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Someone at WGR550 sent out the script for today’s ‘Schopp and the Bulldog’ show. Apparently my email is really close to a staff member there, so it landed in my inbox. I thought is was worth sharing with everyone.
Schopp : “Can you really take Enroth out of the lineup the way he’s playing right now?”

Bulldog : “Yes. If Miller is healthy, he’s your best goalie.”

Schopp : “But cmon, the way he’s played? He’s earned some playoff starts.”

Bulldog : “Nope. Miller is your guy.”

Hamilton : “That will never happen. As good as Enroth has played, Miller is still the better goaltender. Not a chance that Ruff starts Enroth if Miller is healthy. We’ve gone over this before”

Schopp : “Guys, really. You won’t even consider the possibility? My wife got back from a tennis match and said she totally thinks Enroth is the better goalie.”

Bulldog : “No.”

Caller : “I agree with you 100% Mike. Enroth should be the starting goaltender on this team. Miller is overpaid. We could trade Miller for 12 forwards and get the same production out of Enroth. What do you guys think of Miller and Gerbe for Richards and..”

Bulldog : “Come on now. Richards is an upcoming free agent. Why would you trade for a guy that will be on the open market?”

Caller : “MILLER HAS NEVER WON US A STANLEY CUP!! GET RID OF HIM!! 6 MILLION DOLLARS CAN GET YOU A TOP 6 FORWARD!!”

Schopp : “Ok, let’s not talk trades here. Hard to really think about all the possibilities when you’ve been studying up for the Lunch Meat Draft.”

Bulldog : “I still can’t comprehend why you’d take capicola over bologna.”

Schopp : “I already have enough versatility with ham and turkey. I really needed a specialist.”

Hamilton : “So you guys don’t want to talk about the Sabres effectively eliminating the Hurricanes last night?”

Schopp : “There’s plenty of time for that. Julian gets really excited when I open up the cold cuts drawer at the house. With my selections, how could he not?”

Sullivan : “I don’t care that they’re in a playoff spot after coming back from dead last in the east. That game in Washington was an abomination!! Blowing leads again!! This team is soft, and Regier should take the blame for that.”

Bulldog : “But, they took 3 out of 4 points on the road with their backup goaltender, and came back from another 2 goal deficit in Washington. That’s an OK weekend, right?”

Sullivan : “No way. This is a playoff race!! They should have taken 8 out of 4 points. I’m sick of you people with low standards for this team. It’s about winning, not about securing a playoff spot, and eliminating opponents. Get your priorities straight.”

Schopp : “Maybe I could have gone with a pastrami instead. I think capicola went too high. Here’s Greg with sports.”

Sometimes the internet is so predictable. (Maybe thats because I run a small part of it…)

Last night, before the Sabres game, I tweeted this:

Beechsack Tom Beecher

Two outcomes for tonight. Win : “ENROTH SHOULD START!!” Lose : “OMG THE SEASON IS OVER WE’RE GOING TO LOSE!!” I predict no Twitter later.

Sure enough, My Name is Jonas tosses up a donut against the Rangers. It’s so nice to have a competent backup goaltender on this team for a change. Enroth may not be as chatty as Marty Pancakes, but he just seems to win games. Can’t argue with that, can you?

Predictably, the first part of my tweet has proven true. The morning has been filled with people that are CONVINCED Enroth should continue to be the starting goaltender on this team, even if Miller is healthy and ready to go.

El Oh El.

Enroth is a good goalie. No doubt in my mind about that. But let’s be honest with ourselves here. He wasn’t dominating in the AHL. He might not have even been the best goalie on the Pirates the way Leggio has played. Do people honestly think that the guy is good enough to step into an NHL playoff race and be a better option than the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, and Olympic MVP? Yes, Miller is having a down year, but he’s your franchise for the time being. If they have any chance at a championship for the next few years, it’s going to be with Miller. Enroth should stay up here and get 20 or so starts next year, but for the time being, Miller is the man.

It’s been said before, but bears repeating. The most popular players in Buffalo are usually the backup goaltender, and the backup QB, because someone hates the guys that are starting.

Come on folks. Be better than that.

Yesterday was Mr. Terry Pegula’s birthday. Hope it was a good day for him. His hockey team is rolling towards the playoffs, and he was probably someplace that was warmer than here. ( 25 degrees in late March = weak.)

However, in the morning, something interesting happened. On the Twitters, someone had the bright idea to the up at the Arena around noon and sing Happy Birthday to T-Pegs.  Only one problem.

T-Pegs wasn’t there.

