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Howard Simon Bids WGR Farewell

“I will never ever forget how much you did you for me and this show today. It is the greatest thing in the world.”

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WGR morning host Howard Simon has officially ended his run on the Buffalo sports radio station.

Simon’s final show concluded this morning, with the longtime host being visited by several prominent Buffalo sports figures.

A host in the city for the last 33 years, Simon has partnered with co-host Jeremy White for the past 18 years on the station’s morning show. The pair joked that they had to think up things that made them angry to avoid getting overly emotional during the show’s final segment.

“People asked me what it was like 18 years ago to be paired with someone I didn’t know and we started together and it was great,” White said. “I always felt like having you — if you liked me — then that meant a lot to everybody else.

“There was a protection that you gave. ‘If Howard likes you, you must have some good in you’…all these people thanking you for how you affected their life, for me, are you the reason I have a house? You might be! It’s tough,” a tearful White continued. “At the end of this, you’re not dead, but I’m gonna feel like the Will Smith in the big empty room. My partner left. I’m happy for you, and I’m sad for me and sad for everybody else. You mean a lot to me.”

“He will never admit this, but I’ll tell you publicly, the last few years? He carried my ass on this show,” Simon said of White. “It was really hard for me to do this show the last couple of years…but you were there for me when I didn’t know what to say.”

Simon concluded the show by thanking the Buffalo sports community.

“My only dream for my life growing up was to be in broadcasting,” Simon said, fighting back tears. “It’s all I ever wanted to do and I didn’t think I’d be able to do it this long.”

The longtime Buffalo host then thanked listeners for their kindness over the last few weeks after he made his impending retirement known.

“I can’t even tell you what it’s meant to me. The tweets, the emails, everything that has happened … since we wrote the article that said I was leaving officially. The response that we have gotten, the tweets, the emails, I knew we had listeners. I see the ratings, I know people are listening. But the way you’ve expressed Jeremy and I, over the last 18 years, have meant to all of you, the impact we’ve had on your lives, has touched my heart. I didn’t think you could do that as a sports talk host, just some nut talking about sports and banging on a table. But everything you all have said to me, you cannot ever have any idea how much it meant that we’ve had that impact on your life. I’m so grateful that you’ve allowed us into your lives.”

In his closing statements, he shared appreciation for the show that the station put together for his final outing.

“It is beyond anything I ever could have imagined. I will never ever forget how much you did you for me and this show today. It is the greatest thing in the world. I love all of you. Thank you very much.”

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown declared Friday, March 3rd as Howard Simon Day in the city.

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Jim Rome: I Don’t Want to Talk About How the NFL Sucks Every Day

Rome argued that “hate is the new dopamine” while noting that he doesn’t want to talk about what he hates all day.

Jordan Bondurant

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Jim Rome
(Photo: CBS Sports Radio)

Jim Rome didn’t want to have to be that guy on Tuesday, but he had no choice.

Rome opened his CBS Sports Radio show by prefacing his comments on Monday night’s Bears/Vikings game by saying his goal isn’t to just ridicule the NFL schedule into oblivion.

“I don’t come in here every single day looking to bag on and hate on NFL primetime games,” Rome said. “And yes, I’m the one who said it – hate is the new dopamine. But that’s not how I get down. That’s not my deal.”

Jim Rome added that just saying everything sucks isn’t a sports take. But he pivoted from there saying that it’s OK to say 95% of the primetime games in the NFL suck because it’s true.

“Then not only is it a take, it’s the only take,” he said. “How are these games actually managing in primetime to get worse and worse? And how is anything going to top the atrocity that we sat through last night?”

Fans in theory should get a more competitive, high-scoring affair on Thursday night when the Seahawks take on the Cowboys. But Rome just couldn’t believe how torturous Monday night’s contest really was.

“Technically, the Bears did win that game. But technically, really, we all lost,” he said.

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Mad Dog: Gus Johnson ‘Bothered The Hell Out of Me’ Saturday

“For crying out loud, Michigan/Ohio State isn’t even better than North Carolina/Duke, who play twice a year. So let’s be careful with the hype machine.”

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A photo of Chris "Mad Dog" Russo
(Photo: SiriusXM)

FOX Sports college football voice Gus Johnson has made no bones about his affinity for Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. However, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo has heard enough.

During his Mad Dog Unleashed program on SiriusXM, Russo shared that not only was Johnson obnoxious for the constant use of a nickname he bestowed up Harrison, but he was also misguided for calling Ohio State/Michigan the greatest rivalry in sports.

“Gus Johnson — the hype machine that he is — please, when you broadcast a ballgame, I don’t need to hear about Maserati Marv, number one. And number two, that’s not the greatest rivalry in sports history. Have you heard of the Yankees and the Red Sox? Giants and the Dodgers? How about Bears/Packers? Have you heard about that?

“For crying out loud, Michigan/Ohio State isn’t even better than North Carolina/Duke, who play twice a year. So let’s be careful with the hype machine. That bothered the hell out of me.”

When a caller pushed back on Russo’s opinion on the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry, he continued by saying “That rivalry’s not Yankees/Red Sox. To compare college football to the Yankees and the Red Sox is ludicrous.”

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Nashville Predators Radio Voice Pete Weber Calling 2,000th Game Tuesday

“I always wanted to be there for the birth of a team. I feel like I’ve been a pretty fair midwife here.”

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A photo of Pete Weber
(Photo: Nashville Predators)

Nashville Predators radio voice Pete Weber is set to hit a career milestone Tuesday, as he’ll call his 2,000th game for the NHL franchise.

Weber told The Tennessean that he has relished the opportunity to be the voice of a team since its inception. He claimed he applied for and was a finalist for the radio play-by-play job when the Carolina Panthers were conceived, before ultimately landing with the Predators.

“I always wanted to be there for the birth of a team,” said Weber. “I feel like I’ve been a pretty fair midwife here.”

Despite missing time late last season due to a rare brain condition, Weber said he has no plans of retiring anytime soon.

“I have not thought about it, other than when I thought about how (former Philadelphia Phillies announcer) Harry Kalas was carried dead out of the broadcast booth in Washington,” Pete Weber said. “I thought, ‘Well, that’s an interesting way to go. I don’t necessarily know that I want to do it like that. But it could happen. I’m not going to say no.”

Weber’s 2,000th game will come as the Nashville Predators play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins. 102.5 The Game is the flagship home of the Predators Radio Network.

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