Volume 3: Bills, takes and Dad mistakes

Proud Papas

Since our son was born, I’ve wanted him to play soccer. I like soccer, but I wouldn’t put it anywhere near my top four favorite sports. That honor goes to football, basketball, hockey, and WWE.

The reason I’ve always wanted him to play soccer is because of my father.

My dad was born in Sicily in 1944 and came to America in 1972. He basically lived out the two biggest Italian stereotypes: pizza maker and construction worker.

Now, you probably think this is the part where I tell you about how my dad and I used to play soccer together in the park or how he’d sit me down and tell me stories about Pelé.

Yeah… that never happened.

My dad and I had a complicated relationship growing up. Between work, going out on the town, and about 200 other things I’ll save for my next therapy session, we didn’t exactly have the classic father-son bonding moments.

His loves in life were simple: pasta, gardening, and the goldfish in the fish tank. But if there was one thing we could bond over—outside of our shared love of produce and carbs—it was soccer.

Well… “bond” might be a generous word. It was more of a one-person conversation where I nodded along.

Did I know what the hell he was talking about when he brought up the 1982 Italian national team? Of course not. I was two years old. But to this day he talks like I should know the roster by heart. He’d rant about how soccer was fixed or how things were better back then.

Still, it was something he genuinely loved talking to me about. Soccer was one of his many mistresses. (Again… therapy.) So when I told him Andy was starting soccer in October, he was thrilled. He constantly asks me how Andy’s doing.

And I’ve had to lie.

Because Andy… was awful.

He wouldn’t stay still. He’d grab the ball and throw it at the glass—we were in an indoor soccer field. He ran toward the exit so many times I had to sprint after him and drag him back. When the coach said “run to shake the net,” he’d run the wrong direction and then throw himself on the ground.

The worst part was the ending of every class: the penalty kick.

Andy refused to do it.

Every week the kids and teachers would chant,

“Let’s go Andy! [Clap clap clap]

And every week Andy would scream. My wife or I would try dragging him toward the ball, and he’d just collapse on the floor while everyone stood there in awkward silence except for his crying. By the 17th class—or whatever it was—I was starting to lose faith.

My wife finally asked, “Why are we even doing this?”

Then March 1st, 2026 happened.

Andy woke up at 5 a.m. that morning, which made me want to die. But what it turned into was basically the beginning of a Rocky montage. When we got to soccer, something had changed. It was like Josh Allen turning it on in the 2018 season finale.

Andy did the drills. He showed possession, putting his tiny foot on the ball like a pro. He ran to shake the net and ran back to his spot when the coaches told him to.

He even jumped over a disk with his impressive half-inch vertical.

Yes, he still ran toward the exit three times. But who the hell cares? He was learning.

Everything was going perfectly. I felt like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop when he said, “It’s working!” while those little asshole kids are touching the ferret.

But then came the moment.

The end of class.

The penalty kick.

The kick he had never attempted because he normally ran away or screamed.

And guess what he did?

He walked up…

…and buried it.

No help from me.

Just walked up and kicked the damn ball. I immediately texted my wife that this was the best soccer class ever. Naturally she replied that it was probably because she wasn’t there. Then I FaceTimed my dad so he could see Andy.

I told him Andy had the best class ever, and my dad, in his thick accent, said:

“Andreeee… you kicka the ball nice!”

Andy looked at the phone and said:

“Kicka the ball? Nono.”

What really stuck with me came afterward.

I went up to the coach and told her it was Andy’s best class ever. She smiled and said something like, “It’s always amazing when you see a kid finally get it. When it just clicks. It’s like watching them walk for the first time.”

And she was right.

Because for months it was chaos. Running toward the exit, screaming during penalty kicks, me wondering why we kept showing up. But on that random Saturday morning, it finally clicked.

My dad got to hear that his grandson kicked a soccer ball.

I got to see my kid figure something out on his own.

And for a moment, three generations were connected by a sport that none of us were particularly great at or understood. Soccer wasn’t just one of my dad’s stories from the past.

It was ours.

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Sabres Vibes Are Too Good

True story: this section was originally just going to be about how I didn’t exactly care that Colton Parayko didn’t want to come to Buffalo. It was going to be about how the vibes are good right now and how you can’t really fault a guy for not wanting to move his family to a different city after spending more than a decade in St. Louis. It was going to go at the bottom in “Dad’s Shots” as a brief.

