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BUFFALO, N. Packers #89 Jersey .Y. -- Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula have a strong desire to see the Bills stay in Buffalo, and arent ruling out making a bid to buy the NFL franchise. In saying theyre following the Bills sale process, the Pegulas declined to go into further detail of their intentions, in a prepared statement released by Sabres vice-president Michael Gilbert on Friday. "Like everyone else in this community, they have a strong desire to have the Buffalo Bills remain a centerpiece of this region," Gilbert said. "Accordingly, they have been following the developments involving the sale of the Bills." Out of respect for the sale process, Gilbert said the owners will not be issuing any further comments. The statement was released in response to numerous reports of the Pegulas having serious interest in purchasing the Bills, who are on the market after the teams owner and founder Ralph Wilson died in March. The latest development came on Thursday, when a person familiar with the sale process told The Associated Press the Pegulas were among prospective buyers who received a non-disclosure agreement and background on the Bills from a law firm representing Wilsons estate. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the sale process has not been made public. Filling out the non-disclosure agreement would be the next step in providing interested groups full access to the Bills financial data in order to begin formulating bids. The Bills were last valued by Forbes to be worth $870 million. But their sale price could go much higher because NFL teams rarely go on the market. The Pegulas made their fortune in the natural gas industry, after Terry Pegula sold off many of his companys assets for $4.7 billion to Royal Dutch Shell in 2010. His net worth was last estimated by Forbes to be $3.3 billion, but that figure could rise after his company reached a deal to sell off 75,000 acres of land in Ohio and West Virginia to Oklahoma-based American Energy Partners last week. Pegula has spent the past four years going on a major spending spree focusing on two of his passions: hockey and Penn State, his alma mater. In 2010, he donated more than $100 million to Penn State to build a hockey arena and establish a Division I program. In February 2011, he purchased the Sabres, the team he became a fan of in the 1970s. The Pegulas have since shown a commitment to helping spur Buffalos economy by building a $172 million hockey/entertainment complex called HarborCenter across from the Sabres downtown arena. The Bills long-term future in western New York remains a question mark. Though their lease essentially ties them to playing at their current home through the 2019 season, there are concerns the Bills could eventually relocate under a new owner. Toronto and Los Angeles are considered potential landing spots. People familiar with the sale have previously said an ownership candidate could be identified by the end of July, and the sale approved by NFL owners as early as the leagues meetings in October. B.J. Raji Packers Jersey . -- Jay Heaps is the new coach of the New England Revolution, the MLS team he played nine seasons for as a defender. Ray Nitschke Packers Jersey . The Dutchman, who already won the 5,000 meters during the opening weekend of the Olympics, said Monday that the middle-distance would likely be too much of a distraction during his preparation for the longer race on Feb. AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Kyle Busch didnt mind the rain that ended the race early. He would have been fine with continuing, though -- his car was that good. Busch became the first driver to win three straight NASCAR Nationwide races at Phoenix International Raceway, dominating his way through a rain-shortened race Saturday. "Weve been very dominant here in the past and led a lot of laps today," Busch said. "I felt like we could have won it if it was rain-shortened or whether we went the whole distance." Busch took an early lead and was still out front when the race was halted with 32 laps left in the 200-mile race around Phoenixs odd-shaped mile oval. After a delay of more than two hours, the race was called, giving Busch his series-record 64th Nationwide victory. Busch led 155 laps for his 10th overall victory -- seven in Nationwide -- at PIR and the fourth straight Nationwide win for Joe Gibbs Racing at the track. It also was the fourth straight win at PIR for Buschs crew chief Adam Stevens, who was at the helm when Joey Logano won for JGR in the 2012 fall race. Kevin Harvick finished second and pole sitter Brad Keselowski was third, followed by Kyle Larson and Matt Kenseth. "Kyle had the best car today; we probably finished where we should have," Harvick said. "You never know and you always want to finish it out, but all in all it was a good start." BBusch swept the two Nationwide races at Phoenix in 2013, overcoming a pit-road speeding penalty to end a 24-race winless streak in the series in the spring and leading 169 laps in the fall for his 12th Nationwide victory of the season. Packers #23 Jersey. He had the dominant car at PIR on Saturday, moving into the lead on the sixth lap after starting third. Busch led 83 laps after that, retook the top spot on a restart after a pit stop midway through and stayed there another with about 60 laps left. "Another dominant day at Phoenix," Busch said. "Those days dont come around that often, so you try to enjoy them when you can." Rain put a slight damper on Buschs run to the checkers and certainly delayed it. PIR dodged the heavy downpours that spread across the Phoenix area for most of the day, but rain sent the fans scrambling and halted the race with 32 laps left. NASCAR sent out the blowers in an effort to get the track dry, but another round of storms moved across the area, soaking the track and ending the race. "I just had my hands full, for whatever reason, and felt kind of relieved to get it over with here," said Keselowski, who will start from the pole for Sundays Sprint Cup race without crew chief Paul Wolfe, who left the team for the birth of his first child. "Third was probably the best I have done, I was holding on pretty good there." ' ' ' |
