May Day 10

wow, never thought I would see the day. Hopefully they keep it up. A win against Syracuse would be so historic for the school.

I thought Miami/O was better than E Michigan, W Michigan, or Toledo. I think Buffalo got almost as good as an opponent as they would have gotten if they hung on. They would have probably just swapped places with N Ill and been in the Boca Raton Bowl vs UAB. Either way, both opponents are comparable. UAB won C USA, but whatever. The big loss was Ohio. beat Ohio AND win the MAC and we could have seen an upgrade in Bowl and Opponent.

Some time ago, i passed the point of caring what players do off the field. Especially the nfl. Im sure i have breaking points, but this isnt it. If they are on the bills, just concerned about avoiding jail time and suspension(s). These are young men, prime physical specimens for our species, often taken out of tough upbringings, walked through "college" where they are kings, then given unimaginable amounts of money. Very attractive to women, and have grown accustomed to getting what they want. All in a world where everyone has a supercomputer in their pocket with an hd camera connected to social media and lawyers circling above. To me, from what is seen in the video, its 95% show by Hunt, being young and very reckless. Made a very bad choice. He deserves another chance imo (also a suspension). He says sorry, does some appearances, and is on watch by the nfl (who advises him to employ a handler). I found you cant be moral police and an nfl fan without painting yourself into a corner. There are bad guys that appear on every team, and the nfl's first instinct is to hide things. It is also probably worse punishment to play in the games snd get your bell rung a bunch of times With that said, i dont see kim pegula signing off on this

Pick him up bills

Ban him the rest of the regular season and put it in the rearview asap Nfl wont do that though. Theyll drag themselves with hunt through the mud

San Diego?

This is a point I like to make from time to time. I always look at the Detroit Red Wings and Atlanta Braves. I believe we even suffered a bit from it in the mid 90s, but that was a different time before internet ticket sales, social media, and such You need to feel deprivation to some point and the "cycle" is a good thing. Wait until the Sabres or Bills host a playoff game. It will be a wild scene

It hasnt been cyclical here, which has been the problem. It has been pretty much 20 years of not being relevant/competitive, and not hosting a playoff game in 22 years. There are adults approaching 30 years old who have no memory of a home playoff game. Other than 2 hot starts that everyone deep-down knew were fluky, the last 6 games of 2004 where they played the bottom 5 teams in the NFL consecutively, and a late season push where they kind of stole a last wildcard spot by virtue of another team's miracle play, there has been nothing. Give us one season where the Bills have a 7-2 start that turns into a 11-5 season, a Division title and a home playoff game (or even a bye), leading into another and tickets would be near impossible to come by without paying well above face value. The relevancy would sustain them throughout a few off years. Much like the Sabres' runs of 05-07. Struggling and cheap ticket sales become the hottest ticket in town. Tickets undervalued, large waiting list, and it sustained them while they increased prices steadily. If the Bills get relevant, it would be huge as there is a generation of fans who have increasing buying power and free time who have no idea what its like. On the flip side, there are adults in New England who know nothing other than NFL games arent really important until the Conference Championship game.

A year like last year, when you have top end talent tiered at the QB position, it is important (although I have no regrets about what played out breaking the drought). The Cam Newton year comes to mind as well. There was a ton of talent, and we missed on Newton and Von Miller and got Mr Fat Stuff. AJ Green went next. The Bills got some 'feel good' wins that meant zilch. IMO, this draft it doesnt matter that much. In fact, positional needs for the Bills are probably low top 10 or lower. Allen looking improved/good and gaining confidence is worth way way more than a couple draft slots.

Its larger, but we still lack the white collar/fortune 500 corporate backing and suite/amenity purchasing power. Relying on corporations from Toronto to spend big on a Buffalo team an hour away (much more with GTA and bameday traffic/border) is fantasy. A low-frills stadium focused on football game watching is what is desired. There is certainly going to be comfort features installed.... but the level of things we see in Atlanta, Minnesota, Dallas, or SF would be a monstrous waste of money and space.

