May Day 10

I think he is right on the money on most of those. Sums up exactly how I feel about most teams in like 2 sentences each

Con Air

probably reinhart. Ekblad wouldnt be bad either, despite having like 5-7 top prospects on defense. the big mystery is the possibility of dealing back into Round 1.

I think it would be tied closer to the team and work as kind of an operational Donation/Fundraiser. just shooting from the hip: Everyone gets a commemorative stadium founder's certificate $100 gets you a brick on the walkway to the main gate (goal 1,000) = $100K $200 gets you an autographed football from a Bills great (goal 1,000) = $200K The first 20 people who donate $2,500 get an exclusive dinner with Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas and a brick and a football $50K First 30 people who donate $6,000 get suite tickets to a Bills game and will share a suite with Thomas, Reed, Pegula, Talley, and Bruce and a brick and a football $180K First 5,000 people who donate $200 get first crack at purchasing tickets to the inaugural game. = $1,000,000 10 people who donate $10K will be on the sideline for a game. = $100,000 you name it, there are countless things that could raise a hell of a lot of funds... AND provide fans with some satisfaction for their $. Heck, they could even re-print those old 90s posters like Kellys Heroes and Demolition Blue and sell them off at like $25 a pop. Seats in the Bills' draft war-room, all access Training Camp passes, a full season Press Credential and blog... you name it. To me, the BFA's goals and main benefit was going to be largely symbolic. At this point their original vision is not as functional, especially with Pegula. With a face like Pegula's there I dont think the public will be lining up to donate interest-free loans to him without getting anything in return.... The team wont be in peril any longer, the participation would be minimal IMO.

lol if they move to Portland. Going from big fat guys in spiked shoulder pads and eye patches to games of hackey sack and drum circles

Basically a re-branded method of PSL. Perhaps they can run a "Kickstarter" type of thing with the BFA. Have different tiers of "donation" but offer cooler and cooler merchandise and fan experiences to go along with your donation.

Maybe a new owner sees this as a great community outreach type of opportunity and a creative way to get some grassroots funding for a new stadium or reno. Maybe they will come out with initiatives... like raise X amount of money and we will buy a new scoreboard/video screen for the concourse/bar area....

It just felt like over the final decade, they were not in it to take any real financial risk to seek out reward. Didnt pay for top management personnel/coaches, player facilities were/are fairly mediocre, as I mentioned outsourcing Toronto games, every time they made changes, it was basically just a reshuffling of the same management staff. It just felt like Mr. Wilson was running out the clock so his heirs can cash in on his success. The results on the field year to year speaks loudly as well. As far as keeping the team here... at least in old age, I dont see him moving the team and paying all the fees, stadium, etc as he was making a nice profit year to year and the team would make a killing when it sold regardless. Not necessarily making a sweeping judgement or anything. It is/was Mr Wilson's team to do as he pleased. What gives me a bit of hope is his historic stance against relocation. "I would think the max out" was bad wording on my part. I just dont think they will leave a significant amount of money on the table. We will see.

thats not why. NF is closer for me... NF, at least as presented in the City of NF is an insane and impossible idea. The numerous reasons NF is ridiculous have been stated time after time and somehow a couple people still think its a good idea. The State of NY isnt going to pour multiple billions of dollars to crowbar a stadium there with the hope new ownership could draw a few more people from Toronto. Niagara County and the City of NF certainly bring nothing to the table. Just thinking about it is a waste of time.

It doesnt make sense at this point to just raise money with a hope and a prayer. Not enough time. It has to be in conjunction with new (local) ownership and will likely be re-branded alongside of the team. Team would probably offer perks and an official "certificate" and help finance a new stadium or long-term improvements at RWS.

I just dont think there are enough players to stock 43+ 'minor league' teams, or even a fraction of that. The drop off between the 32 rosters and the practice squads and CFL is pretty severe. You would also lack the minor league TV contract to really pay the lower tier players well enough to destroy their bodies over a short period of time. Im not sure if it is going to get much better either as we can expect youth participation to decrease due to all the health issues that have come to light. The idea of promotion/relegation in any league excites me. I just believe the NFL is the most unlikely specimen for it. You also have to remember that perhaps the NFL's biggest strength is its Socialist/Universal structure. One alternate way to make it work is allow the NFL to place teams where it wants to get to 40 teams, and make it 2 Levels of 20. Even then, 8 more teams would stretch it thin.

