Talking Buffalo

On this episode of the future award-winning Talking Buffalo Podcast, it’s “Five Topic Friday” and Patrick Moran is joined by Joe Miller, host of the Overreaction Sports Podcast on the Buffalo Fanatics podcast network.

Joe’s relatively new to the podcasting game with literally zero radio experience and Patrick’s immediately blown away by his voice and presence, which quickly becomes evident that Joe has a background in music.  He discusses why he started his Overreaction Sports podcast and how he hooked up with the crew at Buffalo Fanatics.

They then jump into the show’s five topics and two are focused on a move within the AFC East that directly impacts the Buffalo Bills.  Cam Newton signed a one-year deal with New England this week and suddenly the Patriots are the trendy pick to once again catapult ahead of the Bills as division favorites.   The guys break down Netwon as a player, agreeing his physical talent makes the Patriots offense significantly more dangerous than were they rolling into the season (assuming there is one) with Jarret Stidham as the starter.   That said, Patrick and Joe disagree if a healthy Cam Newton is better than the 2019 Tom Brady that led the Patriots to a 12-4 regular season record.

It’s also pointed out that Newton lost his last eight starts with the Panthers and while his career record as a starting quarterback is 13 games over .500, that he’s actually only had three winning seasons.

A discussion follows on whether the Patriots deserve to be favorites in the AFC East.  While they still have an elite defense and arguably the best coach in NFL history, it’s a roster depleted with talent beyond just Brady (and Gronk) going to Tampa.

Other topics include the Bills wide receiver room dramatically improving in less than two seasons, if former punter Brian Moorman is deserving of entering the Bills Wall of Fame and the importance of both Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane being signed to big extensions and what could happen if they were to walk in two years.

They also sneak in a few other quick discussions, including a Facebook status Patrick reads off from a friend that captures the spirit of how people should act towards each other and why people need to wear a mask.  Joe, a self-admitted “challenger” has a great take in response.

Joe’s a guy I’m confident Bills fans are going to be hearing from a lot in the near future. He has star potential you just sense in certain people.  Give him a follow on Twitter @JoeMillerWired and be sure to check out his Overreaction Sports podcast on the Buffalo Fanatics podcasting network.

Follow Patrick Moran on Twitter @PatMoranTweets.

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On today’s episode of the future award-winning Talking Buffalo Podcast, Patrick Moran has a conversation with Stu Boyar about his life and career, one that lasted over 35-years at WGRZ-TV alone before retiring last week.

Widely known as one of the nicest people to ever work in the Western New York sports media, the guys go all the way back to Stu’s humble beginnings growing up a child loving sports but not quite great at playing them in Rochester, New York.  Following the realization in high school he would never play second base for the Cleveland Indians and lead them to a World Series, Stu began to set his sights on a sports broadcasting career.

Stu went to Syracuse for college and worked a few jobs before the door ultimately opened to join WGRZ-TV in February of 1985, not long after quitting his previous job in Erie, PA.  Since then Stu has never looked back, becoming a fixture on television sets of countless Western New Yorkers throughout the years.

Stu discusses the process of getting comfortable being on live television, the environment of which he came into at WGRZ more than 35 years ago and some of the memorable things he’s gotten a chance to cover along the way.

They also talk about how Covid changed the newscasting game, when Stu knew the time was coming for his retirement, what it felt like to see himself on the air for the last time and the barrage of well wishes and accolades offered from colleagues, peers and fans on social media all over following his last broadcast, including a nice tribute from Adam Benigni.

They finish with the Fun Fact Finale and we learn plenty more about Stu, including his first celebrity crush, what game show he think he could do well on, his signature karaoke song, three historical dinner guests he’d love to have over and much more.  You can follow Stu on Twitter @StuBoyar.

Following Stu’s interview Patrick wraps up the podcast by giving his initial thoughts on Cam Newton signing with the New England Patriots and how there’s nothing “fake news” about the behavior going on in Florida, including sights he had to see with his own eyes to believe.

Follow Patrick Moran on Twitter @PatMoranTweets.

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Make sure you subscribe to the Talking Buffalo Podcast YouTube Channel, which includes EXCLUSIVE audio content you won’t find anywhere else as well as highlight clips from current and past podcast episodes.

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On this episode of the future award-winning Talking Buffalo Podcast presented by 26 Shirts, Patrick Moran hosts the second half of this week’s “State of the Buffalo Bills” featuring Bills beat reporter at The Buffalo News, Jay Skurski.  Today the guys focus on the defensive side of the ball along with a brief look at special teams.

