CodeMonkey

Hmmm. If it were the Bills in the middle of this I wonder how many people here, or Bills fans in general, would do the same. Precious few I suspect.

I don't think that case ever had any merit at all. And it is an insult to even bring a case about something as insignificant as !@#$ing football to the supreme court. If King Roger wasn't going to do anything about it (which he didn't), it really is up to the other owners to force him to. But the owners care about very little other than money and punishment of the guilty was not going to bring them more of that so why bother. Besides, who knows what other unethical things are being done by all of the teams that might be exposed if the Pats were severely punished and decided to drag the league through the mud. King Roger probably did the right thing and minimized the damage.

And a record of 4-12. Unimpressive to say the least. Basically the bar was set very low so being a undrafted free agent on that team was not the same as being one on the pats for example.

That question should be asked right now not just of those 3, but of all owners and players alike as they bicker over how to divide 9.3 billion dollars per year.

Come on now. We all know that the real reason there might be a lockout is because there is only 9.3 billion dollars to split between players and owners. That is not nearly enough. You should be honored to give more of your money to them. They need it much more than you do after all.

They are all !@#$ing !@#$s, players and owners alike. While these millionaires and billionaires are battling it out with each other over money for playing a !@#$ing game, someone should remind them that there are plenty of people in this country battling to put food on their tables to feed their families. !@#$ those pieces of ****, every one of them. I hope there is a lockout and no season this year, and that each and every one of these !@#$s goes bankrupt because of it.

I agree with Thoner here. There was a decent chance Spiller would have still been on the board and they could have gotten more much needed help. And as far as I am concerned, having Spiller off the board at that point would have been a plus for the Bills but that's another discussion . All this assumes of course that someone would have made Nix a good offer for the #9 pick. But my gripe is Nix was so closed minded he didn't even give it a chance.

And ... if they had waited instead of picking immediately one of two things would have happened: 1) No trade worth accepting was offered and they pick Spiller. 2) A worthwhile trade was offered, they give up the #9 for presumably multiple picks later. Then they take Spiller with one of the later picks if he was still available (fair to good chance he would have been) and other much needed help. Or Spiller is gone, so they fill multiple positions of need which so far anyway, would have been the preferable choice based on last season anyway. My original point stands, keeping the door open for a trade costs you nothing and perhaps works out better for you. The Bills sure as !@#$ need as much talent as they can get their hands on. Well, OK, 3 things: 3) They trade down for multiple picks and waste all of them instead of just the one. But I'd like to think that wouldn't happen.

That's exactly what they did last year.

That is exactly the point. They should be considering all offers. The way they sprinted to the podium last year indicates a complete closed mindedness and/or inability to adapt to a dynamic situation. I would certainly hope that Nix being in his second draft as GM will be a bit smarter about it this year. And even if his phone does not ring with a good deal and they use the #3 pick that they at least give other GMs the opportunity to make Nix an offer he can't refuse. Brian Burke in an interview on last years NHL trade deadline day summed it up well. Luke Schenn is about as untouchable as any player in the league. But if someone offers me 10 first round picks he is on a plane. You always, ALWAYS listen to a deal. It costs you nothing and may end up being a big win for you.

Even if what you say is true, and there are only a couple people who know the truth, the GM is still ultimately responsible for staffing a team. With lack of proof to the contrary, I hold him responsible. My hope is the new front office has a new GM in mind, but they cannot pursue him until after the season. Drury, Briere, Campbell, knee jerk reaction overpaying Vanek ... Wilson for Warnerer doesn't even belong in that conversation in my opinion. Besides, I'm not saying everything Darcy did sucked. But look at the team in the cup finals and the one now. I was at the game the other night and couldn't help but think how many guys on the Sabres bench belong in Portland sweaters. Not that they can't someday be NHL caliber players, but they certainly are not now.

Except for the fact that Darcy Regier is still the Sabres GM. He put this team together and by his lack of action so far one has to assume he is satisfied with the current talent level of the team.

Neither. They are football players, not gods. I don't give a !@#$ what they do off the field.

Out of curiosity, what is your opinion of the speaking skills of say Wilson, Nix or Gailey?

Quit whining because the Sabres and not the Bills have a new owner who by all accounts is going to do his best to give Buffalo a major sports championship. Hopefully the Bills will be in the same position someday. I for one appreciate Golisano stepping in and keeping the Sabres in Buffalo, but the team did suffer during his reign. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens now. And as luck would have it, I will be at the game tonight!

I think he says that not just because of the weather (which is a valid reason in and of itself in my opinion, I certainly don't want to watch a SB played in a blizzard), but because of the city as well. The SB "event" is far far bigger than just the game itself with people flying in to party all week and go to the game almost as an afterthought. Buffalo and most other small markets have little to offer to make a great "event" as compared to those other venues.

Guys, he is telling the truth instead of "koolaid speak". What Ralph says to the press isn't going to make the coaching staff slack off, that is just nonsense. I would rather he tell the truth than blow smoke up my ass. I do think though, that taking a shot at Fitz was below the belt.

Are you serious? I can understand why some might want to say Kyle Williams. He did have a good season and seems to be a great kid. But a franchise player is someone who were he to leave, would cripple your team severely. Peyton Manning and Marcia Brady and excellent examples. Is Kyle Williams in this category? Of course not. Your other 4 are far too ridiculous to bother commenting on. Bottom line is the Bills have no one worthy of a franchise tag. We all were hoping Spiller would be tag worthy when he was drafted. And who knows, maybe someday he will be. But for now the Bills are a tag-less organization. I could understand someone wanting to hang a tag on Spiller if they firmly believed he was going to turn into something special however.

Say what you want about Mr. Wilson, but he took the county legislators to school with that contract.

Or wastes time complaining about it? I would agree. What other sport anywhere can afford to pay it's players so much money for so few games played.

I agree with both of you guys. But the original quote was "most popular sport anywhere" and I was just pointing out that the statement, as made, is simply not true. "most popular sport anywhere in the United States" no argument from me.

Soccer far and away is the worlds most popular sport. I don't believe there is even a close second. It's not about winning superbowls or even having a good team. It is about economics. Smaller market equals less money. Not saying I like or you should like it, but our not liking it does not change the facts.

Of course owners in major markets wouldn't want to share evenly with owners in dirt poor markets like Buffalo. Why would they? The NFL (owners and players alike) want more and more money every year. One way to achieve this is to dump small markets like Buffalo and only have teams in major markets. It is simple economics. Would this "ruin the sport"? Outside of the small markets that get boned in the process, no. And even these markets will probably get over it in a few years. And regarding your "most popular sport anywhere" comments at the end ... not even close. But you were rolling by that point so no worries

No. The curse of picking the supplier based strictly on who was the lowest bid. Companies on the verge of bankruptcy will make sweetheart deals because they are desperate for any income. But ultimately the reasons for them being near bankruptcy in the first place prevail and they go out of business.

Ahhh but didn't you see the posts here saying that the REAL fans will pay whatever the team tells them to? Be it their season tickets while getting no value in return, merchandise including new jerseys even if the team hasn't had a sniff of the playoffs in longer than you care to remember, and drafts so bad for so long it is comical. REAL fans support their team always! They won't let a simple thing like a greedy owner stand in their way. I mean ... why let a little thing like being blackmailed ruin a good time? It is THEIR TEAM dammit!!!!!![/sarcasm]