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00:06And I don't, I don't, I don't feel like I'm in, I'm on the verge of clearing any hump.
00:11I feel like really the hump is a major impediment to me right now.
00:15Last night's result has increased the size of the hump.
00:21Right?
00:22How are we doing out there, everybody?
00:24I killed Mike.
00:27I mean, not, not literally.
00:30But he's not here again today.
00:31He missed Monday.
00:32He couldn't talk Monday.
00:34Could barely talk yesterday.
00:37And was definitely coming to do the show anyways.
00:40So my inviting him to come sit nine rows up at Center Ice last night did not, I don't think,
00:48have any real bearing on his missing today.
00:50I think he would admit, because believe me, I was with him the whole night.
00:54And this is not a man who was walking around the concourses talking it up and visiting with friends.
00:59He got in that seat and never left until the game ended.
01:03I don't even think he would have to go to the John.
01:06And he did not say barely a word above a whisper to me because his voice was bothering him.
01:11Anyway, he's not here today.
01:12But I don't think I compounded things by bringing him to the game.
01:17He wasn't going to be able to talk after blowing it out yesterday, doing four hours from the concourse prior
01:23to game five.
01:24The potential clinching scenario goes by the boards as the Sabres lose 2-1 in overtime to the Bruins.
01:31You want to know how sure I was they were going to win this game last night?
01:34How sure I was?
01:36Well, I mean, the commitment I made to get those tickets says one thing about it.
01:42How about this?
01:43I get in my truck after that ended, and I'm listening to Brian Koziel and some new guy hosting postgame.
01:49That was my son.
01:50And thank you for all the compliments.
01:53I mean, honestly, dozens?
01:56I don't know, hundreds?
01:56Hundreds, just people, we're recognized more than ever now, YouTube, and I get a lot of compliments on Owen, and
02:04it's gratifying and nice, and thank you.
02:07Anyway, so I'm listening to Brian and Owen hosting postgame, and I'm sitting in the ramp like, I don't even
02:16know when game six is.
02:18I never even looked at the schedule.
02:21I knew, for golf reasons, that a potential game seven would be Sunday, but I never looked at when game
02:28six would be, because I thought the Sabres were absolutely in the driver's seat, obviously in a great spot, up
02:353-1 going into that game, and now they lose it, and what?
02:40But you're still in a good spot, you're still up 3-2, but now, in order to close this out
02:49and avoid what might be a terror-inducing game seven scenario, the Sabres have to go win a third game
03:01in Boston in this series.
03:04And, you know, look, that could happen.
03:06They looked, they played, their best two games in the series have been in Boston.
03:11I think, right?
03:12I mean, is there any even arguing that?
03:14I know they weren't great for all of game three, but once they got going, they were clearly better, and
03:20then game four was absolutely just taken out back.
03:27So there is that, but we heard all about going into this series, and even when the scene was shifting
03:32to Boston, one of the best, second-best road team in the league, excuse me, second-best home team in
03:37the league all year long, and, you know, look out, that might be tough.
03:42They know how to protect home ice, and all the Sabres did is go in there and win two games,
03:46one of them almost laughably convincingly.
03:50So, look, can they do it?
03:52Of course.
03:52But I would, I have to be honest with you.
03:59I am going to be fighting this fight.
04:01We've got an extra day to fight this fight.
04:04There are a number of things that are true here, I think, that I think were true before the series
04:09started and that I still believe to be true.
04:13I think the Bruins were the best possible matchup for the Sabres of the first-round possibilities.
04:19I think they are the better team.
04:27But I'm super nervous now.
04:30I am also from here.
04:33I've lived here for all but two and a half years of my life.
04:38So, I've grown up here, I became an adult here, I moved away for a little bit, and I came
04:44back, and kind of, to some degree or another, I don't know, as best I possibly could, got my you
04:50-know-what together.
04:51And, like, I have a life, I have a career, I have a wife, I have a home, I have
04:54a family.
04:55But it's all here.
04:57And so, you know, 3-1, easy street, they're going to win.
05:01I don't even care.
05:02I'm wearing my Sabre hat because if they get a hat trick, I'm going to throw it on the ice.
