32 Thoughts: The Podcast - 2nd Annual 32 Thoughts Holiday Party

Episode Date: December 24, 2021

As say goodbye to 2021, Jeff and Elliotte invite some of their favourite people from around Sportsnet to their second annual 32 Thoughts holiday party. They are joined by Ken Reid (3:00), Kyle Bukauskas (18:45), Jennifer Botterill (31:00), Brain Spear of Hockey Night (40:20), Satiar Shah of Sportsnet 650 (53:40), Sean Reynolds (1:04:20), Alish Forfar of Sportsnet 590 The FAN (1:19:10), legendary broadcaster Brian William (1:33:00), Calgary Flames play-by-play broadcaster Rick Ball (2:01:13), Vancouver Canucks play-by-play broadcaster John Shorthouse (2:14:00), Sportsnet hockey producer Michelle Methot (2:26:25), Maple Leafs beat reporter Luke Fox (2:41:40), Montreal Canadiens beat reporter Eric Engels (2:54:45), host of “Oilers Now” and Sportsnet panellist Bob Stauffer, and Sportsnet host, producer and drummer Emily Agard closes out he part with her rendition of “Run Rudolph Run” by the Foo Fighters.Sit back, grab a drink and enjoy some holiday fun with the crew.Happy holidays everyone!This podcast is produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman. Editing support provided by Mike Rogerson.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Okay, so welcome to the what's now become an annual 32 Thoughts holiday slash Christmas party. This show is always presented by the GMC AT4 lineup, the all-new, we should add. So welcome to the Amel Dulwich Saloon, as we're calling it this season. Elliot, a number of people are going to talk to you here in a couple of moments a lot of our colleagues this has become you know a nice little thing that we like doing each and every year because and more so this season and last season i suppose because we don't get a chance really to see many of our colleagues on a full-time basis i mean i go in once a week and the people that i see are all around hockey night in canada i miss a lot of you know colleagues that i used to work with on a regular basis so it's nice to catch up here in

this holiday special format yeah and uh i was pleasantly surprised at how many people listened to most or if not all of last year's extravaganza you know i really thought uh that you and me and especially amal who does most of the work are putting out this four hour extravaganza. You know, I really thought that you and me, and especially Amal, who does most of the work, are putting out this four-hour extravaganza, and everyone's going to be like, four hours? I'm not listening to that garbage. And people loved it. And, you know, so we said, you know what, if you like it, we're going to bring it back. We brought some new guests in this year, some new invitees. We hope you enjoy it. And, you know i i did want to send one listener apology and listener uh her name is kristen meyer and after the last podcast jeff she sent me the following tweet

hey free gen ice hnic no spoilers for spider-man i wish we would have asked you to do the same before you spoiled mr big peloton for me last week who knew i could avoid all sex in the city spoilers until i listened to a hockey podcast and then she's got a couple of emojis including like the forehead slap one so i just wanted to say kristen i i never even thought about it and i apologize for ruining the mr big storyline for you and this is probably the weirdest thing ever announced on a hockey podcast but considering how sloppy we are ellie we should probably begin every podcast with an apology to someone for something to something that we've done we'll start it like this i don't know what we did, but we probably did something. So we apologize for that.

We apologize. Yeah. If we don't know what you do, so thank you very much. And we apologize. Let's kick it off. The 32 thoughts holiday special. I don't know how to introduce Ken Reed, Elliot Friedman. Do we say he's an anchor?

Do we say he's an author? Do we say he's a hockey card collector? How do we introduce Ken Reed? So I have a couple good friends. I know this story is already not Ken Reed? So I have a couple of good friends. I know this story is already not believable, but I have a couple of good friends. And they're like, I see you on air and how nice you are. And I know you are a total phony because you are not that nice.

This is what they say to me. And I watch Reed on air and he always comes across as a really nice person. So my question to you, Ken, first of all, what are you drinking? And secondly, are you a total phony? Because there's no way you can be that nice. The answer to the first question is an ice cold Bud Light or an ice cold Coors Light. And I'm right out of the freezer because I'll drink one and put the other one in the freezer. You get a cold.

And I know that's not the cool beer, but I am not afraid to say that I do not enjoy craft beer. It just doesn't go with me. So I like a nice light beer. And no, you've met me. I'm an awful person. Reader, you're awesome. Thanks for joining us, Reader. We really appreciate it.

My goodness. I'm ill-called. I'm honored to be on the podcast. Long-time listener, first-time caller, as they say. Well, listen, mining for information and great stories for you is a snap, so this makes our job easy. Go back to all those Christmas mornings in the Reed household. Is there one present that stands out to you more than anything else reader absolutely christmas 1984 could have been 85 but in my mind it's 84 there was only one thing that i wanted for christmas

all the cool kids had it was making its way into the hockey world for a year or two and i needed them bad and i wanted them so badly and i asked and asked and asked and woke up christmas morning came out so excited, looked, looked, ripped through everything. It wasn't there, and I was just a pouty 9-, 10-year-old, didn't get what I wanted. And you know that kid on Christmas that gets 800 gifts, but he doesn't get that specific gift,

so he pouts and pouts and pouts and sucks. My old man lets the charade go for about two minutes. He says, what's that way in behind there? So he'd hid them. That's awesome. And I looked. minutes he says what's that way in behind there so he'd hid them that's all and i was all yeah dad's bad that way dr dan shout out and i looked and i could kind of see something out there and i thought there they are they're there and i dove under the tree and in my mind the tree rocked and almost fell over and i came out with them and i raised them above my head and there they were a sweet pair of long black cooper

all and I was the most excited kid in eastern Canada and I put them on and I actually wore them to Christmas dinner that night long cooper all are my greatest Christmas gift of all time no way outstanding like you I had cooper alls as well and I thought they were really cool until I skated with them and went down the first time and realized I can't get back up. Like you slot. Yeah. You're a curling rock. It's like, I know.

Like, Oh, hang on a second here. I think I want to go back to the socks and the, and the traditional hockey pants. Yeah. You would just, you'd be like a, the heaviest stone and curling just sliding down. Just skidding along. I don't know how they, I don't know how the guys did a Hartfordding along. I don't know how the guys did it. Hartford and Philadelphia. I don't know how they did it in the NHL.

That's what made Merlin Malinowski such a magical man, right? Oh, the magic man. We've got a great- So, you know, we see your trophies on Tim's show. And I know, actually, I've heard before that you're a popular pick. Like when Sportsnet needs someone to host a golf tournament or play in a golf tournament with some clients, you're a popular pick. Yeah.

So you're obviously a good athlete. And I'm curious, what is the highlight of your athletic career? I'm not a good athlete. You're a good golfer then. I'm an okay golfer. I mean, the trophies, that's just self-deprecation. It's funny. I get a good laugh out of it.

Exactly. I'm glad you get it the right way. Some people are like, why are you bragging about your golf trophies? I'm like, I'm not. It didn't take much to win the 1987 Most Improved Golfer at a club with a par 32. It's self-deprecation here. A little shout out to Conan. Self-deprecation is the highest form of humor.

I'm a pretty good golfer. I'm a single-digit handicap, but it it's nothing too low I'll get her down there some years and some years I play more than others and it gets good but I mean I could go out and shoot you know on a great day mid 70s on a bad day mid 90s I'm all over the place but I'd like to think that

I'm a good social a better social golfer than I am a player I've heard you're very good at it yes socially the Sportsnet PR team has better social golfer than i am a player i i've heard you're very good at it like so like like the sportsnet pr team has told me that you're a very popular pick for that kind of a thing and i have to say ken i admire that because i find it very hard to entertain people for 18 holes like when i'm invited to do a tournament yeah and i know i'm going to be with a group i actually feel more pressure about that

than i do about doing the show really because i think being on for four or five hours to entertain someone yeah that's really hard i don't know what it is i just like meeting new people and i like listening try to listen sometimes and telling stories i mean my dad's a storyteller my mom's a storyteller where i'm from everybody's a storyteller where I'm from. Everybody's a storyteller. And I just have fun, you know, crack a couple pops, have a few laughs, make some jokes. I usually ask people right away, is any, are there any members of the clergy in the group? And most of the time there's not. So, you know, then it's on. Who's your favorite person to golf with? Who's the one person that, you know, as much as you might crack people people up who's the one that you look at and go man i love golfing with this person my dad i would golf with my dad over

anyone on the face of the earth if you said uh jack nicholas once around with you can at this course or across the street your dad once around i play with my father nice yeah and when i golf and i'm not with my dad i think the reason i love to golf so much is it reminds me of my dad. And I'll often tell stories about my dad on the golf course. I'll tell stories about him on my Twitter account, on Sportsnet Central. And he taught me lessons that I still use in my head. If you've seen my dad, any clips of him, you know he's not the greatest golfer, but he loves it. And he's a great social golfer. a lot of my friends and and dad's friends will say there's nobody better to golf with than your dad i mean ian leggett came to the

danny gallivan sissick for versus glasgow a couple years ago i know ellie you've been there and and ian was just like i need to golf with dr dan and so ian had the time of his life this is the guy who's won on the pga tour and he's yes he's in stitches he's like your dad brought out the monte cristos right away jesus jesus christ and what like that and he's like i. He's like, your dad brought out the Monte Cristos right away. Jesus. Jesus Christ, Dan. Where'd you learn to putt like that? And Ian's like, I've been on the PGA Tour. You know?

So dad's the best. Dad's the best guy to golf with. Let me ask you this one, Ria, because you and I, whenever we get together, we always end up talking about old hockey games, old hockey personalities, old hockey stories. Elliot's heard me go on about 1987 before, which I think is the best year that hockey ever, you know, offered us entertainment.

Do you have a favorite era? It's like your hockey cradle. You could go back there and just watch games from this era over and over again for the rest of your life. What is that era? You just said it, Jeff. And I love sitting down with you, Jeff, because you are beyond an encyclopedia and the stories you come up with. Yes, you are. And you said it. For me, 87 was this, it was like almost a turning point in my life,

because everything was so good on the ice and the game was tough and there was accountability, but then the finesse could shine. And for the i mean i first learned it in 84 that you never give up and i learned that in the 84 canada cup when canada came back in the semi-finals and i learned what hard work was when i i remember saying to my dad why is john tinelli on the team oh boy you know and dad said you're gonna see he's gonna work so hard and that goal that bossy scored in ot against the russians first thing that is also when i learned that you can be an outstanding offensive defenseman receive no gratitude for what you do defensively and you can still be just an amazing defensive defenseman when paul coffee broke up that two-on-one so canada goes the other way and it's

in the corner and tinelli just outworks everybody back to the point cough shoots bossy to flex it I jump for joy and and I learned man hard work hard work and don't give up fast forward three years later and I have just turned 13 and I am just glued to the set I was invited I was invited to a I had tickets for a game in Sydney, Nova Scotia. I think it was Sweden, Finland. And I said, no, I'm not going. I'd rather stay home and watch Canada and the Canada Cup. And to watch Wayne and Mario was perfect. And I remember when they were down 4-2, Team Canada against Russia,

and I would just say, it's not over, it's not over. And I said, it's not over because of 84. And just that goal was magic. to me that that's my era you said 87 Jeff and I'll say the same thing and as I get older I you know I learned your obsession with 87 I learned Eric Francis was at the game with the Cops Coliseum and and I go wow I wonder what it'd be like to grow up in Toronto and here I am now and and yeah mean, I could go back and watch. I was a Montreal Canadiens fan, but I was smart enough to know, okay, I'm 11, 12, 13 years old. I'm watching the Edmonton Oilers.

But on a footnote, I'd also give anything to take a time machine and go back to a Saturday night at the Hectorina in 1986 and watch Teapot and the Pictou Junior Seamon Oilers because those guys were my hockey heroes as well, right? Let me pause on that because you've referenced this person to me before. Tell us about Teapot and the legend of Teapot. Oh, yeah. Well, Teapot is the legend. Every small town in Canada has that guy.

Yes, they do. Yes, the guy that's kind of the local hero. And for a Pictou, Teapot was the local hero. We had a Junior Seam team that won the Nova Scotia Championships four years in a row. And for me, as a kid who lived up the hill from the rink for a time, that was my NHL, right? I would go to the Mariners, and then I'd hustle home. The games would end around 9, 30, or 10, and then I'd watch the rest of Hockey Night in Canada. Keep in mind, Hockey Night in Canada, when I was a kid, starts at 9 Atlantic.

So my Saturdays, every day was just hockey. So Teapot was the guy who would score when you needed the goal. And I remember my dad saying, he's a money player. And I'd say, what's a money player, dad? And he'd say, he scores when you need it. And the sweet one, T, Potter, the Yankee Clipper, call him whatever you want, is still a legend in Pictou. So he's the guy that wins the darts championship. He's the pool champion at the tavern. He used to golf for free every year because the winner at the golf course got a free membership. By the way, when I won a most improved player at the Pictou Golf Club, T won it in 1977. So I was honored to win it. He's just that guy that can do anything. He wins the lobster banding competition every year at the Lobster Carnival.

That's the fastest guy that can put the elastic on the lobster claws. And friendly guy, hero of the town, just amazing guy. And the boys still play men's league with him. Peter McKay, who I think should have been prime minister of Canada at one point, I think the highlight of his life is getting to play on Teapot's senior team back, their old-timers team back in Pico. I mean, this guy's rubbed shoulders with the highlight of his life is getting to play on Teapot's senior team back, or old-timer's team back in Pico. I mean, this guy's rubbed shoulders with the leaders of the world. He's more impressed to rub shoulders with T.

So, yeah. And Teapot's, he'd be in his mid-50s now, and he still plays against the young guys. I'll tell you a famous Teapot story from Town League, the pick of Town League a few years ago because my buddy plays on Teapot's team. And I go, how come you get to live my fantasy life? He's like, you're a sportscaster in Toronto. I go, yeah, you get to play with T.

So it's going to overtime, the Town League finals. It's game seven or whatever. It's the final game. The game has not gone to overtime yet. The ref skates over to the benches. The bench is – and the ref says, how long you want the clock for overtime, boys? You know, sudden death. Teapot goes, doesn't matter.

I'm going to end it. And so the ref's like, what? The ref's like, put 10 minutes on the clock. So T was like, I need a breather, boys. Get it down to their end and get a face-off right away. They're like, what? He goes, shoot it on the damn net. Get a face-off.

And so they go, okay, T. So they just throw it on the goal. He covers it. T skates out. He goes, Chapman, get it back here. I'm ending this one. And so Mike Chapman wins the draw. okay, T. So they just throw it on the goalie. He covers it. T skates out. He says, Chapman, get it back here. I'm ending this one. And so Mike Chapman wins the draw. Back to T.

And with his longer than Zazano Charo wooden stick, the quickest snapper you've ever seen, top corner, bar down, over. Everybody freaks out. The old sweet one just heads into the room. It was over like that. So T can do it all, man. He's the Babe Ruth of the picto without a doubt he's babe ruth brett hall he's everything you ever wanted in a man

i don't know like where where do i go from there like i don't even know where to go there's not many places to go i went home for the lobster carnival a couple years ago and there's this shirt there legend and it's just teapot with five-pound lobsters in each hand. And I go, where are these? They go, Robbie Marks printed them off. I mean, these guys are teapot's age, getting their picture with teapot, and they've been his friends his whole life, and they're, like, so proud to see him.

So, yeah, T's a special guy, man. He's a beauty. Love him. All right, last question. What's your next book? You know what? My next book is How You Cannot Write a Book During a Pandemic with a 6-Year-Old and 8-Year-Old Yelling Around and Screaming.

I have nothing on the go right now, Elliot. I have some ideas. I had an ex-player I was tinkering around with. It hasn't come to be yet. If it happened, I think it would be a fantastic book. But I tossed around the idea of Hockey Character Stories 3. That has not happened yet. But, I mean, the possibilities are endless.

