Beloved Former Buffalo Sports Media Member Passes Away

If you grew up in the 90s and early 2000s, then you probably remember watching both Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres coverage on the Empire Sports Network.

After every Sabres game, they would air Hockey Hotline, which for a number of years, features former Sabres defenceman Mike Robitaille and studio host, Brian Blessing.

Blessing unfortunately, passed away on Sunday according to Matt Youmans in Las Vegas, where Blessing was working in the sports betting business.

Blessing is best remembered by Buffalonians for his work with both Hockey Hotline with Robitaille and working for a number of years with WIVB, including during the Bills Super Bowl runs in the early '90s.

The Sabres later tweeted about the news.

Blessing worked in Buffalo sports media for 25 years before leaving for Las Vegas, where he worked for Sportsbook Radio and Vegas Hockey Hotline for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Blessing was a fixture for me as a kid. I would watch the Empire Sports Network after every Sabres game and loved his chemistry with Robitaille. I also remember those older than me, discussing his long tenure in Buffalo media covering the Bills before that. Blessing loved the game of hockey and football and made a long career out of sports media.

Rest in Peace to a Buffalo sports media legend.