Then Tampa vs. Buffalo happened and HOLY SHIT.

I don’t even remember what happened before that game. Watching it felt like Game 1 against the Sens in the 2005–06 playoffs when the Sabres won 7–6. Buffalo and Tampa somehow decided to one-up that goal total. This game had everything: fights, goals, chaos, high stakes, and immaculate vibes.

What we’re witnessing might legitimately be the biggest in-season turnaround in Buffalo sports history. This team is fun because they can win 2–1 games or 8–7 track meets. And that Tampa game showed something else too: these guys are sticking up for each other.

When someone decides to take a run at the fucking captain, the entire bench not only reacts, but they want blood. That’s a far cry from last year when fans wanted to throw Mattias Samuelsson into Lake Erie for not sticking up for Tage Thompson after he basically got concussed.

That’s the difference between a team that hopes things go well and a team that actually believes in itself.

Hockey is a game of emotion and skill where the little things matter. It’s a culture sport. It’s a momentum sport. The players feed off the crowd, and the crowd feeds right back off them. For the first time in a long time, it feels like the Sabres and their fans are finally on the same wavelength.

This city has been starving for this feeling.

Not draft lottery talk.
Not “maybe next year.”
Not moral victories.

Just meaningful hockey and a team that’s fun as hell to watch.

Oh right… the playoffs.

Yes, I know. I’m absolutely jinxing this by saying it out loud, but whatever.

This team is going to the playoffs and they are gonna do damage.

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Moore is Good?

DJ Moore was a very logical receiver for the Bills to look into. He’s got ties to Carolina and to Joe Brady which we all know this organization will never quit that narrative.

Production-wise, Moore checks a lot of boxes. He has four 1,000-yard seasons, most recently in 2023 with the Bears. His career numbers are strong too: 5.2 yards after catch per reception, 10.8 yards per target, and he even had an 18 yards-per-catch season in 2020 (credit to Pro Football Reference).He’s also been used creatively. Moore has 72 career carries, which tells me you’d probably see him on some jet sweeps and gadget plays in Joe Brady’s offense. Probably what they wanted with Curtis Samuel.

He’s not a pure burner, but he’s a YAC monster. Get him the ball in space and he can make things happen.

The question would be the fit with Khalil Shakir, since they have somewhat similar skill sets. But both Brandon Beane and Joe Brady have mentioned they want to use Shakir outside more often, so maybe the overlap isn’t as big of an issue as it seems. Moore is also 28 years old, which isn’t old at all for a receiver, and he hasn’t missed a game since 2020. That could work against him because you can say he’s had a lot of wear on those tires. His production dipped slightly the last couple years in Chicago, but that could simply be the result of the Bears having a lot more mouths to feed in their offense and everyone has to…nevermind.

I’m normally a “fuck them picks and the cap” kind of guy, but giving up a 2nd-rounder and not getting Chicago to eat any salary feels like a lot. Especially since it felt the Bears were against the wall with having to deal or cut him because of his cap number and his guarantees going into action this week. Case in point: Tremaine Edmounds was allowed to shop around himself to be traded and they ended up cutting him because no one wanted to trade for him…I guess? I’m sure Beane will leak something to Iann Rapoport or Josh Reed that there were like 10 teams in the mix that wanted Moore so they had to act fast.

It kind of feels like a desperation move by Brandon Beane, who obviously read my column last week about him not being aggressive enough and decided to respond with:

“Hold my beer.”

A second-round pick feels steep when you look at the history of alpha-male wide receivers getting traded. A lot of those guys have gone for first-round picks or first-round level packages. DJ Moore is a very good player, but he doesn’t exactly feel like he belongs in that next tier. He feels more like a third-round compensation type of receiver, especially since the Bears had salary cap issues.

And look, I like Moore. He’s productive, tough, and fits what Joe Brady WR tree.

But you can’t tell me that Stefon Diggs and DJ Moore were worth the same draft compensation if we’re comparing the deal when the Bills traded him to the Texans.

Diggs was a true top-10 receiver at the time in March of 2024.

Moore is a good #2 WR. A #1 WR option though? That reminds to be a debate.

The Bills have been desperate for wide receiver help since 2021, adding someone like Moore would be a pretty strong start for Beane but also a desperate one.

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Happy Trails, TJ

Maybe it was the jersey number. Maybe it was the jack-of-all-trades but master-of-none label that sometimes gets thrown around. But for me, Taron Johnson always reminded me of Terrence McGee.

