John Wawrow & WR Donald Jones on Coach Sal

[ICanSleepWhenI'mDead]

Mary Owen, his niece is a very good possibility. She's being groomed for leadership. That much is apparent.

 

I hope the Bills stay in Buffalo after Ralph passes, but I'm less optimistic than you. Unfortunately, a niece doesn't fall within the 2006 NFL Constitution and Bylaws' definition of "immediate family" (a niece is not a "lineal descendant," and is not one of the other specifically enumerated relatives in the definition). Maybe the other owners would honor Ralph's wishes anyway, or maybe Ralph could get the provision amended during his lifetime, but by the letter of the 2006 NFL Bylaws, Mary Owens would need to be approved by a 3/4 vote of the other owners before she could take ownership of the team. Just my opinion, but that seems like a long shot, even assuming that Ralph silently changed his announced 2007 intention that the team will be sold after he dies.

 

And if Mr. Wilson left the team to a person outside his family who's to say it would be rejected by the league? IF they were a financially viable entity I don't see them not being approved.

If you changed "left" to "arranged for his estate to sell" I would agree that this is our best chance at having the team stay in Buffalo. My concern is that the other owners aren't going to be making some sort of sentimental decision to honor Ralph's memory - - they are going to make a cold, calculated business decision based on what they see at the time as their best financial interest individually. There are plenty of people who might be able to outbid local WNY interests, and if there is even an equal bid from a market where the other 31 owners see higher future revenue than Buffalo, I don't think the other 31 owners will care what Ralph wanted.

 

And we aren't just talking about NY State federal pols, but state and county pols as well. There are no guarantees, but I don't think it's something to be all that concerned about. Getting the Bills out of Buffalo would be a messy process, politically and socially. The Browns move was such a black eye on the league Tagliabue had to assure Cleveland they would get the Browns returned if a new stadium got built.

I don't see how the state and county politicians have much influence over the 29 other owners (excluding the Jets and Giants) that operate mainly outside NY state. I agree with you that negative publicity would be a factor in the owner vote, but the NFL spin doctors will point out how Ralph has been saying for years that it has been getting harder and harder for the Bills to be economically viable in Buffalo. If a higher bid comes in from Toronto, the NFL spin doctors will say the Bills are just moving within their existing market, as evidenced by the fact that X per cent of the season ticket holders are from Canada anyway and the team was already playing games in Toronto.

 

Did the other NFL owners actually lose any money when the Browns left Cleveland? And did the other owners get much flack because the Browns moved? The departing owner was certainly villified in Cleveland, but how much flack did Al Davis or Ralph Wilson personally take because some OTHER owner decided to move his team? I'm guessing not much.

 

If a WNY-based bid for the team is for an equal amount, and comes from people who are otherwise equally desireable, the publicity factor may break the tie in favor of a WNY bid. Just my personal opinion, but I don't see the publicity factor doing much more than that. Especially if no 2011 regular season games get cancelled, and the current lockout has been in the rear-view mirror for a while.

Edited July 14, 2011 by ICanSleepWhenI'mDead

[Delete This Account]

Good Wawrow chat, though he did say there's good reason to panic about the Bills leaving.

 

PTR

don't think i said "panic." i said there is cause for concern, as there has always been.

 

jw

Edited July 14, 2011 by john wawrow

[PromoTheRobot]

don't think i said "panic." i said there is cause for concern, as there has always been.

 

jw

I was paraphrasing...from memory.

 

PTR

[purple haze]

I hope the Bills stay in Buffalo after Ralph passes, but I'm less optimistic than you. Unfortunately, a niece doesn't fall within the 2006 NFL Constitution and Bylaws' definition of "immediate family" (a niece is not a "lineal descendant," and is not one of the other specifically enumerated relatives in the definition). Maybe the other owners would honor Ralph's wishes anyway, or maybe Ralph could get the provision amended during his lifetime, but by the letter of the 2006 NFL Bylaws, Mary Owens would need to be approved by a 3/4 vote of the other owners before she could take ownership of the team. Just my opinion, but that seems like a long shot, even assuming that Ralph silently changed his announced 2007 intention that the team will be sold after he dies.