05:06I don't care.
05:07I want to be here for this moment.
05:09I have never had a big game like that moment.
05:14And I know it's just the first round of the playoffs, but I have not been, I haven't been any
05:19of the Bills' playoff wins over the years.
05:22I've seen Sabre playoff games in person where they've won games.
05:26I was at Matthew Barnaby's hat trick on Mother's Day in 1998.
05:29That was awesome.
05:31But I've never seen them clinch a playoff series.
05:34And so, last night felt like that opportunity for me.
05:38So, I poured it all out, like, super confident.
05:41I don't know, super confident.
05:43I was nervous.
05:44There was anxiety.
05:46It's impossible for me to pretend that, I mean, I can tell you, yes, I think they're still the better
05:52team.
05:53Yes, they've looked great in Boston.
05:56So, you know, why worry?
05:58Just go, you got two games to win one, whereas you had three to win one going into last night
06:04and you didn't get it.
06:05And it was, like, razor thin.
06:07I mean, it just, Sabres could have won the game any number of times in the third period and into
06:13overtime.
06:13They didn't, and Pasternak gets behind him and it's in the net and we are headed back to Boston.
06:21And the amount of increase in the level of anxiety is just impossible for me to pretend that it's not
06:28there.
06:29As much as I would like to be the brave face of, you know, last Tuesday before game three, no,
06:38last Thursday before game three, Mike asked me, would you take a split in Boston?
06:43I'm like, no, they're the better team, go get two games.
06:45And they did that.
06:45And they still are the better team.
06:48But it just, this is the playoffs.
06:50This is what, when we were talking about it, you know, weeks before it came, we knew they were going
06:56to get in.
06:56And maybe this waited in earnest until they actually clinched.
07:01But, you know, we got to get back in shape.
07:05We have not been getting playoff reps, right?
07:09We don't, I don't remember, we don't remember how the twists and turns and the adrenaline and the anxiety and
07:17all of it can over, just overwhelm you.
07:21And I'm not overwhelmed.
07:23I've got two days.
07:24Like I said, I hope maybe talking with all of you today can sort of get that, you know, help
07:29get me straight.
07:31But I'm kind of freaked out.
07:33Like, I would tell you, honestly, if we were in a bar talking and I wasn't on the radio, so
07:42let's just pretend.
07:43Let's just pretend we're at Moor Room.
07:46And they're sitting down having a nice pint and we're talking and like, hey, man, what do you think about
07:52game six?
07:53I'm like, it feels like a 3-1 loss.
07:56But I said, despite the default setting, it does not take long to get back to, oh, no.
08:03And I hate this about myself.
08:06I hate it when it's represented and put forth to me in this show, on this show.
08:15But I totally understand it.
08:19I'm a living, breathing example of it.
08:22But I want to tell you, calmly and coolly, they're still the better team.
08:26Don't worry.
08:27Yes, losing Auslin hurts, but Josh Norris is a good hockey player.
08:32And he's an obvious plug-and-play, right where you don't even do anything else to the Lions.
08:36If you don't want to, maybe they will want to.
08:39They've got to practice tomorrow before they fly to Boston.
08:41And maybe they'll mess around with some stuff.
08:44And maybe that's even called for.
08:46It feels like it's been a while since McLeod, Zucker, or Quinn scored a goal.
08:49Although they came very close last night in the opening minute of overtime.
08:53Oh, my God.
08:55Anyway, vibe check, everybody.
08:58How are we doing?
09:00I'm laying it on you here.
09:02This is how I'm doing.
09:03I'm kind of feeling a little bit like a basket case.
09:08I don't know that I'm ready for game seven, if it comes.
09:13So I really need them to go get this game on Friday night.
09:21Just to avoid that.
09:23I mean, I know, high drama.
09:24It would be awesome.
09:26And it's a home game, but wow.
09:31You don't have a lot of history that helps you if you're a Sabres fan and you're thinking,
09:35oh, I kind of like their chances in game seven.
09:38Because they've won exactly one.
09:40One.
09:41Uno.
09:41One.
09:41For the cameras.
