Howard Simon "Winding down" from WGR

[CountDorkula]

Save your WGR is crap takes. 

Simon has been a staple in most of our lives for years since Empire.

 

 

Going to be weird to not hear him in the morning when he finally hangs them up

[PonyBoy]

It's not over until Simon says...😏

[LabattBlue]

Bad for WGR.  Probably means a replacement by some young gun who wants to fill hours with yelling, screaming, hot takes, and talking over callers and co-hosts. 
 

I remember Howard starting out on WBEN.  Has always been a class act. 

Edited August 22, 2022 by BTB

[Einstein]

1 minute ago, BTB said:

Bad for WGR.  Probably means a replacement by some young gun who wants to fill hours with yelling, screaming, hot takes, and talking over callers and co-hosts. 

 

You just described Nate Geary.

 

I cringe and turn the radio station whenever he comes on.

[78thealltimegreat]

WGR has some really good ones like Jeremy and Sal and some awful ones like a few who have been mentioned here many times….the ultimate meltdown if someone like Thad Brown got the job and spent the whole time trashing Allen like his Twitter feed 

[Big Turk]

3 minutes ago, 78thealltimegreat said:

WGR has some really good ones like Jeremy and Sal and some awful ones like a few who have been mentioned here many times….the ultimate meltdown if someone like Thad Brown got the job and spent the whole time trashing Allen like his Twitter feed 

 

You mean like Dope and the LapDog?

[aristocrat]

9 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

You just described Nate Geary.

 

I cringe and turn the radio station whenever he comes on.

 

He's the worst. 

[Cotton Fitzsimmons]

9 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

You just described Nate Geary.

 

I cringe and turn the radio station whenever he comes on.

Nate isn’t terrible IMHO, but he has a way of asking a question and then spending the next 5 minutes answering said question himself before letting the person respond. 

[BillsShredder83]

16 minutes ago, CountDorkula said:

Save your WGR is crap takes. 

Simon has been a staple in most of our lives for years since Empire.

 

 

Going to be weird to not hear him in the morning when he finally hangs them up

Such a staple of my childhood growing up watching Sabres on empire and listening to wgr on my Walkman on the bus for wgr. Sad but good for him also. It's a sinking ship, which again is sad, but inevitable.

[GerstAusGosheim]

20 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

You just described Nate Geary.

 

I cringe and turn the radio station whenever he comes on.

Sneaky Joe was the worst when he first started. He's getting better under the tutelage of Sal. But he's still unbearable when he has to be on his own. Talks in circles for 20 minutes per thought just to kill time.

 

[Sargent Hulka]

I remember well the Monday "Howard and Jeremy Show" following the 2018 NFL Draft, and Simon practically whining that we drafted the wrong Josh. He was lamenting the Bills didn't draft Josh Rosen, and spouting innuendo about Josh Allen's character. I think Simon is overrated and I won't miss him at all. I hope Sal takes his place.

[Franco_92]

Howard is likeable but in all honestly not a great listen. There was a segment a few weeks ago where the crew went through a list of single season records and debated which ones they thought had a chance of being broken this year. Howard either did faulty math or interjected with a complete misunderstanding of what someone else was saying, at least ten times in the few-minute segment. I listened in disbelief

 

Another time, at the end of the show, Jeremy said they'd come back from break with a quick story that purported to have new information about Drury/Briere leaving the Sabres. I was very interested to hear this, as it's a pretty foundational part of Sabres history. Howard literally threw a fit and said that he didn't want to hear it because he liked Briere or something. Jeremy thought he was joking but when they came back Howard kept whining, I cant describe it as anything else. So the show ended and I still haven't heard the information. It was ridiculous 

 

Happy wind down to retirement Howard, it's probably about the right time.

He also does this weird gulping swallow while talking too long without a breath, fairly often. Drives me nuts 

[mrags]

31 minutes ago, BTB said:

Bad for WGR.  Probably means a replacement by some young gun who wants to fill hours with yelling, screaming, hot takes, and talking over callers and co-hosts. 

