Schopp and Bulldog Live! | May 19th 2025 | WGR SportsRadio550

Schopp and Bulldog Live! | May 19th 2025 | WGR SportsRadio550

Stanley Cup and NBA playoffs. Toronto falls to Florida last night in game seven. And so now the Eastern Conference, it’s going to be the Panthers taking on Carolina. That’s going to start tomorrow. While out west, it’s Dallas versus Edmonton. That’s going to begin on Wednesday. Three of the four teams were in the conference finals last year. Carolina being the only new team. They take over for the Rangers who were in last year. And we’ll get more with hockey as Joe Uran will join the show at 4 and Paul Hamilton will join the show at 5 in the NBA. In the East it is Indiana versus the Knicks. That’s going to begin on Wednesday. While out west, it’s Minnesota OKC. That’s going to start tomorrow. Minnesota and Indiana, they’ve never won an NBA title. The Knicks last won in 1973. and the Thunder have never won one in Oklahoma City, but did win a title as the Seattle SuperSonics that back in 1979. To the Bandits, they did drop game two to the Rush. They’ll have to wait until Saturday for the series deciding game three. The game will be in Buffalo and right here on WGR. Today, the Philadelphia Eagles did officially announce a multi-year contract extension for head coach Nick Serriani. That was not the only thing the Eagles have done today as they reportedly are bringing in former Jets general manager Joe Douglas to be part of their front office. Douglas was originally part of the Eagles back in 2016 to 2019. And Scotty Shuffler, he wins his third career major on Sunday. He takes home the PGA Championship and we’ll get more on this when Brian Kiel joins the show at 6. That’s your Padox Chevrolet sports update. Paddock Chevrolet celebrating 90 years of being your hometown dealership. I’m Zach Jones for WGR Sports Radio 550. It’s Mike Shopee and the Bulldog. I got a speeding ticket in the mail yesterday. In the mail? Yeah. I think I’m going to just ignore it. It’s Mike Shopee. Where was this? Spain and the Bulldog. I think if I just lay low, I think I’ll get away with it. not mention it on the air. Definitely don’t want to talk about it on the air. It’s Mike Schop and the Bulldog. I like the sound of this more and more as we go. I’m an outlaw on WGR Sports Radio 550. All right. Hey, hey. All right, everybody. Good afternoon. I am the Bulldog Mike Shop has the day off. Zack Jones alongside and we have uh a pretty juicy day from yesterday to sink our teeth into. Uh I I I think anyway we’ll see how you all feel about that as we go. Uh you know I maybe some of you won’t I won’t find out whether you like this uh uh idea and conversation but if I hear from some of you that will give me some degree of a clue. Um we are yet another year further down the road from the Toronto Maple Leafs having won the Stanley Cup 58 years now. Uh the Leafs have gone without the cup. They won in 1967 and have not won since. Um, and look, this is not a Toronto show. This is a Buffalo show. Uh, but I feel like there is, you know, I’ve got some things to say about beliefs and the game uh and and the whole of it. Um, but I I feel like there is an opportunity to have a conversation about how many of you uh and even me are feeling about the Bills as it as they compare to the Leafs. I think there is a certain amount of synergy there um from a not being able to get to the final destination standpoint. And how long do you go one of one of the best teams in the league year over year? That is very true of the Bills. It has been very true of the Leafs. And that’s why it it there’s so much bitterness uh when well one or the other really we care more about the Bills here don’t come through in the end and keep hitting their head on a familiar ceiling. In the case of the Bills, it’s more so one team. For a while for the Leafs it was the Bruins, but it’s really been anybody they play uh in the playoffs usually. I mean, they haven’t been past the second round uh in a long long time now. And got eliminated again last night on home ice in a game seven. That was as meek a performance as you could have in front of your fans. It might be like a legendarily meek performance in in front of your fans if they hadn’t just put maybe an unbeatable score on the board a few nights earlier in game five. They they had two home games in this series. Uh tied 2-2 uh and tied 3-3 and got outscored 12-2 uh in the two games. Six to one the score in both games. And neither neither game would be uh a situation where you would go, “Oh, yeah, but it was much closer than that.” In fact, I would say last night’s game, which it’s funny, like I watched all of game five, I don’t really remember anything about it because it just gets blown out of the water by by the game seven performance from Toronto. I I would say that the Leafs were incredibly fortunate to get out of the first period tied 000. Although they did have their best 10 minutes of the game really in the back half of the first period. So I mean maybe you could even argue that they they could have taken a lead there. Um but you know hang a banner. You know, we had a good 10 minutes in game seven is maybe something you could we’ve got a lot of creative people out there that do this for the Bills, but or really more pointedly the Sabres uh hanging, you know, stupidly worded banners, but for the Leafs, it was incredible to turn on a game seven and feel like the home team was the team that needed to survive the first 10 minutes of the game, right? That is usually at at you can almost bank on it. You turn on any playoff game, but the later you get in the series, you know, the the the more uh the more juice this sort of comment has, the more likely you are to hear it. But you’ll hear it in game one of the series about the road team. You’ll hear it in game five about the gotta survive the first 10 minutes. The crowd’s going to be juiced. You know, this team’s going to come barreling out of the dressing room. uh fan fans are at a fever pitch waving pom poms or t-shirts or whatever and they’re going to be oh it’s going to be hell. We just got to put our head down, play a simple game and just try to get to the the second TV timeout and catch our breath. And that’s that was really the position Toronto was in last night hosting the Florida Panthers in a game seven. It was just ridiculous. not up to it in any way, shape or form. So, there are things about the Leafs most uh um interestingly I think to talk about from a Buffalo perspective might be Mitch Mner uh at some point. Not that it’s realistic at all, but it’s worth dreaming about, I think, because of the reputation that some of these guys have now. And really the the core for Marner Matthews, Tavvaris, uh, and William Knander. And like that is where the crossover to me sort of comes in with the Bills. Um, I think for me anyway as an observer of the league, the NHL I’m talking about, uh, my my stance mostly on the Leafs through this era. All right. With with these guys, with these high picks, Matthews, a 101, uh the free agent signing of Tavveris, what the Leafs were building and trying to win with. Uh I I I mostly would You get to the end, you lose to a good team, whether it’s in the first round or a couple of times here recently in the second round. You get there and you lose and well it’s hockey and you know there’s bad breaks and the other team is really good and you’ve got a lot of talent. Keep going. Keep going. Sort of like Shawn McDermott says right there’s there’s the crossover. Keep knocking on the door until it opens or or or you break it down from knocking uh so persistently and uh so hard. And that has been how I have felt about the Leafs through this and mostly how I would say I have felt about the Bills. I mean the Bills have changed out personnel here. The you know the core of the team really is Josh Allen and Dion Dawkins. Uh I I think uh you could say maybe Ed Oliver is in that core but like the lot of it has changed over over the years. You started out with Tine Edmonds. Now you’ve got Terrell Bernard. You started out with Tavius White. and now you’ve got Christian Benford as your number one corner. Um, so you’ve you’ve you’ve you know you had Stefon Diggs for a while, now you’ve got Everybody Eats. So the personnel has changed. Um, and the the Leafs have really they’ve changed. Yeah, I guess around that core they’ve changed over the years and they don’t, you know, no hockey team is the exact same team year-over-year. It just does not work that way. They’ve also done something the Bills have yet to do during this stretch of five straight division titles and that is change management andor coaches. This this all started out for the Leafs with Austin Matthews and Knander and Marner with um with Babcock as their coach and he eventually went by the wayside and in here comes Sheldon Keefe and he rides for a while and uh we we’ve reached it. We’ve gone as far as we can go with this. We need a coach who can instill a more disciplined defensive style. Any of this sound familiar? And Bub comes in this year. And I would say that was relatively successful. The Leafs played more like a team prepared to play in the playoffs through the whole season and through the first round than maybe they ever have during that core’s existence. But these two games at home within the last week, game five and game seven, it’s got to be enough. I can no long I could no longer objectively from far away and and I recognize like this is an easier thing to do. Most of the push back I ever got about saying this about the Leafs, you know, it wasn’t a ton of feedback. Again, we’re not in Toronto and I recognize that. But we do share some audience here and certainly plenty of Toronto hockey fans are also Bills fans and NFL fans. So, you know, I feel like the audience is mixed enough. The push back would be like it’s easy for you to say you’re not a fan. And I that’s right. I mean, I agree. I I think being a fan can make you more passionate about it. And when you are passionate about things, you can tend to overreact. It’s why, you know, I think it’s best in life. It doesn’t always work this way, but I think it’s best in life if you can avoid making decisions about important stuff when you’re running hot. Because when you’re running hot, you are more prone to make a mistake and overreact. So yeah, of course I’m not a Leaf fan. I’m a hockey fan. I like when Toronto does well. I think it’s it’s a cool story in the league. That’s really all of it for me with them, by the way. I mean, sure, my friend John Gail was sitting in my living room yesterday. Uh he’s a proud Canadian born and raised in Port Coburn, has lived all over Canada and all over the world, but lives here now. And you know, he was a he was a teenager when the Leafs won uh in 1967. He’s been waiting. He never even got wound up about it. LA Yes. last night. It It was such It was almost a non-event. It wasn’t even very very emotional. Uh as it turned out, uh sitting in the living room watching it. Um but it would be impossible now for me to say they they don’t need to change anything. And where the crossover comes in to me with maybe more exclusively our audience and Bills fans is how close to that ledge are you on the Bills? We’ve we’ve seen five straight division titles. We’ve seen tons of points. We we’ve seen the the what what is it the best record over this stretch of time these five years to have not won a Super Bowl. In other words, no other team has won more games in a time span since the Bills started winning the AFC East in 2020. No other team in football has won as many games as the Bills have without winning the Super Bowl. Or maybe it’s without reaching the Super Bowl. Either way, you know, you know where the you know where the ceiling is and you know where the Bills keep hitting their heads on. Uh, it’s the Chiefs and it’s been the AFC title game twice. It’s been the divisional round twice and you can’t get by it. And I I struggle like Mike a while ago, I think maybe even pretty early on after the season ended after another disappointing, heartbreaking loss at the hands of the Chiefs in the AFC title game back in January. They’re like, I think this might be it. And I struggle with that because I I I you know, you kind of want to see it, right? Like what how how what happens? How did it go? Uh who, if anyone uh or maybe a few different people who have the smoking gun of ineptitude like who who made who caused the bills to hit their head again? And we all know the history and then the case has been made multiple times uh about McDermott’s shortcomings uh chiefly 13 seconds which is unavoidable in any kind of conversation like this. You you’ve you’ve had this history where the same the same outcome. It’s not it’s not always the same script, but it’s the it’s the same outcome. I I can’t get by it. And I wonder now, I mean, not that you need the Leafs for the comparison, but it’s a it’s a frame of reference here. I would tell you I’m done supporting them continuing to keep going. I mean, they really have no choice now. Um, some of the choices are actually going to be made for them. Uh, Tvarus and Marner’s contracts are up. They are unrestricted free agents July 1. And so I would anticipate considering that they already had a trade set up. Think about how different so much of this could have been if Mitch Marner agrees to go to the car to uh to Colorado. Wait, no, it was Carolina. The second time he got traded, right? And was in Carolina miserable. Carolina knew they weren’t going to sign him to an extension. Let’s try to get out of this. And they ended up shipping him to Dallas. That was around the deadline. And the Leafs had, it came to be known the Leafs had a trade lined up sending Marner to Carolina. I don’t remember if there are any other particulars. I don’t think it particularly matters whether there were or not. The kingpins of the trade were Marner and Ratin. And Marner holding no trade protection killed it. And so no contract extension. He got stood in the way of the Leafs making a move to change their core for in advance of the playoffs. and then on top of it all failed to come through in the playoffs once again. He’s done there. I I mean it’s just it’s over. Um it’s not it’s not turning around. So, you know, to support trying to keep that thing together seems just ridiculous at this point. A part of my sort of consistent stance of like keep going, keep knocking on the door, like McDermott says as it pertains to Toronto has largely been, well, these guys are young and they’re under contract and what are you doing? You you you’re probably going to have a hard time winning any trade. Now, I think Rotten from Marner would have been a a pretty fair trade and the Leafs might have even won the trade. Rotten has had one of the best playoffs in history this year with Dallas. So Marner’s done. Like there’s no way that they could bring him back e even on some kind of sweet hometown discount if that were even realistic. Like it’s over for him. Blocking that trade and then not coming through again. Like that’s forget it. On the Bills end of that really the thing that they haven’t done which I’ve already alluded to that Toronto has done a couple of times. I mean, they changed out Kyle Dubis and as GM and I I already gave you the the the rundown on on the coaching track. So, they they have tried that already. What they’ve never done is really changed the key personnel. I wonder what kind of appetite Bills fans will would have. I shouldn’t say Bill’s fan. I know some of the fan base. I’ve never wanted to say it was most or a majority or anything like that, but it’s a persistent group and it probably is ever growing because the longer you go without winning, the more that winning winning you winning the Super Bowl, getting to the Super Bowl. Uh the longer you go without doing that, people that are holding out on my, you know, I got to change the coach start like, “Oh, you know, I I I hear you. I I guess maybe I don’t know what else to do. I guess I’ll try. I I’ll guess I’ll do that cuz they’ve changed again. Plenty of personnel. We’re on to a second rotation of fortify the defense. That’s my problem. I can’t stop the Chiefs. I mean, that was the story after, well, after 2020, but especially after 2021. I I got to get I got to get pass rushers. I got to get Von Miller. I got to draft to AJ Panessa. I got to draft Gregory Rouso. I got to draft Boogie Basham. I got to do all this to try to combat what the chiefs are doing to me. So, personnel, we’ve been through it. They’ve not changed any part of the well, significantly the hierarchy. I mean, some some assistant GMs have moved on to become GMs. Some assistant coaches have moved to other assistant coaching positions. I don’t think any well J ball got a head coaching job um after a highly successful run here as coordinator but they’ve not changed the top guys and I wonder if fans are just going to be you know we get through this season here’s why I I I I sort of get self-conscious because I I don’t want to speak in a way that uh says I’m expecting them to fall short but if it were to happen again I just feel like we’re not really going to have a better idea. And and in saying that, I’m not saying it’s it’s indefensible to consider changing out McDermott. Like, I’m bored. I don’t know what else to do. Fire him and start over. What I am saying is it’s a place on the board that we have been talking about and considering. Um, part of my trouble in getting any traction in the conversation is that I haven’t really ever felt like it was a realistic possibility within ownership. I I just don’t think that they think they have a problem. And that does not mean they don’t. and may you know may maybe another year will come and go and the amount