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  • Jon Bon Jovi Reportedly Dumped By Investment Group

    Jon Bon Jovi has reportedly been dropped by the Toronto-based investment group he partnered with to bid on the Buffalo Bills, sources told the New York Post, because they felt they had a better chance of gaining control of the team without him.

    The rocker has made headlines several times in recent months with his interest in the NFL team, with fans upset that he would take over and move the Bills to Toronto. Even though the team has a strict clause in their contract that keeps them playing at Ralph Wilson stadium through 2019, Bills fans took to social media recently to vent their frustrations about a possible move. Team President Russ Brandon issued a statement saying it was in everyone’s best interest to keep the team where it’s always been.

    “Everyone is motivated to keep this franchise viable here for generations to come,” Brandon said.

    Because Bon Jovi would have been the lead investor in the group, his share would have to be about 30% of the purchase price. With a net worth of $300 million, he would have been limited in bids while the other investors are willing to go higher.

    Final bids from each potential investor are due this week, with Donald Trump still in the running. Still on board in Bon Jovi’s former group are Larry Tanenbaum, who is chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, and Edward Rogers, a Rogers Communications chairman.

  • Jon Bon Jovi Advances In Bid For Buffalo Bills

    Jon Bon Jovi and the investment group he’s affiliated with in Toronto have reached the final stages of a deal to acquire the Buffalo Bills, alhough there are two other potential buyers who could still take over: Donald Trump and Sabres owner Terry Pegula.

    The New Jersey native has been interested in buying a team for a while now, but his bid for the Bills has been met with mixed reactions from fans after rumors began to fly about the team being moved to Toronto. However, both Bon Jovi and the current team president Russ Brandon say there is no intention of moving the team.

    “Everyone is motivated to keep this franchise viable here for generations to come,” Brandon said.

    The team is required by contract to play at Ralph Wilson Stadium through 2019 or face a penalty in excess of $400 million, so it’s not likely the team would be going anywhere even if Bon Jovi and his partners take possession.

    The final phase of negotiations comes after Bon Jovi entered a second bid following concern that the first one was too low.

    “Finalists soon will be asked to submit binding bids, probably before month’s end. The trust and transaction team then will select a preferred buyer and begin purchase negotiations, if this sale follows the usual trajectory. The seller can amend the sale process at any time,” said reporter John Kryk.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Jon Bon Jovi Faces Strong Criticism From Former Bill

    Jon Bon Jovi has faced some strong criticism lately for his interest in acquiring the Buffalo Bills, but now he’s also getting it from former team members.

    Bon Jovi, who is one-third of a Toronto-based investment group interested in the purchase, has been eyeing the NFL team for a while now but is up against potential buyers like Donald Trump and Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula. There has been some concern among fans that because the rocker’s investment group is based in Canada, the team would be moved away from New York. Outside of that, there’s a wariness regarding a new owner following the death of Ralph Wilson earlier this year.

    “Man, f— Bon Jovi! You might as well just take this city, throw it in the river, and let it go down Niagara Falls,” former Bills wide receiver Andre Reed said recently.

    Bills President Russ Brandon has shot down rumors of relocation, saying the team will stay where it is if for no other reason than that it was Ralph Wilson’s wish. It’s also in the team’s contract that they must play at Ralph Wilson stadium until 2019 or face a multi-million dollar fine.

    “Everyone is motivated to keep this franchise viable here for generations to come,” Brandon said.

    Reed will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday and says it’s coming at a good time due to the speculation and uncertainty surrounding his former team.

    “This is bigger than me. We all know what’s going on with the team and all that stuff. This is like a breath of fresh air. I’m glad I’m at the forefront of this, because there’s something to be happy about,” he said.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Jon Bon Jovi Wants To Keep The Bills Where They Are

    Jon Bon Jovi is a potential buyer in the bid for NFL team the Buffalo Bills, but a source connected to his group says the rumors of relocation are untrue.

    The team went up for sale in March after owner Ralph Wilson passed away, but Bon Jovi isn’t the only buyer interested in it; Donald Trump and Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula are also in talks to take over ownership, which won’t come cheap. The team is expected to go for about $1 billion.

    The New Jersey native won’t be the sole owner if the deal goes through, however; the Toronto-based investment group he’s associated with has two other investors, so ownership of the team would be split into thirds.

    A strict clause in the team’s contract stipulates that they must play at Ralph Wilson stadium throughout 2019 anyway, so relocation is not an option unless the buyers want to face a penalty in excess of $400 million. Ouch.

