ICanSleepWhenI'mDead

If Fred's OK with his wife fantasizing about other football players, I don't see why we should have a problem with it - - as long as its just in her head.

And the well-documented fact that Ralph has repeatedly complained to the other NFL owners about how difficult it is for him to make money in small market Buffalo makes me uncomfortable. Unless Ralph leaves the team to a family member (which he has said he will not do), the NFL Constitution & Bylaws give the other 31 NFL owners the right to decide who the next owner of the team will be. My concern is that Ralph has "poisoned the well." http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-ownersrankingspartone072208 http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-silver_al_davis_raiders_relocation_la_stadium101011 Everybody got all warm and fuzzy when Roger Goodell was in town for the Eagles game and told the press something to the effect that he would do everything in his power to ensure that the Bills remained in WNY. Problem is, nobody followed up to ask him exactly what that might be. Goodell's office investigates potential ownership groups and makes recommendations to the team owners about whether to accept or reject change of ownership deals - - but Goodell doesn't have a vote - - only the owners do. Besides, part of Goodell's job is to tell fans what they want to hear, so they feel good about the NFL in general and their favorite team in particular.

For a couple of Canadians' take on the atmosphere: http://thestar.blogs.com/thespin/2011/10/gridiron-meaning.html http://www.thestar.com/sports/football/article/1078469--kelly-dominating-bills-finally-give-t-o-fans-reason-to-cheer

To quote Father Guidoe Sarducci - - "If Johne ever find-a out, da Pope-a say you best watch-a you back after-a da sun goes-a down, or at-a least-a da lower regions of-a it." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuck_Underbank You can-not-a make-a dis stuff up!

Firstly, (Firstly?) don't let facts get in the way of a good argument: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/world-cup-2010/writers/georgina_turner/06/16/fifa.regulations/index.html BTW, even today, NFL playoff games can't end in a tie, but regular season games can. I guess you and Donovan McNabb missed the memo. Second, and more importantly, act like we've been there before, because we have. Do you really think that the Pats or any of their fans are gloating and thinking they have a tactical advantage right now because they can beat us to scrubs on the waiver wire that have been cut by other teams? And if some player with talent does get released by another team in week 8, what makes you think ANY team with a 5-2 record has a realistic chance at getting him off waivers? I know it's been awhile, but you need to start getting used to the idea that we are 5-2 because we are GOOD. Just my 2 rupees.

That comes off as pretty lame, although I'm sure you don't intend it to. It sounds like you have so little faith in our ability to win the division, or to beat the Pats in the rematch, that you have to grasp at chop stix to shout "WE'RE NUMBER ONE!" from now until Sunday. I think the real reason you're ticked off is because, deep down in places you don't like to talk about, you don't really think the Bills can hang with the Pats in the division race, and if you don't grasp at the technicality of the tiebreaker rules to claim superiority, the opportunity will pass you by. Have more faith Bills Nation! Quantum physics are on our side this year: http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/135378-got-a-weird-feeling/page__st__40__p__2258408__hl__%2Blarge+%2Bhadron__fromsearch__1#entry2258408 The super-geek physicists who turned the power all the way up on the Large Hadron Super Collider gizmo just before we drafted Marcel Dareus predicted an "increased likelihood of collisions" and the "detection of very rare outcomes." Ask John Beck now (after the first shutout of Shanahan's career as head coach or OC), or Brady and Sanchez after the season, if the super-geeks got it right. Just my 2 lira.

Nike's gonna sell a ton of shoes when the remake of this classic commercial shows Rex Ryan sniffin' Dareus' shoes: BAD THINGS MAN, BAD THINGS

I haven't seen the head injury research, but Wow, I did'nt realize it was that bad! If they hit one guy really hard per game, they could die in a little over three seasons? Less if they make a deep playoff run? No wonder the players resisted the efforts to expand the regular season to 18 games.

Ha ha . . . very funny, but do you have a link? Didn't think so. As I have repeatedly pointed out, the Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District is a very real place. After openin' a can o' whup-a$$ in a shutout win over the Redskins, I wouldn't be surprised if we see some more school districts named after Bills players pretty soon. I wonder if Ralph wrote a clause into the players' contracts where they can get schools named after them as a performance incentive instead of cash bonuses? Some people will say that just shows how cheap Ralph is, but I think it would be a smart move. Keeps us out of salary cap jail while we continue to build the team.

