What does it all mean? WGR's resident soccer expert Nick Mendola attempts to explain.
Let's go T-Wolves? Flynn to Minnesota I wasn't going to type this on Jeremy's 30th birthday, but I am not a Syracuse fan, which made the last few years very difficult. Niagara Falls standouts Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris seem to be kids worth rooting for, going back to my days writing at the Niagara Gazette, but seeing them in orange made me hope they ended up on a fine NBA team.
On to the Finals! States shock Spaniards Four pints of Guinness were totally expected for Wednesday afternoon's Confederations Cup clash between No. 1 Spain and No. 14 USA. I just expected them to come in misery, not to stave off nerves as myself and several friends bounced up and down at a local establishment (Coles, if you were wondering if I was one of the dorks there screaming) in anticipation of one of the greatest upsets in US Soccer history.
Why I'm Worse Than Jon and Kate Plus Hate Problogue: Whatever horrible things I say about anyone in the next few paragraphs, please know that I realize I'm just as bad -- if not worse -- for playing into it.
My wife is a regular viewer of a television program called "Jon and Kate Plus Eight," and has been for several years. As such, I've seen my fair share of episodes, sometimes of my own volition...
The States get soccer silly Sound the Vuvuzela, as the buzzing will continue for American soccer in the face of everything improbable. The States needed to win by three and have Brazil win by three, which is stupid enough before you consider that the Amerks have looking nothing shy of crap for the first two games of group play in the Confederations Cup.
Bills going throwback? Best/worst NFL unis ranking With the news that the Bills will be unveiling an all-white throwback uniform on July 30, Sportstalk Saturday became a show about the best uniforms in pro football, and how the Bills would be among the best if they committed to the old gear. After discussion between Nick Mendola, Dan Cave, Brian Koziol, callers, emailers and even texts from Paul Hamilton, here are our football uniform rankings:
East vs. West (WGR 550) -- ...And then there were two.
The NBA's playoff rebirth continues in the finals, as the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic face-off in a series with more subplots than "Lost" (Actually, that's impossible).
The Athletic Table of Adjectives: Bad On Sportstalk Saturday, myself and producer Dan Cave stumbled upon a topic of interest. While taking callers on our beloved Buffalo Bills, we discovered that our area needs to come up with a global chart of bad. For example, if you call in a post-game show and say, "They were just awful today," we want to make sure the team was actually awful. The list is inside.
Finding Truth in Tragedy -- On Izaiah White A lot of things change in 23 months. In that time, I've been married, bought a house and adopted a dog with my wonderful wife. My beloved UB Bulls football team has leapt into prominence under Turner Gill. We watched some huge auto companies crumble, kept an eye out for change on the waterfront and elected a new president.
We also lived through the life of a child in its entirety.
Bills rookies hit the streets (WGR 550) -- Honestly, ask yourself this question -- What would you rather have: the Key to the City or a dozen brand new hats and a free ride on Buffalo's magical mass transit system?
The answer and more, as Nick Mendola hung out with the Bills rookies for part of their tour of Buffalo.
Rock and Roll Rushmore Rebuttal (Sorta) On Friday, Mike Schopp and The Bulldog conducted a listener survery regarding the "Mount Rushmore of Rock." Nick is far-too-music-nerdy not to respond.
Don't read this if you haven't watched the "Lost" season finale I hate the phrase "spoiler alert" more than anything because it's allowed ESPN and Yahoo! to use it as a headline whenever any sort of underdog wins anything, so if you're a fan of "Lost," and don't want to know what happened... don't click on this article. That's fair warning... deal with it.
Gary Bettman's Cup salutes What does the Commish have prepared for the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions? You'd have to ask Michael Chiklis, but here's what Gary Bettman may have in store.
What I Would Fix... (WGR 550) -- Thursday morning, Howard Simon and Jeremy White have been discussing with callers what they would "Spring Clean" from sports.
Here are some new rules.
Weekend Wrap Nick Mendola wraps up a busy sports weekend, touching on Pacquiao/Hatton, the NHL playoffs, the Kentucky Derby and the passing of Jack Kemp.
Live Pick-by-pick Immediate Reactions (WGR 550) -- As the NFL Draft goes, so does WGR. I'll be here all afternoon and evening updating and critiquing picks as they happen. If you're online, this is the place to be.
