Have the Buffalo Sports media ever been worse?

[Paxon]

The Rochester D&C and Olean Times Herald are linked off of SabresSpace. Worth checking them out, don't know what the local opinion of those rags are but they seem decent enough. But as I say I tend to read hockeybuzz, sabresnoise, nhl.com and tsn.ca most. Not much that you can't get from there and breaking news always hits twitter first.

The Olean Times Herald coverage by Bill Hoppe, who runs a beat blog at http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com. He and Vogl of the Buffalo News are both good beat reporters.

 

[Onry]

Any day of the week, and twice on game days, I'd rather come here and get perspective from you all on what is going on with the team.

I always said, a journalism degree doesn't mean you actually know squat about what you are covering.

The boys at TBN prove that. Time and time again.

This, absolutely.

 

[Sabre the Win]

I have just given up on WGR because of Schoop. Such an uninformed, interested sports personality. His interviews of the recent Sabres draft picks was embarrassing and these ridiculous "takes" on non sports related nonsense and "drafts" of different animals and foods was just too much. The 3 headed monster of Bucky, Harrington and Sullivan is just plain awful. Their unprofessionalism and lack of knowledge are so off-putting. I have no problems with the media taking the Sabres and Bills to task but these guys make you want to root for the Sabres and Bills all the more.

There are some good reporters in Buffalo, it is to bad that they are overshadowed by these buffoons.

I couldn't agree more Jerry Sullivan is a bitter, narrow minded writer. Almost everything he writes irritates me a little bit. If I was at a press conference I would probably tell him to shut up.

 

[jc17]

I'm so happy because I didn't realize so many people felt the same way. One of the reasons I'm on a site like this is because I want to constantly be updated on Sabres News and get peoples' reasonable opinions which doesn't happen elsewhere.

I don't really read the TBN, I just can't stomach it, especially Bucky, Jerry, and Harrington. Occasionally I'll read Vogl. Even though he doesn't seem to be the best journalist he is respectable and least idiotic.

I can't listen to much WGR anymore because they all have issues. In the morning Howard doesn't bother me too much even though I don't agree with everything. Jeremy has occasional good points but thinks he's always right and can get stupidly arrogant.

I don't mind Hockey Hotline. Kevin and Andrew are both a little weird at times, but they talk about relevant things and don't constantly make silly points are arguments. They could use work but at least they're informative and not blowhards.

To me the worst is the afternoon. I can't stand Schopp and Bulldog. Bulldog just agrees with everything schopp says which is usually trash and then gets overly worked up about something. Schopp in my opinion is the worst one on the station. He seems to not care about the Bills or Sabres and just wants to talk about inept each franchise is. They are both bad, but we get it. Neither have one a championship or gotten too close recently.Its nothing new so find a new talking point. All he does is regurgitate how bad the organization is and how the Sabres need to make big moves. It ticks me off also that these uniformed "journalists" influence area fans. For example they are always stuck on a person that we "have to" get for. Bobby Ryan, Statsny, Getzlaf, Brad Richards. Then people walk around repeating this garbage and then complain about the team all the time.

Look, I understand the teams aren't great, but I am a fan for enjoyment and entertainment, and for as much as I hate when they loose, and I do hate it a lot, I don't need ridiculous media members who don't know their stuff talking about how bad my sports teams are. These are the people that I truly think would be disappointed if we won anything. They would just spend the day after talking about how things are no different and we got lucky, or how it feels no different, or how the other team will be bad.

I'm sorry for the rant but it just annoys me that people who don't know or do much can act so asinine about something I care about.

 

[ckg927]

I couldn't agree more Jerry Sullivan is a bitter, narrow minded writer. Almost everything he writes irritates me a little bit. If I was at a press conference I would probably tell him to shut up.

Which is probably one of the reasons I wanted to see John Tortorella get the Sabres HC job. Irrespective of his coaching skills(and that's not for discussion here-another thread, another time), he could torch a media member like few others can.

 

[ckg927]

Just to add on to what JC mentioned: I'm surprised that 1270 the Fan hasn't brought on more local hosts to their lineup save for Rich Gaenzler(who does double duty; he's still over at WEDG too). God knows, there are some sports talkers out there who know their stuff and won't grate on your nerves that would jump at the chance to give WGR some competition.

 

[joshjull]

Just to add on to what JC mentioned: I'm surprised that 1270 the Fan hasn't brought on more local hosts to their lineup save for Rich Gaenzler(who does double duty; he's still over at WEDG too). God knows, there are some sports talkers out there who know their stuff and won't grate on your nerves that would jump at the chance to give WGR some competition.

