St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, N.Y., is “scheduled to host the Bills for the 12th straight summer,” and Training Camp co-Dir Todd Harrison said the school has been “preparing as if we're ready to go," according to Mark Gaughan of the BUFFALO NEWS. Harrison: "If things get finalized, we'll be ready to go just as normal." Harrison said that the college “could get camp up and running on relatively short notice.” He added that the college “has not imposed a deadline on when it must get definitive word from the Bills.” Harrison: “If the Bills say it's gotten too late, then we'll react to that. If they say we're going to come as normal, we'll be ready. The deadline would be something that they impose. From our conversations with them, I don't have a sense that there's a specific date they've decided on that after that they're not coming.” Gaughan noted a “delayed start of camp by a few days probably would not impact St. John Fisher much.” However, the college “probably could not extend the ending date of camp by many days,” as students return to the school's dormitories Sept. 3 (BUFFALO NEWS, 7/7).
MOMENT'S NOTICE: Wofford College AD Richard Johnson said that he has been in “constant contact with Panthers team president Danny Morrison and they’re ready to host another training camp at a moment’s notice.” Johnson: “We’re both just staying flexible. We don’t have a drop dead date where they would cancel training camp.” He added, “Ultimately it comes down to the labor talks and when that gets resolved and how that it all fits into (the Panthers’) schedule. We’ve worked with them for 16 years, so there’s a mutual trust” (GASTON GAZETTE, 7/7).
HOPING FOR THE USUAL: Eagles COO Don Smolenski said that the Eagles “still hope to have a normal” training camp at Lehigh Univ., which has hosted the team since ’96. But he added, “It definitely requires some setup time.” Smolenski said the team has not set a “drop-dead date” for being able to hold camp at Lehigh. The school indicated earlier in the spring that “it would like to know by now, but Lehigh hasn’t told the Eagles to forget it” (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 7/7).
KEEPING EVERYONE IN THE LOOP: In Pittsburgh, Scott Brown noted in a “sign of guarded optimism that labor peace will soon prevail, the Steelers held an organization-wide meeting Wednesday to talk about training camp.” The team is “planning on training at St. Vincent College for the 46th consecutive season.” With NFL owners and players “reportedly making progress on a labor deal, the Steelers have not set any deadlines or closed any options when it comes to St. Vincent.” If the start of preseason practice is delayed, the Steelers “could be looking at a shortened camp at St. Vincent.” They also could be “staring at a preseason in which they practice almost exclusively” at their HQs (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 7/7).
