ORCHARD PARK Chris Lindstrom Jersey , N.Y. (AP)Russ Brandon abruptly resigned his dual role as president of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres after being confronted by the teams’ owners regarding an alleged inappropriate relationship with a female employee, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.nd owners Terry and Kim Pegula did not provide a reason for accepting Brandon’s resignation in a statement they released Tuesday.The relationship in question first became apparent to a number of team employees during the Sabres’ visit to New York for a game against the Rangers on Jan. 18, the people said. The trip included the team hosting a fan event at a bar the day before the game.Kim Pegula will take over Brandon’s roles overseeing the Bills, Sabres and Pegula Sports Entertainment, the company which controls the owners’ numerous holdings.In a text to The AP, Brandon said he has contemplated stepping down from the job for some time, and felt the timing was right after the conclusion of the NFL draft.”My goal when the Pegulas purchased the franchise was to reach 20 years with the Bills, in which I achieved this past November,” Brandon wrote.”As grateful as I am for the amazing experience and the incredible people I’ve had the privilege to work with the past two decades, I am just as anxious for the professional opportunities that lie ahead,” he added.Brandon did not respond to follow-up questions regarding his relationship.Brandon’s departure comes after the Bills made a big splash in the first round of the draft by trading up to select both Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen with the seventh pick, and Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds with the 16th pick. The new additions join a Bills team that went 9-7 and ended a 17-year playoff drought last season.On Saturday, the last-place Sabres earned a boost by winning the NHL draft lottery and the right to the No. 1 pick for the third time in franchise history.”We have a tremendous amount of confidence in the strong leadership team we have built within each of these entities over the last several years,” the statement from the Pegulas read.”We are excited about the direction of our teams http://www.falconscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-kaleb-mcgary-jersey , especially after this past weekend’s NFL draft and NHL lottery results. Our focus remains on building championship teams on and off the field for our fans and community.”Brandon most recently served as the Bills’ managing partner, was the Sabres alternate on the NHL’s board of governors and a member of the NFL’s business ventures committee.The timing of Brandon’s exit comes at a time he was supposed to oversee the Bills’ next big venture in determining their future home. Brandon was expected to lead the team’s stadium search committee in deciding whether the Bills should continue playing at their current home or develop a new facility in downtown Buffalo.He served in various roles with the Bills, involving both marketing and football decisions during a two-year stint as general manager from 2008-09.He also took the lead in negotiating the Bills’ most recent lease five years ago, which played a critical role in securing the franchise’s long-term future in Buffalo especially following Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson’s death in March 2014.The lease included a strict non-relocation clause that included a $400 million penalty the team would be forced to pay if it considered moving before 2020.Brandon also oversaw the Bills’ eventual sale to the Pegulas, who completed their $1.4 billion purchase of the franchise in October 2014.The Pegulas retained Brandon and elevated him to the role of managing partner. The Pegulas thought so highly of Brandon, the Sabres were added to his responsibilities after the team reached a mutual agreement to part ways with Ted Black in July 2015.Brandon’s resignation continues a large turnover of Bills executives who served under Wilson. Bruce Popko is the senior holdover and now becomes the top executive as chief operating officer of Buffalo-based Pegula Sports and Entertainment, which oversees the Pegulas’ numerous holdings.Brandon grew up in nearby Syracuse, New York, and began making his mark in Buffalo shortly after being hired by the Bills in 1997 to serve as the team’s business development and marketing director.He began by spearheading a campaign to transform them into a regional team by expanding the franchise’s fan base to offset Buffalo’s dropping population base.That process began in 2000, when the team shifted training camp to Brandon’s alma mater, St. John Fisher College in suburban Rochester, to capitalize on the community’s corporate and larger population base.Later, the Bills boosted their presence across southern Ontario by negotiating a deal to begin playing annual regular-season games in Toronto starting in 2008. The ”Bills In Toronto” series lasted through 2013 before the deal was placed