1270 the Fan only has a local show on when WGR has a national one (Jim Rome). It makes it a little easier to carve out a place in the market that way. They are also going to carry UB Bulls games (football and basketball).

Going head to head with WGR would be awfully difficult. Regardless of what we think of it, its a long established station thats home of the Sabres and Bills. The only AM stations with the history and local name recognition to go up against them would be WBEN and WKBW. But they are both owned by the same people that own WGR. So they will never go head to head with a sports format.

The last time a local station gave WGR a run for their money was when WNSA was on the air. But they had name recognition due cross promotion with the Empire Sports network as well as many long time local sports talkers/personalities on the air.

1270 the Fan doesn't have the name recognition or marketing power to really go head to head with WGR's local programming.

 

[LaFontaineToMogilny]

I listen to WGR from outside the radio market, and the quality is mixed, to say the least.

I usually listen to some of the Sabres Hockey Hotline on the way in to work, and I like the concept and the program. It's suffering from some questionable hosts though. Sylvester is just not very good, and Andrew Peters is pretty rough. It's interesting to notice how much better Peters works on the show when Brian Duff is hosting, he knows how to lead Peters in the right direction and doesn't let him get lost in his tangents and incomplete arguments.

One day I was leaving work early and caught some Schopp and the Bulldog that I often hear advertised and was mortified. I opted for listening to music instead after about 10 minutes.

I don't mind Howard Simon in the mornings, though I find Jeremy White's commentary to be next to useless. I usually only catch 15-20 minutes of it on the back end though, so perhaps that is the maximum dosage.

That said, I think my favourite WGR host is John Murphy. I don't even care about the Bills that much, but I still listen to his show on the way home daily. Excellent grasp of the subject, interesting guests and questions, and an excellent radio voice.

 

[joshjull]

@amymoritz: So that's two wins in regulation and four goals scored for the #Sabres this week. I'd like to point out that @BNHarrington is on vacation.

 

[ZZamboni]

@amymoritz: So that's two wins in regulation and four goals scored for the #Sabres this week. I'd like to point out that @BNHarrington is on vacation.

No Harrington comments, tweets and opinions is such sweet music. I hope he loves where he's vacationing and stays there. Then he can convince Bucky and Sullivan to join him.

 

[joshjull]

No Harrington comments, tweets and opinions is such sweet music. I hope he loves where he's vacationing and stays there. Then he can convince Bucky and Sullivan to join him.

I like following Amy on twitter. Good stories on the Sabres and the local college teams. A breath of fresh air on the Sabres beat to be sure

 

[ZZamboni]

I like following Amy on twitter. Good stories on the Sabres and the local college teams

Is she TBN also? I assume she doesn't grind axes like those other 3 asshats.

 

[gallagt01]

Is she TBN also? I assume she doesn't grind axes like those other 3 asshats.

She's employed by TBN. She doesn't carry agendas with her but she definitely shouldn't be on the Sabres' hockey beat.

 

[ZZamboni]

She's employed by TBN. She doesn't carry agendas with her but she definitely shouldn't be on the Sabres' hockey beat.

Why? She's not very good?

 

[gallagt01]

Why? She's not very good?

In my opinion, no. Not at all.

Bucky and Harrington have carried agendas against the Sabres with them for years, but they're talented writers and reporters (more so in Bucky's case) at least. Moritz is neither.

 

[joshjull]

Is she TBN also? I assume she doesn't grind axes like those other 3 asshats.

Yes she is. She's had been covering college and high school sports for awhile and was added to the Sabres beat this year. You can occasionally hear here in the media scrums asking good questions. She's pretty sharp.

 

[joshjull]

In my opinion, no. Not at all.

Bucky and Harrington have carried agendas against the Sabres with them for years, but they're talented writers and reporters (more so in Bucky's case) at least. Moritz is neither.

Wow. Did she piss in your cornflakes at some point?

And those two are talented reporters?

 

[ZZamboni]

In my opinion, no. Not at all.

Bucky and Harrington have carried agendas against the Sabres with them for years, but they're talented writers and reporters (more so in Bucky's case) at least. Moritz is neither.

I see. Ok.

Personally thats why I loath Harrington, Bucky, and Sullivan. I like fair reporting and writing. Keep your agendas out of factually reporting about a game or sport. I don't care how talented they are at constructing paragraphs.

But to each his own

 

[gallagt01]

Wow. Did she piss in your cornflakes at some point?

And those two are talented reporters?

Bucky is a very talented reporter, yes. Harrington is decent. Both are much better than Moritz.

I see. Ok.