09:42For the people watching on the Twitch.
09:44That's one.
09:44And I'm using the proper finger there, not the one that would be swearing.
09:50So that's tense.
09:54What else do you want to know?
09:56Last night was incredible for me personally, even though it ended the way it ended.
10:05I was in the building for game one in 07 against the Islanders.
10:09I forgot about that when we were talking about comparing notes.
10:12I mentioned how 20 years ago, life just did not allow me to stay for these games.
10:18I would do pregame or the whole show and pregame with Mike in the arena.
10:23And then at like 645 or 715, depending on what time the puck drop was, I would walk out
10:28the doors as everyone's filing in and get in my truck and sort of slug my way out of
10:34the parking lot I was in.
10:36Again, being that person that's the wrong way person, because I had to get home.
10:41Because the kids were four and two and my wife was working overnights or in grad school
10:45or I don't even know what 20 years ago.
10:47But I just know I didn't stay for many games.
10:49But I was there for the Islanders game one.
10:53And last night was just the most electric sports atmosphere I have ever been a part
11:01of.
11:03And I don't even know, maybe that game in 07 is close, but you know, think about it.
11:08In 07, I know how I felt going into game one against the Islanders.
11:11I was like, bring on the Ducks.
11:15I'm not ready to scream and yell and wave my rally towel.
11:18Because this is a formality.
11:20This is not that urgent.
11:22Now, after 15 years of waiting, and I know we've had a couple of games already, but here
11:28we are, third home game of this playoff run.
11:30It's not a run yet.
11:31It's still just one series.
11:33And that building before face-off was incredible.
11:38I've never experienced anything like it.
11:42And the anthem, thank you, by the way.
11:47Like, my wife at one point, you know, she was working last night overnight.
11:51I woke up to a text from her of a screenshot of Mike.
11:56And she's like, is that Mike?
11:58I'm like, hon, go to my Twitter feed.
12:01I mean, so many of you needed to make sure I knew.
12:06I mean, I'm grateful.
12:09We were on camera on the broadcast during the anthem.
12:13The anthem was amazing.
12:16Here's the thing you don't know.
12:18I mean, at least I didn't know.
12:20Maybe I should have.
12:21But when Cammie Clooney's Mike cut out, I didn't know there was a technical difficulty.
12:29I thought that she was giving the crowd the opportunity to do what they do.
12:36You know what they do in Edmonton?
12:37You've seen that, right, in hockey playoffs.
12:39I don't know if they do it in the regular season.
12:42Edmonton, Vancouver, I know, has done this.
12:45Definitely Vancouver, the guy in the tuxedo.
12:47They've been in the playoffs in a little while now.
12:49But we'll sing the opening stanza of O Canada and then just hold the microphone in the air and everybody
12:56sings it, right?
12:58And now Cammie Clooney did not hold the microphone in the air and there's your first clue that maybe she
13:02wasn't asking for help.
13:03But clearly the crowd recognized.
13:06I mean, there's a good amount of people who sing the anthems anyways, but they just took over.
13:13And you're correct if you observed the video of myself and Mike.
13:18I did not sing.
13:19I don't want to speak 100% for Mike, but I'm pretty sure he didn't sing.
13:23I didn't know really what was happening.
13:25I mean, I knew it was the anthem and the crowd was singing, but I didn't know it was technical
13:29difficulties.
13:29And what I was thinking the whole time looking around was, when did this become a thing?
13:35How did I miss this?
13:37How did I not know that we had become a crowd that loudly sings the Canadian national anthem?
13:42I mean, you know, I know and I'm glad that they have always played it, regardless of the opponent, because
13:48of the proximity to the border and out of respect to so many of their ticket holders.
13:52I think that's awesome.
13:53I'm proud of that.
13:54And I'm proud of the way that crowd reacted.
13:56But I thought I'd missed.
13:57I thought I missed a meeting.
13:59I mean, I'm on the radio, and I'm thinking, how did we not talk about the fact that we do
14:04this now?
14:05It turns out we don't.
14:06We just did.
14:07It's not a thing that we've been doing.
14:10Maybe it will become one now, and that's awesome.
