CodeMonkey

I think a big reason you find it so boring is that you grew up in a society where American football is king. You understand and can appreciate the fine points of that game and perhaps even played it at some level. Whereas soccer is the new kid on the block to you and therefore you don't have the same background or history with it. I was the same way until right after college I lived for a year in the UK where i was not only exposed to it, but also got to see it played at a high level consistently. I still enjoy watching quality soccer now, and I do not watch American football at all really except for the Bills. Like you I can and do appreciate the skill it takes to play both games at the professional level. But you do not find the overly anal retentive American football rules ridiculous? I do not think American football is at risk of morphing into football (soccer), the games are simply too different. But I think if American football relaxed it's rules a bit, for example for false starts (which drives me mad particularly early in the season when those flags fly constantly) I think the game would end up flowing better and would be more enjoyable for everyone.

I'm not Canadian, but it does add to the sport. If that was not in place all you would see is constant cherry pickers camping down in front of the goal looking for the long pass. Yeah I imagine there would be more goals scored and fewer icings, but if you enjoy the game of hockey at all how could you want no blue lines or some form of offsides??

Case in point the red zone channel.

This has been answered several times in various threads. http://www.sportingn...bs-terry-pegula So yes, Pegula can own the Bills whereas Jacobs cannot (without selling the Bruins anyway).

I can believe that as long as they didn't look too close. It's the "lipstick on a pig" argument. The pretty exterior doesn't mean much if the underlying root cause economic issues aren't addressed. I'm not saying they can't be or even aren't being addressed by someone, but simply putting up some new buildings in and of itself is not going to do it.

It's not the huddling up that bother me. It's all the artificial stoppages to allow for TV commercials. I record Bills games and watch with all commercials and halftime stripped out and it is very watchable for me. Watching a game live is excruciating, which is why I HATE the 4pm starts (those I generally have to watch live as we watch as we eat dinner))

When humans are involved there will always be human error. But is American football any better? Come here any Monday-Wednesday after a Bills loss and you will read how horrible NFL officiating is

The rest have been addressed, but as to the one ref (actually 3 like was explained above). But the rules of soccer are not as anal as American football where if, for example, a offensive linemans leg muscle twitches the game clock stops and the team is penalized. Soccer rules try to keep the game moving (which is why even if there is a foul it will not be called if the team being fouled maintains possession of the ball). Also a reason why your stopwatch test didn't work is because even in stoppage time the ref can add time if need be due to injury, a goal being scored etc. Everyone knows about when it will end, regulation because if you notice the coaches and fans look at their watches when the game starts and it is running time. The exact stoppage time is not a huge concern. The rules what they are in American football you need all the additional refs. They are not needed in soccer. I prefer how soccer games generally keep moving and think American football could benefit from some simplification of the rules to keep the game flowing. But if this happened there would not be as many commercials so I guess that would not work. You are being a little silly maybe because the games are very different. But a few points, like the refs for example, are valid and interesting to discuss. Keep in mind too that what we are seeing now in the World Cup is the best of the best from the entire world. Some European top leagues come close to this quality, but if like what you are seeing now, do not expect to tune into a MLS match and see the same quality

Completely backwards: "Team owners are now allowed to own teams in multiple major sporting leagues, but those teams need to be in the same city" http://www.buffalorumblings.com/bills-news-notes/2014/3/26/5548174/nfl-ownership-rules-buffalo-bills-sale-ralph-wilson

No Erie County judge who wishes to be reelected that's for sure An appeals court or NYS Supreme Court in Albany who knows.

This is a very interesting topic and I hope that once the financials are released and things move into the actual bidding phase that there is transparency in the process. I doubt there will be because for the parties involved I would imagine that would be a giant pain with no benefit, but for us it would be a terrific view into a process most sports fans never get to see.

And that really is the crux of the matter. Would the court go this far. My lawyer friend says they do not in "normal" lease breaking cases and doubts the court would in this case either. But he also says this situation is anything but normal so he won't discount the possibility completely.

