GOLISANO dined with BRANDON and QUINN was there!!!!

[swiper]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Thomas Golisano emerges as potential Bills buyer

Posted by Mike Florio on May 4, 2014, 12:47 PM EDT
http://nbcprofootballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/golisano.jpg?w=215
AP
Without identifying a potential buyer, theAssociated Press has reported that the Bills could be sold by July (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/05/04/report-bills-could-be-sold-by-july/). Without identifying a potential timetable for the transaction, the Buffalo News reports that the Bills could be sold to B. Thomas Golisano (http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/golisano-and-brandon-have-dinner-as-intrigue-over-bills-ownership-grows-20140503).

According to Robert J. McCarthy of the Buffalo News, Golisano dined on Thursday night with Bills CEO Russ Brandon. Larry Quinn, who served as managing partner of the Buffalo Sabres when Golisano owned the local NHL franchise, also attended.

Golisano reportedly has expressed “serious interest” in buying the team.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/05/04/thomas-golisano-emerges-as-potential-bills-buyer/

[stuckincincy]

They had pasta fazool !

[THRILLHO]

Airport sighting or it didn't happen.

[swiper]

Not the pasta fazool!

[YardRat]

This is going to be too funny.

Some wished the Sabres got a new owner with deep pockets...and their wish was granted...and now the team is a laughingstock.
The same people wished Wilson no longer owned the team, some even being so bold as wishing death to come sooner rather than later...and Ralph passed...they get their wish, again...and now the team is going end up in the hands of a Trump, or being run by a Quinn...or worse.

Be careful what you wish for.

[BLeonard]

This is going to be too funny.

Some wished the Sabres got a new owner with deep pockets...and their wish was granted...and now the team is a laughingstock.
The same people wished Wilson no longer owned the team, some even being so bold as wishing death to come sooner rather than later...and Ralph passed...they get their wish, again...and now the team is going end up in the hands of a Trump, or being run by a Quinn...or worse.

Be careful what you wish for.

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-Bill

[BillsImpossible]

I don't know if this is true or not, but I think Russ Brandon was left with partial ownership of the team in Ralph's will.

If that is true, then Russ Brandon is essentially in charge of choosing who he (and Mary Wilson, Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly) wants to be the next majority owner of the Bills.

What's wrong with Golisano? I don't know much about him other than he used to own the Sabres, was born in Rochester and started Paychex.

[DetDannyWilliams]

When Golisano bought the Sabres out of bankruptcy he said in his introductory press conference that he knew nothing about hockey he hadn't even been to a game even with the Rochester Americans in the same city as his company that he founded (Paychex). I'm shure that he has seen NFL games though and in an interview he said that he played football in college. I also remember reading somewhere that he was invited to a NY Giants game and sat in Mara's box sometime before Mara passed on, Mara was also from Rochester. Also in the Sabres 40th anniversary book it shows a picture of Golisano and Jimbo at the Winter Classic shaking hands.

[Goobylal]

When Golisano bought the Sabres out of bankruptcy he said in his introductory press conference that he knew nothing about hockey he hadn't even been to a game even with the Rochester Americans in the same city as his company that he founded (Paychex). I'm shure that he has seen NFL games though and in an interview he said that he played football in college. I also remember reading somewhere that he was invited to a NY Giants game and sat in Mara's box sometime before Mara passed on, Mara was also from Rochester. Also in the Sabres 40th anniversary book it shows a picture of Golisano and Jim Kelly at the Winter Classic shaking hands.
I did not know that Wellington Mara was from Rochester. Interesting and thanks.

[DetDannyWilliams]

I did not know that Wellington Mara was from Rochester. Interesting and thanks.

Mara was born in Rochester, New York (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester,_New_York), the son of Elizabeth "Lizette" (née Barclay), a homemaker, and Timothy James Mara (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Mara).[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_Mara#cite_note-nytimes63-1) He was an alumnus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumnus) of Loyola School (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyola_School_(United_States)) and Fordham University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordham_University), both New York City (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City) Jesuit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuit) schools.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_Mara

[Turf]

Golisano and Quinn are the two geniuses that decided to let Drury and Briere walk, ruining the franchise for the sake of money. How do you suppose they will be with NFL free agency? I think they are they are worse possible choice.

[Luisito23]

I remember people here saying how they wished Golisano was the Bills' owner...Well, they might get their wish after all.

[DetDannyWilliams]

Golisano was also a bidder for the LA Dogers


Golisano made a bid for the bankrupt Los Angeles Dodgers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Dodgers) franchise in early 2012;[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Golisano#cite_note-6) but his group was eventually outbid by a consortium led by Magic Johnson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Johnson) and the Guggenheim Partners (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guggenheim_Partners).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Golisano

[better days]

Golisano and Quinn are the two geniuses that decided to let Drury and Briere walk, ruining the franchise for the sake of money. How do you suppose they will be with NFL free agency? I think they are they are worse possible choice.

