Delete This Account

ricojes: Let me extend to you my sincerest apology as, after a while of re-reading the T.O. twitter thread in question, and your responses, I have now figured out what you were attempting to do and have come to the realization that you meant no real harm. Though your approach was faulty -- in your response you inserted an "Edit" tag atop my original post and then added the word "all" -- I should not have over-reacted the way I did. I am truly sorry. In the future, however, I'd appreciate if you didn't change what I've written as it is easy to miscomprehend your intention. John Wawrow.

damn, i've spent 46 years and counting with this handle ... guilty as charged jw

i don't mind, especially if i'm the one they're talking to ... if i recall correctly, Darcy made several references to the NHL keeping close tabs on both Connolly and Afinogenov's health, and were taking great strides to ensure that the Sabres did not fudge to get around the cap. for what it's worth, Darcy acknowledged they realize there was a calculated risk involved. i think a lot of people were surprised by what happened. drury, however, rejected several requests to talk about this issue with me. jw

i'm still here. i kid benigni about that "posted by ..." stuff all the time: `i spend 2 hours writing something up and it takes you 30 seconds to post it.' it's no biggie, and it's an AP member or subscriber's right to do so. but always glad to be recognized. ... though this might explain how erynthered missed me ... jw

he also had a show on the team's radio affiliate, one of which proved memorable, as you might recall. jw

it was close, but i'll argue that it was also fair because it would have been wrong to allow Tom Golisano's words to hang there without perspective or counterpoint. and the facts outlined were the counterpoint -- the team waited until the final week to make serious offers to either player, which begs the question how much did they want them as the owner stated? and i think that is what separates any publication/wire service etc. from a p.r. service. though i'll happily talk to people and quote them fairly and objectively, it's also my responsibility to ensure that it jibes with what has taken place and what i or the public commonly know to be fact. this also goes to the point of what we're taught -- and i'm speaking generally not specifically to the Sabres or Golisano or anyone else here -- to write with informed confidence. if someone tells a lie, and it's proven to be a lie, then we should write that "so-and-so lied" without having to pussyfoot around it by adding, "critics say," or "critics accuse." it's no different than me writing as i did in my piece today about Edwards, that he had a terrible four-game stretch last season after the win over San Diego. oh, and one more thing, since i believe this is a Bills-related board: Mr. Donahoe also declined to talk to me during his final season with the bills. jw

i think -- hope at least -- i asked many of the same questions that any other reporter would've asked Larry. and i spoke to Golisano after the first of the two-part Robitaille piece. keep in mind, they didn't call me. i called them. Golisano acknowledged to me the Sabres could've been proactive. and then he said he was impressed with the young core of his team. that's what i reported. i then wrote this: ¶ Golisano has been blamed for the team's woes, and also knocked for making far fewer public appearances then he did when the Sabres were winning. ¶ It doesn't help that he hasn't addressed the reasons behind the Sabres lack of foresight in failing to lock both Drury and Briere _ the team's two unquestioned leaders _ into long-term contracts long before they were eligible to become free agents. ¶ "You know, we probably could have," Golisano said. But he then defended the decisions by arguing that re-signing one or both to lucrative deals would have severely limited the Sabres from signing other players because of salary-cap constraints. ¶ "I don't know if that would've served us well," Golisano said. "With the benefit of hindsight, I think we did the best that we could actually do. Everybody's making a big deal of it, like we arbitrarily decided that we weren't going to take these players. That's all wrong. We wanted to keep both of them." ¶ If that's the case, the Sabres went about it in strange fashion. They made few if any attempts to re-sign both when they had a chance a year earlier. They also refused to negotiate with them during the last half of the season and, instead, waited until the final week before free agency began to make them offers. ..." i hope that you weren't inferring that The AP is a p.r. service, because we most certainly are not. i also hope that because The AP has a reputation for being fair, that that is why many athletes/executives/etc. choose to talk to us. and that, by no means is to suggest that other publications, including The Buffalo News, are unfair, because i have the utmost respect for the people that work there. jw

apology now accepted. jw

i think your ignore's not working, since you're still reading what i'm posting. ... but good luck with that. jw

