JohnC

The Pegulas own the business. They have plenty of professional staff to run the operation. They run it as they see fit.

Attached is a WGR 18 min. link with Chris Peters a ESPN draft analyst. He talks about the prospects in this draft and the prospects in the Sabres' system. He felt that where the Sabres are drafting they should come away with a good prospect. Although that prospect will not be immediately NHL ready. He commented that Cozens going back to the juniors last year enhanced his development. He felt that Cozens will be with the Sabres next season, assuming there is a season. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/04-15-espns-chris-peters

The associated businesses she is involved in is facing an economic freefall brought on by a once in a century health calamity that most sectors of the national and world economy are now being overwhelmed by. The energy sector, the hospitality sector, the airline sector, the real estate sector, the entertainment sector, the technology sector, the travel sector, the tourist sector etc are all being strangled. What she is doing as the head of a multi-faceted organization in retrenching due to shut downs and resulting dramatic drop in customers is the same thing the business leaders are doing in the other hard hit sectors. What else do you expect her to do? If you have some suggestions I would be interested to know.

Terry Pegula is a self-made billionaire who worked his way up and built his own business. He made a stupendous amount of money in the energy sector, and then started diversifying into the sports and hospitality business. It doesn't matter how benevolent of a boss you are. When you are forced to retrench by severely cutting your staff and employees in order to deal with an unexpected calamity you make tough, heart wrenching decisions in order to survive for the present to exist for the future. The Pegulas shouldn't be surprised that some of those workers who are affected by the cuts will be resentful. Their negative responses certainly are understandable. Their lives are upended in a time of few options. When you are the boss and have to make tough decisions the negative blowback goes with the territory. You can be the smartest business people in the world. When you don't have any options other than what you are doing then you do what you have to do. It's tough a tough time for everyone.

This guy is a ****head.

Every sector of the different businesses the Pegulas are involved in are in a depressed state. The energy sector is depressed. The hospitality sector that he diversified into is almost completely shuttered. Even his sport franchises (especially the hockey operation) are in a precarious financial state contending with the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus. The attached link of an article written by Stephanie Apstein for SI discusses the complications and challenges associated with playing pro sports in a virus environment. https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/04/10/sports-arent-coming-back-soon

Why would anyone be unhappy with Jack? He not only is the best and most important player on the team but he has demonstrated that he already is in the elite strata of players in the league. He and Dahlin are the type of special talents and untouchables that you build around----not shed for a collection of good players. If you want to talk about a trade or trades then it would be more realistic to talk about what would be a fair return for a high first round pick, or the return for players such as Risto, Montour or even Reinhart. It was widely reported that the GM was willing to trade Risto in the offseason and in-season. Supposedly he was not satisfied with the return. If that is the case then a good question to discuss is what would be the return if the package included Risto and a first round pick?

You make an incisive point about strategic decisions that not only address the present issues but also future roster issues that relate to not only the talent but also cap considerations. This regime came in a few years back and had a blueprint not only on how to build a roster from a talent standpoint but also to restructure the roster from a cap standpoint. If you recall when McDermott joined the organization big decisions were soon made to cull some of the big ticket players in order to redo the cap structure. Those tough decisions were exemplified by not retaining talented but costly players such as Watkins and Gilmore. Those decisions were influenced as much by future contract considerations as they were talent considerations. It shouldn't be forgotten that two years ago the McBeane tandem absorbed a big cap hit in order to be in a more financially flexible position the next offseason so they could make a number of judicious free agent acquisitions. My main point is that this regime is demonstrably more strategic in their planning and execution and less ad hoc than the prior regimes were.

I'm getting tired of saying it but again excellent job. The most interesting issue of the second round is the order in which the RBs come off the board and how quickly they come off the board. I doubt that the Bills will use a second round pick on a back but if they do I would be pleasantly surprised. My prediction is that if the Bills draft a back, maybe in the third round, it would be AJ Dillon from BC. He's a north/south power back who would be a good complement to Singletary.

Terrific job as usual. The one selection that I disagree with you is that I believe if a team is going to move up to get Tua it will be Miami. They have a surplus of picks so the cost to move up a few spots shouldn't be too excessive. If Detroit decides to make a deal they can still come way with the player/s that they are targeting. I'm inclined to think that the Chargers would be satisfied to stay where they are at and not trade assets to take Herbert. If a team jumps a head of Miami to take Tua I think that Miami will not mess and go with their next option at qb who is Herbert.

I have often been called a shiiit head by the rambunctious hockey posters here. So as a tribute to them I will make a mask out of soiled underwear.