of fans that are just I can’t keep doing this again like Toronto I just keep we keep doing the same thing. Um something’s got to give something’s got to change and I think it’s pro sports you the people running the teams coaches and GMs do not get to have jobs for life. They usually get changed out well before the players do. And so we’ve got we’ve got this uh Nick Costas had this uh stat about coaches and quarterbacks together as long as McDermad and Allen have been together never what is it like after five years. Five years. Yeah. That they they don’t even get to the Super Bowl, let alone win it. Like you those those relationships don’t get as much time normally. Um, so I don’t know. I I I hope I’m not sort of weaving too wildly all over the road here and mixing in the Toronto Maple Leafs and our beloved Buffalo Bills, but I feel like there is there’s a I mean, synergy is not exact. There’s just a comparison to be made within the franchises and the fan bases about your appetite for change. Um the fans are always ahead of the owners and the GMs if they’re talking about replacing a coach. I mean it just that’s that’s natural. Um the the appetite that I have sensed for the Bills to make a move on McDermott as these seasons have wound down it it came earlier than I ever thought it would. Like I was stunned at how much traction it had just after 13 seconds. And I know that what the scorecard tells you is if you felt that way in January of 21 or it would have been January of 22 following the 21 season. If you felt that way then you have not been proven wrong. I mean that’s that’s obviously readily apparent because they have not gotten any farther than they did, you know, they got as far last year as they did in 2020. And so they’re kind of running in place and no change has been made and maybe you get to a place where one even if you’ve been relatively supportive like I I I I feel like I have been mostly I mean I’ve had my moments talk about speaking and I mean I don’t get to make decisions. I get to make a decision about what I want to say and how I’m feeling. And man, after after that Eagle game year before last, I was hot. I was done. I can’t keep doing this. Um, so we’ve all maybe reached um that point at different times, but I ended up I don’t know. I walking it back is a very popular uh phrasing. Um I don’t know how I mean I said I was wrong. Is that that’s walking it back I guess, right? I’m I I want that back because I think there’s been a lot more good than bad with McDermott and Bean running the Bills. So I I remain what I think is very supportive. I am rooting for especially for McDermott. I I just I feel like we we hear from him more, I talk to him more. I don’t know if I’ve talked to Brandon being on the air once or twice maybe in the whole time he’s been here. McDermott used to be weekly with us and then he was on intermittently with us again last year which was nice to be able to revisit that relationship with him. Um the sit down he just recently did with S and Matt Oy. He comes across like I think to me any one of you out there that will call and tell me what you want and how badly you want it and how much it means to you. I Dermit is entirely in my opinion believable in that way. So like I’m rooting for him. I I think it’d be a great story just like I was rooting for the Leafs. It’s not just because of my friend John Gail and it’s not because of proximity or the uniforms that they’ve been around since the invention of pro hockey. It’s the story. I mean all of that makes their story more compelling. Can’t do it. Can’t do it. I am a endless sucker for the narrative of a team that can’t break through. Ovetkin’s never going to win the cup. You want some old stereotype? He’s Russian. He doesn’t care that much about the Stanley Cup as much as the good Canadian boys do. And you know, they’re never going to make it. And then until they did and then they won. Like that that happening in sports to me is almost what it’s all about. You’re doubted. You’re You’re contending. You’re excellent. Fall short. Fall short. Fall short. Fall short. You’re never going to do it. Break it up. the they’re fatally cursed. Bodies are buried under the rink or the goalpost or something, right? All this stuff and then, oh, they did it. What happened? They did it. That’s what I was rooting for with Toronto. I I think anything that gives you hope, even if you’re not a Toronto fan, we’re we’re in Buffalo. We’re very familiar, intimately familiar with the Leafs and their fan base. that fan base get I know they’d be insufferable um in the capes and the tinfoil cups and all the stuff that I’ve made fun of them about for decades here on the radio. Um but it it would be a story if you can pull back from the emotion of being a Sabres fan and not liking the Leafs or hating the Leafs, you would have to admit that is the most compelling story in the playoffs. I think it was even a more compelling story than Conor McDavid chasing his first Stanley Cup because of the duration. So like anything like that in sports that gives you hope I think can then give other people i.e. Bills fans that same hope look they stuck with it and they did it. They’re not fatally cursed. They’re not flawed in some you some way that you can’t repair it. And that McDermott and the Bills to me are that same sort of narrative. So I’m pulling for them obviously. I mean, I’m Did I even need to say that? I mean, I I work here. I I live here. I love the Bills. Um, but I think objectively without an emotional attachment, it would be a great story if they finally broke through with that coach. Um, but how long do you want to go? I think the Leafs have hit their end point, at least from a roster construction standpoint. I doubt that they’re going to change the coach out. They just did that last year. So, it’ll be time to move the players around and the important pieces around. Um, just a just a massive letdown. Uh, and that had to be for them last night. What a what a disaster. Even I’ll save it. I got I got plenty of time and I’m already late to the first break because I’m a [ __ ] 8030550 is the number. You get the gist of what I’m talking about here. How patience. How much of it do you have left? That kind of thing. Uh any just general observations on the Leafs flailing like they did in games five and seven. Also definitely welcomed. Uh our old friend Joe Uran with Bleacher Report was in Toronto for both game five and game seven. He’ll be with me at 4. We’ll pour over all of this with Paul Hamilton at 5. and uh Brian Kosiel will join me at 6 to go over Scotty Sheffller’s major win in the PGA yesterday in North Carolina. Uh so that is what’s to come in between. Lots of time for your calls. So uh hit it up. 8030550 is the number. Mike is off today along with Zach Jones. I am the Bulldog and you’re listening to WGR. Uh, I guess I guess you could boo like the fans there, but you’re not going to be doing that. But do you understand why they did? This is brutal. This is men versus boys right now. Completely unprepared. Uh, I think they’ve lost every single 50/50 puck battle. Uh, don’t know else how to describe it, but pathetic performance. That is Paul Besonette on the TNT broadcast intermission show. Uh I believe that was after period number two. Saw the Leafs you get blitzed in the opening 10 minutes of period one. Play a pretty solid back half of that period but still scoreless. And then in the span of about six and a half minutes, three nothing. And it’s guys who ga what? What? what is happening? Uh, and then even after that, the third period starts, right? You I’m sure the the building’s dead. Uh, John Gell was breathing on my couch, but he, you know, he was dead inside. I could tell. And oh, here’s a goal. Like two minutes into the Oh, a goal. Oh, you know, and I I even said like, okay, you know, you know, 3-1, get a power play, another good you you make it 3-1, you’ve got now, you know, and only again two minutes into the period, it’s 3-1, you’ve got about 15 minutes to get a second goal, provided you don’t give anything up, you got about 15 minutes to get a second goal, make it 3-2, and then pull the goalie and the late blitz and the whole thing. Or you could give up a goal 47 seconds later that makes it four to one and like that’s it. Turn out the lights. Like it is over sucker. That was it. So incred like it was such a let down. The two game sevens yesterday were just horrendous. The basketball game was what 14-point game at half and just boat race city for Oklahoma City. I mean I’m happy about that. I have them and Dallas Stars on parlay with championship winners out there for the future. So, like I’m alive. No buyout yet. Somebody’s probably got to get on the board with an actual trophy before they start thinking about that. But anyway, uh just as big a letdown as you could get uh last night in Toronto with that effort. I mean, it’s one thing to lose to a a great team and Florida is almost inarguably, I would say, a great I mean, they’ve been to the final two years running. They’re in the conference final here in a third year with a chance to go to a third straight final. And I mean, they’re just built for it. And it’s one thing if it’s close and sure it was a close series in the end. I mean, seven game series, but man, six to one in game five, six to one in game seven is uh you you you you you got to bust things up when that happens. I think uh Rob is first up this segment. Hi Rob, thank you for calling. and you’re on the air here on WGR. Hey guys, long time listener. Thank you for listening. All the way back to the coach days. Way back. Nice. Appreciate that. Yeah. Um lifetime Leaf fan, lifetime Bills fan. So I’m a manic depressive by nature. Uhhuh. Uh but um I there’s been a lot of comparison to the Bills and the Leafs. The Bills I still have hope. The Bills and you can tell it by the leadership. Um, you’ll take the two two best players, Austin Matthews and Josh Allen, right? Mhm. I’ve never seen Josh Allen quit. He He’s there every playoff game. And the Leafs, it just they just quit last night. And I’ve never been so depressed with the Bills. maybe Super Bowl, I think it was 27 or 28 in the second half against the Cowboys when it just seemed like the air came out of the balloon and um we were leading at the half. But this team just I know Barner’s gone. There’s no way they’re going to keep them. Not at that price. I know Tvarus is gone. What they need to do is get a I’ll lose my Leaf fandom for saying this, but they need a Maron. They really do. They need somebody like that. But but the Bills are close, you know, like the Bills are just so close and and there’s really no And I don’t say that with the Leafs and and they got beat by a better team. I can live with that. But when the Bills play the Chiefs, they’re in the game. Like one play, two plays, they could win. I didn’t feel that last night. Oh yeah. No question. Again. Yeah. The the comparison only goes so far. Uh, Rob, thank yeah, thank you for calling. Um, I I think you know, you you you get you get to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, you know, you should be anyway. I mean, Carolina didn’t exactly have much to deal with uh with Washington. Uh, you you’re going to be playing somebody really good. Um, how close are you? I, you know, it’s it’s observational and it’s an opinion. Um, as much as I was rooting for Toronto just for the narrative flipping story that it would be, uh, I don’t think they really had a chance. I think Florida’s the only team in the East, frankly. I I I don’t like Carolina that much. They they got the easiest draw you could have possibly gotten with Montreal and Washington. Forget about the points Washington had. That was not a team that is on the level of Florida. U, and I don’t think Carolina’s, you know, they’re the better team. Uh, they might be the second best team in the East. I mean, they’ve made it this far. Um, I think Florida should handle them. I don’t think Carolina can beat any of I’m saying any, there’s only the two left, but even Winnipeg if they had gotten off the mat and and found a way to win game seven. Uh, I think any one of those three teams out west, Dallas, Edmonton still alive, Winnipeg just got eliminated. I think any one of those three is beating anybody from the East with the exception of Florida. I think Florida is the only team that can pack the lumber to go to battle with those teams out west. Um especially Dallas. I think there that is just a and like Carolina Carolina wants to play that game, but I just don’t think they have enough. Uh whereas Florida just the experience they’ve got, the goalending, I just think they’re they’re set up really well uh to compete with those teams. So, you know, I want to be careful about representing how close Toronto really was. I don’t believe in my heart of hearts if they’d won last night that they I I would like them against Carolina. I would tell you that much, but I don’t think they were going to win the cup, but it’s, you know, you get there and who knows, right? Um, so the comparisons only go so far. The fact that the Bills are so close and that Allen has played like he has is what gets you to McDermott. like I do not have a kingpin player problem on the Bills. I mean, the the most important guy has been Cincinnati game excluded. That that’s not I’m not trying to be convenient. That’s his one sort of down playoff game. Um the rest of it has been he’s done almost as much as you could ask him to do. I mean, one more drive the last two years a whole different story maybe. So, I mean, there’s room even in within that, but mostly, I think fan sentiment definitely represents, this is one of the reasons why I like to sort of push back against that with Allen having the ball inside the two-minute warning with a chance to win two years in a row and not coming through. But still, you do not have a star player problem. Um, what you And so, what problem do you have then? Well, it’s what else is left? Coach, I got a coach problem. I got I’ve got a defense that can’t complement what Allen’s doing well enough. And that is different than the Leafs. Really, at this point, I would say the Leafs have the right coach. I mean, the system they installed, I I I think gave them a better opportunity this year than really any of the years past, but the star players just could not come through. Uh 8030550 is the number. Larry’s up next. Hi, Larry. Thank you for calling. you’re on the air here on WGR. Hey, Bulldog. How’s it going? Good, thanks. Um, just calling uh for me almost a quick comparison to McDermott is almost uh Andy Reid when he was with the Eagles. Um, all those years uh I mean granted he didn’t have the the star quarterback he had with McNab, but pretty good one. But all those years of getting to uh NFC Championships, uh I think it was one Super Bowl that they finally broke through but lost. Um, I just I I hate to say it and I’m kind of with you. I’d love to see the guy I’d love to see McDermott be the coach that takes us all the way. I think he he’s done a great job uh bringing back respectability to the to the organization, bringing back that winning culture. Um, doing everything the right way. Um, but I I almost I hate to say it, I almost see him like uh an Andy Reid with the Eagles where he just it’s going to be close close, but no cigar. I mean, some of those you you look back at the 13 seconds, you look back at some of the coaching decisions, some of in the big games where he just naturally reverts back to that conservative nature and I think everything it’s it’s it’s bit us in the butt sometimes. Um I really hope I’m wrong cuz I I I’d love to see the guy win here. Um obviously I’d love to see the Bills win with anybody. I don’t care who the who the coach is, who the quarterback, just give me one. Yeah. Um, but I I really it’s almost like he’s trending where he’s going to be that that guy that’s going to stay here another two or three years or four years, keep getting us close, keep winning AFC East titles. Um, but just not being able to get over that hump. Thank you for the call, Larry. Yeah, I I do think wi within that you’re talking about McDermott and his conservative nature and I think that definitely was applicable uh early in this rise like you know in 2020 in the championship game there’s some some as Mike would call them wimpy field goals. Um, I I I think he has evolved over the years to the point where I think hanging on to that is mostly unfair. I I think he’s not really like that anymore, but it’s other stuff um that has tripped him up and tripped them up. Uh, frankly, just not being able to stop. Maybe conservative in uh how you’re calling your defense within the game. Um, but a lot of the stuff, the aggressiveness on fourth downs, um, the the Bills version of the tush push, like they they’ve they’ve done a lot of sort of leading the way in not being conservative and and I give Mcder a lot of credit for for changing that part of um, his coaching makeup. Thank you for the calls. Appreciate it. Still time uh, for you, of course, here between now and Joe coming up at the top of the hour. He was in Toronto for games five and seven. Uh so last night, uh fresh off of that assignment, we’ll talk to Joe about all things related to well how that series unfolded, the playoffs in general, and of course the Sabres way forward. But still time for you to get a call in now at 8030550. We’ll hit up a break. Um come back after this. I am the Bulldog. Mike is off today and this is WGR. Happy to have you hanging here with us on a Monday afternoon. Unseasonably cool Monday afternoon for May 19th. I I you know I’m going to get a DM from Pat Hammer. I I don’t know what the stats say, but it it just, you know, it feels cool. I mean, we were in shorts and tank