RCW ranked 27th

Michael Silver, lead football columnist for Yahoo.com, has released his second annual NFL owners ranking. Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. holds the same spot he held last year from Silver - 27th. We'll leave it to the readers of this blog to make their own comments and conclusions, but it must be said Silver's ranking takes a pretty short view of NFL politics and history. Without going into chapter and verse about Wilson, there is no mention made of Wilson's pioneering role in the survival of the AFL (via his ownership of the Bills, financial support of the Raiders and his work on the TV deal that saved the AFL), his behind-the-scenes work on the merger between the AFL and NFL, the fact he has fought for the integrity of the game at every turn, voted against every franchise relocation that has come up, been a leader in creating rules for revenue sharing ... and most recently was spot-on, ahead of the curve, in trashing the current CBA.

Silver's assessment and the link are below:

"A few months shy of his 90th birthday, Wilson should be in a celebratory mood. Largely because of his bitching, moaning and general grumpiness, Wilson was essentially handed the keys to a monster market, in the form of a deal to play eight games in Toronto over the next five years – one which guarantees his franchise $78 million. “We’ll see if the guy stops whining and complaining now,” one owner says. “Toronto, if you put it in the U.S., would be the fourth-largest city. If Jerry Jones staked a claim to Mexico City, or Robert Kraft did it with Montreal, or Paul Allen wanted to play one game a year in Vancouver, we’d never approve it. Ralph was given a special accommodation because we’re sick of hearing him cry about being in a small market.” Back when he co-founded the AFL, Wilson was considered an innovator. Now he comes off as selfish and stodgy and looking for handouts. It’s also telling that, rather than selling the naming rights, he continues to play his non-Toronto home games in Ralph Wilson Stadium. What a team player."

---Mark Gaughan

Here's the link:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-ownersrankingspartone072208&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Comments

[DC Cab]

I'm sure the fans here in DC would vehemently argue about Dan Snyder being ranked #3, he is hated as the man who has ruined the Redskins.

Silver is a joke, using revenue generated as your main reason for ranking owners is hardly journalism.

[Chumpkind]

Hey, Champkind, where have you looked so far?

They published a story online THREE HOURS before you posted.

http://www.buffalonews.com/101/story/398031.html

Note the date & time.

[Stephen]

That writer's lack of thoroughness in his assessments and total lack of professionalism makes it absolutely shocking to me that anyone would hire him.

That's the last time I will do anything yahoo related.

[Lori]

Wait -- Silver managed to drag himself away from his latest celebrity profile to actually (kind of) write about football?

He's been bashing RCW for as long as I can remember. Nothing new here. And he can have the NFL he apparently wants to see, the one with the Snyders and Joneses of the world in charge.

[Don H]

Don't expect any defense of Wilson from Bucky or Sullivan. In fact, Silver writes in the same style as these two. They probably would say: "Hi ho Silver!"

[NorthNYBillsFan]

This is a typical, look-down-your-nose assessment from someone who probably would have trouble finding Buffalo NY on a map. I do have to say, RW has had his share of cheap moments in 40-plus years. But - we still have football in western NY. And who can ever forget his philanthropy involving that spinal institute in Miami, which wound up helping to save the life of one of his own players, Kevin Everett, last year? The most likely young and less than knowledgeable Mr. Silver ought to do some research into football history, and into the good things RW has done on and off the field, before dismissing one of the current NFL's pioneers with such disdain.

[Mark]

If it works in Toronto, you can count on some owner trying to do the same thing, be it Mexico City, San Antonio or LA. In fact the NFL is doing it in London. If some of us make it to 90, I hope we can function like he can. Let's see, I sell one eighth or my business for more money than I can make out of my home base, then I sell out the rest of my product. Seems pretty smart to me.

[Mark]

If it works in Toronto, you can count on some owner trying to do the same thing, be it Mexico City, San Antonio or LA. In fact the NFL is doing it in London. If some of us make it to 90, I hope we can function like he can. Let's see, I sell one eighth or my business for more money than I can make out of my home base, then I sell out the rest of my product. Seems pretty smart to me.

[Don]

Frankly, I think Ralph Wilson is due a number of apologies from the local and national media. He was roundly mocked for being such a "crybaby" about the last CBA, and look where we are now: precisely where he said we'd be. Which is to say, in trouble, with a possible cap-less year looming.

The tenor of the personal shots that people took at Mr. Wilson were way overboard (and I'm looking at some local radio hosts in particular). In essence, he was mocked for being senile. His prescience would seem to suggest otherwise, no?

He has brought an entire region something to look forward to sixteen Sundays a year, for more than four decades. He deserved, and deserves, better, and while he is a classier man than I and probably won't say it, I will: He told you so.

[David,Amherst]

The Hall of Fame is where homage is paid to pioneers of other eras. From George Halas to Johnny U. This is here, this is now. What major sport does not have its downsides? Gambling among the biggest. Silver is giving his opinion, and guess what? The nation's majority of fans will agree with him.

[Caps]

I've got my issues with Ralph, but Silver can go to hell. What an ignoramus.

[Adam]

Daniel Snyder number 3? Jerry Jones number 2 because of the high-priced stadium he's building? This is an interesting way to gauge the best owner. What a joke.

[Champkind]

How is it that the Buffalo News has yet to write their own piece on Route 20A being named Tim Russert Highway?