    “There’s nothing that says the NFL will ever give you the right to move it, irrespective of whatever the lease says,” a sports franchise expert said.

    Bon Jovi has expressed interest in owning a team for a while now, since at least last fall. When word got out, fans became concerned that he might take the opportunity to relocate the team. But Bills President Russ Brandon said that Wilson was committed to keeping them right where they are.

    “Everyone is motivated to keep this franchise viable here for generations to come,” Brandon said.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Bon Jovi’s Wife Slices Hand, Rushed to ER

    Dead or alive…but thankfully alive.

    Dorothea Hurley, wife of rocker Jon Bon Jovi, was rushed to the Beth Israel Medical Center on Saturday after slicing the palm of her left hand.

    Hurley, 52, was chopping an onion in the couple’s multimillion-dollar SoHo penthouse when the blade of the knife slipped, causing a deep gash. She immediately began to “bleed heavily,” sources say, and was rushed to the hospital.

    Bon Jovi, also 52, was at home at the time of the incident, called 911, and went with his wife to the medical center where she received stitches in her hand. She was released a few hours later.

    Hurley and Bon Jovi, high school sweethearts, were married in 1989. They just recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.

    In an interview with USA Today, Bon Jovi credited his wife with helping him realize his dream to open the JBJ Soul Kitchen, a community restaurant where patrons pay what they can afford for their meal, either with money or by volunteering work. It was opened on October 19, 2011.

    “Dorothea and I started to have a conversation,” he said, “and we volleyed ideas back and forth. People have a roof over their heads, but now they gotta eat. We thought it was a great idea. The definition of our mission became clear only with time, and a year of the experiment.”

    Hurley, who always declines interviews, will most likely be not chopping any vegetables any time soon at the Soul Kitchen.

    Craig Spencer, former co-owner of the Philadelphia Soul arena football team with Bon Jovi, said of the activist, “He wants to be involved and he is intimately focused on every step of every project. He uses his brand to benefit others, not himself.”

    “There is a different set of challenges when you say to somebody, ‘We want to provide you a warm, nutritious meal, but we need you to pick up after yourself and maybe wash a dish or take the garbage out,’” Bon Jovi says. “They say ‘Who you talking to?’ But it’s ‘No, no, no. This is me, my wife, my kid, Terrence, in the kitchen.’ When you explain this to somebody who is used to entitlement, immediately any mask comes off and they say, ‘Oh, OK, great, I can do that.’ … The sense of pride, of purpose, is unbelievable.”

    Bon Jovi also heads up JBJ Homes, a partnership with Project HOME that includes 55 apartments for formerly homeless and low-income residents in Philly.

    Hurley and Bon Jovi have four children together.


    Image via YouTube

  • Jon Bon Jovi Interested in Buying Buffalo Bills

    Jon Bon Jovi has expressed interest in buying the Buffalo Bills. The team will officially go on the market once owner Ralph Wilson passes away–and although some believe the Rogers Communications group in Toronto is the prime suitor thus far, Bon Jovi has spent a lot of time in the area, getting to know politicians and bigwigs.

    Ralph Wilson, who is 95 years old and wheelchair bound, is said to be in decent health, although he hasn’t attended a game in more than a year. His family has said they will definitely sell the team when he passes away. Roger Communications is an ‘international media monster’ that is worth millions of dollars. Can Jon Bon Jovi possibly have what it takes to outbid the wealthy corporation?

    The rock star has spent a great deal of time befriending both NFL owners and their general managers. He has sought their input on many football related issues. He was almost a part owner of the Falcons but is far more intent now upon becoming a principal owner. That, however, requires immense capital–which he is working actively to raise.

    How perfect would this be? When Jon Bon Jovi decides to retire his spot on rock concert stages and in the recording studio, he will then be set for the next phase of his life as the owner of a football team. Twitter followers are definitely interested in this notion.

    The current owner of the Buffalo Bills has said recently that he wants to keep the franchise located in Buffalo. It’s uncertain whether that would be part of Jon Bon Jovi’s plans or not. A call to his rep on behalf on the Buffalo News remains unanswered.

    Some folks in Buffalo think the rock star is simply Livin’ On A Prayer. But they–as well as any other naysayers–shouldn’t underestimate what Jon Bon Jovi can do. Just ask people in New Jersey. They will likely say he accomplishes just about everything he sets his mind to.

    Image Via Wikipedia

  • Bon Jovi’s Tico Torres Undergoes Another Emergency Surgery

    Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres has undergone a second emergency surgery in as many weeks. On the heels of an appendectomy in Mexico City in mid-September, Torres found himself back in the hospital with severe abdominal pain. The result: emergency gall bladder surgery.