tops. It was nice. It was lovely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I played golf yesterday. It was like It was like 52 degrees when we teed off and 3 hours later it was still 52 degrees. What the What’s going on there? No. Oh no. Give me a little Give me a little something here. Come on. Uh anyway, glad to have you with us here on a Monday. Mike has the day off today. Zach Jones fresh off a little long weekend uh in Pittsburgh uh here alongside Joe Yuran coming up at the top of the hour. Paul Hamilton at 5. Been a while since we touched base with Paul. So, we’ll go over the NHL playoffs with both of those guys. Um, and maybe the Amirs, too. Joe’s been on that beat and Paul certainly has been uh as well. So, uh we’ll plenty of hockey uh as we go through today. Some golf at the tail end with Brian Kosial. Not not that we have to wait until then uh to talk about the PGA Championship. One one thing, this is maybe um it’s certainly a matter of personal taste and uh might uh very likely be um o overly nitpicky uh by me, but when Rory completed the career grand slam at the Masters back in April, um the the the reaction I mean he that was a catharsis that took place there and I mean he was almost convulsing when he was on his knees on the green like just so emotional that he finally not only completed the career grand slam but you know won a major after more than 10 years uh since he had last done it. And so television CBS to me did what you should do in that situation just get out of the way. You know, the cameras certainly weren’t out of the way and they were right there, but they followed Rory without Jim Nance and Trevor Immelman and everyone like telling you what was happen just let the pictures tell the story and you know he’s congratulating and getting congratulations from everyone leaving the 18th green the long walk to the scorers tent and the whole thing and it it warranted that. I felt like yesterday, yes, Sheffller is the world’s number one. He’s excellent. It’s a third major. It’s an achievement. He maybe even is underrated and overshadowed by guys with bigger personalities who’ve been around longer like Rory and even like a guy like Dashambo to some extent. I I just thought leaving that scene in silence for as long as they did was weird. I I just did not it it felt weird is not right. You always are going to show that all of that, but the silence I I I just thought it was forced. I I stop short saying inappropriate because it wasn’t offensive. It just felt to me like someone decided ahead of time, hey, you know that thing we did when Rory won? That was awesome and everybody loved it and people were crying and we got a lot of positive reactions. Let’s just do that again. And like I’m sorry, Scotty winning his third major is is great and he’s great and he was emotional. It does not rate anywhere near it’s it’s a major win. It does not rate anywhere near Mroy and the the pursuit he was on for more than 10 years and the career grand slam. It just felt a little bit too much like uh you know this worked before. So, we got a lot of credit for it, so let’s do it again. And I I I thought I thought it was weird. Uh odd. Maybe weird’s too strong, too. I I just I didn’t like it. I I thought it was forced again. It wasn’t offensive. I just thought it was a weird choice. I kind of got there, too. I think it was Adam Shfter tweeted that Scotty was now 50% of the way to the career grand slam. And I’m like, I don’t know if we totally say that now. Let’s let Rory’s achievement simmer. Scotty’s still got to win. Like I if he wins a US Open or an Open Championship within this year, we could talk about it, but like this feels a bit forced. Yeah. You need you need to get the third one. Yeah. Before we can really have that conversation. Yeah. Yeah. That’s it. Like I We don’t have to rush to it. It It was It was great. Like the golf was funny, man. Like we we had the bet. Mike won uh with with Sheffller. Um and as as the day was beginning, I was texting with Brian and I’m like, “Oh, we’re so dead.” And then, you know, Rahm shows up. Well, Mike had Rahm, as it turns out. So, I end up I’m rooting for Sheffler because Rahm was going to cost us more. He was on tier two. He was on the full to, you know, the full amount tier where Sheffler was only a 50% payout. Um, but it looked like he was in a rocking chair and then like maybe he kind of blew it slash Rom just took it and then Sheffller just reasserted himself and it ended up being a rocking chair in the end uh down the stretch. But still a tremendous achievement by by pointing out what I’m pointing out about the broadcast. I had taken anything away from Sheffller. It was fantastic. uh especially that he sort of got rocked there mid round and managed to recover. A lot of guys just it gets away from him and they’re just chasing it and they just never really quite get it all the way back. I mean he like snapped right back to it I think in the 10th T box. Uh just tremendous tremendous uh outing by him but just a a strange I thought choice by the broadcast at the end. 8030550 is the number. I just said that out of habit because Joe Uran is coming up here and so we’ll take calls after that uh at about 4:30. So stay tuned. Joe was in Toronto for games five and seven of this Leaf Panther series with the lowdown on what he witnessed as we continue here on WGR. playoffs. Toronto fell in seven to Florida last night. And now in the east, it’ll be Florida versus Carolina. That’s going to start tomorrow. While out west, it’s Dallas versus Edmonton. That’s going to begin on Wednesday. And three of the four teams, they were in the conference finals last year with Carolina being the only new team. They take the Ranger spot from last year. And we’ll get more on the hockey as Joe will join the show next. In the NBA, out east, it is Indiana versus the Knicks. Little bit of a 90s throwback there. That’s going to begin on Wednesday. While out west, it’s Minnesota OKC. That’s going to start tomorrow. Minnesota and Indiana. They have never won an NBA title. The Knicks have not won one since 1973. And while the Thunder have not won one as the Oklahoma City Thunder, they did win a title as the Seattle SuperSonics that all the way back in 1979. Some other playoff action from over the weekend. The Bandits dropped game two to the Rush. We’ll now have to wait until Saturday for the series deciding game three. That game is going to be in Buffalo. Some NFL news from today. The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced a multi-year contract extension for head coach Nick Serriani. And the Eagles are also reportedly bringing in former Jets general manager Joe Douglas to be part of their front office. Douglas part of the Eagles from 2016 to 2019. And then Scotty Sheoffller. He wins his third career major on Sunday. He takes home the PGA Championship. We’ll get more on that when Brian Kosal joins the show in just about two hours at six o’clock. That’s Padox Chevrolet sports update. Padox Chevrolet celebrating 90 years of being your hometown dealership. I’m Zach Jones for WGR Sports Radio 550. It’s Mike Schop and the Bulldog. They have this panther sound effect that is just the cheesiest, stupidest sounding thing. Big voice guy going panther goal scored by Sam Reinhardt. Where’d you get that thing? I trapped it. Been keeping it at my bathroom at the motel feeding old pizza. It’s Mike show. If you’re calm, that wondrous big cat will be calm, too. But if you’re scared, that beautiful death machine will do what God made it to do, namely eat you with a smile on its face. And the bulldog on WGR Sports Radio 550. You know you have one of the stupidest jobs on earth. when it makes you feel good, it it’s a sign that you’ve been doing a a good job, that you’ve created something on the radio that’s memorable enough that complete strangers, well, I should say complete strangers. A I don’t know that I don’t know some of you who tweeted me about this. Uh nor do I think the audience is exactly strangers like we we know you know me on some level. I’m not always sure who who you are. Uh, but people reaching out to let me know when they hear Florida goals announced that they think of me. I I mean, it’s it’s, you know, listen, we all we all we all got to have have something. And for me, you know, 30 years on the radio, I mean, yeah, how’d it go? Well, people liked when I did this cat noise. Yeah. No, seriously. Yeah. They pay me. Uh Joe Yurten is on the West Her hotline here with us to talk about last night’s I don’t know Joe what what word I read your story I don’t remember what any of the words you used debacle I I don’t know no show what was it like being in Toronto for these two hockey games you know uh it’s it’s incredible to to to watch a team that that was as good as the Maple Leafs were and they were a good team you know they they were a different team they seemed like a team that was ready to grow up, I guess, you know, from being the, you know, the high-flying big scorers to being a little bit more sound defensively and, you know, the the grow up point where every Stanley Cup team makes, right? And they totally bagged it at home in in two games where they had to have wins. completely bagged it cuz if they win game five, they’re up 3-2 going, you know, you’re going to Florida, maybe you wrap it up. Oh, okay. Well, you played god awful game five. I think I think that’s the worst playoff performance I had ever watched until the second and third periods last night. Game seven came in to say, “Hold my beer.” Right. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and the crazy part is is that last night, the first six minutes of that game was horrendous for Toronto. You know, they were outshot 7 nothing, out attempted 21 to nothing. They’re lucky it was still 000. And then NY gets makes a move in the offensive zone, gets a scoring chance, and then it just the light bulb went off and there and it was all Toronto the rest of the period. And you’re thinking like, oh well, if they keep this up, they’re going to win, right? or at least we’re going to have a toe-to-toe heavyweight fight on our hands that gonna hold our attention for another two hours. Whoops. Right. And then, you know, there’s a, you know, there’s a bad turnover, which, you know, that Toronto’s been super superbly guilty of doing that all all series long. And it turns into Seth Jones just I mean, no fault to Joe Wall. That was a snipe. You know, you you pick the far corner from the other, you know, the opposite wing. Like, that’s that’s an incredible shot. But that’s the moment where the the mood in the house changes and it’s you you can feel it as you know as a media member you can certainly feel it if you’re a fan there because you’re like oh gez here we go again. But the worst part of that is that it’s the players. The players are just like ah right all right here we go. And then boom boom boom 10 minutes later it’s three to nothing and it’s game. Yeah. Yeah. that that the players you know we don’t know what’s going on in all of their you know in all of their heads but it you know it’s one thing it’s understandable for the fan the fan base has been through all that. Of course some of those players have been too but they’re supposed to be the ones that are armed with you know this supreme level of confidence and go do your job and and all that stuff. You know the fans of course the fans panic. Uh oh my god it’s one nothing. But to see the team just unravel like that, I don’t know what’s worse, the three goals in six and a half minutes in the second period or the start you referenced, Joe, I mean, how many times has it been written or said for the road team in any Stanley Cup playoff game, but especially a game seven, regardless of the round, oh, you just got to survive the first 10 minutes. You’re the home team. Like, why are you ducking and covering trying to survive the first 10 minutes? And and At least for the 10 minutes that was Barov and Reinhardt and Rodriguez who came back in game seven last night. Yeah. At least when you’re getting run over by those guys or even you know Kachchuck’s line with Verhagy like you know okay great you know like if you’re going to get beat get beat by the best and they took every punch from those guys in in that first 10 minutes which okay great but like the entire play was in the Toronto end of the ice like you know and the only time there was any relief was it was if it got chipped out or Florida mishandled it and got out of the zone. There was they had nothing. They had absolutely nothing for that. And then you know when the game unravels in the end they’re getting schooled by Marian you know Marian Marian Bennett and Lu Serinan. Those guys had a field day with no matter who was put out there against them. They schooled them. And I mentioned it a couple of times in the flow of the game. They globe trotdered them. I think that’s a term that I think we’ve we’ve all starting to taken to use when when a team is just running circles around another one in their zone. But I mean, when you’re getting squ and listen, this is not to take away from Brad Marian or Samb or or A2 Westin or or whoever was on defense. It didn’t matter which two guys were back there. They controlled the play. They got the puck back constantly and Toronto just kept giving it back to them. And you know it it’s you know Matthews and Marner and Tavvarz and Knander rightfully getting crushed for their performance because it was bad. But it was it was a package deal last night. You know Morgan Riley had a horrendous game, a really bad series. Jake McCabe was guilty of trying way too hard to do way too much. um you know he’s he’s got a certain role and he was do trying to do that but then he’s also first man in on the puck on a dump in he’s you know he’s trying to get shots off he’s trying doing way too much which you know hey guilt you know crime of passion fine whatever at least you’re try somebody’s trying but to hear Austin Matthews after the game say we had you know we had too many passengers and for Craig Buby to to agree with it and back it up and Matt Mitch Marner to say yeah we too many guys going for a ride tonight. It’s game seven. You guys have had six game sevens as this group like five or like four, five, six game sevens as just this group as it’s construed. These main four guys core four. They’ve had a bunch of these. How do you not read the riot act to the rest of your room to say, “Listen, we’ve been through this before. We are sick and tired of losing these games. If anybody isn’t picking up their socks tonight, it, you know, get ready. Get ready because we’re going to pound you in the locker room in the intermission cuz I mean it just doesn’t make sense that they played such a fine road game in game six in between these two disasters. I mean that that could listen again we don’t you know well you you talk to guys after the game. I I’m not in the room. Um you know I think we make a lot of assumptions about what guys are feeling based on what the results end up being. But when you have a giant egglade in game five and then go on the road and play you just a tremendous road game to to even the thing back up at three and then come back in front of your home fans. It does feel to to it it feels right to say the pressure just ate those guys alive. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, I I I got a question to Paul Maurice after the game last night because, you know, he coached the Leafs. He coached against the Leafs the last time there in the Eastern Conference Final, which I completely forgot he was Carolina’s coach, right? 