SF Bills Fan

Just move to LA and end the silly charade.

I wonder where the tipping point for franchise valuations are? The point where it doesn't make sense to buy a team because the ROI is too little compared to the cost? There will always be people that are waelthy enough to buy a team like Warren Buffet, Larry Ellison etc, but would they want to? It would seem that at some point in the not too distant future, there will come a point where buying a team in a smaller market, like Minn or St. Louis won't make sense becasue you will need to take on too much debt and need a new stadium (that you will need to fund) in order to make money, but even then you will pay over a billion and make 20 million a year. Even with a strong league like the NFL and projected growth in revenue, it just seems like it won't make sense.

The Sabres will get the Cup within 3 years. I've resigned to the fact the Bills will never win the Super Bowl. It will be cool when the Cup is paraded around Buffalo and we can all bask in its glory. I want to drink a beer out of it.

Here is a great old article from Sports Illustrated in 1969. This proves that Buffalo has never gotten too much respect. For those of you that think there is a conspriacy against Buffalo, this article points to the fact that there is some truth to it. The part that talks about the NHL expansion should get your blood boiling. Buffalo should have been in the NHL well before 1970. Given the idiocy of the old hardline NHL guys, it is a miracle hockey has been successful and grown beyond the original 6. Anyway, great read here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082018/index.htm

I didn't want Vick. I think that the Bills might have expressed mild interest, but I think it was more Dungy trying to find opportunities for Vick rather than the Bills pursuing and we seemed like a fit and there were informal talks. I think the Eagles were the only team that outright said they would sign him and the league said take the deal. That is my take on this. Who knows? I don't think Goodell would ever be dumb enough to tell players to snub a team.

Even if the Dolphions started a midget at QB, they would rank higher than us.

What did Ted Washington weigh? That guy was huge. That is why Denver got rid of him which was great for us.

The Pats have a system like the Niners did back in the 80's to early 90's. You can take players and plug them in and they can shine. I think there would be far more players that we have that would end up being succesful there.

There have been a few articles in the LA media the past few days and a few have mentioned the Bills, but only as a very long shot. Many people that used to state that we had stadium, attendance and small market issues have come to the realization that we have no issues with any of those things. It comes down solely to Ralph and his longevity. What happens after Ralph is the mystery. Besides the political wrangling that would occur, there are also several people that could buy and keep the team local. If they auction to the highest bidder, that does not automatically mean it is an out of towner. If Ralph lives another 3+ years, the Bills are all but safe. LA has to have a team announced within a year. My money is on the Chargers, Rams and Raiders.

San Francisco: Northstar at Powell and Green in the North Beach area.

Under Golisano, the Sabres probably should have won the cup the year they lost to Carolina. I think he would be a decent owner becasue he would be the type of guy to hire and retain a good football guy like Polian. I think he would be a hands off owner and not meddle too much. There is no dubt he has the cash to buy the team, more than some of the individuals that talk of trying to buy the team to move them. The fact that this moviing issue concerns him and is on his radar is good enough for me at this stage.

I don't think that people realize that Oakland is in a similar situation as the Bills. When Al Davis goes- he is 82 and not looking to well lately- the Raiders will likely be sold. He has a son Marc, but it is likely they will face the same problems with estate taxes that Ralph's heirs would. It is unlikely he would be able to hold on to the team. The siuation is shakier for them because they are having stadium issues and they have problems with support, so I would not be surprised at all if they were purchased and brought back to LA. So root for Al to go soon. I think many Raiders fans already are.

It is a toss up for me. Either the Seahawks game in Seattle in 2004 or the Dallas Monday night game in Buffalo. I attended both. Even though we lost the Dallas game, it was still a great atmosphere and we were rolling all game until the last second. Sadly, this is a lost decade. Not too much to get excited about.

What's up with the Erie County budget being so much higher than the other counties?

Perhaps you missed the signing of an hour ago? Ville Leino at six years for $27 million. And the rumor is that Terry is on his way to Dallas to talk to Richards still. This is madness. I love it.

Dear Terry, I love what you are doing, but save some money to buy the Bills.

I agree that a new stadium should be built up in that area (if not downtown Buffalo), but I think they would likely put it out by the 190/Niagara Expy near the Falls Airport. There is more land there for it and it would be more convenient to get to for people driving from Buffalo etc.

I think the Sabres will move back up once we have a season behind us with Pegula as owner. The Leafs are very low in the rankings- lower than I would have thought they would be.

Her elbows are too pointy. I prefer women who do not have sharp elbows.

Tim Graham ranked the Detroit blue blob at 4?

Owners like Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder want to see Buffalo move to a bigger market. These guys would sell their grandmas if they could make a profit. I am not so sure about Cooke and his people. They were involved so long ago and when the Bills were on the tailend of much success. I wonder if this was not someone from Snyder's group talking? The Toronto series has been a flop from the standpoint that people have not come to the game in Toronto, but the Bills got a big payout and there are more fans from Toronto coming to Bills games, so it has been a success in that regard. If this really was all about expanding the Candadian fan base in Buffalo and not getting Toronto ready for the NFL. I'm more concerned about the future of HSBC in Buffalo than about the Bills leaving right now.

I should have added more to my post- sorry about that. Anyway, I stayed at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland. It was a really nice old hotel downtown, but it was pricey. The stadium was very close- we had a great view of it (the Bengals were actually playing there against the Pats on the Sunday we left). There was a really nice area downtown that was near the hotel (in the vicinity of the famous fountain you see in the WKRP opening). There were all kinds of bars and restaurants there. I recall going to a Rock Bottom brewery there. That would be a pretty good destination if you stayed right downtown.

The nice thing about the stadium is that it is very close to downtown and within easy walking distance of all the major downtown hotels. I don't know about the atmosphere in the stadium.

I, for one, welcome our new southern overlords.

There are so many intangibles that we don't know about that these guys evaluate. They talk with all these guys. Obviously, they saw something they like. I hear this guy was a team leader. The Bills need that type.