As you guys know, there's a billion cards out there. But nothing is imminent, as they would say. And finally, how many times do people come up to you and say, are you the guy on TV with Ivanka? Oh, all the time. Yeah. It's just I'll often introduce myself to people. You know, what do you do?

Oh, I work at Sportsnet. Well, you know, what do you do there? Oh, I'm on air. They'll say, oh, yeah. And they'll say, what show do you do? I go, do you know Ivanka Osmack? They go, oh, yeah, I watch her all the time. I go, I'm the guy beside her.

I'm not even noticed it'd be like being teapot center right teapots getting all the glory and you're like well i got 112 assists you're like yeah well teapot got 112 goals by the way teapot a firm believer the best assist rebound oh man he'd be perfect for today's game then absolutely shoot for the rebound like i'll never forget interviewing brett hall and uh and i'm just and i had a conversation with hall about you know brett wasn't in shape but he could snipe and you know and i'm like you're the guy that that made it from your town right and he's like yeah and there's guys like that in every town and for us it was t you know he's just that guy he

could he could do it all, man. Elliot, you know who we have to get on the podcast? T-Pod. You do. But Reed has to do it. Yes, he does. We can't do it. Well, T does.

For a while, he was doing radio spots in Pictou County because my brother's ex-girlfriend became the morning girl back home. She was obsessed with T because of my obsession with T. So T has broadcast experience. I got to tell you, we got to go. obsessed with tea because of my obsession with tea so tea has broadcast experience i gotta tell you like we got we gotta go but like i gotta tell you the last 10 minutes i have had no idea what we are talking about that's how uh mccalliff does my spots on tim and friends just a blank page let's put it out there you and teapot we will surrender the microphones a special edition of 32 thoughts the podcast ken reed and teapot that'd be something

that'd be something yeah tt'd be up for it for sure i'd love to go down memory lane producer amel make that one happen thanks reader have a great holidays pal we'll uh we'll check you out soon same to all three of you boys amel jeff and ellie thanks for having me boys honored to be thanks a lot for being here ken here we go pucks in deep quick start kyle bakoska is here with us at the uh the 32 thoughts saloon right now for the holiday party elliot friedman uh kyle first of all welcome second of all what would you like in your cup sir so good to be with you guys uh this time of year honestly just a cold glass of egg don't even need any rum or nothing just a big big cold glass, as strong as you want it. And I could pound a few of those all night long, that's for sure.

Ooh, Bacauskas, party of one. Bacauskas, party of one. Ooh. Yeah, you're an eggnog guy, eh? Well, keep them coming. More for me. Oh, eggnog, eh? Jeez.

Okay. Okay, so you're coming on right after Ken Reid. Yeah, top that, Kyle. Top that one. The legend of Pictou County hockey, the legendary teapot. Did you have your own hometown teapot hero where you grew up? Well, there was a few. I mean, we had the Campbell River Storm Junior B team that was still going strong now. I mean, we had the Campbell River Storm Junior B team that was still going strong now.

But when I was growing up there, they came into the league, the VIJHL, in 97. And their first seven years of existence, they won the Island Championship all seven years. They were a powerhouse and a dynasty that the league has never seen and hasn't seen since. And there were some beauties they came through over that time. One of my favorites is probably John Thompson, number seven. I think he still lives in town working in Campbell River now, but just the speed on that guy. And you'd watch him go in on the forecheck and, like, his jersey flapping in the back because he was moving so quickly.

It was just mesmerizing. You know, Friday nights at Strathcona Gardens, and now it's called Rod Brindamore Arena, but it was a routine. It was, you know, part of the tradition for hockey season growing up in my hometown. I was going to watch the storm, and it was almost a guaranteed win night every Friday. The team was so good back then. So those are the memories that come to mind for me. I don't know if there was anyone that quite would touch the legend and the stories of the great teapot out east,

but on the west coast, we had a team to be awfully proud of for me growing up. Now, what was your sport were you best at when you played? Well, I guess it's all relative when you say best at, but probably hockey, just because that's what I played predominantly growing up right through high school. And then I dabbled in lacrosse and baseball a little bit in the springtime but you know again being out west on on the island the terrain was perfect for mountain biking so in the summer times like you'd go up the ski hill when all the snow melts and they would have like a bike park and so you'd take your your full suspension bike up there and hang on for

dear life for an afternoon and that's what I love doing in the summertime. In fact, I went back and did that this past summer for the first time in probably 10 years. And so that was like a whole new experience again of trying to remember how you did it, you know, when you were 16, 17 years old and now a little bit older. Yeah, it's one thing when you're, you know, 16, 17 years old and you didn't have much of a care in the world, you you know riding down the side of a mountain hanging on for for dear life but you know to do it when you're at a stage where you're a little bit more conscious and self-aware of what the potential ramifications were you know it was it was a whole new experience again but the adrenaline is is what what I loved and then it

was just such a neat thing to be able to wind the clock back a bit and do it again. So between hockey and then, yeah, a little bit of mountain bike riding that took up kind of my sport calendar for the most part growing up for me. What kind of hockey player were you, Kyle? Oh, I was, I played center. I could win you face-offs. You know, you could throw me in the D zone for important draws, kill the odd penalty here and there. You know, he could throw me in the D zone for important draws, kill the odd penalty here and there. And as I got older, kind of towards the end of my time plan, I guess what would now be known as my U18 years, I eventually found out that if I wanted to score, it was a good idea to go to the net.

So I got good at tipping pucks and being able to kind of get a sense of where the rebound was going and cash in on those. So my point total started to go up to help the team a bit in that sense but um yeah smooth skater but but not fast by any stretch and um i mean i wasn't the biggest guy but wasn't the smallest either not overly physical i think i just had to rely on some defensive instincts to be someone that could be trusted and to be put out in certain situations and yeah as i started to get better hands just around the net, I could, you know, pot one or two along the way as well. So I was not going to make a career of it at all, but I ended up being, you know,

trying to make myself as valuable as I could to the team towards the end. Did you ever go up to Joe Pavelski at a practice and say, I really like the way you tip pucks, but when I was learning how to do it, this is what I did? Yes. and then he was like please tell me more kyle like there he goes i don't even know who you are um yeah no that was uh between him and and like patrick hornquist i would go and and just pass my wisdom on to them okay i'm gonna throw a dart here because for me the the one player who I played with

who actually made it to the NHL and played a handful of games and was a first-round pick was Keith Osborne, who was drafted 12th overall in the first round in 1987 by the St. Louis Blues. Did you play with anybody who, quote-unquote, made it? Yeah. You know what? There were some guys from my town,

like at different age groups, that got a cup of coffee. I remember sitting in the crowd at PBG Paints Arena for the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, and Sean McGuire was one of the black aces, a goalie for the Penguins. He was in their organization. I played one year of spring hockey with him, and the black aces were sitting like a row beneath where the media were there. And so I just caught his attention and said yeah hey my name is kyle we played spring hockey together you know 15 years ago and so oh yeah i remember that and so but beyond that like i mean i didn't

play with him of course but my brother played with with dylan coglan for a few years who plays defense for the the vegas nights like i mean they played hockey and baseball together for a couple of years so i remember like he would be in the car with us when we'd go over to the mainland for ball tournaments in the summertime. So that's probably the closest connection I have to somebody who has gone on and made it. But I never directly played with anyone

that ended up having any type of success at the NHL level. Do you ever talk to Brendan Moore about Camel River? Yeah, I emceed his golf tournament for a few years. Oh, that's right. That's right, you did, yes. Well, the Brindamore Nugent Hopkins Charity Golf Classic there for cystic fibrosis. So yeah, I've gotten to know him a little bit. And it was funny, the first year I did it, I'm really nervous. And you're kind of in a group of people that some you know just because growing up in the town and others, you just others, you just, you want to make sure you're doing a good job. And Brendan Moore's in the crowd and Ryan Nugent Hopkins in the crowd. And so when I introduced Rod, I told a story about

when I was in the 10th grade, one of my neighbors, he had played in the tournament every year. And the one year he's like, you know, why don't you come out and, you know, caddy for me, but really just come along for the ride and experience the day on the golf course and meet Rod and all that. And so this was the year that Carolina had gone to the Eastern Conference final in 2009 and lost to Pittsburgh. And, but it was, you know, a good run for them at the time to go three rounds. And so afterwards, after the golf, I can go back into the clubhouse. I'm in the washroom and in the men's washroom, there's two urinals. And so I'm at one. And the next thing I know, like Rod's standing over at the one next to me. And I'm in the washroom and in the men's washroom, there's two urinals. And so I'm at one. And the next thing I know, like Rod's standing over at the one next to me. And I'm like, oh, my God, he's standing right there.

And what do I say? And so I eventually turned to him. I said, well, you guys had a pretty good run this year. Hey, like that must have been fun. He's like, yeah, that was that was good. And I'm like, that's all I had. I'm like, for God's sakes, that was all I had. Like it was a good run this year.

And so I left like with my tail between my legs. And so I'm telling this story. And so, and then to introduce him, I said, you know, so the moral of the story was, you know, be careful what you say to the dude in the stall next to you, because he just might be emceeing his golf tournament one day. And so that's why I got to bring him up. At least you didn't try to shake his hand. to bring him up. At least you didn't try to shake his hand, Kyle. That's right.

I know. I knew at that point just to head for the exits. But anyway, it's really neat to see, obviously, the job he's done in Carolina. And as the hockey world has gotten to know more and more about his personality, just to see him in under that light, working a charity event and what he's meant to that town. Yes. And obviously, the cause there with CF for so many years,

25 years now that it's been going, it's really, really impressive. What a human. So from 1920 to 1971, the NHL used to always have Christmas Day games. Now Christmas Day is all about the NBA, as we all know. But if the NHL ever looked at Christmas and said, you know what, we should have one game on this day. Would you volunteer to work it? I do it. Yeah, I do it. I guess I, uh, I'm just, my family's been really lucky, like through all this time where, you know, I've lived in different parts of the country and now

my brother living in different spots as well. Like we've been really lucky that through all this, the country and now my brother living in different spots as well like we've been really lucky that through all this we've still you know December 25th we've all woken up together so I'd love to keep that tradition going as as long as as long as we can but if it was the opportunity that we're all in a city somewhere if there was a game to work on on Christmas day then yeah I'd be all for it like I just I'm all for being able to experience those things that you know I never would have thought I would have the opportunity to do. And that would be one of them if I could have my family along with it. You and I share one common thread from our days as sideline reporters and things, and

that is a producer, Shirely Najak, who would force us out of our comfort zones. What was the thing that Shirely asked you to do where you looked at him and said, are you bleeping serious? There's no freaking way I'm doing that. There was, well, there's a couple. I mean, I think we brought it up on podcasts before when you had us on, but definitely, you know, interviewing Hamilton, the pagan Carolina

during the playoffs a few years ago. And the way he's explained to me, he's like, just think Ron McLean, hockey day in Canada. And he's got a group of kids around him and he's telling them stories and they're not entirely sure what he's talking about it, but they're just, they're glued to what every word that he's saying, like, that's gotta be you with Hamilton. And I was like, okay, I get it. That was one of the ones for sure where I, like, I just, you're going to the rink that afternoon going, I can't believe I'm actually going to be doing this tonight. But I ended up ended up working out.

Oh, OK. So, yeah, we miss him around our shop for sure. And, you know, I'm sure you feel the same way, Elliot. He just manages to to push it to a limit and a level that you never would have thought you were you were capable of getting to. And it's a little scary and nerve-wracking along the way and the road sometimes gets bumpy but when you finally get to the destination you're like wow i that would have what a fun ride that was favorite rink to be in nhl rink or anyone i know you like the minor rinks anywhere anywhere no any anywhere i'm this isn't just exclusive to nhl i mean i so

i will say jeff because i know you're big on ring fries. Like, I was really lucky. My hometown, Strathcona Gardens, back in the day, they had the really, really, really good ring fries. I don't know if it's still the same formula they use now, but back then it was my favorite. It may be a little biased towards it, but they just had it completely dialed. But one of my favorite rings was probably, I think it may be a different name now, but like Bear Mountain Arena in Victoria. And we would go down and play there just because it kind of had like that big league feel. Like when you would go play the Juan de Fuca Grizzlies down there, like it had the seating all the way around the ice service as opposed to just the bleachers on the one side.

It had the tunnel that would go right onto the bench like it would in the NHL. It had the scoreboard that hung over center ice as opposed to one just at the far side of the rink. Just that feel of like, oh, wow, I kind of felt like you're in the pros for one day and just the rink that you were playing in. So that was always a favorite one for me just because you're so used to playing in these, you know, smaller rinks with cramped dressing rooms. And a lot of it is uncomfortable and the sight lines are different. So to be in a rink like that, that was always refreshing growing up. All right, Kyle, we really appreciate it, bud.

Happy holidays. Merry Christmas. Same to you, boys. Thanks so much for having me on. Holidays. Merry Christmas. Same to you, boys. Thanks so much for having me on. As the holiday extravaganza continues here, Elliot Friedman, I see Jennifer Botterill lounging by the bar. Why don't we walk up there and say good evening to Jennifer Botterill.

Hello, Jen. How are you? Doing really well, thank you. How are you guys doing? We are doing well. Obligatory first question, Elliot, to you. What are we pouring you? I would love a glass of white wine, please. Santa Margarita is likely my favorite. Excellent. Coming right up. Cheers. Here is my first question to you. When you consider that everything that you have accomplished in your life and your career, do you look around at the people you work with and say, what am I doing with these unaccomplished losers? No. Oh, Elliot.

Specifically in the second intermission on Saturday night. Yeah, really. Too funny. I'm pretty inspired by all of you and that I'm fortunate enough to be surrounded by you guys. And I'm always grateful, Elliot, for your research and pulling out my Harvard stats. I'm always very thankful for a little blast from the past. But I said in all seriousness, I feel super fortunate to be surrounded by such grateful at the studio.

No question about that. But let me hang on enough of the humble train here. Which stats do you like quoted the most? The Harvard stats, the the hundred or more points in a season, the four Olympic medals, three golds, the world championship MVP twice, I might add. Yes, which order would you like them set in? You rank them from one to like 30,000, so we know which order to go. It's hard for me to think about. I think any hockey player, any hockey player is not going to be one that's going to reflect on accomplishments or individual stats. But thank you guys again for all the reassurance. But I look back and I think I've always said the best part was to be surrounded by great teammates. And so whether it was at Harvard or Team Canada, I think it was always what we call little moments of appreciation, right, before we put the jersey on and to be in those situations that we all felt grateful to be representing our school or our country.

And I mean, I'm so, I guess, sincere when I say it really never was about that. It was about, you know, a question I often ask now, even when I'm delivering keynotes or doing any consulting work, I think, how do you want to feel at the end of the experience? Or how do you want to feel at the end of your career? And for me, whether I was an athlete or now as a professional, I think it's somehow trying to make that experience better for the people around you. How do I somehow make this better for my teammates and the people that I'm surrounded by? So again, thank you guys. But I think that's certainly been my personal philosophy and one I feel very thankful for. All right, so we'll stop this line of questioning because I can tell you're like, okay, like enough with this.

So what I'm curious about, Jennifer, is you were part of a team where the goal was to win an event, whether it was an Olympic Games or an NCAA championship or a world championship. And now you're part of a different kind of team. And we're not all centralized. Like you see, you don't see us every day. You come into work and you see us. What's the difference between being part of, say, a hockey team and a broadcast team? When you're playing competitive hockey and training for the Olympic Games, it's very much all consuming.

So there's, it's I think a pretty intense process where physically, emotionally exhausting at times, it's still creating that a similar environment where we're all unique. We're all going to have different strengths that we bring. And if I think about some of those parallels, those are things we addressed even preparing for the Olympics, where we're all unique, we're all going to have different strengths that we bring. And if I think about some of those parallels, those are things we addressed even preparing for the Olympics, that we're not all going to have the same personalities or the same strengths. How do we pull those all together to make the best team effort?