2002. Yeah. Yeah. And and if you’re going to get a line from somebody that is going to be able to really tie a bow on what it’s all about, Paul Maurice is the guy to to at least try to ask. And I think the way I phrased it was I don’t I don’t know if this was the right way or if it was, you know, too sassy or whatever, but I said I said, you know, you’ve coached against them, you’ve coached here. There a moment when you’re playing against this team in these moments that, you know, something happens, you go, okay, we got him. And you know, he kind of brushed it aside and said, he said, “Well, I’m still rolling Barov out. They’re you know, up five to one with four minutes to go.” So, like I I don’t ever think you’ve got them, but and he just goes into this this thought about how you know you know what’s good for the league is bad for Toronto and the pressure that comes with it and all that stuff. It just really it’s a huge deal and you know Marian kind of commented on that as well uh after the game saying it’s unfair. You know, it’s kind of unfair how much pressure you know whatever pressure is part of the game and I think Brad knows that pretty well from playing in Boston. But um but it there’s no doubt and you know I’ve been going up there covering Leafs playoff games here for a few years for Bleacher Report now and there there are moments where something bad happens and the entire like you just feel the entire temperature of the room change because of everything that goes into what it is to be the Leafs, you know, the attention, the the pressure, all that stuff. And they’ve insulated these guys pretty well, you know, at least in the building, you know, away from, you know, media, you know, media is not evil, but like the questions are are direct and tough. Mhm. And, you know, those guys got them last night, but like, you know, the mood changes very quickly up there. And I think this happens in a lot of home markets. We see it happen here, that’s for darn sure. And this isn’t even playoff pressure here. This is just win enough games to get in the playoff picture in Buffalo. Toronto, it’s, you know, they’ve gone to the playoffs now, nine years in a row and, you know, getting there is no longer that that’s no longer the worry. It’s like they’re getting there now. Now it’s like, okay, well, we’ve got these superstars, we got to win a cup. They’re not even getting a chance to play for the cup now because second round rolls around and it’s only happened twice that they’ve gotten to the second round. The the tents fold up immediately and it’s it’s incredible. You know, I I do want to squeeze in a mention here of u something that came across my eyes at some point here while this I don’t know if collapse is too strong here, but well I mean they Toronto did have a two nothing lead in the series and a 3-1 lead in game three. So collapse maybe is appropriate. Um that Ovkin Capitals have only been past the second round the year they won the cup in 18. They other than that he’s never he had never been past the second round and that happened again this year. know, like it’s one of the things I like so much when uh when a team a group of players that have been under that scrutiny can tip it upside down. Like I I I I was never the biggest Washington fan. Uh I liked Ovetkin from the minute he showed up. I was rooting so hard in 18, Joe, for them to get there just because I like when someone because you know I live in a market and talk about two teams that have never won anything and I like it when a team that has that reputation can put up the stops and go look we did it and because I think that gives you hope that you know my guys can do it too. Uh but Toronto’s got to be you know I I’ve pretty much over the course of the core four’s existence at times like this been Yeah. You know what? Sort of like Sean McDermott says about the Bills, Joe, keep knocking on the door. I Yeah, I I don’t know, man. I think I think you got you got to go to a different house. You got you just got or something something’s got to change. Something substantial besides the GM and the coach, which they’ve already done multiple times. Yeah, it’s they’re at a spot now where Well, I mean, this is the thing like the last few years for Bleach Report after Toronto’s gotten knocked out, the story we the story I’ve written is all right. Well, who goes? Which of the players goes? You know, because you got to you got to do something because it it it feels like a very mid early mid90s Detroit position. You know, once Detroit stopped being uh you know, getting kicked around and, you know, they they be started becoming, you know, the Red Wings that we saw in the ‘9s, there was that time where, you know, they they they get beat in the first round by San Jose and you’re like, how do you do that? And then you know they’re the best team in the league in ’95. Make it to the cup final. They’re like, “Oh, they’re going to steamroll the Devils. Devils sweep them because the Devils played mean nasty hockey.” And everybody’s like, “Oh god, what do you do?” And then 96, you know, it’s called the MW thing happens. And that lit the fire, but they still had to make moves a even after that. You know that they didn’t run it back with with Dino Cicerelli and Keith Primo and Paul Coffee. They said, “No, those guys got to go. We got to get Brendan Shanahan in here. We got to we got to do something else. We got to get a little meaner, a little more edge, a little bit more, you know, you know, having having, you know, having a little bit more guts guts on your group to to be able to get over because we’re getting bullied out here. Toronto’s gotten bullied by Florida, you know, two of the last three years. And, you know, not everybody’s you can’t copy what Florida does. That’s impossible. But like, if you’re Toronto, don’t you try to raid raid them in free agency? You know, Sam Bennett’s a free agent. Marian’s a free agent. Marian said last night he grew up a Leafs fan, which I don’t think any of us knew that, but you know, don’t you don’t you make a bid on one of these guys and say, “Hey, listen. You you know what we’re dealing with here. Help us out. Try to figure this out.” Yeah, they they have the I guess the good fortune here of having some decisions. I don’t say made for them. I mean, because they could make an effort to resign and maybe especially to at a more reasonable number um given his desire to stay put. But the fact that those contracts are up sort of, you know, to an extent frees them up to go do the shopping, uh, that you’re, you know, referring to and, you know, unlike what we deal with here in Buffalo with the taxes and the palm trees, Joe, Toronto, you know, yes, it’s a pressure cooker. Yes, expectations are skyhigh, but I think any kid, especially Canadian kids, like you’re talking about Marshand and Bennett, guys like that, I think, are wired to want to go win there. So that’ll be an attractive destination I think for the top shelf free agents. Yeah. And you know the the thing with Marner that gets me and you know I saw you know I saw the on ice photos the photo that was on my piece from went up very early this morning postgame. Um where it’s just you see that anguish in his face and you you just kind of know in the back of your head he just played his last game with his hometown team. You know he grew up he grew up around Toronto. you know, you, you know, the stories of his old man supposedly bullying Toronto to take him and, you know, and or, you know, trying to make it uncomfortable during that 2015 draft to be like, “Oh, if you pass on Marner, he’s going to kill you for the rest of your life.” You know, what whatever all that, you know, parents talk. But it’s it you you see that on his face and then you watch some of the some of the plays that were made in the series and you’re like, I don’t know, man. Like, I it’s one where if I’m a Leafs fan, I’m just tired of it. And I’m just like, I you got to change something to change it because what this is ain’t working. You know, it’s it’s crazy to think that Matthews has been in the league for this was his ninth season, which ages all of us tremendously to hear that. And it’s, you know, it’s nine years in the league and this is as far as they’ve gotten. Game seven in the second round is the furthest they’ve gotten in the playoffs cuz Florida bumped them off two years ago in five games. getting this far and having run it back with the same core for seven years when they, you know, they signed Tvaris seven years, which again, throw me in the grave, man. But like, seven years with this crew is incredible and not changing up anything other than the support pieces. Even Morgan Riley, Riley’s been there the whole time, too. So, that’s, you know, four or five guys. Yeah. That are your leaders that haven’t gotten it done. and you’re every year you’re like, “Nope, got to run it back.” You change GMs, nope, we’re sticking with it. Those are our guys. Which, hey, you know, kudos for sticking to your guns. But I mean, sometimes you stick to them too much. You shoot yourself in the foot. And I think they’ve been doing that the last, you know, three years here. Joe Uran, Bleacher Report on the NHL. He was in Toronto for games five and seven uh of that series. So, what do you what do you make Mariner’s going to get, you know, 14 million a year, whatever, some someone’s going to pay him. And I I wonder, you know, this reputation that the the that core group has acquired, um I I’m I’m living in a market where the best players on the Sabres who can’t seem to handle pressure or or or collectively lift the team out of this playoff drought go on to greener pastures and, you know, win cups and MVPs and just all of it, right? the list is getting pretty long and and who knows, maybe it’ll grow uh uh in in this in this uh in this spring here now that we’re down to the conference finals. I feel like Marner I would not like tag him with a oh he can’t do it because collectively the group didn’t work but we’ve seen here that collectively a group can’t work but individuals can fly and be free and go do something remarkable. So, like I wonder if Mner um is someone who can accomplish that once he gets out of the cauldron that is Toronto. Yeah. And the the crazy part is the way we talk about him sometimes. You know, we talk about him as like he’s a he’s a contributor’s been a top 10 NHL scoreer for what, five, six years now, right? 100point guy. Yeah. You know, 100point guy, a top scorer, a really good defender. I mean, he’s he’s not knocking guys through the boards, that’s for sure. But, you know, he’s fast, he’s good with the stick, you know, he’s good at, you know, you know, marking guys up on the ice. Like, he’s a really darn good player. And it’s it’s crazy the way we talk about him, but like when it comes to July 1st, everybody’s attention is going to be fixed on him. Not just cuz, you know, the leaf fact. Well, it is partially that, but but it’s there hasn’t been a a guy that big in free agency at his age to hit the free market. And I I mean, I am probably forgetting guys here, but it feels like it’s been a while. Maybe Stanos, I don’t know. But but he didn’t get to the market in the end. He signed like hours before the market opened and stayed in Tampa. Yeah. Well, that was Yeah. They had the uh You mean this most recent time around when they didn’t pick him up? I mean, he went to Nashville, but like a few years ago. No, no. I’m I’m talking like I’m talking, you know, like when you mean when they had the uh the interview process, right? You know, in days in advance and he was touring all over the place talking with people. Um, but this is I mean, he’s he’s a monstrously important player and a guy who wherever he goes is going to is going to give them a lift. Now, I mean, you’d like to think that everybody should be calling him, but the price tag is going to be obscene. And, you know, I don’t know if this is going to be like a Ronin type deal where, you know, it’s it’s a lot of talk leading up and then maybe it takes a little bit less to go to a, you know, to go to a team where it’s it’s going to be fine. Although, I guess Ronin took the off took the offer Colorado made to him in Dallas instead. So, like whatever. But um but like this this is a guy where you know if it’s Detroit, if it’s Seattle, I mean I I mean I’m sure I know a lot of Sabres fans are dreaming that he’ll come here. I don’t know that ownership’s eager to pay 14 million a year to a guy when you got your other guys here, but I who knows. But um but it it it there are so many teams where you’re like, man, he’d be a great fit blank. and you fill in the team and you’re think you start immediately drawing up lines and thinking like, “Oh man, they’d be a lot of fun if they had him.” And I’m sure those teams are all very aware of who they are if they if they’ve got a you know, a deal worked out. But I mean, he’s he’s a tremendous player, but you know, you get looking at the crunchtime games and the playoff games. There’s a couple years where he he had good playoffs, but you know, the team couldn’t get it done, so what does it m you know? It’s just like, yeah, great, but who cares? You know, it’s like Knander. What? Knander last year, two years ago, great playoffs. Did anybody No, they didn’t. They didn’t win. Who cares, right? Joe, what do you think about the the setup here for the for the two series here uh in the East and the West? Well, you know, it’s funny. We we just got done talking about Toronto and you know, how how we’ve been like waiting for them to get over the hump. Isn’t that Isn’t that the Dallas Stars now? Yeah. Three straight years in the Western final. They’re playing Edmonton again there. Edmonton. I don’t I can’t figure them out because I watch the way Steuart Skinner started the playoffs against LA and you’re like, “Oh boy, they’re toast.” And Pickard comes in and closes it down and now Skinner’s back in and playing playing well and you’re like, like how do you do it? How do how does it keep working out this way? But Dallas got through all of this without Robertson, without Heeskin and and now they’re both back and they played great hockey. I know those series went long, but they looked menacing and, you know, they handled Winnipeg really well. You know, that first round series of Colorado was an all-timer. Like that’s it. The problem in the West is that if you if you’re a really good team, you probably got a really hard road to even get to the conference final. both of these teams had um I think Edmonton was was fortunate Vegas seemed to run out of gas and Jack was trying to drag drag everybody with them and everybody else just didn’t have it and um it’s it’s terrifying to deal with McDavid and Dadel and maybe they get Ekholm back and then you’re like well they had a weakness and now it’s now it’s gone. Yeah. And you know it’s playoffs aren’t fair. They’re not meant to be fair, but I mean, gez, if Dallas doesn’t get to the cup final this year, I they don’t there’s not drastic changes to be made, but um but you’re just like, man, like what what’s it going to take? What else do they got to do, right? I mean, they made the rant and trade. I mean, that that is such a significant piece to add at the deadline. I mean, it’s a massive and then, you know, and he’s locked in now for long term, too. So, um yeah, I I I don’t I mean, it’s hard to bet against McDavid and Dry idle, but I feel like Dallas is the team to beat. Yeah. No, I I I I’m 100% there with you. Um I I I think if I think if Florida didn’t didn’t just have like, you know, a knockdown dragout with Toronto and it’s still kind of wondering if if they’re okay because the way they ended the year was so bad, it’s it still clouded my vision on them. Yeah. Um, and Carolina, I that’s another team I cannot figure out for the life of me. Absolutely do not know like what the heck to think of them. Like they seem like they’re really good, but also I I I look up and down the roster, I’m like, I don’t know, man. You keep waiting for Freddy Anderson to fall apart. All that kind of stuff. And but like to me, if if it’s Dallas in the final, Dallas is winning it. Joe, I appreciate the time very much. Love that you got up to Toronto for those uh those two games and uh let’s make sure we touch base like before the marketplace opens in the summertime here. We got about six weeks or so. So, absolutely. All right, man. Well, we we should have a lot we should have a lot to discuss Buffalo wides. I hope in in some way. I know I know nobody here is excited about the draft, but that’s going to be the start of the the really interesting times. All right, Joe. Thanks again, man. Appreciate it very much. Keep up the good work. Thanks, Bulldog. Good to talk to you. Joe Yan. You catch him at Bleacher Report uh on the NHL. Uh great stuff on these two games in Toronto uh game five and game seven. Uh go uh seek him out, find him. Maybe you got to go to Blue Sky to find him. Not sure if he’s still posting all of his work up on Axe or not. Uh but good job by Joe. We’ll hit up a timeout here. 8030550. Mner, look, if if and if is like a herculean effort if is putting in. If you could get them, would you want them? 8030550 for the Sabres. I mean, that’s that’s the if that’s again, it’s heavy. Uh 8030550 is the number. I I’ll lay out the uh the case for uh when we get back cuz I I I I don’t I I don’t think the Sabers in a position to to say no to anything um at this point. I don’t think it’s re that realistic, but that’s why the if is there in big bold orange font. Uh we’ll talk about that as we go here. 803550 is the number. Mike is off today along with Zach Jones on the Bulldog and this is WGR. Playoff action is taking a pause in the NBA and NHL as we now get ready for the conference finals. They will though begin tomorrow. We’ll start with hockey as it’ll be Florida vs. Carolina in the East and Dallas versus Edmonton out west. Dallas Edmonton will get started on Wednesday. And three of the four teams that are left alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs were in the conference finals last year. Carolina being the only new team as they take the Rangers spot. We’re going to get more hockey as Paul Hamilton will join the show in about a half hour at 5. While in the NBA, in the East, it’s Indiana versus the Knicks. They’re going to begin Wednesday. While out west, they start tomorrow. It’s Minnesota and OKC. Minnesota and Indiana, they’ve never won an NBA title in their franchises history. The Knicks last won one in 1973. and the Thunder. They’ve never won one as the Oklahoma City Thunder, but did win a title as the Seattle SuperSonics all the way back in 1979. The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced a multi-year contract extension for head coach Nick Serriani following their Super Bowl win this past year. And the Eagles are reportedly also bringing in former Jets general manager Joe Douglas to be part of their front office. Douglas was part of the Eagles front office from 2016 to 2019. And then over in Golf, Scotty Shuffler gets his third career major on Sunday. He takes home the PGA Championship. And we’ll get more on this when Brian Kosil joins the show at 6. That’s Padoc Chevrolet sports headlines. Padox Chevrolet celebrating 90 years of being your hometown dealership. I’m Zach Jones for WGR Sports Radio 550. Felt like we were ready to play. Felt like we were in a good mindset. You like I said, I thought the first, you know, 10 minutes, you know, they they came out strong. And the next 10 minutes I thought we controlled play, you know, and then I just thought we had too many passengers throughout the rest of the game and just weren’t on the same page. And, you know, they get a couple goals and momentum like that and then you’re chasing the game and it’s hard to hard to get it back, you know, when you’re down three against a good team that plays sound defensively like them. Leafs captain Austin