Talking Buffalo

It’s another edition of The Podbag today on Talking Buffalo, the weekly episode where the audience controls the narrative as Patrick Moran responds to several questions and takes from audience Today goes heavy on Buffalo Sabres related rants from fans in lieu of a week that's seen plenty of additions but not what most were hoping for in addition to some Buffalo Bills related submissions as the team's now just a few weeks away from the start of training camp.

When you habitually you lose, you don't get the benefit of the doubt from fans or the media. That's where we're at and where we've been at with the Buffalo Sabres. Sure, they made plenty of moves over the past few days but almost no one feels like it's nearly enough--not when they're still a glaring need for a top six forward and a third-line center. This currently feels like a roster that has a pair of complete fourth lines. Patrick goes through a handful of rants from fans and responds accordingly.

Turning to the Bills, Patrick's asked to talk about one or two training camp potential surprising storylines as well as the importance of Greg Rosseau this season and what kind of Super Bowl champion Josh Allen would be. That plus stuff about wings, Comic Con, 26 Shirts and more.

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Sabres fans hopeful for a flashy upgrade to the line up as NHL free agency kicked off were left disappointed, and Patrick Moran talks about the new additions on a busy but splash-free opening to the offseason that has them questioning how bad things really are for the organization.

NHL free agent stars like Steven Stamkos, Tyler Bertuzzi, Tyler Toffoli and Jake Guentzel among others felt like a pipe dream to Sabres fans and that feeling came to fruition on Monday. Hell, the Sabres didn't even really replace the recently bought out Jeff Skinner.

Buffalo did make a few signings with guys that realistically could improve their bottom six forward lines but aren't players that resonated with fans. Patrick has thoughts on Buffalo overpaying for Jason Zucker, adding forwards Sam Lafferty and Nicholas Aube-Kubel as well as finding more depth at goaltending with Felix Sandstrom. The team also re-signed Jacob Bryson.

Patrick also goes back to the well on a take he's been saying regularly since February--that the Sabres are the worst organization in all of pro sports right now with the proven fact that seemingly no one of value wants to come play here as part of the evidence. As explained, if the Sabres are going to end the longest drought in NHL history this coming season, it's going to be because the players already on the roster show dramatic improvement and find a way to stay collectively healthy. That and plenty more.

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by Chad DeDominicis of Expected Buffalo to discuss the start of what's absolutely going to be a critical offseason for the Buffalo Sabres and in particular, general manager Kevyn Adams.

As you're listening or watching this the official start of NHL free agency will be underway. Meanwhile the NHL Draft has come and gone and the Sabres, to the chagrin of many of their fans didn't do much over the weekend---highlighted by trading down from the 11th pick three spots and acquiring an extra second-rounder, a pick they parlayed into someone very likely to be a fourth line forward.

Chad has plenty of thoughts on how the opening weekend of player movement and the draft played out, including Buffalo moving down three spots from 11 and in the process costing themselves an opportunity to select one of two highly touted defensemen both on the board for the Sabres original pick, Sam Dickinson and Zeve Buium, a player Minnesota moved up to get at pick No. 12. Did Adams drop the ball by prematurely moving back? The extra pick led Adams to trading with Washington and acquiring pending restricted free agent Brent Malenstyn, a physical player who is excellent in some areas of the game but isn't going to offer a lot offensively (just six goals in his first full NHL campaign last season).

Of course, Buffalo did make a pick at No. 14 and Chad shares his thoughts on Konsta Helenius.

At least through this point the Sabres biggest move was making the buyout of Jeff Skinner official. The Sabres now save $7.5 million in cap space for this season but will be paying Skinner for the next six years instead of three. Chad has plenty to say about Skinner, his legacy in Buffalo and if he agrees with the organizational decision.

They also discuss some of the names Buffalo should be targeting as free agency kicks in addition to the possibility of a trade(s) coming down the pipe as well as Adams very likely having his job on the line based by how this summer and upcoming season goes plus That and plenty more with Chad, who you can follow on Twitter @CMDeDominicis and be sure to check out Expected Buffalo.

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It's another edition of the "Live from Imperial" series today on Talking Buffalo as Patrick Moran is joined by WGRZ-TV sports director Jon Scott to talk about big career changes, some Buffalo Bills and much more in a conversation recorded live from Imperial Pizza in South Buffalo.

After spending a decade at Spectrum News, Jon is now the sports director at WGRZ channel 2. He discusses his time at Spectrum and how the job helped him grow both professionally and personally before getting into how the opportunity at Channel 2 came about the process he went through in landing the job.

Of course they spend some time talking Bills just a few weeks out from training camp and how Greg Rousseau has become without question one of the five most important players to the team's success this year in addition to tempered expectations on the old guy (Von Miller) and the young guy (Keon Coleman) and players Jon's most looking forward to following during camp.

That plus talk about Jon's sports teammates at WGRZ Lindsey and Johnathan, wings, relationships in the media balancing competition and much more. Make sure to follow Jon on Twitter @JonScottTV and of course check out the great work he's doing at WGRZ.

Big shout-out and thank you once again to Imperial Pizza for being a gracious host and for their excellent wings. They now have two locations, 1035 Abbott Road and 1665 Main Street

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by PK from the Buffalo Sports Collective for (mostly) Buffalo sports edition of "Buy or Sell" where Patrick runs off a series of sports statements and PK analyzes whether he's buying or selling the validity of them.

Before that the guys have a discussion about longtime Buffalo Sabres forward Jeff Skinner. As of this recording Skinner hasn't officially had his contract bought out but reporting certainly seems to be pointing strongly in that direction. On the assumption Skinner's guy the guys have thoughts both good and bad about his time in Buffalo and if he agrees with the organization's decision.

