Volume XVIII- Bills, Takes, and Dad Mistakes

Alex Tuch, UFC, Knicks, Bills

If This Is Goodbye, How Should Buffalo Remember Alex Tuch?

If Alex Tuch leaves the Sabres, I think he’s going to be remembered as one of the more complicated players of this era.

When he arrived in Buffalo as part of the Jack Eichel trade, it was around the lowest point in franchise history. The covid year was dreadful. It was probably when I officially checked out. They lost like 20 in a row or whatever that number was. Vibes were dead. When the Eichel trade happened, it was a tough pill to swallow. Yes, Eichel had his reasons for wanting the trade and I couldn’t blame him, but I also thought he was a dick. Tuch was the biggest part of the trade and all we heard from the GM was that “THEY” wanted players who wanted to be here. It was a war slogan that was repeated for years. It was annoying.

Yet, I always believed Tuch wanted to be here.

He won people over. Some of that was his play. And some of it was because he walked in the door talking about how he grew up a Sabres fan. Now, I know Syracuse and Western New York aren’t exactly the same thing. Ask anyone from Buffalo and they’ll gladly spend 45 minutes explaining why, unless they are Syracuse TV alumni and they can’t help but shut up about the connection. But close enough. He was from New York State, understood the franchise, and seemed genuinely excited to be here at a time when not many players were exactly lining up to join the organization.

First impressions matter. They always do. Tuch scored goals, played hard, killed penalties, blocked shots, and looked like someone who actually wanted the responsibility of helping pull the franchise out of the ditch. For a fanbase that had spent years watching stars want out, that meant something.s.

But sports are funny. Fans say they remember everything, but they usually remember the beginning and the ending.

That’s where things get messy.

If Tuch leaves now, the focus will probably shift from the excitement of 2021 or the speeches about growing up a Sabres fan or breaking the drought. They’ll focus on the fact that after finally helping Buffalo get back to the playoffs, he finished with zero points against Montreal. Fair or unfair, that’s how sports works. Fans don’t just remember that you got there. They remember what happened when you arrived.

It’s similar to how players become frozen in time by their final chapter. Nobody remembers every great regular-season game. They remember the playoff run. They remember the big moment. They remember whether you delivered when the spotlight got brightest.

For Tuch, the final image—at least for now—isn’t a game-winning goal or a signature playoff performance. It’s a talented, hard-working player who helped drag the Sabres back into relevance, only to come up empty on the scoresheet against Montreal.

That doesn’t erase everything he accomplished. He helped stabilize a franchise that desperately needed it. He embraced Buffalo when many players would’ve viewed it as a temporary stop. He became a leader and one of the most respected players in the room.

But if his Sabres story ends here, he’ll probably be remembered as a player who gave the organization exactly what it needed during a difficult period, became the centerpiece of the Eichel return, won over a section of the fans from day one who just wanted someone to like them , and then left everyone wondering what might have happened if the ending had been just a little bit better.

---

City Celebration Is a Crisis, UFC on the Lawn Is Patriotic

The last wee have been a master class in selective outrage around these parts.

When Knicks fans poured into the streets of New York City to celebrate a championship, every cable news segment, every social media pundit, and every pearl-clutching commentator suddenly became an expert on public behavior. To be fair, some of the criticism was warranted. Don’t vandalize buses. Don’t smash property. Don’t beat up opposing fans because they happen to be wearing Spurs gear. Being happy your team won a title doesn’t give you a free pass to act like a moron.

But what fascinates me isn’t the criticism itself. It’s who is doing the criticizing.

The same voices who spent days lecturing everyone about law and order, respect for property, and appropriate public conduct suddenly lose that energy when the people causing the commotion happen to be politically aligned with them.

We’re living in a time where politicians are turning the White House lawn into a backdrop for UFC events. An administration can openly embrace a spectacle that helps generate money, attention, and branding opportunities, and somehow that’s viewed as normal. The same crowd that spent years screaming about preserving institutions suddenly has no issue turning one of the most recognizable symbols of American government into a pay-per-view promotional set.

Apparently decorum only matters when Knicks fans are climbing traffic lights.

And then there’s the company people keep.

Many of these same outlets that are horrified by rowdy sports celebrations have no problem amplifying personalities who spend their time making comments about Michelle Obama looking like a man. Think about that for a second. A championship parade gets treated like the collapse of civilization, but mocking a former First Lady with tired, ugly insults is dismissed as comedy, free speech, or just someone “telling it like it is.”

That’s where the double standard becomes impossible to ignore.

And the hypocrisy doesn’t stop there.