Matthews offering his observations last night after yet another bitter disappointment in a game seven for the Leafs. Brad Marshan, by the way, 5-0 in game sevens against Toronto in his career. Now, that’s incredible. it maybe even more incredible than that Leaf’s cord now because you know we’ve seen teams through the years that just can’t can’t get somehow they’re they’re fatally flawed some way somehow and they just cannot get it together however much talent however much regular season success just can’t get through the gauntlet that can be the Stanley Cup playoffs marsh 5-0 in g in in these games against Toronto is just a a remarkable that uh and of course he’s on Florida now after all those years in Boston. Glad to have you with us here on a Monday. Uh I am the bulldog. Mike is off today. He’ll be back with the show tomorrow. Zack Jones along as well. Uh, I mentioned so much talk um surrounding the Leafs and what will happen now that most notably Mitch Martner, John Tiverus too are unrestricted free agents, will be unrestricted free agents. And I I don’t want I don’t want to I don’t think I have it in me, nor do I think the audience has it in them to legitimately talk about whether signing Mitch Marner is a good idea for like hours on end. And I don’t think it’s something I can build an entire show about because it just seems so far removed from reality that they would be a contender for his services that that he would even take their call. Um I I think there’s going to be a lot of interest in him on the open market. And I I do think with that said, and I’ve gotten a little of this on on social media today because I I you know, posed this question. If All right. If doing some heavy lifting, if if Marner were interested in the Sabres, would you want to give him a m a max contract? Would you would you want to do that? And I think the reason it’s it’s even a question worth asking without just an easy knee-jerk yes for an answer is his reputation. What what he’s just been through with the Toronto Maple Leafs. I mean, I’ve got a team here that can’t even get to the playoffs, let alone succeed when they get there. and you want to go add at a $14 million salary a guy whose reputation is not being able to perform at least at the level you’re used to seeing in the regular season. He’s he’s just he’s a superstar who cannot come through in the playoffs. That is the scarlet letter he’s wearing until he proves otherwise. Um, the reason I would say yes and not even really hesitate about it is because you’ve got you you get guys in the league, I mentioned this with Joe last segment, look at the Sabres and the reputation certain guys would had. Now, I recognize like the team’s reputation um sort of feeds into that, but Ryan O’Reilly got sad and and didn’t love playing anymore. And so, he’s got to go. And he goes and wins the cup and is the K smite MVP in the playoffs that year. Like a year removed from being traded by the Sabres, he’s hoisting the cup and winning the MVP for playoff performance. Um Sam Reinhardt was a very good player, probably vastly underappreciated by Sabres fans, some of them, uh when he was here, and he’s gone on to become one of the most prolific goal scorers in the current league right now with Florida. Ekeel has and won the cup. Eel wins the cup. You’ve got Brandon Montour like all these guy and there’s even dare I even say bring up Kulakloth Labushkin like you you’ve got guys playing you know roles. They’re not the drivers of the team but guys that we were pretty sure couldn’t play who are holding down minutes on teams that are still playing in the conference finals now. And it’s not just the A-list guys that I mentioned. I mean, Reinhardt’s the only one of those that’s really still alive now, uh, given where we’re at, unless you want to count Jeff Skinner with Edmonton, but he’s kind of been in and out of the lineup. Anyway, what I think you learn from your experience being a Sabres fan is that a guy, a talented guy, and Mner Mner’s as talented, if not more talented than any of the guys I’ve mentioned here. I He’s a 100point player. He is He’s more Why am I even disclaiming it? He’s he’s more talented than any of those guys. And yes, he’s not come through with the Leafs. I would not assume that he can’t he’s like some fatally flawed human or some fatally flawed hockey player or fatally flawed competitor that he can’t be a piece of a team that goes far and even wins because most of the guys like Jack was a sad spoiled brat and then he went and he fit in in Vegas and they win the cup. you know, you you’ve seen it happen. So, it’s not exactly apples on apples. Uh because again, the organization, the Sabres, I think plenty of fans blamed the Sabres for those guys not coming through and then once they got out from under it, they flew and were free and they went and won. I just wouldn’t rule that out with Mner. And furthermore, like that that’s that’s the case to not worry about what I guess you might consider his playoff baggage. Uh that’s a reason not to worry about it. The other reason why you I would hurry to a yes if Mner would even take their call. Beggars choosers. All right. Where am I? And who am I to go? Oh, that’s not the kind of player I need. He’s not gritty enough. He’s not mean enough. He’s not tough enough. He scores 100 points. Plop a 100 point scorer on any one of these Sabres teams. you know, assuming you’re gonna probably have to move move some stuff around, but there’s a team that a can afford it and b needs it, it’s this team. That’s not to say I don’t want to win a championship and I don’t care if a guy can not seem to come through when his team needs him the most. I’m telling you is you can sign Mitch Marty to $14 million. You can show up on your team and score 100 points and you make the playoffs. That’s a win. You’ve won. It’s 14 years. So any sort of I you know I I res I respect opinions. Um, and and Marner’s reputation for being a letdown in the playoffs is well-earned. Like, he deserves the criticism. I’m just telling you, I would not cling to it as a like I’m I’m the Buffalo Sabres, and I’m going to say, “Yeah, no. Ah, yeah, you’re not big enough. You you need to cross-check someone in the face. you need to injure someone like Brad Marshian does. You’re not you’re not gritty enough. Like I’m sorry. Like I cannot myself get to a point where I would believe that and say it. Um, so I think it’s a ridiculously far-fetched idea because any number of a half a dozen or more teams uh will be vying for Marner’s services. And we’ll see whether he takes the biggest check he can get or that’s balanced in some way against an opportunity to join a winner and maybe leave a couple million a year in AAV on the table or whatever it takes. Um, all I’m saying is if if his agent wanted to talk to the Sabres, I would be elbowing people in the nuts to get to the phone. You just do not have a situation here where the best free agent to hit the market in maybe a generation is somebody that go, “Ah, yeah, that’s not a good fit.” I I mean eventually I could regret that, right? When when he helps make the Sabres into a team that loses in the second round every year, but you know, I’ll take that as progress. Thank you. So, sign me up for a yes for the wildly hypothetical least likely thing I’ve ever talked about for five minutes on the radio to happen. I’m a yes. there. Is that has that been properly positioned so I don’t sound like a crazy person saying, “Oh, of course you can sign Mitch Martyr. You’re an NHL team and you’ve got money. Go do it.” I I mean, I just when people get excited about him, I just usually go, “Yeah, I uh No. Uh no, the Sabres are barely in the league the way a player like him would look at it. So, I don’t think you have a chance in hell making it happen.” But if for some reason they wanted that, man, I I I 100%. I’ll even allow for 110 even though it doesn’t exist. Beggars choosers. Mike show is off today. 8030550 is the number. That was like those didn’t flow in the right order. Anyway, Mike’s off. Zach’s here. I’m the bulldog. Paul’s coming up at 5. Man, I’ll bet he hates Mitch Mner. I I don’t I shouldn’t do that. We’ll talk to Paul. We’ll find out what Paul really thinks about Mitch Mner, but uh I’m saying right now, knowing Paul for 30 years, I’ll bet he hates him. Ah Paul can defend himself. It’ll be fine. I’ll give him plenty of time. Uh that’s coming up at the top of the hour. Brian Kil on the PGA coming up at six as well. Scotty Sheffller wins a third major. So we’ll cover all that too as we go. I’m the Bulldog and this is WGR. because I’m battling through adversity. But I just want to complain to you about how hard my day has been. But you don’t have to give me I want extra credit for B. my phone went just sort of I this hap if you’re an Apple person maybe this happens to you uh because the person at the store told me that this is happening with these iPhone 13s sometime yesterday afternoon my my phone stopped being a phone uh it it was like Wi-Fi I could still text with other Apple people uh like for instance Brian Kosil who’ll be on with me at 6 to talk about the Gulf and Mike and myself had a thread from the morning about the golf because Mike we have the golf bet the three of us and and Mike had picked and he won on Sheffller and so when the majors are happening will be texting one another and at some point Brian uh it must be I hope he doesn’t mind me dulging this an Apple dude. So I was still getting messages from a and able to send and receive messages from Brian but not Mike. And at one point I realized this was happening and I texted Brian and said, “Hey, like just so no one thinks I’m being a jerk, I’m not responding to the text thread. Uh, I can’t. My phone died. It died. Didn’t die. It was I don’t know severely wounded. I Anyway, I’m just here to say that the store the I had to go to the store and that was as quick as I could ever have hoped for. That was very smooth. I can remember the phone before this phone I had I dropped in a puddle in the park and had to go like it was irretrievably shot and I went and that took I I left and came to work and went back and it still wasn’t done. Now, I don’t know, maybe the puddle impacted that, but I think all the stuff was there. Just it just you couldn’t get the screen to really work. But anyway, they eventually transferred everything and it was fine. This was like half an hour. Pretty great. But there’s like some stuff like I it won’t let me into the work email and like the the hoops I got to jump through to do that. Like functionally like the it’s not lining up. I can’t do it. Facebook is telling me someone’s trying to use your login information uh on my Facebook account on my iPad is telling me and it’s like yeah it’s me. Can you can you put can you put a option on the screen for me to say yeah it’s actually me allow it. No, you’re just warning me that someone’s trying to like I appreciate you you know being vigilant against potential hackers. Um, but I’d also like to be able to access the account from my new device, but it won’t let me. Uh, so I don’t know. We’ll have to figure all that out. But I’ve been very distracted. I had to a few different things. For example, we sh we four of us are on this account, right? My our two sons, my wife, and myself. For some reason, when the new phone brought everything over, I got, you know, the wallet where you keep like air airplane boarding passes and concert tickets and sport, you know, sporting event tickets. I got like five years worth of Owens stuff. Like I looked in my wallet because I have concert tickets for something coming out at the end of May. I’m like, I want to make sure they’re there. Like, yeah, they’re there. Why is there a boarding pass from 2021 in here? I And there was no quick and easy way to delete that. I had to just click up in the right. Remove pass. Remove pass. Yes. Click up on the right. Remove P. That’s what I’m dealing with today. Just so you know. I mean, the adversity has been significant. You’re battling. I have battled. I’ve battled. I don’t know. I’m playoff tested like Mitch Mner isn’t, but I have been battling. I’ve been going through it today. But I am here to talk to Paul Hamilton and find out how much if indeed he hates Mitch Mner. I I don’t know if he does. Uh but we’re gonna find out. I have an inkling that he does. Uh so stay tuned. Paul on the Leafs and we’ll get into the Amirs too. I meant to do that with Joe last hour, but we ran out of time. But Paul’s been covering the Amirs uh playoff games. They won on Friday to even that series. Uh so we’ll get into that with Paul, too, as we go. I am the Bulldog. Mike is off today. This is WGR. We are on to the conference finals in the Stanley Cup and NBA playoffs. No games today. They’ll all get going tomorrow. Toronto, they fell in seven to Florida last night. So now out east, it is going to be Florida versus Carolina. That series does start tomorrow while out west. Dallas versus Edmonton is going to begin on Wednesday. And a note on these playoffs, three of the four teams were in the conference finals last year. Carolina being the only new team they take the Ranger spot from last year. We’ll get more on hockey as Paul Hamilton joins the show next. In the NBA, in the East, it is Indiana versus Knicks, bringing us all the way back to the 1990s. That famous rivalry, Reggie Miller, Patrick Euing, now it is Tyrese Hallebertton versus Jaylen Brunson. That’s going to begin on Wednesday. And then out west, it is Minnesota OKC. That starts tomorrow. Minnesota and Indiana, they’ve never won an NBA title in their franchise’s history. The Knicks last won one in 1973. And the Thunder, they’ve never won one as the Oklahoma City Thunder, but did win a title as the Seattle SuperSonics all the way back in 1979. Some other playoff action from the weekend. The Bandits dropped game two to the Rush. We’ll now have to wait until Saturday for the series deciding game three. That game will be here in Buffalo and right here on WGR. To the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles have officially announced a multi-year contract extension for head coach Nick Serriani following the team Super Bowl win last year. The Eagles, they’re also bringing in former Jets general manager Joe Douglas to be a part of their front office. And the 49ers officially just a few minutes ago are locking in another player to an extension following Brock Pury and George KD as they sign AllPro linebacker Fred Warner to a threeyear $63 million extension. 56 million is guaranteed making him the highest paid linebacker in the NFL. That’s your Paddock Chevrolet sports update. Padok Chevrolet celebrating 90 years of being your hometown dealership. I’m Zach Jones for WGR Sports Radio 550. It’s been a minute since we talked to the mighty Paul Hamilton on the Wester hotline or really any hotline for that matter, but here of course it is always the Wester hotline. Glad to have you with us here on a Monday and Paul Hamilton joins me now live on said Wester hotline. Paul was shaking man. Who are you? Willis Reed, Walt Frasier, Dave De Busher, Bill Bradley, and Dean Meer. Paul, are you on another line talking to someone like what would Well, I just heard in sports that the last time the New York Knicks won the championship of 1973. Good job. Yeah, good. I was eight. All right. Yeah, good deal. All right. Guys like Walt Frasier and Willis Reed. Been a minute. Yeah. Dave Debusher. Yeah. No, I I I remember all of them. I mean, I I can’t give you a chapter and verse on them all, but I you know, playing against Jerry West. Yeah. Well, Paul, thanks. Do you hate Mitch Mner? I don’t like the idea. He might be a very nice person. Um he’s a very good offensive hockey player, but he’s not what the Buffalo Sabres need. I mean, the Buffalo Sabres were 10th in the league in scoring at 3.23 goals per game. If you got up to 3.26 goals per game, they’re seventh in the league in scoring. I mean, well, Mitch Marty can do that for him, Paul. Um, what the problem with the Buffalo Sabres is is they’re 29th in the league in defense and they have goalenders that can’t make a big save at a big time for them and they need players that can jump into your top six. Um, I have a better idea than Mitch Mner. How about Sam Bennett or Marawn who have won cups, who can play in your top six, who can play offensively and defensively, can upset the other team. Uh they they will get the other team upset instead of the Sabres having to react. Other teams will have to react to the Sabres. Um it that’s the types of players that they need. And they’re winners, you know, they’re winners. They can play both ends of the ice. They’re tough to play against. They score goals in big games. Um, you know, the they’re they’re leaders. I I mean, and people Well, they’re not coming to Buffalo. Well, is Mark Mitch coming to Yeah, we this entire conversation requires a certain level of suspension of disbelie that like maybe the girrations aren’t even worth the time, but you know, whatever. Here’s the thing about I I I don’t disagree with you about Bennett or Marshand even uh at this stage. Um the thing is I think everyone agrees Marner is you know Paul I’m trying I’m trying to get through a day here. Marner Marner people are I think going to overreact to Marner. A part of my thinking is a player that looks flawed in one place and I recognize Toronto is not Buffalo. Okay. So, it’s not exactly apples and apples, but you’ve seen guys who acquired reputations for sulking and not being able to to pull it together even though they had a very talented roster and all these different things. They they go elsewhere and they fly and they’re free. Um, I I’m not predicting for sure that will happen with Mitch Mner, but to me getting out from under Toronto and all the expectations could be extremely good for him. And as far as his, you know, one-sided type player, he was a Selki trophy finalist two years ago. Um, so and he plays on the penalty kill. This is not just a one-dimensional player entirely. I agree. I he I think he is a one-dimensional player. I think he makes them worse defensively, not better. Um, I they’ll probably be 30th or whatever defensively. I especially watching him in the playoffs, some of the some of the things he’s done defensively in the playoffs, I’m shaking my head. What are you doing? What I mean, you’re just wandering around. You’re not even paying attention. You know, I’ve said that out loud as I’m watching it. It’s like what in the world are you doing? And so to me, you know, I don’t care if he was a Silky Trophy candidate or whatever. Um, it’s not whatever. I mean, it’s the best defensive forward in hockey. Now, he didn’t win it, but to be nominated, was everybody sniffing glue that year? I mean, I I don’t understand by what the Canadian media or you, you know, I just Okay. I’m not I’m not on board with it. I’m just not. And I I think they become a worse defensive team on a team that has to be better defensively. And all right, so he shows up and instead of being 10th in the league and scoring, you’re seventh in the league in scoring or sixth in the league and scoring. Great. Now what? I still don’t have a goalie that can make a save. I I still don’t I still I still don’t have a team that plays well defensively and I’ve I’ve just sunk 12 13 million into that. Oh, keep going. 