I seem to remember a lot of Sabres fans were happy they let Drury & Briere walk.

[Turf]

I seem to remember a lot of Sabres fans were happy they let Drury & Briere walk.

I can't say I know one.

[BertSquirtgum]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/05/04/thomas-golisano-emerges-as-potential-bills-buyer/

I'll be happy with anyone who buys the team and keeps them in western new york.

[Goobylal]

Golisano and Quinn are the two geniuses that decided to let Drury and Briere walk, ruining the franchise for the sake of money. How do you suppose they will be with NFL free agency? I think they are they are worse possible choice.
Actually it was Regier. And Drury was pretty much done by then.

[Skooby]

Quinn is obviously still in the mix for facilitating deals for TG.

[BillsImpossible]

Golisano is, "only," worth $1.9 billion.

If the Bills are sold to the, "highest bidder," then almost half of Golisano's net worth is on the line.

Terry Pegula has about $1 billion more leverage than Golisano does.

But politically speaking, Golisano could have the upper hand.

Pegula isn't a politician. Neither is Jeremy Jacobs.

It's not what you know, or how much money one has....

It's always who you know that matters most.

[coastal]

They had pasta fazool !
Santasiero's is the best place in the whole wide world for that.

[sudzy]

Golisano buying this team is the best thing that could happen to Brandon. Tom will run it like a business. More worried about keeping the team in the green then wins and loses. Brandon is a salesman that has proven to be great at selling mediocrity.

[TacklingDummy]

Golisano buying this team is the best thing that could happen to Brandon. Tom will run it like a business. More worried about keeping the team in the green then wins and loses. Brandon is a salesman that has proven to be great at selling mediocrity.

How the Sabres doing without Golisano as owner?

[BertSquirtgum]

How the Sabres doing without Golisano as owner?

I was surprised it took someone so long to say this. At least the Sabres made the playoffs when Golisano was the owner. Numerous times.

[Turf]

Actually it was Regier. And Drury was pretty much done by then.

No one can ever prove that. That's not the general consensus.

[Goobylal]

No one can ever prove that. That's not the general consensus.
Sure it's the general consensus. Regier was the GM and Golisano let him run things. And he's never said that he was told to let Briere and Drury walk.

[Turf]

Sure it's the general consensus. Regier was the GM and Golisano let him run things. And he's never said that he was told to let Briere and Drury walk.

Wow you're quick. The money made the decision, not the GM trying to keep his job. The painter wasn't holding the paint brush. Mean anything to you? Not only that, outside of a strictly money position, which Regier didn't give a **** about, it made zero send to dismantle a dream team outside of money. And the money was Golisano and Quinn. If you think otherwise you're mistaken.

[swiper]

Yeah. The general consensus was that Quinn nixed that deal. That's why he was so hated in Buffalo. Twice. Don't want that guy in any way involved with the Buffalo Bills.

[trapezeus]

i'd rather have pegula with the league worst sabres on the upswing and willing to change with murray and the development of harbor center than have golisano sticking with his tried and true (quinn and reiger) trying to skimi pennies off the top.

I don't know of a single sabre fan that liked drury and briere leaving, better days.

and the reason quinn was really hated was that in the middle of that season they could have signed both guys for less but the sabres took some insane policy where they don't deal with their two superstars in the middle of a season. as a result, they played lights out and worked their way to free agency. Also quinn didn't care if briere came back so long as drury came back first. And today, drury is done and briere is still playing playoff hockey.

[kishoph]

I'm thinking that Golisano and the group of Bills that have expressed interest in buying the team, may be part of the same group. I know a lot of people connected Kelly to Trump, but I have never heard anything to confirm that, I think it was people assuming there was a partnership between the two because of their friendship.

[Historian]

Comical...Russ is already kissing people's asses to prevent getting canned...

[chernobylwraiths]

Don't care who owns the Bills, but if Golisano buys them and puts Quinn in a high ranking position, it would not make a lot of local fans happy.

[trapezeus]

Don't care who owns the Bills, but if Golisano buys them and puts Quinn in a high ranking position, it would not make a lot of local fans happy.

although, mathematically, it must be impossible to be that clueless across two organizations for more than 10 years, no?

famous last words of buffalo fans.

[OpIv37]

I seem to remember a lot of Sabres fans were happy they let Drury & Briere walk.

Most people accepted the reality that we would have to lose one of them because of the cap. No one wanted to let both go and no one was happy when it happened.