Yes they are free, you just need to go to one of the designated Verizon stores in the Rochester area and ask for them. They generally only give out a couple per person, so my wife brings our kids and they all go in individually if we know others who need tickets I will try and post here as they announce the tickets being available and will help out as many as I can.

Thanks! My kids always harassed my wife to get there early for this, now they won't have too

Great recap, thanks. If fans can get to the gates at 12:30 and still be in their seats by kickoff then that would be fantastic. No one should be able to complain about that.

Exactly. I mean, how could they make or even prepare a bid before seeing the financials. We are talking about a billion-dollar-ish investment here It is encouraging to hear that he is serious about it though.

Excellent article, thanks for posting!

That's anywhere in PA. Not that long ago you couldn't even buy it in a grocery store at all.

As opposed to a game with 60 minutes on the clock that can drone on for 3 hours or more you mean?

Nah. You underestimate the parking lots and the resolve of Bills fans sir!

He is still in the courts here in Rochester as well over property taxes that he thinks he should not have to pay. NY is tax crazy and I do not blame him at all for leaving. Wouldn't blame him if he moved Paychex as well. And yes he does love the region that is pretty clear. He donates a lot of money every year to universities, high schools, and a children's hospital that bears his name in Rochester. As to free time, I guess we disagree. In my experience Golisano and others like him do not spend all day on the back porch sipping margaritas. They are plenty busy. Could he make the time to run the Bills, almost certainly. Particularly if he left Brandon to most of the day to day like he does now. But lots of free time is unlikely at least in my opinion

Yeah diving is a big problem in both soccer and hockey. You see "simulation" (diving) yellow cards being given in soccer some now. But it needs to be enforced more in my opinion. Penalty kicks are necessary otherwise any time someone got any kind of a good look in close, a defender would just tackle them. This is actually no different than a PI call in football, particularly in the end zone. it's extra time, not penalty time. And it is to make up for time wasted when players go down (dive or otherwise), time to reset the game after a goal, a player intentionally delaying a game to milk the clock etc. It is also not arbitrary, though it does look that way. Yes they could switch to a countdown clock and stop it in the time wasting cases (that would make it more TV friendly as well to insert commercials), but the ruling body prefers to stick with the traditional way which is that the referee keeps the official time. The one on the scoreboard is merely for the convenience of the spectators. The cards are mainly to prevent injuries. If the ref sees any kind of dangerous play, even if no one is injured, a card will be given. Reds get you ejected and also an immediate suspension for a couple games. Two yellows in the same game equals a red. And the yellows accumulate across games such that if you get so many in a season you are also suspended for games. Again, not so much different than a headshot for example in football. Except that even the attempt can get you a card in soccer, regardless if it connects or not.

A big difference too is they have not changed the rules of soccer for TV. There are no timeouts, no TV timeouts, no swapping of offense and defensive squads etc. that are a great place for commercials. I for one find American football maddening to watch live due to all the time wasting. The only worse one is baseball. I enjoy watching Bills games without commercials. But I enjoy watching quality soccer even more. Watching English or Spanish Premier league soccer for example, or World Cup now, is very entertaining. However watching MLS is like watching a high school game. If what people are judging soccer on is what we see in the MLS, do yourselves a favor and watch some of the world cup. I don't expect everyone to love it or to necessarily think it is a better sport to watch than American football. But there is no reason people with an open mind could not enjoy both. The rest of the world embraces what Americans call soccer, maybe it's time for some of the more closed minded Americans to see why instead of just considering it an attack on the sport they grew up with.

Right but the question beckons as to why they (they being the Bills as well as the county) would write stadium improvements into a lease knowing (or at least they should have known had they looked into it privately if not publicly) a new stadium would almost certainly be required in the near future. It's not stupid at all in my opinion. Any good businessman would have the same question. I suppose you could argue that it was stupid, or at least politically incorrect. for him to make that statement to the press instead of just thinking it himself

Golisano owns and runs Paychex. Is a philanthropist who has a foundation in his name that donates large sums of money to various causes and institutions. Is soon to be married and resides in Florida, not NY anymore. Where are you getting the information that he has all this free time?