• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

WGR - Bills Post Mortem

T

tbolt909

Banned
Sports Talk isn't known for cerebral content, but WGR really lowers the bar.

One host named Sal sounds like a high school kid, not
a professional broadcaster. Murphy is a shill for the dysfunctional and
inept Bills organization. Another guy in the afternoon sounds like
Sylvester The Cat (Suffering Succotash..!)
He must be the Common Man from the local pub with no
journalism background and a speech impediment.

Picking over the Bills carcass is tedious radio.
The market research must dictate this approach...
 
Tbolt909 -- You must be listening from out-of-town. Interesting assessment from what we all take for granted here. I will defend these guys, though. Sal Capaccio has solid football knowledge. I always enjoy his analysis. Regarding John Murphy, it is what it is, if you'll pardon the tired cliche. He's paid by the Bills, so expect the party line. But his show is still very listenable. I'm not sure who you're referring to in the afternoon. I have to assume it's the Bulldog. You're kinda of correct about the pub reference. Bulldog was plucked from a pizza delivery job during the Bills Super Bowl run in the '90s and did evenings on WBEN as the voice of the fan. But he has evolved into one of WGR's most knowledgeable hosts. He's now an institution! I'll say this about our crew at WGR. I spent quite a bit of time listening to Cleveland sports radio the past eight years. One guy in the afternoon actually shouts for his entire shift. I was appalled at the lack of sports kneledge I heard while tuning in the Browns pre-game show once. I'll take the WGR guys over the Cleveland hosts any day.
 
"knowledge" My fingers betrayed me in the above post. BTW, it would be nice if we could edit our posts beyond the 30 minute time limit.
 
Capaccio is knowledgeable - or so he keeps telling us. He does try to steer the audience away from the same topic - Tyrod Taylor - but he has a hard time because he ends up with the same callers over and over. He's pretty much a "my way or the highway" kind of host.

Schopp used to be smart. Now he's just opinionated. It's like he revels in a lack of knowledge. He's the ultimate smart-guy sports dilettante. Bulldog isn't smooth, but he does have his moments. He can be another dope on a barstool one moment, but he also can demonstrate that he's done some homework and have an informed opinion from time to time.

WGR gets my listening time occasionally, not full time. I have a limited tolerance.
 
Mark1981 said:
Bulldog was plucked from a pizza delivery job during the Bills Super Bowl run in the '90s and did evenings on WBEN as the voice of the fan. But he has evolved into one of WGR's most knowledgeable hosts. He's now an institution!
Click to expand...
Should be nationally syndicated.
 
Bills own the longest current playoff drought at 17
Years and counting. No Buffalo FM station airs their games.

The stadium is far below the palaces that the NFL expects
these days. Small TV market makes the franchise irrelevant.
NFL would like a team in London to maximize revenue.
Moving the team would be merciful and put these people
out of their misery.

At least WGR would have to find some fresh topics...
 
Last edited:
The same could be said for Green Bay, and several other teams in smaller markets. The Bills have a new owner who is learning how the game is played. The stadium may not be a "palace", but the playing facilities are better than a number of other stadiums. You need a market for the luxury boxes, and I doubt that there's a waiting list of major spenders for the ones that they've got. The stadium issue is under discussion. It's not as urgent as "tbolt" makes it out to be.

WGR's problems have more to do with aging talent than anything else. I hear more lack of preparation than lack of talent there. Hosts have gotten into habits that need to be broken. A fresh look would need to come from both a PD who can step back and listen with fresh ears, and talent who are open to changing their shtick. I'm not holding my breath for either thing to happen.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom