This week the NFL, Bills owner Ralph Wilson and Rogers Communication, a cable and wireless giant in Canada, did Sparano's job for him by scheduling today's AFC East showdown in the cozy confines of the Rogers Centre dome in Toronto instead of frigid Buffalo.

Other than Wilson, who is making $78 million for eight Toronto games (five regular-season) through 2012, and the thin-blooded Dolphins (7-5), the rest of the parties involved are angered by this perceived act of treason.

Andrew Petrinec is a Bills season-ticket holder who along with friend Al Keohane formed FACeD (Fans Against Closed Domes) and gathered more than 1,500 signatures on a petition to have the dome opened.

"Bills fans look forward to this game every season and when they play in December in Buffalo, it usually swings to the Bills. If they want an NFL game, they should have an NFL environment," he said.

"The real fear is almost everybody in Buffalo thinks they've got one foot out the door to Toronto."

Petrinec's assessment of Buffalo's advantage is accurate as the Dolphins are 2-7 when playing the Bills after Dec. 1 in Buffalo, where the forecast for today is 26 degrees and snow showers.

"You're losing that wind, losing the possibility of snow, some rain, you never know with the outside elements," Dolphins defensive end Vonnie Holliday said. "I won't miss the locker room in Buffalo. It's tiny, drafty . . . especially the toilet seats up there. . . . I'm happy about the dome."

The Bills (6-6) are attempting to downplay the 100-mile trek across the border to play a "home" game they must win to keep their fading playoff hopes alive.

"They always look forward to getting us down there in September in the heat, so we kind of look forward to getting them up here in the snow," Bills receiver Lee Evans said. "Other than that it's just another place to play."

Former Bills weren't as diplomatic.

Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly noted, "We wanted the Dolphins to come up when they were enjoying that 70-, 80-degree weather down there and come up to Buffalo where there's a little snow on the ground and have that advantage."

The Rogers folks have rejected FACeD's request, claiming the roof has been locked since the end of the Toronto Blue Jays season, and that the FieldTurf isn't made for inclement conditions.

Unlike the NFL-driven international series, this initiative to hold the first regular-season NFL game in Canada was initiated by the Bills to regionalize their fan base.

Toronto Argonauts co-owners David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski are not exactly rolling out the welcome mat.

"Our team is over 110 years old and we're part of Canada's culture, its fabric . . . but while I respect the NFL's right to go where they want, I wish they'd leave us alone," Sokolowski said. "Their huge marketing machine isn't helpful for us."

The Dolphins are certainly not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

"Things you can't control you just have to let it go," linebacker Akin Ayodele said. "The NFL has done us a favor and put us inside a dome, so we're going to go out there and we're going to play."

If you were a Dolphin, where would you rather play?