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BUFFALO, N. Stevan Ridley 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. Rob Gronkowski Womens Jersey . -- Ben Brust scored 18 points, Sam Dekker added 17 and No. Devin McCourty Jersey . Louis Blues. The Oilers acquired Schultz from Minnesota prior to Mondays trade deadline. The 29-year-old Schultz is known as a stay-at-home defenseman, something Edmonton has lacked at its back end.MIAMI - Canadas Eugenie Bouchard struck the first blow in her rivalry with Elina Svitolina, but since then its all gone the Ukrainians way. Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. Since then, Svitolina has beaten Bouchard three straight times, including at Indian Wells and in a Fed Cup tie in 2013. Montreals Bouchard had an impressive start Friday but was quickly overcome by Svitolina, who spent 98 minutes engineering her comeback, The winner broke Bouchard five times and profited from six Bouchard double-faults. Bouchard ended with a return error on her opponents first match point. "I played really well in the first, set, I was doing everything I wanted to do. But in the second and third my level went down," Bouchard said. "All the balls I was hitting well in the first set were going out, I was missing much more. Shes a good player who fought and stayed in the matchh. Sealver Siliga Patriots Jersey. " Bouchards life on court has been a challenge since reaching the Australian Open semifinals two months ago, Her best showing since was an Acapulco quarter-final last month before going out in the fourth round at Indian Wells to Simona Halep, the newest member of the top five on the WTA circuit. "There is more pressure but it shows that Im a target, the one the other girls want to beat," Bouchard said. "It shows that Im moving up and having more success. I feel it all more but its the path I want to be on." Bouchard got off to an early break over Svitolina in the first set and managed to hold on in a roller-coaster win to take the early lead. But Svitolina slowly began reversing her position, drawing errors form Bouchard and breaking twice in the second set. Svitolina levelled at a set apiece after Bouchard saved four set points but returned long on a fifth. The third set was one-way traffic against Bouchard as the Canadian lost serve in the third and seventh games before her opponent served out the upset. ' ' ' |
