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WGR/Patriots vs Bills

T

tbolt909

Banned
Buffalo came up short against New England in a nationally televised Monday Night game(in a brutal windstorm). Hey Buffalo, build a domed stadium if you don't want the team to leave.

One of the talking heads on WGR is whining that the Patriots QB only threw 3 passes. The object is to win the game by any means. The Patriots head coach with all the Super Bowl trophies gets it. The WGR crew sounds like bad high school radio. Losers always try to rationalize losing...
 
In case you haven't noticed, this is the nature of local sports-talk radio in every market. The hosts are simply reflecting the feelings of fans and listeners. Say what you will about the hosts, they're doing what sports radio does especially after a loss and WGR does quite well with Men 25-54 doing what they're doing. You say the crew sounds like "high school radio." I don't carry water for WGR. Yes, there are times when talking about "your favorite cheese" is tiresome and trite, but the fact is the hosts are in the demo, speaking to the demo. The days of Stan Baron talking sports have long faded in the rear view mirror.
 
Every sports booth tries to rationalize the loss to the fans. I was shocked by this statistic as well, but the wind caused several kickoffs to go well into the stands, so the simple point remains that NE running the ball 40+ times was just playing the weather properly (Foxboro has been through some horrible snowfall that is second only to Green Bay) and the Buffalo defense should have looked at the inclement weather and concluded that there would be more running than passing, and for the most part, they did. I don't think either team has much to complain about as it was the close dogfight we all thought it would be. There was that Josh Allen throw on 3rd down with 2:30 left in the 4th that was non-sensical and probably cost them the game, but the two teams played the best they could given the circumstances.
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Post-script: Seeing as I am in the unusual position to listen to WGR even though I'm two time zones away thanks to a local station simulcasting it, I actually do enjoy their work. But the ads on that network could be less repetitive with football players advertising how tough that hospital and that general supply store is, etc. LOL.
 
Some thoughts about WGR. I remember heading to Cleveland on a Sunday prior to a Bills game about ten years ago. Traveling along Lake Erie, I was able to get the signal most of the way, listening to a Bills pre-game show. Near the end of the trip though, I lost the signal and had to tune in a Cleveland sports station, which was doing a Browns pre-game show. The hosts were awful. They were shouting. They were ill-informed about other teams. WGR was clearly better!

Fast forward to today. Howard and Jeremy are top notch. Chris Brown and Steve Tasker (I spent 20 minutes listening today) were critical in their review of last night’s game despite being paid employees of the team. Good to hear. No whitewashing. I know Schopp and the Bulldog can rub some people the wrong way. But I like ‘em! In another thread, the poster was critical of Sal Capaccio. That’s way off base. Sal is knowledgeable. His voice is fine. When he’s on with other hosts or his own show — and I’m near a radio — I’m listening! Same deal with Paul Hamilton and his Sabres coverage. A total pro!

That said, the kids on WGR can be annoying. I had WGR on the app playing through Bluetooth on the car radio heading to Michigan before the Indy game last month. The Bills Roundtable is extremely listenable and interesting. But then the kids took over. It wasn’t great. They got lost in a fantasy discussion. It sounded like college radio. I turned it off. Back in Buffalo last week while I was listening, one of the kids mentioned the Bills have never played the Patriots in the playoffs. Sorry, kid! Wrong! I’m old enough to remember the Bills-Patriots playoff game in 1963 for the division title and the right to play San Diego.

Still, the kids are gaining valuable experience. Jeremy White was one of the annoying kids 20 years ago. I remember asking what were they thinking when they paired him with Howard Simon. Today, Jeremy is a veteran whose analysis is spot on. He’s one of my favorites.

Sports talk is hard. When games were cancelled at the start of the pandemic, I felt sorry for the hosts. How you do a four hour show when nothing is happening. In fact, my time spent listening to WGR falls way off after the Bills season is over. And I’m not alone. The station loses half its audience during the late spring and early summer months. But once Bills training camp begins, I’m back. So, tbolt909, I respectfully disagree. I think WGR does a satisfactory job of covering the local sports scene.
 
