'The Buffalo News reported earlier this month that Adelphia had rejected a $17 million offer for Empire from a group led by Buffalo native Joshua Pollack. Adelphia has told Empire employees that the network would be losing $10 million a year if the Sabres were playing, because of the rights fee of about $9 million it pays to the Sabres. The cable company also contended that the Pollack-led proposal would have been "worse than the status quo" because of requirements in it, but did not elaborate on the requirements.'