Hats Off to Mr. Wilson

Tonight, I just wanted to touch on a recent article that appeared in The Buffalo News a couple days ago. The article, written by Allen Wilson, discusses Bills owner Ralph Wilson, Jr. (right) and his efforts for the league to reform its revenue-sharing plan. Below is an excerpt from the article:

"I'm certainly sympathetic to Ralph's situation in Buffalo," said Denver Broncos owner Patrick D. Bowlen. "From what I saw, he was pretty persuasive in, No. 1, keeping the team in Buffalo, and No. 2, having some better revenue-sharing agreements than we do. Ralph's been around since Day One. So I think what he had to say and his input was very important."

Nice to see our owner getting a little respect after the debacle of a year ago. If you recall, Wilson was one of just two owners (the other being Cincinnati's Mike Brown) that voted against the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Wilson's "no-vote" was met with strict criticism from a lot of members of the media, with some questioning the sanity of our 87-year-old owner.

"Ralph is one of our most respected owners, so you listen when he has something to say," Pittsburgh Steelers owner Daniel M. Rooney said. "He and his people were very much involved. He did a good job presenting his case."

Where was the respect a year ago? I guess that doesn't matter now, because Ralph is getting respect after getting the league's owners to agree to a new revenue-sharing plan (details provided in the article). By accomplishing that goal, Wilson has secured the long-term viability of his Bills franchise staying in Buffalo. Not bad for our "Golden Boy", eh?

Personally, I'm glad that Ralph took back some responsibility as President when Tom Donahoe was let go. Ralph cares about the city of Buffalo and its fans, and as long as he and Marv are around - as well as, as Allen Wilson says, Ralph's "people" - this franchise isn't going anywhere. I love my owner!

What's your opinion on Ralph as an owner? Do you love the old guy for keeping the team around, or can't you stand his so-called "cheapness"? Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear what everyone has to say.

SB Nation Mock Has Started
As I mentioned yesterday, I will be participating in a mock draft run by the vastly intelligent, very with-it NFL bloggers from SportsBlogs Nation. And, as promised, here is where that mock draft will be posted: head on over to Field Gulls, a fantastic Seattle Seahawks blog written by the ever-popular Shrug. This blog was chosen to host the draft because the Seahawks do not currently have a first-round pick.

My suggestion? Keep your eye on Field Gulls over the next two to three weeks - nowhere else will you find a mock draft where the "pickers" are as in-tune with their teams. The goal is to have this be the most accurate mock draft available on the Internet!