Talking Buffalo

This episode of the Moran-Alytics Podcast features Patrick Moran and his buddy Joe with an extended edition of the recurring “Run-In With Joe.”

Today the guys are talking about how rottenly spoiled the Boston sports fan base is, particularly those 30 years and under. Simply put, Moran is convinced they can’t relate to other sports fan bases.  As evidence, Moran points out how over the last 18 years the Patriots have been to the playoffs 17 times (with six championships), the Red Sox 10 times (four championships), the Celtics 14 times (one championship) and Bruins 12 times (one championship.)  Meanwhile the Buffalo Bills have seen one playoff game during that span with the Sabres in danger of missing the playoffs for an eighth straight year.

They also talk about the Bills being tied with Arizona for dead last in next year’s Super Bowl champion odds at 150-to-1 while debating the future of Bills running back and biggest “star” player Lesean McCoy. They also deliberate the significance of another Carolina connection, Ken Dorsey being added to the Buffalo coaching staff.

They also talk a little WWE regarding Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Dean Ambrose before Joe (@buffalowins) manages to work in church, germs and handshaking reluctance all in one take.  Moran ends the segment pondering if he’ll ever forgive Joe for not immediately recognizing one of the most iconic songs of the 1980s.

Moran also has a take on NBA superstar/oversensitive jerk Kevin Durant in the podcast opening and admits he’s stoked for the Grammy’s on Sunday thanks to Alicia Keys later in the episode.

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On this episode of the Moran-Alytics Podcast, Patrick Moran chats with ESPN Buffalo Bills beat reporter Mike Rodak about a handful of New  England Patriots and Bills topics.

Rodak was previously a guest on the podcast back last May (Episode No. 25) and then we learned plenty about Mike beyond his ESPN job, including his upbringing, education, career journey and his takes on a ton of sports media, social media and fun human interest topics.

Today’s conversation is more to the point as Rodak weighs in on the Patriots perhaps now the greatest dynasty of all-time, not just in football but all of sports.  He also has insight as to why the Patriots aren’t on the same popularity level as some of other all-time great dynasties in other sports, talks about what makes them nearly unstoppable, warns fans that they’re not going away anytime soon and offers his opinion on why we may not have seen the last of Gronk.

Mike also has takes on a handful of Bills topics, including Lesean McCoy’s future with the team, what incumbent offensive lineman may be back in 2019 and a position the team may spend heavy resources on that most fans probably don’t expect.

You can follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeRodak and check out his work at ESPN.com.

Immediately after Moran is joined by his buddy Tone Pucks (@tonepucks) for another installment of “Pat with Pucks.”  The two are complaining about the Super Bowl, a lackluster 2018 NFL season in general, the NBA owning a lot of Super Bowl week and a discussion about the ongoing Buffalo Sabres struggles.

Also, Patti LaBelle, Human League and Culture Club somehow end up getting worked into the segment.

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On the episode of the Moran-Alytics Podcast, Patrick Moran has an extended interview with Sports Illustrated senior writer Alex Prewitt.

Born in Manhattan but raised in Northern Virginia, Prewitt talks about growing up a sports fan of many athletes but never completely attached to one team. A baseball player as a youth, Prewitt decided to attend Tufts University in Massachusetts in part because it would give him an opportunity to play D-III college baseball.  While already sensing sports journalism may be his career path before arriving on campus, his vision began to take shape while at college. He went to intern at several high profile places and ultimately would land his first big job covering the University of Maryland football and basketball beats for the Washington Post.

Despite having zero experience covering hockey and seeing a total of one NHL game live previously, Prewitt was eventually assigned the Washington Capitals beat.  Prewitt crammed and honed his craft, excelling at covering the spot and it ultimately led him to an opportunity at Sports Illustrated in 2015. Going there and leaving the Washington Post is a decision Prewitt calls the toughest decision he’s ever had to make.

The interview covers his entire career, his lukewarm feelings towards Twitter and a brilliant feature story he wrote on Buffalo Sabres franchise center Jack Eichel before giving his opinion on if the Sabres will find themselves in the playoffs at the end of the regular season.

You can follow Alex on Twitter @Alex_Prewitt and be sure to check out his work at Sports Illustrated.