Naw Mike Schoop is already on in the afternoon. 

[Mickey]

How old is he?

 

I just hope they don't replace him with someone who just reads stats out load or worse, spends the whole show talking about their gambling recommendations and/or their fantasy team.  Doesn't anyone want to talk about actual football anymore?

[inkman]

10 minutes ago, GerstAusGosheim said:

Sneaky Joe was the worst when he first started. He's getting better under the tutelage of Sal. But he's still unbearable when he has to be on his own. Talks in circles for 20 minutes per thought just to kill time.

 

He started (Xtra point show) during the worst time of year for sports.  He’s gotta fill the time with something.  The thing that Geary, Dibiasi and even Jeremy White do is bring a modern look at sports. Using analytics and data driven opinions to the airwaves.  I’d rather hear any of them before listening to Paul Hamilton discuss the Bills.  To this day I don’t know why they bother with Paul on football coverage.  (I know he’s kinda an emergency fill in but there has to be better)

Just now, Mickey said:

How old is he?

 

I just hope they don't replace him with someone who just reads stats out load or worse, spends the whole show talking about their gambling recommendations and/or their fantasy team.  Doesn't anyone want to talk about actual football anymore?

The gambling thing is becoming an issue. The hosts talks about their bets (who cares), the betting lines and have guests on to discuss all of it. It’s weird coming from my generation to hear it but I guess we all just need to get used to it.  Ugh. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

Any idea how old Simon is?  I didn't think he was anywhere near retirement age.  Then again is easy for these journalist types to get tons of free lance and part time work.  Look at Sully!

[Franco_92]

4 minutes ago, inkman said:

He started (Xtra point show) during the worst time of year for sports.  He’s gotta fill the time with something.  The thing that Geary, Dibiasi and even Jeremy White do is bring a modern look at sports. Using analytics and data driven opinions to the airwaves.  I’d rather hear any of them before listening to Paul Hamilton discuss the Bills.  To this day I don’t know why they bother with Paul on football coverage.  (I know he’s kinda an emergency fill in but there has to be better)

The gambling thing is becoming an issue. The hosts talks about their bets (who cares), the betting lines and have guests on to discuss all of it. It’s weird coming from my generation to hear it but I guess we all just need to get used to it.  Ugh. 

I do statistics and data analysis for a living, and those guys really don't bring much to the table. They will tell you what "the communtiy" thinks about a player or a stat, but I've never heard them discuss the metrics themselves in a meaningful way, explain how they work, their limits etc.

 

All sorts of "intellectual" condescension, very little value added

[thenorthremembers]

Started listening to Howard when I moved to Buffalo for college and he was at Empire.      Weird how someone you dont know can be a big part of your life for 20 years.     Always been a big fan of his ability to connect with his caller's on an emotional level.      Well done Howard.

[inkman]

8 minutes ago, arcane said:

I do statistics and data analysis for a living, and those guys really don't bring much to the table. They will tell you what "the communtiy" thinks about a player or a stat, but I've never heard them discuss the metrics themselves in a meaningful way, explain how they work, their limits etc.

 

All sorts of "intellectual" condescension, very little value added

I can understand them coming off that way. I also think a whole show or even segment about expected goals for/against is going to make a large portion of the audience tune into something else. 

[FLFan]

27 minutes ago, Sargent Hulka said:

I remember well the Monday "Howard and Jeremy Show" following the 2018 NFL Draft, and Simon practically whining that we drafted the wrong Josh. He was lamenting the Bills didn't draft Josh Rosen, and spouting innuendo about Josh Allen's character. I think Simon is overrated and I won't miss him at all. I hope Sal takes his place.

Go back and read the threads from this forum that day. You just described 75% of the posters here. Of course few admit it now. 

[DCbillsfan]

When Howard is not on the air, WGR is pretty much unlistenable.

