SRQ_BillsFan

I think a provision to stay is just to comfort fans. The Clippers sale was a bit different because LA is almost always going to be the bigger market. I don't think even Pegula would sign a binding no move contract. He would then have little leverage in getting public dollars for a stadium. What if the WNY population started to nosedive again and WNY truly could not sell out the stadium? A lot can change in 10,20,30 years and an owner would be shooting themselves in the foot. I think if anything were drawn up it would have to have provisions that the area needed to meet. This would still be OK with me as long as everything is above board and team management doesn't try to play "Major League". However for some there is always that concern.

I 100% agree with sources that claim the Toronto group wants to keep the team in WNY. Mostly because that is what the Toronto group is saying. They may even hire a PR group to better get the message out. I don't think the sources or articles are wrong. I don't believe that they were were not originally planning to move the team to Toronto. There are sources and articles from several months ago that indicated this, even discussions on solving the Toronto stadium issue. These sources were no less or more reliable than the current "we love WNY" sources. Safe to say that these two contradict each other and wonder why the change of heart? The current lease and the rumor that the trust is only interested in bids that keep the team in WNY is the biggest reason. Given that, most people do indeed believe the current source stories are all true. However the majority of people will question their true intentions. A separate concern is that the Bills and NFL have put Toronto in the Bills region. If they build a Toronto stadium and move the team between Buffalo and Toronto, is this even relocation? The Toronto group could easily argue that they are still in the local of the Franchise as determined by the NFL. Our biggest advantage between the current Bills and other teams that have recently successfully moved is that those teams had owners that wanted to move. The current lease gives Toronto time to build a stadium. This is not the Argos we are talking about, to get an NFL team most cities would do whatever it takes. I hope that the trust can just say no to Toronto and jBJ anything else is not worth the risk.

It's not just Toronto, it's anyone who wants to buy the team and move it. Sure there are positive reports, most are simply rumors. If it's a done deal why are people that want to move the team still wasting their money in the bidding process?

Yes this is why people are worried about the Toronto group.

Sure I agree because they have no choice but to say that. What is long term 2019, 2020? A team in Toronto is a tough sell because of the Bills, especially with a team downtown which is closer to Toronto. Saying this is a done deal and thinking the trust won't sell to a higher bidder is just being nieve. Sure there are things in the lease that we feel can't be broken, do we know that to be true? I have heard just as many people say the trust has to sell to the highest bidder as have said the owners have to keep the team here. No one has tried to break the lease yet, we all say no, but do we really think there is no, nada, zilch possibility? No way these guys in Toronto have given up on their dream because people in Buffalo say so. Who's to say just because Pegula or Golisano have tons of money they will match the highest bid? They may have a figure that makes sense that they won't go over. Milwaukee and the clippers had crazy bids and there are more people out there with tons of money we don't even know about. I a also do not think the sale will include a plan where a new owner has a new stadium in writing or agrees to keep the team here for 20 years, that just won't happen. There are plenty of ways to drive down attendance and turn the fans off to make it look like any move is the fans fault giving the team the blessing of other owners. I am glad that many can sleep well thinking this is all over, I won't feel that way until a trusted local buyer is in place or a 30 year lease on a new stadium. And even then may not. Toronto has NOT given up and who know what else is out there and what their plans might be?

Based on what we have been told if you work even 1 day in another state you need to pay taxes and size doesn't matter, technically. Yes, I work for a very large computer company with thousands of people crossing state and country boundaries every day. However if you work for a small company it would be much harder for anyone to notice and come after you. We are told it is an IRS policy and if we didn't comply we would quickly be audited at the corporate level. Internally it is all triggered by our expense accounts which they use to make sure out online tax status within payroll has been set up to pay taxes. Since it needs to be in the payroll system before we get paid we can "get away" with some days, but are technically supposed to fix that by sending a correction email. For people like me that don't have a state tax it's a pain in the ass. I recently got divorced and the 30% artificially raises your yearly income which sucks for alimony and child support! I usually work 100% out of state.

Your supposed to. My employer makes sure that we do. They give it back to us however to make us "whole". However we get 30% more than we pay because that is also taxed. I live in FL where there is no tax. But still have to pay in every state I work. Actually when the jock tax came along is when they clamped down on this.

There were more Bills fans there doing the Super Bowl years but think always has been a higher percentage of Steelers fans. Think we are #3 to the Browns now.

I agree it's not so much a fake plan as a plan with an out. If their thoughts were to leave after the lease, this is where they will fall back on we tried but could not make it work. No financial plan will be required to be rock solid 7-8 years down the road, they can't be as nothing is certain. I agree if jBJ's bid is backed by Toronto monies it is safe to assume the intent is to move to Toronto as soon as they are able. Anyone believing that things have changed is making a huge mistake.

I think they should be forced to give up the franchise and suspend all players and team personnel for life. Oh and forfeit every game for the upcoming season. (2 wins is 2 wins after all)

I'll take him over jBJ

I remember when it was all a done deal and we were the front runner for MLB. Somehow Montreal stole our team. There are two dates I am looking forward to a local owner and groundbreaking of the new stadium an it's 30 year lease.

Even if 1/6 or 1/7 are interested that's still 4-5 potential unknown bidders with unknown intentions. Boy will I be glad when this is finally over.