14:12But I was more than anything.
14:15I mean, it shouldn't have taken much for me to sing a couple of lines of O Canada.
14:19I mean, I know as many of the words as the average Buffalonian, probably.
14:24But I was really just befuddled watching it all and looking around, just going, I didn't know that this was
14:31something.
14:31I didn't know this was a thing.
14:33So that was awesome.
14:35And I love seeing so many Canadian listeners.
14:39And I even heard some people calling Brad and Tim in the show before this one, complimenting the fans.
14:45And it was a really cool moment to be a part of.
14:49And I said, I don't think I said this on the air yesterday, but we settled down into our seats.
14:57And I'm like, all right, now I'm relaxed.
15:00Leading up to the game, I'm tense.
15:02We're working.
15:03I'm trying to do a good show.
15:04But I'm distracted, and my mind is racing, and my stomach's in knots.
15:09Okay, I got a can of beer.
15:11The game's about to start.
15:12I'm in my seat.
15:12This is great.
15:13I think I said to Mike, they get a power play goal early.
15:16This place is going to go insane.
15:18And then they did.
15:19I'm like, okay, here we go.
15:21And to Boston's credit, man, they really buckled down.
15:26I thought this game was Buffalo's game to start maybe for the first 10 minutes or so, and then Boston
15:34just slowly took it over for the next 30 minutes or so.
15:39I thought the second period ended, and I thought Buffalo was extremely fortunate to be tied 1-1.
15:45I thought Boston was the much better team and the much more dangerous team in the second period and even
15:51had some opportunities to beat Lyon, and I think maybe they just missed.
15:56I mean, he made enough saves.
15:57I'm not dogging him.
15:58I'm just saying, man.
16:00The Sabres were very close to being behind in that game, I think, and maybe deserved to be.
16:05But they weren't, and that's to Lyon's credit, too.
16:09And so the third period starts, and I thought Buffalo sort of took over most of the third period and
16:15had plenty of good chances to finish it, and then, of course, overtime.
16:19And we get the result we got.
16:21So vibes check is what we're all about today at 803-0550.
16:25Again, Mike is out sick with no voice.
16:28He does not feel sick sick, by the way, in case you're wondering.
16:31He's at a hockey game.
16:32He just can't talk.
16:34This happens to us occasionally.
16:36It's happened to me sometime after football ended, I think.
16:42Just woke up one day like, I can't talk anymore.
16:44I'm going to have to take the day off because that's a job requirement.
16:47So anyway, where are we at?
16:51How are you feeling?
16:52There's the lineup to talk about.
16:55Auslin's injury is big.
16:58I'm going to stop short of saying massive.
17:01I mean, undeniably, that line improved when he took over for Norris.
17:07But Norris, if healthy, is still an excellent hockey player.
17:11I know what the first two games looked like.
17:13Game two to me, I can wash away to I think that's where he got hurt.
17:18Unless, and I was talking to Paul earlier, and Paul will be with me in a couple of hours,
17:23is wondering if he's been nursing something the whole time since he came back from injury
17:28late in the regular season.
17:29I don't know.
17:31All I know is that's an excellent hockey player.
17:35And yes, you're going to miss Auslin because of what you were getting from him
17:39that you weren't getting from Norris in the first two games.
17:43But I think if Norris is healthy, you can still get that line back.
17:48Because they really missed that last night.
17:50I mean, hat tip to Kozak for fitting in there.
17:55And he had a great chance in the third period pretty late, but couldn't get it done.
18:01You know, good for him for stepping in.
18:04But they have a very obvious plug-and-play replacement for Auslin, and that is Josh Norris.
18:09So I'm going to hold steady on what level of crisis that is.
18:17But there is talk here that Lindy may tomorrow want to look at some different combinations
18:23and see what happens.
18:24So we'll probably have that to talk about, if not so much today, maybe more tomorrow
18:28after they practice and then fly to Boston for Game 6 on Friday.
18:35803-0550 is the number.
18:37JD will lead us off here in the 3 o'clock hour.
18:39Hey, JD, how you doing, man?
18:40Thanks for calling.
18:41You're on WGR.
