[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: The following program is brought to.
[00:00:05] Speaker C: You in living color on elliot gazette.com or wherever you get your podcast.
The Gazette News Group presents the Parting Shots Podcast.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Now here's your host and shot.
[00:00:18] Speaker C: Thank you Scott Kesey and welcome to the Parting Shots Podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me from the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York for the 498th episode. We're down two more next week. We'll have to hit the 500 mark. Can't wait for that. We have another great show for you, of course. As we do every Thursday, we'll preview the Union men's and women's hockey teams as they get back. They get set for ECAC hockey play this week and the men return to ECAC hockey play with games at Quinnipiac and Princeton while the women coming off some I hate to say it, but it's true. Bad losses at Yale and Brown in games that they had leads and couldn't get hold, couldn't hold on to them and the offense disappeared. They're hosting Princeton and Quinnipiac this weekend at MT Bank Center. For the men, we'll talk with Nick Young, Brandon Burr and Braden Gillespie. For the women, we'll talk to head coach Tony Macy and players Stephanie Bourque, Matty Delaney and Carrie Anne Engelbert.
We'll talk more hockey with the Buffalo Sabres. What's gotten into them? They had a 10 game winning streak. They've won 11 of the last 12. They're on a roll right now. They're in the playoff hunt just outside as we tape this on Wednesday evening, this opening.
They're just out on the outskirts of a wild card berth in the Stanley cup playoffs. Been a while since the Sabres have been in the in the playoffs and there's some excitement there in western New York. And Joe Yorden, who covers the Sabres for noted hockey, will join me to talk about the resurgence of the Buffalo Sabres.
But a team that's not resurgent, it's regressed again.
How far can the New York jets regress? It's just a team that went 17 games without an interception. They did not intercept an opposing quarterback. That's impossible. Impossible. You luck into an interception once in a while. That was the first time, I think in NFL history that's ever happened.
Dennis Wasak Jr. Who covers the jets and pro football for the Associated Press, will probably need a therapy session to discuss the jets season and we always enjoy Dennis takes on the jets and it's going to be a lot of fun to hear what he has to say. So coming up, we're going to preview the Union men's and women's hockey games this weekend. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:02:47] Speaker D: To every referee, umpire and judge in high school sports.
[00:02:52] Speaker C: We want to say we see you.
[00:02:54] Speaker B: We see everything you do for us that goes unnoticed.
[00:02:58] Speaker D: We see the positive role models that you are.
[00:03:01] Speaker B: We see the way you get unfairly criticized just for doing your job.
[00:03:06] Speaker C: The truth is, we couldn't play without you.
[00:03:09] Speaker E: So thank you for investing your time in us.
[00:03:12] Speaker D: Thank you for protecting the integrity of.
[00:03:14] Speaker C: The game no matter what.
[00:03:17] Speaker D: We hope you always know how much.
[00:03:19] Speaker C: We appreciate you because without you, this is just recess.
[00:03:23] Speaker D: It's not really a game.
[00:03:25] Speaker A: Thank you for always making it possible.
[00:03:28] Speaker B: For us to play the sports we love.
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[00:03:48] Speaker C: Welcome back to the podcast. The Union men hockey team coming off a 9 nothing exhibition victory against Royal Military College last Saturday, M and T Bank center are back in ECAC hockey play this weekend. They'll face the teams at the closed out conference play in 2025. Quinnipiac and Princeton. It was a mixed bag when they faced him last month at MNC Bank Center.
Union lost to Princeton 51 on that Friday night and then the next night Union snapped in an 11 game skid against Quinnipiac with a 4 nothing victory. A thoroughly dominating performance by Union. One of the best I've seen against Quinnipiac by a Garner Chargers Dutchman team in a while.
Well, Union will head to Quinnipiac on Friday to renew that rivalry.
Quinnipiac coming off a pair of wins last weekend including a 9:1 routine of Harvard last Friday and a victory over Dartmouth on Saturday.
And then Union will go to Princeton, a team that I don't think many people expected to be up at the top of the standings. But they are right now. The Tigers are on a roll right now having 15 straight A winning streak that started with the 51 win on December 5th at MNC bank center. And they had beat Dartmouth last week. 5 4. It was a game last Friday and a dramatic 32 victory was just under three seconds left. Kai Daniels scored the game winning goal to set the Tigers off to a wild celebration.
Princeton undefeated at home right now. The best start in their 107 year history of historically frigid Hobey Baker Rink. I love saying frigid because it is. It's cold in there. Of course I haven't been down there in years. Maybe it's gotten better, I don't know. But.
So you heard from Josh Howjee yesterday. He talked about, course, the injury to Will Felicio, the sophomore defenseman, still questionable for the game on Friday. We'll see what happens.
Apparently it was a concussion that he suffered when he got hit from the side into the glass in the union right wing corner early in that first period, shortly after he had, in fact, shortly after he had scored the game's first goal against Royal Military College.
So let's hear from defenseman Nick Young for Brandon Burr and Braden Gillespie from Tuesday's media availability, M and T Bank Center.
Guys, the last time you played Quinnipiac, you beat him here first time winning 12 games against them. What's going to be the key going down there to repeat that performance?
[00:06:24] Speaker E: I think it's just kind of keeping our momentum from, you know, before break and coming back, having two weeks to prepare, I think is really good.
And just playing them hard like we did last time, I think playing physical and, you know, using each other, playing as a unit of five every time around the ice.
[00:06:41] Speaker A: So, Brandon.
[00:06:42] Speaker B: Yeah, I think Nick said it perfectly there.
[00:06:44] Speaker E: Just stick to what we've been doing the past couple weeks and come back from break. That performance, I build off that.
[00:06:49] Speaker C: Brayden, you were in that for that game. If you get to start, though, can you have a repeat performance?
[00:06:54] Speaker E: Yeah, absolutely. Just want to do whatever I can to help the team, whoever's in that. I'm sure we're all ready to go and help out this team going around here. So we're all looking forward to getting back into ECAC play.
[00:07:05] Speaker C: How good is it to have a situation where, you know, you have some goaltenders, not just one goaltender you can rely on?
[00:07:10] Speaker E: Oh, it's. It's huge. And I think, you know, the best teams in college over the years have two goalies or three goalies or however many that can step in the net and everyone feels comfortable and, you know, and they can both have a great night when you game. So I think that's something that helps teams go farther in the long run.
[00:07:29] Speaker C: So, Brandon.
[00:07:29] Speaker E: Yeah, it is big. Not really. It could be either goalie net, and we know we still have a great chance of winning either way.
[00:07:36] Speaker B: You know, last time you played Quinnipiah, he kind of was a springboard for that nice run to close 2025. How do you guys carry that momentum after the break? I know you played the exhibition last week, but how do you kind of carry that momentum after A long break.
[00:07:49] Speaker E: Yeah. I think, again, just sticking with what we did, like, before we left for that break.
[00:07:54] Speaker B: Also building off our last performance this.
[00:07:56] Speaker E: Weekend, even though it was exhibition, I mean, we had. We did some good things.
[00:07:59] Speaker F: So just sticking to what we did.
[00:08:01] Speaker E: Yeah. Just knowing that we have that in the locker room and we have the capability to do, you know, B2Q pack and go on a run, I think that's something that helps with everyone's mentality, and that's something that we keep instilling and trying to keep going for the rest of the second half.
Yeah, I agree with everything they said just to continue to have fun. I mean, we're all having fun right now, so just keep riding that high and just go into this weekend and do our job.
[00:08:26] Speaker C: Well, speaking of having fun, after the game against Quinnipiac, there you put the net down. What was the significance of that?
[00:08:34] Speaker E: It's just something I did in junior hockey. Like, I. Someone did it to me one day, and I was like, this is pretty cool. So, I mean, I got the opportunity. I did it in juniors a couple times. So I was like, might as well bring it with me here.
[00:08:45] Speaker C: Is that something you just do on Shutouts?
[00:08:47] Speaker E: Yeah, just shut up. This is like shutting the door down. So it's pretty cool, and, I mean, it's pretty fun.
[00:08:52] Speaker C: Any concern that the Quinnipiac noticed that and maybe might take some revenge?
[00:08:58] Speaker E: Well, I mean, I'm pretty sure everybody saw it, but, I mean, I. I just want to help the boys do whatever I can to win. And I know they. I have their backs and they have mine, so I think we're just excited to get going here.
[00:09:07] Speaker C: Okay, you guys are laughing. What did you think?
[00:09:09] Speaker E: No, I. I didn't expect it. When I saw it, I thought it was unreal. I thought, you know, it's just his character and his. The way he acts, and I love it. And, you know, you got to have that fiery aspect in you to win some big games.
