Latest news with #Beane
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Giants Hire Son on Familiar GM
The NFL isn't always a meritocracy. The best players obviously rise to the cream of the crop, but behind the scenes, many front offices and coaching staffs are filled by who people know, rather than what people know. Now, that isn't to say that football can't be the family business, or that said hires are unqualified. But it's an unmistakable trend that has at least partly contributed to the lack of diversity at the upper levels of management across the league. Advertisement On Thursday, the New York Giants added to that with their newest addition. The Giants hired Tyson Beane, the son of Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane, according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan. The son of a general manager getting a call is not a surprise. It is notable, though, that he signed with New York, which figured to be the most likely outcome if not for Buffalo. Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll came in tandem from the Bills, where they helped turn quarterback Josh Allen into a well-supported superstar with Super Bowl aspirations. Beane and Schoen go further back than Buffalo, too. Beane was a part of the Carolina Panthers front office that built an NFC champion. When he left for Buffalo, Schoen replaced him as a general manager, coming over from the Miami Dolphins. Advertisement Schoen also spent time with Carolina from 2001–2007. During that time, Beane was a member of the personnel department, eventually becoming the director of football operations in 2008. Tyson Beane will be a scouting assistant with the Giants. Schoen, in his first year with the Panthers, spent his first year with the organization in that same role. There's little use projecting Beane forward given the uncertainty that comes with the position, Schoen's job security, and the heavy turnover lower-level assistants can experience. Daboll's son, Christian, left the organization in 2025 after spending two seasons as an offensive assistant. According to Raanan, New York also lost offensive assistant Angela Baker, who had been with the Giants since the start of the current administration. Related: Giants Reveal Draft Day Prank Call With Titans Related: Giants Schedule Release: Game-By-Game Predictions
Boston Globe
16-05-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Moose on Main Street — and other reasons to go to Greenville, Maine
Beane has been doing this job for three years, and is out in the woods nearly every day, fishing, hunting, and guiding. He encounters moose regularly, on the logging roads in a mud-spattered Chevy Suburban (our transportation on this day) or from a canoe in one of the many ponds. 'We get a lot of people from Massachusetts and New York — and a New Zealand couple last fall — who've never seen a moose,' he says. 'It's always a unique experience.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up This is the view of the lawn and lake from a carriage house room at the Lodge at Moosehead. Nice, eh? Diane Bair Searching for Bullwinkle Thanks to this job, we've seen moose in the Moosehead region, in Attean Pond, and even along the shoreline of Greenville's famous landmark, 40-mile-long Moosehead Lake. But it's always a thrill to see a 1,000-pound ungulate in the wild, and we were here for it. Along the logging roads (privately owned but open to the public for respectful recreation use), we saw forests in various stages of growth and harvesting. Moose like to forage budding hardwoods, along paths they can navigate with a rack of antlers, Beane told us. Advertisement We drove past a stand of white birch trees, and Beane stopped the truck: 'There's a moose down there.' Before we could get a good look, the hulking dark shape vanished. 'You might see a massive face sticking out between two trees. Then they disappear like a ghost,' Beane said. We saw a few white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, a woodcock, a snowshoe hare, and an eagle, but no Bullwinkles. He didn't do a moose-call, but described it as an 'Errrr sound, deep, guttural, and nasally,' using a funnel-like device. Tread carefully — there might be fresh moose scat under your feet as you head out to the ponds near Greenville in search of you-know-what. Diane Bair To boost our chances, Beane parked the truck and we hiked to a couple of ponds to look for moose eating grasses in the water. No joy there, either. 'It's too early for moose to be at the ponds. The grass isn't tall enough yet,' he assessed. We did see fresh moose tracks in the muddy road, and moose scat (poop) in the trail. 'The dark color indicates it's pretty fresh,' Beane said. But no moose, only some overturned tree roots with moose-like shapes. Our necks were getting sore. 'Is there such a thing as moose-neck?' we asked our guide. 'No — only whiplash when you see a giant one!' he said. Advertisement C'mon, moose! We were thinking, hoping to conjure one. 