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Schopp & Bulldog done in Rochester

G

GeorgeKramer

Guest
Mike and Chris are bummed out about it and so are some of their fans in Ra-Cha-Cha.

For those of you in Rochester, can you tell us what is on now in their place?

Anyone have any details about why the change was made?
 
i wouldn't care if it was more expensive to carry the national feed. those two, especially schoop are awful. atleast van pelt has good espn guests on that actually talk sports. those 2 were always talking something else the few times i've listened lately. ditullio still is better than either the espn national feed or those 2 dudes on buffalo. maybe ditullio should get a simulcast in buffalo?
 
We had DiTullio doing the Bills postgame in Buffalo a couple of years ago. Unlistenable. Thanks, but no thanks.
 
First of all john Ditullio has more knowledge of sports & more command of recall in his Pinky than Mensa has in his entire frame. And tools is a hell of a lot less condascending than that jackass! As for why they were dropped here in rochester. Why not? WGR comes in real well here during the day so why duplicate?
 
DiTullio is a swell guy and may be more knowledgeable than Mensa Mike, but Tools was tough on the ears during the Bills post game show and didn't handle the transition to the locker room interviews and listeners' calls very smoothly. He probably was there because Bob Koscinski didn't cut it the previous season and Tools, being tight with Kevin LeGreed, seemed like a good fit.

The choice between Schopp & Parker or DiTullio after each Bills game was a choice between liver or lemons. Listen to the Bills Network for player interviews and coaches from the locker room and the company line, or listen to WGR for the riveting game analysis of two disinterested critics and callers who've been drinking since breakfast. Gotta admit, it's sometimes a hoot to hear some booze floozie call in after a win an say "the Bills are going to the playoffs, hoooooo." Don't fall out of the car, lady. How about the guys who've been mainlining boilermakers? "Uh yeah. Uh, hello? Am I on? The Bills sucked today." Can you really blame Schopp or Parker for dumping on those fools?

As to giving the Buffalo duo the hook in Rochester, who can blame Entercom for making the decision to go with ESPN on WROC? WGR covers Rochester, at least during the day. Airing ESPN radio at least gives listeners a choice.
 
Well, the "official" Bills postgame went from DiTullio to Brent Axe. GAH. Where's the "None of the Above" button?
 
Hey guys, from personal experience I know the Bills pre and post game shows aren't a day at the beach. There's a lot of prep that goes into the features and content. The pre game show runs on a pre set format clock that can be flexed if necessary, but the post game show is even more challenging because the locker room runs on the Bills schedule that has to get worked on the fly into a network radio format clock. Juggling traffic, interviews and phone calls is tough, especially during away games. Everybody has opinions about jocks and talk show hosts, but give the Bills Radio Network guys some credit for riding through the post game white water without a life preserver.
 
3 items:

1. I caught the opening few minutes of the UB game today on WECK and heard Paul Peck list Russ Burton as his spotter. Cool for Russ to get a decent side gig on the weekends. I believe him and Tom Schuh are buddies so that should be no surprise. Good hire.

2. Mike Schopp made a strange reference the other day to "when I do get fired from this job someday...." that resulted in Bulldog getting a bit tongue-tied and not knowing what to say. Is Mensa Mike frustrated over something or just trying to relate to some of his listening audience, some of whom may fear they may be terminated at any moment. Maybe it's nothing to read into too much, but I thought it was odd and it caught Bulldog off guard.

3. Nick Mendola does solid work as the sideline reporter on the UB games. Glad he's back in that role. It's a good fit for him.
 
Back to the original subject to this thread. It goes back to the old adage "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a noise?"
 
qman said:
First of all john Ditullio has more knowledge of sports & more command of recall in his Pinky than Mensa has in his entire frame. And tools is a hell of a lot less condascending than that jackass! As for why they were dropped here in rochester. Why not? WGR comes in real well here during the day so why duplicate?
Click to expand...
::)

John Ditullio is a regurgitation of ESPN News - plain and simple. I for one can't get past his voice......he's worse than Wease....
 
