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WGR NHL v NFL


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Guys...there are two pro sports teams in Buffalo...the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills. One radio station, WGR55 carries the games of both teams. They have a 2 hour hockey show Mon-Friday from 10am-12noon....they also have a Buffalo Bills football show from 6pm-8pm Mon-Friday. Do any of you understand why they would talk about hockey, when they have a hockey show? Why do you get your panties in a wad when they aren't talking about something you are interested in. I listen from about 8am-5pm most every day at work...then I stream the John Murhphy show off of BuffaloBills.com Those who claim they don't talk about the Bills either have very selective hearing, or just have to deal with it. I will admit, I don't find hockey an exciting topic in the deep off-season...but I am not their only listener....and neither are you!

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Schoop is not a football guy, almost a hater. Yes the hockey is a bit much. Especially the 10AM -12 slot is ridiculous. Not really much strategy or anything to captivate discussion about hockey. Not to mention there's a game almost every other day when I'd rather hear NFL talk. Hockey doesn't matter at all to me during football season.

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Schoop is not a football guy, almost a hater. Yes the hockey is a bit much. Especially the 10AM -12 slot is ridiculous. Not really much strategy or anything to captivate discussion about hockey. Not to mention there's a game almost every other day when I'd rather hear NFL talk. Hockey doesn't matter at all to me during football season.

 

To be honest, the current incarnation of Sabres Hockey Hotline does kind of suck because Kevin Sylvester is ingratiating as a host and utterly ill informed on the finer points of the game. Andrew Peters adds nothing but hot air. If Brian Duff were the regular host, I'd listen every day.

 

My selfish personal preference would be that the Bills show ran from 10-Noon--- but, that's not practical for a variety of reasons:

 

I think John Murphy airs at night because the Bills practice during the day, giving him daily topics to discuss with adequate prep time--- the Sabres generally play at 7pm, so it is totally logical for them to NOT do a simultaneous talk show. Of course, I prefer Hockey Hotline to air as an extended postgame show as in the days of Mike Robitaille and Brian Blessing.

 

But neither WGR nor the Bills/Sabres check with me first before setting their programming schedule.

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The best coverage is the John Murphy show. But he isn’t on when I am listening to the radio.

 

The John Murphy show is extraordinary. He, unlike Schoop (sp?), loves what he's doing, and it makes all the difference. I get the biggest kick out of how he will interview established stars like Mario Williams or Eric Wood, then interview the newest addition to the practice squad with the same attention and energy. What a pro.

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The only shows I listen to are the Howard Simon show and the John murphy show. They are actually worth listening to, the only part I don't like about Howard Simon is that he and everyone on the show with him thinks that their take on every opinion is always right and nobody can prove them wrong. They may be arrogant but it's usually good to listen to 4/5 days a week

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I try my best (not really) to be open minded when I listen to their morning and afternoon shows, but they sound so sophomoric and uninformed, it's tough to find something nice to say. No clue how this Howard Simon guy got his own show; he's neither uber-knowledgeable about sports nor interesting, entertaining or endearing. In short, he's as exciting as a wet rag. Jeremy White is O.K., but he's got a snootiness about him that being a hot shot in a small marker can create. I think the Joe Buscaglia spots are good, however, and are the only redeeming aspect of the whole morning program. Oh and Howard Simon ought to listen to real talk show hosts from time to time and he might learn how to do an interview without sounding like a novice.

 

The over-aged frat boys in the afternoon...well, don't even get me started. First, the name of the show: Is this supposed to be a rip-off of Mike and Mad Dog? Just terrible, regardless. And the two hosts sound too much alike--they could probably eliminate one of them and nobody would notice. You listen to these guys and you can just tell they think their crap doesn't stink. Again, the big fish-small pond complex. A dash of humility and a non-douchey sense of humor aren't against FCC regulations, fellas. Much like their morning counterparts, this show is bereft of any entertainment value. If PBS had a sports talk program, it would look like a rock concert compared to this dreck.

 

In closing, no, you're not the only one.

 

I agree

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Schoop is not a football guy, almost a hater. Yes the hockey is a bit much. Especially the 10AM -12 slot is ridiculous. Not really much strategy or anything to captivate discussion about hockey. Not to mention there's a game almost every other day when I'd rather hear NFL talk. Hockey doesn't matter at all to me during football season.

very good points here. I get that there are 2 major sports in the area and they both need to be covered. Part of the reason why they have a 2 hour show every day for both. What irks me is that hockey plays on average... What... 3 times a week? (Honestly I don't know because I don't care to follow them) and WGR covers all the games. So the amount of time WGR spends playing the games just about triples the coverage that is spent on the Bills. Clearly, what bothers have already said, there isn't an argument what gets a bigger draw. So with that said, you would think they would cover more football because its already losing out on an addition 6+ hours a week die to hockey ges being broadcast.

 

Just a thought.