There’s also another “Run-In With Joe” segment featuring Joe (@BuffaloWins).  Today the guys are discussing a story written by Tim Graham of The Athletic that outlined the challenges the Buffalo Bills face when trying to attract prominent NFL free agents. It quickly turns testy as they disagree on how the Bills should spend money in regards to salary cap ramifications. They also have a discussion about a few WWE topics, with Moran calling Becky Lynch the biggest star in the company today, male or female while Joe has a take on being excited over the potential future of AEW.

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On this episode of the Moran-Alytics Podcast, Patrick Moran chats with WROC-TV Rochester sports reporter/anchor Dan Fetes on a variety of topics.

Fetes talks about being born and raised in Webster, New York and growing up a fan of the Buffalo Sabres and Atlanta Braves.  He liked playing sports as a child while also learning young that it was fun to “play” sports reporter. It’s a path that led him to SUNY Fredonia for college; giving him both an opportunity to play baseball and learn about the sports journalism profession.  Fetes talks about how going to a small school had its advantages and ultimately helped hone his craft.

Fetes also reveals his biggest influences in the sports media, describes his favorite and least favorite parts about his profession, offers his take on social media, gives Sabres fans insight on some of Rochester’s top prospects and goes through the Mini-Lightning Round, where we learn of his fondness for Genny Light, The Replacements, Pat McAfee and Chipper Jones among others.

You can follow Dan Fetes on Twitter @DanFetes and check out his WROC-TV work by clicking here.

Moran also has a segment with Aaron Quinn (@AaronQuinn716) from Cover 1.  The two spend time talking about the Senior Bowl from last week, with Quinn analyzing a handful of prospects he thinks could be good fits for the Buffalo Bills.  He also discusses how the pair of University at Buffalo prospects, Tyree Jackson and Anthony Johnson fared at the Senior Bowl and explains what the Cover 1 (http://www.cover1.net) “Lofton Exercise” means.

Quinn also takes part in the Moran-Alytics Interest Meter, offering scores and takes on a handful of sports and pop culture topics.

Sandwiched between the interviews is Moran’s offering on WWE’s Royal Rumble from Sunday night.

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On this episode of the Moran-Alytics Podcast, Patrick Moran interviews Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com in advance of Sunday night’s Royal Rumble.

An acclaimed veteran pro wrestling scribe, Johnson has been writing for Pro Wrestling Insider since it first launched in 2004, nearly 15 years ago. During that time it’s become one of the most informative and widely recognized wrestling “dirt sheets” in the entire industry.  Johnson describes in detail how a harrowing accident would begin his path to becoming a full-time wrestling writer.

After that the attention turns to the 32nd edition of the Royal Rumble, being held Sunday in Phoenix and the two run down the entire card from top to bottom with Johnson offering thoughts and a prediction for each.  They spend considerable time discussing matches involving the women and agree the road will ultimately lead to women main eventing Wrestlemania this spring.

Johnson also discusses “The New” Daniel Bryan, predicts two title changes on the Smackdown side and guesses the direction for Finn Balor after he clashes with Brock Lesnar for the Universal title.

You can follow Mike on Twitter @MikePWInsider and check out tons of free content at PWInsider.com.  Mike also informs listeners on how they can become elite subscribers on the site.

Prior to Johnson’s interview Moran has his buddy Joe (@BuffaloWins) on for an installment of The Run-In With Joe.  The guys re-visit last week’s AFC and NFC championship games and decide if changes need to be made regarding the overtime possession rule while debating if pass interference penalties should become challengeable by coaches.

They also discuss the Buffalo Bills offensive line and try to figure out if Bills GM Brandon Beane will bring back any of the three pending free agent linemen that began the season in Buffalo as starters.  They disagree on how resources should be spent on the position, with Moran saying the team would be best served spending big O-Line money in free agency while offering up two names he’d like to see signed. Joe disagrees and thinks they can find O-Line help in the draft and wants more resources spent on the skilled positions.

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On the episode of the Moran-Alytics Podcast, Patrick Moran interviews longtime Buffalo sports media veteran Kevin Sylvester on a wide variety of topics, dating all the way back his growing up in Waterloo, New York.

During a career that’s now spanned more than two decades, Sylvester’s pretty much done it all when it comes to sportscasting, particularly in the Western New York region. He’s worked on the radio side at WGR multiple times as well as WBEN while also spending 11 years with the Buffalo Sabres in several different roles. Sylvester runs through what those experiences have meant to him.