Personally thats why I loath Harrington, Bucky, and Sullivan. I like fair reporting and writing. Keep your agendas out of factually reporting about a game. I don't care how talented they are at constructing paragraphs.

But to each his own

That's fair. A couple things, though.

1. Sullivan isn't a reporter. He's a columnist and shouldn't be lumped in with the other two. He's extremely good at what he does.

2. Bucky and Harrington don't report on games (that's Vogl's job). And both guys have had their beef with the Sabres' front office in the past but it's never actually affected their objectivity in non-commentary pieces (other than Harrington misquoting Kaleta last year).

 

[KeepCalmandCorsiOn]

Sullivan is good at what he does?

No, he's not.

 

[ZZamboni]

Sullivan is good at what he does?

No, he's not.

He's obviously appealing to some

I think the same fans also enjoy WGR between 3pm and 7pm weekdays. I could be wrong.

I think he sucks too. But the 10's of fans of his writing keeps him employed.

 

[Paxon]

Bucky is a very talented reporter, yes. Harrington is decent. Both are much better than Moritz.



That's fair. A couple things, though.

1. Sullivan isn't a reporter. He's a columnist and shouldn't be lumped in with the other two. He's extremely good at what he does.

2. Bucky and Harrington don't report on games (that's Vogl's job). And both guys have had their beef with the Sabres' front office in the past but it's never actually affected their objectivity in non-commentary pieces (other than Harrington misquoting Kaleta last year).

Sullivan is "extremely good" at what he does? He knows next to nothing about hockey (which is presumably what we're limited to talking about here) and not all that much about football. His writing is pure bluster. Bucky and Harrington are good reporters? They're at best average sports journalists, but I'd say they're easily a notch below the reporters in most good hockey markets.

 

[ZZamboni]

Sullivan is "extremely good" at what he does? He knows next to nothing about hockey (which is presumably what we're limited to talking about here) and not all that much about football. His writing is pure bluster. Bucky and Harrington are good reporters? They're at best average sports journalists, but I'd say they're easily a notch below the reporters in most good hockey markets.

Well, to be fair, maybe he doesn't read much outside of Buffalo sports writers to compare what good writing and good journalism truly is.

I could be wrong.

 

[gallagt01]

Sullivan is "extremely good" at what he does? He knows next to nothing about hockey (which is presumably what we're limited to talking about here) and not all that much about football. His writing is pure bluster. Bucky and Harrington are good reporters? They're at best average sports journalists, but I'd say they're easily a notch below the reporters in most good hockey markets.

Sullivan is an excellent writer and a great columnist. He's not a hockey guy and he hardly pretends to be. And yes, Bucky is a good reporter. Harrington is decent. Do people even read these guys' stories or do you automatically assume it's trash because it's in TBN?

To suggest that Sullivan, of all of the TBN writers, isn't good at what he does is complete ********. Don't agree with what he's writing, fine, but don't denounce the quality of the work, which is of a high level.

Well, to be fair, maybe he doesn't read much outside of Buffalo sports writers to compare what good writing and good journalism truly is.

I could be wrong.

You are. I have a degree in journalism. I read a ton of sports stories from papers across the country. It's what I do. Bucky and Harrington are, as I said, good and decent, respectively. Not great, not poor. As for Sully, while he's not much of a journalist at this stage of his career, my professors loved his work. He's a very good columnist.

 

[Paxon]

Sullivan is an excellent writer and a great columnist. He's not a hockey guy and he hardly pretends to be. And yes, Bucky is a good reporter. Harrington is decent. Do people even read these guys' stories or do you automatically assume it's trash because it's in TBN?

To suggest that Sullivan, of all of the TBN writers, isn't good at what he does is complete ********. Don't agree with what he's writing, fine, but don't denounce the quality of the work, which is of a high level.

Sullivan is a good enough writer but an obnoxious columnist. Being a good writer does not make him a good columnist. Saying that his quality of work is at a "high level" is hilarious to me because he writes maybe 5 columns a year that are even moderately insightful. Bucky as a good reporter is genuinely bewildering to me. His actual reporting of events is perhaps adequate; everything else is quite bad, including his constantly terrible notions of what could or should be done. That does not equate to being good.

Yes, of course I read TBN articles.

You are. I have a degree in journalism. Bucky and Harrington are, as I said, good and decent, respectively. Not great, not poor. As for Sully, while he's not much of a journalist at this stage of his career, my professors loved his work. He's a very good columnist.

It doesn't surprise me at all that your professors loved his work. His work nails every bland columnist trope that I'd expect to be idealized within that world.