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Article: McDermott Concerned about PSE Dysfunction


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4 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yep I wasn't commenting on their running of the Sabres - I don't follow it at all. Just that the Sabres are clearly making huge losses and in a time when the bottom is falling out of the oil market and they having to tighten their belts the Sabres feels like a luxury. 

 

Well as a former sports journalist I am telling you this is a good piece of journalism. He has spoken to plenty of people he isn't giving his opinion he is reporting. 

 

If you want to dismiss it as a "hack" fine. But people should be taking that article seriously. It is concerning.

 

Hack goes and talks to fired/laid off employees. Said fired/laid off employees have beef and whine about "nepotism" to Hack. Hack writes salacious piece because, as I said, hacks gonna hack.

 

 

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3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yep I wasn't commenting on their running of the Sabres - I don't follow it at all. Just that the Sabres are clearly making huge losses and in a time when the bottom is falling out of the oil market and they having to tighten their belts the Sabres feels like a luxury. 

 

Well as a former sports journalist I am telling you this is a good piece of journalism. He has spoken to plenty of people he isn't giving his opinion he is reporting. 

 

If you want to dismiss it as a "hack" fine. But people should be taking that article seriously. It is concerning.

 

Just for argument sake, could I find a dozen people who think you're an arse? Just saying you can present facts in many ways. The Buffalo News ran an article on the financial pressures the Pegulas are under. Is that story any less accurate?

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5 minutes ago, ndirish1978 said:

 

It's a fairly biased piece if you consider his interactions with people on twitter before it came out when he was asking for the people who were fired to DM him. It was super obvious he just wanted to stir the pot. Graham is a solid writer, but he's at he's a troll by nature and like to stir things up. Probably not the best idea to go the Sullivan route and burn bridges with owners who are known to be sensitive to criticism. Kim's responses to him are super defensive and it's obvious he got under their skin by writing this article. Did the article accomplish anything? Probably not. Did it come off as a hatchet-job towards ownership, yep. 

 

Well look I have no idea what he does on twitter. I have no interest in that but I am sorry that does not read to me like a hatchet job on ownership. It reads like a piece of legitimate concern. The fact that Kim's responses are so passive aggressive would tell me (as someone who did this stuff for a living) that there is something there. 

5 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Just for argument sake, could I find a dozen people who think you're an arse? Just saying you can present facts in many ways. The Buffalo News ran an article on the financial pressures the Pegulas are under. Is that story any less accurate?

 

I am sure you could find more than a dozen. Probably because at times I am. And no it is no less accurate but this isn't Graham saying "the atmosphere was bad" he has interviewed plenty of people and he gives plenty of facts about the management reductions. Just because it is negative doesn't make it wrong. 

Edited by GunnerBill
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3 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Just for argument sake, could I find a dozen people who think you're an arse? Just saying you can present facts in many ways. The Buffalo News ran an article on the financial pressures the Pegulas are under. Is that story any less accurate?

No you couldn’t because GunnerBill is a ex-national treasure. 

Just now, Rico said:

I went a little further and stopped at Sabres.

They should bring back Max Afinogenov to maximize ticket sales

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1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I am sure you could find more than a dozen. Probably because at times I am. 

 

Well there you go.  So don't you think there's a chance that Graham and Vogl have an agenda here? Like getting back at team owners that, allegedly, got their fellow reporters fired?

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10 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

It's written by Tim Graham, ergo, it's not. He's the Jim Acosta of sports journalism.

 

 

You mean he asks tough questions and perseveres through extreme obfuscation and deflection?

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3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Well look I have no idea what he does on twitter. I have no interest in that but I am sorry that does not read to me like a hatchet job on ownership. It reads like a piece of legitimate concern. The fact that Kim's responses are so passive aggressive would tell me (as someone who did this stuff for a living) that there is something there. 

 

I am sure you could find more than a dozen. Probably because at times I am. 