From the current lease, as posted on an Erie County website: http://www.erie.gov/billslease/stadium.phtml Looks to me like Ralph controls the right to name the stadium through the end of the current lease. At that future date, the naming rights revert back to the County as the owner of the stadium - - at which time the County can again relinquish such rights in the new lease if Ralph still wants them.

http://www.wilmingtontrust.com/wtcom/index.jsp?fileid=3000306 The above link has a few other details about QTIP trusts if you're interested. I have a fairly limited understanding of trusts. It is my understanding that Mary Owen, a high ranking executive on the Bills management team, is the daughter of Mary Wilson's sister. It is also my tentative understanding that a QTIP trust is one way that Ralph could make sure that even after Ralph is gone, Ralph's assets, or whatever portion of them he desires, ultimately pass to his children rather than to (1) Mary Owen or (2) Mary Wilson's next husband if she eventually remarries after Ralph's death. The Buffalo News article implies that because a QTIP trust can be used as a "bridge" to a sale of the team, a QTIP trust would cease to exist after the team is sold. I think that's wrong. As far as I know, the QTIP trust could sell the team and the proceeds of the sale could be invested by the trustee with the resulting income distributed to Mary Wilson during Mary Wilson's lifetime, and the principal distributed to Ralph's children (or anyone else Ralph specified) after Mary Wilson's eventual death. As I mentioned, though, my understanding of trusts is not extensive.

Right, obviously not named after any players from the school district in Steuben County. Named after Bills players instead. Don't go getting all parochial. Jasper and Troupe both played their college ball in the South or Southeast, where Buddy Nix likes to draft from, so obviously neither of them had any connection to the school district until it changed its name. I don't have a problem with naming the school district after Bills players instead of more local heroes from Stueben County. I just think non-obese Bills starters would have been a better choice than overweight back-ups, given the epidemic of obesity among today's youth. Are you suggesting there are no fat kids in the district? That seems unlikely, but you've apparently been there, so you tell me. What's your point?

I am unworthy to tie the Master's shoelaces, but recent events seem to indicate that, like Jasper toiling away at Bethel without even shoulder pads that fit, I may someday be a worthwhile apprentice. But that's kind of the point. Kids need to aspire to be the best, not mere backups, even if they are grossly overweight or Mexican.

I don't know how they name their school districts in Florida, but the Phish only recently signed Losman, and Edwards was just there LB position coach (if I recall correctly) before he became our defensive coordinator. So I think your suggestion is unlikely. OTOH, I vaguely remember something about Losman having a Mexican heritage, so if he really lights it up in Miami, maybe the Cuban Latinos will put him on a pedagog and eventually name a school after him. But unlike Jasper and Troup, Edwards and Losman weren't with the Dolphins at the same time, so on balance I don't think it will happen. Crazier stuff goes on every day in South Beach, though. Now if we were talking about naming one of those Coast Guard rescue helicopters that takes 50 Cuban refugees off a 5 person boat, you might have a point.

France?

C'mon man, take a closer look at the link you provided. First off, the URL shows the text is from a book - - if you were a stoot you would realize that you are relying on a work of fiction. At the very top of the web page it says "Post Card History Series." There are times when you can rely on post cards for accurate information (like in that Ken Burns documentary about the Revolutionary War that tells the history of the common soldier through the post cards they sent), but this aint one of those times. Besides, you are relying on a web page that shows a post card from, I kid you not, "John S. Babbit and Sue Babbit." Now I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I can tell a prank when I see one. Johne Babbitt is a guy from Buffalo, NY. The "S" stands for "severed." He was not a cartographer (look it up). He married the wrong woman and paid for it with a fairly important body part (he remarried Sue later): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_and_Lorena_Bobbitt If you read MY link, it says: So if you want to rely on a prank site by a guy trying to CAPITALIZE on being d*ckless for your geographical information, go right a head. But the Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District is real: http://www.jt.wnyric.org/ In a rather ironic coincidence, one section of the school's website is called the "schooltool:" https://schooltool.jtcsd.org/

Jose Canseco, parts deaux and tres (without the steroids).

