BillnutinHouston

Yea I had to smile at that one too.

The Swiftian reference ("Modest proposal") tells me this was a tongue in cheek proposal.

I'd vote for Cordy Glenn also. But a close second is the Manuel-Woods-Alonso group simply based on how well Buddy played his hand - essentially wringing three solid prospects out of the two picks that he held going into the draft.

Thanks for the report Jay. Re: the removal of the first two rows of seating behind the benches, do you know if that's going to cause a domino effect relocation of lots of season ticket holders?

Stated or not, I'm thinking this will be all-out war between Bon Jovi and the interests from Buffalo. The NFL can't have 2 viable franchises 90 miles apart, the economics just don't work. Either Bon Jovi-Tannenbaum are left standing, or a Buffalo franchise is. It can't be both.

I think that's in the eye of the beholder. Manuel never lost a bowl game and was the MVP of the Senior Bowl. That's not chicken feed. I think he just needs more experience at the NFL level and he'll be fine.

It's easy to see the Bills new owner supporting a NF stadium location, and it would not surprise me at all if a pre-vetted front runner is already quietly steering the committee to a NF stadium site recommendation. The site choice is incredibly important to the financial success of the new owner's investment, and there's no way that this committee won't be steered by the owner's wishes. A NF stadium site is the most effective way to put a stake in the heart of Toronto's NFL ambitions. To ensure their long term survival, the Bills MUST do everything possible to obliterate Toronto as a threat to their market over the long haul. A NF stadium is the best possible way to do that, short of moving over the border. WNY needs a new owner more than he needs WNY, so the Committee will make whatever recommendations that the new owner wants them to make. If the NFL signs off on a local owner-NF stadium site package, it signals to me that the NFL recognizes they can't have 2 viable franchises existing 90 miles apart, and have chosen WNY over Toronto once and for all. That would be a monumental statement. Game, set and match. The idea of a shared Bills-Bulls training site in Amherst helps unlock lots of NYS funding. While leveraging NYS' help, this reported stadium-training site arrangement also skirts the NCAA's "no alcohol sales on campus" rules that rule out an on-campus stadium.

Your friend's take makes a lot of sense to me. I'm sure the NFL wants no part of having their books opened up, and I agree that they'd likely be skeptical of any group that has to rely on BFA financing to survive, given the many options they will have to choose from.

No disrespect intended. All kidding aside there are lots of solid Bills fans down there, and if I ever have the good fortune to move back to WNY, that's where I plan to live myself. But the southern tier market clearly pales in comparison to the potential market in Southern Ontario.

All 12 of them?

Cool. Although this is one of many possibilities, I'm fine with a Niagara County site and the shared Bills-Bulls practice/training facility is a nice tie in to financing from NYS.

Coverage inside the Bills war room - 7pm EST. Link

I believe in EJ. Strong arm, good head on his shoulders, appears to have some fire in his belly, showed good command of the offense and made some great throws in year 1. But I also have Edwards and Fitz jerseys gathering dust in my closet, so what do I know?

Third! Hopefully this was in the renovation scope of work.

Considering that the Bills have a large out of town following, it would be nice if they could accommodate those fans in some ways. For example, the Bills offer various perks to season ticket and club holders, and sometimes out of town fans can't take advantage of those offerings due to being out of town. Flexible scheduling of these events, where possible, would be appreciated.

Where does your stuff come from? When people speak with such certainty, it gives me a hearty laugh. Your statement about Pegula and Jacobs that "they put everything into their current teams and their businesses" - is that based on extensive research or just your intimate knowledge of high finance?

Some very good news in this article: - Buzz about the Jacobs family and their ability to work around their ownership of the Bruins - Pegula's continued cautious statements about ownership of the Bills but also expressions of interest in keeping the team local - Trump's money man went out of his way to try to position his boss as a very serious suitor - Schumer quote: "“I am even more optimistic this week than I was last week that we can keep the Bills in Buffalo” - Analysis of the Bills lease agreement by the Raiders exec: “I’m familiar with the broad strokes. It struck me at that time that it was a bold, clear statement by Ralph Wilson he wanted to provide every single opportunity for the Bills to thrive in Buffalo.” (Thanks Mr. Wilson!) - This analysis from a consultant for NFL team relocations: "“There are several reasons why the lease agreement that Ralph Wilson agreed to two years ago is greatly beneficial to Bills fans and which leads to a more likely scenario of the team staying somewhere in the region on a long-term basis,” Ganis said. “It’s not an assurance, but it certainly adds to the probability that the team will stay somewhere in the region.”

Thanks for the recap. Hopefully the team website puts a video of the exhibits up on their site. Hard to imagine Mrs. Wilson selling to out of town interests considering how genuine they are. Would be odd for her to mingle so freely with the fans and then turn around and break our hearts.

Interesting take about the possibility of Marrone retaining Crossman as a means of luring Schwartz. I knew that Crossman and Marrone are good friends, but how about Crossman and Schwartz?

Makes you wonder what the background conversations were like. Did the Bills have some knowledge that he's ready to clean up his act and play for his hometown team?

Interesting analysis, but diametrically opposed to the analysis that Peter King gave on air (to Murph I think). King called Ralph a fan and stated that in that way he was UNLIKE most of the newer owners.

Here's my gripe with the BFA. I went to their website, took their survey, and then sent them an email with a question I had about sending a contribution. Two weeks later, still no reply. If they want to be open for business, be open for business.

Four things: 1) Do any of us really know exactly what attributes of RWS are considered "deficiencies" by either the league, the Bills or by potential investor groups? I know I've never gotten a good handle on that. Is it the location? Is it a lack of communications infrastructure? Whatever the supposed deficiencies are, they are not necessarily fan amenities being addressed by the current renovation, they are likely of the type that are revenue-limiting in nature. I'm just not sure we know what these are and until we know that, our speculation is pretty aimless. 2) Yesterday Russ mentioned that among the tasks that the Stadium Advisory group needs to tackle is "market research". Does this mean trying to answer and clearly define the deficiencies question above? Does it mean trying to determine how an Amherst, Buffalo or Niagara Falls stadium would positively inject more "regional" support/identification into the franchise vs. the longer commute to RWS? Does it mean exploring other transportation options such as expanding rail lines to RWS as was discussed years ago? 3) I think PTR is onto something with an Amherst stadium. While my first choice would be a retrofit of RWS, linking the project to the UB campus not only improves the prospects for public (NYS) funding of a new stadium, but it also makes the finished product potentially more economically viable and sustainable over the long haul. 4) Let's remember that this group is ADVISING the new owner, so the group's recommendations won't be enacted without the new owner signing a lease. The new owner has to be on board. I wonder how a new owner would view a shared (Bills/UB) stadium vs. having the run of the pace as the Bills do now.

This is an odd construct. Are you assuming that Erie County as stadium owner currently sets ticket prices and controls club seat license revenue? If so, I'm quite sure you are mistaken.

Quoting the WGRZ article, Shoalts says the Toronto group isn't necessarily eyeing the Bills, but may be looking at bringing another team to the city. How can this be? I have to believe that the Bills have established Toronto as a part of their market and Goodell has been on the record saying the Bills are a regional franchise. This being the case, there's no way the NFL will allow two teams in the WNY-southern Ontario region. Toronto's bid has to be for the Bills or bust.