In fact, because we lost both of those guys, the FO (still under Golisano) felt compelled to match the offer sheet the Oilers gave to Vanek. So, instead of getting 4 first round draft picks starting in 2007 and potentially being an NHL powerhouse, we suffered through 4 years of mediocrity followed by this cluster**** of a season and are just starting a rebuild that will take 4-5 years.

This is just one example of epic mismanagement by Golisano and crew. Let's not forget how long he left Ruff and Regier in place despite spotty records.

The only good thing about Golisano is that he definitely won't move the team, but he will absolutely be Ralph II.

[kishoph]

Comical...Russ is already kissing people's asses to prevent getting canned...

It may well be the opposite of that, we don't know how much power Brandon has, Mary Wilson may have left a lot of the decision making as far as the sale to Brandon. It's not like the team doesn't have an owner right now, it is still Mrs. Wilson's team.

[Turf]

Most people accepted the reality that we would have to lose one of them because of the cap. No one wanted to let both go and no one was happy when it happened.

In fact, because we lost both of those guys, the FO (still under Golisano) felt compelled to match the offer sheet the Oilers gave to Vanek. So, instead of getting 4 first round draft picks starting in 2007 and potentially being an NHL powerhouse, we suffered through 4 years of mediocrity followed by this cluster**** of a season and are just starting a rebuild that will take 4-5 years.

This is just one example of epic mismanagement by Golisano and crew. Let's not forget how long he left Ruff and Regier in place despite spotty records.

The only good thing about Golisano is that he definitely won't move the team, but he will absolutely be Ralph II.

I fear Quinn and Golisano will make Ralph look like a wild owner on a spending spree. Those two will only be in it for the profits. I would rather have a crazy owner like Trump come in who wants to try and win, rather than the penny pinching accountants.

[Goobylal]

Wow you're quick. The money made the decision, not the GM trying to keep his job. The painter wasn't holding the paint brush. Mean anything to you? Not only that, outside of a strictly money position, which Regier didn't give a **** about, it made zero send to dismantle a dream team outside of money. And the money was Golisano and Quinn. If you think otherwise you're mistaken.


Yeah. The general consensus was that Quinn nixed that deal. That's why he was so hated in Buffalo. Twice. Don't want that guy in any way involved with the Buffalo Bills.
Regier opened negotiations with Briere days before he signed with Philly, but Briere left because he felt slighted. As for Drury, he told the team he wasn't returning and again, was no major loss.

And the ultimate proof is what Regier did, or more precisely didn't do, with Pegula's money.

[swiper]

Regier opened negotiations with Briere days before he signed with Philly, but Briere left because he felt slighted. As for Drury, he told the team he wasn't returning and again, was no major loss.

And the ultimate proof is what Regier did, or more precisely didn't do, with Pegula's money.

Drury and Briere admitted that they would both stay in Buffalo if the Sabres agreed to keep them both. The Sabres decided they wanted to go after one, perhaps, and would sign both. So they left.

[swiper]

The big question is whether the Sabres will get similar rebates from Drury and Briere, each projected to command a minimum US$6 million salary should they hit the market.Quinn allayed fears by announcing the team is budgeting an increase in payroll. Last season, Buffalo spent up to the NHL's $44 million salary cap, which is projected to rise by about $5 million next year.

What's not clear is how far the Sabres are willing to go to re-sign one or both players.

Drury, who set career highs with 37 goals and 69 points, made $3.15 million last season. Briere, who led Buffalo in scoring in the regular season with 95 points and playoffs with 15 points, is coming off a $5-million, one-year deal he earned in arbitration.

Regier said he's had preliminary contact with representatives for both players, but wasn't making any promises.
"There's a lot of things at play," he said. "We'll get into that and see where it goes."

Regier added that the Sabres probably won't have any chance of re-signing either player if negotiations go past the start of free agency.

Sabres re-sign Lindy Ruff, Darcy Regier; Drury and Briere next step (http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/4444-Sabres-resign-Lindy-Ruff-Darcy-Regier-Drury-and-Briere-next-step.html)

[swiper]

How the Sabres doing without Golisano as owner?

Golisano was owner during the last time Regier had the team riding high. He was also blamed for letting the team to suddenly fall into a hole. This, of course, surrounding the loss of Briere an Drury. Some blame Regier. Some Quinn and Golisano. The known fact was that Regier had a personal rule that he wouldn't negotiate early with players. He should have with at those two players.

[OpIv37]

How the Sabres doing without Golisano as owner?

a) they are still paying for mistakes under Golisano. The biggest mistake Pegula made was sticking with Regier and his core group of losers for too long- he believed the Golisano kool-aid like a lot of fans did. Oh, and Ville Leino.

b) Pegula being a bad owner doesn't make Golisano a good one.

