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“People don’t want to invest $10 million in the Lions,” said Woodall, who made his bones in the insurance game. “But if we can get 20 or 30 local people, we believe it will create massive enthusiasm in the market.”

While hardly ideal, the Woodall-Keith proposal has the potential to answer a lot of questions facing the Lions. It would provide local ownership. It would bring fresh ideas to a franchise that could use a new approach. Most important, it would provide a face to the Lions’ operation.

There’s just one question: Does Braley really want to sell the Lions? We’ve been asking that for a while.

“We’re all frustrated because we want to see what’s best for the franchise,” Woodall said.

Photo by Mits Naga Photography / PNG files

If you’ve just joined us, and count yourself lucky if you are, the Lions’ never-ending story has been around since the mid-aughts and, with the odd exception, hasn’t changed a lot over the last 15 years.

There’s a suggestion the Lions will sell. Local concerns express their interest. Braley then sets the price at an unreasonable level or pulls back or, a couple of years ago, uses the facade of the concussion lawsuits against the CFL to hold back the sale.

Whatever the case, the Lions end up in the same place, an ownership limbo in which the life force is being sucked out of the franchise. Woodall, for his part, has been chasing the Lions for the last five years and you can’t blame the man for growing tired of this exercise.

So what’s different this time around?