'The moose must be at a meeting today, and nobody told me,' Beane said. At the Moose Lodge, maybe? 'No moose for you!' our companion Paul said. (Seinfeld fans will get it.) Still, it was nice to be out in nature, enjoying its fresh May greenness, even on a rainy day. We didn't see another soul on our journey. It was relaxing, even as we bounced along the bumpy gravel roads. Moose watching demands a Zen-like level of awareness — you block out everything else as you search the landscape for a moose-like form that might emerge any minute. Or not. 'I'm hoping for a surprise moose on our way out,' Beane said, as we headed back toward Greenville nearly four hours later. But we still had a shot. 'At night, you can see moose ambling around town,' he noted. Thus, the moose warning signs along the roadways. 'You can see a lot of deer up and down Main Street, too.' So, we didn't get lucky on this safari, but we vowed to come back in summertime and paddle one of the pristine ponds to give it another go. Even if you strike out moose-wise, you still had a nice paddling experience. She'll be dreaming of ungulates in this snazzy number. Outfit your whole family in moose gear in Greenville. Diane Bair Moose Overload: It's a thing But in Greenville, there's no lack of moose-y things. You can quickly reach Moose Overload and never actually see the real thing. In Northwoods Outfitters' retail store, we saw infant-size moose-printed onesies, adult jammies with moose, moose-emblazoned socks, and 'moose ears' pastries. Pop into the Kamp Kamp general store, and you can buy a lamp with real hooves as a base. We're not sure if they're moose feet or deer feet, but still. The Corner Shop (books and gifts) has an entire display children's picture books devoted to moose subjects Even Northern Maine Minerals, a store with rock and mineral specimens, has a giant stuffed you-know-what. Advertisement We suspect these are deer hooves, not moose, but this lamp at Kamp Kamp still makes a statement. Or something. Diane Bair In summertime, you'll be focused on the water, though. Greenville is located on the southern end of Moosehead, Maine's largest lake. The passenger steamboat Katahdin, aka The Kate (seasonal, from $60; cruises past piney islands and Mt. Kineo, the 800-feet mountain that seems to rise from the water. Fishing of all kinds is a major pastime here. The adjacent Moosehead Marine Museum (mid-June to mid-October) is full of nautical finds. Wake up to this? Absolutely. Lakefront campsites at Lily Bay State Park are among the best in New England. Diane Bair Where to camp, stay, and eat Love to camp and hike? Get ready to be wowed by 952-acre Lily Bay State Park ($6 day use per person, non-resident; $30 + $5 fee to camp, non-resident; Prefer to sleep indoors? The Lodge at Moosehead Lake ) from $425 in summer season; Advertisement The inn serves breakfast to guests, and offers chef's tasting dinners about once a month in high season. Innkeeper Beverly Burgess does the cooking herself, or brings in a guest chef from another acclaimed Maine restaurant. But Burgess—not a trained chef-- holds her own in the kitchen. On our visit, her seven-course dinner included a spring pea soup with wasabi cream--pure springtime in a bowl. The tuna crudo made a convert of the raw tuna hater in our party. Relying on ramps, fiddleheads, and other seasonal greens, the meal was a medley of lovely bites. Halibut with apple-fennel foam and ribeye with porcini dust were among the courses. The arancini in pea and ramp puree with parmesan tuile at 368 Maine tastes as good as it looks. Diane Bair Where else to eat in town? With a population of around 1400, Greenville is small, so there aren't a lot of choices. The Stress-Free Moose ( Takeaway message here: C'mon up for some moose watching (by water, if possible) and enjoy the raging beauty of bluer-than-blue Moosehead Lake. You'll likely get lucky, moose-wise. Even if you're skunked, you'll have a good time. We did. Just don't blame us if you bring back some moose-printed pajamas. And please leave the moose poop on the trail, for someone else to discover. If you go: Advertisement Diane Bair and Pamela Wright can be reached at
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bills GM Brandon Beane expresses frustration on radio after being criticized for not drafting a receiver