It's difficult to get a mask. I've been to a number of drug stores and grocery stores with pharmacies and couldn't get one. In each case I was told they were out of stock and because the demand is so high it is unlikely they will get them in. I also went on-line on CVS and Amazon. CVS is out of stock and Amazon indicated it would take two months for the order to come in. I'll have to improvise and come up with my own cover because come Monday my county in Maryland is requiring masks in grocery and drug stores.

Try another browser.

I have been patient and am patient. However, where we are on this long and torturous road calls for a heavier foot on the accelerator to get us there a little quicker. Would I give up our high first round pick for a relatively young second line forward? Yes. Would I trade Risto (who I like a lot) for a second line forward in order to get a player who would upgrade the second line? I'm certainly receptive to that type of deal. I'm not calling for a ROR type deal that created a major void. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't trade a good asset to get another good asset to better balance out the roster. The GM is on the last year of his contract. At this stage of his tenure I'm sure he is more concerned about the present than the future.

Attached is 13 min. interview with Dylan Cozens on WGR's Instigator Show. Although there is nothing special about the interview what is apparent is that Cozens is mature way beyond his young age. Whether it will be as a forward or center or which line I can't say. But because of his age he won't be able to play in Rochester. And sending him back to the juniors will do little for his development. I have little doubt that he will be on the Sabres next year. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/04-09-sabres-prospect-dylan-cozens

From where the the Sabres are drafting they will come away with a good prospect who will probably be two to three years away from contributing. On the other hand the GM is entering the last year of his contract with a restless fan base that is tired of not having a team in the playoffs. So there has to be some urgency by the organization and owners to demonstrate to the frustrated fans that they are serious in doing everything possible to upgrade the roster. If the GM could use that valued draft pick and maybe include a player or two such as Risto in a deal to construct a genuine second line then I'm all for it. Without question Eichel is an elite player, and soon Dahlin will also be in that lofty category. Unless more talent is added to the roster their talents will be squandered. The future is now!

Obviously so.

Do you remember when Miami's doctors did not medically clear Brees? He went on to New Orleans to garner a SB ring and based on his distinguished career will earn a first ballot HOF induction. Do you think Miami wants to earn that ignominious distinction on evaluating qbs again?

What demonstrated to me how special he is as a person beyond his exhausting and excruciating training is that he carved out some private study time in the coach's office to work on his academics in an already very full day. He also didn't go on social media to publicly promote what he was doing. He's a genuinely humble kid who was in a grand position to brand himself for future business promotional reasons. He promised not to do it, and he kept his word. What he did instead is grind it out every day. Compare how Tua conducted himself to Robert Griffin III who was more interested in branding and promoting himself before he ever accomplished anything. In the end substance will trump style!

Gotham Bill, I thought you might like this Washington Post article by Iiz Carpenter on Tua and his secretive and rigorous training with Dilfer. Tua is talented and committed. That's why he is going to be a tremendous success in the pros. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/04/08/tua-tagovailoa-secret-draft-workouts-trent-dilfer/

He will do what he always does: Exhaust the people he works for with his hyper behavior. If you take too many sips of high octane expresso you end up with your nerves being jangled. When he predictably moves on after his obsessive and compulsive act wears thin the sensation is always the same for the bosses he worked for i.e. relief.

The biggest issue I see associated with the coronavirus pandemic as it relates to sports is how does one deal with having events, in any sport, with fans in attendance in a large gathering. Even if a vaccine is developed and treatments materialize this virus will continue to be contagious. To compound this issue is that there are people who have the virus yet don't have symptoms. They are still very contagious! There are many experts in the medical field who believe that even if the virus becomes dormant it can still reignite and reprise the mass contamination process all over again. This coronavirus pandemic has not only changed the sports world but it has also changed the work world and how we socialize. There are no easy answers.

Any team that is interested in getting Kamara realizes that his acquisition means a commitment to paying him big bucks the following season in order to keep him. Otherwise giving up a medium to high pick would make no sense because it would be only for a rental player. If a team is willing to give up a third round pick it would make more sense to keep the pick and draft a back and have that back for a number of years on a rookie deal. The Bills got Singletary last year in the third round. The point being a good back could be acquired with a similar pick instead of using it for Kamara, either a near future high cost player or a one year rental player. That would make no sense.

This article was written by Dan Mennella and taken off a WGR site. It notes that the commissioner acknowledges that the season and playoffs are in serious jeopardy. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/radiocom/nhl-commissioner-admits-season-could-be-cancelled

This would make no sense for the Saints. They are a serious SB contending team with a HOF qb who is near the end of his career. So now is the time for them to go for the ultimate prize. If the Saints don't intend to pay him what he will expect to get in his next contract then they could just keep him until his contract runs out, and then let him go. When you are in a position to make a serious run then it makes sense to go for it. Now is not the time for them to worry about the future of this dynamic player. If need be use him to the max and then move on.