They also spend time discussing some of Sylvester’s current projects, ranging from co-starting Buffalo Sports Page with fellow local media guy Paul Peck to co-hosting the Half Hour Hockey Show with Kevin Snow to his work on PGA Tour Radio covering various professional golf events.

The topic then turns to the Sabres and Sylvester offers his thoughts on the team’s recent slide and if missing the playoffs could result in the firing of Phil Housley at season’s end.

They finish up with the Mini-Lightning Round where we learn several of Kevin’s favorites, including the three dinner guests he’d love to have, his favorite non-sports hobby and the Twitter handle that’s his biggest must-follow.

You can follow Kevin on Twitter @KevSylvester and be sure to check out both Buffalo Sports Page and the Half Hour Hockey Show.

After that interview Moran is joined by Tone Pucks (@tonepucks) for another installment of “Pat with Pucks.”  Today the guys are discussing the AFC and NFC championship games at Sunday and Moran admits to the world that by the end of the day he found himself actually rooting for Tom Brady.  Pucks weighs in on the blown pass interference call costing the New Orleans Saints a trip to the Super Bowl and the two spend time talking about the Buffalo Bills, including agreeing on being fine with the team using a top 10 pick on a defensive lineman and eagerly awaiting to see how the team addresses the tight end position once they inevitably release Charles Clay.

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On this episode of the Moran-Alytics Podcast, Patrick Moran has an extended interview with the executive sports editor of The Buffalo News, Josh Barnett on a variety of topics.

Barnett talks about growing up in White Plains, New York as a child before passing up a scholarship elsewhere so he could attend Syracuse University with dreams of sports journalism on his mind.  His path eventually led him to the Philadelphia Daily News, where he became sports editor and eventually executive sports editor.  From there in 2012 he went on to work at the USA Today, where he took charge of sports magazines and non-daily’s before running the national high school sports digital platform.

Ultimately it led Barnett to The Buffalo News in 2017. He describes the process of that happened before addressing the widely publicized and controversial 2018 spring at the News that saw an exodus of veteran sports writers leave via buyouts for a reported variety of reasons.  Barnett provides insight from the News side of things, talks about the difficulties and adjustments that came with the many exits, goes over some of the new additions to the staff and has a take on The Athletic opening up a Buffalo division that’s sprung the most competition the News has had for eyeballs in several years.

Seeing they’re both big wrestling fans (Barnett actually does some writing for PWI), they end the chat by talking WWE and Barnett has thoughts on what’s contributed to a lackluster handful of months, the women’s secondary angles becoming a problem, and looks ahead to some potential Wrestlemania matchups.

You can follow Josh on Twitter @ByJoshBarnett.

Immediately after is the return of “The Run-In With Joe” on the heels month hiatus that saw Joe spending time in Buffalo drinking a lot a lot of craft beer and hating on Jim’s Steakout.   Joe’s (@BuffaloWins) commentary on one of Moran’s favorite sub joints has him unhappy, as does Joe confessing he was never a fan of the classic TV show Happy Days. They do put aside different opinions to talk about the recent struggles of the Buffalo Sabres that have seen them fall out of a playoff spot while also examining the possibility that Bills GM Brandon Beane may be willing to try and orchestrate a trade for Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.

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Follow Patrick Moran on Twitter @patmorantweets and “like” the Moran-Alytics Facebook page.

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On this episode of the Moran-Alytics Podcast, Patrick Moran chats with Cover 1 podcaster and contributor Aaron Quinn about a variety of topics.

The talk about Cover 1, including how Quinn got his start with the site and what makes it unique in how they cover the Buffalo Bills.  They also discuss the Cover 1 Podcast and Quinn’s role with it and we learn what  Hall of Famer led Quinn to becoming a Bills fan.

From there they talk NFL playoffs from last weekend, including being forced to marvel at how the New England Patriots manage to annually play their best football in January. They run down the conference championship games and pick a winner.

After that the attention shifts to the Buffalo Bills and Quinn reveals who he considered the team’s MVP this season, offers thoughts on Josh Allen winning him over, spends time identifying some players that would look good wearing a Buffalo uniform in 2019 but realizes many of the players the Bills may target will face stiff competition from Indianapolis.

