DON'T GET ME STARTED read the recent article by Jerry Sullivan regarding the Sabres. Two words stuck in my cranium when he referred to Tom Golisano.
The two words were: "Conspicuously absent." If he had an office at HSBC Arena with a boom box, the song most likely coming from that room would be Simon & Garfunkle's "Sounds of Silence."
When Golisano rescued the Sabres from possible extinction, he was all over the place with a smile and with words. He was the "Knight who saved the franchise." Nobody will ever doubt that Golisano is a very smart businessman. But the question still needs to be addressed, "Is he a good sportsman." The way the organization has handled the Buffalo Sabres in the past couple of years - and the relationship with the fans is on the verge of being fractured.
Say what you will about Relph Wilson. He is a business man but he's also proven that he is a sportsman.
Golisano owns the Sabres. Has he put that much faith in Larry Quinn that he ignores the complaints....and now the criticisms of the fans?" They're getting louder and multiplying.
It's widely believed that Quinn is calling all the shots - which to many is a huge mistake considering how the Sabres got into a big rut when he took over the franchise when the Knox's were still with us. Ousted were Ted Nolan; John Muckler; dispatched was highly popular Pat LaFontaine. The club floundered.
John Rigas took hold of the club. Yes, everyone is familiar with what happened with John Rigas. But, as mentioned in a previous column, at least Rigas mingled with the fans every single game...traveling from Coudersport, Pennsylvania to enjoy such mingling.
Golisano, the business man, made a good investment in the Sabres - rescuing them from probably bankfrupcy. He was knighted by the fans for the move and proclaimed King of the Niagara Frontier - though he's from 60 miles east of the City of Good Neighbors.
Now the good neighbors are getting pretty ancy over what has been happening with the team. As everyone knows - in the past three years - the prices have been going up, up and up. Want to get on a waiting list for season tickets? Fork over $200 non-refundable bucks. That's the business side.
It's astounding how Tom Golisano has remained silent - as has Larry Quinn (for the most part) as popular Sabres go to work in other NHL cities. As assumed by everyone, Brian Campbell is next to go. A year from now, Ryan Miller will probably be saying, "I don't want to talk contract during the season." Then he becomes a free agent and he, too, may take the walk.
Has a revolving door been installed at the HSBC Arena regarding the Sabres? It seems to be the case.
Unless Tom Golisano finally takes a trip west to talk to the media and to the fans, those fans are looking at the business side of the relationship. Make as much as you can without spending too much and trust that the fans will be showing up. That's not a good menu for the die-hard working class in the city.
If reading some accounts are true....the value of the franchise has about tripled from the price he paid when he rode in on that white horse. Many fans are clamoring for him to get on a buckboard and straighten out what has become a mess on Don't Get Me Started.
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