The Dean

Sounds about right. Wawrow suggested Pegula may pay over the $1.1 just to make it the record for an NFL franchise. Yes the final bids are due. But negotiations may continue after that. While I don't expect it (as I believe The Trust would love to close this thing this year) don't be too surprised if they continue the negotiations with the top two bidders.

So your sole criterion for a good fan base is sellouts? Really? First of all, Boston's metro population (let's leave the DMA out of this for the time being) is now over 4 million people (in 1990 it was just under that). That alone should be reason enough to sell out a football game even if the team sucked. But that's not all. Foxborough is less than 30 minutes from Providence (The Patriots* are New England's team, after all) and that adds 1.5 million more people to the mix. Counting the suburbs, let's say anyone within a 30 minute drive to the stadium, and we're talking about 7 million or so people in the area. So how impressive is it they manage to sell out a stadium that has less than a 70.000 person capacity? Next you have a change of ownership in 1994. Typically an ownership change (or a new stadium) boosts interest in a team. Let's take a look at the Pats* record in the few years following the ownership change until they started their Super Bowl run: 1994 10-6 1995 6-10 1996 11-6 and went to the SB 1997 10-6 1998 9-7 1999 8-8 2000 5-11 Where exactly is the extended time the team sucked during that time frame? A winning year typically buys you interest for the next year. They didn't have two losing seasons in a row during that time frame. So, in a stadium equidistant between two markets each far bigger than Buffalo, the Patriots got a new owner, won consistently, went to a SB and didn't have two consecutive losing seasons. Color me unimpressed with their sellout streak.

Well her hand were very rough---and strong.

I got a handy from a girl named Mandy once. It wasn't very relaxing, though.

My methodology is strictly qualitative on this one. I live in Boston during the lean years. More people identified themselves as NY Giants fans rather than Pats* fans. And is speaking with sports bar folks all over the country, they confirmed there were few, if any, Pats* fans there to watch on Sunday. Now of course, they are everywhere. Boston has a lot of people spread all over the country. Sox fan are out, win or lose. But until I see these Pats* fans (since 2001!) after a few years of losing, I remain skeptical. Again, I don't put much stock in how the team sells out, except for when you have a very good team and can't sell your seats. But a good team typically sells out and sells a lot of merch. Show me a team that has sucked for a few years and then we'll look at the shape of the fan base. Do Bills fans still crowd the North Star in SF and McFaddens in NYC every year? (There are more examples, these are just two) Admittedly, the crowd dwindles near the end of the year if the team isn't competitive, but next year they will be back. Forbes is the kind of rag that rewards recent success--the worst of the bandwagon jumpers. You strike me as the same. Perhaps the Ravens have some great fans. Bmore is a pretty good sports town. But the Ravens have been quite good for a few years. When they go through a long drought, if I see Ravens fans at bars in SF, LA, Florida, etc, then I will agree they deserve top 10 status.

I have no doubt Seahawks fans are terrific. But to make a list like this I think you have to have a national fan base. In other words, are there Seahawks bars all over the country? Do they show up in force for road games on the East Coast? If so, perhaps they belong. Because Packers, Cowboys, Raiders, Steelers, Chiefs, Browns and Bills fans (I probably missed a fan base or two) seem to be everywhere. And this is in good times and in bad.

That's what I'm talking about. I refrained from saying something similar, when it occurred to me I live in "South Georgia". I think if you are an adaptable person, you can find the positives in most any place. Most every place has its own particular charm, advantages and disadvantages. I've been happy no matter where I have ended up living. Some people focus on the negative, though. With that said, Orlando is on CNN's list of top cities. And I suppose for some it might be paradise. And if I had to live there, I suppose I'd find the good there. But I'm so happy that if I had to relocate to Florida, it was to St Augustine. There is a veneer of civility to this place. A thin veneer to be sure, but a veneer nonetheless.

If they can ensure the team isn't being sold to someone who will move the team after the lease, why can't they employ the same strategy to the sale of the team?

Actually it's just about perfect weather, every day. Honestly I find that boring. Gimme blizzards, fog, etc. The weather here on the northeast coast of Florida is pretty boring too and much too hot for me. But we get some serious storms with a lot of lightning. That's pretty cool.

One would hope The Trust is guarding against that possibility.

Could be Golisano is in this, just in case it's going to be sold at a below market (or below expected) price. Perhaps he got interested to make sure The Trust had two "local" offers (in other words, not the JBJ group or Trump) to choose from. Or perhaps he is doing The Trust a favor and making sure the team isn't sold at a bargain basement price (after all, he waited until the other non-binding bids were in before submitting). Then again, he could just have changed his mind and decided he really does want to own the Bills. It's all speculation at this point. With Golisano that's always a possibility.