[00:09:21] Speaker C: So you guys broke that winless streak against Quinnipiac with that victory. Now you have another streak to try to break this team's Ross five straight down in Hampton, Connecticut. How big would it be and how important would it be to finally win down there?
[00:09:37] Speaker E: Oh, yeah, it would be massive. I think that we all know that this weekend's a big weekend to start us off back in ECAC play for the rest of the way out. So I think it's at the utmost importance and our biggest weekend yet.
[00:09:48] Speaker C: So did you guys notice what Quinnipack did to Harvard last Friday?
[00:09:51] Speaker E: Yep. We, we saw what they did and obviously they're playing some good hockey. So that's where we want them. We want to beat the best when they're playing the best and that's what we want to beat any team at.
[00:10:00] Speaker B: So, you know, the last two times you guys have played Quinnipiac special teams have been big. You guys got two goals on that major penalty last time here last year. They really did some damage on the power play. How crucial a special team is going to be Friday night for you guys?
[00:10:12] Speaker E: Oh, it's extremely crucial. I think that, you know, discipline is number one right now and our game and everyone's game is disciplines, winning and losing games. So I think that's something that all of us are trying to keep at the forefront of our minds. Just stay out of the box and make them make the mistakes.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: How confident are you guys playing right now given the way that you close to 20, 25 and the way you played Saturday?
[00:10:32] Speaker E: Yeah, we're definitely very confident. I mean we all believe in ourselves, in this room and I think hopefully we're going to show that again this weekend.
[00:10:39] Speaker C: Thoughts on Princeton? They came in here, beat you guys five one, pretty well, dominated that game. They're playing well. They're in first place right now. I don't think anybody expected that they beat Dartmouth at Harvard at home. They've been tough at home.
What is it about Princeton that, you know, they're playing. Why are they playing so well?
[00:10:56] Speaker E: You think they're just a hard working team. They got lots of skill. I mean it's, I mean they were.
[00:11:00] Speaker B: Pretty good last year too, but I.
[00:11:01] Speaker E: Think they're taking a big step.
[00:11:03] Speaker A: But I think we're gonna find a.
[00:11:04] Speaker E: Way to be in this weekend. So yeah, like you said, I think they're, they're really structured, hardworking team.
But like I said before, we want to play everyone at their best and beat them because we have aspirations of, you know, winning the whole thing. So it's a good weekend to find them and beat them.
Yeah, I mean, didn't really get to play against them, came in late. But I mean just they, they're a solid team and I mean I think we're doing really well. We're practicing hard and I think we're just going to come out there and compete and do our thing this weekend.
[00:11:34] Speaker B: Big weekend for all you guys. Back to ECAC play. Just how fired up are you guys back in conference play now?
[00:11:38] Speaker E: Oh, I mean I'm so excited. Like over the break a weekend you're like okay, I enjoy the break but I want to get back here and get going. Especially you miss these guys. So come back here. We had a great week of practice last week. Exhibition game went really well for us. So I think everybody in that room is really, really ready to get going here.
[00:11:53] Speaker C: Are you guys hoping that Will comes back this, this weekend?
[00:11:56] Speaker E: Yeah, I mean, you know, we're, we're kind of still trying to figure out what, what he's got going on, but if he's in or out, like we're, we're still going to play for him and play, play as a team.
But yeah, I don't know if he's in or out, but we'll see.
[00:12:11] Speaker C: Now let's talk about the Union women's team. Just a really a two bad losses last weekend at Yale and Brown.
Union was up three nothing in the first period on five shot, five shots on goal. They SC times against Yale, chased their starting goaltender, the Bulldogs put their number three string goaltender in and somehow Union forgot to put some pucks on net and Yale rallied with two goals in the second period and three more in the third to take the 5:3 victory. And then on Saturday at Brown, Stephanie Bourke gave the Garner Chargers A1 nothing lead in the first period and second straight game. They Garner Chargers could not hold on to it and in fact they managed just 10 shots on goal, none zero in the third period of that game. For the weekend they had 25 shots on goal in the two games. That's just unacceptable. And for a team that wants to, you know, thought, you know, made a breakthrough last season by winning an ecacitor in the first round game and taking nearly taking Cornell to a third game in the best of three quarterfinals.
This is really can't, this can't happen. And you got to wonder if the confidence is lacking or if the season might be getting away from Union. They're going to face a big test. Two tests this weekend when Princeton and Quinnipiac come to M and T Bank Center. Princeton game will be on Friday night, 6 o' clock and the Quinnipiac game is 3pm Saturday.
I mean is the offense or the lack of it totally the to blame for those losses last week? Well, Tony Macy said not so fast. Here's what he had to say from the head coach.
Tony what happens to the offense? Last weekend you guys had leads in the first period. Three nothing against yell, one nothing against Brown. Everything seemed to dry up after the first period, particularly against Brown. Two shots in a goal in the last 40 minutes. None in the third.
[00:14:05] Speaker F: Yeah, I think it, I actually don't think it was our offense. I think we just didn't defend very well. You know, I think that's where everything starts. I've said it since I've got here.
You know, we've got to defend better so that we can have pucks and, and get up the ice. I thought our, our face offs, we got dominated pretty well in the face off dot. And it's not just our centers, it's all five.
You know, something we talked about in the locker room some we talked about after each game.
We have to be way better at competing during those times.
[00:14:33] Speaker C: What do you have to do to correct that?
[00:14:36] Speaker F: Compete harder. You know, that's what we're doing in practice right now. That's what we started yesterday. We're going to do more today.
You know, we've got a battle against each other even harder now that we're coming down the stretch and trying to get ready for playoffs because that's how you're going to win games in the playoffs. And you know, if we want to improve where we're at, that's the only way we can do that.
[00:14:56] Speaker C: How frustrating was that? Because especially NCL, five shots to go on the first period. You score and 60% of them, I mean, they put their third string goalie in there and everything just went south after that.
[00:15:10] Speaker F: Yeah, I think, you know, for them they took it as a boost. Like, hey, we're, we're going to put in somebody who maybe we can play in front of.
So they definitely up their game quite a bit.
You know, we didn't respond very well again, we didn't defend and I don't think we competed hard enough. So, you know, I think this weekend we got what we deserved. You know, that's going into every weekend that's pretty much what's going to happen. If you don't compete hard enough then you know, the outcome normally doesn't favor you.
[00:15:38] Speaker B: I mean, you guys did have two leads in both leads in both games. What adjustments you guys need to make going forward? When you get in front, you guys are able to find a way to stay in front.
[00:15:46] Speaker F: Yeah, it's something that's happened all year, unfortunately. So one, we have got some, some pass with it and trying to work through it.
You know, I think again, I can't keep using the excuses of us being young and going through it. But you know, that is something that you have to experience. Unfortunately, we just have to again compete harder throughout the full 60 and you know, Let our defending be better.
[00:16:10] Speaker C: Any concern about the season maybe getting away from you guys at this point with these losses?
[00:16:16] Speaker F: No, I wouldn't say that. I think a lot of it is, you know, when it comes down to the confidence piece, a lot of that comes with us playing better and playing better as a group.
You know, when you compete, you can take those and, you know, I see two things. There's either a loss or you get beat. You know, if you lose, which I thought we lost both games this weekend, they'll normally come when you don't compete hard enough. When you get beat, normally just the team's a little bit better. So for me, I take it as a, we've got to, no matter what, get ready for the playoffs. We're probably going on the road unless we go on a big run here, which would be great, but we know that this is a tough league, so we just got to take every game and prepare ourselves for the playoffs here.
[00:17:00] Speaker C: How critical are these games against Princeton and Quinnipiac here at MT bank center this weekend?
[00:17:05] Speaker F: I think every game's critical in our league. Right. Every point's big, but, you know, to get us back on track, I want to see us perform and compete hard.
What the outcome is, we don't know yet. But I think if we can compete hard and push them to play a little bit differently and not feel comfortable on our ice, that's what we want to do.
[00:17:26] Speaker C: Where's the confidence level at this team?
[00:17:28] Speaker F: I'd say we're probably somewhere in the middle. I don't think we're, you know, down completely. I don't think we're up completely. I think we're trying to figure it out. Obviously, we're coming off of Christmas break. You want to start things right away, but, you know, we got a chance to redeem ourselves this weekend.
[00:17:46] Speaker C: I mean, that'd be the frustrating fire and coming off because you have a month away from games, and the way you play that first period against cl, you're thinking, my God, we're looking pretty good here.
[00:17:55] Speaker F: Yeah, I think, you know, we did score five on our OR three on our first five shots. I don't think it's any play on how the actual 5 on 5 was going either, but we. We took advantage of it when we did, and, you know, we just couldn't hold on to it.
