Buffalo Sports casts are downright pathetic
I've been in quite a few of the Buffalo News chats where reporters have taken issue with fans calling out the media for not asking tough questions. I do feel that the reporters at the News do a decent job in asking tough questions and write columns that aren't kissing any of the sports teams' asses. However, I understand where a lot of the criticism comes from.
While I was home for Christmas, I made it a nightly occurrence to watch the local sportscast. Alan Pergament stole a little bit of my thunder in an article yesterday in the paper, but the local TV sportscasts are a complete disaster.
Don't get me wrong, I understand that you only have about 3-4 minutes to do sports and the downsizing of sportscasts in the country is very alarming, but you can make the most of your time.
For instance, Channel 4 and 7 both have half-hour shows on Sunday night dedicated to the Buffalo sports scene. If you're hoping to tune in to hear some hard hitting opinions of the Bills or Sabres organization, you may as well goto a bar or read my blog. Not only did any of these anchors have an opinion about the Chan Gailey or Buddy Nix hiring, but they talked local sports for about 10 minutes and then went on to talk about the the remaining NFL playoffs.
Um, sorry, but I don't give a rats ass what John Murphy or Jeff Russo think about the Jets chances in the playoffs. I'd rather hear their thoughts about Chan Gailey, the Bills needs for the offseason, and the embarrassment of no one wanting the Bills job. If they're running out of material to talk about then bring in another media member or a player onto the show.
Now if or when they decide to make an opinion about the Bills, you can only take it with a grain of salt because of the station's ties with the Bills. To me, John Murphy doing play-by-play and Channel 7 being the "official station of the Bills" is nothing more than a conflict of interest.
As for Channel 2, I have to agree with Pergament on his claims that Ed Kilgore should have aired his opinion of the Bills coaching news on TV. But honestly, what the hell was Ed going to say? His opinion about the Bills over the years have been more optimistic than people who think both political parties will agree on a health care plan. Sorry, but optimism went out the door with this franchise around 2006, yet it seems like being the Bills' patsy is still in style.
Bottom line is this, it's 2010 and journalism has changed. Yes, it's about being unbiased and stating the facts, but in a sports town that has no regional sports channel and ESPN thinking Buffalo is in Canada, the public wants to hear your takes.
What radio needs
You want to know what the greatest sports radio show in Buffalo was? No, it wasn't the actor's draft. It was WNSA's Sharp Shooters with Howard Simon, Jim Kelley and Mike Robiatille. What made the show so great was that you had the hot stove views from Kelley and the player's perspective from Mike Robiatille.
I just think that some of the former athletes who come on the radio really don't have much to say. I'm sorry, but when Thurman Thomas or Jim Kelly go on WGR, they just spue out optimism and I can't take them seriously because of their ties with the Bills. Hell, I'm still waiting for Thurman Thomas to tell me what gift Bills' fans were suppose to get under their Christmas tree regarding the coaching search. Even Ruben Brown on Riter Radio, who seems like a great guy, but after listening, I feel like I haven't learned anything.
Now look, I'm very critical of ex-athletes on the radio or television, because they have those jobs because of what they did while playing, not for what they did in radio and TV. I think Thurman, Ruben and Jim are funny, but they just don't offer that much in astute observations. I'd love to have WGR mix Thurman with Jerry Sullivan and try and get the chemistry that Kelley and Robie had years ago.
WECK isn't whacked
I don't know what it is about The Buffalo News, but whenever their reporters get on the radio, it's always a must hear. I've already talked at lengths that Jerry Sullivan on WGR is my favorite radio show (Unless he's talking about his strange love for Meryl Streep). But now WGR's rival, 1220 WECK, is tapping into the resources of TBN.
First you get Bucky Gleason, who I know isn't a big fan of many, but he's probably the most knowledgeable person on the news staff of both football and hockey (Sorry, Harrington). He's normally on Riter Radio on Wednesdays, with the time ranging from 15 minutes to an hour. It's a fun hour with Bucky being pretty candid about the state of affair in Buffalo Sports.
On Saturdays, The Sports Insiders with Joe Major (WECK Sports Reporter), Rodney McKissic and Allen Wilson (Both from TBN) airs for two hours in the morning. Last weekend, the guys were talking candidly about how the Bills made a mockery of the Rooney rule by interviewing John Guy for the GM job and then canning him only three weeks later. No smoke or whistles with these guys, they just bring it when it comes to football talk. If I have any suggestions, it's that they need to lose Ace of Base and Quad City DJ's as their music bed. Other than the music mishap, the station is definitely worth a listen.
Mike Schopp vs the NFL
Look, I'll be the first to say that the Vikings and Saints game had some questionable calls, but it sure didn't ruin the ending of a climatic championship game. But Mike Schopp sure thinks so. Schopp felt that the OT was a complete joke because of the officiating. I can only assume it was the pass interference call. Seriously though, even if that call wasn't made, the Saints offense would have moved down the field and scored. On his show today, he and the Bulldog went crazy about the booth reviews in OT and the yellow first down line on TV pissing them off.
This isn't the first time Schopp's hatred and criticism of a great NFL game has happened. He did the same thing in the Packers vs Cardinals wild card game, when it was argued that the Cardinals committed a facemask penalty on the Aaron Rodgers fumble return for the game winning touchdown (NFL came out and said they made the right call). Of course, Schopp couldn't let the facemask call slide and just chastised the entire NFL for it. Schopp either kills the NFL for boring games or he picks on them for having great games.
This is nothing more that WGR's hell bent attitude of crapping all over the NFL and making the NHL (whose officiating is an even bigger joke) into the kings of the world. I don't hear the hosts bitch about the annoyance of goal reviews in hockey, when they show whether a player had a kicking motion or not. I'm also still waiting on the NHL to tell me what happen to calling obstruction penalties.
Sorry, but how can 53 million people who watch the NFL in this country be completely wrong?
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