Take Boomer Esiason, for example. For years, the prevailing message from sports radio and television personalities like him was that athletes should stay out of politics. Stick to sports. Don’t comment on government policy. Don’t make political statements. Fans don’t want to hear it. We heard some version of that argument over and over whenever athletes spoke out on social or political issues.

Fast forward to today and Boomer is practically getting the popcorn ready to see whether Jim Dolan and the Knicks will visit the White House. Suddenly the intersection of sports and politics is fascinating. Suddenly everyone wants to know who goes, who skips it, what Dolan will say, what the players will do, and whether there will be controversy.

Funny how “stick to sports” only seems to apply when the athlete’s opinion isn’t one they agree with.

If athletes speaking on political or social issues was inappropriate then, why is this different now? Why is a White House visit suddenly must-see content? Why is it acceptable to speculate endlessly about athletes and owners navigating politics when the same people spent years telling them to keep their mouths shut?

The truth is that a lot of people don’t actually care about behavior. They care about who is behaving.

If Knicks fans make a mess of Midtown, it’s evidence that society is falling apart. If politicians turn government property into a promotional venue, it’s genius marketing. If sports fans chant something stupid, it’s a national scandal. If a media personality insults Michelle Obama, it’s suddenly no big deal.

Consistency is what gives criticism credibility.

Without it, you’re not defending principles.

You’re just defending your team.

STATHEAD OF THE WEEK

I’m running out of stats to do, so decided to see where Josh Allen ranks in RPOs since 2019. I will say, I’d love for the Bills to run more RPOs as I think with how good James Cook is, it would definitely provide a lot of disguise for him.

DAD SHOTS

—So the Sabres decided to add a Seneca Nations casino patch to their uniform. Yuck. Look, I’m not super against sponsorships on uniforms, as it’s 2026 and I’m used to watching English soccer at this point, but if it is going to be a brand, let it be a cool brand. I always liked New Era Field’s name because it made sense, and New Era hats are super cool. Highmark Stadium? GTFO. Seneca Nation Casinos remind me of cigarette smells, shitty decor, places where old people go to die, and weird Sabres commercials. More importantly, nothing in Buffalo was more overhyped and ultimately failed than the Seneca casinos when it came to revitalizing the area.

I remember in the early 2000s it was “vital” for the casino to open on the American side of the Falls because it would supposedly make the area like Vegas or the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. All these businesses and housing developments would rise from the ground. That didn’t happen. I’ve been to that casino with my parents a dozen times, and it’s normally just blah. The buffet was good, but it’s not a game-changer. Mighty Taco, a local pizza place, or Darien Lake would have been much better.

—I don’t have much to say about the Kesselring trade because by the time I started caring about the Sabres again, he was hurt. It didn’t seem like he fit in the system, and considering the third defensive pair was a weakness, him not getting into the lineup was an indictment of him. It is also something that maybe Jarmo didn’t like him as a player and if Adams -who made the deal- was still here, maybe the outcome is different.

They basically gave him away for nothing. Thank goodness Doan, who seemed like a throwaway asset in the Peterka deal at the time, worked out.

—I was told by the podcast king of liking thirst traps and chicken finger taster of West Seneca that if I didn’t compliment Matt Parrino about his interview with Joe Brady, I was biased. Well, he did a very good interview with him, and outside of Matt’s orange shirt, it was great. It definitely humanized Brady, especially with his comments about McDermott being fired. This is the type of stuff I want to see during this time of year.

I know you can’t just kidnap Josh Allen and have to go through the proper PR channels, but give me this over OTA viral videos. I do wonder, since it seems like McDermott runs a tighter media ship after the “if you leak anything, you’re fired” meeting he reportedly had with staff back in 2017, whether the Bills will be more open to these types of stories or if they’re just going to save everything for meathead McAfee.

—I wish someone would ask Brady about Matt Rhule’s influence on him since they coached together for a few years in Carolina and that’s where Brady got his first OC gig. I know Rhule was a joke in Carolina, and the Bills have carefully tried to shoehorn Sean Payton in as Brady’s mentor while not mentioning Rhule’s influence, but there’s a good story there if you ask Joe about it or get Rhule on the record.

—I’m over Ben Stiller, and I can’t believe he’s got a deal with HBO to direct a documentary about the Knicks’ title run. Um, hello???? There’s one director who should direct that, and it’s Spike Lee.

