The Press Box, presented by the Genesee Brew House, airing August 25/26, 2018. Hosted by Bill Pucko, with guests Toby Motyka (13 WHAM Sports), Pat Duffy (WCMF Breakroom) and Kim Berntson, also heard everyday on the Break Room with Pat.
Kim has a long association with The Press Box – having appeared in the Pilot episode – and can also bee seen on the Vision High School Sports Beat.
Kim Berntson from an appearance on The Press Box from April 18, 2015
In coaching, you often hear talk about the “coaching tree”, and how so many successful coaches can come from one organization, thanks to their time spent as an assistant under a great coach. We often talk about the “Tools Tree” – and the talent that sprung from The John DiTullio Show. Kim is one of this group, along with Dan Moriarty and Dan Fetes, to name just a few.
On to the show… We begin this week with a discussion about Josh Allen of the Bills. Bill Pucko sees where a comparison of the careers of Allen, Pat Mahomes and Josh Rosen could follow Josh throughout his Bills career. Mahomes, was drafted by Kansas City in a pick they acquired from the Bills, while Rosen was someone that could have been available to Buffalo if they didn’t trade up in the draft to grab Allen.
Next up, continuing our dissection of the Bills QB situation – how about that Nate Peterman? The recent injury to AJ McCarron has made the Bills starting job a competition between the Rookie and “Saint Peterman”. How does our panel feel about Nate? It should be noted, Bill likes to say that Duffy is a “Peterman Guy”, and Duffy is always quick to deny it…
Next up is Like It or Not… and the troublesome plunking of Ronald Acuna Jr. The Braves rookie was on a tear against the Miami Marlins. He homered in 3 straight games vs the Fish. So, Marlins starter Jose Urena hit him to start the game. Twitter imploded. Keith Hernandez was caught in the crossfire. And our panel is left to pick up the pieces… Meanwhile, Acuna continues to burn Miami to the ground…
It’s a lively group this week. Toby Motyka gets to vent a little next… The Little League World Series is the topic, but Toby’s frustration is really with youth baseball pitchers throwing sliders, and the like. Young, still developing arms, should not be throwing sliders. Also, Toby played little league. He grew up in Binghamton, NY and as a kid played against Jim Johnson. Yes, Major League pitcher Jim Johnson. The guy who had back-to-back 50 save seasons with the Orioles.
“You didn’t have YouTube Tobes!” – Pat Duffy
A quote to live in infamy. Due to time constraints, a third Like It or Not topic was cut from the show. The impact of injuries on the American League playoff race. Of note especially to Yankees fans, with Didi Gregorius, Aroldis Chapman and Aaron Judge all on the disabled list. Look for more on this as injuries will certainly factor into the playoff races.
Unfinished Business begins with Pat. There was a story that Pat told us during the commercial break, dealing with torn shorts and exposed private parts. It was funny. Luckily, that was more of a “finished business” story… plus the network censors would never let it be broadcast. Instead, Pat talked about the Knicks fan who is selling his NBA fandom to the highest bidder.
Kim was up next. She recently experienced her first BIG3 Basketball game, and wanted to share the experience, with you, the viewer. BIG3 could be the next big thing on TV – FOX has made it clear that it’s future will revolve heavily around live sports (hello Thursday Night Football and Friday Night Smackdown). This year, a Friday night game on FOX drew 5 times the audience of a game from the same time last year on FOX Sports. Before you get too enthused, we are still talking less than a million viewers. But – Spoiler Alert – Kim kinda likes it.
Toby Motyka is next. Toby is feeling optimistic about the Amerks this year, after spending some time with the Rochester Americans Alumni golfers. The Pegulas taking over the Blue Cross Arena, combined with the Amerks & Sabres ownership, seems to lend credence to a “synergy” that can benefit everyone. Maybe the Pegulas have some interest in an empty soccer stadium… maybe not.
That’s the show for the this week… Next week is our 6th Season Finale, with Kevin Oklobzija on board.
Here’s a link to the full episode – check it out, and leave us a comment or follow @TheRocPressBox on twitter to send a comment.
Tune in to the Press Box every Sunday on FOX Rochester, 10:30am, and check local listings for other airings throughout the weekend on 13 WHAM and CW Rochester.
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