[00:18:13] Speaker B: Looking at this weekend back on home ice, where you guys have found more success than you have on the road, obviously this year, does that add any comfort or maybe a boost of confidence coming back onto Home ice with a chance to play.
[00:18:24] Speaker F: Yeah, I do think it's different playing in your own building, you know, sleeping in your own bed, being used to, you know, the details of every day, the pre game stuff, the ice, all that kind of stuff.
But at the end of the day we just, again, we got to compete harder.
[00:18:40] Speaker B: Just how big would finding a way to get a win this week and kind of how much would that do for this team's confidence and maybe serve as a springboard forward for this group?
[00:18:48] Speaker C: Well, that's the hope.
[00:18:49] Speaker F: You know, you want to come in and you know, the hope is obviously to win both, but you know, if you can get a split, that's not bad either. You know, we're looking at pretty much everybody that's come into our building that's been in our league's been in the top 15, so. Or even on the road. So we've got to be ready to go because we've got two top 10 teams coming in.
[00:19:11] Speaker C: Now let's get the thoughts of three of the players. Defenseman Stephanie Work, the team captain, and forwards Carrie Ann Engelbert and Matty Delaney. And they basically agreed with their head coach, Tony Macy.
Guys, I have to ask, what happened at the offense last weekend? You guys got out the leads in the first period of each game and after the first period you guys didn't do anything, especially Brown gained no shots to go and goal in the third period.
[00:19:34] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, I don't think that's an offense thing. I think that's just us taking care of the puck in our D zone. I thought we had that the past weekend was probably one of our worst weekend defensively. I think if you can't get the puck out of your own zone, you're not going to get any shots on net. That's just how it works. So I think it's just going back to bearing down on the details and playing like we know how to play in the D zone and then we'll be all right for the this weekend.
Yeah, I mean I would just say it was. We had some breakdowns and it just wasn't our weekend. But you know, we just keep looking forward and we're trying not to dwell on it.
[00:20:07] Speaker B: Maddie?
[00:20:08] Speaker D: Yeah, I think it's definitely something like both of them said it was more of a defensive problem, I think. And then also like special teams wise, three out of our four goals were on special teams and not five on five. So it's just trying to work harder in the D zone to be able to create offense 5 on 4, 5 to generate more chances for us.
[00:20:24] Speaker C: How frustrating was that? I mean, as I said, you had the leads in both games and especially three nothing against Yale. I mean, how frustrating was that to see that disappear?
[00:20:33] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, very. It's a tough situation. You know, you always try to set yourself up for success and build period after period. So going into the second with a three nothing lead, it's pretty tough, but something we got to learn to work through.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: Yeah. For all three.
[00:20:48] Speaker F: You just.
[00:20:49] Speaker B: What adjustments and what learning lessons can you take from that? So next time when you get the early lead, you guys are able to hold onto it.
[00:20:56] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, we're headed into the now in the second half of the season, so playoffs is what we're really trying to build for and, you know, trying to become the best team and play our best towards the end of the stretch here. So it's super important. I think it's just coming down to details, like Steph said and like we've been harping on all season.
Yeah. I mean, you can, I think, learn from everything. You can learn, learn from your wins and from your losses. So I think we're definitely taking this weekend, taking, you know, what we went through and we're. We're trying to really push forward and so just moving forward with it again, trying to get past it, but also understanding what went wrong.
I mean, yeah, like, it's a game of hockey. You'll have lots of ups and downs and that's how the season is at the same time. So I think right now we're. It's a challenge, but nothing we can't handle. So I think in the long run, this is going to make us stronger come playoff time. So I would rather lose now and learn and then win come playoff and upset some people than to win now and lose in the first round of the playoffs.
[00:21:50] Speaker C: Where is the confidence level of this team at right now?
[00:21:53] Speaker D: I don't think it's. I think we're all in the right mindset right now. I think we're working really hard in practice and we know that this isn't us and we know what we can do. It's just a matter of executing it and we showed it in the first period, so it's just finding a way to play a full 60 minutes and then I think so I think the confidence still is still at a high level.
[00:22:11] Speaker B: You know, returning home where you guys have played significantly better than on the road. How much, you know, comfort, comfort, confidence does that give you now with a big weekend on your home ice.
[00:22:20] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, I think like I said, our confidence is good. I don't think it ever really took a big toll just because, like we believes in ourselves. Like everyone in the dressing room believes in one another and, and if we have doubt like outside the locker room, then that's just a little bit more motivation to prove them wrong because we know we're a good team, we know what we can do. So it's just a. Also we have the number one ranked team in our league right now coming in on Friday and I know we're really excited to play. Normally we play well against them. So I hope that that's the case again.
Yeah, I mean, I'd also say, like, kind of like Steph said, I think, you know, our confidence hasn't really gone anywhere. I think our team is really good at picking each other up, especially in these times.
I think it's exciting. I mean, it's our athletes for athletes game. We're going to have a lot of support out there and I think, you know, it's a really good time to have other athletes come out and show their support. So I think, you know, everything is in the timing. There's still lots of time before playoffs. There's still lots of time in the season and I think we're just. Everyone's here, everyone's so committed to just keep going forward.
[00:23:16] Speaker C: Matty, is there any concern that the season might be getting away from you guys?
[00:23:20] Speaker D: No, not at all.
Like both of them said, like, confidence hasn't gotten anything. The belief in the locker room and within each other is still strong. Like we still have a ton of time to turn things, things around and it starts with this weekend.
[00:23:31] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:23:31] Speaker B: How big would, you know, finding a way to get some positive results this weekend do for you guys and kind of serve as a springboard going forward?
[00:23:37] Speaker D: Yeah, totally. I think it's huge every weekend, especially moving forward. It's a big weekend, confidence wise and points wise and whatnot. So definitely a big weekend and I think we're working towards it. Starting today and starting yesterday at practice.
[00:23:52] Speaker C: We'Ll move from the college hockey world to the National Hockey League league world. Buffalo Sabers are on a roll and coming off a 10 game winning streak and winners 11 of the last 12 heading into Thursday's game against the New York Rangers. Joe Yarden of noted hockey, our good friend will talk about the Sabres next on the Parting Shots podcast.
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[00:24:56] Speaker C: Welcome back to the podcast. The Buffalo Sabers look like where they were going to be left for dead back in early December, but they have been on a roll late. And to talk about that from noted hockey good friend Joe Yerden. Joe, first of all, Happy New Year. I know it's, you know, we're taping here on a Wednesday, on the first Wednesday of the new year, but it's illegal to say Happy New Year according to Larry David, but I'll say Happy New Year too. Any.
[00:25:19] Speaker B: Hey, you know what, we're a weekend, it's still a new year. That's fine. Yeah. If I catch you saying it in March though, I think, I think we might have a problem.
[00:25:27] Speaker C: Yeah. So. But let's talk about the Sarahs. Me, I left them for dead and they seemed like they were a team in shambles and next thing you know they have a 10 game winning streak. They've won 11 out of last 12. They won on Tuesday night against Vancouver. They fired their general manager in the middle of this winning streak early in the winning streak. Mean why did they fire. First of all, why did they fire Kevin Adams?
[00:25:52] Speaker B: Well, they had started out on a six game road trip out to Western Canada and Seattle and all that. And they started that trip 03, which you know, given the state of the team that they were, you know, they were in, they were down in the standings and very inconsistent and you know, very various issues with the roster and everything. And it felt like it was a band aid that needed to get pulled off after the last couple of years of disappointments. And you start that trip on three. And it was a trip where it was like they needed, they needed at least at the very least six points out of that trip. You know, six out of 12 points and you start owing three and it's like, boy, something's got to give here because if he comes home on the trip and you know they win one out of five, what are you doing? Because you're basically the message becomes like, well this one's over, man. Wrap it up and let's, let's get it going to the off season and you're doing that before Christmas and that just couldn't do. And you know, it felt like something they, that was being put off more or less.
And it was, it was Time something needed to change. They weren't going to fire Lindy Ruff. Lenny Ruff wasn't the issue.
They were kind of out of options on trades to make because they made all their moves. This was, you know, this was Kevin's roster. So everything's kind of squared away, and then you're left with the only option of either you start cleaning out the staff, or you just go right to the top and fire the gm. And that, that was the move to make. And with Yarmo Kek Linen getting hired in May to be part of the staff and, you know, at the time, you know, Yarmo didn't want to do any interviews because he didn't want to. You don't want to be a distraction. He didn't want people coming up and asking, hey, are you.