Furthermore, I’m super over the majority of politicians loving sports teams. Right or left, it looks corny and about as authentic as a gas station hot dog. I’m sure some of them genuinely like sports, but the phonies have ruined it for everyone else. Only Zohran can get away with any of this because his speech during the Knicks parade was awesome. It was also complete shade toward Dolan since he mentioned Zohran was not a Knicks fan when he was complaining last week. Then Dolan had to be a petty dick and got as much of a reaction as a jobber’s entrance following a Randy Savage entrance in 1989. Dolan was trying to give Zohran a receipt about not needing a vote or a history lesson and it failed. No one likes Dolan and good luck getting players to join him to visit his buddy in the White House.

—I am very much looking forward to a new season of Dark Side of the Ring. My top three episodes are as follows: Plane Ride From Hell, the Herb Abrams story, and the North Korea story. I think the Jeff Jarrett/TNA three-part series is going to be great.

This reads exactly like a Joe from Queens “life comes at you fast” update.

—Andy got sent home this week from daycare for having a “fever,” and by fever I mean he was basically flirting with 100 degrees. Bullshit. We need a full-scale investigation into daycares and how quickly they pull the trigger on sending kids home sick.

Also, I can’t be the only idiot dad who treats carrying groceries like an Olympic event. My goal is always the same: one trip from the car to the house. No exceptions. No weakness.

Well, I paid for it on Saturday.

Dumbass dad over here tried carrying a 24-pack of beer, a giant box of diapers, and a shopping bag up a flight of stairs. The door—which absolutely should have been unlocked—was locked.

As I went to put the beer down and grab my keys, the case tumbled down the stairs like Homer Simpson tripping over Bart’s skateboard.

The falling beer then absolutely blasted Andy’s stroller. Two cans exploded on impact and sprayed beer everywhere. The stroller ended up smelling like a chair at the Red Room in 2001.

The good news? Andy wasn’t in it.

The better news? I only lost two beers out of the 24.

The lesson? There is no lesson. Next week I’ll probably try carrying even more stuff in one trip.

—A few months back I wrote a piece about all of my jerseys, and I totally forgot I had a Peerless Price jersey, which was actually a great purchase. I bought it in 2003 after he left because it was on sale for 20 bucks at the team store. Then he came back in 2006, and it became the perfect buy-low, sell-high stock jersey.

—I saw that the Bills are doing seven practices in Rochester. Last year it was 10. I don’t know if this is based on Joe Brady’s thought process or what. I don’t know if the number will continue to decrease over the years, but I do think we’ll probably get more practices at the new stadium as time goes on. I do wish they had more open practices because I think it’s great for kids to get out there, watch football, and get autographs. In fact, ban adults from open practices and just let the kids watch.

Now, if I were in charge and gave zero shits about routine or what the coach thinks, I’d have training camp move every year. One year…Rochester…The next year…Syracuse…The Next year…Ferdonia…The next year…Toronto….and repeat. That way, you’ll have different sponsors and fans in each region.

—So I don’t know how real any of this is, but I should preface it by saying Dan Le Batard was emphatic about not reporting it and framed it more as a whimsical “I heard.”

Let’s be clear: Le Batard is very plugged into basically all of the Miami teams. That’s where his strength is. He’s essentially the national sports voice of Miami. I’ve got tons of respect for him and I’m a big fan of his work. So if he’s hearing something from South Beach, I wouldn’t immediately throw cold sand on it.

I know there’s probably going to be pushback that there’s no way the Bills would let Joe Brady go, but consider two things:

1. Joe Brady could have left for a head coaching job elsewhere.

2. Don’t forget some of the offensive clunkers they had this season (see: Miami, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and the first Patriots game).

Everything happened so fast with McDermott getting canned that we never really got a chance to assess who was coming or going after the season. I wouldn’t have been shocked if Brady had left based on some of those offensive performances if McDermott had remained in power.

Then factor in that Mike McDaniel was supposedly scheduled to interview for the Bills head coaching job but backed out at the last second.

I don’t know if I buy him not wanting the job out of respect for McDermott because:

1. I had no clue the Bills and McDaniel were even close.

2. Why would you turn down the head coaching job but be willing to come in as the offensive coordinator?

That’s where the story starts to lose me a little bit.

I guess to close this out, what would you have rather had: McDermott and McDaniel together, or Brady and Leonhard?

— You know the deal, check out Homage for all your sports gear. If you buy anything following this link, your boy gets a kickback. They have a ton of Knicks championship swag if you are into that.

Knicks in 5

—If you made it this far…thank you! I’ll be on Pat Moran’s podcast for Monday. Be sure to listen. Please subscribe or share if you like what you are reading. Hope everyone had a great Father’s Day.