Just a physical corner who did all the dirty work and rarely got national attention. The type of player that people outside of Buffalo didn’t really talk about, but Bills fans absolutely appreciated.

Johnson was a total Sean McDermott guy. He played a ton of snaps, was excellent in run support, and fit perfectly in the defense. If there’s one thing you can’t take away from McDermott, it’s that he and his staff have consistently coached up defensive backs no matter where they were drafted.

(Well… maybe except Kaiir Elam.)

There was chatter at times about Johnson possibly moving to safety — something we’ve seen before in Buffalo with guys like Aaron Williams, Corey Graham, and Troy Vincent. But honestly, I’m not sure if that transition would have worked for him.

And with Jim Leonhard now in the building, we still don’t fully know what his defense will look like beyond the talk of a 3–4 and a more aggressive, attacking style.

It also felt like Johnson may have hit a bit of a wall last season. That kind of mileage catches up to you eventually, especially for a slot corner who throws his body around the way he did and plays every snap.

Still, Johnson will always be part of one of Brandon Beane’s best draft classes in 2018 — a class that included some guy named Josh Allen, along with Tremaine Edmunds, Harrison Phillips, and Wyatt Teller.

But when Bills fans think of Taron Johnson, one play will always come to mind.

His pick-six against the Baltimore Ravens in the 2020 playoffs.

It was such a weird, rough year with COVID, and that Bills season felt like one of the only good things happening in the world. I’ll always remember watching that game with my now-wife. We had just started dating about five months earlier.

We’re both Bills fans, and I was completely locked in watching that game.

When the pick happened, I jumped off the couch immediately and started running toward the TV screaming:

“Go, go, go, go! GO! GO!
TRE! BLOCK THE FUCK OUT OF Lamar Jackson!
TD!

…WHERE’S MY GIRLFRIEND TO KISS 7 TIMES?!”

Twenty years from now, Bills fans will still remember exactly where they were when Taron Johnson took that ball to the house.

You could argue it’s the biggest — or at least the most iconic — play ever at Bills Stadium.

And for that moment alone, he’ll always be part of Bills history.

Happy trails, TJ and thanks for making me and my lady kiss.

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Source off

Last week, Tim Graham had a story in The Athletic that made it sound like Connor McGovern’s time with the Bills was heading toward a swan song. McGovern told Graham he hadn’t heard from the team since exit interviews and felt like his time in Buffalo was probably over.

Then came the counterpunch.

Josh Reed Derby tweeted that the Bills did, in fact, meet with McGovern’s representation at the Combine and that it wouldn’t surprise him if the two sides ultimately worked something out.

And look, maybe I’m cynical, but that tweet felt a little… convenient. Like the kind of thing that gets whispered to someone after a story makes the team look bad. Derek Boyko? Brandon Beane? Someone whose name starts with B? Take your pick.

But does that mean someone’s lying here? Not necessarily.

McGovern’s agency is WME which is one of the biggest agencies in sports. When an agency that size meets with a team at the Combine, it could be about literally any of the players they represent who happen to be on the team…or Tampering. Just because WME met with the Bills doesn’t automatically mean Connor McGovern was the topic of discussion.

And honestly, I seriously doubt McGovern lied to Graham. The only scenario where that makes sense is if his agent told him to crank up the pressure by publicly saying the Bills hadn’t reached out. That would be a pretty clumsy negotiating tactic. And this isn’t even the first time something like this has happened with Tim Graham and the Bills. Last year Graham had what was essentially a throwaway line in a story about how management and ownership wanted Josh Allen to take on a bigger leadership role. It wasn’t some massive exposé.

But the reaction from One Bills Drive suggested it hit a nerve.

From what I heard, Bills PR quickly went into cleanup mode and asked the morning show on WGR to bring it up with Sean McDermott so he could address it publicly. McDermott then denied it—vehemently.

And just like that, the whole thing disappeared.

What made this whole McGovern thing weirder was Graham tweeting that his story might’ve prompted the Bills to reach out to McGovern’s reps.

Which… wait, what?

So the plan was to just sit on your hands until a reporter wrote a story about the guy feeling ignored? That’s the catalyst? If that’s actually how it played out, that’s not exactly a glowing endorsement of the team’s proactivity. Did Josh Allen read the story and call Brandon Beane?

