News » Lvivs bid has been buffeted

ORCHARD PARK, N. Authentic Bernie Federko Jersey .Y. - The Buffalo Bills were better. In the end, they werent good enough.Thats the message general manager Doug Whaley intends to present the franchises new owners, Terry and Kim Pegula, after Buffalo (9-7) closed its best season in a decade, but still extended the NFLs longest playoff drought to 15 seasons.Were encouraged, but were not satisfied, Whaley said. Weve got things that we can build on. But again, we cant be satisfied until we get into the playoffs.The Bills showed signs of being relevant and having resilience in a year full of distractions — from the death of Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson in March, to a severe snowstorm that forced the team to relocate its home game to Detroit last month — in matching their best finish since 2004.Buffalos strength was a dominating defence that produced three Pro Bowl linemen: Mario Williams, Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus.More bitter than sweet, Kyle Williams said.A sputtering offence and inconsistent play at quarterback dragged them down. EJ Manuel was benched after a 2-2 start, and 10-year journeyman Kyle Orton was erratic down the stretch after providing an early spark.That puts Buffalo in the all-too-familiar position of having a big question mark at quarterback. Manuel will be back, but the 2013 first-round draft picks status as a franchise player has been compromised. Orton surprised the team Monday by announcing his intention to retire.It will be up to the Pegulas to determine what approach to take in the coming months.Whaley and coach Doug Marrones jobs are considered safe entering their third seasons. The Pegulas havent ruled out adding a veteran presence to oversee the football operation, with former Bills GM turned broadcaster Bill Polian mentioned as a candidate to fill what would be a newly created role.Here are a number of things that stood out for Buffalo, which finished second in the AFC East after six straight last-place seasons:NOT GOING ANYWHERE: A year after defensive co-ordinator Mike Pettine left Buffalo to take over in Cleveland, Kyle Williams vows to put up a fight should anyone attempt to lure away Pettines successor, Jim Schwartz.Im going to chain him to a car in the parking lot, Williams said. Obviously, wed be happy for him. But hed probably have to leave town with people hanging on his legs.Its premature to tell if the former Detroit Lions coach will be considered for any NFL vacancies. Whats evident is the stamp Schwarz placed on the defence in his first season in Buffalo.The Bills led the NFL with 54 sacks, were third with 30 takeaways, and fourth in yards allowed. They made a marked improvement in stopping the run. After giving up 2,063 yards rushing under Pettine, the Bills allowed just 1,703 this season, the teams fewest since 2004.PEDESTRIAN RUN: Injuries and inconsistent offensive line play led to the Bills finishing with 1,482 yards rushing, the teams fewest in a 16-game season.Fred Jackson was slowed by knee and groin injuries, while co-starter C.J. Spiller missed seven games with a broken collarbone.We failed miserably, Jackson said.TURNING POINTS: Two losses stand out that put huge dents in the Bills playoff hopes.Coming off their bye week at 5-3, Buffalo squandered a 10-point second-half lead in a 17-13 home loss to Kansas City. With the Bills leading 13-3, the game turned on their opening drive of the third quarter. Running back Bryce Brown was three steps from scoring before fumbling into the end zone, where the ball bounced through tight end Scott Chandlers hands and out of bounds for a touchback.Then came the dud at Oakland on Dec. 21. A week after beating Green Bay, the Bills were eliminated with a 26-24 loss to the then-2-12 Raiders.WATKINS CATCHES ON: Sammy Watkins set franchise rookie records with 65 catches and 982 yards receiving, along with a team-best six touchdowns. The trouble was his inconsistency, though he finished fourth in yards among NFL rookies.The Bills traded their first-round pick in the 2015 draft to move up five spots to select Watkins fourth overall. Whaley defended the gamble he took, saying Watkins played to his potential in filling the No. 1 receiver spot.FREE-AGENT WATCH: Spiller, defensive end Jerry Hughes, who finished with 9-1/2 sacks, and run-stuffing linebacker Brandon Spikes head the Bills list of players eligible to become free agents.Whaley intends to make an effort to re-sign Spiller and Hughes. Spikes status is uncertain after rookie Preston Brown established himself as a starter, and with Kiko Alonso set to return after sustaining a season-ending left knee injury in July.