 

Or, her responses could read as someone who is annoyed at a hatchet-job piece and having to respond to emails about how the people she just fired are less than pleased with her and her family. 

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1 minute ago, FireChans said:

No you couldn’t because GunnerBill is a ex-national treasure. 

They should bring back Max Afinogenov to maximize ticket sales

Never heard of him. I would try Eddie Shack, it worked before.

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Just now, ndirish1978 said:

 

Or, her responses could read as someone who is annoyed at a hatchet-job piece and having to respond to emails about how the people she just fired are less than pleased with her and her family. 

 

Yea. You don't get that annoyed when there is no story in my experience. 

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26 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

 

Tim Graham interviewed almost 40 current/former PSE employees, and the feedback was that dysfunction, nepotism, and cost-cutting pervade the organization.  The Pegulas gave a presentation in January, right after the Bills made the playoffs, and one of the stated "three pillars" of organizational goals was "return on investment," which was widely described (and possibly stated by the Pegulas directly, though that seems shocking) as ensuring that the Pegulas can maintain their lavish lifestyle.  There is concern that the dysfunction within the Sabres will spill over into the Bills, and McD allegedly is concerned about it.

Seems strange that a for-profit business would NOT have return on investment as a key goal...

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2 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Well there you go.  So don't you think there's a chance that Graham and Vogl have an agenda here? Like getting back at team owners that, allegedly, got their fellow reporters fired?

 

I am bowing out of this because look I get the Pegulas are beloved. But that article should concern people. It is well researched it and well executed. If people want to believe it is a hatchet job that is their prerogative.  

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1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea. You don't get that annoyed when there is no story in my experience. 

People don't get annoyed when lies are told about them? I think that's when people get the most annoyed. Not that this is all lies, but I don't see such a reaction as indicative of anything.

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12 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 No mention of the crash in the energy markets that might have brought about this drastic action. 

 

IDK.   Pegs energy investments are more the hobby-type than a livelihood issue.   

 

https://buffalonews.com/2017/09/24/deep-hills-pennsylvania-terry-pegulas-world/

 

"...So in the past two years, he expanded the drilling and development work of JKLM Energy LLC, a closely held company named for his children. Pegula’s company is intentionally small to keep it nimble and avoid the bureaucratic obstacles of larger gas companies. He employs about 20 people at its headquarters near Pittsburgh. Among the executives is one of Pegula’s daughters, Laura Pegula, a geologist."

 

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4 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea. You don't get that annoyed when there is no story in my experience. 

 

Coming from an owner who has thin-skin? Yeah you do. They regularly complain about reporters like Sullivan and get them fired or restrict access. 

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3 minutes ago, MJS said:

People don't get annoyed when lies are told about them? I think that's when people get the most annoyed. Not that this is all lies, but I don't see such a reaction as indicative of anything.

 

I don't see any lies by Tim Graham. And in my experience, no. People get most annoyed when you are close to a truth they don't want told. 

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17 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yep I wasn't commenting on their running of the Sabres - I don't follow it at all. Just that the Sabres are clearly making huge losses and in a time when the bottom is falling out of the oil market and they having to tighten their belts the Sabres feels like a luxury. 

 

Well as a former sports journalist I am telling you this is a good piece of journalism. He has spoken to plenty of people he isn't giving his opinion he is reporting. 

 

If you want to dismiss it as a "hack" fine. But people should be taking that article seriously. It is concerning.

Sounds like he sought out specific sources who would confirm his own suspicions. That's not reporting. He was digging for a story. And when you dig in the trash, what are you expecting to find besides trash? Former, disgruntled employees are going to trash the organization. Any organization.

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Just now, MJS said:

Sounds like he sought out specific sources who would confirm his own suspicions. That's not reporting. He was digging for a story. And when you dig in the trash, what are you expecting to find besides trash? Former, disgruntled employees are going to trash the organization. Any organization.

 

He then gave the organisation the chance to respond and what he got was a passive aggressive non-reply.

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