14 50 whatever whatever the max is is what it would cost. Anyway, I I just Well, Paul, can I interest you in a bunch of five wins? That’s what I’m after. Right. I would rather go with the established winning uh players that that um can also score goals. maybe don’t can’t get 100 points, but allows me to put Zack Benson in Rochester and put a very decent hockey player into my top six uh that is that is going to be good offensively and good defensively and can score the big goal at the big time and and h and have been winners and are abrasive to play against. And um I would just rather have that player. I think that’s the player the Sabres need a lot more than just, and I’m just going to say it, a one-dimensional offensive guy type guy. Well, I I love that you have chosen to not respect the Selky Trophy finalist thing because it it certainly helps your argument and hurts mine, but I mean I I don’t know. I mean, I I the fact that he plays on the penalty kill and was nominated for that to me flies in the face of the reput. They got all offensive forwards. Oh, are you kidding me? They’re about what? Ponchius homeberg can’t kill penalties. Well, yeah. Yan Krue or whoever these people are. What are you talking about? They changed it around this year. They did change it around this year. They they were better defensively this year as a team. Um that game against Buffalo here in Buffalo, did the Sabres even have a scoring chance all night? I mean, they they just shut it down and got great goalending. So, yeah, they were better defensively this year, definitely. But yeah, at the end of the day, when they needed to be good defensively in a game seven, they certainly weren’t. Holy cow, Paul. Yeah, let’s we we can table the you know the modern thing is going to be there that that is going to be evergreen until July 1st when he signs you know with Tampa or whatever whatever’s going to happen uh wherever he ends up going. Um really though, one last thing, the point to me is the way I phrased it to begin with like if if cuz I don’t think any of these people are going to be interested in signing with the Buffalo Sabres like the top any of the names you mentioned here, Bennett and Marshand, who again I’ll say it again just in case anyone didn’t catch it. I’m sure you did. I I agree with you that that style of player is certainly in line with what I need. I’m just saying if Marner actually wanted to talk to me, I’m not hanging up the phone. Like I I I’m not going to feel too proud uh to to take that call and consider signing him despite him not being the best fit because I need to do something to change the narrative uh around this team. And he’s, you know, someone that I think could certainly do that. Um anyway, Paul, games five and seven in Toronto. Have you Mike Mike said it great after game five on Wednesday, Thursday and here he said it’s got to be the worst sporting event you’ve ever attended if you were there and I mean and I would agree and and then maybe last night only trumps it because you got the you got the game six to give you hope again and then here comes game seven and it’s really I’ve never seen a team after the handshakes when a series is over gather at center ice to salute the fans and get booed. I mean, that was brutal. And I’m not saying they didn’t deserve it. I mean, those two games, Paul, I just can’t even explain it. And that the thing about it is it’s not just this year. I mean, it keeps happening over and over and over and over again. And it’s so that’s I think the what makes it even worse that you’ve got a guy guys that perform very well in the regular. I mean, Austin Matthews is one of the best goal scorers in the National Hockey League in the regular season. And then he gets to the playoffs and where where is he? We need a goal. It’s game five. It’s game seven. Where where is he? Where why where are where are all these guys, you know, that that that are very very good in the regular season. And and as we as we said, they were a better defensive team this year. Thinking, okay, we’ve made ourselves better defensively. We have a goalender that’s playing very very well for us. Unfortunately, that goalender got hurt, but Wol wound up with a shut out along the way and he I don’t think he as good as Stellars was. But I’m not sure Stellaris would have changed this around. We don’t know. We’ll never know. But um that’s the thing. I think that’s what makes it worse is it just keeps happening over and over and over again. And and if you’re the Toronto Maple Leafs trying to figure out what are you going to do? What makes you think sticking with it is going to make it change all of a sudden? So, what do you think moving forward here? Not not for the Leafs entirely. I mean, I think their decisions will be largely made for them by guys hitting the market, though I guess maybe Tiver might want to stay and and they’ll have a choice to make there if they want to keep going uh down that road. really will depend on whether they can attract one of the players you’ve mentioned here because Sam Bennett seems like a perfect ready-made replacement uh for Tiveras uh on the free agent market should he get to the market. We’ll see how that all shakes out. But we’ve got Florida and Carolina in the east, Dallas and Edmonton in the west. Three of the four from last year. Only the Rangers were in the Carolina spot last year. Uh what what do you think of uh of the field left? It’s interesting that in the NHL, the overall placement of these teams, you got team five in Dallas, team nine in Edmonton, team 10 in Carolina, and team 11 in Florida. And even in the NBA, you do have team one in Oklahoma City, but then you got to go down to team five with the Knicks, team six with Indiana, and team 10 with Minnesota. So the, you know, in both leagues, the higher seeds for the most part, other than Oklahoma City and Dallas, if you want it, just it just goes to show you, you know, the and Tampa did the same thing. Tampa didn’t care if they won the division. They didn’t care. They didn’t care if they won the President’s Trophy or any of that kind of stuff. It’s like, let’s get ready for the playoffs. That’s what the regular season for those teams. It’s an 82 game preseason. It’s like, let’s make sure we get in the playoffs, but we don’t care where we get in. Let’s just play, you know, and Florida’s 11th. Are they the 11th best team in the National Hockey League? I no, but that’s the way they they they hung out and and that’s what Tampa did for for those years, too. They just hung out, made the playoffs. They didn’t care. It doesn’t really matter if you’re home ice or not. I mean, the road team wins quite a bit in the in the playoffs. And I think that’s what we’re seeing now is teams, you know, good teams are just like, “Yeah, that’s nice to win the president’s trophy. Congratulations. We don’t care. Uh we want to hang the big banner up there and we’re going to get ready to play for that big banner.” And I think that’s what we’re seeing. Now, as far as Carolina, I I feel like Jacqu Laame Mer has reentered the league. Um I I do I I I probably would rather do chores in the backyard than watch Carolina play. I hated every minute of that. Washington Carolina series that I watched. I even would say like Owen would be in the kitchen, you know, grabbing something to drink or whatever be like, I hate watching these teams play. This is terrible. And I understand and people are right. Well, they win one cup yet, but they’re in the they’re in the top four. Yeah. So, it’s working for them to to play this way. It worked for the New Jersey Devils as Jacqu La Mer systematically ruined the National Hockey League by winning a couple of Stanley Cups that way and then making other teams think, well, we now we got to play that way. No, no, we don’t have to play that way. Why don’t we just play some hockey that we actually can enjoy uh instead of playing that way and and Carolina plays that way. And if they happen to win the Stanley Cup, then all of a sudden, here we go. We’re going right back to Jacqu Laair and the Devils. Uh fire Lindy Ruff and get Jacqu Laair in here. and hire uh you know Lou Lamarello and here we go and you know it’s just uh I I just do not enjoy watching Carolina play at all. Paul that’s coming across Paul Hamilton on the West her hotline here for a few more minutes. Um h how do you feel about the Amirs at this point? Paul 1-1 and what do we Wednesday Friday again? Yeah, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday if necessary all all in Laval. Yeah. Um, I know I know fans are going to say, “Stop making excuses for them.” But watching game one, I I I got just what I expected. The Amirs hadn’t played in 13 days. You know, Levis’s leaving rebounds out in a slot and and they they’re not good defensively. It’s a 54 game. Uh, it’s just not Ammer’s hockey. I mean, they just had to get themselves back into playoff form and back going again. And by game two, it was back. They played very well. Even in the first period, they limited opportunities for Laval. Played very, very well. I mean, uh, Laval had seven shots in the first period. I think three of them came in the last 30 seconds. I think they had four before that. Uh, you know, by the end of the day, Levi only had to look at 19 shots. Even though he gave up three, there were tips and things like that. I don’t think really you would have blamed him on any of the goals. He played well. I mean, he was back to being what we had seen him throughout the season. and the Amirs were back playing the way they’re very capable. And let’s face it, I mean, Laval had the best record in the American Hockey League. You’re not going to win three straight games there. They had to win that game at home, game two. And they they did a great job. Um, you watch the four goals that they scored, all guys going to the net, multiple guys at the net. Guys like Isach Rosanne, I mean, he he’s on the wall. He wins three battles going to the net and then just keeps the puck alive in the crease. He just sticks his stick in there and keeps it alive so Rousk can tap it into the net. And and there’s Rusk at the net, too. And it’s just like that’s what you want to see. You know, uh you know, what is Roseanne about? 175 lb soaking wet, but he you know, he’s up against a 200lb guy winning battles all the way to the net and and that’s the way they scored their goals and that’s the way they play. Mike Leone has that team playing very very well and it’ll be now it just becomes a best two out of three unfortunately for the Amirs. all three. Well, maybe maybe not, unfortunately, because the Ammex are one of the better better road teams in the American Hockey League. So, they’re comfortable playing on the road. So, maybe it’s not that big of a deal for them to have to go there and win two out of three games. How how much uh like Laval season series, we had Kevin a club on on Friday, Paul, um and he mentioned how the season series had been very heavily in favor of Laval. And I wondered, and I think I brought this up with you last week when we we started to have an idea about what what the field looked like and who they might be matching up with here, whether physically they would be able to handle it. And is there somewhat of a mismatch there between these two teams or is it not that pronounced? No. Yeah, they’re a bigger team and they’re they’re not as goon and and rough and tough as Syracuse is. That was a good start for Rochester to play them because it’s just a goon squad. I mean, it it looks you you think like you’re watching some version of Slapshot watching them. And uh you know, the Amir stood up. The Ammers basically said, “Go ahead. You guys hit us in the back of the head and take us head first into the wall. Uh we’ll score on the power play and we’ll we’ll beat you in three games and you guys can then go home.” And that’s basically what happened. You know, Syracuse didn’t stop playing like that. Rochester couldn’t have cared less and they played their game and and they won in three games. And that’s what I saw in game two there and game one. They didn’t back down in game one, but game two also. It’s not Laval isn’t they’re they’re big and they’ll slap you around a little bit, but they’re not like Syracuse. And uh you know, the Emirates are fine with it. They they they stood up to it. As I said, you know, they’re in they’re right in there with the scrums. They’re not backing down to anything. Uh they’re at the net, which got them uh four goals and then an empty netter because they’re at the net. They don’t care if you get cross-checked or whatever. It’s like, fine, you do what you have to do. We’ll do what we have to do and uh we’ll let our skill take over. Did you enjoy the Subway Series, Paul? Yes. Uh I actually was taping the game yesterday so I could watch it after the hockey game, so I I didn’t know that Bellinger had hit a a grand slam till like 1:30 in the morning uh when I was sitting there watching it. So, uh it was Yeah, that was that was fun to see. That would be a great World Series. What what impressive you avoided the result of your favorite baseball team’s game until what 11:30 at night? That’s incredible. Well, I just stay off Twitter. I don’t need to be on Twitter as I’m watching a hockey game. Um, you know, so, but what about all my witty observations, Paul? Well, I’ll c I catch up eventually, but I got to be I got to be done with the baseball game before I can start catching up. You you know, I do that. I do that sometimes with Bill’s games, you know. I I I’ve actually been on the road when a Bills game has started and basically have been able to avoid the result till I get home that night and can watch the game and have no idea what happened in the game. It’s it’s not easy to do especially with our guys around you that are interested in the game, right? But I have pulled that off before to be able to do that. And sometimes I hate commercials. So sometimes on a Sunday like a road game starts at one o’clock. I’ll go shopping, go get groceries or whatever, and then, you know, I’m DVR in the game, and when I get home about, I don’t know, 2:15, 2:30, I kick off, and then I can fast forward through commercials and everything. And basically, by the time I’m done, I finish the game around the same time everybody else does. But, uh, you know, and again, listen to this guy. I I’m not a well, you know, Twitter is not my favorite thing in the world. So, staying off Twitter is not a not a Sure, I get that. Not a hard thing for me to do. Uh so especially on a football game like that, I stay off Twitter. I’m I am like you on on Bill’s game days for sure. Like I don’t the game starts and I I try not to be there because you know everything is the worst thing that’s ever happened uh you know as soon as there’s a three and out or whatever. And I just that overreaction I don’t need that in my brain space generally speaking. So I I I try to avoid that uh while the game is on. Obviously, you know, with Bills fans there, the Bills have never committed a penalty in the in the history of the franchise. And and you know, that’s fine, but to me, the refereeing is just horrendous in the NHL. It’s in the NFL. And it’s horrendous for everybody. I mean, I I can sit there and pick out, you know, a lot of penalties that the Bills should have gotten or a lot of penalties that the Sabres should have gotten, uh, and a lot of penalties that didn’t go their way, too. It’s just it’s horrendous refereeing. And so I I don’t need to read about how the Bills got screwed by the referees and all this. No, everybody gets screwed by the referees, not just the Bills. Yeah, the Bills did. So did everybody else. Yeah. Right. Well, I wanted to just squeeze in real quick, Paul, that I did not uh appreciate uh the Yankee fans being so rude to Juan Sto. Uh so I’m sure you I’m sure you love that, but I you know, I just I didn’t feel like that was very polite. I think he was genuinely surprised that they that they treated him that way. by that game though, by that ESPN game, he was basically just standing out there like a deer in headlights. He you know how he likes to have fun and interact and he did that in the first game and it wasn’t working. And he started like going out at the last possible second to take his place in the outfield. He’d stay in the the dugout. Everybody else is out there warming up and he’s still in the dugout and just out there. He did not look like he enjoyed it at all uh out there and I I think he was rather surprised. He got the greeting. I don’t know why I think he was in New York long enough to know how fans react to things out there, but he to me, maybe I’m wrong, but just looking at him, he seemed genuinely surprised he was being treated that way. All right, Paul, thanks a lot for this. I’m sure we’ll catch up later in the week with the Amirs playing on Wednesday and on Friday. Uh be well, buddy. Thanks. Take care. That’s our Paul Hamilton on the West Her hotline and his appearances here on WGR. Brought to you by Equitable Advisors. Planning for your futures about more than just money. Let Equitable be your guide. And by Rayax Honda. Railax, we got this. We’ll hit up a timeout. 