So if you think about what we're doing in the studio, it's the same thing. We have different personalities, but it's how potentially we want to work together and come together to hopefully provide the best insight and the best entertainment for people. It's still drawing upon some of those lessons that I learned earlier in my career as an athlete. Did you ever think you'd be doing this? Yeah. Like, was this ever something growing up you said, when my playing career is over, I'd really like to be a hockey analyst well I think I started to reflect upon it a little closer towards the end of my career I think in the first couple of Olympic games I was just thrilled to be a part of Team Canada and so focused on being the best athlete that I could be

but I think throughout the process I appreciated balance and being a great hockey player, but also being more than a hockey player. So when I started to do different events and think about potentially wrapping up my playing career, it was certainly on my mind. And I do think there are a lot of people that I admired in the industry. I think there was an appeal for me. And I certainly wanted to try to pursue that when I was done playing, but it was more towards the end of my career that I started to think about that potential option. What else were you thinking at that time, Jennifer? Like when you retired, like obviously you have a big family and obviously

families are important to all of us, but I was kind of wondering, aside from TV, what else were you thinking? What else could have been where you go? Yes. Well, I had been fortunate that when I was still competing, I had the chance to do a number of keynote speaking events. And that was something that I really enjoyed. And I had done some consulting work as well with my dad. So he's in the field of performance psychology. I was just learning about the field from a really young age. And it was something I think that always, something I was really interested in. I think that was his approach. And he's worked in sport, he's worked in business, he's worked in medicine. So that when I had the chance to do some consulting work and some events with my dad, I think that was something that I've always been drawn to as well.

So I wanted to make sure that I pursued a lot of different options when I was nearing the end of my playing career. But I think that balance has been, I guess, just a part of who I am and I think provided me with some great choices throughout my life. When you think about performance improvement and things like that, when you look at Jeff, what kinds of things could he do to be better in media? things like that. When you look at Jeff, what kinds of things could he do to be better in media? Oh, you guys. See, I should

probably start asking you guys questions. If you're asking me questions about my hockey career, why don't you guys tell me what were the highlights of your many accomplishments in the broadcasting and journalism field at the top of your list? You're on this podcast. We ask the questions. I've got my own list. Let's see.

I should do something about the feathers. I should probably drop my voice an octave. I should stop with the ums a lot. I should clean that up. Do better on my transitions. What do you think I should work on, Jennifer? No, Jeff, the only thing I did, I did the delivery on the post-show prep on the makeup wipes remover. That was the only thing I had i had right so here's how

let me give you a little ellie i'll give you a little peek into how nice jennifer is so the first day we were working together there i am like a diva at the end of it like i hate these wipes they're so acidic they just like ah they're rough on the skin they leave white white stuff all over your face yeah i got that problem too the following week bots comes in with this huge bag of like i don't even know like would they are they they're better certainly and they're easier on your skin she's like you know i i thought about what you were saying yesterday i really felt bad for you here try these instead i'm like are you the nicest person on the world like who who are you jennifer your post-game routine.

That was my suggestion. That's the only thing I'll say. And you helped me with it. And I still have that bag of wipes, and I use them every time I'm on television. When you first started, what did you find easier than you thought, and what did you find harder than you thought? In the broadcasting world or in the analyst world? Broadcasting, yeah. Because hockey, I'm sure, came easy to you because, you know.

You were good at it. Future Hall of Famer, one of the best ever, et cetera, that, that, that, that, that. Thank you. Thank you. You know, I always want to go into situations and be as, as prepared as possible. So to make sure that I've done my research and, and I come in informed and educated. I think what I was pleasantly surprised by when I first started working in the industry was how much I wanted to say. And I guess that perhaps comes naturally after playing the game for so long that I still wanted to go into every situation and every game or every show with story ideas and content that I wanted to share. But

it made it even more enjoyable because I do love the game and I feel really proud of how I read the game. I think as a player, I always wanted to take pride in having great vision on the ice. And so I think that was one thing that, as I started to cover games, there was a lot that I wanted to share about how plays were developed, what was going well, what could potentially be improved upon.

So I guess that was one element that, you know, potentially was a little surprising on just how many comments that I would like to make as games are progressing. I guess the other side of it was just learning to perform in a different industry. I think I've had some, a great support network to continuously learn and to, you know, constantly grow as a performer and drawing on some of those elements. So I think it was, it was just knowing that I had those tools to try to be the best that I could and still want to make sure that I'm improving every single day.

I absolutely love it. Well, we're really happy to have you as part of our team, Jennifer. You really do class up the joint. There's no question about that. Thank you for joining our holiday party and we look forward to the rest of the season. Well, thank you for having me, guys. Always nice to chat. Thank you.

Enjoy your holidays. You know, Elliot, Brian Spear is someone we reference quite often here on this podcast, longtime producer for Hockey Night in Canada. He joins us now at the holiday party. Spearzy, how are you today? Good, guys. Happy holidays. To you as well.

What are you drinking? What are we pouring you well it's early so i've got a coffee and baileys to start the day no imagine why do you come on just ruin the show like imagine it's a holiday party a christmas party it's at night what are you drinking okay think of your character motivation here it could be coffee and baileys at any time of day that's That's a really good point. So Spears, you and I, we've known each other the longest. I don't know.

Jeff, would Brian be the guy that you know the longest at this crew? Probably. Probably, yeah. I would imagine so. Yeah, probably Spears. Yeah, Elliot was, what, 93 you were at the fair? 93 was when I first showed up and you were already there so i was there for a few months before that i do remember the first time i was working i was a board

op on a blue jays game and the maple leafs were in the 93 playoffs so we were doing updates into the blue jay game of the leaf game and this young guy out of western brought me a tape and said here's the last goal that's the way we did it back then. You had to run the tape physically over to the other studio. And it was a few weeks later, Elliot Friedman was on the air doing reports from tennis and a bunch of other stuff. His career took off much faster than mine. And 28 years later, we're ruining Hockey Night in Canada. Yeah, that's right.

And then, Jeff, when did you come and do that with Strombo? At the fan, that would have been 94, I want to say. It was about a year later, right? Yeah, I think it was summer of 94. And I remember you guys doing yoga at midnight in the lobby of the fan. And I thought, what is going on here? Yeah, on a Friday night at midnight. On a Friday night.

On a Friday night at midnight. I know. Bob Mackiewicz Jr., I saw that. That's right. We were very ahead of our time. Let me ask you about Freedchair. What is the most annoying thing that Elliot does and has always done and will never change, Spearzy? I think we all know the answer to this.

Leaving a witness. He's late. Right? Yes. Almost. He's late. Right? Yes. Almost. He's gotten better. Okay. That's good.

It's only taken 30 years. There was a tennis tournament. He was supposed to be covering the Roger. It wasn't even Roger's Cup back then. It's at York University. We're sitting at our two desks. That was at the Headline Sports, by the way. The score.

That was at the score. You're right. That was at the Headline Sports, by the way. The score. That was at the score. You're right. That was at the score. The match is at 3 o'clock. And I walk in the office and it's 2.45. I said, Elliot, what time is that tennis match? He goes, 3 o'clock. And he's got his head locked on the computer.

I said, it's 2.45. And he looks at me. He goes, I'm very aware of what time it is. And he grabs his coat and runs out of the office. And the typical Elliot Locke, of course, it rained and the match his coat and runs out of the office and the typical elliot luck of course it rained and the match was delayed and he was fine he never missed the beat it's so embarrassing it really is embarrassing well spears i mean you've had like a hell of a career too just um you know as you mentioned starting as somebody who pressed the buttons on the board

a board op we called it in uh in radio. What's your title technically now? I don't even know. I think just producer, studio of Hockey Night in Canada. So you're the studio producer of Hockey Night in Canada. So can you give the audience an idea? What's your week like? I know that it used to be you always held a conference call with Ron at 3 o'clock on Fridays.

Does that still happen? How does your prep work for the week? Generally, we talk around three o'clock, depending on schedules for both of us, but generally it's around three o'clock on Friday. You know what? I ended up spending a lot of time talking to all of you throughout the week. As you know, we talk a lot, many days often between Kevin and Kelly and Jennifer and Ron. I speak to every single one of them at least once during the week, often multiple times. And then it just kind of keeps building show ideas and building it through till Thursday and Friday is kind of the day you start to drill down exactly on what we're doing.

And usually Thursday and Friday, I spend time in the office going through some, you know, blocking of the show. The new studio has been a real, really fun, but it's also been, you know, new challenges and stuff. So we got to think a little bit more about how we're, how we're doing the show. And then Friday we have a little production meeting usually around five o'clock just with the production people after I've already talked to all the commentators.

So it just kind of evolves throughout the week and it's not really a set schedule type thing. It's a little bit made up as we go along. Let me ask you about someone that I miss working with. And I think Elliot feels the same way. PJ stock. Oh man. I loved working with peach.

What was he like to work with from your capacity? Like I decided to work with him as a, you know, host analyst type relationship. What was PJ like with you? He was great. Yeah. He's great.

He's still great to this day, right? He's, he's just that high energy is the same on air as you see off air. He's a lot of, he's great. He's still great to this day, right? He's just that high energy. He's the same on air as you see off air. He's a lot of fun to be around. Even if you pick up the phone today, it's like you've left off right where you were. So much fun to work with on and off the air.

We had a lot of good times, especially in that Vancouver run to the final. Elliot, as you'll remember, there was a lot of late nights with PJ and Kelly in those days you always have a plan you hand us a script and you say okay here's the script this is what we're planning on doing for example for the pre-game tonight or I mean you always have a plan for how the show is going to go but when does it go off the rails like can you give us an example of maybe a time something happened either right before air or during air where you're like, rip it up. Here we go. Humble.

I know the humble crash was definitely one. It seems to have happened more and more over the last few years, whether it be the bubble, the cancellation of games in the bubble where we had to do, we did a show when there was no games that we had to blow up. But the humble one was kind of that was a friday night right that happened on friday night so and as the news kind of trickled out through the morning and you realize the magnitude of it you know by mid-afternoon you were like we can't even go on talking but the nhl is really secondary at this point. And that was an awful one. Unfortunately, most of those scenarios have been the ones that you'd rather not have to deal with.

Kyle Beach's situation just a few months ago, our pregame show got blown up and we just focused on that. So it's happened fairly frequently over the last few years, unfortunately. I have to say that Ron should have won every award there is to win the night of the humboldt i'll never forget him and shelvin candy and what an unbelievable job they did in a very difficult situation yes he was amazing on that as he is on many of them i want to ask you about the differences uh with the show since um since going back to when you started with

hockey night in canada you know um the beginning of the season is having a conversation with eric the hatchet about hockey night and we were talking about you know, the beginning of the season I was having a conversation with Eric DeHatchick about Hockey Night. And we were talking about, you know, once upon a time when Eric was doing Satellite Hot Stove, you could do things like embargo news and it would be fine because you could leave it for 12 hours, maybe even sometimes a day

and no one else was going to break that story. Now that doesn't happen anymore and it's very immediate and it's a challenge. And that's just one of the things that's that's changed in this industry with that show uh since it began since you've been there in this capacity what are some of the bigger changes you've seen spearsy the show's completely changed when i started the pre-game show was wrong only at the rink you know wherever we were we were on site in those days so it was it was wrong with a stick mic standing rink side whether it be in Ottawa Montreal or Toronto or a few times a year

you go west and then the first intermission of course was coach's corner and then it was a satellite hot stove as you said Jeff in the second and a lot of times because we would have two games and and the time shifting technology that we use we use, although it was in place, we weren't as comfortable doing it. A lot of times we would tape. So you would tape hot stove and then you'd tape Coach's Corner at 5 o'clock. So both intermissions were actually off tape. And if you think about it, that's only like 17 years ago. It's actually not that long ago.

And like you said, news didn't really change. So you could tape something at 5 o'clock and be confident that it was still going to hold up until it ran at 7.45 or, sorry, later than that, at 8.30 at night. And then we were done. That truck was done. And Scott Oak and Kelly Rudy took over for the late game. It's been a complete shift. A couple of years later, we moved to the studio. And that's really when we started doing, you know, more of the full-up intermission. And that's eventually where we got to panels and we were able to do more stuff full-up intermission. And that's eventually where we got to panels

and we were able to do more stuff probably in the intermission than we had done back then. The best part about the season is the playoffs. And it's every night. Every night you're there and every night you're working games. How much does it change in the playoffs? Is it easier or harder to do?

Well, that's a good question. It's, I mean, I find it's a grind, right? It's every day. I love it. I have to say like there's something about the playoffs to me. Sometimes I find, and maybe you think I'm nuts about this guys, but sometimes I find when you're in like the dog days of January, February, sometimes it's harder for me to find something new to talk about

than it is when you're in your 28th day in a row in the playoffs. There's something about the playoffs to me, my juices are going, I really love it. I 100% agree with that. Through the week to week stuff, you're looking for ideas and you're trying to come up with new stuff or different stuff. The playoffs, it just hands it to you, right? It's like you're just reacting to the last game. So storyline wise, it does become a little bit easier that way, but it's like you're just reacting to the last game so storyline wise it does become a little bit easier that way but it's just the quantity of stuff that you're having to do you know two games often a night early on so you're you're late night and you're back and uh the next day and and do it all over again so it's a grind but like you said story story-wise, storylines, they evolve a lot easier for sure.

Okay, here's my last question to you. Who is the on-air person who when you see a call coming from them, you say, I really don't want to answer this right now? Elliot, that doesn't exist. It's Oak. I know it's Oak. No, no. I still talk to Scott every week. I don't think there's anyone who I feel that way about.

There's a call coming that I want to avoid. Okay, let me try this one. Whose ideas do you veto the most? And you can't answer Healy because he's not working here anymore. Whose ideas? David Amber's mostly probably. Why? Because it's the third week of the season.

We should start putting up the standings. Yeah. He likes the standings board or an Ovechkin goals board. If the playoff started today, three weeks into the season, how many Canadian teams would be in? Or he'll have one of his hypotheticals. Would you trade Nathan McKinnon for Austin Matthews? Let me ask a final one here, Spearzy.

The answer to this question for me is Chris Pronger, but I'm curious where you go with it. If you could take anyone who played in the NHL and make them a hockey night panelist snap your fingers tomorrow who would that be oh good one it's funny you mentioned pronger but that is actually a name i've thought of in the past that i thought he would be excellent at it you know i think that he would be and i think everyone was thought that when he first retired and then he decided to get into management.

It's just kind of calmed down. But he would be very interesting. You know what? I always wanted to see how Gretzky would do, and I think he's been really good on TMT. You know, that would have been another one that for years we used to talk if we could ever get Gretzky on as a permanent person. He hasn't been on a lot lately, I know,

but Shue Weeksie was on early on in the season. I thought he was fantastic. You know, I'll say this too. I think like I'm looking at the new group and Biaxa, Bissonette, Tortorella, and I know not everybody likes everything that Tortorella says, and to be honest, I don't like everything he says, but

I think they have a chance to be the three biggest stars in hockey broadcasting. I really do. I think you're right. And you know what? You don't have to agree with them. That's the thing. It's better sometimes if they're you know what? You don't have to agree with them. That's the thing. It's better sometimes if they're, you know, they've got at least Tortorella. He's got some opinions. You don't have to agree with them, but you've got to respect them.

He's been around the game a long time. So I like it. Tortorella is not afraid to put himself out there. Same. Spears, this has been great. Listen, have a great holidays. All the best in the new year to you and your family. And we'll see you on Saturday, bud. Love you, Spears. You've been great. Listen, have a great holidays. All the best in the new year to you and your family. And we'll see you on Saturday, bud.