It makes me wish Graham had written a similar story last offseason about Davante Adams being disappointed the Bills never called him. Maybe if that story had run, the Bills would’ve felt compelled to pick up the phone.

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Media-on-Media Crime

If you’ve followed me on social media long enough, you know I consider myself a media critic whenever media people start fighting.

The recent tale of the tape consists of the following:

Mike Harrington, who I describe as the drunk uncle of Buffalo sports media. You’ve known him forever, you remember some good stuff that he’s done, he’s always around, and at some point you just accept: “That’s just how he is”

Tim Graham, who I would describe as the godfather of the Buffalo Sports media. If you cross him, he will kill you by finding out who your ex-lovers or high school bullies are and make a manifesto that will ruin your life.

Mike recently pushed back on some chatter from Darren Dreger that the Sabres were interested in trading for Robert Thomas.

Dreger responded.

Then Mike suggested alternative players the Sabres should pursue, which was immediately met with boos from people who know more about hockey than I do.

Then Tim Graham—who has always been a thorn in Mike’s side—jumped in.

Personally, I kind of wish Mike would fight back a little more against Graham. Instead it reminds me of Homer Simpson’s boxing career where he just absorbs punches until he collapses.

My guesses:

• Mike doesn’t want the smoke because Tim knows where the bodies are.

• His editors told Mike to not engage.
  

Mike has had a like two stories to my knowledge (Adam Mair leaving Sabres/Firing of Ralph Krueger) that he’s broken over the last 5 years. Overall, he’s mostly takes, asks questions and “I’m there everyday so fuck you!” if you go after him. He’s not the kind of reporter who does the “I’m hearing this..” Is it because he doesn’t have sources… or is it because he doesn’t really care to have any…or that his bosses view it as less important? Is he just shooting the messenger because he wishes he was the messenger?

Mike does make one point I agree with.

Hockey media—especially in Canada—live and die on rumors.

I can’t count how many times I’ve heard Dreger say the Sabres are “very active and calling everyone”… only for the trade deadline result to be something like Bob Corkum or nothing.

Old-school newspaper writers hate the “I’m hearing…” style of reporting. I’ve seen #RocknWawrow give shit in the past to Jeremy White’s Secret Sabres Source online in the past, which Jeremy hasn’t used in awhile.

But honestly?

I’m all for rumors!

Yes, sometimes it’s the ultimate form of sports fan mental masturbation, but at least it gives fans something to think about and it results in way more clicks which is what it is all about. I’m going to pay for your subscription much faster if you are giving me the dirt over your takes.

Rumors are fun.

And if you really want to make a mark in sports content, it’s cultivating sources and becoming a rumor guy. Chad DeDominicis has carved a nice corner in the “I’m hearing things” portion of sabres content. He had a hand in all 3 Sabres trades last week with reporting it. He should definitely get credit and if any outlet decided to just use a generic tweet or press relief from the Sabres when reporting on his story, that’s incredibly lame.

Anyone can have a take [Raises hand], but what makes you different is telling someone something they don’t know. Even if you’re wrong sometimes, people forget in 24 hours—especially if you’re right most of the time or weren’t violently debunked.

Your editor might hate it.

Larry Felser might roll over in his grave.

But I’d rather hear a new rumor than read the 20th column about Keon Coleman or whether we should boo Jack Eichel.

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Dad Shots

– Random Bills Free Agent: Troy Vincent
One of the first signings under Mike Mularkey. Broke J.P. Losman’s leg (Paul Hamilton still believes it was intentional). Switched from corner to safety midway through 2004 so Terrence McGee could get on the field. Also apparently used to have random lunches with Ralph Wilson in the cafeteria.

– Random Sabres Deadline Add: Steve Heinze
A rental I wish they kept. Great two-way player. Rick Jeanneret had the legendary call: “HEINZZZZEEEE 57!” because of the ketchup and his jersey number. Acquired at the 2001 deadline—the last good Sabres season under the Rigas family.

-Super hot take without research: Trade Greg Rousseau. Yes, the cap would be destroyed. Yes, he’s a good player. But I don’t think he fits a 3-4 defense. He’s too small to be a DE in that formation and the thought of him standing as OLB gives me agita.

– What do Tyreek Hill, DeAndre Hopkins, Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, AJ Brown, George Pickens, and Amari Cooper all have in common? They were all traded in their prime for 1st round draft picks. Find me another position where that happens.

