GA BILLS FAN

You should read the article and not just the headline. Trump also said Sterling's comments were "terrible and despicable and he should be punished". Saying the guy was set up by a bad girlfriend is simply stating facts.

I was surprised at the $600M valuation quoted and did some research and realized that included the stadium --- not so much for this thread, but, when Forbes publishes these lists, they imply a relative comparison that isn't necessarily there --- that's all --- for instance, they have the Cowboys valued at over $2.3Billion -- Jerry's World is 1/2 of that -- so, technically the Cowboys themselves aren't worth $2.3B --- the entity that includes the Cowboys and a stadium is ---

I believe the $600M quoted includes the TD Garden, which Jacobs owns, so, it's not quite apples and apples comparison. Without arena, their value is probably closer to $400M

Interesting stat, I didn't realize it was that skewed for primetime exposure --- Bills right now have a bad combination; small market -- decade+ of losing and no real marquee player (especially at QB) ---

6 NFC teams on Thanksgiving is simply an indictment of Bills and Dolphins and NFL's desire to make T-Day games more appealing --- in the end, we can complain about not having prime time exposure or we can win some freaking games and earn our right to be on SNF, MNF or T-Day ! Just look at some of the teams on MNF instead of us, Detroit, Arizona, Washington, St Louis, Houston and Tennessee -- hardly murderous row of top notch teams, BUT, networks believe they are better national draws than Bills -- again, WINNING will get you exposure

I think the schedule release is a tough dose of reality for us Bills fans. The team is still not relevant on the national stage. The only way to change that is to WIN. The fact we don't have a SNF, MNF and lost Thanksgiving to the Bears, forcing NFL to "bend their rules" demonstrates our lack of national relevance and the lack of interest the networks feel we have with a prime time audience. I'm not sure there is any underlying judgment on our off-season, but, had we made a bigger splash in FA in might have changed things. In the end, we need to win if we want to be in those games.

Unless Mary Wilson and the Bills trust have told potential buyers to be quiet, I'm not sure why it makes little sense to talk publicly about your interest in the team. JW's article makes it clear that the Jacobs family still makes the most sense as a potential buyer, reading the article, I got the impression that young Jacobs was busting at the seams and wanting to say more about their interest, maybe they are quietly discussing with the NFL the best way to deal with their continued ownership of the Bruins and their gambling operations internally to ensure quick league approval if they have the successful bid. Their league connections and association with sports leagues as a vendor as well as their success as owners of the Bruins to me makes it a no-brainer, at least in theory. Still very quiet on the Pegula, Golisano front.

Wow. Heard about off the field issues, but didn't know the specifics --- someone better tell Kiper, he has him going at 6 to Atlanta in his last mock --- I want nasty, but legal nasty, no need for any Incognito issues

John -- I'm not sure your apology is directed at me, Mr. WEO or others on the board, but I will accept it, in the spirit I believe it was intended. I also wish you better times ahead and feel sorry that you've had a rough patch, I hope you continue to post, mix it up with the likes of me and others in a constructive and engaging manner. Open debate is the heart and soul of this great country and like BigBuff423, we all want the same thing, the Bills to remain in Buffalo and become perennial winners. On a side note, if someone could post links to the Tim Graham history so many of you are referencing, it would sure help me and other relative newbies to this board understand that "inside story" and the history.

Does anyone know if Taylor Lewan is expected to visit OBD ? I'm getting to like this guy more and more, he brings a lot of nasty to his game, like Spikes and Rivers -- as well as last year's drafted guys, Kiko and Duke --- I think he fits the culture Marrone and Whaley are trying to build.

"Yahoo ?", "Blow hole ?", I'll attempt to keep my post a bit more professional and avoid the name calling you seem to cherish so much. As you correctly point out, I don't know you, so please don't assume you know me and what I know and what I don't know, leave the assumptions out of your posts as you claim to leave them out of your stories. Nobody, including me, ever said your job or being a journalist was easy, and I'm sure no one told you growing up that it would be either, but what profession in life is ? There are people we all know that have jobs that are actually really hard, I don't think I need to remind you of those people who put their lives on the line for a much smaller paycheck than you or me. I respect journalists, but, more importantly, I respect people who take pride in their jobs and do them well each and every day. I know the questions I asked aren't easy to find answers to, but aren't those the stories you dreamed of writing when you were a kid ? Maybe I am glorifying your profession or maybe I'm trying to inspire you to do more on behalf of us fans. We want to see this team stay here for the long term and we want to know what is happening behind the scenes. Despite social media, journalists still are the fans eyes and ears into the world of sports, you have a responsibility and along with that a very high expectation. Reminds me of that famous line "to whom much is given, much is expected", or something like that, but hey, what do I know, I'm just a yahoo with a large blow hole.