From there it's Buy or Sell and some of the topics include Von Miller leading the Bills in sacks, Dalton Kincaid being a top five tight end this year in both receptions and yards, the team making a trade before Week one and Bobby Babich being the defensive play caller in 2024.

On the hockey side we cover the Sabres trading the 11th overall pick in Friday night's draft, Lindy Ruff finally ending the Sabres seemingly forever drought and Connor McDavid deserving the Conn Smythe even though his team didn't win the Stanley Cup.

That and plenty more. You can follow PK on Twitter @PK_BSC and check out the Buffalo Sports Collective podcast.

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It’s another edition of The Podbag today on Talking Buffalo, the weekly episode where the audience controls the narrative as Patrick Moran responds to several questions and takes from audience, including shade deservedly thrown at the Buffalo Sabres organization as yet more key players on past teams that couldn't win with Buffalo go on to play key roles in helping another team win a Stanley Cup.

Like it or not, the Sabres are among the worst organizations in all of major pro sports. Their record on the ice and decisions off the ice support the statement, which only strengthened on Monday night when the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup in game-seven, which of course saw Sam Reinhart score the series-winning goal. With that ,Reinhart joins Jack Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly are former core players that have went on to taste the pinnacle of hockey success----after leaving Buffalo, not to mention Kyle Okposo. Patrick has plenty to say about that and the now likely buyout of overpriced forward Jeff Skinner in the coming days.

Another commenter takes the Sabres woes a step further, saying that they've been horribly run for literally most of their existence. Clearly being tied for the longest playoff drought in sports and seeing a slew of former Sabres go on to have success after leaving has fans at arguably their most frustrated.

There's also submissions centered around the Buffalo Bills, including David Edwards seemingly being handed the starting left guard job and some concerns at safety. That plus a comment about this week's all-time sports media draft, Sara Holland's appearance on the show last week and much more.

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, with just a few weeks before training the camp the Buffalo Bills 90-man roster is pretty much set, and Patrick Moran's joined by friend and recurring guest Anthony Marino to go over the additions and subtractions positionally and come up with their official Bills offseason report card.

With emphasizing that this exercise is not a "state of the team" as a whole but more so a comparison and analysis of what the team lost versus what they added, the guys go through the team positionally and try to figure out if the team got better, stayed the same or worsened at each spot. Obviously the conversation revolves around three areas of the team that resulted in the most personnel turnover: wide receiver, defensive line and safety.

The exercise also shows a few areas of the team that clearly on paper have downgraded on paper during the offseason, most notably cornerback after losing both Tre White and Dane Jackson and the only addition being a sixth-round rookie who's path to the roster is most likely through special teams. Offensive line is also a downgrade after losing their starting center and reliable utility lineman while adding just a fifth-round rookie, even if his ceiling is ultimately pretty high.

Plus, the running back position may be an addition by subtraction upgrade at this point---ditto at quarterback and much more. Be sure to follow Anthony on Twitter @AnthMarino.

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by frenemy and recurring guest Joe From Queens and they are each drafting their seven person all-time favorite Buffalo sports media members.

Those past and present from the world of print, television and radio are all eligible. Patrick and Joe flip a coin for the first pick and it's snake style after that. The guys spend time talking about each selection and also put some time aside to discuss several worthy honorable mention candidates.

Patrick shocks Joe right away with his predominant radio personality first pick while Joe's first two selections are old school newspaper journalists. It's more selections, tales and some interesting stories about those picked along the way. Follow Joe on Twitter @BuffaloWins.

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by WIVB-TV sports reporter and anchor Sara Holland for a conversation taped live from Imperial Pizza on life, work, wings and the Buffalo Sabres and more.

Sara's been at Channel 4 for about a year and a half but has spent more time in Buffalo than that, having went to college and played softball at UB. They spend some time talking about how Sara's gotten more acclimated to Buffalo professionally and relationships developed during that time with colleagues, but at the station and around the Buffalo sports media landscape. Speaking of, Sara talks about being happy to be part of a resurgence of woman making an impact in the local TV sports reporting market alongside people like Lindsey Moppert (WGRZ) and Briana Aldridge (WKBW).

They also spend some time discussing the Sabres, a team Sara spends considerable time covering when she's not in studio doing all sports. She has thoughts on growing speculation that Jeff Skinner will get his contract brought out and early initial impressions on head coach Lindy Ruff.

That plus Sara considers Imperial the best wings she's had so far in Buffalo, why she's willing to admit she wants the Sabres to be a winning team and much more. Big shout-out and thank you once again to Imperial Pizza for being a gracious host and for their excellent wings. They now have two locations, 1035 Abbott Road and 1665 Main Street

Be sure to follow Sara on Twitter @saraaholland and check out the great work she’s doing at WIVB-TV.

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined in studio by longtime friend and recurring guest Tone Pucks to discuss several topics, including the debut of "Props with Pucks"--a series of sports bet scenarios that Pucks lays down what he thinks the betting odds should be.

It's been a few weeks since Tone's been on the show so they spend a few catching up. From there Patrick throws out a bunch of mostly Buffalo Bills and Sabres prop bets at Tone and tasks him with coming up with betting odds on the fly. Among them on the Bills side are Dalton Kincaid leading the Bills in receiving yards this season, Damar Hamlin making the Bills 53-man roster, Von Miller registering at least 7,5 sacks, Chase Claypool sticking around and Cole Bishop being the Week one starting safety.

Turning the Sabres, Tone lays odds on many props, including Jeff Skinner getting bought out, UPL signing a multi-year deal, Henri Jokijaru getting dealt, the Sabres making the 11th overall pick in next week's draft.

That plus a few other fun non-Bills or Sabres prop bets and plenty more. Follow Tone Pucks on Twitter @TonePucksRedux

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