Whether or not I think he is guilty right now doesn't matter. If I were selected to be on this jury ( not that there will ever be one ) I would do my job with an open mind and the state would have to prove their case before I would vote guilty. I would make the assumption that what I'd heard or read was journalism written to appear more interesting and sensational than what was reported. I would hope that any member of the jury didn't sit in assuming the man was guilty based on Buffalo radio tv and newspaper.

Can't replace experience. We have a lot of potential. I liked Stevie, how many games did we win where he didn't drop the pass or fumble, we'll never know. For what we got for him I would have rather had him here.

I think the writer was talking about advertising dollars from NYC, not fans. However I still don't think it would work. However when I originally moved to Columbus Ohio from Buffalo, I was shocked at the number of people that had no clue about Buffalo and NY state. People were always asking me about Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, what it was like to never see trees or grass, etc. So I guess to some of the rest of the country this could work, but not for the people that would be investing/spending the advertising dollars to put their name on something.

Ok so I can call the police and say I saw you or someone else driving backwards with your feet on the steering wheel going 50 mph in a 30 zone the wrong way on a one way street and to the police that means you did it? A defendant has a right to question/challenge a witness. And yes if Darius were suspended as a result of this, I think the DA would worry about how that would affect voters. Again he may have done it, they may have mountains of proof. My key point is if they did Darius would be a fool not to jump at the lesser charge. The fact that his attny didn't is what makes me question what evidence they have. Again he is not stupid. If it was open and shut then they would jump at the plea. My Cali thing was a traffic accident where one of the drivers got in a physical fight with a police officer. I spoke to an attny who told me that unless they were paying for my airfare and other costs to attend a trial 3,000 miles away that I did not need to attend and that I would not have a warrant in California.

I have not heard that they have eye witnesses ready to testify. I hear that they had phone calls. Do we even know they have witnesses to anything other than the accident ready to appear in court? Sure they can subpena Hughes. But he is gonna do what he can to protect his teammate and himself. What are they gonna do if he doesn't show? Throw him in jail for years for not showing up at a traffic trial? I live in Florida and received a summons to show up in California for a traffic accident. There was no way I was going. I didn't and never heard another word on it. Even if he pushes how is all of this gonna help get the DA reelected? What is his gain in pushing this and making a big deal out of it. In the end there will be a lesser charge and community service. There is no gain in the DA taking this to trial.

Well that's because it's obvious he will remain behind the scenes and the swoop in and steal the team right out from under Jon BJ. Not sure if his intentions are to move it or to keep it here. In any case guessing he has a whole bunch more scratch than BJ. But I am not sure if you can own an NFL team in a city that had a temporary NFL team while owning an NBA team in the former temporary location. Since the Titans are Tennessee does that mean the whole state counts as the home location? I remember a whole lot of empty seats in Memphis when the Titans played there, guessing that it may not be the destination? However they could try the Toronto argument and claim lack of interest for someone else's team.

He called himself fat in the article, why beat up the OP? For agreeing?

Actually he is a very good piano player, not sure if he plays any other instruments. May have seen him with a harmonica once, not sure if that counts.

Who knows what evidence they have, we can guess but could be wrong. I heard people called in and said there were two cars racing. I'm sure it's tapped but did they hang around? Are there other witnesses? What constitutes a drag race vs playing around, I certainly don't know. I have never heard anyone say they took off together from a red light when it changed? Maybe someone did and I missed it. Is that a requirement for what is considered a drag race, a street race? I have no idea. I certainly don't know what they have and if it's enough. People generally don't want to get involved, forget things and can get rattled by a defense attny. They may get threats from other Bills fans. I honestly have no idea if they were street racing or not. Doing something stupid, most likely. But I can it say they are guilty of the greater charge at this point I am not sure anyone can say they are, especially once provided the burden of proof by the judge. That is and has been my point all along. Darius' lawyer seems to think they can not even prove the reckless driving charge presented (are there different degrees?) or he would have taken the plea deal. I think this is the only thing that we can take from it as it sits today. I do agree with why not take the deal offered if you do not think you can beat it or if they will need to drop it. Maybe they want to make the DA prove he will prosecute. Logically they feel they can do better than what is being offered. Maybe they want to try to do something behind closed doors, is that possible? Or are hoping to get it reduced to a lesser charge with some community service even simply stalling to force the NFL to act on the 1st arrest as a standalone incident. I know I can't say.

Agreed on the strength of circumstantial evidence. We don't know what it is. If it is not strong enough the judge can throw the case out and it then never even gets to a jury. But Darius' agent knows what the evidence is, there are few if any surprises and he feels he can beat it.

All I know is that there was a link in the NBCsports link posted above about Justin Timberlake drinking a toast to Ralph at his recent Buffalo concert. It's obvious to me from this tidbit that he plans to swoop in and steal the Bills from Jon Bon Jovi. Although I have no indication if he prefers Toronto or another city? I am quite sure however that he has more money than JBJ. Was afraid to start a new thread, the people from the Sabres board would get upset. Back on track... A DA has to prove his case to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, not convince a jury. Subtle but important difference. Circumstantial evidence can be part of his case, but not his entire case. Hughes and Darius could have been playing around and passing each other, this does not necessarily fit the legal description of a street race. Hughes doesn't need to lie.

Didn't see him, but using my iPhone.