Some folks thought the idea of this was silly. I am one of them. What was the point exactly? It was defended by those who said ‘ZOMG THE TV STATIONS COVERED IT, IT MUST HAVE BEEN IMPORTANT!!!’. Really? Let’s be honest with ourselves. The easiest way for any news outlet in this town to get readers/viewers is to mention Terry Pegula’s name. They could write a story about an outbreak of genital herpes, tag it with PEGULA, and people would read it.

The fat of the matter is that it wasn’t covered as news because it was important. It was covered because the organizer told the TV stations ‘Look at what we’re doing!!’, and being that Sunday morning isn’t exactly a bustling news day, they sent a couple camera crews down.

Look, if you were one of the 30 people who took time out their morning to go down there, that’s your deal. Although I was accused of it yesterday, I’m not insulting you. I just can’t fathom what the point is to go sing Happy Birthday to an empty room where the person of honor is hundreds of miles away, and not even aware of it.

Honestly, to me, it reeked of a ‘COME LOOK AT ME’ moment, and that’s a pet peeve of mine anyways.

Dear Mrs. Sullivan-

I like your paper. Honestly, I do. It’s not the only news source I read, but one that I check daily. I don’t have a lot of complaints, but today I have one that has compelled me to write.

A day in the life of Sabres beat writer (http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial-page/columns/margaret-sullivan/article353057.ece)

Ignoring the grammatical incorrectness of the headline for a moment, just the title confounded me. Plenty of people who follow the team and the sport closely (that is, lots of your readership) already know what the beat writers do. They know they cover practices, and interview the players/coaches/GMs. They know that they have deadlines to get their game stories in, at the same time being also asked to write a game blog. (Side note : Your industry needs to stop the ‘more with less’ attitude. There are hundreds of credible folks that would write the game blog for free, just for a chance to sit in the press box, and leave your beat writers to focus on the story.) We know that they work strange hours, and are subject to all the wonderfulness of traveling on long road trips.

However, did such revelations REALLY deserve a column from the editor of the paper? To be honest, that column felt more like reading Mr. Vogl’s performance review than anything else.

Don’t get me wrong. I like John Vogl. I like Mike Harrington. Bucky and Sully, not so much for me, but I respect the job they do, if not always how they do it. But did it really deserve a column from the editor of the only paper in town? I don’t think so. Should we expect more columns about the print press guys downstairs? About your photographers? Somehow I don’t think we’ll see that.

The reason for your column is painfully transparent. You’re seething about a professional athlete who dared to have the audacity to question one of the News’ reporters, and the new owner who came at you with similar sentiments. You felt that you had to defend Mr. Vogl from criticism by telling us how great a beat reporter he is.

You failed.

Your reporters constantly qualify their negativity about the sports teams in this town by using the tired line of “The media in other cities would be harder on you, so you should feel lucky.” Well, in those other markets, those sports teams have no qualms about criticizing the media right back. The News has been fortunate that Mr. Golisano and Mr. Quinn decided to simply ignore the News when they dragged them through the mud. As a result, your staff has had a free pass to say whatever they want without recourse.

Those days are over. We now have a star athlete and team owner that have decided that they’re not going to just ignore the media crapping on them. They’re going to stand up and say something when they feel a reporter gets out of line. You’re going to be held accountable for what your people write. I think we can agree that’s a good thing.

In closing, you made my day with Mr. Jones’ words:

But there’s no doubt that Vogl is the backbone who, in Sports Editor Steve Jones’ words, “remembers his print roots while seamlessly making the transition to the electronic age of wall-to-wall coverage.”

This about the man that refereed to Twitter, something his colleague Mike Harrington uses quite well, as a feces infested cesspool, and someone who repeatedly complains in his blogs and columns about the internet access in the press box at the arena. The latter may be a legitimate complaint, but not something that readers need to know, or really care about.

Maybe going forward, your staff should refrain from accusing others of having a ‘thin skin’ while your newspaper is displaying that very trait.

EDIT : Edited to include the link to the TBN story.

What a day!! A unique day in Buffalo sports history, at least in my years. I was only 8 in 1986 when Jim Kelly rode into town to save the Bills, and at that age really had no comprehension of what that really meant to the city and the franchise.

Today was different.

Today we learned that the speculation WAS correct for a change. Terry Pegula wants a Stanley Cup. End of story. He’s not here to make money. Apparently if he’s short, he just needs to go drill a gas well somewhere. I’m totally ok with that.

Today we learned that it’s totally OK to be a grown man, and break down into tears just by being in the same room as on of your sports idols from younger years, even if that room is full of international media covering you taking over the same sports team that you loved so much for so long.

