SectionC3

We think alike!

One more q. How are Mary Owen and Littman not conflicted? Assuming they're trustees (I'm so assuming) I've wondered about the possibility of their interests in the sale. I'd really like to see how the trust is constructed - it's probably beautiful - but I've thought about the possibility of a bidder "working" those votes. I suppose the practical answer (maybe not for Littman, but whatever) is that they're beneficiaries and any gain from sale dwarfs their salary, or that as trustees they're precluded from working in or for org for a certain time after sale.

Thanks. Makes perfect sense. Cutting JBJ, or any group, weakens competition and obv could push price down. Any idea on timeline for this? Given reeds thing last night and the smoke around town I'm assuming the sale is close to done deal and the current state of affairs is posturing.

Quick question if I may (and if you know and are willing to share): did JBJ group advance, not advance, or is question tbd? Wondering whether jury is out at last nights politicking and the letter addresses the tbd issue. Also would explain relaxation of rules to allow golisano in to create competition if JBJ is out or tbd (and in general, I guess, but not the point of my question). I suppose terms of trust could support your "not moving" statement (assuming statement considers post-lease bills), but under that scenario it's hard to explain such a mealy mouthed bongiovanni letter. Either JBJ is more direct under that scenario (better pr this way), or no need for suspect letter in first place.

Creative and good thought. Any things possible. I question whether the trust would allow this to happen - NDA should have been so restrictive as to prevent collaboration amongst groups bc of the threat it drives down sale price.

What does lead owner mean? Beats me. The q was about the other two thirds of the to group overruling bongiovanni on a desire to stay in buffalo. Answer is that it depends on how their partnership is structured. Bongiovanni could have only 30% equity in team but still control team bc of partnership or share structure. Think of the raiders. Reports are that mark Davis only has 47% of raiders shares - probably a plurality - but he controls the team because of share classification.

Depends on the partnership agreement. If set up as an llc or something like that, would depend on the voting rights of the share (which would also be established by agreement of founders of the llc or like entity).

I will add to the sentiments about Mr. Bongiovanni's letter this morning's buffalo news. It does not speak to Mr. Bongiovanni's intentions with respect the bills after the expiration of Bills current stadium lease, or during the 2020 calendar year, wherein the lease buyout is significantly lowered. I have never been a fan of Mr. Bongiovanni's music, but I understand it to be quintessential 80s pop. I suspect that Mr. Bongiovanni's line about "risking it all" is borne of the same mindset that generated so many of the abhorrent sounds and empty lyrics that gave rise to the incredible wealth. Mr. Bongiovanni's letter insults our collective intelligence, but I'm glad that he is chosen to keep "talking" because it seems like he digs himself deeper every time he opens his mouth or puts pen to paper. I'll also comment about McCarthys column in this morning's buffalo news. This column contains nothing new or insightful. None of the academics or observers referencing the column has anything to do with the sale, and their points are obviously speculative. I don't doubt that the trust and the NFL have a common interest in enhancing the sale price, and I can foresee a scenario in which there is tension between the NFL and the trust regarding the sale price. For example, should the trust accept something other than the highest bid with the goal of ensuring teams long-term stability in Buffalo, the NFL and its owners may attempt to scuttle the sale to the local bidder. But, let's not forget that there is a significant political wildcard here that McCarthy has not mentioned. Sen. Schumer is keenly interested in ensuring it the teams long-term viability in Buffalo, and I doubt the NFL would want to twist the tail of that lion by approving a bid to a group (such as the bongiovanni group) that is not resolutely committed to the long-term future of the bills in Buffalo beyond 2020 and beyond the expiration of the current stadium lease. Schumer's power could threaten the NFL antitrust exemption, which in turn could threaten the NFL's national television contracts. Bear in mind that Schumer has chaired the Democratic Senate campaign committee, and as such he is incredibly well-connected in the Senate and could even be the next Senate majority leader. Even if the Senate changes hands in the next election cycle or two, national politics are cyclical there's a very good chance that under that scenario the Senate could revert to democratic control while Schumer is still in power. Should the NFL act against Schumer's wishes on this particular issue, I strongly suspect that he will be miles up the NFL's proverbial colon during the rest of his time in office. This is not a politician that the NFL or anyone else can simply have removed from office; he's too strong within his party to get in a primary, and too strong within the state to have any hope of defeating in a general election given the current political climate. On top of that, he is close with Hillary Clinton, and there's a very good chance, as we all know, that she could be the next president of United States. Let's not forget that the Clintons LOVE Buffalo. In short, the political climate is such that if A strong, competitive local bid emerges, I do not believe that the NFL would reject that bid as the McCarthy article. Putting aside what would be the penny wise and pound foolish nature of that approach, I also doubt that Ralph's former business partners would put his estate in a bind of not being able to pay estate taxes to the extent the sale is not approved in October. Finally, there is one more tangential political going to be made about the sale process. Astute observers may notice that Steve Casey recently left the mayors office in Buffalo. He now works for Scott congel, who as many of us know, is attempting to develop an area in West Seneca that could potentially house a new bill stadium. My personal view is that for variety of reasons this is a terrible site for a stadium. Putting that aside, the bonding for the project is something that would cripple the town of West Seneca's ability to fund capital improvement projects for the next few decades. Current town board members may feel that way, but there are only three of them. Given the small size of the West Seneca town board, my sense is that casey's duties with congel may include facilitating the election of two board members who would vote for the bonding necessary for Congel to proceed with this project. It's much easier to change the Constitution of a town board that it is to deseat a strong incumbent senator, and it's very possible that the not-too-distant future things could get pretty "real "in West Seneca politics on an issue that might involve work on the site of a future bills stadium.