You ready to be the next gm? Because if things go sideways, you're the guy. And he didn't want that to be. To be an issue. And, you know, that's. That's Yarmo being a, you know, a classy, respectful guy. And.
But really, it was, let's be honest, that's. That's the outlook we all had. We're like, well, some. If this goes sideways there, the. The next GM's already here. And, you know, that was the move. So it's tough. It's. It's tough for Kevin Adams because he's really had an impossible situation to get into, but it was one that he opted into, and he did as well as he could at the start, but the last couple of years have just been a real fight for him. And, you know, lots of the inexperience that he had really kind of showed through in a lot of ways. And, you know, there every savvy move was. Was capped off by about two or three either moves or non moves where you're just like, where's, you know, what's going on here? What's the deal? And, you know, that kind of stuff can't have that kind of ratio if you're a gm.
[00:28:45] Speaker C: That, the fact that this team continues to win after that announcement, I mean, what's been the difference in this team since getting on the streak? I mean, like I said, I thought they were left for dead.
You know, November, early December.
[00:28:58] Speaker B: Yeah, it's, you know, it's. It's a few different things. It's. It's confidence, for one. You know, because you win a couple in a row and you're like, all right, this is good. And then you win a couple more in a row. Row. And then you're like, all right, this is. This is going in a good, good direction. And, you know, everybody started pulling the rope in the right direction. And you get that. You get goaltending. That was. That's been very good. You know, Alex Lyon's been. Been outstanding uk, Lukin's been very good since things kind of calmed down a little bit. Colton Ellis, when he's gotten a chance to play, has been solid. You know, he's. We're going to see him coming up again soon here with the schedule getting a little bit. A little funky, but you get all those things working together. You know, the power play was clicking there for a bit. It hasn't recently, but, you know, it hasn't. Hasn't really hurt them in games. And, you know, you get everybody on the same page and, and everybody has that understanding of, hey, if, you know, we gotta. We gotta get this. We gotta get this thing right here because, you know, this is on us as much as it was on the gm. And, yeah, it just. You. I don't know, sometimes you just catch a heater, you know, and in this case, they've really caught a heater. And it's the kind of. The kind of move where, you know, they almost had to win 10 in a row just to kind of stay up in the standings because the east is so tight and it's, you know, from top to bottom where if, you know, if they had gone 8 and 2, it still would have been an incredible run. But, you know, you're not talking like, hey, they're right. Hey, the wild card's right there. They're right. They're right in the mix. You know, you're. You're talking like, oh, well, they want 182, but, you know, they're 13th in the conference like Whoopi do. But, but this is, this is one where I think it's gotten through with all the players. Like, hey, we're playing the way we need to play, and, you know, they play up tempo, but they don't play risky. They play smart hockey. They capitalize on their chances. They're doing a lot of that stuff where, you know, some nights they're getting out shot by, you know, 10, 15, 20 shots sometimes. And, you know, a lot of those shots that they're giving up are from the outside. They're not dangerous and can. You can live with that. And if you're getting the chances and cashing in on the ones you're getting, you can kind of go into cruise control. Latent games and that's what they've been able to do and hang on to leads and it's. I don't know, it's got all the markings of a team that seems like could be a playoff team, but, boy, it's. The east is. The east is impossible this season.
[00:31:22] Speaker C: Well, my Flyers are, you know, playing well. I mean, on Tuesday night they took care of the Anaheim Ducks. I mean, I've been. And I was one. And we're going off target here. I was topic obviously with my Flyers, but I mean, I was skeptical about Rick Tuckett coming in because he was a great player. No doubt won a Stanley cup with the Penguins as a player. I mean, could have got to the finals twice with the Flyers in his first go around and got there late in his career. He almost got there late in his career if they didn't blow it against The Devils in 2000. But, I mean, he really has not had great success as a coach. I mean, one year I think he was coach of the year with Van or I think with Vancouver, but just his record didn't impress me. But I think he's been a breath of fresh air coming off the John Tortorella era there where, you know, yeah, Torts.
He could probably just be beat you to death just by, you know, looking at you. But. Yeah, but he's now talking. I think. I think the Flyers have been a surprise to him and I think the Sabres right now, I mean, I'm looking at the standards we talk here on Wednesday. They're just a point behind Pittsburgh for that final wild card slot. And they have the same number of games, 41. They have two games at hand in the Capitals, who have 50 points. And to me, as you said, this is a lot more wide open than I thought this would be this year. I mean, Panthers are struggling right now. They're not, you know, they're out of the playoff mix at the moment because we, you know, they've had a ton of injuries and maybe the three consecutive years of going to the finals and playing in the late June is catching up with them. But, I mean, Detroit, Montreal, 2 and 3 in the east in the Atlantic Division, and it's, you know, it's the Islanders. I mean, my goodness, it's. It's. It's been a crazy just looking at that easy. As you said, it's been kind of wild.
[00:33:06] Speaker B: Yeah, it's. I can't remember. I know parody is, you know, it's sometimes chalked up to be like Gary Batman's dream is that, you know, Everybody's in the playoff race. But it's that. That's his dream. It's a dream come true this year because, I mean, even. Even down at the bottom of the standings, you look and, you know, you got Columbus and you've got those teams down there, but I'm like, I don't know, man. They're a winning streak away from being right there with everybody else. So even in the west, like, the west, the records aren't as good, but not kind of the same. Same setup out there. And, you know, it's. It's interesting you mentioned that about Ty and not, you know, not to turn this into Flyers talk, but I had to ask Rick talk it when the Flyers were here in Buffalo a couple weeks ago, and I asked him, I go, you know, how. How have you been able to. To make this, you know, make this work? You know, this team was not great last year, and it's. It's got new guys on there, but, like, it's kind of the same. But he attributed it to all the young guys. Young guys just buy in. Like, they don't let anything bother them and they. That's kind of the way the Flyers play. Like, you know, they, you know, if things are going kind of sideways, just kind of like, yeah, all right, well, whatever. Go get them next thing time. And, you know, if Talk's got something to teach them, they're. They're all in on it. And they may actually speaks volumes, like, to have that kind of buy in from. From guys on a team like that. And, you know, for a guy who can be a little tough, I mean, he's a tough guy, but he manages with, like a. With a careful hand because he knows, you know, he knows what it is to be a player, but to get that kind of buy in, I mean, kind of seeing that a little bit in Buffalo, too. I mean, you know, Lindy's. Lindy's got a. A few more years on Rick Talkett, but.
And it's taken a little bit of time, but, you know, the guys are. The guys are believing in what Lindy's doing, and I think that, that. That goes such a long way for guys in the NHL to have a coach coach them up, teach some things, and then to have it work, because you need to have it work in practice and to work in the games, and then, you know, to have guys be able to. To say, like, okay, all right, what coach is telling us is actually working. All right, we're in. We got this.
[00:35:06] Speaker C: Yeah. You mentioned earlier that you Know, Lindy was. Isn't to blame for this. Me. How, how good do you feel for him that this is going on in the second go around with the Sabres?
[00:35:16] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, last year it was, boy, I. There were a lot of games last year where, you know, we're talking to Lindy afterwards and you know, the exasperation on his face and in some of his words and how he was trying to address, you know, what was happening and some of these losses that they were going through and you know, you could, you could just see it, you know, he wasn't speaking it, you know, because, you know, Lindy, Lindy used to be a very blunt guy, you know, back, back during his first time around with, with the Sabers, but he's gotten a bit more savvy with how he handles it. But like some of those losses, it was just, you know, he was fighting to not just go off, go off about it. But then there were others, especially during a losing, you know, during that 13 game skid where they were just, you know, he's just at a loss for words. He just doesn't have an explanation. I mean, all 13 of those losses were, were pretty close ones. And I mean that'll, that'll take anybody down a notch. But, but this year you're starting to see more of the, you know, the, the more happy go lucky Lindy, the guy who's, you know, willing to kind of crack some jokes with us during press conferences and you know, be a little bit more level headed about, you know, the up and you know, if there's an up and down play in a game, like he can, he can be, but more direct about what went wrong, but also know how to massage it out when it's, you know, when things are going right and what things are clicking well for them. So seeing a little bit more of a, a Lindy who's more in his, his, you know, in a, in a. I want to say the happier place because if he's happy, you know, if they're, he's in his happy place there at the top of the conference, but you know, he's in a spot where he gets to coach and he, you know, he's, he's got control of the situation, he's got control of what he wants done and how he wants things done on the ice. And I think that's, that's the sweet spot for every coach because you get to have your say. The guys are right there with you for it. But you know, if you got a, if you got to lean a little bit harder on them. You can do that too.
[00:37:17] Speaker C: During the 10 game winning streak was the most impressive game. The New Year's Eve victory at Dallas four to one.