The Buffalo Bills didn't win the Super Bowl last season, but the team had a lot going for it. After trading away Stefon Diggs last offseason, Buffalo's offense somehow improved and Josh Allen took home his first MVP award. While Allen and the rest of the offense look strong again in 2025, the Bills neglected to address that side of the ball during most of the 2025 NFL Draft, instead focusing on strengthening the team's defense. Buffalo's strategy — particularly the team's decision to not take a wide receiver early — came under fire on "The Jeremy and Joe" radio show in Buffalo. Beane made a scheduled appearance on the show shortly after that conversation, and wasn't happy about being criticized for not grabbing a receiver, according to ESPN. "Well, you guys were b****ing in 2018 about Josh Allen, you guys wanted Josh Rosen, and now you guys are b****ing that we don't have a receiver," Beane said when asked what he meant. " ... We just scored 30 points in a row for eight straight games. A year ago, I get you guys asking why we didn't have receivers, but I don't understand it now. You just saw us lead the league in points, when you add all the postseason, no one scored more points than the Buffalo Bills, including the Super Bowl champions. So, you just saw us do it without Stefon Diggs, same group. How is this group not better than last year's group? Our job is to score points and win games. Where do we need to get better? Defense. We did that. So, I get it, you got to have a show, and you got to have something to b**** about, but b***ing about wide receiver is one of the dumbest arguments I've heard." Beane has a point. The team didn't have a true No. 1 receiver last year, but it still finished second in points scored in the regular season. Allen did win his first MVP, though threw for fewer yards and touchdowns than the previous four seasons. In addition to that, the Bills went heavy on offense in the first round in both 2023 and 2024, bringing in tight end Dalton Kincaid and wideout Keon Coleman. Beane has made an effort in recent seasons. You can argue, however, that despite the Bills' numbers and Allen's ability, missing that star pass catcher hurt the team when it mattered most. On the team's biggest play of the year, Kincaid dropped a pass that would have kept the Bills' season alive. Given everything that happened on that particular play, you can't guarantee having a standout top wide receiver would have drastically altered the outcome of the game, but it certainly would have helped. During his radio appearance, Beane explained that the team wasn't avoiding pass catchers in the draft, but said no one they liked fell to them where they picked. He also said he didn't think it was a deep draft at receiver, and felt the defense was the bigger need. That's probably true. The Bills' defense performed well last season, finishing 11th in points against, but it wasn't elite. The Bills allowed 28 touchdowns on defense, which tied for 24th in the NFL. If the team had a weak spot last season, it was its inability to prevent other teams from finding the end zone. In response, the Bills spent their first five picks on defensive players in the 2025 NFL Draft. Cornerback Maxwell Hairston was the team's top selection. The Bills continued to fill in defensive gaps from there before finally taking tight end Jackson Hawes with their second fifth-round draft pick. For all the Bills' recent success, a Super Bowl has proved elusive. Until the team brings home a title, Beane is going to face scrutiny about every one of his team-building decisions, especially considering how last season ended.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bills GM Brandon Beane expresses frustration on radio after being criticized for not drafting a receiver
The Buffalo Bills didn't win the Super Bowl last season, but the team had a lot going for it. After trading away Stefon Diggs last offseason, Buffalo's offense somehow improved and Josh Allen took home his first MVP award. While Allen and the rest of the offense look strong again in 2025, the Bills neglected to address that side of the ball during most of the 2025 NFL Draft, instead focusing on strengthening the team's defense. Buffalo's strategy — particularly the team's decision to not take a wide receiver early — came under fire on "The Jeremy and Joe" radio show in Buffalo. Beane made a scheduled appearance on the show shortly after that conversation, and wasn't happy about being criticized for not grabbing a receiver, according to ESPN. "Well, you guys were b****ing in 2018 about Josh Allen, you guys wanted Josh Rosen, and now you guys are b****ing that we don't have a receiver," Beane said when asked what he meant. " ... We just scored 30 points in a row for eight straight games. A year ago, I get you guys asking why we didn't have receivers, but I don't understand it now. You just saw us lead the league in points, when you add all the postseason, no one scored more points than the Buffalo Bills, including the Super Bowl champions. So, you just saw us do it without Stefon Diggs, same group. How is this group not better than last year's group? Our job is to score points and win games. Where do we need to get better? Defense. We did that. So, I get it, you got to have a show, and you got to have something to b**** about, but b***ing about wide receiver is one of the dumbest arguments I've heard." Beane has a point. The team didn't have a true No. 1 receiver last year, but it still finished second in points scored in the regular