8030550 is the number. You want to talk a little more about something Paul and I talked about. Mitch Marner isn’t a free agent idea. Paul likes other ideas more. You know, I don’t think any of it’s going to be worth much because I don’t think any of them are realistic. Thus, thus is life as a Sabres fan and observer. 8030550 is the number. The guest train will continue in about half an hour. Brian Kosiel will be with me to pour over the uh second major of the season. Won by Scotty Shuffler yesterday at Quail Hollow outside Charlotte, North Carolina. We’ll talk about all that with Brian at 6, but time for your calls between now and then. Again, at 8030550, Mike is off today along with Zach Jones. I’m the bulldog and you’re listening to WGR. We are on to the conference finals in the Stanley Cup and NBA playoffs. Toronto fell last night in game seven to Florida. So now the East is Florida versus Carolina. That’s going to get started tomorrow. While out west it’s Dallas versus Edmonton. That’s going to begin on Wednesday. And three of the four teams that are in the conference finals this year were there last year. Carolina being the only new team. They take the Ranger spot from last season. While in the NBA, in the East, it is deja vu from the9s. Indiana versus the Knicks. That series is going to begin on Wednesday. Then out west, it’s Minnesota versus OKC. That’ll start tomorrow. Minnesota and Indiana, they’ve never won an NBA title. The Knicks last one in 1973. And the Thunder, they’ve never won one in Oklahoma City, but they did win a title as the Seattle SuperSonics back in 1979. Then some other playoff action over the weekend. The Bandits drop game two to the Rush. They’ll have to wait until Saturday for the series deciding game three. That game will be on Buffalo and can be heard right here on WGR. And then some football news. The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced a multi-year contract extension for head coach Nick Serriani coming off of last year’s Super Bowl win. And the 49ers locking in another player to an extension following Perie and KD as allp pro linebacker Fred Warner signing a three-year 63 million extension. 56 million of that is guaranteed making him the highest paid linebacker in the league. And then in golf, Scotty Shuffler. He won his third major on Sunday. He takes home the PGA championship and we’ll get more on that as Brian Kosil will join the show in just about a half hour at 6:00. That’s your Padoc Chevrolet sports headlines. Padox Chevrolet celebrating 90 years of being your hometown at dealership. I’m Zach Jones for WGR Sports Radio 550. Well, I’m ready. I was here. I’m sorry. I just needed a second. I found that I I don’t I don’t like how I look without my glasses on. And you know, I know there’s, you know, maybe as many as a dozen people watching this stream. So I I I feel like I want to I want to have my glasses on. I want to present, you know, how I But if I put my headphones on before I put my glasses on, it’s hard to put my glasses on. And what I did there, the music started playing. And I remember Zach had said a few minutes ago, I actually did remember no clip. It’s not going to be a an audio clip. It’s just going to be music coming in. So I knew, okay, get ready. I put my headphones on. I have my glasses on. and I take my headphones off with it. That was the delay. You didn’t need to know any of this really. I wish I didn’t know. I I you know, sometimes stuff just comes out. I I I don’t know. I can’t explain it. Uh good good to have you with us, though. By the way, I am uh I’m the Bulldog. Mike Schop is off today. He’ll be back tomorrow. Uh Zack Jones is uh here as well. I was just looking by by the way, I was a little distracted uh because I I wanted to look I I think and and I I gotta confirm this with Mike. I don’t I don’t look at these odds that often and nor do I have them memorized, but I feel like for a while as the playoffs were getting going, Carolina had if it if it wasn’t the most favorable odds to make it to the final, um it might might have even been to win the cup because the path looked, you know, pretty convenient. Um, and I’ll bet some of that, well, it certainly was the matchups, their side of the bracket, Montreal, Washington, um, you know, as it turned out. I mean, you know, of course, they had Montreal in the first round, so that was their matchup. They didn’t have to draw Washington um, in round two, but they they they did. Oh, no. Excuse me. I got that wrong. Washington played Montreal. Um, who did Carolina beat in the first round? I have that open here. Let me let me, you know, I’m sorry. I I’m I’m botching the point. Um New Jersey, the New Jersey, right, without Jack Hughes. So easy easy first two rounds. So, you know, if they’re likelier to get through than any of the other teams, their odds for, you know, potentially winning the cup are going to be more favorable. Well, now that’s changed. They are the last choice on the board. It’s close. It’s not It’s not a huge gap or anything. Um, Florida’s the favorite plus 2 240. Edmonton has the same plus 240. Dallas is plus 280 and Carolina plus 300. Um, and I think I I I think that’s right. I I think Dallas is the best team left. Uh, but we’ll see. I mean, Edmonton is that that’s going to be a big challenge. They lost to this team last year in the conference final. They didn’t have Ratin, so we’ll see how much of a difference that makes. Uh, but I I I like Dallas. I’m also uh I’m a I’m a Dallas I’m a Dallas investor. I I have one of those ridiculous championship parlays uh going and um Dallas to win the cup is and now I can’t for some reason log into my account because I’m a [ __ ] Um so I’m not gonna be able to tell you. Uh well I know who the teams are. Um, I I would have liked to give you all the odds, but it’s Dallas to win the cup, Oklahoma City to win the NBA title. So, yesterday and Saturday were good days for me, right? I mean, Dallas wins in six against Winnipeg. And makes it to this conference final against Edmonton, excuse me. And, uh, I needed Oklahoma City to get past Denver and they bludgeoned him in game seven. Uh, so they did it and they get they get to match up here now with uh with Ant and the and the Timberwolves and um you know, we’ll see what happens in the East here with the Knicks and the Pacers. Uh, but I’m alive. I’m I’m halfway home in both the NBA and the NHL championship rounds uh with with those choices, Dallas and Oklahoma City to win. I have those two paired up with the Mets in Major League Baseball, which is why I’m so sensitive to Juan Sto being treated meanly by the Yankee fans because I’m a big Met fan now. And uh, of course, the Bills to win the Super Bowl. Uh, those are the four. And I can’t remember if I put 10 or 20 on it, but it’s going to pay $37,000 if it comes through. Um, you know, it’s obviously way it’s super long shot bet, but that’s the kind of stuff I love. I what I mostly am hoping for, I will consider it money well spent if we get absolutely through these first two, which you know, we’re we’re a few weeks out from both the NHL and NBA crowning champions. If I get Dallas and Oklahoma City, I am going to be impossible to deal with by the fall. um when when the or really all summer because I I will be I will be going over to Howard Simon’s house to watch the Mets with him uh and be riddled with the anxiety that Howard has been living with and many other Met fans as well uh for all these years because I will be for the first time in my life pretty seriously in I it’s not a lot of money that I’ve that I’m out if it doesn’t happen but obviously the payoff is massive. So, um, uh, I I will have a lot of Mets anxiety, I anticipate over the summer, again, if we get there. No rush. Again, halfway there. Each of my teams in the NHL and the NBA have won uh, two rounds. They each have two rounds to go. So, I’m hardly a made man in this area, but still, you know, each step pretty big. So, uh, I’m alive. At least that’s all I can ask for today. Josh is first up this segment. Hi Josh, thanks for calling. You’re on WGR. You know, this is my favorite station on YouTube. I am so glad and fortunate I found the station. I’ve been a Saber fan. I’ve been a Buffalo Sports fan for years. I live in East Coast of Canada again in Newfoundland and and bragging about Buffalo Sports here. Believe you me, I’m often by myself in high praise. Uh Bulldog, you’re right. You do need the glasses. Thank you for putting those on for all of us in the YouTube chat, including myself. Mitch Marner, guys, listen. Mitch Mner, why do we want him here? What we need here, guys, in Buffalo, our character guys. We need leaders. We need guys who want to play for the Sabres, enjoy the city, and want to see the drought continue and be part of something special. And I don’t know if Mitch Martyr back against the wall. I don’t know if he’s he’s that type of character guy we’re looking for. In addition, Lindy Ruff, love having him back. I do enjoy Adam sticking to his guns. He does have a plan. He anticipated that our young kids, our prospects would be in the NHL and do what they did in the minors and things like that. It doesn’t work that way. And Adams made a miscalculation, but you don’t kill the rebuild. It is what it is. We do have some rock stars, but if we added some character, guys, some leaders to help the influence there as well. I know this roster is built for success. Don’t blow it up. My goodness, I love the program. Bulldog and the staff, continue the good work. And everyone in YouTube, listen, continue to cheer. The Bills are looking great. There will be a championship in Buffalo, and I will be at that parade, guys. Have a good night. All right. Cheers to New Finland. All right. I I I I don’t I don’t know. Um I can’t definitively say that’s the first time I fielded a call from Newfoundland or the Maritimes, but I uh but I enjoyed it very much. I I I think it’s a lot. This is this is a part of my initial presentation about the Marner thing. Um I think it’s a lot to assume that he’s not a good character guy. Um, and I look, Paul can disregard the Canadian media or however he phrased it, uh, anointing Marner as a Selky Trophy finalist. I happen to respect that he was a Selki trophy finalist. I don’t think they’d throw those around carelessly. Um, so I think he’s a a more well-rounded player than he gets credit for. Um there’s so much blame to go around that I I think he’s getting I’m not saying he doesn’t he hasn’t earned I mean he hasn’t performed the way they need him to when it matters the most you know except for assisting on the go ahead game-winning goal in game six in a must-win situation but you know other than that um he’s earned the skepticism I get it my walking off point for this conversation. As ridiculous as it may be because of the Sabers standing, I don’t think they’re attracting Mitch Marner or Sam Bennett or Brad Marshand or Eric Cern. I mean, I I just think they’re gonna have a really hard time pulling guys into the boat for no small reason that the guy whose, you know, vision and rebuild here that our caller from Newfoundland wants to credit Kevin Adams for, you know, put a sign out front of the arena saying no one, you know, our party sucks. Like they’ve got the they got the Simpsons our party sucks cake courtesy of the GM. So, you know, the reputation of the organization is in a very bad spot. And my point about Marner is simply about beggars and choosers and not being so mighty, I don’t think Martner’s a perfect fit. But if for some reason I can’t think of one other than logistics, which is he’s his family’s from around Toronto and Buffalo’s close, that’s it. All right. And may and maybe that’s all you need, right? But if he wanted to take your call, if he wanted if he was interested in entertaining the idea of playing here, I’m so desperate at this point organizationally that even if it’s not a perfect fit, I’m going to find a way to make it work. Oh, where am I going to put him? I don’t know. I’m going to let JJ Purka wander off into one of the Great Lakes. I don’t care. I’ll do whatever I got to do because 100 points versus the 50 or 60 is a big difference. So, this idea to me, I have a feeling Paul and I are going to be butting heads about this all summer until Marner signs, you know, for seven years and 14 million a year with the LA Kings. Uh we, you know, we’ll we’ll be butting heads about this. would be the the most pointless argument you’ve ever heard because the chances of him wanting to come here I think practically don’t exist. Okay. All I’m saying is if that were a mistake, if his agent Darren Ferris and Mitch Mar are there going, “Man, I’ve always wanted to play in Buffalo. I love going down there. I love 911 Tavern.” Like what whatever. I have no idea what could possibly attract I’m I got to Wings already. It’s day one of this. I’m at Wings. Okay. Uh and his family lives, you know, two hours away. If one of the best players to ever hit free agency wanted to take your call, I am not interested in listening. I I I guess I’m I’m going to be pretty bullheaded about this, which will be a problem. I’m not interested in listening to an argument about how he doesn’t fit. I’ve not been to the playoffs in 14 years. I don’t I will make it fit. I will build you whatever you need built. What? What do you want? I’ll figure it out. You want skates made out of seashells, I’ll figure out a way to make that happen for you. Like I need anything I can get my hands on. So that’s that’s it. I sure like if if I could objectively just look at the market and pick out players that I’m going to land, um I don’t know that Mar would be at the top of my list either. I I like the I I don’t know about Marshand at his age, but the Sam Bennett idea that Paul is is is liking sounds great to me. And and likewise, if he wants to take your call, I’m going to overpay him out the wazoo. Just cuz he took my call. That’s the state of things with the Buffalo Sabres. I don’t know. I’m I’m grateful for the call from Newf Finland, but Adams’s vision, man. I’m I’m I’m struggling with that. 8030550 is the number. I’m the bulldog. This is WGR. rolling towards the top of the hour. We’re going to get Brian Kosial in uh in just a few minutes here uh for his thoughts on the weekend’s action on the links. Uh second major of the year, PGA Championship won by Scotty Sheffller. Uh so we’ll pour over that with Brian coming up here in about 10 minutes. Uh, real quick want to mention a promotion that we got going, but it’s only for another couple of weeks here. This Odyssey VIP golf card. You’ve heard the morning show guys and Jeremy White specifically uh doing some longer form spots here with different people who are involved with this, different people who are sponsoring it. Uh, Brett Blakeley from Encore Golf, Diamond Hawk Golf Course, and others. Um, this card $129. It’s a $328 value. So, you’re talking about 61% savings. Almost $200 in savings. $1.99 in savings. What you get with the card, 18 holes with a cart at Diamond Hawk Golf Course. Um, you get uh Golf Dojo indoor golf simulators. You get an hour uh there. Shamrock Hills Golf Club, which you may remember as Holland Hills. Uh that 18 holes with a golf cart included. Attica’s 10th hole in golf course included around there. A dozen Encore. I mentioned Brett from Encore. Encore Golf, a dozen of those balls valued at $40. Uh Bobble Link 18 holes. You want to go play some par three under the lights. A $25 certificate to our buddy Rick Zurax Golf Warehouse. Uh Destroyer Park Golf as well is included in this. So, a lot of different a lot of varieties there. Um and maybe some places that um like for instance myself, I’ve never played Adica. Um, so I’d be interested in doing that. I’ve played most of these other places a time or two, though. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Bobbleink. Anyway, the point is get to wgr550.com and uh the get my perks section of the website and find yourself uh find your way to the Odyssey VIP golf card for 2025. uh great value and an opportunity for you to maybe, you know, push yourself outside of the places you normally go because you’ve got this this card which a huge discount uh involved. Again, getmy perks.com is where you can find the details on the WGR VIPolf card. Getmy perks.com. Speaking of golf, the host of Teta Green as well as our Sabres pre and post and intermission host uh Brian Kosio will be with me right after this. So, do stay tuned. We’ll pour over Scotty’s big win yesterday at the PGA Championship when we continue. Mike is off today along with Zack Jones. I’m the Bulldog and you’re listening to WGR. enter the conference finals for both the Stanley Cup and NBA playoffs. In the NHL, in the East, it is Florida versus Carolina. That is going to start tomorrow. While out west, it’s Dallas versus Edmonton. That’s going to begin on Wednesday. And three of the four teams who are in the conference finals were there last year with Carolina being the only new team as they take the Rangers place from last year. While in the NBA in the East, it’s the 1990s all over again. It’s Indiana versus the Knicks. That’s going to begin on Wednesday. Then out west, Minnesota versus OKC that starts tomorrow. And for the NBA, Minnesota and Indiana, they’ve never won a title. The Knicks last one won one in 1973. and the Thunder have never won one as the Oklahoma City Thunder, but did win a title as the Seattle SuperSonics all the way back in 1979. In the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles officially announced a multi-year contract extension for head coach Nick Serriani. This comes after the team won last year’s Super Bowl, and the 49ers continue to throw up extensions for current players. Perie KD and now allp pro linebacker Fred Warner. three years, $63 million extension. 