Peter

I started to read this thread, but, frankly, it depresses me. I know that there is speculation regarding what is in the trust. I am not a trusts and estates lawyer, but it is my understanding that you can direct pretty much anything you want regarding your estate. Simple example, if you want your car (or anything else) to go to one of your kids as opposed to another, you can do that. If you want your fortune to go to your kids, but only if they finish college, you can do that. I do not see why Ralph could not have done the same thing. The issue is what was Ralph's testamentary intent? There has been a lot of speculation about that. We do know that he had the Bills sign a lease that created significant hurdles for the team to move in the near term and that also contained provisions that may preclude the Bills from selling to someone who has the intent to move the team. With any luck, Ralph was clear about that in his will. It is true that the trustees have a fiduciary duty. That duty includes carrying out Ralph's intent - whatever that may be. I know I have read somewhere that supposedly Ralph said that he spoke with lawyers who advised him that he could not restrict the sale of the team to only someone who would keep the Bills in Buffalo. I have no idea whether Ralph ever said that or, if he did say that, whether he ever got that advice. Again, I am not a trust and estates lawyer, but I have a very hard time believing that the law precluded him from directing that the team be sold to a person who would keep the team in Buffalo. He could sell to whomever he wanted in life as well as in death. There are two complicating factors that I can think of. First, estate tax (or capital gains) hit is going to be astronomical given that he bought the team for $25,000. That issue played a significant part in the Robbie family having to sell the team to Wayne Huizinga (along with fighting among the heirs). The other complicating factor is whoever buys the team would have to be approved by the NFL owners. Are there any trusts and estates lawyers out there that have any insight on all of this? In the end, whether the team stays in Buffalo is largely going to depend on whether the State, County, and/or City are willing to do what it takes to build a stadium that the NFL wants. I think that is our best shot.

The quality of high school football is outstanding in Florida. I think there were more Florida kids drafted in this past draft than any other state.

I am for a stadium - any stadium - that keeps the Bills in WNY where we all know the Bills belong.

When I was at Cornell, Snyder gave a lecture and bragged about how he sold Bob McAdoo for more than the cost of the franchise. I was really pissed off when I heard him brag about this even though he had to know that this was the first step in the the process of selling the team and its relocation. If all of that leads to Ballmer purchasing the relocated Braves for this ridiculous amount and, in turn, setting the stage for the Bills' sale to someone willing to pay a similarly ridiculous amount and move the team, I will be crushed again - but even more so.

This is going to be an emotional roller coaster. I was feeling very confident and excited. This Ballmer/Clippers deal has me a little less so. P.S. Why did Paul Snyder have to sell the Braves to John Y. Brown?!?

"The Bills are down, and they are moving."

FWIW - Edmonton draft picks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Edmonton_Oilers_draft_picks

FYI - Seantrel also played some guard at UM. Although the Bills have him at tackle now, he also can play guard if needed.

For the most part, you are correct about that. It is easy for some to wear their 20/20 hindsight glasses.

Well, he is an actor now and presumably a member of the actor's guild. Having said that, he is a strongman (more so than Jeff Strongman . . . .).

Yes. He has plenty of time to secure the Long term future of the Bills in Buffalo as he did with the Sabres. He would be a hero - as would the Pegulas or anyone else who did this.

. . . that could be a new slogan for the team.

Most of the guys that write for the Buffalo News are more interested in pushing their narrative and snark. There are a couple of exceptions, but the News has spiraled downward since the days of people like Jim Kelley, Vic Carucci, and Larry Felser and others.

The funny thing about Sully, he has shown that he is capable of writing a good column without snark. He wrote one after the Olympics. He also wrote one about that girl that tragically died in the balloon accident. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Bills or Sabres, not so much. He, Gleason, and Harrington are always trying to push their narrative with snark filled articles/columns.

I have said it before, but it bears repeating: The first order of business is to secure the long term future of the Bills in BUFFALO. The Pegulas and Tom Golisano both fit that bill (pun intended). I trust them as well as the Jacobs and Rich families. People seem to forget that Buffalo was in danger of losing the Sabres. Tom Golisano, who was not a hockey fan, stepped in and saved the team. He sold the team to the Pegulas, who are hockey fans, and committed to the area. The Pegulas are committed to the Sabres and Buffalo and have invested incredible resources in the Sabres and Buffalo. Look at what they already are doing with the Harbor Center and hockey in general. As for the Sabres, we (and they) are all disappointed with the results. Rather than put band aids on the team, they are willing and trying to do what is best for the long term. They are willing to ride out the storm -- and spend/lose money -- to rebuild the team. A lot of owners would not be willing to make that kind of investment. I would be absolutely ecstatic if either the Pegulas or Tom Golisano bought the Buffalo Bills. The same with the Jacobs or Rich families.

I also believe this would be his intent. He, the Pegulas, Jacobs, and Rich are people whom I trust would ensure the Bill's longtime future in WNY.

That is a beautiful stadium. I did some research. It is in New Zealand and is used for both soccer and rugby. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forsyth_Barr_Stadium It has a capacity for rugby and soccer of about 30,000 people. There seems to be some dispute regarding the cost, but it appears that the construction costs were approximately $170-175 million US dollars. Interestingly, it was designed by Populous - which is the firm that has designed the renovations at the Ralph (as well as Arsenal's Emirates Stadium and many others). http://populous.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populous_(architects)#American_football

You took the words out of my mouth.

This. This makes sense. It should be a facility that can be used for football as well as all kinds of other events.

I was there. If I recall correctly, it was 1980 or 1981. I remember spending the night in front of a Record Theatre in college town when I was at Cornell to get tickets.

FWIW - I was in Minneapolis for work a couple of years ago during baseball season. The Twins stadium had recently been built in downtown Minneapolis. Target Field holds just under 40,000 fans. I was staying at a Marriott overlooking the area and was extremely impressed with what happens to a downtown area when 40,000 people (who probably would not otherwise be there) are downtown both before and after a game. The whole area came to life and business was booming. As an aside, if you are a baseball fan and find yourself in Minneapolis, you may want to go to a game. We were able to catch one game against the White Sox, and I was very impressed with the stadium.

Very well put.

FWIW, there was a guy on John Murphy's show a week or two ago who runs a site that rates all of the sports facilities in the world. I believe that they ranked Lucas Oil Stadium number one for football.

In case this has not been posted, here is a copy of the lease: http://www2.erie.gov...n Agreement.pdf I tried to cut and paste certain sections, but I am having a problem with the formatting and other issues. In any event, you will get the idea. Here is the language of Section 3(b), which I believe makes it very difficult for Jon Bon Douchebag to buy the team from the Wilson estate at this time: The "Non-Relocation Term" is defined in Section 1(r ) as: The Stadium Lease Expiration Date is defined in Section 1(y) as:

The Mountain is a character on Game of Thrones. Apparently, the Colts considered trying to sign the actor who plays him - the actor is this immense guy from Iceland.