Love you, Spears. You've been a long time. Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. Have a good holiday. Thank you. That is the one and only Sat Shah, star of radio, star of television as well. Sat, first of all, thanks so much for joining us here on the Holiday Party. Secondly, what can we put in your cup, sir? Well, in my cup on Christmas, then it's going to be a bit of everything. What's a bit of everything? Like you just take a large jug and throw everything in like a high school prom? Is that what this is?

It's just like the kitchen sink. Just throw it all in. Well, you got to make a nice little punch, right? There's always going to be a nice holiday punch and you got to make it as strong as possible to make sure whoever's coming to your place is prepared for the evening. But usually, I mean, you got to start off nowadays as I get older, guys, I have a harder time with beer. So I find, you know, the vodka stuff to be easier and like, you know, just wine to be good beer. I have like a one or two beer limit nowadays i can't do more how old are you i'm 38 you're you know i gotta say you're pretty well preserved sat 38 is too young to be talking like this i just want to say this

it's important you know that just because you hang on just because you weren't grown up at 38 ellie it doesn't mean that other people aren't grown. That's true. I have to agree. I have to agree with this. So sat like this, this, this holiday comes as a perfect time for you because you need a break from the Canucks. It has been nonstop. People have been ripping us.

Can you stop talking about the Canucks on your podcast? And we don't even have to do it for a living you do this is this must have been a crazy few months oh it's been absolutely unbelievable and you know the interesting thing is for a while it seemed like nothing was going to happen because this is what happened last year we thought okay we're getting to the point where you got to do something and nothing happened and when things got so slow this year and they were taking their time to figure stuff out, we're like,

are we just doing a death march all season? And then all of a sudden everything started happening and it's been great because now the team's playing a lot better, but I'm looking forward to a little bit of a break so I can just catch up on what happened the last three weeks, because I cannot believe how different the conversation around this team is now compared to three weeks ago. And just sort of euphoria around the team.

I've never seen a Jekyll and Hyde situation as much as this Canucks team this season. I know there's much going on, but guys, I am looking forward to being able to maybe not think about the Canucks for two or three days over the holidays. But here's the thing, too. It's not just about the hockey team and the people immediately around it. Like when the hockey team is doing well in a Canadian market, the whole city changes. Give us a snapshot of what was before Boudreaux and what is after Boudreaux from a city of Vancouver point of view. Well, you know, it's funny because the Canucks essentially became an afterthought in Vancouver about two weeks ago. It just got to the point where people are just sick and tired of hearing of. We have people that are regular listeners that are like, I don't want to hear about the Canucks. You guys can talk about whatever else you want to do. I don't want to

hear about the Canucks. I don't want to go to games. I'm just sick and tired of Jim Benning era. I'm sick and tired of watching these guys play poorly. We're tired of watching Green behind the bench, not having answers. So they were essentially completely sick of this team. And now it's a complete love-in again. You know how you get into a relationship and you hit a rocky patch and you think it's done. There's no way to go back. And all of a sudden something happens and you feel like you fell in love again. And all of a sudden you feel like, this is why I love this person from day one. These are the reasons why I'm invested in this relationship. And I think that's kind of what's happening right now. There's a reinvigoration with the fan base in this team. And the mood at the rink at Rogers Arena hasn't

been fantastic. I mean, there's been some good games the past few years. Go back to 2019, 2020, there's a couple of good games. The Sedins final game was incredible. But the vibe on a game in and game out basis has been kind of muted. It hasn't been really great. These five games at home have been unbelievable. Fans chanting Bruce, there it is, singing along to every song they can. It's actually a tough building to play for the opposition. This was not the case in Vancouver just three weeks ago and certainly not the past decade. So when you're not on the air trying to figure out something to say about the Canucks, what are your other interests at? Like we know each other from on air, but we don't know each other the Canucks. What are your other interests at? Like we know each other from on air,

but we don't know each other that well personally. What are the other things that keeps you busy? What are the other kinds of things you like to do? It is pretty sad because most of my life, as you guys know, is essentially just covering the Canucks and sports. Yes, I do understand that. Yes, yes, yes.

And there are a lot of days where it's like, this is all I've done, you know? So to be honest, it's trying to just find enough time to get into the gym nowadays, especially now that we're all double vaccinated. We can all go back. It's trying to find 90 minutes to an hour, five to six days a week to do that. And it's just trying to catch up on shows I haven't watched. It's really boring during hockey season, guys.

I wish I could sit here and be like, you know, guys, I go go out skating i go and play some beer league hockey or i get together with friends and play poker i haven't seen my best friend in i think about a month and a half so as much as i'd love to sit here and tell you guys things that i do to get away from the games essentially trying to find gym time spend some time with my partner and that's essentially it it's very very boring during the season now off season that's when I try to have as much fun as possible. Are you a good poker player? Not during the season because I'm way too distracted. But if I have time to sit down and give me like 10, 12 hours at a table,

I can figure it out. Let me ask you a quick question about the gym. What is your favorite thing to do there? Are you a trap bar guy, incline bench, goblet squats? What's your thing at the gym? I'd say deadlifts and Bulgarian squats are my favorite. Oh, Bulgarian squats are killers. Yeah.

Oh, those are awful. And whenever I think that I'm 25 years old, I start doing deads again. And then I realized, why am I doing deadlifts now? Yes. Because once every couple of years, I mess up my back and my wife's always like, you're not 25 anymore. Why are you still doing deadlifts you dummy i just want you two to know that everyone listening to this knows you guys can barely lift 20 pounds i just want everyone to know that we everybody listen to this we know that right we can't even do those deadlifts are tough those bulgarian squats 20 pounds no i know that can't even do 20-pound kettlebell swings.

That's how poor it is. Well, Merrick carries your freedom, so I know he can carry more than 20 pounds. Oh, boom. That's true. That's right. Whoa, sad. Whoa.

Who invited this guy? Get off. Fastball under the chin. Cut this part out. Brush him back from the plate. Get him off the plate. That's nice, Sat. Very good.

Very good. Now, what was your path into this, Sat? How did you get to where you are now? Honestly, I'd love to say great work and dedication and my talents shown through. Well, we all know that's not true for all of us. All of us, yes. Well, it's really people that help you along the way, right?

I mean, that's usually what it is. Yeah, you got to put the time in and you work really hard. But every single good opportunity I've gotten has been somebody believing in me. And that even starts for my first ever gig doing promotions at a Zed 95 back in 2006. Nice running, running around, you know, giving out stickers and balloons and holding all these events and stuff like that. And I finally got a gig in Edson, Alberta doing news and sports, covering the Oilers a lot too because it's relatively close to Edmonton. And I got that job because of somebody

I went to school with who also got a job with NuCap at the time. And he put my name in, I sent a demo and I got a job there. And then when I got back to Vancouver, it was somebody I also knew who knew me who gave me an opportunity to work at Rock 101 and CKNW.

And that's where I got to know Bro jake 2014 i believe or 2013 bro jake got offered the gig to work at tsn 1040 at the time to be the morning show host and i worked with him at rock 101 as a producer and he wanted to bring me over as a producer so that's how i got in full time on the sports talk radio side of things and doing that for four years and you kind of get an opportunity to build uh you know your brand so to speak a bit you get on air a little bit and lucky enough that when sportsnet 650 launched they identified me as somebody that could be a host and that's how i got into sportsnet five years ago so every single pathway along the way i've had somebody believe in me, give me an opportunity. That's good. I mean, you always need that.

People don't recognize how important it is that you have one champion, someone who says, I think that person can be good. You have to have that. And you know what? Jake Edwards in Toronto at Q107 doing the champ, that was must listen to radio. Right, Frej? That character. Was he still doing it at West when he got there, Seth? 2007 doing the champ that was must listen to radio that care right for each like that character was he was he still doing it out west when he got there sat well so he had stopped doing it but once he came back to when he's once he started joining tsn 1040 they brought back the champ and he did

like a whole new wave of champ and he did it with with you know uh a sports angle to it as well with the canucks and everything so he brought it back for about a year or two nice and then you know, a sports angle to it as well with the Canucks and everything. So we brought it back for about a year or two. And then, you know, it kind of went away. But yeah, we did bring back the Champ. And you're right. I mean, the Champ was the thing on radio for a good decade back in the day. What do you look forward to in the new year? Honestly, I'm hoping for health and things not to get overly hectic.

I mean, I know it's a small thing, but I think it's actually right now. It's a pretty big thing. Yeah, no kidding. It is. Yeah. You know, it seems like a pretty big thing. And, you know, as much as it seemed like we're through everything and it seems like we're kind of heading towards things being a lot more open, that seems to be changing. So, honestly, I'm just hoping that we can keep doing a lot of things we have done up until the new year and just overall health for all my loved ones.

It's small things you hope for, but I think in the world today, if I can get some health and we get some things, you know, just be calm. That's the best thing I can wish for this new year. It's a great answer, but it's too nice an answer to end the interview on. So I'm going to come with this. I'm going to come with this. When you do the people's show with Dan Riccio and Randy, who do you look at and say, this is the biggest air hog on our show,

and I'm going to have to fight to get a word in edgewise? Oh, I got to go Reach. It's always Reach. Because, you know, Reach has, because, you know, sometimes it takes Reach a few minutes to get to the point, you know? So I'd say that's a thing with Reach. He builds it up really well. You build this anticipation up.

And I'm like, okay, what is Reach going to say here? He's going to drop a hammer. And it just takes a little while for him to get there. So definitely Reach. Ran deep to the point. That's outstanding. All right. Dan Reacho sucks all the oxygen out of the room.

Got it. Perfect way to end. Sat, thanks so much for joining us on the holiday extravaganza here. Best of luck next year, pal. Yeah, guys. Hey, thanks so much. Keep up the great work. I love what you guys do

and I appreciate you guys having me on. Elliot, let's saddle up here now to Sean Reynolds from Sportsnet covering the Winnipeg Jets, our good buddy who we spent some time with

in Florida at the Board of Governors as well. Sean, before we get going on this penetrating, in-depth conversation we're about to have with you, what can we top you up with? An IPA. Everywhere I go, every time I'm on the road, if I'm sitting with some buddies, I always just ask whoever is serving me what kind of local IPA they have. So I guess I'm one of those guys. I know those guys take a lot of heat, but that's where I'm at these days. Maybe I've matured. Maybe it's growth. Have you become a beer hipster? For sure, because there's nothing else about me that screams hipster other than my drink choice.

I'm pretty backwoods Manitoba when it comes down to it in almost every single way. You can probably even hear the accent in my voice. But yeah, I'm straight up hip, when it comes down to it in almost every single way, you can probably even hear the accent in my voice. But yeah, I'm straight up hipster when it comes to the beer selection these days. There's nothing wrong with saying I'm in a place, I'm going to try something that's locally here. People who make fun of that, they're losers, Sean. Just remember that. There's nothing wrong with that. We're the winners, Elliot.

We're the winners. And they're the losers. So I got lots of questions I want to ask you. And number one, Sean, is in TV, we're all about the look, right? We're the winners and they're the losers. So I got lots of questions I want to ask you. And number one, Sean, is in TV, we're all about the look, right? Because we're very superficial. You know, you over COVID have, you know, you've gone with the longer hair. I mean, you look terrific.

And so I'm just asking, you know, you decided, you know what? I'm going to try some new ways I appear on camera here you know i love the long hair what was behind the decision and what was the family vote are they like sean come on here are they supportive here here's the backstory when i was about 18 i grew my hair out to like that surfer length you know what i? Long blonde hair down around the shoulders. I love that. Had hair like that for a number of years. Any of my friends from high school who would be listening to this would remember this. It was my look for like four years. I liked it. I liked my hair like that. My parents, my dad was a pretty clean cut guy and he gave me a hard time about it at first, but I eventually kind of won him over. You know, you can always go back to a place in time where you kind of identify yourself,

kind of lock in, you know, how you think about yourself. And that's probably where I locked that in. And the only reason I think I ended up cutting my hair was because, you know, at some point you got to grow up. And at some point I was going to be a phys ed teacher. I was teaching in schools already, so I couldn't have this long surfer hair. So I had to grow up. And at some point, I was going to be a phys ed teacher. I was teaching in schools already, so I couldn't have this long surfer hair. So I had to grow up. I had to cut the hair. And COVID just, you know, and you kind of leading the way, just opened up this opportunity to say,

you know, like the barbershops are closed. No one can do anything about this at this stage. So let's let it fly. Let's see where we can get to. And it kind of started getting out of the bubble in Edmonton. I'd cut my hair before I went into the bubble. And then I just let it roll after that to the point that, you know, you get through that uncomfortable phase. And now you get to a stage where you're like, okay, this doesn't look so bad. I'm kind of liking how this looks. I was loving it. My kids absolutely loved it, Elliot. Great. My wife despised it. Yes.

So in the end, I kind of bent to her will and got the haircut. And I'm telling you right now, I regret it. No one at Sportsnet told me to cut my hair. No one came down. I was expecting it to happen. It didn't happen. But I cut my hair for my wife. My kids were pissed. They were not happy about it. And I'm telling you right now, I regret it. I think, Sean, you and I are married to the same person. A bigamist. Exactly.

Exactly. Yeah. Okay. So I've asked Elliot this question before, and he's always said, the beard comes back and the hair goes down to the bone. If you didn't have the obligations of television, what would you look like? Well, I can't grow a very good beard. So, and, and I'm one of these guys, like, to be honest, you know, when I see people

with beards, especially how you had it, Elliot, like those things drive me nuts. The times I have grown a beard, I get like these little hairs. There's one that pokes from like the corner of my mouth back down on the lip. So I always got to find that one. And beards for me, it's not something I would use. The mustache, the mustache does not look good on me. I'm one of those guys who looks like an undercover cop whenever I grow a mustache. But it's like that hair that you saw before I cut it, that's exactly how I would look without the job. The longer hair, probably even a little bit longer than that. You got to keep the people in your life happy.

And the wife is happy right now. The kids aren't, but the kids have to love me. The wife probably has a choice in the matter. Well, the other thing I wanted to ask you about, Sean, is the way that we present ourselves to our audience, whether it's reading audience, listening audience, TV audience, it's changing. I think you and Ken Wiebe, you guys have a hit, the Kenny and Rennie show, and I watch it after Jets games. I've heard the numbers are pretty good. Like I look at that thing and I say, that's where we got, we're going. You guys have a good chemistry. How are you finding it? And do you think it's finding its niche in your market? Oh, no doubt it has.

I think it's interesting because Winnipeg is a market. It's not the biggest market. So there's going to be a cap to the amount of people. You know, when we check the little map on our podcast to see where people are tuning in from, it's interesting to look at that global map and see the dots kind of all over the map. But for the most part, it's a Winnipeg audience. You have to be interested in the Winnipeg Jets if you want to check that out. It's an interesting situation with the show just because we're trying to make that switch. There was one sports radio station here and they canned it last year in Winnipeg so there's no sports radio and so there

was a little bit of a surge when people like ourselves and you know some of the local people the illegal curve guys hustler uh they've kind of moved into this space uh and we find that we have a lot of the same audience and the trick at this stage i find guys and tell me if you know how to figure this out is there's a whole bunch of people out there who listen to sports radio who are upset that it's gone but you trying to convince those people into these different spaces the podcast space the YouTube space that's the challenge right now we know there's an audience to grow into and the audience that we've gained is you know it's a devoted audience they're there time and time again but it's that next stage of getting people to you know like use their new smart tv and go to the youtube channel to watch our show

and you know trying to get people to download the podcast that there's a way to do that but we're really trying to condition this market in winnipeg to to kind of flip the dial to an entirely different dial and that's been the challenge so far you guys are doing a great job with it like i watch it i mean most of the stuff that's sitting on it is completely stupid but it's a great podcast i keep saying too like just just consistently keep showing up just keep showing they get in the habit people get in the habit you're changing people's habits absolutely you know what i love about it guys is the audience kind of takes over on that show. They kind of direct you and you get instant feedback. So you know exactly what they want.