Today we learned that unlike Christin O’Donnell (“I’m you.”), Terry Pegula IS US. He just happens to have a couple billion dollars too. How many sports owners are out there that listened to a game over the phone? How many sat on a bridge hundreds of miles away trying to get a weak AM signal from WGR just to hear his team?

Ours did.

It took me all of 15 seconds to buy into Terry Pegula. When he thanked Tom Golisano for saving HIS team, I knew right then that he was legit. When he took the time during a press conference covered by international media to crack jokes at his daughter’s expense, it was even better. (LOL @ Tweetybirds!!)

Time will tell how it all plays out. None of that matters right now. Tonight, Sabres fans go to bed knowing that one of their own is now in charge. For the first time since the Seymour and Norty Knox ran the show, people feel like we have an owner who CARES.

Tomorrow will be a good day.

I think this speaks for itself.

Next time, give the $200 to charity or something instead of spending it on this……whatever it is.

By now, anyone following the Sabres knows what happened after the collapse against the Islanders. Ryan Miller took exception to some questions, and the night ended up in a shouting match between Miller and Jerry Sullivan. Predictably, Sullivan wrote a column about it last night, but I had some thoughts on the matter too.

Any fan can see that Miller isn’t playing very well right now. Especially when framed with the successes of last season, he can look downright bad at times. Against the Islanders, he gave up a couple very soft goals that we got used to him making with regularity. After losing that game 7-6 in OT, and knowing that his own play was the reason they gave up a point, I think it’s understandable that Miller might be a little pissed in general. Maybe not at anyone in particular, but pissed altogether. Who hasn’t been mad at themselves and lashed out at someone else?

When John Vogl (!!FECES!!) from The Buffalo News started to interview Miller, it was obvious that Miller was agitated. He didn’t particularly care for what Vogel was asking, but the exchange was rather innocuous. Vogl was asking legitimate questions, and I think under most circumstances Miller would have had no problems asking them. Then, Sullivan chimed in to ‘help’ clarify one of Vogl’s questions. Miller shot back at Sully, saying that Vogl could speak for himself. Sully of course took exception to this. According to Brad Riter’s account, Sully called Miller ‘thin skinned’. Miller responded with a comment about how Sullivan never showed up in the locker room, to which Sullivan cannonballed right past any modicum of journalistic integrity. Sully’s quote from Brad Riter’s blog:

I’m sorry. I wasn’t here to talk about it with you after any of the other 14 games this season in which you’ve allowed 4 goals or more.

This of course degenerated into a shouting match with F bombs being thrown around, and that’s where the reports stopped.

Think about this quote for a second. For starters, what is Sullivan even doing in there? He’s a columnist, not the beat reporter. Mike Harrington and John Vogl are in that locker room after EVERY game. They’re the beat reporters assigned to cover the team. Sully has no business sticking his nose into things when Vogl is there doing his job.

Beyond that, it was clearly an attempt by Sully to throw gas on the fire. Miller was pissed off. Everyone in there could see it. Instead of understanding that the guy was pissed and being a little diplomatic in his questioning, he intentionally provoked Miller with his 4 goal comment. I’d expect to hear that on sports talk radio, or maybe some tool in the stands, but not from our reporters.

Of course, when Sully filed his news column that night, no mention is made of the fact that HE is the one that set Miller off. No, the story is only that Miller is ‘fragile’, and he went off on the media after the loss. It’s amazing how much perspective you lose when omitting certain facts about events. Maybe that’s something they teach at Mizzou, but I doubt it.

Kudos to Brad Riter for exposing Sullivan’s antics. They wouldn’t be out there otherwise. Later today on WGR, I’m sure Sullivan will continue to rant about Miller’s allegedly thin skin, while completely ignoring the fact that his inappropriate comment is what ignited the fracas. He’ll continue to talk about how important opinion columnists are in covering the team, which is a load of nonsense. He’ll continue to throw stones at pro athletes, yet continue to cry foul if that athlete fires back.

Maybe someday we’ll be fortunate to have another reporter of Jim Kelley’s ilk working for our one paper town. Someone who could be critical of the players when needed, but fair to them at the same time. Jim Kelley hated it when Hasek went after him, not because of what he wrote, but because he became part the story. He knew that should never happen.

Maybe Jerry Sullivan could learn that fact too.

Ever since the Snowpocalypse that wasn’t, I’ve been reading a lot of people really lay in to weather forecasters in this town. Mike Harrington from The Buffalo News has really been snarky on his Twitter feed lately about the subject. (His latest : “Dear weather bozos: It’s worse out there tonight than it was the night of the end of the world storm earlier this week.” ) In my opinion, these guys are getting a bad rap.

