Spilled Milk & Sour Grapes

Yes believe it or not faithful readers I have been fired from a gig once or twice.... maybe three times.. but that’s not important . What is important is that I learned the rules of how to bow out like a pro, something that is apparently lost on Craig Ramsey.

When you get canned, never ever bad mouth your former employer, even if they were less than fair with you. Why? Simple, it makes you look bad. It makes you look like whiner and makes people think; maybe if I hire him he’ll talk crap about me. What you do is speak fondly of your former boss and use phrases like “parted ways”, and “amicable”, but remember life is a circle, hold on to that memory. One day, payback will come your way.  Again something lost on Rammer.

Instead Ramsey went to the press on Wednesday and delivered his diatribe about how he deserved more respect, and after 40 years in hockey should have been on the short list of phone calls right after the TNSE sale announcement. Well here’s a message to you Ramsey, life’s tough, get a helmet . No one owed Craig Ramsey anything and his sense of entitlement is misplaced.

Let’s roll back a month and revisit what happened. TNSE had just spent two weeks, working around the clock in a desperate bid to meet a deadline that by all accounts if it was not met would have resulted in the collapse of the sale. Papers had literally been signed while Gary Bettman and Bill Daly where in the air heading to Winnipeg. What followed was a whirlwind of press and celebration, oh but wait, we have to drop everything and call Craig Ramsey because he has forty years in hockey. Well Craig Ramsey was called and was even invited to interview for what all intents and purposes was a new job in Winnipeg. He wasn’t selected, shocking!

Perhaps Craig should have also explained to the press why his former bosses, the Atlanta Spirit Group did such a poor job in giving their key personnel the appropriate heads up when the close of the deal was imminent.  Perhaps Craig could have told us why Don Waddell continued to hold meetings with staff telling them their jobs where safe right up until the end, and then disappeared.  Perhaps Craig could have picked up a phone and asked for a status report himself? Now there’s an idea.

It’s a good thing Mr. Ramsey has 40 years of hockey experience under his belt because if he worked in any other industry he wouldn’t work again. Good luck Craig, here’s hoping you find a job and have learned your lesson. Winnipeg won’t miss you.