 

It also comes down to popularity though. And I so think the Bills are more popular. But the fans are a little more reserved. The hockey fans in general are recent fans from the Drury/Briere/Campbell days. They are younger and more "gullible" (I said it, I own it. My personal opinion on many young kids that became "die hards" when they were 15-18 during their recent playoff runs) they haven't been around as long as the Bills fans. They still think there is hope every time the team hits the ice. Usually the older, more seasoned fans believe what they have and don't drink the Pegula Kool-Aid. But WGR plays to that. They know what many of their fans want. Generally the "informed" fans of either sport don't need to listen to WGR on a daily basis for information. Look at us for example. We know things here before the news stations usually do. WGR plays to that. They cater to the less informed fans. They take that paycheck and cash it every week.

Edited by mrags
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There is more talk about hockey because in a typical week there are 3 to 4 Sabres games as opposed to 1 Bills game. Naturally they're going to talk about the hockey game playing that night or played the night before. There's more dynamics in a given week. How much can you talk about 1 football game?

 

They focus on the Bills on Mondays, Fridays, and exclusively all Sunday morning, and they still get coverage on the other days. But you can only debate about how the 4th string QB is going to do for so long.

Edited by PastaJoe
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There is more talk about hockey because in a typical week there are 3 to 4 Sabres games as opposed to 1 Bills game. Naturally they're going to talk about the hockey game playing that night or played the night before. There's more dynamics in a given week. How much can you talk about 1 football game?

 

They focus on the Bills on Mondays, Fridays, and exclusively all Sunday morning, and they still get coverage on the other days. But you can only debate about how the 4th string QB is going to do for so long.

how long can you debate about a backup goalie? Or a lack of centers? Or a 7ft tall pansy? Or a S. Buffalo kid that has no business being in the NHL?

 

Just curious. It works both ways.

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Rich Genszler (sp?) has built quite a good alternative on 1270 from 12-3. Decent sportstalk that doesn't insult the listener. I only wish they would put on a 3-6 pm show. As for GR, well i haven't listened in over a year but it seems like from the comments here it's the same old. How Bulldog built a career is totally amazing. Howard and jeremy are brutal as well. I've checked out Murphy's podcasts and his show really is very good.

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agree. Listening to Jason Peters is like listening to yourself get dumber and dumber and dumber... He might be the biggest idiot I've ever heard in my life.

Um, that would be Andrew Peters, but I'm sure you probably knew that already.
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Do people expect it to be all about the Bills all of the time?

 

How many days of "EJ is hurt so our chances aren't very good" can people listen for?

yep, if i hear the stat line of Thad Lewis' one NFL start one more time I am going to go crazy. Not a lot to talk about in Bills country right now. All pretty much woe is me stuff. Sunday cannot get here fast enough.

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How many days of "EJ is hurt so our chances aren't very good" can people listen for?

 

There is a lot more to talk about than just EJ.

 

In fact, I am all for covering the whole AFC East more thoroughly.

 

You guys are die hard Bills fans like me. On Sunday when the Bills game is over which game do you look for on television first? I bet a lot of you are like me and my family. We look for another game that has an AFC East opponent involved so we can see our competition play and so we can root against them. Don't you guys do that?

 

On the Rochester talk radio programs, they cover the AFC East a lot more than any Buffalo programs I have heard. In fact, on that crappy afternoon GR show, they hardly mention other AFC East opponents at all.

 

Conversely, on Bob Matthews' show on WHAM 1180 in Rochester, when he has Fred Smerlas on, they go deep into analyzing the Patriots. Smerlas is a Boston guy (I think based on his accent) and he covers the Patriots deeply. So you get to know what is happening there behind the scenes with much more depth. It really makes for interesting talk.

 

If I was a program director or producer or whatever the right title is for the guys who control the shows on WGR, I would make sure my commentators broke down all AFC East opponents on a weekly basis. There is much more to talk about that Bills fans care about then just talking about Bills players and whether they suck or not.

 

Heck, on this forum we talk about more topics and better topics than those schmucks do on the radio for the most part. And to be honest, you get way more knowledgeable, insightful and entertaining talk here. I find that amazing seeing as we are just average Joe's and not "professional" sports people.

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how long can you debate about a backup goalie? Or a lack of centers? Or a 7ft tall pansy? Or a S. Buffalo kid that has no business being in the NHL?

 

Just curious. It works both ways.

 

If the Bills played more games in a week, then they would get more coverage. Look at how they covered them when they played Thursday. They went 72 hours straight with local coverage, much of it devoted to the Bills. It's just a fact that there are more dynamics to talk about when a team plays more games in a week. WGR broadcast from Bills training camp every day they were at St John Fisher. And your assertion that Kaleta doesn't belong in the league exposes your lack of hockey knowledge.

Edited by PastaJoe
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I enjoy the morning show as well. Note there is no hockey hotline during the Bills season on Monday mornings. John Murphy has a show in that slot.

I always listen on Mondays. I listen to their show other days as well, and it is OK, but they seem to be annoyed with the team more than anything.
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