Sticking with Bogosian seems to be a great move as well, and Girgensons and Larsson too. Nobody would have faulted Botterill from culling any of them I also think Sobotka is playing well behind the scenes, and Tage Thompson is getting stronger every game and has a very high ceiling.

That first line is absolutely lethal. The other team gets on their heels in survival mode. Havent seen that here since LaFontaine/Mogilny clicked.

An NFL game is an all-day event. 15-20 minutes of extra driving is inconsequential.

I understand. The arena being there is one of the biggest draws of humans to the downtown area, that frankly, doesnt have a ton going for it. A goal that all stakeholders have been trying to realize. It is well placed. IMO, arenas and baseball stadiums do have a positive affect on downtown areas, but football stadiums are not. The downtown area can barely move 19,000 people out of there at once, and even that is debatable. It isn't well designed for heavy traffic volume. A football stadium would require major transportation upgrades.

Having a 19,000 seat arena that hosts 41+ sabres games, like 8 bandits games, NCAA Hoops, Concerts, etc downtown is beneficial to the area, which is the goal. Dropping it in Lackawanna (the town between OP and Buffalo) would be extremely foolish and counter-productive Also, remember the Harbor Center is connected to Key Bank Center.

Let me preface this with 'they are not building a new arena' The arena was built on the cheap compared to other venues in the same era (probably the only choice at the time to avoid the Phoenix or Winnipeg Sabres). Building materials are noticeably cheaper. A few major structural problems are the concourses are poorly designed. They are narrow and a lot of choke points. The inside of the arena has that giant bubble roof. It makes for poor acoustics and combined with the gigantic blue wall below it and ductwork, it sucks all the intimacy out of the place. The seating grade is awful. The seats go very far away from the ice, much moreso than other modern arenas I have been to. Especially when you are in the corners, you are very far away from the ice/performance, etc. The way it is built, the approach of and the corners have narrow builds of seats and it gets very cramped and uncomfortable. Also, there are many seats in the 100 level that are really bad and you need to watch much of the game on the scoreboard.

The Kissmas bash is much better served in Key Bank Center, and maybe even a smaller venue because I don't believe it is a huge demand event (judging by seeing pics on social media last year and begging people to buy tickets on radio). No need to move 9-12,000 people to a cavernous 65,000 seat venue. The Hockey Arena can adequately house like 95+% of the events, especially in a 'mid-size' city. There are a few Summer concerts that will go into the Bills' venue, and that is not dependent on a new or indoor stadium. The rest go to canalside or Darien Lake. IMO, money would be very well spent on a brick and mortar amphitheater downtown for Summer concerts.

what concerts?

That's what I mean, and you get it. It wont be easy, and I suspect the Pegulas have done some research as well and the sails have been taken out of the wind on downtown a bit. This study may dig deeper. Then they will need to look at the delta between revenue and additional cost. I think it is negligible to be honest. You would also need a lot of charity from Buffalo, Erie County, and NYS... as well as personal investment. As it is now, the traffic even after a Sabres game is awful. Couldnt imagine getting to and from a Bills game with 4x as many people, others in bars.... and also the possibility of an event happening at the same time at Key Bank Center My rough estimate based on staying at a holiday inn express is: Downtown: $1.7 Billion Adjacent to New Era Field: $750-$800 Million Full Renovation of New Era Field $600 Million IMO, they will build adjacent. A new build provides many more options and freedom and doesnt have to be stuck 40% under ground. You would also possibly need to play a season of games at UB, Toronto, Hamilton, or Syracuse

I think your new stadium estimate is very low.... and downtown will probably be north of $1.5 Billion + when all is included with infrastructure, engineering, and land acquisition.

IMO, we have a very cool and unique thing going. It really "Popped" on the MNF game on TV. Hopefully we can preserve that to some degree

Im thinking there is enough space to build it in an adjacent lot while games still played at NEF. Also, not sure how much the hole in the ground would hold up construction. Build it in ground? Or a backfilling process

The Key Bank Center part of it is interesting... That place is in need of a re-do. Infinite funds, we would be better served with a new arena

this is a real step though.

25 pages