[00:37:24] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, that, that might be the, the most complete and most thorough win I think I've seen out of this, out of a team here in Buffalo. I mean, it's crazy, it sounds crazy to say, but the entire time I've been here, which goes back to the start of the 1314 season, which was really bad, but it's, it's been a long time. But that's, that's as complete a game and a complete an effort as I've seen out of a Savers team maybe ever here. And that's speaks volumes for how well they played in that game and how they were able to control it. And you know, games in Dallas for them aren't usually very good.
You know, they won an OT game there a couple of years ago, I think was Owen Power scored the winner. But usually they go down there and they get hit in the mouth and Dallas thumps on them all game long. And maybe it doesn't show on the scoreboard, but they take a beating, you know, physically, mentally, what have you.
And this time around it was one where they were ahead and they just, they owned it. They owned that whole game. And that's, you know, Dallas is an extremely good team. I know they're kind of hurting a little bit right now. I think they've lost like five or six in a row or something. But if anybody's gonna doubt Dallas's credentials for they play, I mean, good luck with that because that's an awesome team. They're one of the best in the league. And the Sabers just took care of business very efficiently, very professionally. And it's like, whoa, all right. And I think back to that 10 game win streak they had back in the beginning of the 18, 20, 18, 2019 season. They didn't have any wins like that.
You know, they had some wins over some good teams, but those were wins where they were getting their teeth kicked in and they came away with a win, with a win. Anyways, this Dallas game was as polar opposite of that as it could be. That was, that was a ruthless, efficient team. And, and you see a win like that and you're like, oh boy, this, this might, we might actually have a playoff team in our hands here. If they can, if they can bottle that up and play like that more often than not. There. That's a playoff team.
[00:39:28] Speaker C: Yeah, that's, that should be fun. Tage Thompson, he's going to go to the Olympics, but how good has he been this year?
[00:39:35] Speaker B: He's, you know, I thought.
I thought he had a little bit of a kind of slow start. I. I was, you know, kind of knocking on some of his efforts early on in the season. But I think the last couple of months, he's been dynamite.
You know, the bouncing between center and playing wing and, you know how to. You know how to.
How to educate how you want them to play in those situations. I think they found a good.
A good line mix form right now with. With Peyton Krebs and Josh Doane. I think he's got a couple of guys that hunt pucks, that play hard, they go to the net. They do a lot of the, you know, the. The dirty work kind of stuff, and Thompson gets to kind of reap the benefits of that, whether it's, you know, he's able to get free to. To get a shot away or he's able to create some rebounds for these guys or for himself in front of the net.
Just kind of making a mess of things around the goal where, you know, if he gets. If he's able to get the puck on his stick and he's got a second to shoot it, that's more than enough time for him to either get another great scoring chance or score a goal. And I. To me, that's that. That kind of mix, which, you know, if you're drawing it up for, like a video game, you're probably thinking, like, there's no way that line works because, you know, Krebs isn't a big point score. Josh Stone's having a fantastic season coming over from Utah, but, like, you're looking at it and you're just kind of like, I don't know. I don't know how you do anything with this line. How does this work? And it just does.
And it's. It's. It's, you know, it's one of those things where you're just kind of like, whatever. The. The mix of what each guy does really well just works. Works great together. And Thompson, I mean, I mean, he's. He's such a great offensive player, and I think even some of his defensive shortcomings get covered up quite a bit by having guys like Krebs and Doane there with him, because it can make up for when, you know, if he gets caught in deep on a, you know, on an offensive play, trying to, you know, get a guy his size and, you know, his skating ability to Haul it back down the ice to back check. Can take a little bit, but.
But it's. It's the kind of thing where it just works. You know, a lot of what the Sabres do this season is just, hey, it just works. Don't question it, you know, don't. Don't look the gift horse in the mouth. Just let it. Just let it, you know, run wild out there. And I think in this case for Thompson, though, I mean, you know, he was a guy who was really close to making that four nations roster. He got called. He got called in right ahead of that Canada game to maybe have to go into the lineup for. For the championship game. And you kind of felt like, yeah, he's going to make the Olympic team. But, you know, I think early on this year you're like, I don't know, you got some other guys playing up here. But, I mean, you know, when it came time to announce that roster, it's like, oh, he's in. He. He has to be in. If he's not in, there's a problem. Granted, that baton got passed to Jason Robertson, but that's a whole other story.
[00:42:35] Speaker C: Yeah, there's a month left before the Olympic break. How important will it be for the Sabres to continue this momentum headed, heading into the break and put themselves in a position where they're in a playoff position and they can compete for that once they've resumed play after the Olympics?
[00:42:51] Speaker B: Yeah, it's. It's vital. I mean, it's. It's absolutely vital because they, you know, the fans have been checked out for a while, and this run and the way that they're playing and the way they're. The way they're winning games, too, has gotten fans back on board. And it's not that they're running screaming to the box office to buy tickets, but there's been a few sellouts here the last few weeks, and that's something that just never happened before. Just random games selling out. Granted, holiday time makes it a little easier for. For some of these games to sell more tickets, but, you know, this game against Vancouver, the, you know, on Tuesday night was one where you're like, I don't know, Vancouver's pretty bad. They're not, you know, you're not going to get a whole lot of folks coming out for it. That was a really good crowd. That was a really good crowd. And they were into it every play, every play, every situation. I mean, we're getting the crowd roaring for. For Zach Benson and back checking and stealing a puck away late in the day. I mean, you know, that kind of stuff where it's like, all right, all right. The Die Hards are starting to. Starting to get back into this. So this is. It's a good. This is a good heater. This is a good thing to carry forward. And, you know, I mean, listen, nobody's running away with a playoff spot in the east right now. Just. Nobody's doing it like Tampa. Tampa's won, like, what, like 15 to 18 games or something like that, and they're still just kind of fighting around atop the Atlantic with everybody else. And as long as you. Just. As long as the wins are more than the losses, as things go along, they're going to be in a good spot. If they're fighting for a playoff spot with, like, 13 other teams, I mean, geez, every turns every. I always said you can't. NFL fandom, the NHL, because it can't be like, every game is win or lose, you know, die or don't die. And we're into a situation now where every game might turn into that for the final third, you know, 40 of the season. And it's like, oh, boy, this. Everybody's got to be losing their minds here. But.
But this is.
This is. This is a really. This is a. This is a. This is a fun team. It's a really fun team to watch.
I mean, it's a team with a ton of talent just. Just all over the roster. And you know what? They're believing in themselves and they're. They're pulling for each other. They're. They're helping each other out. And you know what? Sometimes it's. That's.
You get a couple of those things going right for you, and that's all you need. And I think that they. They've got that going for them.
[00:45:20] Speaker C: How's our friend Seth Appard doing?
[00:45:23] Speaker B: You know, probably, you know, I won't lie. When Kevin Adams was. Was fired, I was very concerned for. For Seth and for a lot of guys that Kevin brought in during his time here, because, you know, listen, Kevin brought Seth in to coach the Amex, and, you know, a lot of, you know, a lot of guys in the coaching staff are, you know, guys that were, you know, from those early days of. Of Kevin putting everything together here. And I was nervous for him because, you know, hey, the team was 03 on the road, and you're like, well, Yarmo's gonna come in and, you know, all the nonsense rumors were just like, well, they're going to fire Lindy. They're Going to bring in Tortorello, blah, blah, blah, all this stuff. And you're like, oh, boy, let's calm down for a second here. But you know what? You stick to your guns and you stick to your guys and you, you know, Yarmo comes in, he's like, hey, let's, let's do this. Let's, let's get, let's get this done.
And wouldn't you know, they start winning, the power play starts coming together, which is the thing the fans always, you know, got on Seth's case about, even though it's, it's Lindy's power play. But Seth coaches him up and Seth's got, you know, Seth's fingerprints are very, very heavy on how this team plays. And you see the team winning and you're like, all right, okay, you feel, you feel a little bit better. You feel a lot better for, for him and for the rest of the coaches on the staff too, because, you know, you get a new GM and like, I wouldn't hire any of these guys. They didn't put any of these players together. Things could get, things could get hairy quickly if things go sideways still and, you know, you win, win a bunch of games and now you don't have to worry about that anymore. You don't have to think about it. Everybody's.
[00:47:06] Speaker C: Everybody's happy.
[00:47:07] Speaker B: The plan's coming together, you know, and everybody's, everybody's doing well. So I'm happy for all those guys. Obviously, you know, I've got long ties to set, so I'm happy for him to see, to see the team doing well and, you know, to have, you know, have the team playing more like how they should. I know everybody says, oh, Savers are losers, they're gonna lose, but, you know, not when you got the talent on this team. This, this is more. This is more like what this team should be.