Weather forecasting is obviously not an exact science. It’s based on observation and modeling. Atmospheric conditions are observed, data is recorded, and predictions are made from that data. Seems pretty scientific (and it is), but sometimes the atmosphere reacts in ways that are difficult to predict. That’s why they call it forecasting.

When this big storm came though other parts of the country, it had dumped a couple feet of snow everywhere along it’s path. It was certainly not unreasonable to think it would drop over a foot here. But, as we all know, it didn’t. Why? The warmer part of the storm moved farther north than initially predicted, so we got a lot of freezing rain and sleet instead of snow. Shouldn’t we be pissed off that the weathermen said one thing and something else happened?

No.

For starters, if anyone had listened to the ACTUAL forecast, and not just the reporter hype ABOUT the forecast, they’d have known that it was repeated MULTIPLE times that we could get much less depending on the storm’s path. That’s right.. THEY SAID THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN. Nobody seems to remember that part though. They focus on the fact that all of the local media dedicated 15 minutes of a 30 minute news broadcast to hyping this storm. Somehow, the fault of the program directors became the mistake of the forecasters. Totally wrong. People have a legitimate gripe about media hype of forecasts, but I wish people thought for 5 seconds and realized that it’s not the weathermen pushing for that.

Mr. Harrington fired off a comment about how he’d lose his job if he was wrong 50% of the time. Maybe so, but our weathermen are right a hell of a lot more than that. It’s almost an insult to say that they are THAT wrong. Like a good offensive lineman in football, nobody says anything when they do their job, but they’ll yell and scream when a mistake is made. If that sounds like how weathermen are treated to you too, it probably should.

Mike also overlooks a significant fact. He covers sports. He deals in facts. He tells is what happened in a game, what a player said, and gives some commentary about what it might mean. The core of a sports reporter’s job is to tell us FACTS. I’m not saying it’s easy, but compared to meteorology, it’s easy.  Weathermen have to look at facts, compare them to facts that happened in the past, and make a prediction of what will happen based on those facts and any number of unknown variables. Yeah, that seems harder to me. The fact that they can never know all the facts, yet are still expected to make an accurate prediction, is pretty telling.

All of these folks that bitched because we got 4 inches instead of 14 would also have been bitching if they predicted 4 and we did get 14. Watch your Facebook page next time they under-predict something. You’ll see it.

People should stop bitching and moaning when a forecast is occasionally wrong, and start appreciating the greater number that are right. Their job is probably harder than yours.

By now, most people who wanted to have heard the Golisano presser. He came off pretty well I thought, although I could have done without some of the political stuff.  The basic summary of of the presser and reactions :

BTG : We did some good stuff here. The franchise was a mess, and we did what we thought was right as best we could. Maybe we weren’t perfect, but we tried. When Balsille tried to give us $250M if we’d move to Hamilton, we told him to pound sand.

MEDIA : ZOMG WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL US ABOUT REGIER’S EXTENSION!

LQ : We wanted Regier to be our GM. We agreed on the contract, and that was that.

MEDIA :  ZOMG DRURY AND BRIERE!!

BTG : We made a choice. Maybe we could have done it differently.

MEDIA : ZOMG YOU’VE RUN THIS TEAM INTO THE GROUND!!

BTG : We tried. All these teams are trying.

WGR : DRURY!! BRIERE!! CONTRACT!!! ARGGGHHH!!! BAD OWNER!! HE SHOULDN’T HAVE WANTED TO BREAK EVEN!! DRURY!! BRIERE!! HE WAS CHEAP!! ARRGGGGHHH!! I DON’T CARE ABOUT THE THINGS GOLISANO DID RIGHT!! HE DIDN’T WIN A CUP!! HE’S A BUM!!! BRIERE!! DRURY!!

I did enjoy Mike Harrington from TBN having the balls to ask a controversial question and stand up for it though. I expected Bucky to play his tough guy card, but he pulled a Rick DiPietro and tucked his manhood between his legs for the afternoon.

Hope someday we get more legitimate sports media in this town. Listening to those hacks on WGR bitch and moan about the Sabres organization after spending most of the last 7 years sucking up is just nauseating. Absolutely pathetic.

EDIT: Bipolar day on WGR. First they shit on BTG/LQ, then they build them back up in the hour before the interview with BTG. They don’t really push against what BTG says in the interview, but then Mike Schopp comes back on Twitter after:

Schopptalk Mike Schopp

Tom Golisano plays the “29 other teams” card. I’m ready for something more like how Tiger Woods used to sound. (“Second place sucks.”)

Maybe next time he’ll have the balls to say that directly to an interviewee rather than stashing it somewhere where BTG will never see it. (Not like he should care. He’s done with the Buffalo media.)