Regardless of the industry or endeavor, you’re more likely to find success if you follow a rigorous, thoughtful process. A good process will, over time, lead to more good outcomes. A bad process, on the other hand, will often lead to bad results. Fans (and many sports columnists) often focus on the result and not the process. This sort of results-based analysis often misses what matters. Paul DePodesta was an assistant to Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane (and a key figure in Michael Lewis’s Moneyball book). DePodesta has a blog and, years ago, he wrote about a scene at…
Author: bluedevil
The smart and likable Mo Rocca is coming to Buffalo this week. And, since Mr. Rocca is a unique and interesting correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning, he’s looking to do something a bit different than the standard chicken wing story so many other reporters do when they come to Buffalo. So he wants to find someone interesting and cool to have chicken wings with. Of course, we’re confident we can help Mo find dozens of great candidates so, if you have good suggestions, leave them in the comments here (and we’ll tweet them to Mo Rocca) or you can tweet…
The Sabres, who have accumulated just 5 points in 13 games played this season, have traded away their best goal scorer. Thomas Vanek, Sabres co-captain, has been sent to the New York Islanders in exchange for Matt Moulson, a first-round pick in 2014 and a second-round pick in 2015. The fact that Vanek has been traded isn’t all that surprising though the timing of the trade may have caught Sabres fans off guard. The left winger was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. In his career with the Sabres, Vanek played 598 games,…
According to Nick Kypreos, former NHL player and current analyst for Sportsnet, Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier is on the hot seat. Speaking on Sportsnet, Kypreos said “the ownership group in Buffalo would have rather waited until Christmas but I’m hearing that the decision could come a lot sooner here and they ultimately will make the change. They’re feeling the heat from the fans that’s for sure.” Now, we’ve all heard reports of changes within the Sabres organization before and little has come of it. Just last week, Bucky Gleason wrote a column speculating that John Koelmel may replace Ted…
Update: According to city records, Peter Hunt, of Hunt Realty, has purchased this property for $1,500,000. It’s likely the most expensive multi-family home ever listed for sale in the City of Buffalo. The Ethel Mann Curtiss house, built in 1905, was originally a single family home. In 1923, the home was divided into 3 units – one unit on each of the three 4,000 square foot floors. In 2005, the Junior League made it the Decorators’ Show House and the home was re-made by local interior designers. Now, this unique mansion has been listed for sale for $1,495,000. While there have…
A newly built home on the corner of Middlesex and Lincoln Parkway has a new owner – and it’s 23 year old Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers. The home, which was built by AAkron Rule CEO Devin Piscitelli and received criticism for its design, was originally listed for $1,724,999 in May 2013. In July, the price was dropped to $1,649,000. And now, two months later, the house has been sold for $1,420,000. This is the highest priced single family home sale in the City of Buffalo this year. And, at $253 per square foot, it’s one of the highest prices paid…
Less than five years ago, Devin Piscitelli, the CEO of AAkron Rule, purchased the empty lot at the corner of Middlesex Road and Lincoln Parkway for $425,000. He engaged the serves of Natale Builders to build a 4 bedroom, 5,600 square feet custom home that was completed at the end of 2009. Now, just a few years later, Piscitelli is looking to sell. Two months ago, he put the house on the market with a listing price of $1,724,999. At the time, it was the most expensive house listed for sale in the City of Buffalo. After a couple months…
Update: Miller has sold his townhouse for $640,000, an 85% increase over what he paid for the new-build just 7 years ago. It’s not entirely clear whether this means Miller wil be gone before the start of next season but it is clear that this property was a good investment for Miller. His annualized 9% return easily beat the broad stock market return over the same time period. ***** Ryan Miller will start his 500th game for the Sabres tomorrow night at First Niagara Center as the Sabres host the Islanders. Based on a number of reports, it’s likely…
No rational person can disagree: food trucks are the best thing to happen to the Buffalo food scene in the last decade. Whether it’s the Lloyd, the pioneer in the field, or the Roaming Buffalo or the Cheesy Chick or the Black Market Food Truck or Knight Slider or the Whole Hog or the Sweet Hearth or R&R BBQ or Amy’s Truck or Frank’s Gourmet Hot Dogs, Buffalo’s food trucks have provided Buffalonians with greater access to high-quality, local food. Today, the Common Council will hold a public hearing at 2pm about what kind of restrictions and fees should govern food trucks.…
After 5,692 days as head coach, the Buffalo Sabres have fired Lindy Ruff.The Sabres announced the news on Twitter.The Sabres have made no announcement as to who the next head coach will be. Ruff was the longest-tenured coach in the National Hockey League and the second longest-tenured coach in professional sports. He became head coach of the Sabres in 1997. Ruff’s career record as Sabres head coach was 571-432-78 and earned 56% of possible points. In the postseason, Ruff’s Sabres were 57-44. He took the Sabres to one Stanley Cup championship, losing to the Dallas Stars in 6 games. Photo: Joe Cascio