May Day 10

I didnt mean to knock his southern accent. He is just real 'a matter a fact' kind of guy. I cant picture him as a good frontman to woo a young man to move to a questionable organization. I just put the "W" in there for effect. People all over Buffalo mimic the guy. It doesnt mean we arent being classy. I even said at the end of the post that I like Nix (and Gailey).

The Bills need an executive who can woo potential players. Like Pegula and Black are doing with the Sabres. It is absolutely necessary in building from a tarnished rep. Buddy Nix telling somebody "we want ya to play footbawl for us in Bufflo" isnt going to cut it. And I wouldnt be shocked if the main contact is with Overdorf as he seems to do all the contract negotiations. That sounds pleasant. They need to go all in. And they need someone in Brandon's position who is a football guy somewhat and not just a marketing/snake. They needed to reach out to him, tell him the plans for the team and how they want to build a dynasty, with him anchoring the line. Buffalo is a great place, the fans are great, etc. If there is someone on the team who went to college with the guy, get him on the phone. OH what do you know?! Thurman Thomas and Jim Kelly just walked in the room. Hang on they want to talk to you.... is there anything you need to assist with your move to Buffalo.... etc..... That, along with overpaying gets the job done. For now. Eventually, the bad rep would go away and players would start to seek this organization out. But I really dont think they (Wilson, Brandon, Overdorf, Littman) give a crap enough to go "all-in" with free agents. I think the team is in an endless cycle of **** until Ralph passes away. Even the players drafted (or undrafted) who do well eventually leave once they get good. They cant wait to leave. Anyone remember that Coy Wire interview a few years ago? This organization needs an enema. I really do like Nix and Gailey... but they are playing against a stacked deck.

Awesome. I really dig Florence and was unhappy that I figured he was a goner. His veteran presence and positive attitude will be huge for the Bills' young DBs.

haha. no problem. I was a bit confused as you gave me a thumbs up for moving home, then chastised me. I thought I was in some bizarro world. Anyways. Sunday Ticket was good living out of the area.... but being in the area it may not make much sense for the $ it costs. Maybe at a reduced price, which is what they seem to offer...

I dont get why I am being attacked here... The guy on the phone. The Direct TV customer service rep, immediately started into apologizing for the lockout and was going into a spiel to save me a bunch of money off the package. It required no effort other than me informing him I wanted to scrap the Sunday Ticket. For some reason I thought this thread was about saving money on the Sunday Ticket.

I replied because the guy was armed with pitches and deals ready to go. should I get permission from you before I reply to topics now? I dont get it.

I am shocked. small markets are vastly outnumbered now.

lol at the Favre jersey.

I called to cancel yesterday. The guy was ready to give me all sorts of pitches.... but I cut him off. I am moving back to Buffalo this month.... and I wont really be able to settle into a new house until October sometime. Im keeping Directv in my NJ apartment until Im totally moved out... but no use for the Sunday Ticket.

The Sabres are > Bills for me. Always have. I still love the Bills though. I have little complaints for Golisano and would have no reservations with him buying the Bills. As someone pointed out, this team had less than 6000 fans in the building most nights. They were miserable and not relevant. They were an awful investment in terms of the viability of small market NHL teams (even some large market) and the upcoming lockout. They made the Sabres very relevant. They spent up near the cap most years even though they were likely losing a little money. A few good playoff runs, a President's Trophy, a few Northeast banners, and a Winter Classic. Golisano didnt go over the top to win, but people forget, when he bought the team, he made it clear that the goal was to make the organization viable on its own. As far as the Bills go, if Golisano applied the same philosophy, the team would not have to watch the pennies as tightly as it does under Wilson. Golisano's one folly was the unleashing of Larry Quinn, making him kind of the owner of the team... then stepping away to Florida. Quinn was the issue with the Sabres and many bad decisions were made and tolerated with the on-ice team.... as well as presentation, uniforms etc. I feel we have a situation similar to that with the Bills in Russ Brandon. I dont think Brandon has as much of a grip as Quinn... but he has too much influence on everything just from credentials based on his decision for Rochester Training Camp and his relationship with Wilson. I think if Golisano were to be involved with the Bills, he would require other wealthy investors. Perhaps of the competitive variety such as Bob Rich Jr, and Terry Pegula. The other owners arent going to allow a dictatorship in the front office like Larry Quinn had. Larry Quinn also will not want anything to do with running the Bills. He had health issues and I dont think he will want to face the scrutiny again.

