VJ91

I do enjoy living in my cave. But even I know that the $9 Million per game in unshared revenue the Bills pocket while those corporations and millionaires decide whether or not to buy the suites at the Ralph, might be one other reason Wilson signed onto the Toronto initiative. I just have to wonder if there would be one less home game a season for us if we would have built a brand new stadium in downtown Buffalo when the lease first came up in '98. Doesn't it piss you off that even after that money we pumped into "re-modeling" Rich Stadium, and adding all those stupid dug-out suites and the Jim Kelly thing and the Paul McGuire thing and the Van Miller thing, even after all that, now Wilson needs Toronto too, to "compete"??

"A lot has gone into this decision, and we targeted Gregg as the coach we'd like to hire after our first interview because he was so impressive and prepared," Payton said Good old double G, still getting hired because of his famous interviews. Nobody can prepare for an interview like Williams. Too bad he can't coach that good!

If RWS is wonderful, why is Wilson so thrilled about leaving it for one home game every regular season up in Toronto? Because despite the $160 Million we pumped into upgrading it ten years ago, Wilson still can't make enough unshared revenue off of it to satisfy him. In hindsight, we would have been better off spending $250 Million back in 1998 and building a brand new palace with state of the art suites and premium seat licenses and.....WAIT A MINUTE! Sorry fans, I forgot we are from Buffalo and Western New York. We are poor and destitute, and we could never have afforded to build that new stadium while also tearing down Rich. How crazy of me.....so instead, we now have our nice RWS, affordable, yet only good enough to hold seven home games instead of eight.

According to inflation calculators, the approximately $160 Million we spent to refurbish Rich Stadium in 1998 would have cost us around $215 Million in 2008. Still less then the other cities have paid. Come on, we are only talking about 10 years - not 30. And I am certainly not on my way to justifying "yo myself switching teams." I bleed Bills red and blue, just like you.

Um, yes! My first question is, where the hell did the Royals find $100 Million when they don't spend more then $20 Million a year in payroll to field their "triple A" baseball team?? Secondly, why would the Hunt family pay $100 Million dollars towards stadium improvements? Oh wait I know, because the Hunt family really cares about the city of Kansas City and really wants to stay there! Again I say, no wonder Pioli landed there.

Finishing just ahead of Langston Walker. I can't believe I'm agreeing with Tony Cornholer, but I too think the Bills should keep their pick and draft the very best OL on the board - even if it means reaching down for Mack at center.

Outstanding!

Of course I realize it. But I also realize that my favorite team is the Buffalo Bills, not the Kansas City Chiefs. Doesn't it piss you off that Scott Pioli is now in charge of them, moving into their new palace, over 30 Million under the cap, soon to hire a new head coach? While we pay our 8.75% sales tax and cheer for a perpetual 7-9-0 team going nowhere with a 90 year old owner, crying poor while he may be worth more the the Hunt family for all we know? I guess it's just our luck as Bills' fans. No money to afford the best stadiums, and no ownership that cares about winning anymore.

All evidence to the contrary. Every small market city except Jacksonville; Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Baltimore, have all recently spent at least $250 Million Dollars. (check out Indy's $550 Million dollar palace, you think Bill Polian misses Buffalo much?) And oh by the way, Jacksonville's stadium was built in 1995, and recently in 2005, added over $47 Million in improvements to host a Super Bowl. Hey, I don't really care about all this, I love the Bills and always will. But the combination of Buffalo and Erie County's weak economy and Ralph Wilson forever crying poor while holding onto complete control of his franchise even at 90 years old, makes it impossible for me to be anything but jealous of other small markets like Green Bay and Kansas City, coming up with all that money without so much as a whimper!

Best post I've read yet. My sentiments, exactly.

"On January 24th, 2006, the Chiefs and Royals both signed 25-year leases with Jackson County officials to keep both clubs at the Truman Sports Complex. On April 4th, Jackson County voters approved a 3/8 cent tax measure that was anticipated to raise $425 million in improvements to the Sports Complex, including $325 for Arrowhead. Those renovation plans also included a new practice facility and office complex for the Chiefs, thanks to contributions from the Hunt family."... .....taken from link: http://www.kcchiefs.com/history/2000s/ That's how real taxpaying fans keep their NFL franchises content, by voting to foot the bill for a $325 Million face lift for their "Rich Stadium."....Arrowhead, er, New Arrowhead Stadium. I remember New York State, Erie County & Business Backs the Bills having collective strokes and heart attacks desperately trying to come up with half that amount to remodel our Rich Stadium 10 years ago, to keep the Bills viable in today's NFL. And sure enough 10 years later, those improvements to the Ralph fall flat compared to other cities spending $280 Million to almost $1 Billion dollars on their new or re-modeled palaces......in huge markets or small markets. Tack on the Chiefs being over $30 Million under the cap, and being told he's in complete charge of football operations, and it's pretty easy to see why Scott Pioli landed in Kansas City. Watch for a Miami-like improvement for them next year.

