New Kid in Town

So, the Sabres now have an owner with deep pockets and a interest in winning. This is a good start, and let’s hope it translates into an improving product. I mean winning does sell a lot of replica jerseys.

Being a lifelong fan, coming so close in 2006 was great and the implosion of recent years is frustrating and it became obvious that the team was an investment. I’m very grateful for Tom Golisano for rescuing the team.

The well-documented fiascos of the contracts that should have been signed from Dumont, Briere, Drury, et. al and the ones that shouldn’t Vanek, Connolly and most recently Regier try the customer base’s patience and intelligence.

Ultimately, it is a business to be sure and you hope the new regime restores the class that came back with this year’s jerseys. It is upsetting to hear complaints from people like Rene Robert, and even more upsetting still that he has a point.

Hopefully, when the dust settles, Mr. Pegula has a team president to run the operation and a hockey guy to be g.m. both of whom have the mandate to create the best product possible.

A winner will sell a lot of t-shirts.

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Snowtorious B.I.G.

So, it was a big inconvenience, but so what. The sport in anticipating snowstorms around here is betting on which weatherman can’t contain their excitement. I couldn’t help but notice the amount of moaning on facebook about how we gyped at the snow amount, can’t believe we closed for this, can’t we handle this, we never close, we never got snow days when I went there….yada, yada, yada.

Settle down ya’all. Let me bring forth some pragmatism. If you got the day off, relax. If you didn’t lose power, it isn’t a comment on your manhood. If you can’t believe we closed for this, it wasn’t your kid trapped on a school bus or a west side supermarket late into the evening during the thanksgiving storm of 2000.

Behold the good things, didn’t lose power, beer and cable were just as reliable as they were on Monday. If like me you had to go to work today, think of the open road. With the exception of the BMW driving chucklehead who had to tailgate all the flipping way down Delaware, it was a pretty straightforward commute. This was true, despite some odd plowing patterns.

It was actually a little worse this afternoon, with a few whiteouts down the line, but we shouldn’t temp fate. Sure, we kicked the Blizzard of 77, 85,2000 and others, but as recently as this winter snowstorms have bumfuzzled agencies who should know better based on their being located….here.

Perhaps school could have opened, but I for one am glad my kids were waiting for buses in freezing rain on streets that were hit and miss (and still are I write this) in whether or not a plow had been by. If you got the day off, bask in it, think of things you don’t have to do on the weekend. Course, if you sat on your ass, that’s your issue. I worked and was almost jerk-free in my incoming calls.

Play the winter hand you are dealt, let’s not tempt fate, heck that nearly made the snow turn around this afternoon.