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Marv Levy on WGR - Audio Link...


LabattBlue

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Not only is it great that Marv sees how stupid that move was - it's all I talked about all off season last year - and was hoping I was wrong.

 

But, I love how Marv terms it. He took Pat's words "they're just dumb as can be up there" and makes it sound better.

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Howard Simon is OK, but I can't even stand listening to those idiots in the afternoon.  Half the time they're not even talking sports anyway - they babbling on an on about who's the best rock band, or milk in a bag, or some other nonsense.

 

I listen when Jim Kelly is on or when something interesting has happened with the Bills, but usually have to turn it off after 5 minutes or so 'cause those stupid morons are so aggravating, and there's just way too many commercials anyway.

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I always thought Simon was one of the best (if not THE best) local sports guy around...that was when he was with the FM station. Never heard him much on WGR, though.

 

Nice sig, Sen. (Yes, we do!)

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All I can say is those of us who are not within broadcast distance would take ANYTHING bills....even WGR

 

Please start streaming WGR

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Yeah...if only they talked about the Bills, instead of best movies for Valentimes Day, or whatever other bullsh/t they fill time with when there's no hot story and they haven't bothered to do any prep or research before taking to the airwaves.

 

But I feel your pain - I spent twenty years away from The BuffTown in vrious other places, and it sucks not getting your daily Bills fix. :devil:

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Now that Marv has shown a willingness to appear on WGR, can Schopp please end the WHINING that lasted all of last year about how nobody from the Bills organization would appear on their station.

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You know that was true, right? Schopp wouldn't admit the reason behind it, of course, but Tom Donahoe DID lock out GR -- including Simon, who wasn't even working there yet when the spit hit the fan.

 

This, from Chuck Pollock a month or so ago:

As Buffalo struggled for consistency — 3-13, 8-8, 6-10, 9-7 — it became increasingly obvious that Donahoe, in baseball lexicon, had rabbit ears. He was bothered by criticism almost to the point of paranoia.

 

That attitude kicked into high gear during training camp of 2004 on the day then-rookie quarterback J.P. Losman broke his leg when hit by cornerback Troy Vincent at the end of a showy scramble. Speculation was rampant that Vincent made the hit, surely not with the intent to injure, but certainly to make a point to Losman that hot-dogging has no place in the NFL ... especially in practice.

 

Later that afternoon, Donahoe did an interview on WGR radio and vehemently denied that Vincent’s hit had any other purpose than merely playing his position.

 

The Bills’ chief executive had barely removed his headset when the show’s host, in effect, asked the listeners, “Do you believe him?”

Donahoe took understandable umbrage at the suggestion he was lying and that began his alienation from WGR which lasted to the day he left.

 

From then on, the sports talk station had no player interviews unless they were recorded in group media access situations and reportedly it wasn’t directly informed of press conferences or team news. As a result, WGR stepped up its criticism of the Bills, in general, and Donahoe in particular.

 

Even as he leaves, stories persist of Donahoe having PR lackeys listen to Buffalo sports talk radio to take note of criticisms of both him and the team.

Olean Times Herald

Between the two of them, I'm betting Levy and Simon can finally inject some sanity back into the OneBillsDrive-WGR relationship... even if certain afternoon hosts continue to make fools of themselves.

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You know that was true, right? Schopp wouldn't admit the reason behind it, of course, but Tom Donahoe DID lock out GR -- including Simon, who wasn't even working there yet when the spit hit the fan.

 

This, from Chuck Pollock a month or so ago:

 

Between the two of them, I'm betting Levy and Simon can finally inject some sanity back into the OneBillsDrive-WGR relationship... even if certain afternoon hosts continue to make fools of themselves.

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The sad thing is that TD was absolutely justified for saying what he did re: Vincent's hit on JP. It was and still is absurd to think that it was an intentional move.

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The sad thing is that TD was absolutely justified for saying what he did re: Vincent's hit on JP. It was and still is absurd to think that it was an intentional move.

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Agreed. TD had a legitimate beef; I just think he took his retaliation a little too far...

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I love how GR says they don't spit out the company line - meaning the Bills company line - when each and every one of them obviously got the memo that the company line this past season was to bash the Bills every chance they get.