Ralph deserves to be in the HOF. It's not his fault that Bill Polian, Marv Levy and all those Pro Bowl Hall of Fame players could not figure out how to win just one of those four consecutive Super Bowls during the early 90's. No other team in SB history has played in 4 straight SB's, win or lose. He was the wonderful beloved loyal owner of the Bills during those years, and not one single Bills fan would have voted against him if he would have been nominated during those years. If Levy, Kelly, Smith and Thomas are HOF'ers primarily because of how they played during those years, Wilson deserves to be a HOFer as the owner during those years.

If the Bills were to find some quality veteran value by trading Peters, they could always draft an LT, God forbid, in the first round to play LT next year. Check with Kansas City and Denver this past season, their first round tackles they drafted worked out pretty well for them. Now I know the Bills have decided never to draft an OT in round one since Donahoe masterfully brought Mike Williams in with the 4th pick in the draft 7 years ago. But if they trade Peters, it will be time to draft one again in round one.

Sure, he gets it. He gets it right from his head coach. DJ loves his guys, they practice hard, they play hard in the games, and it's nobody's fault they have finished 7-9-0 three straight seasons. Because Chris knows that it's really hard to win a game in the NFL.

You went to almost every Cardinals game for 10 years? Wow, you are a die hard football fan. I cannot imagine the level of anger and hatred for Ralph Wilson Bills' fans would have pent up if the Bills, like your Cards, would be hosting their very first conference championship game.....ever....this Sunday against the Eagles. Maybe Mike Bidwell has begun turning things around for his clueless father Bill, but since moving to Arizona in the late 80's, the Cards have never even played in one NFC Championship game, much less hosted one.

You're right. In fact, the Bills never were the Cardinals of the AFC. Start with old NFL Championships for the Chicago/St.Louis Cardinals, versus Bills' old AFL Championships. The Bills won two consecutive AFL Championships in '64 and '65, and lost the AFL Championship game in '66 to Kansas City, who went on to Super Bowl 1 versus Green Bay. The Cardinals? Well I know the St. Louis Cardinals never won an NFL Championship, and I really don't think the Chicago Cardinals ever won more then maybe one old NFL Championship, if any. Move along to the modern era of AFC vs. NFC Championships, and Super Bowl....games played. The St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals? The franchise has never even played in one NFC Championship game, until next week's game against the Eagles. Not a single one. The Bills? Five AFC Championship games, 4-1 record, and the only team in NFL history to play in 4 consecutive Super Bowls, sadly, losing all 4. (Damn it!) But I digress. The fact of the matter is, despite the Bills being a pathetic 0-4 in Super Bowls, and.....depsite the fact the Bills have sucked for the past 9 long frustrating years, you cannot compare that to being a die hard St. Louis or Arizona Cardinals fan, whose heros have sucked........forever, until this one terrific season. And oh by the way, they still need to beat a very tough Eagles team to advance to their very first Super Bowl.

Nice post congratulating yourself, billybob. (Even if someone else posted it, you still took the time to put it out here again.)

And the Giants are less of a joke after getting blown out by Cleveland during the regular season? You should vent. These ex-athletes and coaches are mostly pathetic as announcers, hosts and commentators. Trent Dilfer is really great at stating the obvious with passion. Marino, Sharpe & Cowher have yet to get through a game highlight between them without screwing up names and scores and anything else they try to describe. They must get paid per "uh, um and I-mean". Jimmy Johnson has not had one original thought about any team, game or player since he's been on Fox. Terry Bradshaw is at least sometimes funny. Howie Long is on the most part intelligent. Keyshawn Johnson is at least honest and says what he feels. There are really only two ex-athletes that I feel have become elite announcers: Tom Jackson and Boomer Esiason. And the very worst announcer is ironically the very best ex-athlete of them all: Emmit Smith. I cringe when Emmit speaks from the panel on Monday Night Football. He should have just stuck with dancing and the satisfaction of finishing his career as the all time leading rusher in history.