And so we've got these little things where we had our audience, like our logo is designed by an audience member. We've got songs that we play in there that were composed and written and performed by audience members. And they just sent it to us that they've become part of the show. Absent-mindedly wore my headband from working out last year on the show. And now it's this thing where the audience demands at certain parts of the show that you throw the headband on because we've got a song that we put on when you wear the headband. So it's another thing that I've found is the interaction element with your audience is really phenomenal,

because for them it's kind of like a choose your own adventure book. They tell you what they wanna see, and it makes it so much easier to kind of craft the show because you're getting real time feedback. I had a couple of questions about Manitoba. First of all, who in your estimation, male or female, because I wanna throw Jennifer Botterill

in this conversation as well, is the, in your mind, either the best or your favorite Manitoban hockey player. So it can go from Bobby Clark to Andy Bathgate, from Jonathan Taves to Bill Mozienko. The floor is yours. Manitoba hockey players go. Oh, geez.

This is interesting because I, I'd pitched this idea for years. I wrote a, a, a team Manitoba, an all time team Manitoba. Oh yeah. And it is such an interesting story there there's a, and I don't have it in front of me, but there's so many interesting stories out of there one of them was a uh a montreal canadians player who was in the war and took shrapnel to the leg and they were going to um amputate his leg he fought his way off the doctor's table and said he was going to rehab himself and rehabbed himself by playing hockey by going home and playing hockey non-stop and ended up

getting so good at it that he made the nhl at a later date in life like long after hockey players should have been making it and so there's so many interesting stories like that uh you know the hextall family you know that there's almost an argument that the first hextall is the best and everyone after that and this is no slight to r, who's, you know, phenomenal in his career, but, you know, everything after that has been the Hexdolls chasing, you know, their grandfather and how good he was. But I mean, I take a look at this and I'm a big believer in this in the 2010 Olympics. I think it was the 2010 Olympics. I thought Jonathan Tays, the way that he performed in that, the way that he performed in the Olympics, I think Jonathan Tays arguably had one of the best, if not the best years a hockey player has ever had,

if you judge it by its results, right? Like you can talk about a Hart Trophy winner as being, you know, the best player in the league, but how often does that player get the results of going out and winning the Stanley Cup afterwards? Jonathan Tays played an integral role in winning the Cup, in winning the Olympics. He was a key figure in all those moments and showed up at all the right moments. So I take a look at him as a guy that I think that he may have been at that peak as far as driving the bus, as far as getting results from himself and his team, may have had one of the best years that a hockey player has ever had. So I

give him the nod there. I'll say this, I'm just going to add this in there because I've been beating this drum for a long time. A player like Reggie Leach, who I'm not saying is the best player that Manitoba ever produced, but phenomenal hockey player who did amazing things at a specific time. His career cut short by some of the demons that he had, but that is a guy. I think it is a crime he is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame. I just want to take this platform right now to say at this moment, he's a guy who should be in there.

Absolutely. Here's the last question for me. Right now, the premier of Manitoba is heather stefanson there are a lot of great broadcasters and media people from manitoba scott oak likes to say that he is the true people's champion the people's politician of manitoba. If you took, and there's a lot, I mean, you take a look at, there's Rod Black, there's Bob Irving, there's the Wells family, there's yourself, I'm sure I'm missing people, there's Leah Hextall. You take a look at all of the great Manitoba broadcasters, anyone eligible.

If there was an election between all of them, who would win as premier of Manitoba broadcasters, anyone eligible, if there was an election between all of them, who would win as premier of Manitoba? Oh, geez. Well, isn't that a Shirely construct, the whole idea of Scott Oak being the man of the people and standing above everyone? No, no, no. That's all Oak because he's delusional enough to believe that. Well, I will tell you this.

I'll tell you this. First of all, everyone knows who Scott is here in Winnipeg and in Manitoba. Everybody loves Scott. Everyone is proud of Scott. He hits his spots every time he's up there. But the stuff that he did with the Bruce Oak Recovery Center is just another level of engagement that a lot of people do not get to. The answer to your question is it is Scott Oak, hands down. It is Scott Oak. There was an interview that he did on the local CBC where they carved out about seven minutes where they just went live and did a one on one with him when he was talking

about the Bruce Oak Recovery Center and getting it off the ground. And I just I can't imagine, never mind a broadcaster in our country never mind the politicians in this country I could not imagine someone having spoke as eloquently and as clearly and as compellingly as he did in that moment without seeming in any way like he was pandering like this is something that means the world to him so you could excuse him for wanting to kind of like feel like he was reaching out to you and taking it too far. I'd said like how he is not running for politics is an absolute crime because

he's one of those people, if he got in the political arena, all of us would benefit from him because he's just so smart, so well-spoken, so driven and the kind of guy you could imagine would get real change done because we've seen him do it without that platform it's not pandering it's he does he's coming from the right place everybody understands everybody understands exactly 100 percent um this has been great i was gonna ask you just as a frivolous question dan who's your favorite band from manitoba the watchman hands down yeah they were really in in the in the long hair of Sean Reynolds days. I used to rock the Watchmen nonstop. And I was just coming out of the elevator going up to the press box for

a Jets game a couple of Jets games ago. And Danny Greaves, the lead singer of the Watchmen, had sang the anthem for the game. And I bumped into him on the elevator. And at 43, guys, I was too starstruck to say anything i wanted to say you know talk about some of my favorite songs or just say how you done i've seen them in concert probably 12 times i was too starstruck in that moment to say anything so yeah for me it's hands down the watchman it's kind of hoping you're gonna say harlequin but that's okay we'll give you uh we'll give you the watchman on that one sean this has been a lot of fun. You be well. Best of luck to you and your family.

Health and happiness to everybody. And we'll catch up down the road. Right back at you guys. It was great to spend some time with you down in Florida. Elliot, Ailish Forfar is a force. As a co-host of the morning show on Sportsnet 590, The Fan, she has quickly distinguished herself as one of the morning show on Sportsnet 590, The Fan, she has quickly distinguished herself as one of the lead voices in this market. And there she is over there. Let's go have a peek

at what she's sipping. Eilish, what do you have in that cup of yours over there? Hey, guys. Well, I'm used to just having about four or five coffees during the morning show, so I can't have any more. But I would try an espresso martini at this hour because I am consuming a lot of caffeine throughout my days with the morning show hours so I think an espresso martini let me ask you about that like when you first considered doing a morning show like I did morning radio for a few years and I found that your body never gets used to it you just sort of adjust to it And the worst thing wasn't necessarily the getting up early. It was the going to bed super early.

What's the experience been like for you? Yeah, you know, I thought I would have a bit of an upper hand because of like early morning practices or thinking like, oh, I used to be an athlete. My body's a temple. Well, no, that's a lie. I found that the getting up isn't that hard anymore because you don't have an option.

You can't press snooze. You just got to jump out of bed. But you're right. It's the afternoon. I feel like I accomplished nothing. I nap and I lounge around waiting for the evening games. And then the evening games, especially when it's a West Coast game, my eyes are taped open sometimes, trying to stay up to watch because I know that I'm my sleep count

is slowly dwindling so it's interesting I've learned a lot about what type of sleep is best how much I need and I think I'm hovering around five hours is pretty much the the key goal right now are you a napper like do you nap during the day I I could nap anywhere, anytime. Nice. I could nap like in the studio if I needed to. When JD's talking, sometimes I doze off a little bit. We all do. Don't worry. We all do. Yeah.

But no, I think that's the athlete in me. I used to sleep on road trips all the time or like bus trips. People were so jealous that I could just fall asleep before we'd even like pulled out of the parking lot. So I have that little bit of an edge. Hang on. The weirdest place I ever fell asleep by Eilish Forfar. What is it? I've slept in the locker room before,

whether it was like getting there early and just being like, you know, I got my sticks and everything taped. There's a little bit of a Zen moment. I'm just going to lay down on the floor and take a little siesta before the game. I've been known to do that, like in my stall, take a little snooze. And it looks weird, but it gets you ready for the game. A little bit of extra extra sleep i love it you know you were talking about like nodding off while

while jd is talking which i think anybody who's listened to the show would totally understand i'm wondering do you and blake have to book appointments as to when you get to talk on the morning show is that how it works oh that's funny i mean honestly we've gotten to a really good yeah pace of knowing that but the first week or two i'll be honest i was like this guy doesn't stop eh like he's used to hosting his own uh show for four hours so he's done a great job at giving us some spots and and i actually have a 6 30 a.m segment that's all mine it's called the a-list and i look forward to that every day where i get to control the narrative and I get to tell the guys what's up, but yeah, we laugh about it sometimes and it's all good fun. And JD obviously is so knowledgeable and

he could talk about anything for as long as possible. So I'm learning a lot in this new role. You've had quite a rise and you went to a Bishop Strawn, which is a great school in Toronto, which also like there's an infestation of business-drawn people at Sportsnet because Carolyn Cameron's one too. And then you went to Dartmouth, which is, you know, I've heard like really smart people get into Dartmouth. So you and you're an elite-level hockey player. You played at Dartmouth.

You know, you have quite a resume. How did you end up here? You know, what was your path and what about this attracted you to it? Yeah. I mean, thank you for the praise. I do appreciate it. It's been a weird career. I think the best part about it is I've taken a lot of different opportunities because I don't think I really exactly know what I like and what I am best at. And I think the best part about that as a young person in the industry is to try everything. It's funny you mentioned Bishop Strong because, you know, David Amber's daughter actually goes to Bishop Strong, too.

And I talk about it sometimes when he comes on the show. I used to coach her grade four hockey team at Bishop Strong when I was volunteering. So we go way back there as well. But Dartmouth, obviously, a great opportunity to kind of work on the education side of journalism and storytelling. I was an English major there, and I really love just the platform of telling stories. And I think that that's kind of what attracted me to sports, especially because there is just a never-ending amount of stories to highlight and to touch on, especially when you come from the woman's side where it doesn't get much coverage. So I think I kind of went in with that mentality that I would like to uplift the voices of players that I know or people that don't get the amount of coverage

that we do. So how I got to where I am now, I did a lot of different things. I've done stuff in front of the camera in terms of like hosting and storytelling. I've done some writing roles. Yeah. But I think that what attracted me the most about this was it is all encompassing. I don't just talk about hockey. I talk about NBA, NFL, MLB. I try to put as much women's sports perspective in there as possible. And I think it just gives me a well-rounded resume. It also helps me grow. I'm really early in my career still. So I'm hoping that it just gives me kind of the full experience. And radio is a really fun beast as well because nobody cares and you just roll out of bed

and you end up there and you just worry about the content that you're putting out. And I definitely find that that is a little bit of a good step for me because I get to go in there and talk to some of the greatest people, interview some of the people that I grew up listening to and watching as athletes. And it's just a win-win, really, in that role. Now that you're in this role and watching sports more critically than ever, so if you covered you when you played, what would you say about your game?

Oh, God. Depends which role. So my professional career was hilarious because I scored one goal and everybody knows that and they like to laugh about it. I was a fourth line grind with the Markham Thunder. But, you know, if I have to give myself some praise, which sometimes is difficult, I was definitely that glue guy. Like I would come into the locker room and I would try to uplift my players, my teammates. I'm the fun bringer on the bench, especially if I get, you know, two or three shifts a period.

I just saw it as an opportunity to bring some good energy to the team. And I think as a professional athlete, I also took that responsibility to help with the community and the young athletes. I volunteered for every single one of our community outreach programs, whether that was speaking, whether that was helping coaching. I just really saw that as an opportunity. If I wasn't playing as much as I would have liked,

I thought that might as well do something impactful. So with the Markham Thunder, that was more of my role. But with Dartmouth, you know, I was definitely part of the leadership core. I felt so much pride to wear that jersey, and I think that I showed that a lot while I was playing. You know, I was pretty good at at that level too I was playing alongside Laura Stacy who's um an Olympian now and one of my best friends and and we played together since high school actually so we had really good chemistry and I was more of the playmaker I would get in the corners and uh do the dirty work and and set her up for her her amazing shot and her speed and

I think that that was probably the most fun about Dartmouth is I got to go there with some of my good friends from Toronto, Laura especially. So I played with a lot of pride and I really enjoyed representing that school. And I know we didn't mention it, but I also did a second degree at Ryerson where I played two years there as well. And I was the captain of that team. And I took the opportunities that I learned at NCAA Division I to come into a youth sports team and to try to bring some of the the lessons that I learned in NCAA hockey which obviously has a little bit

more funding a little bit more prestige to it and I tried to help be almost like a player coach in that role and I had a lot of success with that. And I really do like coaching. And I think that mentoring is something that I would like to do continuing throughout my career. And I learned that a lot at Ryerson too. By the way, I didn't bring up Ryerson because nobody likes to admit they went to Ryerson. I know, I know.

Only Guelph. Only Guelph, only Guelph, only Guelph, only Guelph, only Guelph. The other day I did an interview on City News with Lindsay Dunn, and she was sitting in front of a whole shelf full of vinyl. And before the interview began, I started talking to her about it, and it wasn't newly bought vinyl. She had some stuff there that was clearly 40 or 50 years old, which I thought was really cool.

Now, your bio says that you are big into vinyl. So do you own new stuff or old stuff or what, what is your collection? Yeah. So my love of music is definitely through my father and he used to drive me to hockey all the time. And I think that just listening to his music taste and like spending all that time together was really something that I appreciated growing up. And he has hundreds of vinyls and to spending all that time together was really something that I appreciated growing up and he has hundreds of vinyls and to the fact that like when I go home to visit I'm bringing like a bag and I'm stuffing some in so my lover that came from my dad and he's given me so many vinyls that he collected my dad's 70 now so he has he's lived through the best of music and he has taken a lot of good care on

on his vinyl and he remembers buying things like buying a record right when it came out and keeping it for that long so i have a lot of old stuff for him through him and i also now enjoy buying new vinyl as well because it's kind of like the thing right now every every artist that comes out with a new album will also do a vinyl and a lot of them are really cool and innovative and and kind of beautiful if you think of it like the way that they can make the vinyl look different it's not just black there's like you know there's speckled vinyl there's colored vinyl so i do enjoy buying it for that i display it in my room in my apartment as kind of like artwork as well i put it up on the wall and i also just think it's a really cool thing to own because my collection's growing and i think one day it could be worth a lot of money, but also

just a cool thing to pass on to the next generation, right? I grew up buying albums. And the one thing that I, you know, when compact discs became a thing and now everything is obviously digital, but album art is like such a lost thing. Like I can remember like getting albums and reading liner notes in the albums and the back of the albums. It became like an artistic experience. I know I sound like the old guy. Things were better when I was a kid.

No, but I totally agree with that. It's true. It's true. Like album art is dead. And now some of the artists that come out, they do some inserts that are really cool. Like whether it's like a full-size poster or like a poetry insert.

Like they are trying to get back to that and to make it more than just the record. But I know, the ones that my dad has from back in the day, like I think it's like a, maybe it's a Led Zeppelin one where you can turn the dial on the album side and it changes the art. He's going to be mad that I don't remember this, but like, they're they're so cool innovative And I think artists nowadays are trying To get back to that but there's really nothing like getting An old record that like you know someone else Has thumbed through or my dad owned and he Remembers buying it like somewhere and he remembers

Exactly when he got it like that's really cool And yeah I'm really glad that he's kind of Influenced me to have that obsession Alright my last question for you Ailish When do you take Jeff's job And when do you take mine And you take Jeff's jobs first because it's easier than mine, but you eventually take mine. I really love the idea of being a storyteller and being a host that amplifies other people's voices and talks to athletes and, and tells those stories. I don't think I have the insider gene to be honest. I don't think I can. You can do it. It's, it's not very hard. I'm telling you that right now.

