May Day 10

The 1998 thing was scary, but I remember the business community rallying together to try to find others to pledge to fill the boxes. Maybe Brandon was behind that, but he was still a hungry marketing exec trying to carve a name and career for himself. 20 years later is a much different animal. You also had Flutie-mania pop up at the time. Most people then credited that for the uptick in sales.

Suggesting that he steered the bidding process toward the Pegulas blows all credibility of anything else said. $1.4 Billion dollars cash steered the bidding process toward the Pegulas.

Russ Brandon brings out the worst in people. He is like the slime in Ghostbusters 2

He is a guy who has been successful because of a supreme level of focus and dedication (and cheating). I cant help but think that these thoughts being made public are a pretty strong sign that the concentration and dedication is now being eroded. Maybe he flips a switch when training camp opens and is in it 100%. If things dont go great for the Pats this season, I could really see him hang them up.

People really take to the "fire and brimstone" policy

Why not just get rid of him then, like they did with Ted Black, LaFontaine, etc? Why the need to search for warts in the organization? It seems they needed to investigate, found stuff, found other stuff (which was alluded to in the AP report), he lied to their faces, and it was enough to pressure him into resigning.

I always felt that the Toronto thing was basically a deal between Wilson and Rogers, initiated by Ted Rogers who had plans to purchase and move the Bills once Mr Wilson passed away. Wilson got a bag of money, and the NFL was pleased, as it increased the international market and also brought in money. The way Brandon would justify it and defend it came off very poorly to me.

Dont discount Brandon's role in the rift between him/whaley/marrone. Marrone wanted to modernize the organization, and pulled a power play to get things done his way. Whaley/Brandon wanted to keep their power/status quo. We would have had Polian as a consultant to build some of the front office including GM, with Marrone as a HC working with him. Instead we got a few years of a Whaley/Rex circus.

Im sure if it was two people courting one another and he bought someone flowers, it would have probably been permissible. Being married with kids, and also a repeat-offender shows that this likely wasnt the case. He also lied to the owners of the team.

If it moves anywhere, it will be to their home facilities when/if the new thing gets built.

Nope... not worth it. I can say that this has been going on to some degree since the early 00's and when he was Director of Marketing. Having gone unchecked, I could see it getting pretty bad while he ascended all the way to proxy-owner. When new bosses were in the building, he still couldn't help himself. We arent sure what was exactly done, but the Pegulas' trust seems to have been violated. It has to go a lot deeper than that judging by the 'tone' of the Pegulas' statement as well as the sudden 'voluntary' dismissal of the most senior exec. They should have knew better and cleaned house when they bought the team.

Every time he opened his mouth and spewed his "smart sounding" marketing 101 terms in his fake deep voice

Im sure the Bills' business side is going to plummet into smoldering ruins now

I have said it before, but got yelled down. Amongst other things, the guy is a sleeze (close second hand knowledge)

Any US team, save the Rangers would see the same ticketing trend with this much ineptitude. Most places it would be worse. with that said, the Sabres' market in 2003 was much different. They had trouble at the turnstiles even during the 90s with some real exciting teams. They sold out a bunch of games for the 98-2001 run, but their pants were pulled down when it was brought to light that Rigas would comp the heck out of tickets. "Crowds" during the bankrupcy seasons(s) were sparse. It wasnt Bettman being nice or doing us a favor though. As I explained, there were various tactical/strategic reasons and other motivations that caused that. I'm not a Bettman hater, really either, although I think the NHL desperately needs some new eyes at the steering wheel.

I could see the rock-head Giants thinking that Gronk would guarantee super bowls and gift them #2 for Gronk plus 1 or 2 1sts.

I dont think they would have done better. Picking 6th and adding 3 2nds, 2 of which in a very strong round was a huge win for them

Bettman certainly stood by buffalo. A lot of it was circumstance too. There are rumors that Jacobs forced him. Bettman also does not act autonomously. He is largely just a greaseman for the board of governors. Also I think there was some degree of loyalty that came from buffalo having opened a new arena not too long before. Most of the teams who were relocated were done so due to the lack of taxpayer funded arenas. Southern markets were actively offering sweetheart lease deals during the 90s, when it looked like the nhl was going to be in fashion. In 2003, there weren't a lot (any?) Southern markets offering arenas. Not a lot (any?) of potential owners offering top dollar to buy a team. It was the dead puck era, and 3/4 of the league was bleeding money. No promise of a shared television deal. The desired "footprint" in the us was largely fulfilled. There was also a long-feared collective bargaining "armageddon" in the near future. Salaries were getting out of whack, teams couldn't compete. The nhl was seeking cost certainty with a salary cap attached to league revenue. Buffalo is/was the poster child for the need for this. If they had an oil tycoon from Houston as opposed to golisano in buffalo, it could be one more owner to break rank to give in to the nhlpa,like what happened in the early 90s. If the owners gave in during the 04-05 stoppage, it would have been a disaster. Plus, if there happened to be a bidding war with a large price tag for an nhl team, that would have hurt the NHL's doom and gloom position at the bargaining table

Does anyone else thing it is a strange and bad idea that "Riverfront Auto Sales" has decided to advertise using "Frankie the Finance Guy" who is made to sound like a characture of the most slippery mafioso ever heard? While promising credit approval for financing for everyone?

There is no way in H that the nhl wanted McDavid on Edmonton. It was a nightmare scenario. It was McDavid's last choice as well because he had a personal beef with the oilers' owner. Pretty much any other destination would be more favorable. You could be even read the disgusted look on Daly's face when it happened.

What if he had 2 children who are black??

He probably will turn up in someone's personnel department

I like what I see about this guy. Loved the poncho billa thing. Wonderful

His mouth is already going too far. Our fan base (and media) would not have been a good fit

I don't think people really get that passionate about pro football there to make it as much as a poop-storm. I think he would actually get more crap if he pulled the anti-Trump bit in Buffalo than he would in Arizona. Less of an extreme microscope there, and our fans create and hold grudges (and pile on) When he gets booed and has a smarmy remark after the game, it would be over