Whether the defensive line is better or not in 2020 remains to be seen but the unit is unquestionably deeper.  Jay offers has takes on departed defensive lineman Jordan Phillips, who went to Arizona and Shaq Lawson, who cashed in with Miami before the attention turns to free agent additions Mario Addison, Quinton Jefferson and Vernon Butler.  Jay breaks them down along with second-round rookie A.J. Epenesa falling into Buffalo’s lap at the draft while also advising that writing off Trent Murphy may be premature.

While the line is stout with depth, the same can’t be said at linebacker.  Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds are both stars and talked about in detail, but there’s good reason to worry about what’s behind them.

Jay talks about Jordan Poyer becoming a leader and Tre White headed towards a monster pay day in the secondary before the guys debate if signing cornerback Josh Norman was a mistake.

They also touch on special teams, including the brewing kicker battle between incumbent Stephen Haushka and rookie Tyler Bass.

Before hitting up Bills talk the guys page homage to WGRZ-TV sportscaster Stu Boyar, who retired this week after 35-years at Channel 2.  They also discuss Jay’s six-year old son Elliot, who is dominating kids his age in golf tournaments.

Patrick also has thoughts on WGR 550 letting Paul Hamilton going and him being picked up by WGRZ-TV later in the week.

You can follow Jay on Twitter @JaySkurski and be sure to support local journalism by subscribing to The Buffalo News.

Follow Patrick Moran on Twitter @PatMoranTweets.

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Make sure you subscribe to the Talking Buffalo Podcast YouTube Channel, which includes EXCLUSIVE audio content you won’t find anywhere else as well as highlight clips from current and past podcast episodes.

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On this episode of the future award-winning Talking Buffalo Podcast presented by 26 Shirts, Patrick Moran hosts part one “State of the Buffalo Bills” featuring Bills beat reporter at The Buffalo News, Jay Skurski.  Today the guys focus on the offensive side of the ball.

Change was plenty in the Bills defense during the offseason but continuity is the name of the game offensively.  Buffalo returns 10 starters from last year as well as offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

The guy spend a lot of time talking about the most important position on the team, quarterback and Jay offers his candid takes on third-year starter Josh Allen.  It’s widely agreed that if the Bills hold expectations higher than simply making the playoffs for a third time in four years that Allen needs to continue elevating his game.  Jay breaks down the things that can catapult Allen to the next level as well as cautioning against parts of his game that can stunt his growth.  They also debate if the team made a mistake by not taking advantage of an opportunity to upgrade the backup quarterback position.

Stefon Diggs is the big new addition to the offense.  Buffalo traded four picks, including their first-round pick this past April to acquire him from Minnesota. Jay talks about the trading being worth it and how Diggs fits into the offense along with returning wide receivers John Brown and Cole Beasley.  Dawson Know enters his second year at tight end and could be in a line for a second year spike in production with a lot of weapons around him.  Jay has opinions on both as well as running backs Devin Singletary and Zack Moss.

The offensive line is entirely back after the team re-signed Quinton Spain, which likely puts second-year lineman at Cody Ford back at right tackle.  Jay elaborates on why he thinks that’s a good thing but admits the offensive line is a position that worries him.

The guys also spend a few minutes at the top paying homage to legendary WNY high school sports publisher Dick Gallagher, who passed away on Monday at the age of 79.  Dick left a positive impact on their lives as well as countless others he touched.

You can follow Jay on Twitter @JaySkurski and be sure to support local journalism by subscribing to The Buffalo News.

Follow Patrick Moran on Twitter @PatMoranTweets.

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Make sure you subscribe to the Talking Buffalo Podcast YouTube Channel, which includes EXCLUSIVE audio content you won’t find anywhere else as well as highlight clips from current and past podcast episodes.

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On this episode of the future award-winning Talking Buffalo Podcast, it’s time for “Five Topic Friday” and Patrick Moran is joined by managing editor of Sports Gamers Online, Mike Straw to discuss five different topics, all Buffalo Sabres or Bills related.

In shocking fashion the Sabres sent shock waves through the organization this week by changing course and firing general manager Jason Botterill with an in-house replacement in Kevyn Adams, who’s never held an executive position prior.   The guys discuss the firing of Botterill as well as several other executives, scouts and player development coaches that got canned.

Of course, there’s also  the incredibly uncomfortable press conference via Zoom that featured rare appearances from team owners Terry and Kim Pegula where Kim more/less doubled down on her comments suggesting that they know more than the team’s fans.

Patrick and Mike both have takes on that as well as pointing out how this team is essentially yet again in rebuild mode despite the denials of both owners.

There’ a pair of Buffalo Bills topics on the table too, including a discussion about the quarterback position, particularly if Josh Allen has come close to his ceiling yet and if the Bills made a huge mistake by not upgrading the backup quarterback position in a year that saw several former starters hit the open market.