These lists are almost always ridiculous and made, for the most part, to generate attention and discussion. Blatant problems with the list include: Patriot* fans don't belong on a top 10 list. They were non-existent before the Marsha-Belicheat era. Let's see how they react to a period of sucking before we anoint them as great fans. Steeler fans are too low here. From my experience they are probably second to Packer fans around the country, and actually there are likely more Steeler fans. Ravens, Colts and Seahawks? Please. Raider fans deserve a place on this list, despite their buffoonery Obviously Bills and Chief fans belong in the top 5. . Forbes has no idea how to do these things. Nor do they care, really.

Agreed. I love today's quote about the encounter with Hughes: '“I told Jerry that I love the way he practices and I love the way he plays special teams – how he goes about it,” Marrone said. “We’ve got to get some other guys who are starters to do that, too. That was my conversation with him.”'

Ah, got ya.

Cyrus Kouandjio? He's on the list. Duke will get plenty of plenty of playing time, IMO.

Unfortunately I have a Galaxy 2. Not really unfortunately ,as it does everything I need it to do. But it is a very old model without a lot of the upgrades of the newer models. Since I use Virgin Mobile I pay for my phone (but only $40/month for unlimited text and data and 1,500 minutes--which for me is unlimited). When this one craps out I will upgrade. I fix computer for a living and a lot of people ask me to work on their phones, which i am glad to do. I really hate iPhones, I can't understand why people choose to use them.

Per Chris Brown: The first list identifies what players are eligible under the original designation of practice squad player. These are the players who could make up the first eight spots. QB – Dennis Dixon RB – Ronnie Wingo WR – Caleb Holley, Chris Summers, Sammy Watkins TE – Dominique Jones OL – Seantrel Henderson, Cyrus Kouandjio, Macky MacPherson, Antoine McClain, Cyril Richardson, J.J. ‘Unga, Jared Wheeler DE – Ike Igbinosun, Bryan Johnson, Jacquies Smith DT – Stefan Charles, Damien Jacobs LBs – Xavius Boyd, Preston Brown, Jimmy Gaines, Randell Johnson, Ty Powell CBs – Ross Cockrell, Sam Miller, Bobby Felder, Kamaal McIlwain S – Derek Brim, Deon Broomfield, JaJuan Harley, Kenny Ladler, Jonathan Meeks K/P – Jake Dombrowski, Dustin Hopkins This second list is the group of players who could fill the two spots on the practice squad by having two accrued NFL seasons or being active for less than nine regular season games in any of their accrued NFL seasons. QB – EJ Manuel, Jeff Tuel RB/FB – Bryce Brown, Evan Rodriguez, Frank Summers WR – Marquise Goodwin, T.J. Graham, Chris Hogan, Naaman Roosevelt, Robert Woods TE – Chris Gragg OL – Cordy Glenn, Chris Hairston DT – Corbin Bryant LBs – Kiko Alonso, Nigel Bradham CBs – Ron Brooks, Stephon Gilmore, Nickell Robey S – Duke Williams

Well I'm an android guy, but I use an app called Silent Sleep. It turns my ringer off at a designated time and then back on at a reasonable hour in the AM.

I actually do that here, And no, you can't have my address.

I'll be surprised if it isn't $1 billion plus.

Good take, IMO. One thing to consider when trying to decipher this are in the reports I have seen Marrone talks only about the fights. He never mentions a player complaining about too much work, Perhaps I missed something though.

One more time. Hughes supposedly said the quoted "21 days..." remark yesterday at the time of the Woods incident. Apparently he said it again today (if the reports are to be believed--he clearly said it yesterday unless the reporters were psychic). Now I could see how that could make Marrone mad. He is trying to stop the practice fights, and he has a guy joking about them. If you don't see how an offhand remark, or joke, can be misinterpreted by a guy who is REALLY pissed off, then I assume you have never been in that position.

I'm just saying it is a possibility. And I certainly don't trust any reporter's interpretation (which, let's face it are driven these days by creating controversy) to pick up on the nuance of what might have happened. What I have to go on is a report a player laughed, said "I love it" during the so-called complaint. A number of things could have gone down.

You caught me repurposing that joke. Busted! Well that's what I used to use (not the hookers) until I found it just increased my stress, Took me a long time, and a LOT of money, to figure that out. But, hey, whatever works!