season. Allen did win his first MVP, though threw for fewer yards and touchdowns than the previous four seasons. In addition to that, the Bills went heavy on offense in the first round in both 2023 and 2024, bringing in tight end Dalton Kincaid and wideout Keon Coleman. Beane has made an effort in recent seasons. You can argue, however, that despite the Bills' numbers and Allen's ability, missing that star pass catcher hurt the team when it mattered most. On the team's biggest play of the year, Kincaid dropped a pass that would have kept the Bills' season alive. Given everything that happened on that particular play, you can't guarantee having a standout top wide receiver would have drastically altered the outcome of the game, but it certainly would have helped. During his radio appearance, Beane explained that the team wasn't avoiding pass catchers in the draft, but said no one they liked fell to them where they picked. He also said he didn't think it was a deep draft at receiver, and felt the defense was the bigger need. That's probably true. The Bills' defense performed well last season, finishing 11th in points against, but it wasn't elite. The Bills allowed 28 touchdowns on defense, which tied for 24th in the NFL. If the team had a weak spot last season, it was its inability to prevent other teams from finding the end zone. In response, the Bills spent their first five picks on defensive players in the 2025 NFL Draft. Cornerback Maxwell Hairston was the team's top selection. The Bills continued to fill in defensive gaps from there before finally taking tight end Jackson Hawes with their second fifth-round draft pick. For all the Bills' recent success, a Super Bowl has proved elusive. Until the team brings home a title, Beane is going to face scrutiny about every one of his team-building decisions, especially considering how last season ended.
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Playoffs in European football should come with ‘buyer beware' warning
So, are copies of 'Moneyball' that hard to find in France? That was one of my first thoughts with the news that Ligue 1 is considering adopting revolutionary, North American-style playoffs to decide the champion of the French top division. The hope is that more eyeballs on the league will follow. European soccer leagues have long walked a moral high ground over North American leagues such as the NHL, NFL and MLB because they award the league title — and the financial rewards and European competition spot that comes with it — to the team with the best record after the most number of games. And success over a lengthy period is part of what made a revolutionary thinker himself, longtime Oakland Athletics baseball general manager Billy Beane, so notable. Beane spent low on undervalued players and used underlying metrics to predict future success. It led to a consistently strong regular-season A's team that operated on a fraction of the budget of its competitors. The team was documented in a must-see sports movie featuring Brad Pitt, derived from a book by Michael Lewis. Advertisement That's the kind of attention Ligue 1, undoubtedly the fifth-biggest of the big five European leagues, wants, right? So how did Beane feel about the postseason — where MLB teams are truly judged — according to the book itself? 'My s— doesn't work in the playoffs.' What a line. And, if you're a Ligue 1 executive considering the dramatic proposal, it's a line that should serve as a strong case of 'buyer beware,' as well. Because doing away with tradition and adopting playoffs to determine the Ligue 1 champion would completely change the landscape of French soccer. Not necessarily for the better, either. Playoffs, as Beane poignantly alluded to, are so fraught with randomness that the most diligent planning and roster building still can't always prepare teams for the second season. That's become clear to me as I've covered the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs since 2016 for The Athletic, in tandem with my Canadian soccer coverage. Over those nine seasons, the Leafs have the third-best winning percentage in the NHL's regular season. And they don't have anything close to a championship to show for it. They have iced teams that have finished as strong over a long stretch of games as Beane's regular season teams did. But a few bad bounces and erroneous plays here and there in the postseason (among other, deeper-rooted issues to be sure), and the Leafs have fans as deeply scarred as those of the A's. That's the reality that Ligue 1 must accept. Perhaps it will be happy to do so, given the inherent predictability of having a powerhouse like Paris Saint-Germain, which secured a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title last season. But anyone who buys into the spectacle of playoffs knows full well: Their entertainment value comes from the heavy dose of luck and randomness. The large slate of games on a balanced schedule allows