ICanSleepWhenI'mDead

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

FWIW, Ellis Lankster is another Bills castoff on the Jets roster.

Kind of ironic that as a teacher of Advanced Placement calculus, the Collierville coach may have been a nerd when he was in high school.

I've been under the impression (maybe erroneously) that high school coaches typically make most of their salary from their teaching jobs, and get some sort of small extra duty stipend for coaching. The reporter for the Memphis paper says the coach was neither fired nor asked to resign, but offered to resign the coaching position at his own initiative. Now maybe that's just spin to make it more likely that he will be allowed to keep his teaching job because he was put on adminstrative leave. My guess is that he gets to keep his teaching job and nobody goes hungry. But yeah, they can take it way too seriously. Then again, maybe you're just trolling. Hard to judge.

Are you sure you didn't inadvertently hit the "back" button on your browser and wind up here?

I realize that the above calculations are intended to be just a "rough" look at the numbers, but I think you've made several assumptions that make even the $1.11 million figure too high. If we limit the analysis to just income taxes, and use this week's game against the Redskins as a concrete example, then there are three categories of player salaries involved: 1. Bills players who are considered residents of NY state for tax purposes; 2. Bills players who are considered residents of some other state for tax purposes; and 3. Redskins players, all of whom I will assume are residents of some state other than NY for tax purposes. For each category, how much income tax will NY state lose this year because the Redskins game is being played in Toronto rather than in Orchard Park? Category 1: Any Bills player who makes his "permanent" home in NY state falls in this category. But so does any Bills player who rents a house or apartment in NY state and spends more than 183 days in NY state during the calendar year: http://www.hodgsonruss.com/Home/Practice_Areas/Alphabetical_Listing/State_Local_Tax/NoonansNotes/TheMultistateTaxQuandaryForProfessionalAthletes So how are the NY state income taxes of Bills players who fall in category 1 affected by moving the Redskins game to Toronto? Arguably, not at all. http://www.hodgsonruss.com/Home/Practice_Areas/Alphabetical_Listing/State_Local_Tax/NoonansNotes/TheInsandOutsofNewYorkNonresidentAllocationIssues So the category 1 guys may see no change in the NY state income taxes they are required to pay, even though the game is played in Canada. Hypothetically, if the Redskins game had been moved to Erie, PA, the category 1 Bills players would have to pay some income tax to PA and would then get a dollar-for-dollar credit for such PA taxes on their NY returns. Is there a similar dollar-for-dollar credit for Canadian taxes? I don't know, but maybe not. Uniformity of tax treatment between NY and Ontario seems less likely than unformity of tax treatment between 2 US states. And does the province of Ontario (as opposed to the Canadian national government) even have an income tax? I don't know. If the extra Canadian tax mentioned by George Wilson is imposed at the Canadian federal level, I could see how NY state might tell George Wilson (if he falls in Category 1) to seek a dollar-for-dollar credit on his US federal taxes, not his NY state taxes. Category 2: The Bills players in this category pay NY state income taxes based on how many "duty days" they spend in NY state. The total number of duty days for the year remains unchanged at let's say 180 days. Moving the Redskins game from Orchard Park to Toronto means these players will spend maybe 2 "duty days" in Canada that they would otherwise have spent in NY. So these players will have to report 2/180 or just over 1% less income to NY. Category 3: Redskins players will avoid paying NY state income tax at all, because they will have no "duty days" in NY state. But even if the game was played in Orchard Park, the Redskins players would probably have no more than 3 duty days in NY, so they only would have had to report 3/180 or less than 2% of their annual salary as NY income anyway.