Hey, easy on this DiTullio guy! Look at Myron Cope in Pittsburgh. One of the worst voices in radio ever, but a legend in the Steel City forever until his passing a few years back. Howard Cosell would be another guy that made it big in sports broadcasting, but hardly a guy that anyone would consider a "great voice".
 
The post game show hosts on 97 and 550 sounded pretty good this Sunday. Ax sounded comfortable, aside from a few tech glitches; and Schopp and B-dog were happy about almost everything. Almost. Amazing what a win will do.
 
yugoidar said:
Hey, easy on this DiTullio guy! Look at Myron Cope in Pittsburgh. One of the worst voices in radio ever, but a legend in the Steel City forever until his passing a few years back. Howard Cosell would be another guy that made it big in sports broadcasting, but hardly a guy that anyone would consider a "great voice".
Click to expand...

I suppose we in Buffalo would have gotten used to DiTullio's voice by now if he was still part of the Bills game day coverage on the radio. But I remember writing back then how hard it was to listen to him. I, too, wasn't blessed with a great set of pipes. So, I'm very tolerant of voices that aren't necessarily broadcast quality.

Funny story here. Ten years ago, after the 9/11 attacks, NPR was providing non-stop, 24-hour coverage. The network mobilized all its talent to cover shifts. So, WAMU (Washington) talk show host Diane Rehm was on the air the Saturday after the attack. I remember listening that night on our radio station, thinking how awful she sounded and that I would never want her regular show on our air. Today, I'm a big fan. I've gotten past the voice and respect her as a truly gifted interviewer. So, I'm not surprised that Rochester has embraced DiTullio.

I also wouldn't compare DiTullio to Cosell. I think Cosell's distinctive voice and delivery made him the icon he became. His voice wasn't impaired like DiTullio's and Rehm's. Cosell had that New York City sound. Rehm admits she has an illness that affects her voice quality. I'm not sure if DiTullio has ever addressed his voice issues on the air. And I hesitate to get into any speculation about why he sounds like he does. I give him credit that he's been able to have a career in broadcasting despite his limitations.
 
You know, maybe we got spoiled by all those years that Jeff Kaye produced and voiced better-than-network-quality pre-game programming for the Bills network, first on KB and then on WBEN. Leaving that aside, today's Bills broadcasts are quite good compared to what you hear in most NFL markets.

I'll admit as well that I miss Van Miller and the late Stan Barron. It occurs to me that John DiTullio is really a lot like Stan Barron in terms not only of his gravelly, distinctive voice, but his energetic on-air personality and knowledge of his subject--maybe he might be a good in-game booth partner for John Murphy, bringing the same kind of color to the broadcast (both figuratively and literally) that Stan did back in the day. Murph, for his part, is carrying the torch well, giving you the same kind of crisp, accurate call of the game Van Miller used to do.
 
It's really evident in some of the in-game "famous calls" vignettes that Van's voice fell off in the last couple of years. Some of them sound a little sad.
 
Bob1370 said:
...It occurs to me that John DiTullio is really a lot like Stan Barron in terms not only of his gravelly, distinctive voice, but his energetic on-air personality and knowledge of his subject--maybe he might be a good in-game booth partner for John Murphy...
Click to expand...
C'mon Bob. Bills radio analyst Mark Kelso played for the Bills in the Superbowl glory years. He knows the game inside and out. Murphy has acknowledged this on the air, even admitting on more than one occasion that Kelso has saved his bacon. Kelso's a lunch bucket kind of guy. The fans remember, like and respect him. He's a perfect fit in the booth.
 
The only guy that comes to mind as better than Kelso in the role is Steve Tasker. He seems to be busy on Sundays during the NFL season.
 
"Bills radio analyst Mark Kelso played for the Bills in the Superbowl glory years. He knows the game inside and out."

Won't deny the knowledge. Part of the job, however, is to get beyond the X's and O's and copmmunicate with the listener, who more often than not is a casual fan rather than a dedicated student of the game. Kelso's fine. But looking at it from a broadcaster's point of view rather than that of a student of the game, listeners remember best, and engage most, with broadcasters who project personality and a bit of an edge.
 
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