Sauter a week later…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Got some pretty big stories in store for you guys this weekend. But until then, had a chance to talk with Blazers head coach Doug Sauter once again.
Sauter was the first person I talked to last week after finding out the news about the team closing up shop.
Sauter is adamant that it was a business decision. He still has mixed emotions about it, but he doesn’t blame anybody for what happened.
He’s been extremely busy with the Calgary Stampede the last week. I think that helps during times like this. Tyler Fleck was at a wedding last week around the same time, too. Good to be busy.
It seems everyone is doing well, Sauter said. Associate coach Chris Dashney has been working on getting opportunities for the guys to find homes with new teams.
Sauter said he is willing to wait it out. “I’m in no hurry to make a rash decision.” He said there are some positives and some negatives with the Blazers franchise.
It’s very easy to criticize, he said. But he knows the die-hard fans enjoyed it throughout the years. He felt the entertainment value was still up to par, but the business model just wasn’t working.
As for the Stampede, Sauter and the six-horse Express Clydesdales won the Stampede’s Six Horse Hitch Competition World Championship. It is the first time the Clydesdales have earned the honor and they won $10,000 Canadian money.
But even at the Stampede, people were asking him about the Blazers and the Oklahoma City hockey scene. He said more than 50 people from Oklahoma made the trip.
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The Doug Sauter post-defunct Call-In show quotes:
“Thier business team outplayed our business team.”
“I would grade the front office a C-. Dash and I give these guys a business plan, and they dont listen. We may have to make some trades.”
“We outshot thier business team, we just couldnt get any bounces, it must be the board room ice surface.”
“It must be the ref’s, they did not properly officiate the business case. I will be sending the tape to the league.”
“and hello to all those shut-ins out there, all 5,000 of them”