I wish they wouldn't have gone to the other extreme. Start by strict enforcement of the existing smoking lanes. Try a further away smoking area. I don't think I have ever been to a venue (out of about 20 pro venues) that don't allow for a smoking area.

Like I said before.... the biggest mess this creates is the traffic coming into the stadium. Many people arrive around 9AM as it is. Now you are bottlenecking all the people who come in between 8AM and 9AM in there as well. Abbott road is going to be gridlocked for miles.

I usually dont arrive until about 9AM anyway. However, I foresee a TON of traffic to get into the lots now at 9AM. This smoking thing is fine. It is a gameday tradition and a vice for me to have a cig or two at halftime. However, I think this will not work out as planned. A lot of people are going to be lighting up, sneaking it, etc.... Eventually it will just evolve and they will have a corral or something leading to just outside the gate.

yeah. 18 games would disrupt the perfect universe they have with the schedule and divisions anyway. The feeling of almost losing the Sabres was miserable. I dont want to go through that, and I dont think its fair to expose groups of fans like Minnesota and Buffalo to that. Even Jacksonville should stay.

I dont see why teams have to be moved if they arent losing money and no owner is willing to absorb the losses. I think a federal law needs to be passed to prevent this. if the nfl wants teams in la and toronto, they can expand.

I hate Adam Schein because he grunts out random words in the middle of sentences and tries to be Chris Berman, and does very poorly at it. I dont like his analysis at all. Almost everyone else on Sirius NFL Radio is great, and somehow this clown ended up in the middle of it.

how do you place a value on "intangibles"? also I disagree. Adam Schein is a joke and I cant listen to him on NFL Radio. If you look at these ratings and how the discrepancy is between teams, this whole thing is a joke. I realize the Bills would be low on the list... but I would certainly rank them ahead of Carolina and Cincinnati at this point at the very least. New Orleans #2?

^^^ some good points If and when Ralph passes and there is a succession plan in place. We lead a charge to get a statue of him somewhere at the stadium.

yeah. its just for fun, really. we wont have money on the line. Although it will be an offical "Molson Bowl" as we call it. It wont effect rosters or keepers. Any moves made during the Madden wont count, the actual rosters will be the same.

I am commissioner (8th year of a keeper league) and I am trying to plan for a lockout. Right now, what I am thinking is still holding a draft as if there was a season. If there is no season, keeper tenures remain the same as they are this year, and you have the option of keeping the players you drafted. Rosters are frozen other than the draft until a cba is reached. I think that is the right play. If there isnt a season, to keep people interested, I am going to sim the season week by week on Madden and manually compile our season based on the fictional Madden season. I did a practice run and it isnt too bad, and it helps our league's scoring is pretty simple.

that is going to be so great when this is no longer hanging over our heads. Golisano isnt a bad owner at all. He goes away. He wanted the Sabres to be viable or near viable, and he spent the maximum amount he could while achieving that goal. The Bills easily make money and I could see Golisano increasing $ out if the team's balance sheet matches what it normally does with Ralph. The problem is Quinn was the President and likely would in a Bills scenario (unless he just doesnt want the stress which is likely based on his health). Quinn was too hands on it seemed and it truly bungled things up and resulted in the complete dismantling of that 95-97 team. But sign me up if Golisano is the owner and Russ Brandon is the President. As long as Brandon is completely overpowered by the personalities of the Football side.

At this point in time, I like: Luck, Moore, Foles, and L. Jones

I like "Tiny" for Jasper

I think a team in Toronto would be a success. The city is huge, affluent, and growing by the day. I really think if they have their own team, it will be supported and there will be a lot of hype around it. This 'sharing' arrangement is silly. With that said, there is no reason the NFL shouldnt expand to LA and Toronto. Of course this takes away threats to milk the public for dollars.... but cmon, there is room at the table for everyone.

how awesome would it be if we had Todd Collins?