Not sure why my post is bothering you ? I was only asking, actually imploring you, as a member of the media to do more investigative pieces on the sale, so that those of us without your access can understand the process more, articles like the one you wrote provide no insight or information, it's a regurgitation of what is already in the public domain, you can do better and we need you to do better. I also find it funny, for a person who is part of a profession that analyzes what others do on a regular basis and critiques their performance, that you seem to be very thinned skin when it comes to your own work. I've lurked on this board for several years and only started to post over the last year and I've seen you constantly insult in a very condescending way, people on this board who either disagree with you or choose to criticize your work. You've chosen a profession that lends itself to public review and in some cases, criticism, grow up and deal with it like the professional you should be. Finally, I hope you continue to post on this board, I value your opinion and perspective just like I do others on this board, but don't expect me or others to hold back on our feedback (good and bad) on what you say on this board and what you write for the AP.

That's great. I look forward to your article, it will be the best one I've read on this subject to date.

Wake me up when one of our local "journalists" actually does some real reporting instead of rehashing what we all know -- Trump is interested, so is Bon Jovi, we don't know about Jacobs, there are supposedly 10 others that have inquired, Kelly will hook up with one of the groups, yada, yada, yada !! ..... How about some investigating into these CRITICAL questions: (1) What role will Mary Wilson play in determining WHO the Bills are sold to ? (2) If Mary doesn't determine who, and it's up to the trust, who then decides who is selected as the buyer ? (3) Is the process an open or closed bid ? (4) does the team have to get sold to the highest bidder ? --- we all on the boards know that whoever it is sold to will undoubtedly need approval from 24/32 NFL owners -- but start reporting on those 4 critical questions --- instead of rehashing old news

I'm not sure why they call it an option, there is NO option, they must pick it up -- we need to keep our better players and Dareus is one of them, we don't need/want more holes

I wish the draft would just hurry up and get here already ! I'm growing tired of all these threads and hypotheticals, as much as I enjoy the speculation and debate the NFL is dragging this out way too long. I also heard that next year's draft is being pushed another week until mid-May, is that true ? As Bills at 9, I'm all for a trade down, I think best way that happens is if a mid-1st team falls in love with one of the QB's. I do think there is some hope for several of the position players mentioned, especially Gilbert and Lewan. BTW, Kiper now has Lewan going ahead of Matthews.

While Goodell doesn't have a vote, he has a TON of influence with the vast majority of owners and is the person responsible for running the league. I've been hoping one of our local journalists or a national writer would do a piece on the players involved in this sale and what their roles are. I think it would be great for us fans to know this to know how we can influence or participate, in addition to it being interesting to know, especially without our owner selling the team, is Mary ? the estate ? is the estate being run by Littman ? --- tons of questions. Back to Goodell, if he is for the team being in the city, you can bet he can influence the other owners who rely on his judgment and counsel.

It's impossible to write a story that Niagara Falls is a possible location for the stadium and not launch into the debate on whether it makes sense or not and what is the real probability of it happening or not. I just as soon see a more investigative piece on the actual sale process and roles and responsibilities of each constituent in that process than more of the same speculation that has been on these boards for months, if not years. As for my thoughts on NF; I was born and raised there and it will always have a special place in my heart, but putting a stadium in that city would be a BIG mistake for Niagara Falls AND Buffalo. If the state wants to help WNY, invest money for a stadium and associated infrastructure in or very near to downtown Buffalo. The recent revitalization of downtown Buffalo creates the right backdrop to add a stadium and the associated infrastructure including additional restaurants, hotels and shopping similar to what other cities are doing or planning to do around their football stadiums. Downtown Buffalo is where the stadium belongs. As for Niagara Falls, it needs help. Plopping a stadium down and having to build supporting infrastructure will not help what ails that city. NF needs investment from the state to create tourist related industries that are viable 365 days a year. They don't need more highways to support 20-30 events per year, the highways they have now are empty, and bigger highways would be even more empty except on event days. A combination of public and private investment in tourist related enterprises akin to what NF, Canada has done will do more to improve that city than any stadium.

