Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - As the late, great Larry Felser would say, "It's one of those opinionated days".
I'll start by congratulating the Buffalo Bandits on a second-consecutive National Lacrosse League championship. I don't care what sport you are talking about, it is never easy to repeat as a champion, because you have the target on your back.
It is even harder to repeat when you are sitting at 5-6 halfway through the season and look dead in the water, as was the case with the 2024 Bandits.
However, head coach John Tavares' group persevered and earned their spot in the playoffs by winning six of their last seven regular season games.
They kicked it into high gear in the postseason, going 5-0 against the Georgia Swarm, Toronto Rock and Albany FireWolves in the NLL Finals.
The Bandits are the first team to go back-to-back in the NLL since 2015 and 2016 when the Rush won in Edmonton, and then in their new home in Saskatchewan.
As always, the atmosphere at KeyBank Center, a.k.a "Banditland", was outstanding. There is no question it is the best building in the league on game nights. A sellout crowd of 19,070 was on hand for the title-clinching victory in Game 2 over Albany, and you could feel the energy in the building, even though I was watching at home (yes, I was hunkered down in my basement).
Congratulations to the entire Bandits organization, and tip of the cap to the best fan base in the NLL.
Related
According to the outstanding contracts website Spotrac, the Buffalo Bills have a little over $2 million in cap space right now. That will change on June 1 when additional cap space will be created due to the official release of cornerback Tre'Davious White, who was originally let go back in March.
Come June 1, the Bills will have $10.1 million in space to play with. Remember last June when they signed veteran free agent Leonard Floyd? His signing turned out to be a godsend, as Floyd led the pass rush with 10.5 sacks.
Floyd has since departed via free agency, but there are still some candidates out there for this season's version of a Floyd signing.
Yannick Ngakoue had just four sacks last season, but had 19.5 the previous two seasons combined. Emmanuel Ogbah had five sacks last year. At age 37, Calais Campbell still managed to record 6.5 sacks in 2023. Carl Lawson is still on the market too. He didn't have any sacks in just six games with the New York Jets last season, but did have seven while playing a full 2022 campaign.
Related
I love all the sports-related series being produced by Netflix. Watching "Drive To Survive" got me hooked on Formula 1 racing. But they've expanded their shows to include tennis ("Fast Break"), NASCAR ("Full Speed") and men's golf ("Full Swing"). I recommend all of them.
I love going behind the scenes and getting to know the different personalities and their day-to-day lives in their respective sports. The last two episodes of "Full Swing", which covered last year's Ryder Cup, were absolutely riveting.
I've always been a huge fan of HBO's "Hard Knocks" series. I've watched their training camp show every year, and I love the addition of an in-season "Hard Knocks", especially when I got the up close and personal look at the Miami Dolphins' late-season collapse last year.
If you can't stand the Dolphins, like me, go back and watch the episodes on their final two regular season games against the Baltimore Ravens and the Sunday night AFC East showdown with the Bills.
But I think they're going to miss the boat with the newest idea, a "Hard Knocks" offseason version. They recently announced they will be following around the New York Giants.
I do like the idea of watching head coach Brian Daboll at work, but who cares about watching the Giants go through OTAs and minicamp. The show will end prior to the Giants reporting to training camp.
Feels like this will be a waste of time.
Time for two more congratulations.
First, to Vic Carucci, who will be going into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. The former and longtime Bills beat writer for the Buffalo News, now WGRZ-TV contributor, has certainly left his mark on Buffalo sports.
Vic has covered the NFL for more than 40 years now, and has been a teacher and friend to me. When I first started covering the Bills in the early 1990s for WJJL Radio, I always watched Vic to see how he got the job done. I learned how to be a reporter by being around him at camp, at games and during interviews in the locker room.
I later got to work alongside Vic for a show called "Pro Football Focus" on Adelphia cable. He knows football inside and out, and is truly a pro's pro.
Congratulations, Vic! This honor is extremely well deserved.
Finally, congratulations to head coach Rob McCoy and the Niagara University baseball team.
One of my many part-time jobs included working on some of the broadcasts this season. McCoy led Niagara to its best baseball season ever with 35 overall wins and a 20-4 record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. That earned the Purple Eagles a share of the regular season title, the first ever for the program.
It also earned McCoy Coach of the Year honors for the first time in his career on Monteagle Ridge.
I hope all of you are doing well. I do miss you.
