Is WGR doing a disservice to the Sabres?

[Pimlach]

On 12/8/2022 at 8:41 AM, mjd1001 said:

I don't mind Dunlevy. It took a few games (months) to get used to him. He isn't great but he's fine to me.  A disgrace? I have no idea how anyone can say he is a disgrace. he has gotten a little better on the radio with letting you know the Sabres score, and the rest of the time he tells me what is going on and doesn't make many mistakes.  I don't need/want much more 'personality' from my play by play guy.  Ray...eh, hes ok. Nothing great but I can deal with him.

Curious to what age you are?  To me, Dunleavy is especially weak on radio, I have no picture in my mind of where the puck actually most of the time with Dunleavy calling the game.  I grew up with Ted Darling, so my bar is high.  

I think Dunleavy is less bad on TV as I do not have to rely on him as much.  Even yesterday while watching on TV, we were killing a penalty and having considerable trouble clearing the puck under pressure, finally someone cleared it, and Dan's call was: "its cleared by a Sabre".  This was Tage and he did a fantastic job using his reach and power to win a puck battle and backhand the puck out of our zone.   Dan missed an opportunity to share with the fans another part of his game.  It was one of the small plays that helped us win.  On the radio pretty much all you get from him is who scores.  

As for personality from the play-by-play man, think of RJ.   The one thing RJ had over Ted Darling was his emotional personality, which leads to energy and to epic calls, and it got him a banner in the rafters.  I do not expect him to be RJ, but Buffalo is used to RJ and his emotion and humor.   Incidentally, both Darling and RJ are in the Hall of Fame for Hockey broadcasting, so Dunleavy has a huge, and maybe unfair chinning bar.  

So, I grade Dan as average on TV, below average on radio.   He has a good voice.    He can improve his accuracy in calling he game.  First by tracking the puck position better and continuously updating the puck position as the play moves.  He can describe this by use of the lines and circles on the ice to track position, but he doesn't do it enough.   Once he gets puck position down, he can work on knowing who is out there.  The better announcers know both team's players and call them by name.  

[mjd1001]

2 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Curious to what age you are?  To me, Dunleavy is especially weak on radio, I have no picture in my mind of where the puck actually most of the time with Dunleavy calling the game.  I grew up with Ted Darling, so my bar is high.  

Late 40's.  I have some faint memories of listening to Ted Darling.  This may be blasphemous to some, but I actually preferred Darling over RJ from what I remember.

[Pimlach]

3 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Late 40's.  I have some faint memories of listening to Ted Darling.  This may be blasphemous to some, but I actually preferred Darling over RJ from what I remember.

Not at all.  He was great and RJ will be the first to tell you that.  Darling had the technique to describe the play in a synchronous accurate manner, and the velvet voice.  RJ had the technique and he brought in big doses of emotion mixed with humor.  

Ray. I want to like him, and he is ok.  I like his humor.  But when I watch some other broadcasts, I hear his limitations. 

[JoeSchmoe]

3 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

Late 40's.  I have some faint memories of listening to Ted Darling.  This may be blasphemous to some, but I actually preferred Darling over RJ from what I remember.

Late 40s too. When I was a kid I used to imitate Darling with his monotonous style when I was stickhandling and shooting in the driveway or basement, but my dad and I liked RJ better. When playing the Leafs and watching their broadcast we'd turn off the TV sound so we could hear RJ. I don't think we'd have done that for Ted.

Edited December 16, 2022 by JoeSchmoe

[Goldseatsaud]

Ted darling lived on locust street in Lockport had one of nicer homes 

[Eleven]

The trade deadline is in two days and they're talking about Gabe Davis.  Not Leslie Frazier--that would be understandable--Gabe Davis.

[Scottysabres]

10 minutes ago, Eleven said:

The trade deadline is in two days and they're talking about Gabe Davis.  Not Leslie Frazier--that would be understandable--Gabe Davis.

Can he play net?

[ExWNYer]

3 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

Can he play net?

Teams would be able to beat him to the glove side for sure...

[Porous Five Hole]

19 minutes ago, Eleven said:

The trade deadline is in two days and they're talking about Gabe Davis.  Not Leslie Frazier--that would be understandable--Gabe Davis.

They were talking about Sabres at 7:45am and aldo teased that Sneaky Joe (locked on Sabres podcast) had a 1:1 with GMKA. Said to check his Twitter. 

[LGR4GM]

11 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

Can he play net?

Hopefully because he can't play WR. 

[Night Train]

1 hour ago, Eleven said:

The trade deadline is in two days and they're talking about Gabe Davis.  Not Leslie Frazier--that would be understandable--Gabe Davis.

NFL Combine in Indy going on. 

Mike (Francesa) and the Mad Dog  ( Chris Russo ) pretty much launched talk radio In NYC years back and now thoudands of markets try the same thing. The shows are too long and much of it is talking about personal nonsense the listeners have no interest in. Filler.