I think its a good sign. If they were forced to shut down due to something negative, Im sure the founders would be screaming from treetops. Taking down the page and going silent IMO indicates they may be in the good graces of a serious bidder (Pegula) and the whole thing will be rebranded a bit more professionally with a new direction upon purchase.

There arent enough guys to make it work with American Football. Also, are marginal players going to play in the 2nd - 4th tiers and destroy their bodies for peanuts? I have been saying this though. The US Sport that needs this overhaul is MLB/MiLB. I think they need to wipe out the minors system and allow teams to spend what they want and allow players to fall where they may. MLB teams' rosters can be expanded. Perhaps players can be loaned to lower tiers. No more draft, it will just be open season and you can sign a guy to a contract when he is 18+ or something like that. Lower teams wont be able to employ a scouting staff etc so maybe a lot of low level players would remain somewhat local. The fact a young guy will need to play for less money at first may enhance NCAA Baseball. If a young guy is ripping it up for a low level team, then he can be traded for or bought by a higher tier, etc. It would be awesome. If the Bisons were really playing for something like a possibility of winning the IL/AAA and going to the show, I would probably go to a ton of games. (They have sucked the soul and meaning completely out of minor league baseball which is a huge problem). As it is now, even if the Bisons do well, they get to the playoffs, September call-ups happen, and their playoff team ends up being a bunch of miscellaneous and inferior players we havent seen all year. Its garbage. The only selling point in the minors is when they do special events and try to draw people in for anything they can think of (that isnt baseball). Heck I would even check out Batavia a lot more. This would restore baseball throughout America IMO. They could even place a couple teams in San Juan and Mexico City (remember, no draft and players are ultimately free). I think it would also be cool to see washed up minor leaguers be able to stick around well into their 30s.

I agree on the staff stuff... I stopped listening because I got sick and tired of Ronnie, Benjy, and Sal. Their personas on the show were all too fake and set up I just couldnt take all the attention they were getting. The show was almost driven into a tree when it became the Artie show in the months/year(s) before he tried to kill himself. Couldnt stand it after awhile.

Yeah, Kryk has been all over this story the entire time. I commented props on one of his columns and he emailed me a quick thank you. Thought it was cool. He has provided very thorough, objective facts and analysis.

I would say almost definitely yes, they can revise their bids. If it were public/government, thats not the case. my fear is Rogers may have unmatchable money. Not sure how liquid Ed Rogers is, but Rogers Communications wanted the NHL so they paid $5.2 Billion for the TV rights. That scared the poop out of me. If Ed Rogers goes north of $2 Billion, can you blame Pegula for not matching and can you blame the Trust for selecting that bid?

I think if its close, Pegula will bid enough to put him over the top. Even if its close, I bet the trust has some lateral room to justify the local bid and the extra money would potentially be made up anyways from no delays, votes, courts, etc... Its the silly money I worry about, like if Rogers comes over the top with like $.5 Billion+ more than the next highest

"soulless money grubber" is a straw man and not what I said. You are putting words in my mouth, and those words are pretty low. I dont appreciate it, thats a scummy move. He did "threaten" twice to leave when RWS was built and in 1999. Thats part of doing business though and dont hold it against him. I also dont see him wanting to pay/invest in a relocation fee and getting a stadium built elsewhere in his 80s and 90s when his family will not be involved long-term. I believe its possible the state/county knew he was in a tough spot and came down with very favorable terms. I don't think its unreasonable that Wilson and the trust wish to max out on the sale price. We haven't heard anything concrete otherwise.

how about this random.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk_sAHh9s08

Yeah, he backed up on Saskatchewan for awhile until the trade. Winnipeg is really the doormat for now though. His work is cut out. Hamilton has some interesting QBs: Zach Collaros of Cincinnati fame, Dan Lafevour who many of us wanted from Central Michigan, and Jeremiah Masoli from Oregon

They just didn't seem to leave that much on the table. The outsourcing of games to Toronto for $78 Million over (5 years?) is the best example. If they did that, can we really expect them to leave $100,000,000 + on the table at sale-time? Not that I would expect that from anyone anyways. That is a lot of money.

I do not believe the NFL votes on the trust's decision really other than to vote on the owner selected.

That's the Billion dollar question. Based on the way Wilson ran the Bills, I would think they will max out.

People "know" the NFL. Doesn't matter how much of a celebrity your owner is. If the Bills are halfway decent, media will be there covering the team. I wouldn't want our owner using the Bills for a mouthpiece for any political view.