- With Moore coming to Buffalo, it is another opportunity for Josh Allen and Joe Brady to finally rid of the “Well, if this WR got these numbers with a mid QB, Allen and Brady should unleash him!” narrative. The chemistry with veterans likes of Curtis Samuel, Deonte Harty, Amari Cooper, Josh Palmer, and Elijah Moore has been that of Walter White and Jessie Pinkman working with Tuco Salamanca. Moore is clearly better than those guys, so let’s hope this turns into more of a Walt, Jesse and Mike -Without the bad ending to everyone- partnership instead of another meth-lab explosion.

-I’m thrilled McGovern is back. The idea of possibly losing two starting offensive linemen this offseason never sat well with me. The offensive line might be the best unit on the entire roster, and Brandon Beane deserves a lot of credit for how he’s built that room over the past few years.

-Curtis Samuel was cut. He wasn’t very good here. That’s all I got to say about that [Forest Gump voice]

– I wouldn’t have booed or cheered for Jack Eichel during the “America is great at hockey” ceremony. Maybe a polite golf clap.

– Having Jim Kelly bang the drum at the Sabres game during Olympic hype presentation for Eichel/Thompson was… a choice. An ex-football player with zero hockey ties and only “patriotic” things I know of his is loving the current president and that he swore at the Bills sideline (“THAT’S MY FUCKING FLAG!") when they were protesting during the anthem after Trump’s comments about the players being sons of bitches. Couldn’t they get Ryan Miller? Mike Ramsey again? Maybe patch things up with Pat LaFontaine by addressing the whatever happened there [Phil Leotardo voice]. Or one of the women’s Olympic players who just won gold. I guess Jim wanted a free Tage Thompson jersey.

– Finished The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Feels like a Game of Thrones parody mixed with The Mandalorian. It was okay, but I feel the hype I got from others was hyperbole. Episode 5 was great though.

–Are there any current Bills defensive players you are excited to see in Jim Leonhard’s defense?

-The Bills should create a giant banner at the stadium that has every year they won the division. Just it says Division champs 1980, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Then just add to it every time you do it. I want the banner to be draped over the stadium wall like Wintefell rocking a Direwolf sigil.

– Congress apparently does not exist while Donald Trump is president.

—I don’t have much to say about the Sabres deadline deals except good teams tend to look for depth in hockey in March. Plus, Lindy loves having a cabinet full of defenseman to pick from, especially old crusty ones. Just ask James Patrick and Teppo Numminen.

-The last time the Bills and Sabres both made the playoffs was the yearrrrrrrrrr 2000 [Conan O’Brien voice]. Bills lost to the Titans in the (Technically the 1999 season) wildcard game and the Sabres lost to the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs.

-Don’t ever tell me politics has nothing to do with supporting a celebrity by buying their stuff. I recently dove into the Shopify world and bought a couple “Abolish ICE” shirts from AEW wrestler Brody King, who has been very outspoken about immigration enforcement. At recent AEW shows the crowd has even been chanting “F*** ICE,” which has somehow become one of the loudest chants on the show.
Now, I’m not even the world’s biggest fan of his wrestling ability, but I didn’t have to wrestle with pulling the trigger on that purchase. I’ve got two of his shirts now to go along with my trans-support retro shirt from CM Punk. Honestly, if someone made a shirt that said “Be Good. Do Good. Fuck ICE. Go Bills.” I’d buy it immediately and probably wear it to Wegmans or on Pat Moran’s podcast.

– It feels like every hockey player has a no-trade clause.

– Does anyone think the LinkedIn jobs tab is real? It feels like AI scraping random listings. LinkedIn is still great for networking though. I’ve got over 30,000 connections and have definitely sent the random connection request followed by the intro message and résumé. If you want to work somewhere, connect with people who work there and take a shot. As Michael Jordan said: you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

– The Mrs. and I are doing Beer Bingo for St. Patrick’s Day at Astoria Beer and Cheese across the street. Buy a beer, get a bingo board. Three beers equals three boards. Eight rounds, prizes ranging from cheese to sauces to crackers, and the grand prize is a $50 gift card. If you told me ten years ago this would be my St. Patrick’s Day night, I’d say that sounds like hell.

Now?

It’s awesome. Growing old and corny can be cool.

Long live Beer Bingo.

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If you made it this far, thank you.

Share it. Comment. Forward it. My Talking Buffalo segment with Padering Pat will be dropped on Monday morning, so please give a listen and tell Pat he should start paying me.