[00:47:34] Speaker C: Well, Joe, I appreciate a few minutes. You can read Joe's coverage of the Savers on noted hockey and social media wise where we can find you, Joe.
[00:47:41] Speaker B: Yeah, find me on Blue sky at my name Joe Yurden. Blue Sky's got their own thing pumping out some of my work over on Twitter as well. Find me there. Instagram. Sometimes it's just all, it's all under my name. Not too hard. Not too hard to find. But. But yeah, noted hockey. We got that fired up again. We have Bleacher Report. Just got all, all kinds of stuff. Covering everything.
[00:48:03] Speaker A: Great.
[00:48:03] Speaker C: That's great show stuff, Joe. Appreciate it. Appreciate a few minutes. We'll talk soon. Maybe towards the Stanley cup playoffs. Right into the Stanley cup playoffs.
[00:48:10] Speaker B: Boy, wouldn't that be something, eh?
[00:48:11] Speaker C: Holy smokes, you have to grow your playoff beard.
[00:48:14] Speaker B: Oh, man, it's been a while. It's been a long while.
[00:48:18] Speaker C: I tried going to play a beer once when I was covering Hershey Bears. I had no shot. It was just patchy. And again, now I'm not going there.
[00:48:25] Speaker B: I did Movember for the first time this year and let me tell you, mustache is not my. I can do it, but like, I didn't like it one bit.
[00:48:33] Speaker C: I miss, I miss my mustache and goatee.
So. Hey Joe, appreciate a few minutes. We'll talk soon.
[00:48:41] Speaker B: Hey, you got it, Kenny. Thanks so much.
[00:48:42] Speaker C: That's Joe Yarden. Coming up, we'll talk about the New York jets awful season with Dennis Wasak Jr. Of the Associated Press. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
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Foreign.
Welcome back to the podcast. My next guest probably deserves some time off, lots of time off after having to cover the New York jets this season. Another awful year for the Jets. It's Dennis Wasak Jr. The Associated Press, joining me now on the podcast. First of all, Dennis, happy New Year. And how glad are you that 2025 jets season is over.
[00:50:00] Speaker A: Happy New Year to you, too. And yeah, I, it's been, it was a rough one, that's for sure. I think, you know, it's one of those things where you feel for the fans, you feel for the players, you know, and even the coaches, and you just know that it's tough. And, and I'll tell you just a little inside from, from the media perspective, it's hard to come up with new things to write and interesting things to write when there's so much losing. There's only so much you could say about it and write about it and you're looking for new things to say. So how about that, that in the new year, let's, let's have some, something different. So a few wins would be nice next season, I think, for everybody involved because this was pretty brutal. I mean, since Halloween, you know, it was brilliant. Season has been over. So yeah, it was a rough one.
[00:50:54] Speaker C: We talked after the, the opening game of the season, 34, 32 loss of Steelers, and we thought maybe things are going to turn around under Aaron Glenn.
[00:51:04] Speaker A: But what happened?
That's a loaded question. There's a lot to go into that one.
Yeah, I mean, I think there were, like I said, there are a lot of things that went into it. I think maybe there was a little of an overestimation of the roster talent as a whole.
I think you had a first year head coach kind of feeling his way through things that a first year head coach, you know, goes through and just, just the little day to day things. And he even acknowledged that at a couple of points during the season. And, and then when we talked to him earlier in the week, you know, he said, you know, he's basically, he said, you know, a rookie coach, there are things I know I can do better. And I think some of those things are like, even off the field, just how he handles, you know, certain decisions and just issues that, that pop up with players and coaches and that kind of thing. And then the on the field stuff too, I mean, there were too many mistakes. You know, there were two. There was, there was too much going on. And I think a big part of that is on Glenn. And I mean the quarterback situation was. Was the major, you know, mistake because I think they thought Justin Fields coming here and playing in Tanner Angstrend's offensive system, he would be a great fit and maybe they could get out of him what Chicago and Pittsburgh couldn't or the glimmer that he showed last year with the Steelers in the first six games before Russell Wilson played. You know, and I. That kind of stuff is, is what happened. And he made a mistake hiring Steve Wilkes as the defensive coordinator. And we. He. Wilkes has a long history of kind of being one and done or just being a short time guy. He has a lot of experience. And Glenn explained, you know, hey, he's a former head coach. I would be able to kind of bounce things off him. And he was going to run the same system that he ran in San Francisco that went to the super bowl and he was going to run here and it just didn't work. So I think those were the two major things. And I mean, you see how the defense played late in the season.
Injuries were a key. Also losing Garrett Wilson and then when you start trading Sauce Gardner and Quinn and Williams with an eye for the future, well, you're not leaving yourself too much on the field to be highly competitive with. And I think that was the thing that I think people needed to just kind of keep in mind.
Yes, they got blown out in those last five Games. But you know who on that team, especially in the last game in this, the season finale against Buffalo, I think there were eight or nine players out of the 22 starters who even have a roster spot, you know, for sure next season. So there was a lot of that. So it was, it was pretty bad. But I think when you look at the whole picture that there were just, you know, things that just went wrong. They didn't expect certain things.
He has to learn how to adjust. He has to learn how to kind of get some of that talent out and this vision that he keeps talking about and the foundation and the culture, well, he's. It, it. There needs to be a sense of urgency now because if they're still struggling early on next season, the calls for a change, you're going to get even louder than they are even right now.
[00:54:42] Speaker C: Well, you know, you mentioned there was a. Plenty of stuff going on. One thing there wasn't plenty of interceptions. How, how do you go through a 17 game season and not have an interception? I mean, that's first time thing. First time ever in the NFL.
[00:54:56] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah, it's the first time ever.
And so the jets made some history, some history they would rather not have made, of course. But it really is amazing when you think about that, how many opportunities. And I think there were, there were over 500 passes thrown against the jets this year and not one pickoff, you know, and that's amazing when you think about how just by sheer luck teams get interceptions, tip passes, deflections, things that, you know, like a bad read. And I mean they had their hands on some potential interceptions and you know, the drops or guys like hit into each other, even in the last couple of games they came up just short. But you would think how did they not get those? And I mean that's, that's something that I think there is a lot of luck to that. But the funny thing is, I mean, Aaron Glenn is a guy who had a ton of interceptions in his career. He had, you know, a handful of picks and sixes too. And you know, for a defense, a former cornerback to, to have a team that makes history by having no interceptions. I mean that says a lot right there, you know, and it, I think you need, you need ball hawkers in the secondary. And I, I don't know that the Jets, I mean, not that I don't know, I mean it's clear that they didn't have those type of guys who just have a nose for the football. And yeah, that's one of the things that people will remember about this team because it's, I mean, and they'll go into next season with the streak still going. So you'll still hear about this streak until they get one. I mean, they're the first team to go through an entire season without an interception. But they also have a 17 game, you know, drought.
So you know, that will continue to go on into next season until they get somebody.
[00:56:54] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I mean, they start out on seven. Then you know, the losses in week six and week seven, lose a Denver by 2, 13, 11, lose 13 to 6 to Carolina. I mean, if they win those games, I mean, do you think you get a sense that maybe something could happen? Because you look that week eight they won dramatically at Cincinnati. 39, 38. And in week 10, after having week nine off, they beat Cleveland 27, 20. So you're thinking maybe the jets are turning a corner.
[00:57:23] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And I think that's the thing that was kind of frustrating because at that point you did think that because they, they won three out of five at that point, some of their losses, like you, you mentioned were, you know, not by a lot. I mean, even the season opener against Rogers and the Steelers, they lost 34, 32, you know, and then they lost the Bucks two weeks later, 29, 27. They were close. And I think, I think when you look at the last five games and how much like that, the, the point differential for December also set an NFL record for the, the most points point differential, the largest point differential in NFL history for the month of December. And I, I again, I think you have to point to who was on the field at that point. I mean, you had, you had Brady Cook, an undrafted rookie free agent. I mean, at that point, when you're, when you've got to use that player who you never had any intention of putting on the field at any point this season, that's when you know, okay, the talk about Tank, like, that's, you know, they, they were trying to be as competitive as they could be, but I mean, it was clear that they were thinking about next season. So when you look at how they were playing early on and then once they traded Sauce Gard and Quinn and Williams and, and you know, they, they had some injuries. Garrett lost, Garrett Wilson for the season. It just, the, the level of play dropped dramatically. And then you have, like I said, the undrafted rookie quarterback playing there. I mean, how much could you expect from that product? So the funny, the beat that I, you know, not the beat but, but the talk on social media and talk radio and, and all that is just people, fans who were disappointed with the jets losing toward the end. But if they had been winning some of those games, they would not have the number two overall picks. So that, that's kind of the catch 22 here where the jets kind of played it perfectly. If they were going to be bad, then they could be really bad and get the number two pick. So that, that's the, the light at the end of the tunnel for that. They have the number two pick. Now the question is, will the jets be able to make the correct choice? And that's a whole other matter.
