I, for one, will be happy with a break this year from gold wigs, tin foil stanley cups, and car flags; grown men wearing Lafontaine throw back jerserys.

I have followed the Sabres since I was a child and I never witnessed so many fans "jump on the bandwagon" so quickly when they starting winning in the last few years.

Golisano is not entirely to blame. Larry Quinn should take the brunt of the responsibility. Poor management, laziness, and arrogance are as much at fault as not paying up. Quinn may have permantly destroyed this team.

In addition, what kind of message does it deliver to the the players that have succeeded; their reward for years of hard work and effort is a slap in the face with a low ball offer on a contract extension.

It demoralizes the rest of the team!

Finally:

NEVER, EVER, LET A GUY LIKE DRURY GO, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. YOU HAVE TO LOCK A LEADER LIKE DRURY UP IN A CONTRACT, ASAP.

people forget the we offered Drury a reasonable contract last year.....it's not that we didn't try and sign him.....we couldn't..he didn't want to be a sabre, he wanted to be a Ranger. scumbag....at least Briere wanted to be here. I'm confident both Philly and NY will be eliminated in the 1st round anyway.

Did you even watch hockey before 2 years ago? Did any of you who are on this website. Everyone is so upset about the sabres not making the playoffs, but how many of you were there before they got good. Bunch of fair weather fans. It's amazing, before the lockout, and back in the 2005-06 season, no one was at the games. It wasn't until January that they drew more than 12,000 at home games. Let's see what attendance is next year.

sooo... the sabres were so cheap that they essentially let their playoff profits walk. Not to mention extra revenue from merchandise. It costs money to make money.

how sad... and embarassing.

Whatever, so the Sabres aren't in the playoffs this year. We can blame it on a lot of different factors but it is ultimately just a sports team. I hope that we will not be seeing the same type of post for the Bills in January. Let's hold out hope that the Sabres made moves to protect the future of the franchise and to win in the future, only time will tell, but just like typical Buffalonians we dwell on decisions and want to move quickly back to the past. I can still remember the last two playoff rounds last year, where Drury and Briere played like they were still in peewee hockey, slapping at pucks and shying away from checks. They didn't play like a team that wanted to win, but they were talented enough to get by. When it came time to really perform, the team fell flat. Drury and Briere competed against each other to be the leader and it left the team without one. The team played as though they couldn't pull themselves together and couldn't play on the same page. I would rather take a losing season like this one that could lead to something greater than watching a very talented team play like amateurs and lose in the playoffs. We would have been well served to keep one of the players, but unfortunately we lost both. Bad move by management, but I am optimistic that next year will be a lot better.

Ok, so I know that there will be some haters for this comment, but whatever.

I think that it’s a good thing that the Sabres will be at home for every round of the playoffs this year. If they would have made the playoffs, after losing Briere and Drury, that would have sent the message to Golisano that you can win, at least a little bit, while cutting a couple key salaries.

Now, he sees first hand what losing 2 star players does to a team. That’s at least 3 games of lost revenue from home playoff games. How many home playoff games did they play last year? 11? When managing a company like Paychex, you can afford to cut a few top positions, and slide by for a couple of years, until revenue catches up, and then you can rehire. In professional sports, you can’t cut your lead contributors, and not feel an immediate impact.

Golisano is still new at this whole sports franchise ownership thing. I still love the guy (in a very non-gay way of course). He saved this franchise - point blank. He will learn as time goes on....he’s a successful business man for a reason. We just need a little patience. Do I wish the Sabres would have made it to at least one round of the post season? Hell yeah...spring hockey in Buffalo is amazing. But, if they had made it, who knows...maybe Golisano never learns that you have to spend money to make money. Hopefully, next year, he will do just that, and we can start to reassemble another Presidents trophy winner that we all deserve!

Or, then again, maybe I’m just being too optimistic, and nothing will change next year?

They are not yelling 'Bruuuuuuce,' they are yelling 'Boooooooooo.'

By the way, my prediction is Bills make playoffs next year...that Trent Edwards has a big....

See what happens when a professional educator is allowed out into the real world?!?

Read the ticket Professor Douchebag: (and this part is all in caps on the back of every ticket: "Warning! You Are At Your Own Risk With Respect To The Dangers Incidental To This Event.....")

Buy the ticket, take the ride.

exactly my point, mess with the chemistry and you get burned. tons of playoff games and revenue lost.

And lets not only focus on briere/drury... this goes back to mckee/grier/dumont as well. (and the saga will continue next year with miller)

where has golisano been all year? i wouldnt be suprised if this little hockey venture of his turns out to be a flip.

Say all you want about fairweather fans... but boy did they create some real excitement in this city the past 2 years. maybe the silver lining is that ppl wont become complacient.

frustrated.

Sabres? They are roller derby right?

I don't feel like management just gave up on the organization. We were and are, not that bad.(Edmonton still loves us) The team just needed to adapt to this cliff runner version of the new nhl. Briere got pushed around more times then scotch tape. The fans are too quick to push the dirty underwear at management. not all of the fans are guilty until proven champions, well i guess that doesn't work for the patriots.

As for the Sabres you win some, you lose some. I think it stinks how quickly the team fell from last year, but Buffalo sports is always all over the place... that's what keeps it interesting from year to year.

As for Bruce Jackson, he's nothing more than an egotistical self serving pariah in our community. He does nothing but try to stir up trouble from his self-righteous elitist soap box. He whines like a baby but does nothing. He likes to pick fights and show movies. This is just another example of him playing the cards for himself when things change. He stays in the game like a "true fan" when they're in the playoffs... then when we're out he decides to sue. Grow up Bruce and stop leeching off our community!

is this guy sure he doesn't have a pain in his ass and not his head?

Is he being represented by Celino and Barnes? What a baby. Don't sit by the glass if you can't handle it falling on you.

As of this writing, three ex-Sabres lead their respective teams in goals; Drury, Briere and Dumont. The loss at center was made worse by letting Zubris walk. With the short supply of talented centers, we could not weather Tim Conolly's injury filled season. Look at the woeful offensive production from Mair, Ryan and sorry... Gaustad..

It seems that ever since ESPN named them the number one sports franchise (in value for the fan) in March of 2007, ownership decided they were leaving too much money on the table. They sure did turn that around in a hurry. Winning in hockey, more than other team sports, is based on intensity and desire, up and down the organization. While the current ownership should be applauded for keeping the team here... they (he) clearly doesn't have the desire to see it through to a championship. For any true Buffalo sports fan, there's a bit of a sting to it.

I have been watching hockey all of my life and NEVER, EVER paid $200 a ticket!

If anything the Sabres should be sued for false representation. Tom Cheapassano had everyone hoodwinked and he sold his season tickets to them. Then he got rid of his star players...

Who cares about this nut head getting whacked by the glass..

Sew the Sabres for false advertising and representation... Typical bait and switch~!