kasper13

I heard today that the players are already saying they may not even play next year because they will never agree to a salary cap linked to revenues (which will be around $26 million per team down from the $42.5 million taken off the table yesterday). Get ready for replacement players in October. This is going to get way, way, way uglier before it gets any better.

I'll take that bet. The NHL's best offer was $42.5 with no link to revenues. Now they will try and drive a stake through the heart of the NHLPA. Any offer will be with a link to revenue. Nobody knows what that revenue will be. My guess is the next offer from the NHL will be a hard salary cap of $30 million. I read this somewhere this AM. The NHL can declare an impasse if there is no deal and if they get a ruling in their favor can then implement their own plan AND ALL current player contracts become void and EVERY SINGLE PLAYER becomes an unrestricted free agent. I think that's what the owners are shooting for. Every contract would be ripped up and they would start over.

Over 80% of the people who put down a $50 deposit for 2004/05 Sabres Season tickets have asked for their $50 back instead of letting it rollover to next season.

If there was ever a step backwards that was a good step back then it was yesterday. Nobody seems to realize that the best the Bills would have ever done with Bledsoe at QB was 9-7 and just short of the playoffs. That was not good enough. Time to move on and move up. All the National media does is jump on the popular opinion. Totally useless in judging how the Bills will be in 2005. My opinion is that the Bills will be at least two games in better in 2005 and will make the playoffs. Now if I were a member of the National media, would my opinion count more or less?

Losman threw 5 passes in garbage time in 2004. Give me a break with his 20% INT rate. That's such an utterly useless stat. His broken leg was his fault? Injuries happen all the time so how can you blame a guy for getting hurt? It was a freak thing. Losman has the most potential of any QB we have had since Jim Kelly showed up in 1986. Give the kid a chance. The difference between Losman and RJ is that Losman is a Football Player. RJ was a surfer.

Goodenow did exactly what he did in 1992 & 1994. He bluffed all the way to the end thinking the owners would cave in just like they did twice before. This time he was wrong. All three times he was an idiot from the get go. How this guy is a lawyer and in charge of the NHLPA and isn't working the fryer at a McD's somewhere is beyond me. To use a poker analogy, Goodenow bluffed and went all in with a pair of deuces and the owners called with a Royal Flush. Barry Melrose said he couldn't believe 690 players let 7 players (The NHLPA "Executive " Council which is made up of 7 NHL Players representing the other 23 player reps and the other 690 players and includes Trevor Linden, Bob Boughner, Vincent Damphousse, Daniel Alfredsson, Bill Guerin, Trent Klatt and Arturs Irbe) and a half-wit lawyer decide their fate. They would not let the players vote on any of the NHL proposals. Morons. Total Morons.

I was thinking the exact same thing that he hurt himself again. Jr. averages about 60 games a season. Of course he is fat and out of shape. No doubt he will injure himself getting into shape.

Well, there's no Sabres hockey to get excited about right now. There aren't any fans in hockey that have taken more abuse in the last few years than Sabres fans. The really crappy thing about it is the Sabres have a good, young team. They would have been fun to watch over a playoff like 28 game season and then the actual playoffs. Maybe they will fix things and with a salary cap the Sabres will be able to compete year in and year out without charging two arms & a leg for a ticket. Call me in October.

Now that I have calmed down a bit, Could anyone be stupider than the current group of NHL Players & the NHLPA? Bettman comes on and says best deal is now off the table. Now, there has to be a hard salary cap linked to revenues. He said that would not be 54% of $2 billion but now more like 52 or 53% of $1 billion. (I think even that is optimistic). That translates to a salary cap somewhere between $16-$20 million per team. A far, far cry from even $42.5 million. Players can either take that or leave it come September 2005 because it won't get any better than $20 million per team. Freaking hysterical if you ask me.

Buttman just said the NHL's last best offer is now off the table and now there has to be linkage in any salary cap and that a tremendous amount of damage has been done that can never be reversed. The players screwed themselves even more than they ever could even have dreamed. Good.

Bettman is now talking about money that will never be there again. He's as stupid as the players. Screw all of them.

Season finished. All over a $3.3 million difference. F all these morons. I will never watch hockey again. F em all.

Well, it looks like they did jump off the cliff without a parachute. All over a few million bucks per team. Not every team would have been at the cap limit anyways whether it was at 42 million or 49 million. The players and owners are all a-holes. They all just screwed themselves for no reason other than greed for money that will never be there again. I don't understand the players position at all. Now they will play next season for alot less than was on the table today or they won't play at all. Have fun shoveling crap for minimum wage in Moose Ass, Saskatchewan or wherever the hell in Canada you idiots come from. The utter stupidity of these people absolutley amazes me.

That is the Pepsi Center in Amherst. Sabres work out there every day. Bunch of ex-Sabres who still live in WNY skate their every day as well (Barnaby and Rob Ray to name a couple).

They are just negotiating to get whatever they can get, they will get a deal done very soon. The "Final" offer crap is just a negotiating tactic. The latest offer from the NHL was $42.5 million, players said no and proposed $49 million. The NHL offer was up from $40 million earlier in the day and the NHLPA proposal to that was down from $52 million with a luxury tax. No way is either side going to jump off the cliff without a parachute over $6.5 million dollars. They will meet in the middle by the 1pm Wednesday deadline and there will be a $45-$46 million salary cap and there will be a 28 game season with a full 4 round playoffs. If the players don't accept a deal over a couple million bucks when they will have to play for even less next year or watch replacement players take their jobs, they will go down as the stupidest group of individuals ever assembled in the history of pro sports and they know it. Everyone says October-January hockey is meaningless anyways, so we may just get a 28 game playoff season before the real playoffs. That would be fine with me. Should be an interesting next 13+ hours. Plus, a Salary Cap will help the Sabres out in huge way in the future.