Yeah. I think I would lean more to Jeff jobs. So whenever you're ready, uh, you just hand it over, hand over the keys, give me some lessons, but you know, I don't know exactly if the role that I want to do is even out there yet. I think that's the thing about being creative and young in this industry is that I can maybe shape something that is the best of all the things that I think I bring to the table. You know, I don't know yet, but I will be continuing to grow with Sportsnet. I'm really happy that I found a family here and the opportunities are kind of endless. Like they bring something to you every day that's something new to try and somewhere else to get involved, especially like this.

So I really appreciate you guys bringing me on because this is a, this is a bucket list thing. I get to check that off and I'm very proud. Well then, okay. Then I'm going to hammer you with the hardest hitting question you're going to get all day long. And that is what is the best potato chip? Oh my God.

Okay. I'm so glad you bring this in because this has become my entire brand on the show. Like it's hilarious. The amount of people that message me in every single day

of them eating the spicy dill pickle Miss Vicky's chips. I have created an entire following based on these chips. I bet your DMs are crazy,

you guys, but it's mine or just people sending me pictures of them eating chips. Like it's some weird fetish that people have or some sort of obsession. And I'm in on it. I love it. I will eat those chips every day probably. So it's kind of a gross habit, but I'll own it.

No, you passed. You answered correctly. It is indeed the best chip. This has been a lot of fun. Listen, best of luck in 2022. Now that I know you're coming for my job, I will start to politically sabotage you behind the scenes. I wish I had your

future, I'll tell you that much. I'm not lying about this. You're a bright star. You certainly are. Ailish, thanks so much for coming on today. Much appreciated. I appreciate it so much. Thanks, Ailish. Really appreciate it. Thanks, Ailish. Really appreciate it. Thanks, guys. Okay, Elliot, you know how there's always one person at every party that you just always want to nudge

closer, even if you don't have the courage to speak to that person or know what you're going to say, maybe try to stammer out a couple of words. You know you just want to be around them because you love the sound of their voice and they've meant a lot to you in your career either as a broadcaster or as someone

who has consumed sports and loved sports for a number of years. Brian Williams is that guy for me wrapping up most recently a very successful 50 year career. Here he is on 32 Thoughts the Podcast and our holiday party. Brian, it is so delightful of you to join us. Thank you so much for this.

What can we put in your glass to kickstart this conversation? Jeff, I don't think I really need anything. Elliot knows me well, and I don't need anything to get myself talking. But if it is a party, I don't know. A very

small glass of Chardonnay or else ice water would be fine perfect and we're honored that you could join us because we know you've had a lot of requests I think you're the most invited party guest of this festive season because everybody is celebrating your career and you know the biggest question I have for you Brian is when you woke up Monday morning, what did you do? You didn't have to answer to a producer or a fellow on-air person. Life was yours. The great thing about retirement, Elliot, and it's a good question, is no deadlines. We work in the deadline business. Both you guys know this well. If you're somewhere at two, they don't mean 205 and they don't mean 159, or you're going on the air at 215. You're not going on the air at 214 and 30. So that's the big change. But when I woke

up Monday morning, I was still in a state of shock after the Grey Cup in Hamilton and the wonderful tribute from Paul Harrington, the video he did for the pregame show. And, you know, the words of Donovan Bailey, Doug Flutie, Christine Sinclair, Lloyd Robertson, just a long list. And it was just a great, great honor. How often, and that was beautiful, by the way, how often do you think back to the beginnings and how often do you think about people like the late great Dick Smythe? I was a huge Dick Smythe fan, even listening to clips now from CKLW 2020 news. And how often do you let yourself go back to the beginnings of your broadcast career? Well, CKLW 50,000 watts and sounding like a million. The sun never sets on the Shannon empire. It's six o'clock in Detroit,

The sun never sets on the Shannon Empire. It's 6 o'clock in Detroit, 7 o'clock in Windsor. Detroit didn't go on daylight savings. Listen, I first got interested in radio when we lived in New Haven, Connecticut. My dad was at Yale after going to medical school in Manitoba and Winnipeg where I was born. And I can remember listening to New York radio, New Haven's Distance Stones throw up the Merritt Parkway. And I can remember listening to the Don Larson Perfect Games. So that's where I got my interest when I lived in Edmonton.

The late, great Don Chevrier. You knew Don, Elliot, the voice of God. He was at CJCA in Edmonton. I had a chance to meet with him. And, you know, I just, I've always wanted to do sports. But I do think back, Jeff and Elliot, to Dick Smythe, because when I went to university at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I was the lone Canadian at Aquinas. And students would come up to me and say, are you the Canadian? And I'd say, yeah, I am.

They'd say, I'm from Fort Wayne, Indiana. We listen to the Big Eight, CKLW. I'm from Cleveland. We listen to CKLW. I'm from, you know We listened to the Big Eight, CKLW. I'm from Cleveland. We listened to CKLW. I'm from all over the Midwest. And Dick Smythe and Byron McGregor were legendary newsmen. And when I came to Toronto, I often think back to driving up to Toronto and the way Dick worked, and he was such a pro, I had an audition tape. And he said, I don't want to see the audition tape, young man. And he gave me a newspaper and he put checks on various. And he said, I don't want to see the audition tape, young man.

And he gave me a newspaper, and he put checks on various stories. He said, rewrite these stories, and I'm going to give you four minutes and 15 seconds. And then you get into a studio. We'll record it and see how good you really are, because audition tapes can be fixed up and doctored. So that's how I got hired in Chum. I think of Dick often. If he had said to me, you know, you're going to work 50 years nonstop in this business, I'd say, work 50 years?

Heck, I just want to be alive in 50 years and in good health. But I got to tell you, this is a funny story. I have the letter Dick wrote me in, I think it was September 21st of 1970. And I was making $700 a month. And so I called Roger Ashby, who had started just ahead of me. And I was doing news. And I did the news quite often for some of the early shows Roger did around midnight and then some of the 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock newscasts in the morning. But Roger said, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I was making $800 a month.

So they were very, very different times. And as I say, I think back to the days at Chum and worked with some great broadcasters. And I've been very fortunate to not only work with great people and good people, but for great people and good people. So you mentioned your parents, and your dad was at Yale, so obviously very, very intelligent background you come from. Were they receptive to what you wanted to do, Brian, when you were breaking in and growing up? My father was great. He eventually was head of the 6,000 Catholic hospitals in the United States based in St. Louis. He was a physician for, I think, seven or eight years, country doctor in Invermere, BC, west of Banff. But I can remember when a high school guidance teacher said to me,

what's this stuff about radio and broadcasting? And he says, aren't you going to be a doctor like your father? What does he think? Well, my dad called the guidance counselor and gave him what for. He said, listen, if he wants to be a broadcaster, I support him 100%. I only tell him one thing. If you're going to do it, make sure you do a darn good job. And I had great support from him and, you know, very fortunate to have that support through the years.

That's awesome. I have a memory of Dick Smythe. I mean, people listening today may not know who Dick was, but one of the great radio newsmen in North America, a star. Whether, you know, you were in Los Angeles or New York, you knew about Dick Smythe in Windsor, Detroit. But he once was sending me out. I was hired as a newsman. So he was sending me either to City Hall or to Queens Park. And in front of the whole department, he says, by the way, Williams, I'm sending you to cover City Hall or some particular story. And if you

come back with a sports angle, I'm going to wring your neck. Every time I send you out to cover a story, you find a sports angle. You know, those were the days I'm indebted to Dick. He died recently, and I talked to him before he passed away. I've talked to his wife, Marnie, but one of the great characters, one of the great talents in broadcasting. So did you come back with a sports angle, or did you listen to him that time? Well, Dick was tough, so you better believe it. I came back with a news angle i wanted to keep my job you know speaking of sports stories i mean

you've covered some doozies and listen whether it was you know or or sir and boy tano in in 88 right the battle of the the of the bryans i don't want to bias the jury here so i'll just put it out there what were some of your favorite stories to cover? Well, people ask me, do you have a favorite Olympics? And I said, every Olympics was my favorite. And every time I loved live broadcasting and every time I went on the air, to me, it was the most important moment of my life, the most important moment of my career. But you mentioned the Battle of the Bryans, Orser and Boitano. It brings up an interesting point. Canada was the only country to host two Olympics, Summer Games in Montreal in

1976. I remember Greg Joy, the high jumper, he had a silver medal. And then Calgary in 1988, the aforementioned Brian Orser in the Battle of the Bryans with Brian Boitano. Orser got silver. Liz Manley, a good friend of mine, had a figure skating silver medal too. So Canada hosts two Olympics, doesn't have a gold medal. Heading into Vancouver, and this is why I have such special memories from Vancouver. Guys heading to Vancouver, the country was asking who was going to be the first Canadian to win gold in Canadian soil. Well, it turned out to be Alex Bilodeau on the first Sunday of the Games. The Games started with

the opening ceremony on a Friday. Two days later, Sunday night, freestyle skiing, gold medal. He came in the studio with his family. And what happened there? Yes, it was the first gold medal, but it opened a floodgate. There was the Own the Podium program. There was a new confidence with Canadian athletes, but I don't think anyone expected a Winter Games record of 14 gold medals. So the opening medal was Alex Bilodeau and our friend Chris Cuthbert called it the Golden Goal when Canada defeated the United States in overtime in men's hockey. And what's really interesting, back in Salt Lake City, Canada and the United States met with a gold medal in men's hockey. And what's really interesting, back in Salt Lake City,

Canada and the United States met for the gold medal in men's hockey on American soil. Canada denied the States a chance to win at home. And as we were sitting in the studio in Vancouver and in commercial before overtime, I wondered, would the United States deny Canada a chance for a gold medal? That, of course, did not happen. But guys, I think it's very important to point this out. And I used this line when I signed off Vancouver. A sea, a proud sea, a proud river of red and white has been and is flowing out of southwestern British Columbia, coast to coast to coast in our country. There was a new pride, not only with the athletes who went with a different attitude,

they went with the attitude that, hey, we can win and we're going to win. But in our institutions, in our history, you know, Americans used to tell me when they trained years ago, Calgary Olympic facilities were home to many athletes from the States who would come and train. And they'd say, I don't know why Canadians don't pound your chest more and stand up for what's good. Well, Vancouver taught Canada that it's a good thing to be the best if you can and do it honestly. And you do it with dignity and don't rub people's noses in it. So there was a new pride in this country and I think some of it still exists today, but I certainly saw it following

2010 as I traveled this country. And so, you know, it was significant. Dr. Jacques Rogue was the president of the International Olympic Committee. And as you know, Elliot, I'm no fan of the IOC. I always say, I say the Olympics are about the athletes, not the fat cats from Europe and the IOC that run it. But he was the president at the time. And during the first week I interviewed him in Vancouver and I said, Dr. Rogue, have you ever seen this excitement in the streets? I mean, tens of thousands in the streets celebrating. Have you ever seen a games embraced like this? And he said, yes, once before. And I said, where? He said, well, you should remember,

Brian, it was Sydney, Australia, and we were both there. And I did remember Sydney. But he says, Sydney's still the greatest, but Vancouver is a close second. And the second week we talked of the Olympics, and I didn't bring it up, but he said, by the way, the enthusiasm in Vancouver equals or even surpasses what we saw at the summer games in Sydney, Australia. So those moments certainly resonate with me. And I did Elliot 14 and Jeff Olympics. I hosted 12. Two, I did not host. 1976 in Montreal, I did weightlifting with Aldo Roy. Aldo Roy, yeah. Vasily Alexiev from the Man Mountain.

God, he was as big as a mountain from Russia that won the gold medal as a super heavyweight out at the San Michel Arena. And then in Sarajevo in 84. I hosted LA in 84. But Sarajevo, the Winter Games in 84. I did downhill skiing with Ken Reed. We've been doing it prior to the Olympics. But Sarajevo, the Winter Games in 84, I did downhill skiing with Ken Reed. We've been doing it prior to the Olympics. And I can remember Belizhnitsa, the mountain, the heavy snow.

It was delayed day after day after day. But I also, you guys, and it's a lesson for all of us, one of the biggest stars in all of North American sport in television was Brent Musburger. You were looking live in Chicago. Remember the NFL today? You were looking live at Soldier Field. That was a sign-on. Well, the Olympic rights in the States belonged at the time to ABC. So I'm up at skiing with Ken Reed, and this fella comes up to me. He's got a parka on and a ski mask. And he's got that parka with a fur around the edge or up each side of your face and across your forehead. And he says to me, Brian. And I said, you talking to me? He said, yes.

Can I get a ride down with you? And I said, who is this? He said, it's Brent. I said, Brent. He said, Brent Busburger. And I said, Brent, how are you? What are you doing over here? And he said, I'm here getting

audio clips for CBS radio to report on the news I so badly wanted to see the Olympics so it you know it taught me how fortunate I was to host and work so many Olympics when someone of Brent Musburger's stature would do anything to go to them went over there with a tape recorder and was getting audio clips. Dovetailing that, Brian, I had an experience in Beijing in 2008. I was going to watch Phelps, going to the Cube, and I left the IBC and I was in my little CBC bag and I'm thumping, thumping, thumping along. And this person starts not walking beside me, but like prancing. I'd never seen anyone walk like this before.

And it was Usain Bolt. And I remember stopping and one i thought wow i'm embarrassed to walk next to someone who's walking as perfectly as usain bolt was walking and i just like i don't get overcome with like stunned at another human being but at that moment i was shocked into just not moving i'm almost like frozen have you ever had an experience like that with an athlete? Yes, I have, but I've had so many. It could be the world of famous downhill skiers in Sarajevo. It may have been basketball players at the summer games. Kobe Bryant in London, actually, my last Olympics. This is very interesting. It was 2012. Prior to that,

I'd gone out to California to do an interview with one of the Lakers, I can't remember the name, who had a brother playing for the Argos. And I met Kobe Bryant in the locker room and did an interview with Kobe Bryant. So Donovan Bailey and I are going into the main Olympic stadium in London early in the day, and the American men's basketball team was checking in, and Kobe was there. He says, hey, and they looked at me, and I see him talking to me. He says, yes, and I said, my God, that's Kobe Bryant. He says, aren't you the Canadian that came to L.A. to our locker room recently? I said, I am indeed.

I was so impressed to see Kobe Bryant but I'll tell you something Donovan Bailey couldn't move in London without people screaming his name oh yeah oh for sure we have no idea yes yes how popular and how respected the winner of the men's 100 is and people would be yelling as we went out to the stadium. Donovan was at the control desk with me quite often. They would say, my God, it's Donovan Bailey, the fastest man in the world. There's Donovan Bailey. He practically needed protection to walk around the Olympics in London. Donovan's one of my favorite people. I remember him in Atlanta like it was yesterday. Not just the 100, but a

great guy, but the 4x100 relay. You both will appreciate this. You mentioned Phelps, the swimmer, Michael Phelps from Baltimore, I believe. And anyhow, we're sitting at the desk one night and I said, you know, Donovan, and we were covering track and field at the time, I said, who's the greatest athlete, Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt? And he said, he looked at me and he said, Brian. He said, I don't care if it's a rich country or a poor country. Every man, every boy in the world, rich country, poor country, big country, small country, they may not have run competitively, poor country, big country, small country. They may not have run competitively, but they have all run or ran at some time in their lives.