on hold the following year and then terminated by the Pegulas.Toronto-based media giant, Rogers Communications, paid the Bills $78 million to essentially lease eight games (five regular season and three preseason) during the initial five-year agreement. The price was almost double what the Bills were projected to generate if those games were played at their home facility.The series also spurred a large bump in season-ticket purchases from across the border. By 2015 Kendall Sheffield Jersey , the Bills estimated southern Ontario fans accounted for about 18 percent of their season-ticket sales, surpassing their support from Rochester.Not everything succeeded under Brandon, who drew criticism for a number of decisions, including failing to build a winner during his two-year stint as the Bills GM when Wilson elected to promote from within the organization after Marv Levy stepped down following a two-year tenure.—This story’s third paragraph has been corrected to note the relationship first became apparent during the Sabres’ visit to New York for a game against the Rangers on Jan. 18— ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — The fear of the unknown pushed running back Elijah Holyfield into the NFL draft instead of returning for his senior season at Georgia.His slow 40-yard times make that decision look like a risky gamble in this week’s draft.Holyfield was timed at 4.78 seconds in the 40 at the NFL combine. He needed to improve that time at Georgia’s pro day last month but instead was even slower at 4.81 seconds.Holyfield hopes the traits he inherited from his father, former four-time boxing champion Evander Holyfield — toughness, great balance, off-the-charts work ethic — will overcome the big negative that now overshadows his draft outlook.The 40 times were so slow that some draft projections say Holyfield’s best hope may be to be picked in the sixth or seven rounds or be invited to camp as a free agent.“I try not to worry about it,” Holyfield said after the pro day workout. “I have confidence in myself. I can play football. I might not carry the fastest 40 in the world but I can play football better than a lot of people.”Holyfield described the criticisms about his workouts off the field as “extra talk.”“I’m a guy who likes to play football, not all the other stuff that comes with it,” he said.Holyfield (5-10, 217) overcame his lack of speed with his strong, punishing running style last season. He ran for 1,018 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Georgia’s other top back, super-quick D’Andre Swift http://www.falconscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-john-cominsky-jersey , had almost identical statistics, averaging 6.4 yards per carry while running for 1,049 yards.Holyfield broke free for a career-long 66-yarder against Middle Tennessee State but didn’t score on the play. After the game, he said the advice from his father was “trust your speed.”Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Holyfield will be successful on Sundays.“Elijah is going to be a great pro,” Smart said. “Elijah brings a lot to a team. He brings toughness, he brings a demeanor about him. He loves the work. He was the last guy off the field every day here. He wanted to catch extra balls. He’s done a tremendous job in our program and he’s going to do the same thing in that organization.”Holyfield said it wasn’t an easy decision to enter the draft . Ultimately, he would have faced the same questions about his lack of speed if he had waited until after his senior season.“It was very close,” Holyfield said of his decision, adding he was swayed by “not knowing things that can happen next season as far as injuries and doing better than I did this past season. I thought it would be a better decision for me to go to the NFL.”Just as his dad was difficult to bring down in a boxing ring, Holyfield is tough to tackle because of his balance. He is not shifty like Swift but can spin off would-be tacklers. He lost only one fumble in his three seasons.Will those strengths persuade a general manager to overlook the slow 40 time? LSU’s Nick Brossette (4.72) was the only other back to run the 40 in more than 4.7 seconds at the combine. Another question is Holyfield’s potential as a receiver out of the backfield — he had only five catches last season.The Atlanta Falcons need help at running back , so general manager Thomas Dimitroff had good reason to examine Holyfield closely at the combine and Georgia’s pro day.“Of course it’s a concern and it depends on an organization and how high you determine that to be sort of a guiding light,” Dimitroff said when asked about the 40. “Obviously he’s a good football player. So you know we have to keep an eye on that. He’s a good football player and knows how to play this game.”Smart said Holyfield would be a good pick for an NFL team.“The stripes of a player don’t change when he goes to the next level,” Smart said. “I know he’s going to convert what he’s done well here into the same thing there.”