JW -- any chance you are planning or could you plan a story on the sale process itself and the details of the estate/trust and how that works legally and what roles Mary Wilson, Littman (or whoever is trustee) has, when does NFL get involved (i.e. do they vet candidates, is there a committee of owners); does prospective owners bid or negotiate, do they present any business plan to Wilson, estate, NFL etc. etc. --- NFL teams are not sold very often, in the case of Bills, NEVER before -- it would be great read to know what the process is, the players etc --- if that's not possible, it would still be a great read after the fact, although, I'm sure not as great if the buyer ends up with plans to move team ---

Not drawing a conclusion, commenting on what we know as of this point. No different than debating who the Bills will pick at 9. Speculating on partial information is, 50% of what this board is about. Again, I said "my fear" based on what we know.

I get the need to clarify the ownership question to the Boston folks. I think if Jacobs was interested, he could have said, "My family is interested in buying the Bills, there is an NFL rule that prohibits cross-ownership of franchises in two cities. Under no circumstances would I sell the Bruins in order to buy the Bills. My family will look at other options that the NFL would support". Now, maybe that's going too far for his taste, but something along those lines could appease the Bruin faithful while officially throwing his hat in the ring to buy the Bills.

I thought the Bon Jovi / Toronto group's interest was so widely reported that most of the folks on the board were aware of it, here is the cbssports, nfl.com and buffalo rumblings links to their reports on it. You should check out Buffalo Rumblings if you haven't before, a good site with tons of Bills info. http://www.cbssports...y-buffalo-bills ; http://www.nfl.com/n...g-buffalo-bills; http://www.buffaloru...-mark-poloncarz . I NEVER said that their were no local buyers interested, I said, "NONE have stepped forward". If you have links contradicting that statement, please post. I made it clear in all my posts that regarding the sale as "my fear"; I wasn't stating anything other than that based on the information that is in public domain. There are tons of hurdles for ANY buyer, including those from Toronto or LA. I also never said the Toronto group was the ONLY group interested, I said they were the ONLY group who has stated their interest. I heard last night, that Trump might have officially thrown his hat into the ring since that post. I haven't confirmed that.

Great 2nd post Plunge ! I've said it before on the Toronto scenario, I FEAR the NFL and owners will look at it as a regional relocation and a softer way for Buffalo to lose the team, since Toronto is within a short drive of Buffalo. The key is finding an owner that wants to keep the team here, without that it becomes a longshot to convince someone else to change their mind or hope the NFL/other owners stop a move

I'm not advocating doom and gloom, I'm asking all of you to wake up to the real possibility that this team could move. People keep saying that there are local people with money that will buy the team, but none of them have stepped forward, why ? Yet, the Toronto group has stepped forward. You have no concern ? I'm concerned. People keep mentioning the Jacobs family, a few days ago we hear news that Jacobs Sr. is not interested, now we have a entire thread parsing his words to see if that is indeed what he means, I'm concerned about that. People keep saying the NFL prefers the team be sold to a local buyer, yet I haven't heard one official piece of news on the sale process and whether there will be any preference given to a local buyer during it. That concerns me. Some people choose to close their eyes and hope everything works out. I'm not one of them. It frustrates me when I hear Poloncarcz wave the lease around or mention the new stadium group as these full proof mechanisms to keep the team here, they will not. I acknowledged several times that if a local buyer does buy the team I'm 100% confident they'll succeed and there will be a new stadium down the road, 100% confident. However, I am not close to 100% confident that the team will be sold to a local buyer, especially on the heels of the news this week. Any of you who are need to open your eyes. This is not doom and gloom, this is just the reality that is starring all of us in the face. We need a local buyer to step forward now, so we can all collectively get behind their bid and put pressure on the estates, the politicians, the local businesses to make it work to keep the team here. Right now, our enemies (Toronto) are mobilizing their forces.

To me it's clear, you want to keep the Bills in Buffalo, make sure the team is sold to an owner who shares that desire. It's simple as that. If the team is sold to an owner who is predisposed to keep the team here, the market will work, the owner will be successful and the team will thrive. If the team is sold to owner that has wandering eyes and is looking to leverage his investment or is predisposed to moving the team, the team will be relocated. Don't count on the stadium group to stop it, don't count on the lease to stop it, sure it will slow it down for several years, and don't count on the other owners to stop it, because they have yet to stop other franchise relocations. So, you want to keep the team here LONG term (>9 years), find the right owner ! It's that simple. I'm very concerned the energy on this board and in the media is too focused on the lease or a new stadium, the answer is simple, find an owner who's heart and soul is in Buffalo, they'll make it work here, just like RW did. I remain concerned that no local owner has declared his intentions publicly and I'm also concerned that we haven't heard anything about the process that will be used to find a buyer. I wish the Buffalo media would be investigative on this front.