 

If you changed "left" to "arranged for his estate to sell" I would agree that this is our best chance at having the team stay in Buffalo. My concern is that the other owners aren't going to be making some sort of sentimental decision to honor Ralph's memory - - they are going to make a cold, calculated business decision based on what they see at the time as their best financial interest individually. There are plenty of people who might be able to outbid local WNY interests, and if there is even an equal bid from a market where the other 31 owners see higher future revenue than Buffalo, I don't think the other 31 owners will care what Ralph wanted.

 

 

I don't see how the state and county politicians have much influence over the 29 other owners (excluding the Jets and Giants) that operate mainly outside NY state. I agree with you that negative publicity would be a factor in the owner vote, but the NFL spin doctors will point out how Ralph has been saying for years that it has been getting harder and harder for the Bills to be economically viable in Buffalo. If a higher bid comes in from Toronto, the NFL spin doctors will say the Bills are just moving within their existing market, as evidenced by the fact that X per cent of the season ticket holders are from Canada anyway and the team was already playing games in Toronto.

 

Did the other NFL owners actually lose any money when the Browns left Cleveland? And did the other owners get much flack because the Browns moved? The departing owner was certainly villified in Cleveland, but how much flack did Al Davis or Ralph Wilson personally take because some OTHER owner decided to move his team? I'm guessing not much.

 

If a WNY-based bid for the team is for an equal amount, and comes from people who are otherwise equally desireable, the publicity factor may break the tie in favor of a WNY bid. Just my personal opinion, but I don't see the publicity factor doing much more than that. Especially if no 2011 regular season games get cancelled, and the current lockout has been in the rear-view mirror for a while.

 

The other owners are already getting acquainted with Mary Owen. She has attended owners meetings in the past. She also sits on several committee's including: Owen, the Super Bowl Committee, International Committee and Advisory Committee on NFL Giving. She is also on the Board of Trustees for NFL Charities (http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2011/01/24/bills-promote-mary-owen-to-vp.html). Bylaws or no, she is a very real possibility to me. When asked about owning the team in the future she wouldn't comment on it. What she didn't say is that she had no interest. She's been working her way up at OBD for years in various capacities. She's in charge of regionalization efforts. Maybe it's nothing more than that. I would say its in the realm of distinct possibility she is the plan or part of a plan.

 

The NFL is about the money true. However, they are very image conscience as well. And as much as folks think everybody has it in for Buffalo there is a lot of sentiment for the Bills, particularly us fans. If a WNY group had a viable bid on the table that equaled or surpassed that of an LA investor it would look extremely bad for the league not to accept the WNY group's bid.

 

As far as political/social pressure I am sure there are measures that can be taken. Maybe none that ultimately would work, but enough to drag the image conscience NFL through the mud. The Bills have a long history. Cleveland leaving was a black eye on the league. Cleveland wasn't promised another team, contingent on a stadium being built, for no reason. Public pressure played a large role in that. It was unjust for Modell to high-jack that team, with that tradition, out of Cleveland. The Bills would be the same thing. They have several HOF's. They appeared in four straight super bowls. Two of their HOF's could be considered the best at their positions in the history of the game (OJ and Bruce). An original AFL member. An owner who personally, with his own money, kept AFL teams afloat, who was a leader in brokering the NFL/AFL merger. I'm telling you the Bills leaving is not something the league office wants to see. Some owners? They couldn't care less I'm sure. The league office? They care. And the way class is being set-up in the country, in general, the Bills and Buffalo being a "common man" so to speak would spark a lot of support.

 

All that being said, they could leave. But I highly doubt it. We shall see.

Edited July 14, 2011 by purple haze

[HurlyBurly51]

The show is also available in Itunes- I have subscribed to it and download it weekly (when available)

 

How do you find his podcasts in iTunes? I tried various search terms in power search under the podcast category, but couldn't find it.

[Nanker]

How do you find his podcasts in iTunes? I tried various search terms in power search under the podcast category, but couldn't find it.

 

Click in the "Podcast Directory" button in the lower right hand corner of the "Podcasts" page.

That'll take you to the iTunes Store.

Then, click the "Search Store" button in the upper right hand corner of the window, type in Coach Sal, hit return. He shows up in about half a second.