They haven't all been in swimming pools or haven't all been swimming. And yet a wonderful way of, you know, just explaining why the 100 meters is probably the most competitive title for either men or women in the world. These are so many great memories. And I love Donovan too. I think he's a great person. The thing I remember the most as a viewer was Ben Johnson. The day that the positive test came, it was my 18th birthday. So I really remember that day very vividly but just you delivering that you know you know when you do the Olympics that everybody's watching you

but that night everybody really was watching you and you delivered I mean I'm sure everybody who knew you thought you were going to do it. But as a young person watching, I remember saying, man, you know, that is a performance. That is a person under pressure who delivered in a big, big way. And I just want to ask what you remember about that night and what you were thinking in like the seconds before you knew the red light was going to go on the camera. And you were going to go on the camera and you were going to go to air with the with the biggest story of my life at that time sports wise was a night here but it was the next morning when i was awakened early in in seoul i always would give the time when i'm broadcasting airfars used to say hello i'm ryan williams do you know what time it is in

say uh seoul or do you know what time it is in, say, Seoul? Or do you know what time it is in Australia? And the reason I would do that is to involve the viewer. Because if you're sitting at home in Nova Scotia, and it's evening, but it's the next day of the event you're watching, it involves you in the show, makes you feel like you're part of it. That's to get off topic a bit, but it was early in the morning when I was awakened. part of it. That's to get off topic a bit, but it was early in the morning when I was awakened. And remember one thing, Percy Williams from Vancouver won the 100 and the 200 in Amsterdam in 1928. Harry Jerome, the late great Harry Jerome, a bronze in Tokyo in 64. Ben Johnson had a bronze in 84 in Los Angeles. So the centerpiece of the games and to have a Canadian win it, I mean,

it was massive. So I'm awakened early in the morning over there, like four or five o'clock, and they say, you got to get up. There's been a positive drug test involving Ben. We need to get you over there. So they got me over and I signed on, I think it was seven o'clock in the evening in Toronto. And normally when you do a show, they say, day number so-and-so of the Olympics brought to you by Coca-Cola by Molson's by Budweiser all that we drop all that and I just came as they say out of black and television they they faded after station IDs and they came out of black and I said morning from Korea I'm Brian Williams there's been a positive drug test involving Ben Johnson I believe it was Stan Isolo at the time. But I had to go on for several hours and tell the story and answer questions.

I remember Brian Mulroney, when he won, when Ben won, his gold back on a Friday night, I believe, in Toronto. It was a Saturday in Seoul. And during a commercial, Arthur Smith, I think it was, or Bob Moyer said, Brian, the prime minister's on the phone. And I said, yeah, right. And they said, pick it up. So I picked it up and I hear, hello, Brian, Brian Mulroney. And we had a nice talk and he said, Mila and I were so excited. We knocked the dog off the bed. And it was like something 103030 or 11.30 on a Friday night in Toronto, 7.30 on the West

Coast, 11.30 on the East Coast, midnight Newfoundland when he ran. And so, you know, we knew this was the biggest event at the Olympics. And to find out that he had tested positive and was on his way home at the time for four hours, I had to, it's all about preparation. Elliot, you know this better than anyone. Larry King was asked, have you ever been nervous? He said, only when he's not himself. Well, I'm only not myself when I'm not prepared. And I prepared for the Olympics year round, whether it was an Olympic year or not. I'm sitting in my office. I've got Olympic books everywhere. But we dealt with it and covered the story. And then I phoned my wife, Geraldine. I had no idea how big it was.

We knew it was big over there. But she said, Brian, this is here. It's massive in Canada. You have no idea how big it is. So now I walk out of the studio, and there must have been 10 cameras at the broadcast center from 10 different countries around the world all wanting to talk to me. What does this mean to Canada?

How is the country reacting? Are you the host? Tell me what you think. Were you shocked? And a million questions like that. So it was a time that I will always remember. You know, your interviews are legendary. Always enjoyed you talking to athletes or people in power in the world of sports.

Are there any that stand out more particularly than others for you? And as far as your style goes, I was always taught, and this fits me better than any other style, choose conversation over confrontation. Can you describe your style, your beginnings, learning how to do interviews, and a couple of the highlights from your career? Well, I'm doing the interviews or was doing the interviews for the audience. And I always believe the audience is not stupid. And if you're hosting, you're talking to a CFL commissioner, you're talking to an Olympic executive, ask the important question.

And sometimes they're tough questions. You don't have to be confrontational. You don't have to be rude, but you'd better ask the question the audience is asking and i always would say to myself you know i can remember going toe-to-toe with cfl commissioners saying look the league is in trouble here how do you justify this i mean come on you know you don't have to be rude you have to ask the tough question but i always you know tried to put myself if i'm sitting in toronto or in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, this is what I'm thinking. And this is what I want to know more than just how, you know, I never said, how do you feel? Unless it was appropriate, you know, someone fell down during

a race near the finish line, but you don't want to ask those, you know, rehearsed questions. You just want to sit down and have, as Jeff said, a conversation, but a conversation that asks the proper questions. When my day comes, and I don't think I'm going to last 50 years like you did, but I will always remember the people. And as much as you remember the great things that you get to cover and see, and that's the true gift of this, I always remember the people and the moments we shared. Like maybe there was a ridiculous travel story. You know, Brian, the story I tell about you the most was, you know,

you were hosting the CFL on CBC and we were doing a game Calgary at Ottawa and I was the sideline reporter and we were delayed because of a lightning storm. And I was on the field trying to get the referees were meeting with the coaches, trying to figure out when the game would start. And I was on the field trying to get the referees were meeting with the coaches trying to figure out when the game would start and I was on the field and I was getting soaked and I finished my hit and you said wait a sec can I still talk to Elliot here and then the producer goes yeah he can hear you and you said Elliot how come you don't have an umbrella it's pouring out there and I was like Brian the CFL and CBC umbrellas have metal in them and I'm not standing out here in a lightning storm holding a metal umbrella and we just laughed and laughed and then that night when we saw each other after the game we were all laughing about it and those

are the things that I really I really remember so I wonder do you have travel stories or behind the scenes stories that you remember as much as anything else? There are so many stories because the Olympics in particular appeal to those that are not normally sports fans. Much of the mail I would receive, guys, and many of the phone calls would be from viewers all over the country, men and women, young and old. They would say, we're not sports fans, but we're glued to the Olympics day and night, Mr. Williams. To emphasize that point, we don't go down. As Canadians, you wouldn't go down to a bar Saturday afternoon, guys, and say, I'm going to watch Skeleton.

Skeleton had been in the Olympics in 1948 in San Maritz and was not in the Olympics again until 2010 in Vancouver. And John Montgomery, I always kid John, I say, you're from that mountainous area of Canada, southern Manitoba, which, of course, is very flat. And yet you're coming down the mountain at such great speeds in skeleton racing. But, you know, you don't go to watch skeleton at a bar on Saturday afternoon, but after John Montgomery won that gold medal and walked through the village in Whistler, I've got goosebumps just thinking about it. With a pitcher of beer, he became a national hero. And I think that speaks to the Olympics and any questions about travel or memories, I think, are all tied in to the fact that people watched it

for the event, not because they were sports fans. There's so many things that come back to my mind, you know, and I would remember when I was just starting out the fan, you would come in for the round tables on Bob McCowan and you were always so generous with your time. And when I moved over to CBC, you were always so generous with your time. I just love the fact that you were able to call your own shot B and say that, you know, this is my time. You know, you are, and I know you don't like to hear it. You are a legend and you were great to me and you didn't have to be. And I'm so appreciative of our time together. And I'm, I'm glad you got to do this your way, Brian. I really am.

Well, I wanted to do it my way, as I may have mentioned earlier. I've done so many interviews. I'm not sure I mentioned it to you guys, but I wanted to retire healthy. And a friend of mine called me Sunday morning in the Grey Cup and said, I stayed too long and ended up with Parkinson's disease

and I'm confined to the house. So didn't want to happen I didn't want that to happen I just didn't want people saying you know if you did a good job but he stayed way too long 50 years is great I have grandchildren from two years old up to 24 years of age and I just am very fortunate to be able to do things, be active with them. Not sure I would if I'd stayed for a long time or stayed a lot longer. I have been there a long time. But for me, it was just the right time to go. My father died just shy of his 102nd birthday. And when I went out to see him in Victoria, when he turned 100, I said, Dad, is there anything you would have done differently? And he said, yes, I would have retired earlier. So I never forgot that and that all played into my decision. Awesome. This has been wonderful. Brian, you go out on top, right? You go out on top and we're

happy for you. Wish you all the success, all the health and whatever comes next in your life. Enjoy it. You've earned the right to say, I'm going to do what I want from now on. Congratulations, Brian. Jeff, thank you. I'm truly humbled. Elliot, I just feel very fortunate to do what I've done and to do the events I've done. And as I say, the people I work with. So I say, thank you. I've enjoyed it and loved every minute. Now it's time to move on. Hey, my play voice for the Calgary Flames, Rick Waller joins us here at the 32 Thoughts, the podcast holiday party. First of all, Rick, thanks so much for popping by. And what is in your mug today, sir? What is in my mug? mug well it's the same thing that's usually my mug when

i'm enjoying some spirits and that would be a nice glass of red wine probably a california cab i'll get a little adventurous and drink something from france or italy occasionally please don't quiz me i'm not a somalia but uh i know what i like and that's what i'm drinking i i will say this jeff i've only ever heard one complaint about rick ball and that's really good in this business because as you know we knife each other in the back and we complain about each other all the time but the only complaint i've ever heard about rick ball is be very very careful about letting him pick the wine because he's got fancy, expensive tastes. That's the only complaint I've ever heard, Rick. That sounds like that might be coming from Mr. Kelly Rudy

and talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Here's the funny thing about Kelly, and I've told this on another show one time, so I don't want to give up any of his secrets when it comes to wine drinking, but Kelly will often put ice in his wine. Yes, he does.

Yes, he does. Except if it's a good glass of wine, he won't put ice in it. So the giveaway on whether or not he likes the wine you've selected is if he doesn't put ice in it, you've made a good choice. I didn't know that.

That's good to know. That's good to know. Okay. That's very good to know. So you keep an eye on that. And if he doesn't put ice in it, you've made a good choice. I didn't know that. That's good to know. That's good to know. Okay. That's very good to know. So you keep an eye on that. And if he, if the ice goes in, uh, he's clearly not, he won't ever say anything. He's the nicest guy on the planet, but he's not happy. That's good tips.

So, you know, here's, here's one thing I wanted to ask you, Rick. I once got a question and, you know, I don't think we're talking out of school or anything like that, but as part of your duties, you travel on the charter with the flames. Yeah. And one time I had a fan ask me, if you travel on the charter, what are the rules for the broadcasters? And I said, I really can't answer that because I've never really traveled on team charters before, but we have you here. and obviously you're not going to give away anything that people wouldn't be happy about, but can you give an idea of what the rules are for you when you're on a team plane with the Flames? Yeah. I mean, there's nothing really state secret about it. It's pretty straightforward. We travel,

all the Canadian teams use an Air Canada service called JETZ, J-E-T-Z. It's a specific charter service they put together. It's wonderful. They treat everybody extremely well. It is A plus in terms of the service they give. And they've basically taken a A320 or a 319 Airbus, which normally would seat, I don't know, 120 people. And they put first class seats front to back. So it seats 50, 55. And that's what we travel in. So the staff sits at the front. So all the coaches, the management, and the broadcasters, when we are traveling with the team,

we're all in the front section above the emergency exit row and the players sit in the back. And it's, you know, really there's no rules other than the dress code. You sort of follow all the same rules as, you know, Daryl Sutter or Brad Tree Living do. You know, you dress properly, you show up on time and don't be a jackass. That's basically it. But that goes for everybody. And usually I can follow those rules.

So far, I haven't been booted off. I mean, COVID changed the whole dynamic. Last year, we didn't travel at all because we were doing games remotely this year it's been hit and miss um we did that one long road trip out east it was great to get back on the road again just in terms of doing the job you know being in the rink is you know we do as good a job as we possibly can calling off monitors but you can't possibly be as good as you are when you're in the arena so that part was great. And it was nice to get out on the road again.

And being around the team really helps in terms of storytelling and that kind of thing. So yeah, that's the setup. And it's a nice perk to have when you're doing a lot of regional shows because, you know, so much of it, guys, you're grinding it out, right? You're playing four games and six nights back to backs and having to get up early the next morning to catch a commercial flight to try to get to the city and hope you're not delayed in time for face-off it's just a huge headache you don't have to worry about when you're traveling on the charter that is very true um when you're flying i know you're a big podcast guy love it when you're flying or maybe when you're i don't know on the

bike out for a run out for a walk who knows of sports, what are your go-to podcasts? I mentioned before we went on the air, I love your show. I listen to it all the time. I think you guys do a terrific job. Okay, you can come back next year. That's good. You want to come on next show? You want to come on next show?

We should have Rick on the show more, Elliot. Why don't we have Rick on more? I expect a fruit basket any day now. Hey, man, I'm not Derek Jeter. basket any day now but um hey man i'm not derek cheater all you had to do was compliment his podcast to get a fruit pass i love all sorts of podcasts i listened to a ton of shows across all different realms um air politics you know conservative and liberal comedy i love comedy podcasts mark maron's wtf is a great that's good podcast i've been a subscriber since day one i think he does terrific interviews and has fantastic guests the new one

smart list with um jason bateman sean hay, Will Arnett. Terrific. Those guys are hilarious. They get unbelievable guests. I love those guys. Listen to that show all the time. I heard you talking, Reece D. Elliott. You're a big fan of the show business podcast. I found one recently I stumbled onto,

and it's called Dead Eyes, and it's terrific. So the podcast is about this actor who scored a bit part on the HBO series Band of Brothers, which was about World War II. He had a small part. And right before Tom Hanks is one of the producers of the show, right before the day he was supposed to shoot, Tom Hanks is like the most likable guy in Hollywood. Apparently saw his audition tape. And according to this guy, his agent told his agent we're not going to use him because he has dead eyes. So this poor actor thought he landed his dream gig on a huge HBO show. It was suddenly kicked off the show by Tom Hanks. And he goes on this whole exploration now, all these years later, about what happened. He talks to the casting director.

He talks to the actor who got the part that he was supposed to play. All sorts of people connected to the show. I think it's leading up. It's gone on now for a couple of seasons. My expectation is he'll wind up interviewing Tom Hanks at some point, I think, but it's a really well-done series, very funny. And it also, I think, really touches on the angst that people who are in that business, particularly actors, who get rejected consistently, even the best of them,

probably lose gigs nine times out of ten they want to get before they land the one they want. So it really does, I think, put you into the mind of somebody in that profession and how difficult it can be. And it's just a terrific podcast that I can't stop listening to. Sounds excellent. Okay, you've got, you know, I do love the Showbiz podcast, so I will absolutely check it out. Now, the best thing for you this year is that the Flames have exceeded expectations. What did you expect this year, Rick? And when did you realize, hey, this team could be a lot better than I thought?

Well, you never know for sure until they start playing. And my expectations were based on what happened last year. I said coming into the season that I felt like the two single biggest factors in terms of how the Flames have performed this year were going to be Jacob Markstrom and having Daryl Sutter for an entire season and a training camp under Daryl Sutter. They obviously tweaked their roster somewhat,

but primarily it was the same group of core guys back minus Mark Giordano, which was going to be a big hole. But the two biggest things to me were going to be would Jacob Markstrom be the guy that he was minus Mark Giordano, which was going to be a big hole. But the two biggest things to me were going to be, would Jacob Markstrom be the guy that he was when he first started last season before he got hurt? And having a chance to play under Daryl Sutter for half of an abbreviated season and now a full training camp, how much will he be able to implement the system that he wants to?

And clearly it's worked. Markstrom has been terrific. And the team's playing the way Sutter wants them to, almost to perfection. There's always room for improvement improvement so I think those are the two biggest factors as to why they've been successful now did I know that it would work as well as it has I had no idea I think most people have been surprised that they're sitting atop the division I know that technically they're behind in points now because they've missed a bunch of games but still in terms of win percentage they lead the Pacific division at this point when we're talking. So, you know, that's a bit of a surprise, but I thought they

would be better. I really liked a lot of the things I saw out of them when Sutter took over. I mean, they were immediately much more difficult to play against in their own end of the rink. They couldn't score with a dam when he took over last season, but they were far more sound from the red line back. And I thought if you can play that way and give them the confidence to be able to play within that system, that they can then explore the offensive side with a little more success, you might have something. And that's exactly what's happened.

