Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Now, that’s more like it!
A "Won Buffalo" weekend to cure the past two weeks’ worth of woes by the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. Honestly, needed that from both of these teams.
It would be nice to keep this up!
One day, my brain will make sense of what is in there. Until then, I’ll embrace how I’ll jump from topic to... Oh hey, I saw a dog!
Flag Day was on June 14, not Oct. 14
If I wanted to see zebras all day, take me to the zoo, OK?
I didn’t know I could be so mad at the color yellow, but here we are.
The referee crew of the Bills-Jets game on Monday night was terrible, for both sides. A tied season-high 22 accepted penalties in this game overshadowed a game with a Hail Mary at the end of the first half, plenty of first half explosiveness, several missed kicks by both teams and usual Josh Allen chaos plays.
Instead, this game became about the refs, because they made it about themselves. It was a feat to have three-consecutive plays without a flag.
I’m pretty sure I just got a 15-yarder for hating on the refs throwing so many flags, repeat second down.
Admittedly, the flags got so bad to me that I turned it off with 10 minutes left in the game, and just listened to it instead. Sadly, the NFL won’t make many changes, since football is still king and we’ll be back next week because we’re all sickos.
Bills fly the Coop(er)
They did the thing. Holy moly.
General manager Brandon Beane made a trade to bolster the wide receivers room. Buffalo has had some major trouble getting consistency from the wide receivers this season, particularly against the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans.
Hours after the New York Jets acquired Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo went and added Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns.
Cooper is a much cheaper cap hit, and was always the more realistic possibility for an addition for Buffalo compared to Adams.
Even if the move doesn’t pan out, always tip the cap to a general manager sensing the need to add and taking a swing, especially for just a third-round pick in 2025 and a seventh-round pick in 2026.
While Beane does cause some impacts in Round 3, they went into this past draft without a third-rounder and still got one in defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (who has looked solid so far).
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It’s Buffalo’s puck, make it stay that way
The past several Sabres games have seen the Blue and Gold dominate puck possession, and it is a very refreshing change of pace. However, they still lost one of those games in the home opener.
However, Paul Hamilton told me over the weekend on "Sports Talk Saturday" that those who were there probably got their money’s worth. Paul has a good point, since the Sabres simply kept up their good play into Saturday's game, and it resulted in a resounding win for their first of the year.
The Sabres have a week on the road before another four-game homestand. If the Sabres can come back home with a couple of wins, the vibes could be on the mend.
Buffalo has plenty to fix with its game, however.
Of course, there is the power play. The Sabres are one of four teams without a goal on the man advantage this season (Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs are the others). Even more strange is the Sabres are one of two teams with more goals shorthanded than on the power play (New York Islanders have two shorthanded goals and one power play goal).
Finishing in all situations is also a key issue to tackle, as they are 31st in the NHL in goals above expected, while being eighth in goals expected (stats from Evolving Hockey).
Clearly the Sabres are getting quality chances, but not burying the puck. If this team wants to stay in the win column, they need to score on more of these quality chances.
That said, they also need to keep their foot on the gas and keep creating those chances!
The Dominator
I’ve never been more distracted by a burger in my entire life. Four patties, brisket, bacon, cheese and a lot more.
Just look at it!
I haven’t been able to make it to either home game so far, so I have questions about this massive burger.
First of all, why?
Second, how does one eat that thing sitting in-between several people?
Third one, does it have a to-go box?
Fourth question, is it messier than the Sabres on the power play?
Finally, is it as delicious as it looks?
There is a lot going on with that burger!
I might be too scared of its power, so I might need people to talk me into going toe-to-toe with this behemoth (@DerekKramer49 on Twitter, still never calling it what Elon wants, rebel for life).
Nerd Corner
Yeah, go ahead and shove me in a locker, I’m bringing in the Nerd Corner. Every week, get used to it.
Last week, “Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero” came out, and it has been a very fun and challenging game to play. If you are not a fan of the franchise, it is a very fun game that is meant to be an imbalanced fighting game, because not all characters in the show are equal. This game brought me back to my high school days, getting off the bus and waiting for DBZ to turn on.
This game brought me back to my high school days, getting off the bus and waiting for DBZ to turn on.
That said, have you ever played a game where you’re forced to be a character you absolutely despise? I got more annoyed that a story with Frieza continued more than getting the beatdown of the century by the computer.