    The band published the news on their website on September 20. Torres is expected to return to the stage – and Bon Jovi’s Because We Can tour – “in the very near future.”

    “Tico Torres has been the heart and soul of our band since we started 30 years ago,” said Jon Bon Jovi. “He’s also one tough SOB and we look forward to him again pounding away brilliantly at the drums on remainder of this and future tours.”

    While Torres is sidelined, Rich Scannella will step in as drummer. Scannella, who currently plays with Jon Bon Jovi’s Kings of Suburbia, has performed with such big names as Bruce Springsteen, Lada Gaga, and Sammy Hagar (Van Halen.)

    The current leg of the Because We Can tour is taking place in Latin America. The band played Rio de Janeiro on Friday, and is set to perform in Sao Paulo on Sunday before moving on to Santiago, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City.

    The band played in Rio de Janeiro as part of Rock in Rio. They headlined day five of the massive weeklong concert event. Other bands performing that day were Nickelback, Matchbox 20, and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Bon Jovi’s Rock in Rio performance was deemed a success as more than 90,000 fans sang along to classics such as You Give Love a Bad Name, Livin’ on a Prayer, and Always.

    A high point of the performance came when Jon Bon Jovi pulled a fan from the audience and kissed her on stage:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7BmS1Et37M

    Bon Jovi is currently touring to promote their new album What About Now. The album debuted at #1 in the US in March, 2013 and sold 101,000 copies in its first week.

    image credit

  • Bon Jovi to Perform For Free in Spain

    Bon Jovi to Perform For Free in Spain

    The world’s economic troubles over the past few years seem to have done nothing to affect concert ticket prices, which have been rising now for decades. It’s a surprise, then, that a rock superstar this week decided to perform a show for free.

    According to an Associated Press report, Jon Bon Jovi and his backing band announced this week that they will be waiving their performance fee for a concert in Madrid, Spain. By dropping the fee, ticket prices to the concert have been cut in half, with the lowest-priced tickets selling for just €18.

    The AP quotes an El Mundo story as stating Bon Jovi had originally not scheduled dates in Spain, over fears that the cash-strapped population would not be able to pay for tickets. Spain, along with Greece, was one of the European countries worst-hit during the economic crisis that struck in 2008.

    Bon Jovi is currently on his European “Because We Can” tour, which wraps up at Hyde Park in London on July 5. Later in July, the tour will shift to North and South America, with scheduled concerts throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil.

  • Is Jon Bon Jovi Dead? Nope, According To His Facebook Page

    In a tragic turn of events, legendary 80’s frontman Jon Bon Jovi was found dead last night after law enforcement officials found him unresponsive in a New Jersey hotel. This terrible news comes only months after actor Adam Sandler died in a terrible snowboarding accident and Will Smith fell off of a cliff while mountain climbing in New Zealand.

    Of course, all of these things were only true for a few hours on Twitter.

    The Bon Jovi lead singer is the latest victim of a Twitter death rumor, the type of inaccurate viral news that has fake-claimed-the-lives of people like Justin Bieber, Morgan Freeman, Jackie Chan and many more.

    This particular rumor was spread on the site with the help of a link to a pretty horrible looking press release on a wordpress blog called dailynewbloginternational. The release claimed that Bon Jovi had died at the age of 49 after “paramedics found him in a coma at his Empress hotel.”

    Just above the headline is a link to “Megan Fox is the 14th Hottest Woman of All Time: HIV POSITIVE,” so, yeah.

    This is not the only fake celeb news source for those looking to start a Twitter rumor. For years, folks have been able to turn to the “Global Associated News” and their “Fake a Wish” service, a celebrity fake news hoax generator. The fake news stories always look like this, and come with a (very small) disclaimer at the bottom of the page describing the site as FAKE.

    But most people fail to look closely before spreading juicy celeb death gossip, so plenty of stars have met their untimely end (numerous times each) on Twitter.

    In a pretty funny response to the rumors, Jon Bon Jovi this to his Facebook page: “Heaven is a lot like New Jersey – rest assured that Jon is alive and well. This photo was just taken.” That photo referred to is the lead image above, where a very much alive and well JBJ stands in front of a Christmas tree.

    I don’t want to end with any JBJ cliches about being “wanted dead or alive,” but I will say that Twitter death rumors are a real loaded gun. Once they get started, no one can save you and oftentimes the damage is already done.