The interview wraps with the Moran-Alytics Interest Meter, where Moran runs off a series of random sports and pop culture topics and Quinn rates his interest on a scale of 1-10 while tossing a few takes along the way, including saucy ones on R. Kelly and O.J. Simpson.

You can follow Aaron at @AaronQuinn716 and be sure to check out Cover1 at www.cover1.net

Before signing off for the day, Moran hands out his weekly MVP award to the imminent return of one of his favorite TV shows while slapping the LVP on the Philadelphia 76ers for waiting absurdly too long to finally retire the number of one of the team’s all-time greats.

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On this episode of the Moran-Alytics Podcast, Patrick Moran welcomes a returning Joe Yerdon of The Athletic in a chat covering the Buffalo Sabres and the company he writes for.

When Yerdon was first on the podcast back in mid-September he had just begun his stint with the newly formed Athletic Buffalo division.   Today he discusses how that job has been going, including what it’s been like creating a formidable one-two punch with colleague John Vogl.  Moran asks Yerdon how the arrival of The Athletic has helped bring out the best not just in him and his writing partners but all local media covering the Buffalo Sabres and Bills beats, with the winners being the sports fan having more quality content to consume than ever before.

The attention then turns to the Sabres and he offers his take on their surprising first half of the season, a campaign thus far exceeding  any realistic preseason expectations. He talks about the monumental 10-game winning streak that put Buffalo on the map around the league and the inconsistencies that have sometimes plagued them since.

He also has thoughts on Jack Eichel’s recent injury, Jeff Skinner being left off the NHL all-star team, the team’s crazy upcoming schedule, Phil Housley’s fate if Buffalo fails to make the playoffs and much more.

You can follow Joe on Twitter at @JoeYerdon and of course check out The Athletic at www.theathletic.com.

Immediately following Yerdon’s interview, Tone Pucks (@tonepucks) joins for another installment of “Pat with Pucks.” On the heels of a survey sent to season ticket holders, the two debate if the Pegula’s should build a new stadium in downtown Buffalo or renovate the current one in Orchard Park.   After having a little time to digest the season, Pucks offers his take on where he thinks the Buffalo Bills are at in their rebuilding process and what he thinks expectations should be for the 2019 offseason, a win total the two disagree on.

They also spend time doing the “Pucks Interest Meter”, where Moran offers up a series of sports topics and Pucks replies with how much (or little)  of interest it is to him with a few comments about each before they conclude the segment by agreeing on which NFL home favorite is most likely to lose this weekend.

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Follow Patrick Moran on Twitter @patmorantweets and “like” the Moran-Alytics Facebook page.

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On this episode of the Moran-Alytics Podcast, Patrick Moran has a lengthy interview with newyorkupstate.com Buffalo Bills writer Ryan Talbot spanning a variety of topics.

The two begin by talking NFL playoffs, including the ransom Nick Foles is getting ready to collect in free agency in a few months, the outside possibility that it could be Foles and not Carson Wentz that sticks around in Philadelphia, Lamar Jackson’s awful outing against the Chargers, and Talbot opines that Tom Brady is actually the worst AFC quarterback remaining in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Moran doesn’t trust the Rams in the NFC and admits he rooted against Jackson last weekend for his own selfish reasons.

Naturally the talk eventually turns to the team Talbot writes about and he discusses how the Bills 2018 season was pretty on par with what he assumed it would be last August. That’s not necessarily a criticism, as most expected Buffalo to take a step back from their playoff appearance last season, and Talbot feels a lot better about the quarterback room now than he did this time a year ago.

Talbot also gives his thoughts on Charles Clay underwhelming during his four seasons as a Bill, the chances Lesean McCoy sees a reduced role in the offense as well as a potential contract restructuring, power ranks his team MVP and LVP for the season, and breaks down the Bills signing of CFL star wide receiver Duke Williams.

The chat is also littered with Talbot giving Bills fans a handful of potential free agent targets and college draft prospects.

You can follow Ryan on Twitter at @RyanTalbotBills and check out his excellent work at www.newyorkupstate.com.

Before calling it a wrap, Moran hands out “Terrible Tweets” to terrible Chicago Bears fans and Moran-Alytics Podcast MVP to the greatest female TV comedy actress ever.

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Follow Patrick Moran on Twitter @patmorantweets and “like” the Moran-Alytics Facebook page.

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