This. There is a potential angle to bring another local bidder into the mix that was mentioned awhile back, but I haven't seen or heard anything about it in months. Not even the connected people on this board have mentioned it, which makes me doubt that the team/trust was in the loop on it. If we hear of someone besides BTG / tp as a local bidder, it may be through that particular path. If that road gets traveled at this late date we'll know that those vested in a higher sale price are looking to drum up demand.

Polian or kent hull. Probably polian. Heard him on gr last night talking up reed. I was pretty young in 85 - not sure if Reed was a polian draftee, but the thought occurred to me that reeds enshrinement might help what is already a pretty strong case for polian. As far as the post Super Bowl bills go, only moderately realistic shot is probably dareus and as a longshot maybe a Kyle Williams if he plays at a high level for a few more years and we have playoff success during that time.

Who says Jacobs couldn't do that?

It very well could bc of potential liquidity problems with the TO group and the trust need to liquify in time to pay estate taxes. Yesterday morning, before the fluctuating reports of the bid values, someone here mentioned the media manipulation that was possible and the Need of the trust and the nfl for the JBJ group to drive up the price. Everything we hear now is something someone wants us to hear - I can't imagine in something with stakes as high as this that more than a handful of people are privy to bids numbers - so any leak is more likely than not intentional. In any event, as was said yesterday, this will happen fast (see: estate taxes, desire not to anger potentially generous pegula bidders, etc) but there is going to be at least one more "bad" day as the trust tries to drive up the price. It wouldn't surprise me if we see a BTG bid (not a bad thing) or a planted story about JBJ''s vast liquidity. If the bids really are low, or if JBJ can't cut it, it wouldn't shock me if there is a little creative but simple maneuvering to generate another local bid.

Because he wants the team. Good strategy to wait. See where everyone else is to minimize risk of bidding against yourself. Google Norman cass jr. There is no ego feeding here,

One more thing. There are conflicting reports as to the JBJ bid - ie - about 1b or 1.2b. Who do you think leaked 1.2b? Someone with an interest in driving up the price.

Littman is the son inlaw. And, it's a new age. Every piece of data is scoured. Massares consistency reinforces my point. And, it's not just using some guy on twitter. That guy plus, say, a business first report, a buff news report and maybe something in the Toronto sun or info fed to Ed Kilgore from someone Kilgore has trusted in the past might just spook someone enough to up the bid. Finally, who is to say the kid (Littman jr) isn't our version of Norman cass jr.? He might not even know he's being used.

This is an obvious pint and one with which I completely agree. The trust NEEDS JBJ and trump to create demand, just as the NFL needs those bidders to inflate the price. I suspect this deal will get done VERY quickly now bc Pegula has seemingly offered offered the trust everything it could want - a great price in what I'm assuming is a cash bid that will allow the deal to close before the end of this tax year. Assuming the bid info is correct (and I'm skeptical of the accuracy of all of the reported bids), there is a serious game of poker going on. The trust can probably extort a little more from pegula through the JBJ threat, but it has to ask itself whether the potential gain is worth the risk of pegula reducing his bid. What I also wonder is whether this massare guy has been groomed for this moment. As the theory goes, his source is littmans kid, who is Ralph's grandson. What if they've been feeding this guy all along to establish his credibility and now at the very end use him to reinforce the idea that the JBJ group increases its bid past pegulas 1.3b after e books are opened? Couple that leak with one to someone like to graham or Jim fink and the trust could easily create an incentive for pegula to move beyond 1.3B. I'd be stunned if we don't see that kind of story sometime soon, but I'll be equally stunned if pegula doesn't close the deal. Like I said it will happen fast., and probably for a "little" more than 1.3B.

Stevie is gone. We can better spend his money elsewhere. I don't believe Byrd is worth $8m/year, but I'd rather pay him than Stevie.

The article is not a good one, but I have to believe the next owner is going to be someone who isn't talking about buying the Bills right now. Fortunately for Buffalo there are a host of people who have the cash to make this happen either individually or as part of a consortium---Pegula, Golisano and the Jacobs family and Bob Rich spring to mind. Their company isn't publicly traded, but I have to think the Wegman family has the money for something like this, too. I have to imagine a new stadium is part of the equation for any prospective local buyer, and I wonder if we see the state government start to address this issue in the very near future.

Goodwin has demonstrated an ability to catch a football. Graham has not. Both can take the top off of a defense, but only one can locate and catch a ball thrown in his direction.

Send a message and deactivate him next week if woods can play. Relegating to special teams doesn't work because he doesn't play special teams. He needs to sit. He has one of the worst pair of hands I've ever seen, let's the ball get to his body too much and is horrible at locating the ball in the air. Just a garbage receiver - I've felt this way long before today's debacle. And no, hogan and/or Easley are not long term replacements. Neither of those guys is a capable receiver. This happened right in front of me and I felt the same way. Tuel made the right read, the route was there and the throw surprisingly good. Graham just couldn't find the ball.

Bill - thanks for all of your work. I could not wait to read your thoughts after this fantastic win. I'll add a few thoughts. I think we're witnessing a culture change here. This team is TOUGH and has a swagger to it. We haven't seem this in years, and for the first time probably since Flutie was benched I now regularly expect the Bills to win. For the (relative) old timers (I'm 34), I almost hate to say it but it's starting to feel like 1987. With respect to today's game, I love the way Leodis played. It's much easier to play corner when you can count on the pass rush to force the ball out quickly. Credit should also be given to doug Whaley and buddy nix. The depth on this team is impressive, and whalery's proactive approach to the kolb injury in trading for Lewis is paying off in spades. I love the jerry Hughes trade, too. His numbers don't jump off the page, but he showed when it counted today. Was it him that forklifted his man on tanehill's backside on the Mario sack and strip? No matter, we are building an identity of a tough team, and even the realist in me thinks we're on the cusp of something special.

Bingo. It shortens the game for us. Keeps the ball in the hands of one of our two best offensive players (apologies to Stevie J.), keeps the ball out of the hands of our erratic QB (who admittedly had his fastball today) and helps keep the defense off the field. Our offense is built to grind, and we prefer to be cute.

Absolutely. There's something to be said for imposing one's will and running someone over. An RB who falls forward on third and two typically gets the first down.

I wish I could add this to my list of observations about today's game. I totally agree. I get that the circumstances are a little different in short yardage situations, but sometimes we overcomplicate the game. If we average 4 yards a carry, why on earth are we constantly throwing on third and short? I appreciate that the response will be, "because Spiller got knocked backward on third and one." I saw that too. In the demarcation of Spiller/Jackson touches, however, that's an instance where Fred gets the ball.

Bill, thanks for nice comments as always. I wish I could say that I look forward to Sundays to watch quality Bills football, but in the absence of that I at least have the thoughtful post-mortem you produce every week. I'll add a few thoughts. 1. I'm glad we "fed" Spiller the ball only 11 times today. I was worried he might get tired. Fortunately, I don't think that happened. 2. Sarcasm aside, Fred might be a battering ram, and it is important to get him a critical mass of carries, but this year he looks slow to me. Maybe it's because he pales in comparison to Spiller's dynamism. Whatever the case, enough is enough with alternating series. It's time to give the job to Spiller and use Fred as the sub. 3. I cannot put into words how tired I am of the lousy defenses we've fielded throughout the Bush II and Obama administrations. The stat lines are disgustingly predictable - opposing QBs with 65% completion rate, couple of TDs, no picks, great third down percentage and astronomical quarterback rating. It happens every week, and it happened again this week. 4. Our backers, with the exception of Barnett, suck. Painfully so. But not as much as Aaron Williams. If they're going to put him back out there when he's healthy, they should either move him to safety or make him change his number. Seriously. Right now, if it's third and long, I throw it at 23. Every. Single. Time. I think the NFL has figured this out, too. 5. Gailey seems to have one major brain cramp as a playcaller each week. This week it was the three throws-and-out to start the second half. 6. If we are ever behind in a close game with a chance to come back and win, we better not need the two-minute drill. That plodding, ineffective effort sucks. Then again, our four minute offense sucks, too, so even if we're ahead in the close game, we're still in trouble. 7. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I'll see you all next Sunday to talk about Mr. Brady's Madden-esque statline.