56 million is guaranteed and that does make him the highest paid linebacker in the sport. And then Scotty Sheffller, he wins his third major on Sunday. He takes home the PGA championship. And we’ll get more on this as Brian Kial joins the show next. That’s your Paddock Chevrolet sports update. Paddock Chevrolet, celebrating 90 years of being your hometown dealership. I’m Zach Jones for WGR Sports Radio 550. It’s Mike Shopee and the bulldog. Happy. The ball itself has its own energy or life force, if you will. Its natural environment is in the home. So why don’t you send them home? It’s Mike show. Why didn’t you just go home? That’s your home. Are you too good for your home? Answer me. And the bulldog. That happened Gilmore. He’s a real crackup, isn’t he? I mean, he’s a hoot. You know what was great today? One of his fans mooned me and I had Happy written on his ass. Ha on the one cheek and then sure enough PPY right there on the other. It’s Mike Schop and the bulldog. Happy learned how to fight. Uh-oh. On WGR Sports Radio 550. Super cool of you to choose to hang out with us this afternoon and into the early evening hours here. Welcome to our Brian Kosil who joins us now on the West Her hotline. Mike has been off today. I am the bulldog along with Zack Jones and Brian. We we thought we were dead and then maybe we well we really were dead no matter what cuz Rom was was the one who was challenging and that would have cost us more money as it turned out. So I I guess in the end I was rooting for Sheffler by the time the thing ended. But it it started out like a coronation and it got a little rocky and then we were back to oh he’s just gliding to the finish here even bogeying 18. Who cares? Uh quite quite a Sunday. It was, it reminded me of kind of how Tiger used to win, right? Like he would, it would be close and you’re like, “Oh, maybe someone’s going to challenge him and then he would play well and the others would fizzle and he all of a sudden is walking up 18 with a six-shot lead in a major.” Um, you know, Sheffller obviously maybe doesn’t do it with the flare and the and the vibe that Tiger did. Uh, and I’m not I’m not in any way saying Scotty Sheffller is anywhere near what Tiger Woods did, but um it reminded me of how Tiger would win a major, how we’d always say, you know, these guys end up collapsing or these guys end up falling back and Tiger pulls away. And that’s kind of what happened on the back nine and it was exciting there for a moment. You you know, they they go into the back nine and him and Rom are deadlocked and then you got to Shambo who’s right there and a couple of other golfers within striking distance. Adam Scott was within a couple of strokes. Norin was in within a couple of strokes and then you know it felt like what within four holes it felt like it was over again because everybody had gotten back. I know Rahm had to really play aggressive in those final three to try to maybe make something up there and that’s really not what you want to do on those final three holes anyway. But um yeah for Shepler he played his best in the final nine and uh now major number three for him and that put them in some really nice company. Maybe the biggest shot that contributed to Sheffler being able to pull away a second time like he did was Rahm. Was it Rahm? Was it 14? Is that the drivable? He he he he hit what looked like a perfect shot and it was one of those shots that we we’ve all hit him where you’re standing either in the T- box or in the fairway like, “Oh, look at this shot. This shot Oh, that bounce. Oh, it just took such a tough hard right bounce on him uh into that bunker and then he kind of botched the bunker shot enough that he left himself a little too much cuz even on the broadcast I think Illeman was saying like this is not a real hard shot. Just get it on the green and let it roll down the hole and you should be good. But he didn’t get it to the green uh enough. He got just caught enough of the fringe that it held up and it left him, you know, I guess maybe six or seven feet instead of three. Yeah, that whole I I like the setup that the PJ had there because you had the the really really challenging finish with 16 17 18, but 14 and 15 were definitely getable. You had, you know, 15 to par five and then 14, you just mentioned the drivable par4 and that was a big swing. I mean, Rahm could not take advantage of it and Sheffller did. Sheffller went backtoback birdies on 14 and 15 and that’s really where he where it was over right there. Um once he birdied those two in a row and I think the lead ballooned to maybe five or six at that point, uh then you knew he was going to be fine even though the last three were tough. I mean you knew he could just kind of play it safely on those holes and be fine the rest of the way. Um yeah, I mean for Rahm, um you know, I feel like I’ve been pretty critical in the sense that I think he’s been very underwhelming in major since he’s joined Liv for a variety of reasons of whatever Liv does or doesn’t get you ready for these strenuous tests of golf over four days. Uh Rahm seemed as though like when he was in on the PGA tour, like I thought, you know, him and Scotty were essentially toe for toe in terms of what they had been doing and accomplishing. And obviously since he went to live, Rahm has, I think, been really, really disappointing in major. So to have him there yesterday, I think it’s exciting for golf. I think Rahm, even if you don’t like him, I still think he’s a person that is entertaining to watch. And um, you know, in the end, obviously, he couldn’t handle it. And that that hole that you mentioned, that Jarville par4 was one of the couple of swing holes that definitely went in Sheffller’s favor. Yeah. Can you put into some context what Sheffller I mean because you you mentioned and I get why you would like you’re not comparing him to Tiger. Um because you know there’s obviously a long way to go here. Um but what are we talking about? Like it’s only been about three years really since he’s been prominent on the scene and he’s won a lot in those three years, right? Yeah. I mean it almost seems like he he feels like he has more mate. I mean, before yesterday, he only had won the Masters, which seems like not the case because he’s been so good. He has won two Masters, which obviously is an incredible accomplishment, but it just felt like he had more. Uh, yesterday was number three. Now, that still puts you in incredible company because he’s only 28. So, what does Sheffler have now before the age of 28? He’s got 15 tour wins and three majors. So, who has done that? Who’s won 15 or more times and has three majors at 28 or under? Sheffller’s now done that. There’s only two others. It’s Nicholas and it’s Woods. So, like that in perspective of the longevity comparison that looks really, really good. And you know, he obviously Sheffller, he’s been dominant, but it’s only like you said, it’s only maybe been for about two and a half, three seasons tops here. But when you look at what he’s done at his age, I don’t even know. I feel like Sheffller, I feel like he’s been here longer. He even just looks older than 28. But um the fact that he’s won 15 times, he’s got three majors, and you know, only Nicholas and Woods have done that by age 28. That makes me feel good about maybe where he could go still going forward, realizing he’s probably got a dozen prime years of golf still left in him, I would think. Yeah. Some of that is just his style, his demeanor. like he seems I don’t know for some reason as you were talking there the phrase old soul came to mind like he in an era where like there were some pretty I mean obviously Tiger was a huge personality even if he didn’t really let you in like it was just he he he was kind of allconsuming right look watching him play and just everything around him but other guys that have like Rory’s a big that everybody got swept up in that and that’s a long time ago now I know 10 years or more since he sort of hit the scene and became a a cool story. Dashambo, Kepka, these big muscley guys that are hitting it in miles. Here’s Sheffller. I’ve joked around that he, you know, his style on the golf course looks like me with gift cards after my birthday at Marshalls. Like, he’s not, you know, he’s just not a super flashy guy, but, you know, he’s obviously ridiculously consistent and excellent, but I think the style stuff might work against him. you know, he’s just not he’s just not someone who I don’t know grabs you the way some of those other guys might and and really it’s that there isn’t pro and con like Dambo had his fans and his detractors Kepka fans and detractors Tiger even fans and detractors the swearing and some of the you know different stuff the outburst and temper Sheffller is easy to ignore except that he wins all the time. I think you’re right. There’s not anything that’s really like not likable about Sheffller, but when you know you you sit here and say like you’re wowed on TV, I’m or watch when you’re watching him. I’m wowed by his accomplishments, but in terms of like being entertained, I feel like it’s more of a respect factor with him um than you are like when we watch when we watched Woods, I mean, even him walking down the fairway, people were like, “This is awesome.” You know? Right. Right. Yes. Shuffler just You’re right. He just he just kind of goes about his business. He comes off as just being super like polite and likable and everybody on the tour seems to have nothing but nice things to say about him. Uh he wins in a soft manner. I actually thought his celebration on 18 was like the most emotion. Yeah. I feel like I’ve seen onto him that was anything like Tiger when he slammed his hat down after he won um and kind of you know got excited a little. I mean that was the most really emotionally you ever see out of Scotty one way or the other. So yeah, he he does it in a way that maybe doesn’t give him as much credit as he probably should. He’s had an outstanding dominating stretch here for three years. And you know, now multiple Masters wins, multiple players championship wins, and now a PGA championship win. So um putting himself in, you know, good company. I I got to think that he’s going to be the favorite here going into the next major at the US Open. So, um I I think the style is is tough to like wrap around. Like, hey, just maybe because he doesn’t lack the pizzazz or the character or the personality or even the love hate that some of the other golf greats have had here over over our lifetime that maybe he should be getting more credit even than what what what he’s getting. Do do you think that last night when he won I love talking about the broadcast with you because I know you pay a lot of attention. We were texting about something Nan said about Rahm. uh late in the in the broadcast and I don’t pay close enough attention to know if he says things that are more critical of the Liv guys or not, but he at one point last night referred to Rahm. Unfortunately, he ended up being roadkill on the green mile and I was like I texted you like did you hear Nance just say that? Like it almost felt to me like Nance had cursed. It was such a strong thing for him to say about a golfer. I thought the end where they did basically what they did with Rory at the Masters, you know, just silently watched the interactions with the family and the friends and the coaches and all the stuff. I think with Rory that was a cathartic grand slam moment. I don’t know. I I thought it felt a little awkward and forced that they they left Sheffller for that long without talking because it it’s a major win. It’s big, but I I don’t know. I just felt like it was a little a little too much of a thing that worked really well at the Masters. Yeah. And and maybe they maybe because they did get such rave reviews for how they handled the end of the broadcast, maybe they thought like, “Hey, let’s let that happen again. Let’s do that again.” Yeah, that’s the only thing I could think of. The the comment though that Nance said about Rahm being roadkill. I did think for Nance who never says anything negative about anybody, like I thought that was a little bit severe and harsh for what he does. normally. And Nance, who by the way, just on his own is a very good golfer. He played D1 golf. Like he he is one that is not just a great announcer, but he’s appreciative of golf because he knows it and he knows it well. He was roommates with Freddy Couple for those that have heard the story at the University of Houston, a very good golfer and, you know, was on the team and all that sort of stuff. So like he knows good golf when he sees it. And I think um you know for him to criticize anybody like that in that moment. I don’t know if it’s lived driven but announcers definitely I feel like have gone out of their way to try to go after the live guys for one way or the other or even be critical of oh they’re not showing enough shot like at the Masters Patrick Reed was actually like one shot off the lead there at the end but you barely saw him up until like the 16th hole. you know, is that a decision of CBS or the other people that have broadcasting uh you know, rights and and contract agreements with the PGA Tour? I guess I can’t say for sure. The PGA Tour itself doesn’t run uh the the Masters and stuff like that. So, I’m I’m wondering ultimately maybe if there is a decision of like, hey, we’re not going to show the live guys unless we really have to wink wink kind of thing. I don’t know. But Nance’s comment did seem a little bit off for a spot that he normally is not critical at all. And usually you let the analyst do that, but Trevor Imlman is not really Johnny Miller where he’s going to go out and say something, right? Yeah. Hardly. Right. More like polar opposite almost. I I might say. Hey, before we wrap up, I wanted to thank you for Friday. I know you were uh tied up with a with a tennis match and and I hope it went well. Dude, you steering Tim Freeze to us was just fant it probably has been 30 years since I talked to Tim. like I I I I I I had barely remembered that I had met him and played golf with him when he was at at Transit Valley. Um I don’t know if you heard the segment because you were obviously busy with your tennis match. Man, he just did a great job. So, thank you for steering him to us. No problem. I will say that I did go back and listen to it and he was excellent and I the the energy of Tim being excited about being at that event. Yeah. I’m sure you felt it because I could feel it on the replay when I went back and listened to it on the app. Um, he is so energetic and passionate about growing the game of golf and the fact that he was at the PGA and obviously has a part in the PG of America’s decision-making. I mean, Tim being on the Northeast board and everything. So, um, when I talk with him, when I see him at Glen Oak, when I’m there, either doing shows or just having a random conversation, he energizes me. So, I’m glad it went well. He definitely has a love for the game for sure. And Tim is an amazing player. I’m I think he mentioned he’s played in senior PGA Championships and has tried to make PGA championships. He’s the best player that I’ve played with and I played around with him at Transit Valley. I remember playing with him I don’t know a decade ago and I think I shot I don’t know maybe like 81. We played the tips with him. I think I don’t know maybe like an 81. This is I hope he’s not a Coville bragger. I think I shot maybe like 81 and I was like wow. I’m like, I felt really good and Tim was so complimentary the whole time. Brian, you played great. You got to be excited. Can’t wait to Meanwhile, Tim shot 67 that day, right? I was waiting for that. That’s what I expected. Yes. At the end of it, I remember saying I’m like, Tim, like, aren’t you don’t you want to like try to play pro here? And he’s like, ah, those guys are at least five or 10 strokes better than me. And I’m like, damn. Like six and seven and we barely noticed it, you know? Yeah. Amazing. Well, thanks again for that, Brian, and thanks for this and um I mean onward to the US Open. You’re you’re on deck, buddy. Yep. Looking forward to it at Oakmont. Thanks, Bulldog. Have a good day. Thanks. That’s Brian Kosil on the Western Hotline. We’ll hit up a timeout. Get back to the Leafs and another game seven disaster. Joe Yan for Bleacher Report was in attendance for both of these home games. Game five on Wednesday, game seven last night. We’ll pour over all of that with Joe after this on WGR.

What, if anything, do the Leafs failing again in a Game 7 teach/tell us about the Sean McDermott Bills?

If* the Sabres could sign Marner to a max contract, would you do it?

*”if” doing some pretty heavy lifting here.

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