18:43Pleasure, Bulldog.
18:44Great talking to you today.
18:46I just wanted to say my old man took me down there when it was Pilot Field to watch it
18:51when
18:51there was the Bisons, when it was the Pirates organization.
18:56And after that, we spent probably six, seven times down in Buffalo every year.
19:02Bills games, Wings festivals, beer festivals, Bison games, of course, and Sabre games.
19:06And last night, when that anthem cut out, it left itself open to possibly some douchebaggery.
19:14But the people of Buffalo stepped up, and that was pure class last night.
19:18And as a Canadian, as a lot of stuff that's going on, we can definitely say that Buffalo
19:24is a friendly place for us Canadians, and we love you down there.
19:28And a lot of people up here are behind the Sabres and really hoping that we get to the
19:33next round and beat the dastardly Canadians, and we're going to do it, Bulldog.
19:37We're going to beat the Boston Bruins, and we're going to get to that next round, my friend.
19:40But I want to say, and I know it's been talked about all day, but just that meant a lot
19:45last
19:45night, just everybody getting behind the anthem when the microphone cut out.
19:51Thanks, my friend.
19:51Have a good day.
19:52All right, J.D., appreciate that.
19:53Yeah, I mean, I definitely feel that.
19:56The social media tells you that.
19:58I mean, I've got a lot of Canadian audience that is, you know, letting us know that we
20:03were on screen during that and complimenting the crowd and all that.
20:07And again, a couple of them poking at me for not participating in the singing.
20:12But I never sing the anthem.
20:14I just, I've never, I'm not a singer.
20:16I never sang in church.
20:17I'm just not, I'm not someone who sings.
20:19And so, but like I explained already, mostly I was just looking around wondering when did
20:27this become a thing?
20:28I didn't realize it happened because of there was a problem with the singer's microphone.
20:34I just, I didn't have any, there's certain stuff you miss when you're at the game.
20:37I never saw Auslan get hurt.
20:39I'm sitting nine rows up behind the benches, right?
20:43So there's a couple of dead spots and one of them is the corner to the right of the
20:49Buffalo net.
20:49You just, there's not an angle that I can see what's going on down there.
20:53And that happens to be where Auslan got fallen on by Middlestat.
20:57So I didn't see him.
20:59I couldn't hear him yelling, which other people could.
21:03The way the glass is in the arena, if you are sitting and you're like your, your sight
21:07line, your head is above the glass level.
21:10You hear the ice a lot more than if you are lower and the glass sort of, it soundproofs
21:16you to an extent.
21:17So I had no idea what happened to Auslan until maybe, I mean, I knew, I knew he wasn't out
21:24there, but I didn't know why.
21:25I didn't know what had happened.
21:26I started to assume like, well, he must've gotten hurt.
21:29Right.
21:29But I didn't, I didn't see the play.
21:32I didn't hear the play and just did not, did not know.
21:36And so same thing with the microphone.
21:38And maybe if I was at home, I would have been watching Cammie Clooney more closely and
21:43see her sort of look, cause you can watch the clip of it now and you can tell that she's
21:49got a problem with the mic and she's kind of looking behind her like, like, what do I
21:52do now?
21:52And then the crowd just picked her up and it was, it was magnificent.
21:57There's a word I don't use a lot talking about a hockey game experience, but it absolutely
22:01was magnificent by the crowd.
22:04So yeah, I mean, as many of you as want to get through, uh, to make that point, uh, I'm
22:09totally here for you vibes check folks.
22:12The Sabres missed an opportunity to knock out the big bad Bruins last night.
22:16They are now facing a game six Friday night back in Boston with a potential game seven
22:22Sunday lurking.
22:25803-0550 is the number we will plow through as many phone calls as we can in the next half
22:30hour, four o'clock, we'll have our final draft meeting with our man, Chris Trapasso, put
22:36the lid on the bills, 2026 draft five o'clock, Paul Hamilton will be along with his observations
22:42from last night and the way forward here for the Sabres, but lots of time for us to hang
22:49out and talk.
22:49So feel free to get on board again at 803-0550.
22:53Mike.
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