They finish off by discussing Sean McDermott, his quotable comparison between maintaining discipline and joining a gym as a New Year’s resolution, and how at this point Bills fans should be lucky to have him as head coach, especially in light of everything going on with the hockey team.

You can follow Mike on Twitter @MikeStrawMedia and if you’re a gamer, be sure to check out Sports Gamers Online.

Follow Patrick Moran on Twitter @PatMoranTweets.

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On this episode of the future award-winning Talking Buffalo Podcast, Patrick Moran has a conversation with Steve Mathes of Buffalo Fanatics to discuss the Buffalo Bills as well as the Buffalo Fanatics brand and popular YouTube show he co-hosts.

There’s plenty of reasons to excited about the Buffalo Bills going into the 2020 season and most are warranted. The Bills are coming off a 10-6 season that saw them make the playoffs and go up 16 points on Houston in the second half of their playoff game before blowing it.  With Tom Brady gone to Tampa, many pundits have pegged the Bills to win the AFC East.

That said, titles aren’t won on paper in spring and summer and Patrick has Steve address five reasons to pump the brakes a little.  Among those are issues at cornerback after Tre White, weak depth at linebacker, an apparent marriage with Cody Ford at tackle despite rookie struggles there, concern with Matt Barkley should Josh Allen suffer a significant injury and lastly, Allen himself and his ability to become a little more consistent and accurate.

They also spend time talking about Buffalo Fanatics, their popularity on social media and YouTube, how Steve got involved and The Bills Guys podcast he does for the brand among other things.

You can follow Steve on Twitter @JudgeMathes.  Also be sure to check out Buffalo Fanatics for all your Bills news and interactive media, including The Bills Guys Podcast.

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Make sure you subscribe to the Talking Buffalo Podcast YouTube Channel, which includes EXCLUSIVE audio content you won’t find anywhere else as well as highlight clips from current and past podcast episodes.

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On this episode of the future award-winning Talking Buffalo Podcast, Patrick Moran has a conversation with WKBW-TV anchor and reporter Madison Carter on a variety of topics spanning her life and rising career.

Carter’s become a breakout start at Channel 7 with her anchoring and live reporting recently, particularly in the midst of ongoing civil unrest and protesting in Buffalo.  She discusses in detail what it was like reporting live when peaceful protesting turned wild a few weeks ago, marred with incidents that included a van being lit on fire, several businesses damaged, tear gas flying and rubber bullets flying from the police, a young man throwing a box of fire through a broken window and city and just total chaos around downtown Buffalo.   Through it all Carter remained live on the air and thoroughly composed.

Before getting to that they spend a lot of time talking about Madison’s early life.  She grew up in Northern Virginia not far from Washington D.C. and was just in fifth grade when she already began to lock in on college.  She went on to attend Syracuse University and graduated in just two years at the age of 20.

She began her news media career at a TV station in Charlottesville, Virginia and wasn’t on the job long before she was reporting on white nationalist rallies there that became a top story in world news.  During her time in Virginia she won two Associated Press awards for her work on the probation system.

Her opportunity to join WKBW-TV came in the summer of 2018.  Madison talks about that process and how she ultimately turned down an offer in Savannah, Georgia for more money and her parents living just two hours away in Jacksonville to take the job in Buffalo.

There’s plenty of other topics discussed, including a typical day in Madison’s work life pre-Covid and protesting, her relationship with colleagues, living with Diabetes for over 20 years and being president of the Buffalo Association of Black Journalists.

As usual, the interview ends with the “Fun Fact Finale” and we learn some cool stuff about Madison, including the Beyonce song she’d jam out to, her underrated chef skills, worst habit, first celebrity crush, favorite athlete, three dinner guests she’d love to have over and much more.

You can follow Madison on Twitter @Madisonlcarter and course check out her incredible work at WKBW-TV.

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On this episode of the future award-winning Talking Buffalo Podcast, Patrick Moran has a chat with recurring guest Bruce Nolan, co-host of the Nick and Nolan show as well as host of his own brand new The Bruce Exclusive podcast.

Today’s topic is a fun exercise that’s purely hypothetical. Pretending the NFL has closed its doors for eternity, the guys discuss and determine which players still active in the league at the end of last season would wind up in Canton, Ohio as a member of the NFL Hall of Fame.

The intentionally unrealistic premise of the NFL folding is finding out what players have done enough to gain entry into the Hall of Fame with no more games left to play.  Patrick took 35 candidates and broke them down into four candidate categories: locks, near locks, 50/50 guys and long shots. They disagree almost immediately with one of Patrick’s locks and its sets the tone for a pretty riveting discussion on many players.

