Lurker

Fun reading, in case you didn't see the post above... http://www.buffaloguild.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2016-Guild-Contract-.pdf

Nope. Article 5 of the Guild contract: Job Security http://www.buffaloguild.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2016-Guild-Contract-.pdf 1. There will be no discharge or dismissal except for just and sufficient cause. 4. The News will be the judge of the competence of all employees covered by this contract, provided this is not construed to take away the right of a discharged employee or the Guild to take up the merits of a competency discharge as provided in Article 17 (Grievance and Arbitration Article). Article 6—Dismissals to Reduce the Force 1. The News is responsible for controlling the size of its working force. Any dismissal to reduce the force will be only for economic reasons to remedy the stability of the newspaper. 2. All dismissals that may be necessary to reduce the force will be made in each job classification in reverse order of bargaining unit seniority. However, any employee dismissed from their classification may use their bargaining unit seniority to displace a less senior employee in another classification or group, which provides an equal or less rate of pay, if they are competent and able to perform the duties of such junior employee and if bumped to a job in the same group they will retain the same rate of pay and, if in a lower rated group, they will receive the maximum salary of that group or their present salary, whichever is less.

The Guild surely played a part in that as well...

Polian and Jerry had some epic battles...

Larry Felser and Jim Kelley covered just as many years of bad football and hockey and never "pulled a Sully." Maybe the success of snarky ESPN shows like PTI and Internet bomb throwers changed the columnist playbook. But both guys wrote themselves into a blind alley by pandering to the lowest common denomiinator of their readership, IMO...

Wanna bet?

Haven't seen it yet, and don't really plan to. The Disney acquisition has really turned me off. IMO, their focus is about sucking as much money as humanly possible from the franchise, with little interest in quality or fanbase sentiment. Lucus may have been a nutcase, but he was in it for the fans, not just the box office receipts...

Yep. IMO, neither guy had the ability to see, understand or provide substantive explanations / critiques of what took place on the field, rink, court etc. They were masters of the 'fan perspective' of b*tching and moaning and brought no real expertise on the sports they covered. The icing on the cake (especially with Sully) was the conceit that fans had short memories and would never remember what positions they took from season to season. Jerry would repeatedly beat the drum for the Bills doing [fill in blank] only to rail against it at a future date as "the worst decision ever!" That's a cop out, and it destroys whatever credibility the writer has with all but the bar stool fan base. Turning the columns over to eager young writers who want the job--not retired in place guys like Sully--will be a good thing and should find a receptive audience...

Our long regional nightmare is over! Thank you Josh Barnett! Best of luck with your recruitment of talented, motivated replacement(s) for this important position...

Subcriptions are only part of the daily readership. Newsbox and retail sales are also a large factor. https://www.statista.com/statistics/229549/readers-of-the-buffalo-news-bf-daily-edition/ "This statistic illustrates the number of Buffalo News readers (Buffalo) (daily edition) in the United States from spring 2008 to spring 2017. In spring 2017, the number of Buffalo News readers amounted to 0.46 million."

Lol. You take two examples out of a 40 year career to define the guy? Felser's body of work was exemplary and way better than anything published on the Snooze sports page today...

80...

I hate the PPP board, but Huh? Soros is the right's liberal boogie man. Sinclair is a conservative, pro-Trump company: https://www.vox.com/2018/4/3/17180020/sinclair-broadcast-group-conservative-trump-david-smith-local-news-tv-affiliate

To a degree. But as the signature columnists in the most important section of the paper, they have to be draws unto themselves as well. No different than the on-air talent at ESPN or guys like Peter King during his SI stint. Ratings and clicks matter. IMO, neither Sully or Bucky delivered on that mandate. These particular buyouts may be driven as much by house cleaning as cost cuts. I fully expect the BN to replace both guys and look for cost control elsewhere. These will be very important hires and Dunne and Fairburn would be very good gets IMO...

That's a post-Pardon the Interruption thing. OTOH, the best columnists bring something to the reader--inside info/comments, in-depth knowledge, historical context, humor, a unique perspective, contacts from outside the market. Mediocrities just provoke. Same goes for sports radio. And both ultimately become boring and shrill when their shtick wears out. I hope Josh Barnett takes this opportunity to restock the sports columnist ranks with bright, eager up-and-comers who will add to the reader experience rather than just yell "Fire!" in the theater or create personal axes to grind with management/ownership...

PPP? Sure does...

The problem is, Bucky and Sully never brought anything more to the table than any TSW poster could. Or, more frequently, any drunk on a barstool. Once upon a time, this town had HOF columnists like Jim Kelley, Larry Felser, Phil Ranello and sharp young guys like a Vic C (not the current version who's retiring in place since he came back to Buffalo). Those columnists had a deep knowledge of their sport, had contacts all over the league and could get insider stories that Bucky and Sully can only dream about. The old school columnists worked hard to get that kind of perspective, and reading them added value to the fan experience. The current BN guys never talk to anyone besides the voices in their head, fart out columns that make good bird cage liner and block slots that could go to hungrier, more talented younger writers...

All you need is one owner that can hold at least 30% of the equity in the team. Pittsburgh is one example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_Steelers#Ownership ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upon Dan Rooney's death in 2017, he and Art Rooney II retained control of the team with the league-minimum 30%, the following make up the other investors: Several other members of the Rooney family, including Art Rooney Jr., John Rooney, and the McGinley family, who are cousins to the Rooneys. Legendary Pictures president and CEO Thomas Tull.[22] The Robert A. Paul family of Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, which is primarily involved with Pittsburgh-based Ampco Pittsburgh Corporation as well as Morton's Restaurant Group, Urban Active Fitness, Meyer Products and Harley Marine Services. Additionally, family members serve on numerous boards, including Cornell University, UPMC, University of Pittsburgh, the American Red Cross, Harvard Medical School and the Loomis Chaffee School.[22] Former Steelers wide receiver John Stallworth, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[23] GTCR chairman Bruce V. Rauner.[23] The Peter Varischetti family of Brockway, Pennsylvania, which owns several nursing homes and a commercial real estatebusiness.[23] Paul Evanson, chairman, president, and CEO of Allegheny Energy.[24] Russ and Scott Swank of Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania.[25]

With nearly half a million daily readers? Not anytime soon, especially if they get their costs down with these buyouts. And it's a banner day with the Buckster moving on and rumors of Sully thinking about it...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2018/05/24/richie-incognito-altered-paranoid-state-police-responded/641380002/ Sounds reasonable to me... “There's a guy walking around with head phones on," Incognito said. "I'm running NSA class level 3 documents through my phone. I can't have anybody (with) bluetooth capability ... taking pictures of me."

Indeed...

The timing does seem odd...

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

http://buffalonews.com/2018/01/03/remembering-comeback-game-24-years-ago-today/ "Then the Bills ran out for the second half. On the fourth play from scrimmage, Reich’s pass went through the hands of tight end Keith McKeller to Houston’s Bubba McDowell, who returned it 58 yards for a touchdown."

You sound like a very bitter individual. Buffalo's got a lot going for it, not the least of which is the dying out of old school pessimism like this...