This week on Skin in the Game, John and Tim sit down with Brian Higgins, President of Shea’s Performing Arts Center and former U.S. Congressman, for a wide-ranging conversation rooted in Western New York pride. The spotlight lands first on Shea’s—its history, cultural impact, and the role it continues to play in Buffalo’s revitalized downtown. Higgins unpacks how investments in arts, culture, and sports help build stronger, more connected communities.

And in a city where Bills, Sabres, Bisons, Bandits fans, and Broadway buffs often share the same ZIP code or body, Higgins draws a compelling line between the passion of the theatergoer and the loyalty of the local sports fan. Both are fueled by pride of place, and both show up—season after season—to cheer for something bigger than themselves.

At the heart of the episode is the legacy of Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. As a friend and admirer of the late Bills owner, Higgins reflects on Wilson’s long-term vision, the power of his foundation’s philanthropy, and what it means to plant seeds that outlast any single career or season. It’s a conversation about leadership, legacy, and the common threads that unite a city’s stages, stadiums, and spirit.

When Warren Gatland named his British & Irish Lions squad to tour New Zealand in 2017 he included 16 England players. Stalwarts such as Dylan Hartley, Chris Robshaw, Joe Launchbury and George Ford were still notable absentees but England had won the previous two Six Nations titles, 17 of Eddie Jones’s first 18 matches and, accordingly, their contingent was substantial.

The very next day Jones named his England squad for a tour of Argentina. He refused to engage in the merits of the selected Lions touring party but at the time you sensed Jones did not particularly like Gatland hogging the spotlight. England might have lost their most recent match, against Ireland in Dublin, denying them another grand slam, but the Australian was still basking in an extended honeymoon period and all eyes were on his old adversary. Jones proceeded to make a statement with his squad selection and it did not feel like coincidence that he was doing so 24 hours after Gatland.

He cast aside a raft of fringe players, those who might have presumed to step up in the absence of so many Lions, and picked from the next tier down. Joe Cokanasiga was plucked from the Championship, Piers Francis from the Blues in Auckland and a pair of teenage flankers from Sale. “We have focused particularly on youth because we want to find players who are going to be better than the 16 players going on the Lions tour,” said Jones and, to give him his dues, one of those young Sharks, Tom Curry, was starring in a World Cup semi-final two years later.

In hindsight this was the first evidence of Jones’s scattergun selection. Of casting his net far and wide, picking youngsters when they were palpably not ready for the international stage and dispensing with them just as quickly. For the success story of Curry, read the plight of Jack Maunder, the Exeter scrum-half who made a three-minute debut against Argentina, aged 20, but was never capped again.

Four years later, with 12 players away with the Lions, Jones handed debuts to Marcus Smith and Freddie Steward in the summer series against the USA and Canada and proclaimed the birth of a “new England”. He also condemned Lewis Ludlow to quiz-question obscurity by naming him captain for his two and only England caps. And when news of Smith’s secondment to the Lions tour filtered through while he was still on the pitch against Canada, it was easy to imagine Gatland having a chuckle to himself at expense of his old sparring partner. Thunder stolen again.

All of which brings us to Steve Borthwick’s England and their first return to Argentina since 2017. He knows all about that tour because, while he too was away with the Lions as an assistant, he was still having to review England matches while in New Zealand as Jones’s forwards coach. He will know, then, that Jones’s side won two thrilling contests against the Pumas, he will know that four years ago they also beat the USA – not particularly convincingly – and thumped a dreadful Canada side and he will know the opportunities and the pitfalls that come with selecting an inexperienced squad.

The mistakes that Jones made, the shrewd moves too, show how challenging the season after a Lions tour can be. For while England had 100% records in the 2017 and 2021 autumn campaigns, they nose-dived in the 2018 and 2022 Six Nations tournaments, winning only two matches in each and on both the subsequent summer tours Jones barely survived the sack.

Early next week Borthwick names his first squad of the summer. He will host a mini-training camp but will be without the 13 Lions and players from Bath and Northampton given their involvement in European finals while Ollie Lawrence and George Martin are notable injury absentees.

Chief among his priorities is to select a captain for the two Tests against Argentina and the one against the USA because Maro Itoje is fulfilling that role with the Lions. The obvious candidate is Jamie George, though returning to a player stripped of the honour four months previously requires a certain amount of diplomacy, closely followed by Ford.

Borthwick will also have to factor in the likelihood of players being whistled up to the Lions. They are already looking thin in certain positions for their warm-up match against Argentina in Dublin, which is the day before England kick off their summer against a France XV.

Borthwick is, however, selecting from a position of strength. The upward trajectory is pronounced after the record victory in Cardiff to round off a positive Six Nations campaign. He was no doubt planning on giving Henry Pollock his first Test start – that honour may now fall to Andy Farrell – but Borthwick has already cautioned against picking youth for the sake of it. “It has to be someone right in contention to be starting and get lots of game time,” he said. “Coming into the senior squad just to be on the fringe is not what we want to do.”

He is also smart enough to know the positions in which he lacks depth and to take full advantage of the opportunity presented this summer. As such, while the back-three contingent is likely to have a familiar feel with George Furbank, Tom Roebuck, Manny Feyi-Waboso and Steward all expected to be available, he would be wise to reintegrate Henry Arundell at the first possible opportunity. He has had a torrid season at Racing 92 but is joining Bath next season and possesses raw attributes that cannot be overlooked.

Borthwick would also do well to deploy Oscar Beard, Max Ojomoh or Seb Atkinson alongside Fraser Dingwall in the centres where the talent pool is shallow.

In the front row it is time to give Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Afo Fasogbon their first Test starts, perhaps either side of the experienced George. Lock – particularly those with heft – is an area of chief concern for Borthwick so while he may persist with Chandler Cunningham-South’s conversion to the second row, Bath’s Ewan Richards may find himself involved in Argentina. Junior Kpoku has been linked with a move back to the Premiership but until the ink is dry he remains unavailable.

The back-row options are stacked but Ben Curry, if fit, should be the mainstay of any Test trio with Bath’s Guy Pepper – this season compared to Richie McCaw by his head coach, Johan van Graan – precisely the sort of player Borthwick should be blooding. Jones’s tenure demonstrated that using these tours to give youngsters their shot is a double-edged sword but England have a challenging autumn ahead and Borthwick must be prepared for a post-Lions hangover next season.

TAMPA — When it comes to finding the ideal place to build a 175,000-square-foot indoor sports complex in Hillsborough County, county planners were tasked with delivering options.

One, in the West Shore area, was more like a half-court shot attempt.

A second option, near the Tournament Sportsplex of Tampa Bay, was more like a full-court shot.

But the Museum of Science and Industry site?

A slam dunk.

Hillsborough’s Board of County Commissioners agreed, voting unanimously to direct county staff to focus efforts on placing the indoor sports arena on the MOSI property on East Fowler Avenue.

Putting an indoor sports facility on the 74-acre MOSI site, where a firm has already been selected to develop a center for science, technology and innovation while bringing in multifamily housing, retail space and a hotel, would require incorporating the indoor sports complex into the site master plan.

Commissioner Ken Hagan called it a transformative opportunity.

“By building the indoor facility on the MOSI property … this will be the catalyst for the most transformative economic development project Hillsborough County has ever been associated with,” he said. “It’s estimated to be a $2 billion project. And additionally, I know staff believes an indoor facility will help to accelerate the development and make it even more attractive.”

Several factors made the MOSI site the clear choice, according to county staff.

First, the county already owns the land, cutting acquisition costs and legal hurdles.

Second, planners could repurpose some existing MOSI buildings on the campus’s west side, trimming costs and timelines.

Third, the site is centrally located, with easy access to major roads, including interstates 275 and 75 and public transit options.

While the county was looking for 15 acres to house the facility, by integrating it into the broader MOSI redevelopment, it could incorporate shared parking, meaning the county would only need 6 acres for the facility.

Plus, the added bonus of giving the revitalization of the Uptown corridor a boost is attractive.

MOSI, after languishing for years, recently opened the country’s second-largest planetarium and is viewed as an integral piece to growth in the Uptown district, which will soon include a new University of South Florida football stadium.

“I think the word ‘catalyst’ has been used for the redevelopment of that acreage around there,” said Commissioner Chris Boles. “I think that this would continue to get that synergy to keep it going. I know that Temple Terrace Mayor Andy Ross is very interested in what happens right there, because it’s right across the (city) line. So is Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, so I think that we have a really unique opportunity here to breathe some life back to that facility.”

The county planners reviewed more than 18 potential sites before narrowing it down to a top three.

The West Shore area remains a possibility, but other than being brought forward by hoteliers in the area, there is no defined location or financial plan. It would also take the longest to develop. But if a plan comes together, county staff could still bring it forward.

The Tournament Sportsplex location — a 15-field complex for soccer and other sports that opened in 2018 — was eliminated because, despite its great success, it may not be able to support another facility due to parking and traffic concerns.

Commissioners were presented with options for indoor and outdoor facilities but agreed to focus on the indoor facility for now.

According to a study by Crosswoods Consulting, a 174,000-square-foot indoor facility with 12 basketball/24 volleyball courts would have a major economic impact.

By its third year of operation, the complex could generate:

• 44,000 hotel room nights annually
• $24.5 million in direct spending by event attendees
• $790,000 in county Tourism Development Council revenue annually

Greg Horwedel, deputy county administrator, said the development of the MOSI property would generate ad valorem, sales tax and tourism revenue, a portion of which could help support its annual operating costs.

Plus, Hagan added, the benefit to area parents whose kids play youth sports will be significant.

“I can tell you, after nine years of my daughter playing travel softball, I felt it in the pocketbook,” he said. “These complexes are big business.”

A longtime proponent of county sports facilities, Hagan included using $2 million in BP oil spill proceeds for use in initial design work in his motion. In 2019, he said the county specifically identified the $2 million to be used for an indoor athletic facility.

Other potential funding sources include Community Investment Tax and Tourist Development Tax reserves.

The Howard County Youth Orchestra (HCYO) will perform Emmy-nominated musician Ben Folds as part of Merriweather Arts and Culture Center (MACC)’s “MACC Presents” series  Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at the Merriweather Post Pavilion. 

The night promises to be an unforgettable experience as concert-goers will enjoy a night filled with Folds’ genre-bending body of scores performed by the internationally acclaimed composer, pianist and singer-songwriter and the HCYO.

Tickets range from $25-$75 and can be purchased online at merriweathermusic.com. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.