[blitzboy54]

It's honestly weird how long people are on the air at WGR. Most sports talk radio turn over. He seems like a nice guy Howard has been mailing it in for a while. Jeremy is the only interesting listen on that network IMO. Mike doesn't even like sports, he likes sports gambling and fantasy. They need some fresh talent 

Edited August 22, 2022 by blitzboy54

[Big Turk]

29 minutes ago, arcane said:

Howard is likeable but in all honestly not a great listen. There was a segment a few weeks ago where the crew went through a list of single season records and debated which ones they thought had a chance of being broken this year. Howard either did faulty math or interjected with a complete misunderstanding of what someone else was saying, at least ten times in the few-minute segment. I listened in disbelief

 

Another time, at the end of the show, Jeremy said they'd come back from break with a quick story that purported to have new information about Drury/Briere leaving the Sabres. I was very interested to hear this, as it's a pretty foundational part of Sabres history. Howard literally threw a fit and said that he didn't want to hear it because he liked Briere or something. Jeremy thought he was joking but when they came back Howard kept whining, I cant describe it as anything else. So the show ended and I still haven't heard the information. It was ridiculous 

 

Happy wind down to retirement Howard, it's probably about the right time.

He also does this weird gulping swallow while talking too long without a breath, fairly often. Drives me nuts 

 

The best segments with him are the ones when he talks about all the things he hasn't eaten or done before or movies he has never seen or songs he has never heard and Jeremy and the producer are incredulous

[Jerry Jabber]

57 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

You just described Nate Geary.

 

I cringe and turn the radio station whenever he comes on.

I have to turn off the Extra Point show when Joe DiBiase is on for those reasons. Sal is great, but when Joe is on by himself, it’s awful! 

Edited August 22, 2022 by Jerry Jabber

[plenzmd1]

40 minutes ago, Cotton Fitzsimmons said:

Nate isn’t terrible IMHO, but he has a way of asking a question and then spending the next 5 minutes answering said question himself before letting the person respond. 

This right here...he is an insufferable prince (spelled pri*k) on twitter...thinks he smartest guy in the room always...but i let that go and try to  listen to him, but his questions take 3 minutes long, as you say he answers the question before letting his guest answer it..just unlistenable. 

11 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

Any idea how old Simon is?  I didn't think he was anywhere near retirement age.  Then again is easy for these journalist types to get tons of free lance and part time work.  Look at Sully!

he is either 59 or 60..my age. Have to imagine getting up at 4AM everyday gets old..

[blitzboy54]

4 minutes ago, FLFan said:

Go back and read the threads from this forum that day. You just described 75% of the posters here. Of course few admit it now. 

 

 

I admit it. I was President of the 'we drafted the wrong Josh" club. Never been happier to be that wrong. 

[Gregthekeg]

48 minutes ago, Cotton Fitzsimmons said:

Nate isn’t terrible IMHO, but he has a way of asking a question and then spending the next 5 minutes answering said question himself before letting the person respond. 

I always like listening to him when there is no guest on, but you just put into words what I could never figure out about his interviews.  Other than that I think he is great, usually brings a new take on something and isn't just a contrarian for the sake of "opposing views'  

[GerstAusGosheim]

34 minutes ago, Sargent Hulka said:

I remember well the Monday "Howard and Jeremy Show" following the 2018 NFL Draft, and Simon practically whining that we drafted the wrong Josh. He was lamenting the Bills didn't draft Josh Rosen, and spouting innuendo about Josh Allen's character. I think Simon is overrated and I won't miss him at all. I hope Sal takes his place.

They definitely did not eat enough crow for whining incessantly about picking Allen over Rosen. Lots of talk about heading to the fear bunker. It's almost like they wanted to be right more than they wanted Allen to be good. 

