Archives for May 2008

‘Maybe you’ve heard of it. Chances are you have not. The acronym stands for Perseverance, Understanding, N’encouragement and Triumph, and the foundation is devoted to helping western New York kids afflicted with and affected by cancer. That tells you something about Moorman, who has been a spokesman and supporter for events at Buffalo’s Roswell Park Cancer Institute. But so does this: To raise money for the foundation, he’s willing to put himself through the grind of his first-ever triathlon.’

‘The lure of good field position for the Buffalo Bills at Rogers Centre did little to help the Toronto Argonauts’ own season-ticket drive. While the Canadian Football League club reports 14,000 subscriber packages sold for 2008 — ahead of schedule according to team execs — the Bills didn’t provide the expected spike, on top of the Argos’ perceived awkwardness of pumping the NFL’s tires in their own market.’

‘”This certainly highlights the passion and commitment this region has for the Buffalo Bills and NFL football,” said Russ Brandon, Bills chief operating officer. “With nearly four months remaining before the season opener, we expect momentum to continue.”‘

‘Other than being world-class blockers, the common denominator among Jones, Light and Adams is that all will be on the wrong side of 30 in Week 1. Peters, as mentioned earlier, has much more time left to shine in the NFL, and if the Bills were smart, he’d do it in their uniform for perhaps the next decade. Peters is the first top-end offensive tackle the Bills have had in a long time, and he ought to be compensated like the immensely key piece he is.’

‘Honan said that while exact numbers are not available, it’s generally accepted that 10-15 per cent of the crowd for Bills’ games at 73,967-seat Ralph Wilson Stadium is made up of Canadians. However, the total number includes group sales as well as individual game tickets for which there is no way of telling how many of the buyers were Canadians.’

‘The Buffalo Bills have made a contract offer to wide receiver Lee Evans. But it’s considered to be just the first move in what could be a long chess match. “I don’t really want to speak on it now,” Evans said after practice as Buffalo began a series of voluntary organized team activities. “There was an offer put out there but that’s as much as I’ll speak on it now.”‘

‘The Bills set a precedent for making the contract pecking order right last season when they re-worked DE Aaron Schobel’s deal to make sure he made more than Chris Kelsay. They will have little leverage dealing with Peters, who has outperformed his contract and is one of the NFL’s rising young stars at age 26. Just last month, Tennessee gave its version of Peters, Michael Roos, a deal averaging $7.1 million.’

‘QB J.P. Losman was in attendance early in the week before leaving for scheduled commitments. He did not speak with reporters. WR Lee Evans, his closest friend on the team and his biggest supporter, said Losman is OK with having to play backup to second-year man Trent Edwards despite voicing a desire (through his agent) to be traded. “I spoke with him numerous times here in the offseason and he has to sit back and wait for an opportunity and that’s his mindset,” Evans said. “He’ll prepare himself to be as good as he can and if he gets a chance to step in and gets that opportunity, then he’ll be ready. Me knowing him and people who know him around here know he’ll be accountable when he steps up and gets a chance.”‘

‘"I would do whatever it takes to make sure that team stays in Buffalo," said Kelly. "I can’t see them going anywhere, whether it’s Toronto or Los Angeles."’

‘"We need to look at different mixes of guys, certainly with our young players we need to expose them to as much as we can so we can start making some judgments," said Bills head coach Dick Jauron. "And we have a feel for them as players off of college tape. We won’t really know until they get into a preseason game or at least some kind of camp activity where we have a better feel for them. But this is where it starts so we need to mix them."’

‘The number marks the highest season ticket total since 1993, when the Bills posted 53,004 season tickets. In 2007 the Bills sold 48,236 season tickets.’

‘The Buffalo Bills are seeking individuals who are interested in part-time employment as Ushers, Guest Service Ambassadors, Elevator Attendants, and other Event Service related positions. Individuals will work as associates of the Bills staff. Positions are seasonal.’

‘Ultimately, though, it’s Wilson who can laugh last on this particular issue. He and Brown were the only two owners smart enough to realize the current plan wasn’t feasible. Nobody who insulted the pair 26 months ago will apologize to them, but they ought to. (Thirty other billionaire owners plus Mortensen and Clayton, that means you.)’

‘While it’s unusual for the Bills to renegotiate a deal that still has three years remaining, the practice has occurred a bit more often in recent years in the NFL. The Bills did it just before last season with defensive end Aaron Schobel, who stayed away from some of last year’s voluntary workouts.’

‘Of the 299 cities ahead of Buffalo, only 29 have NFL teams. Such lists are hardly unassailable, but they do indicate that there can be life without football. And they indicate that maybe there are better uses – such as creating jobs and business in our “unattractive areas” – for the millions we’ll no doubt dangle in front of the Bills.’