This much I agree with, and all of that $14 million goes to the state. This part I disagree about. Two points: First, I'm unclear why you assume that any tax money paid to the state gets divided up, with 55% of the total going back to Erie County, and the state keeping only 45% of the total. How do you justify that asumption? If the state paid ANY money back to the County, why is Collins talking about the County running a $1.5 million deficit per year with respect to the Bills? Second, you, me and Collins are all using annual figures. Collins said that the annual direct revenue to the County from all Bills-related activity is $10 million, and the annual direct revenue to NY state from all Bills-related activity is $22.5 million. So when you and I try to figure out exactly where that money goes, and we break it into different categories, at the end of the analysis it still has to total $10 million + $22.5 million = $32.5 million per year. My breakdown still adds up to a total of $32.5 million, just like Collins. But your numbers don't. You ultimately wind up concluding that there is $18.5 million in sales tax (just like me), but $31 million of "something else." That makes a total of $18.5 million + $31 million = $49.5 million. How can that be right? I agree that the best we can do here is make estimates, and I also agree that SOME sales tax revenue would be lost on a net basis. Precisely as you point out, Canadians and out of state visitors are not likely to spend money in NY state if the Bills leave NY. You suggest that the percentage of non-NY residents at the Ralph can run as high as 40%. Even if your 40% estimate is correct, that still leaves 60% of the game day fans who live in NY and will make at least some substitute purchases that generate other sales tax revenue. But Collins assumes that NONE of the lost sales tax revenue would be replaced by other in-state purchases. That can't be right. Just because we can't precisely calculate the replacement sales tax revenue, that doesn't mean we should assume it doesn't exist at all. Why do you assume that the replacement activity has to take place on those 7 Sundays? Doesn't sales tax get paid on purchases every day of the week? We know that Collins use of gross sales tax figures, rather than a more accurate net loss figure, is inaccurate. I'd like to see the details for his analysis of other types of tax revenue before deciding if public funding of the proposed stadium improvements makes financial sense.

So you're saying that it's just some coincidence that the school district has the same names as not one but TWO Bills linemen? Seems more likely to me that it was a choice. Just more of this political correctness stuff run amok. Look kids, it's OK to be 300 or 400 lbs, just like Jasper and Troupe - - everybody's beautiful in their own way - - here's a participation trophy, even if you're so fat you can't make it up a flight of stares. If you're gonna name the school district after overweight football players, at least pick guys that are good at it, so the obese kids have something greater to aspire to.

Sorry, I got off message there for a minute.

Did you go to Missouri? http://www.ehow.com/about_5275585_stockbroker-salary.html Let's say Fitz's Harvard classmates make 10 times what the Bureau of Labor Statistics says a top paid stockbroker makes in Stamford, CT, just because they have a Harvard undergrad degree, which is a wildly optimistic assumption for someone Fitz's age. At $1.62 million per year, that's still a lot less than Fitz will be making.

http://www.newyorkschools.com/districts/jasper-troupsburg-central-school-district.html The Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District? Really? I like the enthusiasm of naming our School Districts after role models like the Bills' D-linemen - - after all, we have enough schools named after dead presidents and astronauts. But why use backups? It sends the wrong message to kids about how high they should aim in life. It would have been a lot more sensible, for example, to name the school system the Dareus-Williamsville Central School District. At least those guys start! Aim for the stars! If you fall short, you're still in outer space. Go Bills!

Since you specifically asked for it: http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/137337-bills-hire-firm-for-stadium-facelift/page__pid__2293731__st__120#entry2293731 You also might want to read these: http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/1997/06/09/story4.html http://www.brookings.edu/articles/1997/summer_taxes_noll.aspx

We have some new information: http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article608931.ece So it's pretty clear that Collins is simply using the estimated "gross" sales taxes generated by Bills-related spending, and totally ignoring the fact that people would spend at least part of the same funds on other things that would generate sales tax for Erie County anyway even if the Bills left. We also know that in Erie County, total sales tax is 8.75% - - split 4.75% to the county and 4.0% to the state: http://www.earthodyssey.com/sales_tax.htmle So if Collins estimates that the County gets $10 million in sales tax each year related to the Bills (at 4.75%), then he must figure that the state takes in $8,421,053 (at 4.0%) in sales tax on the exact same sales. The Collins estimate of "direct" tax revenue to the state somehow jumped from (i) $20 million, to (ii) $20 to $25 million. So let's call it $22.5 million. Here's how it breaks down so far on an annual basis (according to Collins): 1. $10 million to the county in sales tax; 2. $8.421 million to the state in sales tax; and 3. $14.079 million to the state in unspecified other taxes. So based on Collins' own comments, annual sales tax revenues for the state and county combined amount to $18.421 million, while all other taxes add up to $14.079 million. We still don't know exactly how Collins calculates the $14.079 million figure - - seems like it should include NY income taxes paid by players and other employees of the Bills' organization (excluding those employed in Michigan), and any corporate NY income taxes paid by Buffalo Bills, Inc. on the team's annual profit. But if you believe Collins' own description of the "study," it appears I was barking up the right tree after all.

Short answer - - he was considered a DE/LB "tweener:" http://www.buffalonews.com/incoming/article47389.ece