[00:59:56] Speaker C: Yeah, the jets were outscored in the final five games, 188 to 54, and did not look competitive in any of them at that point.
Aaron Glenn's got a five year contract.
Was there any thought of letting him firing him after that Week 18 game or did the jets not want to pay off another head coaching contract?
[01:00:20] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I think that there's probably something to that.
If you're Woody Johnson, you're looking at that and you, you were committed to this guy, to hiring a former jets great player and bringing him in and letting him and Darren Muji together try to reset. And like I've, I've talked about this in some of my stories throughout the sea the season that it's, it's a rebuild of. A rebuild of rebuild. You can go back to, you know, a few general managers ago who were trying to rebuild what the previous one did and, and head coach and all that. And I think Woody Johnson really wanted to get this right. And I, I think when Aaron Glenn was hired, it was, it was a mostly celebrated hiring.
I think people saw. Okay, the only, the only question was, okay, do you, do we really want an offensive guy in here with Aaron Glenn being a defensive guy? We've, we just had Robert Salah.
Should we get any offense? I think that's a little bit overblown sometimes.
But the contract that Aaron Glenn got, you know, was, was a long term deal to come in here and really kind of build something and to just kind of turn your back on that.
That's a tough message to send to anybody who might even consider wanting to come here because how much time will you truly get? I think those voices have gotten louder in terms of outside the building when you see Kevin Stefanski become available and certainly John Harbaugh become available and even people who were kind of in the mix Beforehand, like Mike McCarthy's name is coming back up. So all these names and you look at how the jets season unfolded and like, well, couldn't the jets be better? And, and some people have said the jets can't even get losing in the right season. Right. You know, because if they were this bad, you know, last year, then they would have had, you know, that kind of thing. They would have been in the running, certainly for Harbaugh. And, and, you know, now I, you know, McDaniel got fired from the Dolphins. There's so many guys out there. It is just this. It's a. It's a tough thing. So, long story short. Yes, I mean, I think they. They are committed. I don't think there was going to be any change. I think once you saw what happened over the last few games, I think everybody was in lockstep. I think they. They knew that, okay, we don't have a lot going on here on the field. We're looking at the future, and we're just going to have to sit tight and just get through these games and, you know, hopefully get the draft pick. And they did.
[01:03:12] Speaker C: Will he be on a short leash next season?
[01:03:16] Speaker A: I think so. That's. That's hard. It's hard to say, like, how short it will be, but I think a lot will depend on what they do in the draft or free agency. Mostly free agency, because they're going to want to bring in some veterans who can make plays like. Like every other team. But I think think you'll probably see a huge turnover on this roster. They have about two dozen guys who will be free agents, and I mean, that's. That's half the roster, you know, so I think, and, And I. I think most of those guys probably won't be back. So you're going to see new faces. So I think if they struggle and they're 1 in 4, 1 and 5, I think there's.
There's a chance that Aaron Glenn could be in real trouble, because then, I mean, you're just kind of continuing what happened last year, you know, this past season.
And Woody Johnson has now set the precedent, which wasn't the case before, where he will fire a coach midseason, because that was the whole thing about the Woody Johnson tenure, that he hasn't fired a coach until after the season. Well, he did that with Robert Sala, so, yeah, there's a chance. I mean, they, they know what Aaron Glenn has said, you know. Yeah, there's always a sense of urgency. Woody Johnson wants to win. We want to.
So, yeah, it'll be interesting to see how they get off to that first, you know, four or Five game stretch in September and week one. So, you know, we don't know what the schedule will be like. So, I mean, they had a tough schedule this year too at the, at the front end, so we'll see what happens. But yeah, I think he'll have to win some games early.
[01:04:57] Speaker C: Let's put your general manager hat on with the number two pick of the draft. Who are the jets that's taking, man.
[01:05:04] Speaker A: I, I think, I think they like Dante more. You know, if he comes out, if he doesn't, then I, I mean that, like all bets are off at that point. I think you could go past Rusher. You know, defensive line, they have so many needs. That's the thing. And I think when you have so many holes to fill in, so many draft picks. I have, I mean, they have, I think, I think they have three of the top 33 picks, including the first pick of the second round.
They have a lot to work with, but I think if you can get the quarterback one of those two guys, I think that's the way to go. Mendoza or more. I think the Raiders will take Mendoza. I think that's probably a foregone conclusion at this point, but it's hard to say. Here's the interesting thing though. I think with the number two pick, the jets haven't had a lot of luck. I think Blair Thomas was the number two pick. Johnny Lamb Jones was the number two pick.
So, you know, they, they, they don't, they haven't done well with the number two pick for, for the most part, you know, in, in their history.
So we'll see. But you know. Oh, another one that just occurred. Zach Wilson was the number two.
So, so yeah, I like, I think that's, they'll look at that.
Is there a potential for them to maybe trade down and even get more picks in the first round and just like load it up? I mean, who knows at this point, but if Dante Moore declares for the draft, I think he's the guy that you'll look at for sure.
[01:06:45] Speaker C: How attractive are the jets for free agents?
[01:06:49] Speaker A: That's a good question. That's something that's kind of come up a lot, I think, I think what's going to have to happen is that the current players who were there, Garrett Wilson, Jermaine Johnson, the guys who were here for a while, even the young offensive linemen, Olu Fashano, Armand Menbu, those guys who will be here for a few years, they're going to have to kind of sell it a little bit, you know, and all These guys know each other around the league and they know guys who know guys. So I think they're going to have to kind of sell, like, hey, if they believe in it and they believe in Aaron Glenn, they're gonna have to say, hey, look, you know, I know the record is what it was, and, you know, we didn't play well, but he's building something and you'll love to play for this guy. I think that's how the jets are going to have to approach this. I, I don't think.
I mean, they have plenty of money, too. They're going to go in, into free agency, about 95 million ish under the cap, and so they're gonna have money to play with.
And we know Ken that always talks. So, so, so I think they'll be able to get some guys in, but the, the question is, you know, what do you, what do you aim for right off the bat? And I, I, they, like I said, they have so much that they need to get, they need to bring in defensive line, help linebacker, help the secondary help.
The entire secondary could look different next year. So. And you have some guys coming off of injuries back there. Just, it's, it's gonna be something because if you come to the jets, you're going to have to be willing to go through some things. And I think, I think you've seen, you've seen what that can do to some players. I mean, sauce could. Gardner and Quinn and Williams were thought to be foundational pieces, and I think they were kind of relieved because there was so much losing and that's that stigma there. They've lost 15 straight seasons without the playoffs, and that, that's, that's big, you know, and, you know, are you willing to be part of what could be the next rebuild and what should be the next rebuild? So, so I, I think that's why money will talk in free agency.
[01:09:06] Speaker C: I know you don't do much with the other team that occupies MetLife Stadium, the new York Giants, but how does Joe, Joe Shane keep his job?
[01:09:17] Speaker A: Yeah, it's a, I mean, that's a, that's a great question. I think the Mara, you know, the Maras, they still believe in. You know, we were talking about vision with, with Aaron Glenn, I think vision with him, too. And I just, I mean, you have this quarterback in Jackson, Dart, you know, you have some young talent, Malik Neighbors and, and Abdul Carter. You have some, some building blocks there. And, and Joe Shane is the guy who brought those guys in, you know, so I think he, he gets Points for that.
But, yeah, you would think that with everything that went down this year and, and last year as well. Okay, Gable's out. You're looking for a new coach, maybe just reset now.
Yeah, it's. It's definitely interesting. I know a lot of Giants fans did not like that. They wanted to kind of clean house. And, And. And that's the thing. What if the Giants struggle early? I mean, that. That's a. That's a tough thing, because if you're a coach that comes here and you're working with a GM who is already under fire, how does that mix go? That. It's an interesting scenario there. So unless you get a coach like John Harbaugh, who has a lot of say and he's got a lot of power and control, so it would kind of shield what Shane does, or he can kind of overrule some of those things.
So that. That'll be an interesting thing to see how. How the Giants hiring goes and how those interviews over the next several days go.
[01:10:59] Speaker C: How wide open are the NFL playoffs?
[01:11:03] Speaker A: Oh, man, that totally. It's totally wide open. I mean, if we talked early in the season, could you have imagined that the Broncos and the Patriots would be the top two teams in the afc? You know, that.