for errors to correct themselves over time. Losing streaks can be swept under the rug if there are positive trends to be found in the losses. Advertisement But in the playoffs, there isn't a rug in sight. One loss, however unfair or owing to a strange bounce here and there, can change the course of a team's season. Say the names Alex Galchenyuk or Travis Dermott in Toronto, and you'll immediately be subject to rants about how these players — on one of the best Leafs teams in recent memory — had costly turnovers in two playoff overtime games in 2021. Each turnover led to a playoff winner the other way. The Leafs had a 3-1 series lead against the Montreal Canadiens but lost momentum, never recovered from those two blunders and improbably, squandered arguably their best chance to win a Stanley Cup since 1967. It didn't matter that the Leafs finished with a much better record over 56 games that season compared with the Canadiens. What mattered were the crucial details in a high-stakes environment and how small the margins become. Or, in more common parlance: That's playoffs, baby. Is Ligue 1 ready to accept that the best teams will not always be crowned champions? Is Ligue 1 ready to accept that the strongest brand it has going for it — PSG — could no longer be associated with consistent titles? Or that the advent of a playoff system and the possibility of heroes turning to goats with one play could scare players away from signing in France? Adopting playoffs could change the way Ligue 1 teams prepare through the season itself. There could now be, in essence, two seasons. This isn't to assume tanking, or, say, not fielding the strongest possible lineup will be an immediate byproduct of playoffs, not with the ever-present threat of relegation. But by its very nature, the regular season would count less, simply because it is no longer the direct route to overall success. Suddenly, the most important factor would be in getting hot at the right time, as hockey's Edmonton Oilers, a sixth seed in the current NHL postseason but on a current streak of seven playoff wins from eight. Advertisement Point is, it's safe to assume some Ligue 1 teams could end up devaluing the regular season as long as they qualify for the playoffs. Even if, of course, team executives and managers might publicly state otherwise. Checks and balances, you ask? Ligue 1 could have these in its back pocket: namely, with Champions League spots continuing to be awarded based on league position, regardless of the playoff outcome. These are options the NHL and NBA, also currently midway through its postseason, don't have. But the excitement surrounding the playoffs could lead to other changes. Consider three words that get fans in North American leagues with playoffs salivating but often draw blank stares from the European soccer community: the trade deadline. Trade deadline day is the last day of the season — relatively close to the playoffs — for teams to make acquisitions via trade. It's the final opportunity to gear up for the postseason. Teams that are in on the playoff hunt buy, and those on the outside looking in usually opt to sell by trading players away. If there is more incentive for teams to win via playoffs, could that lead to more activity in the winter transfer window? It's a window that, generally speaking, doesn't feature serious movement like the summer window. But if there are eight teams that fancy their chances at winning the title midway through the season compared with a smaller number traditionally, the desire to add pieces could increase. Smaller teams could benefit from an influx of cash by selling players in the winter. Relegation evens things out, but more buying and selling in a quieter window probably isn't a bad thing for the financial health of the league. It's also worth wondering whether teams will place greater importance on what type of players they might acquire. More common parlance in North American leagues? 'They're playoff performers.' The types of players who elevate their games late in the season. Who don't cower under pressure. Who might not be the flashiest or most skilled players but are rich with intangibles. Advertisement Could playoff-bound Ligue 1 teams learn to sacrifice glam for grit? Could players who know how to win ugly but get results become in vogue? And, looking ahead, could that change the aesthetics of the Ligue 1 game? Watch enough playoff Game 7s (which feels like what the Ligue 1 playoffs will end up being), and they all strike a similar feel. They're cagey. Teams are afraid of making mistakes. They're fun to watch in a 'I have bitten off my nails and am now gnawing at bone' kind of way. And so if the goal is to increase attention on Ligue 1, the notion of playoffs could do just that. But don't be surprised if the league looks dramatically different in the years to follow, for better or worse. (Top photo of Paris Saint-Germain: Mustafa Yalcin / Anadolu via Getty Images)