they also talked to the CBC, from what i recall. with all due respect, i don't know if i was ever caught in the middle of any situation. i was simply attempting to do my job by asking questions and reporting on the answers i got, while adding what perspective i had to be fair. i understand the frustrations of Sabres fans, and i think i've written on numerous occasions that the team's troubles over the past few years stem in many ways from losing Drury and Briere to free agency. and, to be fair, i do not agree with your reference to Larry Quinn. that does not mean you don't have a right to your opinion. i just don't agree with it. jw

if by ignore, that means you'll stop altering my posts, then i'm all for it. ignore away. as for childish name-calling: to be shameless, means that a person lacks a sense of shame, guilt or knowing that you have done something wrong. that applies aptly to what you did. you acknowledged that you did something wrong, but justified it as being `lazy,' and that, well, 'everyone does it.' a weasel is a carnivorous mammal with white or yellowish (i prefer the latter here) underparts; and also can be applied to someone who is, according to Merriam-Webster, "sneaky, untrustworthy or insincere." i think i've covered the bases here. jw RETRACTED.

yes, one of them involves shameless weasels such as yourself. jw RETRACTED.

shameless weasel. jw ADD: and thanks lori for the defense. however, let's for a moment forget what Tim and i do for a living. there is no defense for what "ricojes" did, whether it was to me, Tim, a first-time poster or to you. he/she seems to have some knowledge of that, not enough to be smart about it though. RETRACTED.

Hey: I would strongly suggest that when copying my post in your response that you do NOT change it by adding in a word, thus altering the meaning of what I wrote. I did not write "all." You inserted it. And that's plain wrong. My post read: jw

this might shed light on your question see third graf. jw

maybe it was because of the 18 other t.o. threads currently on the go, but it does appear that you're slipping. ... jw

why you! ... i take offense to that remark and let me list the number of reasons why ... uh, oh, waitaminute ... jw

one question: how can the coverage of the latest house-hunting tweet be considered as negative? t.o. tweeted something. several boards, including this one, picked up on it, and that was followed up by the media. owens then didn't hide from what he posted, or duck questions about it. and he didn't really pop off on anyone on the bills or buffalo for that matter, simply taking an amusing dig or two at the real estate agent. and yet this is somehow considered "negative" coverage? jw

but didn't you contend that the number of canadians attending games was likely half of 10,000? jw

from my discussions with wood so far, his visit should go over well. good kid. outgoing personality. jw

you're right on making a case on that point. no argument here. i would disagree with your suggestion of the interest in the bills in toronto being "miniscule." the bills are not off the radar in toronto, they are just regarded in a different fashion than what is traditionally a "home" team in my opinion. then again, with the high cost of tickets, this game in toronto seemed to be marketed the wrong way, as an event, rather than a "bills event." and that's why i ran into numerous people attending the game who had traveled from far and wide -- nova scotia to miami -- to "be there." so pricing and marketing and the "uniqueness" of this first-time event have to be included into the equation. as for pegging the actual number of canadians at the Ralph, well, the 15,000 i was given was an average. don't know about the piece in The Star and won't dispute it either as it's a very good publication. jw

thanks, folks, and noted. i'll resist the urge to say anything more in regards to the coincidences noted above. as for the 15,000 number i got was one provided by Bills. also consider that Sabres estimate 15-20 percent of their house is also Canadian, so it's in the same ballpark, so to speak. jw ADD: should be noted that in my experience, not all canadians attending games are "bills fans," some are fans of the other team, others here for the experience. so Mr. Weo's claim that there weren't many bills fans at game in toronto is a little specious, especially this claim that there are more fans from pittsburgh and cleveland than from canada. how can anyone tell? heck, who knows if half the browns fans at RWS are from canada. can't prove it one way or another, really. so it's a little over-eager to come to any conclusions on toronto fan interest or canadians attending games at RWS, i think.

he says he got the information from his trusted body guard Pablo and his own real estate agent. extras at the airport, i'm told, were NOT hired. home owner does not deny the incident, home owner's real estate agent does. jw ADD: and Lori beat me to it. little slow today, i guess.

i'll get right on it. hey, Tim, there's a place I know of at 1 Deer Run in OP ....

hate to burst your conspiracy bubbles, but both your links reference the same AP story. don't see how the news or coverage was harmful to the bills or t.o. in fact, he relished the opportunity to speak about it post-practice. also, let me point out, members of this board were among the first to discuss owens' twitter post before anyone in the media reported it, so there was interest in this already. jw ... a.k.a. "another schmuck."