[CountDorkula]

2 minutes ago, GerstAusGosheim said:

They definitely did not eat enough crow for whining incessantly about picking Allen over Rosen. Lots of talk about heading to the fear bunker. It's almost like they wanted to be right more than they wanted Allen to be good. 

So TBD = WGR?

[LabattBlue]

Bulldog has been mailing it in for years(and I probably would too if I had to work with shoop), but is he still doing the show from home…I rarely listen?

Edited August 22, 2022 by BTB

[GerstAusGosheim]

Just now, BTB said:

Bulldog has been mailing it in for years(and I probably would too if I had to work with shoop), but is he still doing the show from home…I rarely

listen?

Bulldog sounds like he has marbles in his mouth and ends every sentence running out of breath.

[CountDorkula]

Just now, BTB said:

Bulldog has been mailing it in for years(and I probably would too if I had to work with shoop), but is he still doing the show from home…I rarely

listen?

When it's just BullDog the show is much much better.

 

He actually gives opinion and emotion to the teams. 

[Stads]

I don't know how I would feel about Sal taking over. His football knowledge is greatly appreciated, but his storytelling seems so self-absorbed. I know I'm in the minority but I like him in the role he currently has and don't need him having more airtime

[Matt_In_NH]

44 minutes ago, GerstAusGosheim said:

Sneaky Joe was the worst when he first started. He's getting better under the tutelage of Sal. But he's still unbearable when he has to be on his own. Talks in circles for 20 minutes per thought just to kill time.

 

He was bad but he has gotten better.   He used to be on this "The Bills should not run the ball" kick.  He even said at one point you average more yards per pass than per rush so why ever run it....he was serious.   This was ridiculous and he seems to have backed off it this year.  I am not some guy who wants "balance" or something...but I do think you want to make sure the defense has to defend everything

[LabattBlue]

Just now, Stads said:

I don't know how I would feel about Sal taking over. His football knowledge is greatly appreciated, but his storytelling seems so self-absorbed. I know I'm in the minority but I like him in the role he currently has and don't need him having more airtime

Also, Sal has never learned to slow down.  He still speaks way too fast.  

[Matt_In_NH]

Schopp is the only one I prefer to never listen to

[mushypeaches]

2 minutes ago, Stads said:

I don't know how I would feel about Sal taking over. His football knowledge is greatly appreciated, but his storytelling seems so self-absorbed. I know I'm in the minority but I like him in the role he currently has and don't need him having more airtime

 

Sal's voice and overall shtick are tolerable in small doses, i.e. updates from the sideline and regular call in segments, but the thought of him hosting a show for 3 hours would be a rough listen.  Plus, he's become a little bit too much of a jock-sniffer from having close access to the team over the past few years

 

[Albany,n.y.]

45 minutes ago, Sargent Hulka said:

I remember well the Monday "Howard and Jeremy Show" following the 2018 NFL Draft, and Simon practically whining that we drafted the wrong Josh. He was lamenting the Bills didn't draft Josh Rosen, and spouting innuendo about Josh Allen's character. I think Simon is overrated and I won't miss him at all. I hope Sal takes his place.

Here is the 1st part of that:  

 

[LabattBlue]

3 minutes ago, Matt_In_NH said:

Schopp is the only one I prefer to never listen to

He went from okay to unbearable over the years.  When his only interests are fantasy leagues and betting, it is time for him to move on. Shame on his bosses for allowing him to carry on in this manner.  Go work for a station/show that focuses on your interests Schlep. 

Edited August 22, 2022 by BTB

[CountDorkula]

6 minutes ago, Albany,n.y. said:

Here is the 1st part of that:  

 

Again, go back to the Bill Pick Josh Allen thread. Its the same exact thing. 

 

Also - the first minute of that clip is them saying "I hopes he's great and "Josh Allen was the least popular among fans so fans who support whatever this org does wil yell at those who dont like the pick"

 

In fairness to everyone Allen was and is a unicorn, that we wont see again for years.

Edited August 22, 2022 by CountDorkula