So if the Eagles beat the Giants today, the putrid 9-7-0 worst division winner Cardinals will host the NFC Championship game against the wild card Eagles. And the wild card Ravens have given the putrid 8-8-0 worst division winner Chargers the opportunity to host the AFC Championship if they can somehow upset the Steelers today. Now that would be pretty cool. And it would give the NFL more reason to keep the playoff system exactly the way it is. Sure, 10-6-0 and even 11-5-0 teams may get screwed out of even making the playoffs. But the Cardinals and Chargers are proving that once the playoffs start, they can prove they belong by winning. Pats fans may still think the system needs changing, but the Chargers, Ravens, Cardinals and Eagles fans are not shedding any tears for them right about now.

Flutie, no contest. The little guy should have remained the starter from the game he replaced injured Rob Johnson early in 1998, until he finally retired after the 2005 season. Think about it, could the Bills have possibly been any worse with him as their starter those 8 seasons??? As long as he would have stayed alive going into his early 40's during those 8 years of course. In 2004, the Bills drafted Lee Evans a couple of picks after the Steelers drafted Ben Roethlesberger. If old Flutie was still starting after the 2003 season, instead of Drew Bledsoe, the Bills may have been more aggressive to get into position for Manning, Rivers or Big Ben. Knowing that Flutie was nearing the end of his career, instead of thinking they had 5 more good years with Bledsoe, I think the Bills would have wanted one of the top 3 QB's of that that draft, instead of settling for the 4th first rounder, the "Todd Blackledge" of the 2004 draft, our own J.P. Lost-man. You never know. But regardless of who the Bills would have drafted or picked up to replace Dougie, if he had been the starter from '98 through '04 or '05, I don't know how many more games the Bills would have won, but they would have been a hell of a lot more entertaining, anyway!!

I don't even have to read the article. Peyton Manning won a SB with the Colts and was the MVP of that game. Case closed, he is not a choker. Just like Elway lost his choker label when he won his first SB after losing 3. The following year, he won again, and was even the MVP - now that was a great way to retire after 16 or 17 years in the NFL...SB winner and MVP on your last game. I don't believe any SB winning QB can ever be labeled a choker. Even the ones who will never be confused with Hall of Famers. Dilfer, Rypien, Hostetler, Brad Johnson. They were the winning QB's, so they deserved the rings, and they may not have been MVP's of the games, (although I think Rypien was against the Bills, wasn't he?), but they did not "choke" away the SB wins for their teams either.

Good for Matt Cassel. He had a pretty good first year starting in the NFL, in particular, the last 8 games. It still seems to me that Tom Brady, with his 3 SB tophies, 2 SB MVP awards and architect of a perfect 16-0 season on his resume', would be my starting QB when he finished his rehab. Which will make Cassel an excellent back up. Now, if he's going to be an UFA March 1st, NE will not put the franchise tag on their back up QB. I don't think even Ralph-Russ-Tom-John-Dick Wilson would do something that completely stupid, and we are talking about New England here. The Pats might make him a fair offer to stay off the FA market, but my guess is that Cassel will sign with another team this spring.

Didn't Wilson pay Dockery 49 Million and Walker 25 Million? And Lee Evans another 34 Million? The man will pay for free agents. The biggest problem is not that Wilson is that cheap. It's that he is paying the wrong players. Kawika Mitchell signed what he felt was a fair contract last year. But the Bills could have gone after Joey Porter and his sacks with the Dolphins instead.

I'm sorry. I missed the part of Mort's story where it was announced this billionaire closed his deal to purchase controlling interest in the Raiders and has begun relocating the team to Los Angeles. I did read where Mort and the Raiders don't get along very well, and that the Raiders' have denied any truth to the story. I also read that this could be a 5 or more year plan to get the Raiders back down to L.A., if at all. Who says Wilson will still be alive in 5 more years? We all hope he will be of course, since I think most of us feel that having the Bills in Buffalo even with Ralph as his inner circle president, is better then not having them in Buffalo at all. But if Ralph passes away in his sleep tonight, the Bills franchise will be for sale to the highest bidder tomorrow. And all of a sudden Mr. Megabuckspopolous, would turn his total attention to an NFL franchise that he could buy 100% ownership of and move to L.A., if Ralph dies before he can get majority ownership of another team.