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Authentic Robby Fabbri Jersey . He left in the 4th inning of Saturdays game against the Tigers after experiencing tightness. Reyes and the team still hope that he will be ready for Opening Day in Tampa Bay in one week. Authentic Vince Dunn Jersey . Its like being on Broadway, everything you do matters. Id want to be good though! I couldnt play here if I wasnt very good. #83217388 / gettyimages. http://www.cheapbluesjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-pavol-demitra-jersey . Although the deal cannot be made official until the free agent moratorium period is lifted on July 10, Patterson has agreed to a three-year, $18 million extension to remain in Toronto, sources confirm to TSN.LONDON -- Sergej Gontcharov sums up the status of Ukraines bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics in one word: uncertain. The Ukrainian city of Lviv was among the five contenders that submitted applicant files to the International Olympic Committee by Fridays deadline. With Ukraine engulfed in political crisis and its strategic Crimean peninsula under Russian control, its unclear whether Lviv will be able to keep pursuing its Olympic campaign. "Obviously so much is connected to what is going on in the country," Gontcharov, the CEO of the Lviv bid, told The Associated Press in an interview Friday. "As of now, there are more urgent and more important things that have to be clarified." Competing with Lviv for the 2022 Olympics are Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; and Oslo. The five delivered their applicant files to the IOC this week, outlining their vision and concept for the games, in the first phase of the bid process. The IOC executive board will decide which cities go through to the final phase at a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on July 7-9. The full IOC will select the host city on July 31, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "We did our job by submitting the files to the best of our ability and now we have to wait and see," Gontcharov said. "Hopefully the situation calms down quickly and is resolved peacefully. Then we will enter into more detailed and more concrete talks with the new government." Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Olympics, is seeking to become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games. Oslo hosted the 1952 Winter Games. Krakow would hold some ski events across the border in Slovakia. Almaty is a strong contender, bidding for a second straight time after failing to make the cut for 2014. Lvivs bid has been buffeted by the upheaval in Ukraine, including the anti-government protests and outbursts of violence that led pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych to flee last month. Russian troops have since moved into Crimea, where the public will vote Sunday on whether to break away from Ukraine and become part of Russia. How long Lviv remains in the race is anyones guess. "Im not here telling fairytales," Gontcharov said by telephone. Authentic Bob Plager Jersey. "Of course, its very uncertain. The concept itself is based on great demand and potential. Whether we will be able to realize it now is unclear at the moment, too uncertain." Gontcharov was in Lausanne on Thursday to meet with IOC officials and confirm the bid files had arrived by shipment. Just getting that far was an achievement. "We worked very hard to complete the applicant file," he said. "Its all been a very big challenge. So many times we had to cancel some events that were planned in promotion of the bid, such as the logo launch and different social events. Every time when we thought the situation has calmed down, there was a new escalation." While most bid cities work hard to promote their case, Lviv is keeping a low profile while Ukraine remains in turmoil. "All the nice words and slogans and so on that we have prepared, theres no sense in it," Gontcharov said. Lviv is located in western Ukraine, where much of the population favours ties with the European Union. Many in eastern Ukraine have closer economic and traditional ties to Russia. The Lviv bid also has offices in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The offices, located near Independence Square, were closed for two days during last months deadly clashes between demonstrators and police. "We came back to our offices and found three bullets," Gontcharov said. "It was very difficult to concentrate on the project." A key requirement for any Olympic bid is government backing and financial guarantees -- something that has been thrown into doubt for Lviv by the changes and instability in Ukraine. "Of course (the bid) depends on the government highly, and right now the government has other priorities," Gontcharov said. An IOC panel will examine the files of the 2022 bid cities and submit a report to the executive board before its decision in July on the short list of finalists. "It is a short time frame but if you have followed the events in Ukraine, from one day to the other there can be so many things happening," Gontcharov said. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '