hockey team. He is what he is. OSP sums him up.

Just to provide an alternate view:

Paychex provides back-office operations for companies that are too small to justify creating their own AP, AR, etc. functions themselves when it's more cost efficient to outsource them. 

Buying a bankrupt asset and selling it when fortunes have turned is often called savvy business acumen. 

I know the guy is a bit of a pompous a-hole but I also see his name on various Children's hospitals in Upstate NY, so there is that. 

[Taro T]

16 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

You’re saying he’s lying about Drury not agreeing to a deal?

He's telling the story in a manner that is different than what was told by multiple reliable sources at the time.  (None of which were columnists for the local newspaper.)  A deal was worked out for 5 years at ~$5.3/yr in October.  It sat waiting for weeks on some recent author's desk for approval.  By the time approval was finally granted, the other party suggested they table it until after the season.  So, while what he said may be technically accurate from a certain point of view (it's too late in the evening to parse his exact wording & as such will give him the benefit of the doubt), it is neglecting a HUGE component as to why the deal wasn't formalized.

[Porous Five Hole]

1 minute ago, Taro T said:

He's telling the story in a manner that is different than what was told by multiple reliable sources at the time.  (None of which were columnists for the local newspaper.)  A deal was worked out for 5 years at ~$5.3/yr in October.  It sat waiting for weeks on some recent author's desk for approval.  By the time approval was finally granted, the other party suggested they table it until after the season.  So, while what he said may be technically accurate from a certain point of view (it's too late in the evening to parse his exact wording & as such will give him the benefit of the doubt), it is neglecting a HUGE component as to why the deal wasn't formalized.

Thank you for responding.
I’m not asking who your sources are…but I am curious, if you’re comfortable, with their line of work? Team source, media source, agent source, or something else?

The long-told story is what you’re insinuating, but the horse’s mouth says otherwise. And that is what got me curious. 

[SDS]

Just now, Porous Five Hole said:

Thank you for responding.
I’m not asking who your sources are…but I am curious, if you’re comfortable, with their line of work? Team source, media source, agent source, or something else?

The long-told story is what you’re insinuating, but the horse’s mouth says otherwise. And that is what got me curious. 

 

5 minutes ago, Taro T said:

He's telling the story in a manner that is different than what was told by multiple reliable sources at the time.  (None of which were columnists for the local newspaper.)  A deal was worked out for 5 years at ~$5.3/yr in October.  It sat waiting for weeks on some recent author's desk for approval.  By the time approval was finally granted, the other party suggested they table it until after the season.  So, while what he said may be technically accurate from a certain point of view (it's too late in the evening to parse his exact wording & as such will give him the benefit of the doubt), it is neglecting a HUGE component as to why the deal wasn't formalized.

I have heard this exact story from a looong time employee who still works there. 

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

Thank you for responding.
I’m not asking who your sources are…but I am curious, if you’re comfortable, with their line of work? Team source, media source, agent source, or something else?

The long-told story is what you’re insinuating, but the horse’s mouth says otherwise. And that is what got me curious. 

2 separate sources each w/ a direct connection to a different person at the time in the organization.

[Stoner]

Lol. Taro knows more than the owner. Of course Tom is lying. He has to be. Otherwise Taro is full of it, and that's not possible.

[Weave]

Even in his own words Golisano comes off as an ass.

[inkman]

26 minutes ago, Weave said:

Even in his own words Golisano comes off as an ass.

Quite the feat 

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

8 hours ago, woods-racer said:

I'm surprised anyone would actually read a book about him.

8 hours ago, Taro T said:

But he's not the 1st to make stuff up in his biography and won't be the last either.

8 hours ago, Zamboni said:

He really screwed up that whole Drury thing.

8 hours ago, Sakman said:

I know the guy is a bit of a pompous a-hole

7 hours ago, Taro T said:

He's telling the story in a manner that is different than what was told by multiple reliable sources at the time.

58 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Of course Tom is lying.

26 minutes ago, Weave said:

Even in his own words Golisano comes off as an ass.

You can complain about him all you want, but if he didn't step up to the plate and by the team in 2003 there would be no "Buffalo" Sabres today.

[inkman]

Sit in silence in a meeting for 45 minutes?  That is pure psychopath behavior.  

[TheAud]

8 minutes ago, inkman said:

Sit in silence in a meeting for 45 minutes?  That is pure psychopath behavior.  

Agree, but do you think there's a chance he's exaggerating in the retelling of the story? My impression from the brief parts posted are that it's one of those directionally correct autobiographies rife with inaccurate details, exaggerations, and outright whoppers. I bet it was less than 5 minutes but felt like 45 for the people sweating out it out in front of a pissed off boss. 

It's funny though my first reaction was not that Golisano was a psycho (although in retrospect if it really was 45 minutes, he was a psycho) it was that here was another example of Regier being spineless.  If the other facts of the story are true, he obviously screwed up. Just admit it, take your lumps and move on for crying out loud. Or, if you think otherwise, tell the boss he's wrong and why. But being the GM and just sitting there in silence is weak.  

[Doohicksie]

I've seen OSP (Ol' Sugar Packets, a reference to his miserly ways), but that's the first time I've seen his initials (BTG).  I had no idea who you were talking about at first.

Edited July 12, 2022 by Doohickie

[SDS]

16 minutes ago, Sakman said:

Agree, but do you think there's a chance he's exaggerating in the retelling of the story? My impression from the brief parts posted are that it's one of those directionally correct autobiographies rife with inaccurate details, exaggerations, and outright whoppers. I bet it was less than 5 minutes but felt like 45 for the people sweating out it out in front of a pissed off boss. 

It's funny though my first reaction was not that Golisano was a psycho (although in retrospect if it really was 45 minutes, he was a psycho) it was that here was another example of Regier being spineless.  If the other facts of the story are true, he obviously screwed up. Just admit it, take your lumps and move on for crying out loud. Or, if you think otherwise, tell the boss he's wrong and why. But being the GM and just sitting there in silence is weak.  

How do you decide which details are fantasy and which details are real?

[triumph_communes]

He knows he can rewrite history with a book. Anyone who knows the real truth won’t be around in too long to correct the print anymore. 

[Porous Five Hole]

22 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I've seen OSP (Ol' Sugar Packets, a reference to his miserly ways), but that's the first time I've seen his initials (BTG).  I had no idea who you were talking about at first.

Yea, I’m in ROC and it is probably more well known here…

[SwampD]

Is there a chapter devoted to what really went down with those dang geese?

[Porous Five Hole]

4 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Is there a chapter devoted to what really went down with those dang geese?

Oh I think you know 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

He is okay in my books, warts and freakiness and all, just because he literally saved the Sabres.