If that’s not enough, after Patrick’s list is complete Bruce runs down nine candidates never discussed.

The entire segment is chock full of excellent insight and hot takes from Bruce. Through the process, Patrick realizes that one of Bruce’s candidates may be among the most underrated players in NFL history. In the end Bruce unofficially inducts 28 players to Canton, Ohio and their place in history,

Bruce also spends some time talking about his new podcast premiering this week called The Bruce Exclusive, including why he decided to do it, what the content will primarily consist of, what this means for the popular Nick and Nolan show he co-hosts with Nick Bat and plenty more.

You can follow Bruce on Twitter @BruceExclusive and be sure to check out his new podcast, The Bruce Exclusive on Thursdays and Friday as well as episodes of The Nick And Nolan Show, both found on the Buffalo Rumblings Podcast Network.

Follow Patrick Moran on Twitter @PatMoranTweets.

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Make sure you subscribe to the Talking Buffalo Podcast YouTube Channel, which includes EXCLUSIVE audio content you won’t find anywhere else as well as highlight clips from current and past podcast episodes.

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo Podcast, it’s “Five Topic Friday” and Patrick Moran is joined by recurring guest Joe from NYC to discuss in detail a minimum of five different topics in the world of sports and pop culture.

The topics begin with news that the NFL is making teams stay at their facilities for training camp, meaning the Buffalo Bills are one of nine teams that won’t be able to travel to camp, which means no St. John’s Fisher college in Rochester for the first time in 20 years. The guys both have thoughts on that, piggybacking off head coach Sean McDermott feeling being away gives his team several advantages.

A few Buffalo Sabres topics are discussed, including a discussion of Jack Eichel’s growing frustration that was talked about by Mike Harrington on Tuesday’s show as well as the Pegula’s continuing to try and rehab their image, this time by paying Arena employees for the six cancelled home games directly instead of in a myriad of ways, as originally discussed in March.

The two briefly also share takes on their feelings about the NBA, NHL returning soon and possibly MLB as well.

But the meat and potatoes of this episode revolves around Drew Brees’ comments. Patrick and Joe have a very candid and spirited conversation about what they feel is going on in the world today, including reaction from an older text exposed as Bills rookie quarterback Jake Fromme literally as the guys were finishing the segment. It’s worth listening to is all we can say.

Follow Joe on Twitter @BuffaloWins.

Follow Patrick Moran on Twitter @PatMoranTweets.

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Make sure you subscribe to the Talking Buffalo Podcast YouTube Channel, which includes EXCLUSIVE audio content you won’t find anywhere else as well as highlight clips from current and past podcast episodes.

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo Podcast, Patrick Moran has a chat with longtime Buffalo Sabres beat reporter and columnist for the Buffalo News, recurring guest Mike Harrington on topics ranging from the Sabres being a disaster both on and off the ice to a more important non-sports topics taking its toll on all our lives.

The guys talk Sabres, but before dig a little bit into what’s been happening over the past few months. Patrick recalls the last time the guys physically got together last summer for some wings and to tape a podcast before discussing how much the world has changed in just the past few months. From normalcy to quarantine and even curfew, it’s been an insane time in the United States.

Mike talks about the job the Buffalo News and other media have done covering recent events and his feelings towards having political and non-sports fueled commentary on his social media, explaining the slippery slope it can be.

Eventually the conversation turns to the Sabres and as always, Mike isn’t one to mince words. He has strong takes on Jason Botterill returning for a fourth season as Sabres general manager, Jack Eichel being the worst loser on the team in a complimentary way, Rasmus Ristolainen’s over usage, Rasmus Dahlin’s critical development and the job Ralph Krueger did in his first season as head coach.

Mike explains how despite missing a 24-playoff to extend the postseason drought to nine years, the Sabres may not be as far off from being good as some people may think. Patrick at one point also tasks Mike with playing salesperson to sell fans on this organization.

Also included is Mike discussing the challenges of trying to cover a team’s beat in today’s Covid-19 society, thoughts on The Last Dance documentary series that recently aired, whether he likes covering hockey or basketball more and finishes by listing of Mt. Rushmore of Sabres players that he’s personally covered, including a bonus story about another player who took heavy interest in Mike’s work.

Follow Mike Harrington on Twitter @ByMHarrington and of course support local journalism, which needs your support now more than ever by subscribing to The Buffalo News.

Follow Patrick Moran on Twitter @PatMoranTweets.

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Make sure you subscribe to the Talking Buffalo Podcast YouTube Channel, which includes EXCLUSIVE audio content you won’t find anywhere else as well as highlight clips from current and past podcast episodes.

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THANKS TO OUR SHOW SUPPORTERS

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