The hockey show with Biron and Duff on MSG is an hour and even they struggle to fill it, although they seem very in tune with all NHL teams. These 3-4 hour radio shows are terrible and unfocused babble dominates the majority of the time. Like posters above mentioned, listen to the podcasts that are available everywhere. WGR 550 has a link to many. 

[matter2003]

On 12/16/2022 at 12:08 PM, Pimlach said:

Curious to what age you are?  To me, Dunleavy is especially weak on radio, I have no picture in my mind of where the puck actually most of the time with Dunleavy calling the game.  I grew up with Ted Darling, so my bar is high.  

I think Dunleavy is less bad on TV as I do not have to rely on him as much.  Even yesterday while watching on TV, we were killing a penalty and having considerable trouble clearing the puck under pressure, finally someone cleared it, and Dan's call was: "its cleared by a Sabre".  This was Tage and he did a fantastic job using his reach and power to win a puck battle and backhand the puck out of our zone.   Dan missed an opportunity to share with the fans another part of his game.  It was one of the small plays that helped us win.  On the radio pretty much all you get from him is who scores.  

As for personality from the play-by-play man, think of RJ.   The one thing RJ had over Ted Darling was his emotional personality, which leads to energy and to epic calls, and it got him a banner in the rafters.  I do not expect him to be RJ, but Buffalo is used to RJ and his emotion and humor.   Incidentally, both Darling and RJ are in the Hall of Fame for Hockey broadcasting, so Dunleavy has a huge, and maybe unfair chinning bar.  

So, I grade Dan as average on TV, below average on radio.   He has a good voice.    He can improve his accuracy in calling he game.  First by tracking the puck position better and continuously updating the puck position as the play moves.  He can describe this by use of the lines and circles on the ice to track position, but he doesn't do it enough.   Once he gets puck position down, he can work on knowing who is out there.  The better announcers know both team's players and call them by name.  

Yesterday listening to the radio might have been the worst Sabres broadcast I ever heard, especially in the 2nd period...you literally had no idea what was going on for chunks of time because Ray and Dunleavy were talking about something completely unrelated to what was happening while the play was going on. Not sure what was worse, the Sabres play in that game or the radio broadcast...they were both brutal and unacceptable. I was actually wondering if they were high or drunk or something because it was so much worse than what it normally is...just rambling on about nothingness.

Edited March 1, 2023 by matter2003

[mjd1001]

26 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

Yesterday listening to the radio might have been the worst Sabres broadcast I ever heard, especially in the 2nd period...you literally had no idea what was going on for chunks of time because Ray and Dunleavy were talking about something completely unrelated to what was happening while the play was going on. Not sure what was worse, the Sabres play in that game or the radio broadcast...they were both brutal and unacceptable. I was actually wondering if they were high or drunk or something because it was so much worse than what it normally is...just rambling on about nothingness.

I know the broadcast on the radio is secondary to the TV broadcast....but one thing I think they could do when calling the game that would NOT take away from the TV broadcast is every couple of minutes just say the score.   On the radio, it is almost critical to listeners....when there is that 5 second gap where not much is going on just say "3-2 Sabres with 8 and a half minutes left in the second"   It would take zero away from the TV broadcast and would make the radio call that much better.

A lot of people listening on the radio are running errands or getting in and out of the car. Frustrating to get in the car, turn on the radio, listen to the game for sometimes 5 minute or more and STILL have no idea what the score is.  It is such a simple, EASY thing to fix.  Just say the score every few minutes, work in that 4-6 word phrase.

Edited March 1, 2023 by mjd1001

[bob_sauve28]

13 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

Yesterday listening to the radio might have been the worst Sabres broadcast I ever heard, especially in the 2nd period...you literally had no idea what was going on for chunks of time because Ray and Dunleavy were talking about something completely unrelated to what was happening while the play was going on. Not sure what was worse, the Sabres play in that game or the radio broadcast...they were both brutal and unacceptable. I was actually wondering if they were high or drunk or something because it was so much worse than what it normally is...just rambling on about nothingness.

They are like that all the time. Almost pointless just listening on the radio. It’s pathetic 

[Pimlach]

20 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

Yesterday listening to the radio might have been the worst Sabres broadcast I ever heard, especially in the 2nd period...you literally had no idea what was going on for chunks of time because Ray and Dunleavy were talking about something completely unrelated to what was happening while the play was going on. Not sure what was worse, the Sabres play in that game or the radio broadcast...they were both brutal and unacceptable. I was actually wondering if they were high or drunk or something because it was so much worse than what it normally is...just rambling on about nothingness.

It is common.  they stink on the radio.  They do not do play by play.  I never know where the puck is.  It is frustrating to listen to.  

We had Ted, we had RJ, we had excellent teams for 40 years - then it ended.  