It's no rumor. It's all over everywhere- WGRZ, WIVB, WKBW, WGR, WBEN, ESPN, MSG, Fox Sports. You name they are reporting it. What in the hell is going on here? It's like the black cloud is being lifted over Western New York all at once. They are finally cleaning up Erie County Government and not raising taxes, Drew Bledsoe gets cut and the NHL and the NHLPA are only $6.5 million apart on a hard salary cap (a $45 million dollar salary cap would certainly be a huge help to to the Sabres) so there may be NHL hockey at the HSBC Arena this Spring if they just compromise and meet in the middle. It's a good day in WNY (unless of course you are Drew Bledsoe or are related to the Erie County Executive that is)

I live in Erie County (Lancaster) and I have been following the story. The only crisis is that the government is fat, bloated and way out of shape. 10,000 people work for the county. There are way too many patronage jobs (The County Executive has over 20 family members & friends on the County payroll at a $1 million a year) and the county spends money like a drunken whore after a week working at the Bunny Ranch. Yes, a few parks are closed. That's about all. They will reopen. The County Executive threatened all kinds of things that he had no leagl right to do. The County Legislature is cutting $113 million worth of jobs and perks. That's needed to downsize the gov't and get their spending of our tax dollars in line. No sales tax increase either. That should all be done by Thursday. Bills & Erie County have a lease agreement. The county can't back out of it and tell the Bills to leave. There would be total anarchy if that happened.

Someone gave him a shocker?

There was actually progress made as the NHLPA came off their "No Way in Hell will we ever accept a salary cap" stance. They actually proposed a salary cap of $52 million not tied to league revenues that teams could go over 3 times in 6 years and if a team goes over they pay a 150% per dollar luxury tax. There was also a minimum of $32 million that teams could go under 3 times in 6 years. NHL rejected that and countered with an offer of a $40 million cap. That was also rejected but if they are now talking about a deal with a hard cap then they should be able to meet in the middle. I would guess that there was extreme pressure from the players placed on the NHLPA and Bob Goodenow to get a deal done and save their jobs, the league and not bust the union in the process. If there wasn't a season and a playoffs it would have gotten really, really ugly compared to what has been going on. I also would guess that a compromise will be made by tommorrow as Bettman has pushed back his press conference until tommorrow afternoon and there will be a hard salary cap of around $46-$48 million and there will be a season of 28-32 games starting sometime around February 28- March 2.

If the Bills go 3-13, I will eat my computer, including the printer and speakers. The defense will be largely intact and even have an improvement or two (like a full season of Troy Vincent at safety) The Bills can upgrade on offense through free agency & the draft at a couple of positions. OL, K and 3rd WR come to mind. A full season for McGahee, a full season starting for Lee Evans, another season with McNally as the OL coach (the OL was better later in the season) and the subtraction of Drew Bledsoe is at least a two game improvement. Mularkey is in his 2nd season and with mostly the same team coming back everyone is on the same page from the start. The Bills will be no worse than 11-5 and make the playoffs.

Sure. That dumb move cutting Bledsoe next week puts the Bills $14 million under the cap. IT SAVE THE BILLS CAP SPACE. How is that dumb?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

No they should not have an open competition. Why the hell would the Bills pay Bledsoe a huge roster bonus in March and have to pay his bloated salary for 2005 & 2006 and then have an open competition for QB in August? That makes zero sense to me. Cut Bledsoe, save the cap space and give the job to Losman now. Losman is already in Buffalo working out for the 2005 season. Bledsoe is in a cabin in Montana drinking beer. Give Losman all of the reps as starting QB in the mini-camps and training camp and he will be ready to go on September 11th. Just keep Troy Vincent away from him. The Bledsoe era is OVER. Get over it and let's move on.

I have questions. Who was the QB the last time the Bills won a playoff game? How many yards did Willis McGahee have in 2004? Name me a team other than Indianapolis with two better WR's than Eric Moulds & Lee Evans. Which team has one of the best OL coaches in the NFL? What was the Bills weakest position in 2004? Where do the Bills need upgrades in 2005? I also have answers. Jim Kelly. 1995. TEN years ago. Over 1,000 in less than a full season. Nobody. We do. Quarterback. QB, Third WR, OL, TE and K. QB position is upgraded just by the subtraction of Drew Bledsoe. Losman will be better than Bledsoe and that's not a stretch becasue let's be honest here, it's not that hard to be better than Bledsoe. McGahee will get a full season behind an improved OL thanks to Bledsoe getting cut and giving the Bills more cap space to sign someone for the OL plus Losman can move unlike Bledsoe. Moulds restructured because he wanted to stay here and I would bet a condition of that was Bledsoe getting cut. So Moulds is happy and Evans has unlimited potential which he started showing over the last few games. Add it all up and it translates to the first Bills playoff win in 10 years.

People may say insane things around here but nobody ever shot GW or beat the daylights out of Gilbride, did they? Just people venting. It's alot better than actually going out and doing something crazy. I pulled for Bledsoe when he got here. It didn't work out at all and Bills fans just want to win and see their team in the playoffs and have a shot at the Super Bowl again. It didn't happen with Bledsoe and it cost us three seasons. He never showed up in the big games he played for us and now he's gone. Good riddance in my opinion. If someone wanted to say we should drag him down the Thurway from the back of a bus on the way out of town............

That was a game they could have won and should have won. A missed dunk up by two with 1:31 left? Just inexcusable. Why dunk? Just a simple lay up would have been more than enough. They commited turnover after turnover all game long and just went into a total shell in OT. They just totally beat themselves. Close is good enough I suppose.