Delete This Account

Richie has been released. He's now a free agent

shut up. just do so. shut up. your so-called truth is not a truth, but a made up self-fulfilling baloney that allows you to get through the day and feel self-assured. that you immediately turn to the name-calling shows the weakness of your point. a person's either a feminist or a liberal or a whatever, fill in the blank, if they have a different point of view than yours weak. just weak. jw

AP corrected its story (my story). it wasn't the Winter Classic as it became apparent during the Sabres next trip to NYC for game Jan. 18. jw

When you check in and see a thread featuring your name on it, you can't help but take note and follow along. I'd start a Boyd thread, but why clog up the board. jw

Ah, yes. Now I understand. How silly of me. Dan Morgan filled a vacancy. That hiring was expected whether or not Russ Brandon was still the presidente. jw

I'm sorry, what's this all about? jw

thanks for sharing the link. jw

Thanks for the compliment. I understand that there's less time for the hosts to get to practice. And I'm not suggesting they be there every day. Once a week or once every two weeks during the NFL season shouldn't be too much to ask, though. As someone once told me, 80 percent of the job is being there. This is how you build relationships, close up, not from afar or tethered to a phone line. And I'm not suggesting they break stories either, but rather gain perspective by building a relationship rather than merely speaking to the person on air. It's not about getting quotes, so much as gaining insight into what makes the teams they talk about tick. It's no different from the colin cowherds and skip bayless of the world, who merely rely on hot takery without being there in the muck of it. The further removed you are from the people you are supposed to cover, the less insight you can draw from a personal perspective. And the increased chance you get it wrong because there are no checks and balances to confront you and help shape your opinion. For all the crap Jerry or Harrington get for their negativity, at the very least they are present in the locker rooms to face the people they are criticizing. At the very least, they're accountable to the people they cover. I cover two pro sports teams plus deal with whatever comes up in this town, while writing a story a day and often more. And yet, I make time to be there to gather perspective for what I'm writing. Is it too much to ask from those who "cover" the team, or rather simply talk about them, to do a little more? jw

holding off any big bashy thing for a trip will be taking soon with my wife. can't wait. jw ML is making pad thai, tonight, however. One of my many favorites of the dishes she crafts.

Thanks, very much folks. yes, i'm old. and i fart. the two aren't mutually exclusive, however. i farted when i was younger, too.

It doesn't have to be that way. And it's a sad reflection that there is little competition (I'll single out Paul Hamilton as an exception) from the hosts to not simply break news but to actually be around the team. The hosts (beyond Murphy and likely now Tasker) are never at practice beyond required appearances at training camp, or in the locker room. I'm told this is relatively unique to Buffalo. Hosts in other markets spend more time with the teams. And it's spending time with the players in the players' environment, as opposed to having them on by phone, is how you get to know them. And also how you begin to break stories. This will, to some, come off as "Oh, there goes wawrow popping off on GR, again." Sure, maybe. But that was one of the issues i had with the morning show host who rooted for the tank while refusing to step foot in the locker room and confronting the players face to face. It seemed above him. jw WGR did not break the story. Not even close. jw

yup. sure. jw

clearly a sign the Bills are trading back down in the first round. maybe out of it entirely. jw

it's among the most welcoming spots in town, no matter who's working, but especially if Joe's working, Monday-Thursday's 9ish to close. jw cool thing about the Swannie is it has a different clientele depending on what day and what time of day. blue-collar types at lunch. business folk on the way home 5ish. it's a whole cast of characters.

well, this thread took a wrong turn, somewhere. what i find odd is people referring to Buffalo as being a difficult financial burden. as opposed to where? that one could buy a house on the west side for as little as $40,000 some 10 years ago, and now sell it for $120,000 a financial burden? is being able to get anywhere within 20 minutes and not get stuck in traffic a financial burden? is being within an hour's flight or 3 hours drive from such larger and far more expensive metropolises as NYC, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, to name a few, considered a burden? that i can get the same standard of a high-end dinner at the nearby Left Bank or Hutch's as I can in Manhattan, for $40 maybe $50 more, not an advantage? does paying $960 (including tip) to have my 50th birthday party with 45 guests a few years back at the Swannie (3-hour open bar, wings, beef on weck, pasta and salad) something that would be unheard of in most cities or towns? just asking. jw

there is a raw honesty to this town which i hope never fades with gentrification. people don't so much live in Buffalo, they breath it from what i've gathered over my 19 years here. it's what my hometown of Windsor, Ontario, was like back when i was growing up, before the ever-prevalent suburbanization and homoginization finally set in, with a shoppers drug mart/boston pizza/tim horton's plaza popping up on every fourth of fifth corner. it used to be that Windsor was unique to southern Ontario because it looked more to Detroit and the blue-collar auto industry, that played a function in why it was different from London, Ontario, or Kingston, or Brampton, for that matter. now, when i visit, what was once Windsor is but a pale shadow of itself, no different than Markham or Oakville, really, just a dot on the map. Buffalo still possesses that uniqueness with the bars and restaurants it has to offer, as well as the resiliency of its people. it's so different than so many other places I've lived or visited. the only thing that comes close is maybe New Orleans, a place that was allowed to grow and develop its own culture, be it with food (Cajun or wing inspired) and neighborhoods preserved. i'm romanticizing a little bit here, sure. don't care. this comes to me as i learned of one of Buffalo's institutions closing a few months back. Checkers. a fine bar on Hertel. it reminded me of what Buffalo is. i hope it's not a sign of what Buffalo is to become. jw

Zsa Zsa (Gabor)

Johnny C's on Transit has exceptionally good subs. so good, that my wife and I will make the occasional drive up Transit and on a Saturday no less to partake. jw As for the best cheese steak had in Philly: Tony Luke's. As for a very good non-Philly-like but Philly inspired cheese steak in Bufalo: Gabriel's Gate.

i can't speak for others. as for the rest: as noted above, i outlined the reasons i have lost respect for Jeremy White and have noted he is the reason i no longer appear on GR in the morning. my guess is that Jeremy would as much not want me on at this point as i would agree to ever be on the show. that ship sailed a long time ago. jw

i've had drinks with Mike. i have no issues with how he does his job. and that's the basis for issues i have with Jeremy White, who failed his listener by dismissing any counter-point, and is now distorting the past by conveniently avoiding things he said. (and same goes for his former cohort, the pseudo-college-baseball-star, matthew caller.) jw

if by "beef" you mean I called Jeremy White out for being a historic revisionist, then sure. he stated his case. it was bereft of certain facts. and he got called out for it. that Jeremy White deleted two of his tweets, one of which was blatantly wrong, reflects the person he is. as only speaking for myself, to suggest that I have a grudge against every radio person is farfetched and mistaken. i have no issues with many reporters in town, particularly Paul Hamilton who is very good at his craft, or radio personalities such as Chris Parker. i respect Howard Simon for the job he does. my relationships or thoughts of them have nothing to do with Jeremy White's dismissive nature or cherry-picking posts that skip many of the things he said and got wrong. if calling out people for being wrong is petty, i'm guilty as charged. jw

"I'm out $10,000 and can't no longer afford the internet. All's I got left is a couple'a boards, some paint, nails and two big posts. Stupid Brenda."

and you'd be wrong yet again. jw

i'm a giant douche to some people, let's be fair. jw

you're dead to me now. jw