Edited March 1, 2023 by Pimlach

[mjd1001]

18 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

I know the broadcast on the radio is secondary to the TV broadcast....but one thing I think they could do when calling the game that would NOT take away from the TV broadcast is every couple of minutes just say the score.   On the radio, it is almost critical to listeners....when there is that 5 second gap where not much is going on just say "3-2 Sabres with 8 and a half minutes left in the second"   It would take zero away from the TV broadcast and would make the radio call that much better.

A lot of people listening on the radio are running errands or getting in and out of the car. Frustrating to get in the car, turn on the radio, listen to the game for sometimes 5 minute or more and STILL have no idea what the score is.

 

7 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

It is common.  they stink on the radio.  They do not do play by play.  I never know where the puck is.  It is frustrating to listen to.  

We had Ted, we had RJ, we had excellent teams for 40 years - then it ended.  

I did notice that when RJ was radio only years and years ago, he was better than he was when he took over TV.  There was a time he did radio and Darling did TV, and RJ gave the score much more often then, once he took over TV and they just broadcast that on the radio, he got worse that way.

[Contempt]

On 12/7/2022 at 12:06 PM, inkman said:

I listen to WGR an absurd amount.  Usually anywhere from 4-7 hours a day.  I try to catch any and all Sabres content they provide.  The Instigators is great for this. Sports Talk Saturdays are usually heavy with Sabres content.

But the stations two mainstay shows, Howard & Jeremy and Schopp & Bulldog have been super light on content, in particular the last week or so.  With the team looking so good, the kid line tearing up the NHL, Tage bursting into a superstar, Dahlin looking like a Norris nominee and Power and Samuelsson blossoming into NHL stalwarts; finding Sabres content on WGR has been frustrating.  
 

I realize NFL and the Bills are king in Buffalo.  I just think with the team struggling to get butts in the seats, there would be a push to promote the aforementioned things rather than dedicating hours upon hours to OBJ watch.
 

Is it just me?  

Win more and people will talk about you more.

[inkman]

5 minutes ago, Contempt said:

Win more and people will talk about you more.

What’s the threshold?  Aren’t they winning now?  Maybe it’s just the die hards as we see the potential unfolding.  Casual fans tune in to a game like last night and say same old Sabres I guess.  
 

This should be driving Adams to at least make a push for the playoffs.  One good playoff series will inject life into this fanbase. 

[bob_sauve28]

On 12/16/2022 at 6:17 PM, Goldseatsaud said:

Ted darling lived on locust street in Lockport had one of nicer homes 

I was never a fan of his. I was always saying that RJ should take over. I would turn on the radio and turn down the sound on the tv. I didn't start watching Sabres until 1979 so maybe I just caught Darling on the down side 

[Taro T]

53 minutes ago, inkman said:

What’s the threshold?  Aren’t they winning now?  Maybe it’s just the die hards as we see the potential unfolding.  Casual fans tune in to a game like last night and say same old Sabres I guess.  
 

This should be driving Adams to at least make a push for the playoffs.  One good playoff series will inject life into this fanbase. 

So, last night being streaming & radio only was a stroke of genius.  None of the casual fans saw how horrible they were in the 2nd last night.

[Radar]

Original post asks if WGR is doing a disservice to the Sabres . They're doing disservice to broadcasting.

Edited March 1, 2023 by Radar

[Contempt]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

What’s the threshold?  Aren’t they winning now?  Maybe it’s just the die hards as we see the potential unfolding.  Casual fans tune in to a game like last night and say same old Sabres I guess.  
 

This should be driving Adams to at least make a push for the playoffs.  One good playoff series will inject life into this fanbase. 

Make the playoffs. Win a series. I dunno. I'm not ready to say they are winning right now. Especially when they crap themselves on home ice regularly.

[In The Buff]

2 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

  It is such a simple, EASY thing to fix.  Just say the score every few minutes, work in that 4-6 word phrase.

would be a good idea. In the meantime thankfully i can look at my cell phone to look at the scores there lol

[Night Train]

1 hour ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I was never a fan of his. I was always saying that RJ should take over. I would turn on the radio and turn down the sound on the tv. I didn't start watching Sabres until 1979 so maybe I just caught Darling on the down side 

 You did. Ted was very good until his illness kicked in. Like RJ, you ALWAYS knew where the puck was and the action was described with great detail.

 I agree that todays play by play people seem distracted and prone to blathering about too much other stuff other than the live action. 

[Ross Rhea]

I tuned in yesterday around 3:15 pm or so to hear some talk about Leslie Frazier, the upcoming combine, the NHL trade deadline, Sabre talk about possibly getting J Chychrun and oh no, can't talk about any of that as it's irrelevant to Schlepp. All he wanted to talk about is fantasy this fantasy that and betting on stuff. The female gambling insider, I guess that's who she was was terrible, Schlepp is terrible! For about 45 mins while I was doing other things while listening, with all this other significant sports going on Schlepp not once talked about anything other than fantasy or gambling, wtf! Had to turn it off. Why can't WGR get rid of him and do better! 

Edited March 1, 2023 by Ross Rhea