Stu Boyar is a well known personality in Buffalo sports media circles - longtime sports reporter, anchor and producer at WGRZ-TV Ch. 2, Buffalo's NBC affiliate.
And a key supporter of the Ultimate Sports Road Trip.
It was back in 2000 when I first met Stu, again just doing service work at his home in Williamsville, and, striking up a conversation, I told him about our travels, and shamelessly said "gee I think Pete and I would make a good story for Ch 2 sports, no?"
Surprisingly to me, Stu jumped on the idea, and two weeks later, he and his cameraman Ward Fasold were meeting up with us at Dunn Tire Park to follow us around with the camera and interview us. The following weekend the Ultimate Sports Road Trip was featured on "Sunday Sports Extra", and it was that story that became our first ever media appearance.
But since becoming part of the media circle ourselves, our friendship with Stu has grown and grown... and he has emerged as one of our staunchest boosters. He has often dispensed advice on how to function professionally in the media biz, and has encouraged our success on our road trip travels and our news gathering here at home. As the friendship has blossomed, it has evolved to sharing news and warmth of family events and mutual friends, and hearty debates on sports, politics and especially on geopolitical events in the Middle East, an issue on which Stu has strong passions and opinions.
We don't see Stu on camera here as much as we used to, as his duties at Ch. 2 have become more production oriented. That is too bad. At one time he and his colleagues Ed Kilgore and Adam Benigni, augmented by newcomer Matt Pearl offering a younger trendier perspective, went on the air each Sunday night after the news presenting "Sunday Sports Extra", a half hour look at sports stories of the week and lively sports talk and debate. It was an excellent show, but the powers that be at Ch 2, undoubtedly having a massive brain cramp, pulled the program after a long and successful run. But hey! Those infomercials for vacuum cleaners and leg hair removal which now run in that time slot are just sooooooooo much better!
Stu Boyar soldiers on, being the class act that he is, and running into him at the games and hanging out makes our experience in sports media that much more rewarding. Mazal Tov Stu!
1 comment:
I always liked Stu. And the disappearance of Sports Extra is absolutely mindboggling. Despite the milquetoast mumblings of Ed Kilgore, it was the best local sports show on the air.
Boyar getting slapped down to cameraman and gopher at WGRZ is an insult to him and his talent.
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