In case the Bills live up to the pre-season hype and field a legitimate playoff caliber team this year, it may not be necessary to brave traffic, cold weather, and hefty ticket prices to have a ringside seat. That’s because the NFL said that it is easing local television blackout rules, a story first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

League spokesman Brian McCarthy said home teams will have the option of selling 85 percent of game tickets to avoid a blackout in their local TV market.

“If a team chooses to do so, it may set its capacity number needed for a blackout to be lifted at 85 percent of overall capacity,” said McCarthy. “More revenue than usual will be shared with the visiting clubs for tickets sold above that base number.”

The league owners have also voted to add high-speed wireless internet to all stadiums to add home-like services to the game-day experience. Now I know for many fans there’s nothing like being at the stadium on game day, especially in the parking lot before the game. But for some of us, a cozy chair in front of a large-screen, HD television in the living room will do just fine. Now let’s hope the team is worth watching, either at home or at the Ralph.
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Meanwhile, all sides are tight-lipped these days as negotiations between the Bills and Erie county and NY state on a new stadium lease agreement proceeds even as the team gets ready to open training camp. The big hurdle they all face is how to pay for at least $200 million in stadium renovations that the Bills see as necessary to keep the franchise viable.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz had hoped to have an agreement before the start of training camp, but that seems unlikely. What is more likely is some kind of Memorandum of Understanding to ease concerns about getting the deal done before the current lease expires next July. Throw in a 94-year-old owner whose succession plan is still a mystery and you have a tough road to haul to get a deal done quickly.
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Mitt Romney spent about three hours in Buffalo last week at two high-end events and picked up at least $1.25 million to add to his war chest in his campaign to unseat President Obama.

The presumptive GOP nominee had no time for protesters who circled both events and his handlers kept him away from local media and everybody else during his visit as the mission was clearly to stay only long enough to pick up the cash.
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There are some rumblings that the Niagara Aerospace Museum might be looking for a new home at the old terminal building at the Niagara Falls International Airport.

The idea surfaced last week at an NFTA committee meeting and the agency is willing to explore that possibility, said the authority’s public relations director, Douglas Hartmayer. “It definitely ties in,” Hartmayer told the Reporter, commenting on the museum’s wonderful exhibits and the airport being a “nice, logical place” to set up and display the rich aviation history surrounding Niagara Falls.

Meanwhile, Allegiant Air has picked up where Direct Air left off and is now offering service between Niagara Falls and Punta Gorda, Fla., starting with the first flight last Friday. The one-way fares start at $93.99. Allegiant also provides nonstop flights to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and St. Petersburg-Clearwater.

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Tiger Woods reclaimed some familiar territory over the weekend as he jumped to the top of the money-winning list with his third victory of the season (also tops), firing a final round 69 to win the AT&T National by two shots at Congressional, a course set up tougher than it was last year for the U.S. Open.

It was the 74th tour victory for Woods, moving him past second-place Jack Nicklaus by one and leaving him only eight short of Sam Snead. But Woods is still four behind Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors and he’ll have two more chances this year (PGA, British Open) to add to his total. While he stumbled in the year’s two earlier majors, the win at Congressional certainly signals his game is there if he can mentally meet the challenge.

Not long ago, after his domestic drama, injuries, and swing changes, Woods was seen as a basket case who probably would never return to the level of greatness that marked his career for so long. The thinking was he was shot mentally, the young lions didn’t fear him any more, and his days as the world’s best were over. Forget all that. Woods can still play at the level necessary to beat anybody as his three victories this year clearly demonstrate. All he needs to do now to complete his comeback is win another major, and my guess is that’s just what he will do.