Email me as the day goes with any thoughts, and I'll include them: nick@wgr550.com
LATEST PICKS:
No. 64 -DEN (from PIT)- Richard Quinn, TE, North Carolina
No. 63 -ARZ- Cody Brown, DE, Connecticut
No. 62 -TEN- Sen'Derrick Marks, DT, Auburn
No. 61 -MIA (from IND)- Sean Smith, DB, Utah
No. 60 -NYG- William Beatty, OT, Connecticut
No. 59 -CAR- Sherrod Martin, S, Troy
No. 58 -NWE- Sebastian Vollmer, OL, Houston
No. 57 -BAL- Paul Kruger, DE, Utah
No. 56 -IND (from MIA)- Fili Moala, DT, Southern Cal
No. 55- ATL- William Moore, S, Missouri
No. 54 -MIN- Phil Loadholt, OL, Oklahoma
No. 53 -PHI- LeSean McCoy, RB, Pitt
No. 52 -CLE (from NYJ)- David Veikune, OL, Hawaii No. 51 -BUF (from DAL)- Andy Levitre, OT/OG, Oregon State
No. 50 -CLE (from TB)- Mohamed Massaquoi, WR, Georgia
No. 49 -SEA- Max Unger, OT, Oregon
No. 48 -DEN- Darcel McBath, CB, Texas Tech
No. 47 -OAK- Michael Mitchell, S, Ohio
No. 46 -HOU- Connor Barwin, DE, Cincinnati
No. 45 -NYG- Clint Sintim, LB, Virginia
No. 44 -MIA- Pat White, QB, West Virginia
No. 43 -CAR- Everette Brown, DE, Florida State No. 42 -BUF- Jairus Byrd, CB, Oregon
No. 41 -NWE (from GB)- Darius Butler, CB, Connecticut
No. 40 -NWE (from OAK)- Ron Brace, DT, Boston College
No. 39 -JAX- Eben Britton, OT, Arizona
No. 38 -CIN- Rey Maualuga, LB, Southern Cal
No. 37 -DEN (from SEA)- Alphonso Smith, CB, Wake Forest
No. 36 -CLE- Brian Robiskie, WR, Ohio State
No. 35 -STL- James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State
No. 34 -NWE- Patrick Chung, S, Oregon
No. 33 -DET- Louis Delmas, S, Western Michigan
FIRST ROUND:
No. 32 -PIT- Evander "Ziggy" Hood, DT, Missouri
No. 31 -ARZ- Chris "Beanie" Wells, RB, Ohio State
No. 30 -TEN- Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers
No. 29 -NYG- Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina No. 28 -BUF- Eric Wood, C, Louisville
No. 27 -IND- Donald Brown, RB, Connecticut
No. 26 -GB (from NWE)- Clay Matthews, Jr., LB, Southern Cal
No. 25 -MIA- Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois
No. 24 -ATL- Peria Jerry, DT, Mississippi
No. 23 -BAL (from NWE) - Michael Oher, OT, Mississippi
No. 22 -MIN- Percy Harvin, WR, Florida
No. 21 -CLE- Alex Mack, C, California
No. 20 -DET- Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State
No. 19 -PHI (from CLE) - Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri
No. 18 -DEN- Robert Ayers, DE, Tennessee
No. 17 -TB (from CLE)- Josh Freeman, CB, Kansas State
No. 16 -SD- Larry English, LB, Northern Illinois
No. 15 -HOU- Brian Cushing, LB, Southern California
No. 14 -NO- Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State
No. 13 -WSH- Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas
No. 12 -DEN- Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia No. 11 -BUF- Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn State No. 10 -SF- Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech
No. 9 -GB- B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College
No. 8 -JAX- Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia
No. 7 -OAK- Derrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland
No. 6 -CIN- Andre Smith, OT, Alabama
No. 5 -NYJ (from CLE)- Mark Sanchez, QB, Southern Cal
No. 4 -SEA- Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest
No. 3 -KC- Tyson Jackson, DE, Louisiana State
No. 2 - STL - Jason Smith, OT, Baylor
No. 1 - DET - Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia
I think you could be missing something here For the next few minutes, I want you to hit the kill switch on your preconceptions of sport. Take a deep breath, and open your mind. If I promised you that a major American sport is starting to become as good as it ever has in terms of talent, effort and game play, and told you exactly where to find it, would you watch?
Quick NBA Playoffs Preview w/ Nick & Dan The National Basketball Association begins its playoffs Saturday with a new champion looking all the more certain given Thursday's report that Kevin Garnett will likely miss the Celtics' playoff run. The Howard Simon Show's Dan Hager and Nick Mendola break down the first round in quick, digestible bites that can catch any onlooker up on a long season.
Nick sees an extremely low seed springing a first-round upset in the first round of the NHL's "second season."
Dhani "Tackles" WGR Cincinnati Bengals linebacker and bow-tie enthusiast Dhani Jones has a show on The Travel Channel with one of the coolest concepts you can dream up for a professional athlete. Nick Mendola caught up with him to talk about the show, his family in Buffalo, Michigan football and more.
Yes, we've dug out from under our igloos and opened our eyes -- only for three seconds at a time, mind you. We don't want to risk the dreaded Buffalo Eye Frost. We know how to be safe in the cold, just as we know that when the Bills signed Terrell Owens, they took on more baggage than an intercontinental freighter.
To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 1 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy tips.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 2 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy tips.; tournament; WGR; Jeremy White; Golf; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 3 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy tips.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 4 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 5 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 6 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 7 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 8 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala;
WGR Golf Tournament 2009 Rub elbows with sports royalty Monday, July 13 at the Westwood Country Club.
WNY Stimulus Guide We've cut through the clutter of the stimulus package to help you find tax breaks, credits, and cash!
