Two points should be made today regarding Friday's deadline for Mark Hamister to submit a final package for the purchase of the Buffalo Sabres. The second is that B. Thomas Golisano should go away. The first, and by far more important, is that this looks like the do-or-die moment for keeping the National Hockey League team in Buffalo.

It's possible that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is bluffing when he says, "If the Hamister bid doesn't close, I would have grave concerns about the franchise," but with attendance plummeting and franchise bankruptcy threatening, there are more than enough reasons to believe Buffalo could lose the team. Those who want to gamble should go to the Seneca Niagara Casino, not HSBC Arena.

Hamister's bid represents the best opportunity both for turning the team around — financially and athletically — and for keeping it here. Furthermore, his request for government assistance in operating the arena, which is partly publicly owned, is not unreasonable.

Whether state and local governments can afford the multimillion-dollar cost during a financially precarious time is a legitimate matter of debate. But of all the possible outcomes of this negotiation, few will be worse for the city, the region or the state than for the Sabres to leave. Beyond the crippling psychological blow, the city would have two vacant arenas on its hands in a waterfront redevelopment neighborhood that represents a prime hope for its future.

That doesn't mean it has to be Hamister's way or the highway, and even he has said he is willing to negotiate. Buffalo's Common Council this week refused to give up its deal for arena ground rent, and given the city's financial plight, that response may not be unreasonable, either. Nevertheless, if Buffalo residents want to keep the team, they must also expect to be part of the deal. That goes for county residents, too.

The Council did indicate a willingness to help in other ways, including the possibility of granting Hamister's request for signage rights within five square blocks of the arena — an area that includes the new Erie Canal Harbor development zone. Buffalo is blessedly free of unattractive signage, so while the Council should try to help, it should be wary of this idea, seek details, ensure granting such rights wouldn't hamper efforts to lure other businesses to the new zone, and at least insist on significant restrictions to keep that area attractive.

Meanwhile, County Executive Joel Giambra has committed to help construct a parking ramp that Hamister says he needs and that could also be used by Bass Pro Shop, when and if it takes over the empty Memorial Auditorium, or by downtown commuters.

In the meantime, Hamister's group and that of billionaire Golisano should call off their verbal sniping. Golisano, the failed gubernatorial candidate, lost his bid to buy the Sabres. No one needs to hear any more from him. He could put his time to better use by planning his next serial campaign for governor, while the Hamister crew should be focusing on nothing other than brokering the deal that will preserve this community's right to call the Sabres its own.

Why would they reprint it in the first place?

Golisano referenced it in the press conference today.

whatever happened to hamiester?

He still runs his companies, same as he did before.

After he didn't get the Sabres, he picked up the Destroyers arena team to Columbus, OH, and then sold them off.