[01:11:16] Speaker C: Never thought that. Never thought that.
[01:11:18] Speaker A: Right? Yeah. I mean, like, you would think, like, those teams, okay, like the Broncos, for sure. Like, they. They've got, you know, something going on. The Patriots, who knows, you know, with Vull and the young quarterback and kind of a new look. And so, I mean, that makes the AFC completely wide open and the nfc, too. I mean, it, like, I mean, who's. The fa. Is. Are the Eagles. I mean, what do you think, Ken?
[01:11:42] Speaker C: Like, no, the Eagles had a chance to get the number two. See, Sunday, I can understand Nick Sirianni resting his starters, but I would have played him at least for the first half, get a comfortable lead, then put the backups in. I mean, I could come back to bite them in the butt if they don't. If they win, they beat San Francisco on Sunday in Chicago wins. They have to go to Chicago.
[01:12:05] Speaker A: Right.
[01:12:06] Speaker C: And then Chicago manhandled them in Philadelphia with the running game. Game. So.
[01:12:10] Speaker A: But.
[01:12:11] Speaker C: But Chicago scares me. I mean, they're a comfort behind team, but you can't. And that's a playoffs. You can't really afford to fall behind because the playoffs are a different animal. And I.
It's.
I would love to say the Eagles are favorable. I. I mean, who. Who the hell thought Seattle be the top seed in the nfc.
[01:12:29] Speaker A: Exactly. I was just thinking that. And so your top two teams in the NFC are the Seahawks and the Bears and who have had that. Either of those two teams. You know, Sam Darnold going to Seattle and. And he played well, you know, and it's 14 and three. The second year in a row he goes 14 and three. That's. I mean, if you're a Jets fan, you're like, really? You know, because, I mean, that never would have happened. I. You know, we could talk about that for a while, Darnold's progression and development. But yeah, I mean, the Seahawks and Bears and I mean, the Panthers being in there, and you could. You can see the 49ers just kind of come out from that six seed and jump up there, and even the Rams are a five seed. So very strange the way that the playoffs kind of played out. And I mean, that Steelers Ravens game was. Was unbelievable, you know, and I know.
[01:13:22] Speaker C: There'S some people who were crying, and I think your. Your Rob Motti was one. Questioning why that game was put on Sunday night. I.
But now we realize that that was probably the perfect way to end the regular season.
[01:13:34] Speaker A: That's for sure. 100%.
[01:13:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
Plus NBC wants Aaron Rodgers over.
[01:13:39] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:13:40] Speaker C: There was the division at stake, so I can see why that was put on Sunday night as opposed to, you know, both teams, both Seattle and San Francisco, which could have been the game, have been placed on the night. Both teams guarantee it was just a matter who's going to get the top seed in the nfc. So there's not much drama as opposed to a division championship on the line and see what happens. I mean, who knows John Harbaugh's fate?
He ends up getting fired because the team struggled in a missed field goal.
If he makes that field goal, maybe Mike Tomlin, we're talking about him getting right.
[01:14:14] Speaker A: Exactly, exactly. And there's still talk, Ken, that if the Steelers lose in the first round to Houston because they have that long stretch with. Without winning a playoff game, that, you know, Tomlin might not be safe either, which is crazy to me. But, you know, that's. That's where we're at now. I mean, who would have thought a guy like Harbaugh, after 18 years and all the success he's had, that would be out, you know, that I, I just, I look at that game and I said this in the jets press room the other day, and, like, a couple of the guys were like, no way. Just looking at Houston and Pittsburgh, could you see Aaron Rodgers, like, now all of a Sudden boom, like it just all clicking and the Steelers beat the Texans. I know the Texans defense is, is tremendous. They, they got a great defense. But would you be totally surprised if this is how Aaron Rodgers went out by winning a couple of playoff games? No, like, especially since he was a Jet because that would be very fitting for him to like ride out the way that the jets wanted him to ride out.
[01:15:13] Speaker C: Yeah. So. Well, Dennis, I hope your bosses and that the associate president give you a chance to go help cover Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara because for the season you've had to cover, you deserve to go see some good football.
[01:15:27] Speaker A: I appreciate that. I do, I really do. And like I said, I feel bad for the fans because to be a loyal fan and to endure what the jets fans have gone through, like, that's, I mean they deserve, they deserve a winner. They really do. And you know, whole thing, hopefully they get back to winning whis next season. It's, it's been a long 15 years, that's for sure.
[01:15:50] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, Dennis, as always, I appreciate your insight and then look forward to talking to you. Maybe if there is a coaching agent would change or even towards the draft, we'll see what things are going with the jets there.
[01:16:00] Speaker A: You got it, Ken. Always a pleasure, man.
[01:16:02] Speaker C: All right, That's Dennis Wozak Jr. I'll be back to wrap up the podcast and have the latest winner in the Daily Gazettes. You pick a football contest in just a moment.
[01:16:31] Speaker B: How can you measure the value of education based athletics?
[01:16:35] Speaker D: Well, the value is in what makes it invaluable.
[01:16:38] Speaker B: That's because school sports aren't just about winning.
[01:16:41] Speaker D: They're about learning and growing. School sports aren't just about gaining trophies and accolades.
[01:16:48] Speaker B: They're about learning life lessons, bringing a whole community together, developing character and integrity, having coaches who mentor you and teammates who become lifelong friends. And you can't put a price on any of that.
[01:17:01] Speaker D: That's what makes education based athletics invaluable.
[01:17:05] Speaker B: Of course, when you participate in school.
[01:17:07] Speaker D: Sports, you want to win and become.
[01:17:09] Speaker B: A better athlete, but the purpose is so much greater. Becoming a better person.
Support your local school sports programs and if you have a student, encourage them to get involved.
[01:17:22] Speaker C: This message presented by NISFA and the New York State Athletic Administrators Association.
Back to wrap up the podcast. The Week 18 winner in the Daily Gazette's U Pick a Football Contest contest was Carlo Cristofoli of Clifton park. With a 151 record, Carlo wins a $100 price Chopper Market 32 gift card. Congratulations, Carlo. The VIP winner was me. I went 9 7. There were a bunch of guys who went 9 7, but I must have won a tiebreaker. I'm now 176. 95. 1. The Gazettes Will Springstead was 7 9. He is 164 106. 1. I did not defend my regular season championship.
Regular season champion is Jim DeMarco of Terry Morris Ford with 180 wins. Dwayne Leach of All Season Equipment is second with 179.
Allison Cam of SG Roofing is third at 178. John Keller is fourth. 177. I was tied for fifth with Paul Little of Emerick Sales and Service with 176 wins. Nick Platel, Grand Premier Tire and Scott Lucher of CapitaLand GMC each had 172 wins. Andrew Crounce of Glenville Beveridge has 169 wins and Will Springstead has 164 wins. I want to ask you Pickham Football Contest winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Thursday's Daily Gazette. To play, go to dailygazette.com and click on the you pick' em football banner. We're still picking in the NFL playoffs.
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This week, Stan Houdy rings in the new year with a trifecta of podcasts. He opens the Stan and Friends podcast year with 13 year old Rory Greth, who has three YouTube channels and more than 36,000 views.
Next he speaks with Devin Lyons to highlight January as Cervical Cancer month as she shares her own journey through her previous diagnosis.
He closes out the week with the Stan and Shen show where the duo invited Mystery of Edwin Dwight, director Brian Clemente and actor Cameron Clark Stevens to talk about the audience participation show at Schenectady Light Opera Company beginning January 16th. Subscribe to the Stan and Friends and Stan and Shen podcast on all your podcast listening platforms.
Next week we'll have two more podcasts, the 499th episode on Wednesday with Union Men's head hockey coach Josh Hauge. Next Thursday it will be the 500th episode.
Former Gazette News reporter Jake Lahut, who started the Daily Gazette Sports Podcast, will join me. Also on the show will be my good friend and friend of the podcast, Freddie Coleman of ESPN Radio. It's going to be a fun show that wraps up another edition of the Parting Shots Podcast. I want to thank Nick Young, Brandon Burr, Braden Gillespie, Tony Macy, Stephanie Bourque, Carrie Ann Engelberg, Maddie Leaning, Joe Yurden and Dennis Waszak Jr. For being a part of the show.
If you have questions or comments about the podcast, email them to me at shot. That's S C-H O-T
[email protected] Follow me on X Threads and bluesky at Slapshots.
Views expressed on the Parting Shots Podcast are not necessarily those of the Gazette News Group. The Parting Shots Podcast is a product. This is the production of the Gazette News Group. I'm Ken Schottz. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time from the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day, good sports.