"The kids" ... yep, they grow up, get some experience, develop chops, get a dose of radio, real-life reality ... and with proper direction and attention, become Jeremy White-types. But I do concur that with Mark1981 that although I've stated in a previous post that they're in the demo, talking to the demo, the kids can sometimes be annoying. A few weeks ago I heard one of the kids refer to a Sabres call-up from Rochester as "a youngster." Looked at the radio and said, "Dude!? Pot calling the kettle black much?"

Tuesday, after Howard and Jeremy, Sneaky Joe or Squeaky Joe "Italian-last-name" followed in midday on WGR. I'm guessing "Joe" is about 25-30. He has a staccato delivery like Jim Rome. Talks in phrases rather than sentences. Gets emotional but keeps it contained. For the most part, he's cogent. But at one point he put forth a proposition about the Bills that made this upper-demo poster look at the radio and say, "Young Bruh... seriously? That's a bridge too far. Out." Click.

Point is, the "kid" had me for about 15 minutes until he said something that was beyond lunar logic. Maybe he had his sarcasm generator on and I didn't detect it. That's what kids do, whether it's in Buffalo, or Cleveland, or Dallas. They say stuff. The players in college ball and the pros are young, new fans need to brought in to regenerate the fan base, so it follows suit that there will be some young talkers on the sports stations. The good ones get nurtured, progress and become like Jeremy White. The bad ones, the shouters and hawkers... they wash out, which is not an altogether bad thing the way things are going in radio... especially at Audacy.
 
Mark1981 said:
Sports talk is hard. When games were cancelled at the start of the pandemic, I felt sorry for the hosts. How you do a four hour show when nothing is happening. In fact, my time spent listening to WGR falls way off after the Bills season is over. And I’m not alone. The station loses half its audience during the late spring and early summer months. But once Bills training camp begins, I’m back. So, tbolt909, I respectfully disagree. I think WGR does a satisfactory job of covering the local sports scene.
Click to expand...
In another thread, someone said WGR is underperforming in the ratings. Typically, Fall and Winter are their peak ratings. Fans care about the teams, not the hosts. The Bills are not doormats anymore (The Sabres have that honour), so WGR theoretically should be being doing better.

Sports Talk has never been confused with Shakespeare. It's not exactly cerebral or logical content. Mostly fans groaning about losses and bad calls by referees...
 
Idk if some of you are listening to the same station but GR is cringe- worthy horrible. Howard and Jeremy is the same show over and over again. It never breathes or seems to have any life to it.

As bad as that show is, it's an art form compared to the afternoon. Bulldog might as well pick up his check with a mask and a gun. Nothing but obvious and regurgitated opinions. Mike just uses circular logic to justify opinions that are baseless and in most instances wrong. They openly admit they don't really watch sports preferring The Bachelor instead. How the PD doesn't pull them in at 8am to eviscerate them is beyond me. Let's not forget the endless fantasy talk and candy drafts. I really wish they had competition. They don't and they know it and thus don't care.

The kids on the B team are just as bad. Not surprisingly really.
 
ZantennaG1 said:
Every sports booth tries to rationalize the loss to the fans. I was shocked by this statistic as well, but the wind caused several kickoffs to go well into the stands, so the simple point remains that NE running the ball 40+ times was just playing the weather properly (Foxboro has been through some horrible snowfall that is second only to Green Bay) and the Buffalo defense should have looked at the inclement weather and concluded that there would be more running than passing, and for the most part, they did. I don't think either team has much to complain about as it was the close dogfight we all thought it would be. There was that Josh Allen throw on 3rd down with 2:30 left in the 4th that was non-sensical and probably cost them the game, but the two teams played the best they could given the circumstances.
---
Post-script: Seeing as I am in the unusual position to listen to WGR even though I'm two time zones away thanks to a local station simulcasting it, I actually do enjoy their work. But the ads on that network could be less repetitive with football players advertising how tough that hospital and that general supply store is, etc. LOL.
Click to expand...
Are they *legally* broadcasting it a few states away..... lol
 
Good or bad,
each instance I turn on WGR,
it feels the same; not predictable, however
the energy level, tone, inflection and presentation will mirror previous broadcasts.

what ever that may mean
 
Radio-Board-Op said:
Are they *legally* broadcasting it a few states away..... lol
Click to expand...
I presume so, as this has been in talks for a few years already with the station. I do LOL that the station is so dedicated to an out of market team, by 1500 miles, but it is what the locals want.
 
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