Vorstellung » and avoid the wintry conditions -- and tr

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Bills centre Eric Wood was not at all surprised hearing team president Russ Brandon raise concerns whether Buffalo loses a competitive edge playing annual home games in Toronto. Brandon first questioned the benefits of the "Bills In Toronto" series during a meeting with Wood and fellow team captains about a month ago. "He knew that a lot of players have expressed some harsh feelings toward Toronto," Wood said Wednesday. "And he basically told us as captains that he was going to do whatever it takes around here to win. And thats something he wanted to address." Brandon went public with his concerns during his weekly show on Buffalos WGR-AM earlier in the day. While noting the Bills games north of the border have boosted the small-market franchises revenues, Brandon added that they havent paid off in wins. Following a 34-31 overtime loss to Atlanta on Sunday, Buffalo dropped to 1-5 in Toronto since the series was established in 2008. "It has been a challenged market there, and certainly has not translated into enough wins for us there," Brandon said. "Nothing comes above winning. When I took over the reins on Jan. 1, I said that was the No. 1 focus, and that will be the No. 1 focus. Thats one of the reasons that this will be reviewed in a grand manner." Brandon stopped short of saying the Bills would consider or be allowed to opt out of the four remaining years of the deal, which they renewed in January with Toronto-based Rogers Communications. "Im going to look at everything. Ill just leave it at that," Brandon said, before being asked a second time whether the Bills can opt out. "My focus in this organization is simple, to put ourselves in the position to win championships and sustain success. Period. Nothing comes above that." Wood has been among several players who have criticized the series. He called the games in Toronto "a joke" last year following a 50-17 loss to Seattle. Last week, receiver Stevie Johnson questioned whether the warm-weather Falcons "fixed" the schedule in getting to play indoors at the domed Rogers Centre, and avoid the wintry conditions -- and traditionally more raucous environment -- at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. The loss put a big dent in the Bills chances of staying in the AFC playoff race. At 4-8, Buffalo plays three of its final four on the road, beginning with a trip to Tampa Bay (3-9) on Sunday. Buffalo is in jeopardy of extending the NFLs longest active post-season drought to 14 seasons. And the Bills will go a ninth straight year without a winning record. The Bills are 0-4 at Toronto during December. Their lone win came on Oct. 30, 2011, when they defeated Washington 23-0. Rogers officials declined to comment on Brandons statements. So did NFL vice-president Christopher Parsons, who heads the leagues international offices. The Bills made the decision to play games in Toronto, about a 2-hour drive from Buffalo, in a bid to expand their fan base and generate additional revenue from Canadas largest city and financial capital. A lack of home-team support and poor attendance remain issues since the series started. The announced crowd of 38,969 on Sunday was by far the smallest of the series, and well short of the stadiums NFL capacity of 46,470, not including suites. Rogers did announce the first four regular-season games had been sellouts before later acknowledging the totals included thousands of free tickets. The games also attract a larger than usual contingent of visiting team supporters. Several Atlanta players were pleasantly surprised to see a notable number of fans wearing Falcons jerseys in the stands on Sunday. "The crazy part is we had a lot of support here," Falcons safety William Moore said. "It didnt feel like we were in Canada." The series has generated revenue and lured more southern Ontario fans back to Buffalo. The Bills estimate Canadians now make up about 15 per cent of their season ticket base. That rivals the number of season ticket holders the Bills get from nearby Rochester. As part of the initial five-year deal, Rogers agreed to pay $78 million to essentially lease eight Bills home games: five regular season and three preseason. The final preseason game was eventually dropped because of scheduling difficulties. In exchange, the Bills earned more than double what they usually generated from hosting games in Buffalo. The value of the most recent deal has not been revealed. Mohamed Bamba Jersey . The defending champions sent their preliminary list to FIFA on Tuesday, with coach Vicente del Bosque to announce the final 23-man squad on May 25. 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Join World Soccer Pickem 2014 for your chance to win $5,500 in cash prizes by picking the winner of each game all the way through to the tournament final. Will you ride a favourite such as Spain or Germany, or cast your lot with an underdog like Ivory Coast or Mexico? Perhaps key victories from Netherlands or the United States will be your key to victory.LONDON -- Insisting they deserve the chance to stage the World Cup, Qatars football leaders on Saturday hit back at their English counterparts for suggesting that FIFA consider taking the 2022 tournament away from the desert nation. New English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke incensed the Qataris by arguing that the heat in the tiny emirate could be "very dangerous" and calling on FIFA to find a new location for the World Cup or anger European leagues by rescheduling it in winter. Concerns about Qatars plans have mounted since its bid surprisingly triumphed in 2010 despite being declared "high risk" by FIFAs own inspection team, which highlighted the sweltering summer heat in the Persian Gulf where temperatures can hit 50 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit). But the Qataris on Saturday insisted that they could deliver footballs biggest event and that the 2010 vote was the "right decision." "Football is the most popular sport in the Middle East and the people of our region deserve the opportunity to have history made in their part of the world," the Qatar World Cup supreme committee said in a statement to The Associated Press. "We are committed to delivering on the promises we made in our successful bid. We are ready to host in summer or winter." Although the English FA is open to rescheduling the tournament for the cooler winter months in Qatar, the English Premier League is firmly against any changes that would disrupt its Augustt-May season.dddddddddddd. FIFA President Sepp Blatter recently agreed that his executive committee should consider in October whether the showpiece event should be moved to the winter, having described a summer tournament in Qatar as "not rational and reasonable." "We have always maintained that this issue requires the agreement of the international football community," the Qatar statement said. "A decision to alter the dates of the 2022 FIFA World Cup would not affect our infrastructure planning." Qatar planned to counter the extreme heat by building air-conditioned stadiums, but potential health concerns remain for players, fans and officials travelling around the country -- an issue the organizers didnt address on Saturday. "The development of environmentally friendly cooling technologies is an important legacy issue for our nation, region and in countries with similar climates," the statement said after Dyke questioned how air conditioning stadiums fits with a "green policy." Oil-wealthy Qatar successfully saw off rival bids from the United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia to land the World Cup, allowing FIFA to take the tournament to a new frontier. "Clearly people wanted to take football to a place like Qatar where theres no footballing tradition," Dyke said. "But it wasnt thought through properly ... if thousands of fans turn up for a tournament in Qatar it could be very dangerous." 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