No harsh words. No icy stares. No table-pounding. No provocations.

That said, don't get the idea that when the Bon Jovi/Toronto bid group finally met face-to-face Tuesday in Manhattan with principals selling the Buffalo Bills, it was anything like the ending of The Party, with hippies and suits alike joy-dancing till dawn in a silly sea of bubbles.

Two sources with knowledge of what transpired at Morgan Stanley's offices on Broadway have told QMI Agency the management presentation was drama-free. Purely perfunctory. Matter-of-fact. No emotion.

And permeating the room was an unspoken, shared sense that, yeah, we all have to go through with this, so let's just get through it.

So they did.

Rocker Jon Bon Jovi, MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum and Rogers family rep Edward Rogers elaborated on their ownership plan. Members of the Wilson trust, Bills CEO and president Russ Brandon and key reps from investment bank Morgan Stanley and law firm Proskauer Rose did not excessively question the trio about their non-relocation promise.

In turn, the trust and co. talked up their property, the primary purpose of such formal get-togethers in a pro sports franchise sale.

Not much else. Questions asked and answered. Then thanks for coming, we'll be in touch, handshakes, out.

The sense of pessimism that had saturated the Toronto bid group two weeks ago -- when sources say the trio were informed their initial, non-binding bid fell hundreds of millions of dollars short of the one submitted by Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula -- has not dissipated, QMI Agency has learned.

Defeat seems more inevitable than ever.

Morgan Stanley allowed the group to rebid last week only if it also provided more convincing assurances it had abandoned its original intention to relocate the franchise to Canada's largest city. Morgan Stanley requested yet further assurances before advising the group over the weekend it had finally made what the bank calls the "final phase" of the sale.

The ever-growing sense, even within the Toronto group, is that their bid was kept alive merely to create the illusion for Pegula that he's in a horse race, and to provide the perceived relocation threat needed to convince Pegula and other bidders that the Bills -- Buffalo's Bills -- still need saving.

Because of the limited personal wealth of prospective controlling owner Bon Jovi in this billionaires' game, the Toronto group as constituted can bid only so high -- somewhere between $1 billion and $1.2 billion, sources have told QMI Agency.

By contrast Pegula, the oil-and-gas multi-billionaire who owns the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, is presumably able to bid as high as he wants. In cash.

Pegula and celebrity multi-billionaire real-estate mogul Donald Trump are the only other known, confirmed finalist bidders.

Former Sabres owner Tom Golisano, a payroll-systems multi-billionaire, finally submitted his first-round, non-binding bid last week. He is believed to be a finalist as well. QMI Agency was told last month that Golisano intended to bid aggressively.

Despite re-opening the first-round bidding process shortly after the July 29 deadline, Morgan Stanley has recruited no other individuals or groups known to have submitted a bid. Golisano had publicly confirmed his intention to bid in June.

Trump's management presentation occurred last Wednesday in Detroit. Pegula's is scheduled for this week in New York City, Tim Graham of the Buffalo News reported last week.

It was believed Pegula arrived in the New York area on Wednesday.

Morgan Stanley originally had set aside only last week and this for management presentations, but Graham reported there might be meetings next week as well. Golisano's management presentation would take place within this time frame.

After a full exchange of detailed financial information with the seller, the above four finalists -- and any others Morgan Stanley might yet recruit -- are expected to submit binding bids by Labour Day weekend.

john.kryk@sunmedia.ca

@JohnKryk

blogs.canoe.ca/krykslants/​