 

Shoop would turn things that had absolutely nothing to do with the Bills into a bash of them.

 

That crap seems to have stopped. I actually think he is pretty funny, and I enjoy listening to them again, instead of wanting to put my hand thru the radio and strange him.

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Personally I liked th part about where does mcgahee fit in.

 

 

 

"That the coacing staff is on the same page about this. He's essential" "11 teams had fewer rushing attempts then the bills last season. 10 of them had losing records"

 

At face values seem like a verbal commitment to run the ball. Stuff I love to hear

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You know that was true, right? Schopp wouldn't admit the reason behind it, of course, but Tom Donahoe DID lock out GR -- including Simon, who wasn't even working there yet when the spit hit the fan.

 

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I do realize it's true, but instead of trying to initiate talks to repair the relationship, all he did was carry on like a 5 year old who can't get his way.

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my favorite part of the interview was this:

 

(paraphrasing)

 

HS: you are in the middle of evaluating the personel....what have you discovered to this point what the needs are for this team?

 

ML: for me to come out and say publicly, 'this is a need here....and this is a need here right off the bat' would be saying to the current players on the roster that they are not good enough. and that is not really what you intend when you say it, but that is the way it is interpreted.

....(he continued).....

ML: driving in this morning i was listening to your program and i heard a number of people calling in, and they expounded on what our needs are....and fans have a good idea of what our needs are....they aren't always accurate, but they have a pretty darn good idea.

 

(needless to say that 30 minutes before the interview fans were bemoaning the need to upgrade the OL)

 

ML: ability without character will always lose.

 

HS: marv, despite that you just said you don't want to call out any one player individually, can you discuss specific needs on the OL?

 

ML: i won't discuss players by name, but it begins and ends with the OL and DL.

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ML:  ability without character will always lose.

As much as it is a nice quote - Marv has to retire this one IMO. His tendency to repeat the same sound bites time after time after time and rehash old war stories (did anyone ever hear the story behind drafting Thurman??!!) I find distracting - and I think it can play into a doddering old fool stereotype if overdone. I feel the latest one he will beat to death now is "Greatest Show On Snow!" :doh:

 

That being said - I do feel better when I hear him speak. Not even as much his knowledge of football - but even more for his ability to say the right thing without sounding patronizing - and actually give some opinions and not spout meaningless double-speak with no useful content. He knows how to use the media to make the fans feel like he is letting them in on what is happening and their opinion/support matters. It's odd too - whenever I hear him speak one thing that always comes into my mind is how much happier a place OBD must be now. You can just picture him walking around and having meetings and doing things to boost morale and get people excited about the team and their part in it (and true or not, a picture of a somber dysfunctional OBD under Donahoe (at least towards the end) comes into my head as well). Hopefully that attitude will pervade into the locker room and on the field as well.

 

One other thing - from the Gilgore DJ interview - the thing that really stood out to me was him saying (more than once) "if those players (quality/character guys) aren't here them we'll go out and find some" - almost putting the players on notice. I like that.

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Rocks - I liked that part, too, because I've seen things before where a GM says we need to upgrade at TE or something, and I think you have just put down your own tight end. Not only are you humiating somebody on your team, but what happens if you don't get your "upgrade"?

 

Marv just gets it!

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I love how GR says they don't spit out the company line - meaning the Bills company line - when each and every one of them obviously got the memo that the company line this past season was to bash the Bills every chance they get.

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I never get those memos. I hate that place.

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I never get those memos.  I hate that place.

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:D:)

 

I was just about to post a small rebuttal to that myself.

 

During my most recent stint in WNY I was no fan of WGR. (I think the loss of the FM sports-talk station was a real blow to the sports fans in the area.) BUT, I've worked in enough media organizations to doubt management would resort to an official policy of bashing the Bills. It makes no sense on many levels (one of which is, people leave and talk about the last place they worked).

 

With that said, there certainly seemed to be a culture of Bills bashing there...I just doubt it was an edict.

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I never get those memos.  I hate that place.

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Brad - I am a big fan of yours. Listen all the time - you crack me up. But every one of you have the same Bills bashing mentality if it's not the company line. Shoop saying on Channel 2 that the fans "hate this team." No, GR hated the team.

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