The Sabres had two good seasons under Golisano. The rest of his tenure was marred in the same type of mediocrity we've seen from the Bills for the same penny-pinching reasons. Yeah the Sabres have done far better in terms of making the playoffs, but it's much easier to make it in hockey than football- 30 teams competing for 16 slots vs 32 teams competing for 12 slots.

[OpIv37]

Regier opened negotiations with Briere days before he signed with Philly, but Briere left because he felt slighted. As for Drury, he told the team he wasn't returning and again, was no major loss.

And the ultimate proof is what Regier did, or more precisely didn't do, with Pegula's money.

Saying Drury was no major loss is hindsight though. He was an important part of the team and a coveted FA that year. No one knew he was washed up at the time.

[Fletch]

This is going to be too funny.

Some wished the Sabres got a new owner with deep pockets...and their wish was granted...and now the team is a laughingstock.
The same people wished Wilson no longer owned the team, some even being so bold as wishing death to come sooner rather than later...and Ralph passed...they get their wish, again...and now the team is going end up in the hands of a Trump, or being run by a Quinn...or worse.

Be careful what you wish for.

Things sure weren't working with Wilson as the owner, but as you say, if the new owner is just as clueless, then it won't matter.

Not so much a question of what one wishes for, we're all "wishing for" competence in the front office which would have a cascading affect on the coaching staff and roster.

But as you say, simple "change" does not always usher in that desired result.

I suppose that it's a catch-22 of sorts. If someone like Golisano were to buy the team, he might be prone to leaving all of the regional and friends & family people in place, which wouldn't result in much of a change. But hey, Buffalo seems to spawn that small-time thinking and loyalty to the locals more than it does bringing in qualified and formerly successful types to actually run things.

There's nothing that we can do but wait, but if the new owner leaves the front office in place, and Brandon in there, what reason is there to think that anything's going to change, there wouldn't be any if a new owner simply does the same thing as the old owner.

Not following the Sabers very much, what did he do with them, did he clean house in the organization, or did he leave everyone in place and simply become the new owner?

[Forward_Lateral]

Saying Drury was no major loss is hindsight though. He was an important part of the team and a coveted FA that year. No one knew he was washed up at the time.

One could argue that the Sabres brass did.

[OpIv37]

One could argue that the Sabres brass did.

No they didn't. They just got lucky.

If they had a laundry list of good personnel decisions I'd give them the benefit of the doubt on this one, but after that happened they gave us 5 years of mediocrity before getting fired. No one could be that smart on Drury and that dumb on pretty much everything else.

[User Manuel]

Say what you want about Quinn. The man knows how to get a building done. Might actually be the right guy for the new stadium....just saying.

[OpIv37]

Say what you want about Quinn. The man knows how to get a building done. Might actually be the right guy for the new stadium....just saying.

I'd rather have a good team that plays in a ****ty building than a ****ty team that plays in a good building. Just sayin'

[Goobylal]

Drury and Briere admitted that they would both stay in Buffalo if the Sabres agreed to keep them both. The Sabres decided they wanted to go after one, perhaps, and would sign both. So they left.
Word is Drury told management right after the season ended he was done. And again, Regier took the team to the bottom of the NHL despite all of Pegula's money.

Saying Drury was no major loss is hindsight though. He was an important part of the team and a coveted FA that year. No one knew he was washed up at the time.

One could argue that the Sabres brass did.
This. Maybe they got lucky, maybe they didn't.

[BertSquirtgum]

I'd rather have a good team that plays in a ****ty building than a ****ty team that plays in a good building. Just sayin'

I'd rather have both.

[OpIv37]

This is what matters: the new owner HAS to fire Brandon, Overdorf, Littman and anyone else who had a hand in this cluster**** (I'll give Whaley a pass since he hasn't even had a full draft and off-season to himself yet).

Otherwise, you will see a carbon copy of what happened with the Sabres. The new owner changed spending habits but the results are the same. The Bills' brass doesn't know how to build a football team. They know how to do two things: run a profitable business and convince fans to keep paying for an inferior product.

The reason Ralph turned the team over to Brandon is because Brandon runs the team exactly like Ralph did. Nothing will change until he and his lackeys are gone.

[BLeonard]

The more I'm reading and learning, it sounds more and more like Littmann is really just associated with the Bills due to him being Ralph's "money" man. In other words, he's Ralph's CFO and the title of "Bills CFO" is more by proxy, as he is the CFO of all of Wilson's financial holdings, which happens to include the Bills...

In short, once the Bills are sold, I think Littmann will not really need to be "fired," per se, as Wilson's estate's involvement with the Bills will be ended.

I have to think, regardless, any new owner will very likely want "his guys" in positions such as CEO and CFO and perhaps all the way down to the janitor. In any event, I expect at least Brandon and Littmann to be gone... Overdorf might survive initially, but likely with considerable less power and on a much shorter leash than he has currently.

-Bill