There were no quick solutions to the problems at hand for the Canadian Football League owners yesterday.
But there seemed an endless supply of possibilities.
The homeless Las Vegas Posse, for instance, might wind up in San Antonio next year. Or Birmingham, Ala., or Los Angeles, or operations may be suspended for one year until the franchise can find solid ground.
On the first day of the league's board of governors meetings in Baltimore, the good news for the CFL came from San Antonio.
Commissioner Larry Smith announced that Tom Herring Jr., who owns a chain of restaurants in Texas, has submitted a $100,000 application fee for a team -- either through the relocation of an existing team next season or the arrival of an expansion team in 1996.
Smith will take that offer to Los Angeles soon to discuss the transfer of the Las Vegas franchise with Glenn Golenberg, chairman of the board of directors for the Posse, and Marshall Geller, vice chairman.
Asked if his preference was to put the Posse in San Antonio, Smith hedged. "I'd like to relocate Vegas . . . San Antonio is one of the areas," he said.
Smith said he would "find out very shortly" if Birmingham was still in the picture.
Earlier in the day, Smith said he had an offer to purchase the Posse and close down operations for a year.
One scenario in that event would have the Las Vegas players loaned out to other CFL teams for the 1995 season, only to be reunited in their new home in 1996.
The governors spent much of the day addressing dilemmas in Ottawa, Hamilton and Calgary.
The Ottawa Rough Riders saw some 40 playoff checks bounce after an Eastern Division semifinal loss to Winnipeg. It was the latest in a series of financial woes for the team. That prompted Bill Comrie, owner of the B.C. Lions and chairman of the CFL's executive committee, to lump Ottawa with Las Vegas as the league's two most problematic franchises.
"It's been eroding over the years," Comrie said of the Ottawa situation. "The current ownership has not been able to satisfy [its financial obligations]."
Rough Riders owner Bruce Firestone, vacationing in Hawaii, was a no-show at the meeting. Phil Kershaw, president and alternate governor, said the team had made good on the players' checks, and had renewals for more than 5,000 season tickets for next season.
On the subject of Ottawa's fiscal solvency, Kershaw said Firestone was "not soliciting" other investors.
But Firestone's absence was not well received.
"Every governor should be in attendance at this meeting," said Calgary owner Larry Ryckman.
Ryckman, meanwhile, was attempting to resolve his own financial plight. He has threatened to move his Stampeders unless he gets financial relief -- either through a renewed Canadian lottery agreement that provided him with $950,000 a year in recent seasons or a more favorable lease on McMahon Stadium.
Smith said Ryckman's current lease ranks ahead of only Las Vegas and Sacramento in the CFL.
Ryckman is awaiting a Dec. 17 deadline on season-ticket renewals before rendering a decision on the Stampeders' fate.
Hamilton apparently will meet a league mandate of more than 12,500 season tickets and $1 million in corporate sponsorships. But Smith said the Tiger-Cats still must show the ability to run the team without league assistance.
"I don't want anybody coming back saying we need to borrow $100,000 to get through the season," Smith said.
The meetings conclude today.