I mean, I think we all knew they'd be good defensively. The fact they've scored as much as they have has been the biggest surprise to me. And put those two things together with solid goaltending, you've got a team that's winning a lot of hockey games. Speaking of surprising goals, some people look at Milan Lucic and say seven goals already. Where does that come from? What do you think the most misunderstood thing about Milan Lucic is?

When they made that trade, when they sent James Neal to Edmonton, Lucic had gone through a couple of tough seasons with the orders. We know that off the ice, he had to deal with some tough things as well. So he was looking for a fresh start. And I think you've just seen a guy who's found his love for the game again. I mean, he's said as much. I know he's been on After Hours with Scott Oak and talked about it. I think he's really enjoying playing.

But I asked him recently, guys, how, as he's gotten older, and he recently passed the 1000 game arc he did last season but they honored him again this year because there was no fans in the building but I asked him how he trains differently as he's getting older and he said he has tweaked his training a little bit he's gone back in the off season to working with Brandon Gallagher's dad out of Vancouver it was the his strength and conditioning coach when he played for the Giants and he says one of the things he's reintroduced into his training is more running, especially for a bigger guy. He's 235 pounds, right? He said, I've always been a really good runner,

but it's so hard on your joints. I sort of stopped doing it as a consistent bit of training because it was beating up my knees and my ankles. But he said, he's gone back to it over the last couple of years and feels that it's really helped his conditioning. So I think he's in better shape and he's a really effective player on the fourth line. I think running is stupid, but I'm not going to tell Luchich that. Running is awesome and you're wrong, Mr. Peloton. I think running is stupid, but I'm not going to tell Luchich that. You know, one last question before we let you go. before we let you go,

there's a lot of young people in the business who someday have the dream of being an NHL play-by-play, male or female, for a team. What's the number one piece of advice you would give them? All right, I'm going to give the same advice that I got when I first started doing games in junior hockey back in the mid-90s. And this was from Jim Robson, who was the legendary radio broadcaster for the Vancouver Canucks.

And then I got the same bit of advice shortly after that from Jim Houston. And that was do as many games as you can do. Yes. It's that simple there. You can't learn it out of a book. You can't watch a YouTube video. You can't just figure it out by thinking about it. You have to do it. I mean, it's like, you know, almost anything else. It's

just practice and reps. Now you'd probably need a certain level of just natural ability to get to the highest level, but you won't know if you have that until you've got hundreds of games under your belt. So whatever it takes to get those reps, grab it. Everybody's got a tape recorder in their pocket now, right? Grab your phone, go down to the ring. Oh, that is great advice. I tell people that all the time. It's not just great advice because I tell people that too. I just think that's fantastic advice. I really do. Get a roster, go down and watch some double-A midget game, you know, if you're allowed in the arena and learn the names of the players and you will only get better. First of all, it's a, you know, it's a job. There's 32 jobs in the world, right? It's crazy when you think about it and even a handful more because you have radio and TV guys

and some national guys, but it's a very limited opportunity to get to the NHL. So it's a lofty goal. You know, those of us who've made it are very, very fortunate. And believe me, I get it every day. I love my job. And, you know, I know that a lot of people would love to do it. So I understand all that. But the only way you'll ever know if you have a chance to get to that level is just do it and do it and do it. You will get better. And that's the only way that you will is through reps. Amazing advice. Rick, this has been a delight. Enjoy the rest of the holiday party. Thanks so much. Best of the holidays to you and your family and friends. Thanks so much for stopping by.

My pleasure, guys. It's a real treat coming on the show, and I wish you all the best, and a very happy New Year. Please be joined by John Shorthouse, the great John Shorthouse. And John, before we get into the short strokes of the season and the hockey and all of it

what can we put in your glass for you sir what are you drinking shorty it depends what time of day it is i suppose it's nighttime uh like sort of end of nighttime i would like to be sipping on a freezer chilled snifter of Van Gogh espresso on ice. Wow! Who is this guy we invited? Oh jeez, shorty. Too good for the rest of us. Well, have you tried it? It's good. It's the candy of vodka.

Yeah. I bought for a bunch of my friends, hopefully they don't listen to this before Christmas, but they have a sampler pack right now at the BC Liquor Store. And it has like the double espresso, Dutch caramel, and some form of chocolate. Wow. In little bottles.

Very good. Of all the NHL cities that you travel to, which one is the best one to drink in? In Gump Worsley's book, They Call Me Gump, he runs down a list of all his favorite places to drink around the NHL. Do you have a similar list? I don't really rank them that way, but I guess everyone seems to have Nashville near the top of their list, just because of the live music experience.

I'm a big fan of Chicago. When you're traveling with John Garrett, you're basically in the same city no matter where you go because you're going to some form of dive sports bar where you can eat without cutlery and have a steady diet of nachos and chicken wings and burgers and all that stuff. So every city is pretty much the same, no matter where we are.

How many WHA stories do you figure you've heard from John Garrett, and how often does he repeat them? I have an awful secret I have to... I've never confessed this before. Excellent. But I've worked with Cheats for, oh God, 12, 15 years now. And for years and years and years, he's insisted that he's the winningest goalie in WHA history. And I actually took the time to look it up one day, and he's not.

But I haven't brought it up yet, because I don't want to break his heart. I wonder if he's the goalie that's played the most games in the WHA. He's very close to the winning winning, if I remember correctly, because this is years ago. I just looked it up. Dare we do this? Yeah, let's do it. Okay, he's fifth and wins.

He's got 100. What is he ranking losses? I'm going to do this all right now. John Garrett is fifth and wins, 148. Don McLeod, 157. Smokey. Oh. Ernie Wake wins, 148. Don McLeod, 157. Smokey. Oh. Ernie Wakely, 164.

King Richard, Richard Brodeur, 165. And Joe Daly, 167. And Shorthouse, you are mean. Where does he rank in losses? Number one. 151. So he was the something-est goalie in WHA history he's third in games played

but it's Christmas we've got to do this give something here properly in shutouts 14 tied with the Hall of Famer Jerry Chevers for second one back of Ernie Wakely so we're no longer the Grinch

we kind of are I haveinch. We kind of are. I have to say we kind of are. You know, I have to say this, John. One of the things I like about the Vancouver group, you and Garrett and Murph, is that you guys do really seem to like each other's company. I've seen broadcast teams before where they talk up a big game on the air

and the moment the mics are turned off and the headsets come off, they never see each other. Yeah. But you guys, you guys have a good chemistry and a good group together. Yeah, no, there's nothing manufactured about it. And we're lucky that way. It is like a marriage in a lot of ways because you spend so much time together and, you know, being in Vancouver,

I don't think we're the most traveled team in the league anymore but at top five for sure so there's just a lot of time spent waiting and you know hurry up and wait that sort of thing and when you're with guys you like and guys that you care about then it makes it a whole lot easier. And it certainly has never, ever for one second felt like work, except for when, you know, Cheech got COVID this year and we had to travel commercial for a bit because we were close contacts. But other than that,

it's never really felt like work. So we just, we just had Rick Ball here at the holiday party and he had some great advice to people that want to break into the industry, essentially get as many reps as possible. And we all need at-bats. Just get your at-bats. What advice do you have, Shorty?

Well, that's funny, because I would be disingenuous if I were to say, well, that's the same advice I would give. I don't think it's bad advice, but it's just not what my path was. I grew up. Do you have time for's bad advice, but it's just not what my path was. I grew up. Do you have time for a tale? Yes, go for it. I'm a Vancouver boy. I grew up in Karesdale, Chinook fan, probably since about I was the age of five. I was born in 1970. I think we're all the same age. And cute hates when I say this, and I don't mean to disparage players or coaches that have been through the system through the years, but it was tough being a Canuck fan.

19 of their first 21 seasons, they were below 500. They had around 15 consecutive sub-500 seasons. That's not easy to do. 500 seasons. That's not easy to do. And so what Cheech kind of grumbles about when I say it is that in my estimation, the best part of the team for me as a kid growing up was Jim Robson, who I thought was the best play-by-play man on the planet. And I still do. So I decided early on, I wanted to be Jim Robson. People say, I wanted to do play-by-play or be a sportscaster. No, I wanted to be the play-by-play voice for the Vancouver Canucks on radio. That's all I aspired to.

And so I did, like, tapes in my basement off the TV. I still have a few kicking around. In fact, the first time I applied for the job in 1994, I sent in a tape of myself before my voice had changed because I didn't have any play-by-play experience. And when I eventually did get hired for the job in 1998, I still had no play-by-play experience. But someone took a chance on me. They knew how much I cared about it, how badly I wanted to do it. I'd spent eight years on TV in Vancouver doing scores and highlights and reporting and producing and all

other things, but zero play-by-play experience. So for me to echo what Rick said would probably not be fair, but maybe the best thing I can say to give people hope is that there's not one way to get there. You know, there are plenty of ways to get there. And mine is just different than others. Honestly, I think it's important to know because, you know, one of the things I tell people is some people know like you that they want to do this business very young and other people kind of go to it later. And some people take the path when they're younger and some people get to it later. I always like to tell people there's not one way. Like if you don't start early, it doesn't mean you can't do it.

And I think it's important for people to hear Rick's way and your way so that they know there's a path for whichever route you choose. I think that's very important. It's important to dream, I think. Yes. I'm not a flake. I don't necessarily believe that if I just spend every waking moment thinking about winning Lotto Max, that'll happen.

But I will tell you, around the mid-90s, when I was in my mid-20s, I was working for Global. I think it was UTV at the time, but whatever. And I would take my dog for walks in the woods. time, but whatever. And I would take my dog for walks in the woods and I would just power of positive thinking, think about having the Canucks job. It was all in my head. So no one really knew what I was thinking about, but it was almost getting to obsession levels. And yet, lo and behold, this would have been around 95 and in 98, the planets aligned and it worked out. So next year will be my 25th year can't believe that it's awesome my last question for you is this you have always said you will not get social media

yeah do you have a secret creeper account to get news on twitter and stuff yes yeah yeah you can't not although i think rick ball has absolutely. I might be mistaken on that. But when I started working in news and sports, and then in my early days of play-by-play, if something was happening, you got a phone call, and then later you got an email, and then after that you got a text. Well, now it just gets thrown out on Twitter. Yes. Well, now it just gets thrown out on Twitter. Like the Canucks have recalled Madison Bowie from Abbotsford, whatever. It's the only way you're going to hear about it. But I wouldn't know how to compose anything to save my life. So Twitter for you then is like this one great wire service, essentially, for you. Pretty much. John, favorite holiday memory?

Okay, I talked about growing up in Vancouver and being a Canuck fan. John, favorite holiday memory. Okay. I talked about growing up in Vancouver and being a Canuck fan. So you'll be shocked to learn it has a Canuck connection. I don't know why. Like I've always had a thing for backups in sports. Like Cheech, for instance, when he came in, Richard Brodeur was the guy, but I always was, my curiosity got piqued when John was playing. With the Canucks, it goes through, you know, Ken Lockett, Frank Caprice, Troy Gamble, Kay Whitmore, you know, on and on and on. And other sports too. Like

I always wanted Gary Hogeboom to play ahead of Danny White with the Cowboys. I love Danny White. Shut your mouth. I love Danny White. Tim Cowan with the Lions. You know, I'd like to see him get some starts ahead of Roy DeWalt. But anyway, one of the guys on this list was Kurt Ridley with the Canucks, who played behind Gary Smith. And in 1977, under the tree, I received two tickets to the Canucks game. We're old enough to remember teams playing exhibitions in the middle of the season against traveling teams.

The most famous being the Soviet Red Army against Montreal on New Year's Eve. Right. 1977, I get two tickets to see the Canucks play Moscow Spartak on December 28th. And lo and behold, it's a nothing game. So Kurt Ridley is playing. Nice. And he's the backup. And I have a thing for backups.

And he pitches a shutout. The late Rick Blight scores both goals. Canucks beat Moscow 2-0 on a Kurt Ridley shutout. And it was the best Christmas present I ever received. That is a fantastic story. And you know, it's timely. Kurt Ridley unfortunately passed away recently. See, that's a great story.

And I would be curious, would you be rushing to the newspaper at the time or the radio to hear if Kurt Ridley would get that start or who the starting goalie would be for that particular game? Well, I certainly wouldn't hear about it on Twitter. Yeah, no, I don't know how I found out when I found out, but I would have been just over the moon because I don't know what it was, just the underdog portion of it or whatever, but I love to see backups succeed. And he had a cool mask with the two stick and rake logos

that went crisscross across his face. I was just so happy to be at that game. That is an awesome story. And you went with your dad, I assume, or did you go with someone else? I think it was my brother. Ah, okay. He's 10 years older than I am. Oh, okay. Well, there you go. Because I got to think it was my brother. Ah, okay. He's 10 years older than I am. Oh, okay.

Well, there you go. Because I got to think, like, if I was eight years old, like the idea of my parents letting me and one of my siblings go alone to a hockey game, I don't know if that was happening. It's good to see the short house parents were a lot more progressive than the Freedmans. Well, I was very mature at a young age. Well, John, I really appreciate you joining us. Jeff and I, we're glad that you came

and enjoy the rest of the party and thanks for joining us here at our table. Happy holidays. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, John. All the best to you and your family. Elliot, this is Michelle Mathod, as you well know. And I'd like to introduce her this way.

She is an associate producer of studio production with Sportsnet's Hockey Central, doing a number of different jobs, comma, for now. The thing about Mathod is, when you look at people where the sky is the limit and there are even bigger things on the horizon and who the next ones are going to be, and she's probably blushing because I know when she hears me say this, Michelle Mathot is one of them. How are you doing today, Michelle? Welcome to the party. Well, what an introduction. I'm doing great now.

Can I just copy that and put that in my Twitter bio? Michelle actually just sent me a text right before the broadcast here. Did I read that correctly? Yes, you did. Thank you. A little extra money coming in the mail. Little extra holiday bonus. Gotta butter the bread on both sides these days. What they're saying. Michelle, thanks so much.

Welcome to the holiday party. What are you sipping on today? Sipping on a little French 75. I'm a gin girl. Love gin. Love some bubbly as well. A little bit of lemon and a nice little champagne flute how else can you celebrate the holiday season seriously you're like the classiest person who's ever been on this podcast holy smoke like i did i just like are we in the 1920s look at you like a little

bubbly and gin i feel like i just walked onto the set of the great gatsby or something like that i know like the the eyes of tj eckelberg looking down on Michelle Mathot as she does the foxtrot. That's right. You got some classic tastes there. Michelle, before we talk about your sports fandom, I just want to explain a bit more to the audience. They may not know the name Michelle Mathot, but they're going to. What's your role? What are your weekly responsibilities?

And we should just let everybody know that Michelle was someone, I think you came in as an intern initially, and you did such consistently good work that you've kind of rose to more and more responsibility. So tell us your career path and what your responsibilities are. You are right. I did start as an intern with Hockey Night in Canada back in 2014. And then after my internship, I started as a runner. So I was making you guys coffee, photocopying stats, ordering pizza for the crew. And then from there, I just took on additional tasks. And it's been about three years now I was hired full time to be an associate producer. And my role in that regard is

producing some of the opening teases that you'll see on Hockey Night in Canada, working on our Hockey Central shows throughout the week. So I'm involved in putting together highlight packages, some more fancier sort of sizzle reels. And I've also started to work in our remote productions department as well, doing stats for games and traveling to arenas. And one day I hope to be a remote truck producer and produce more of our live events. What's it feel like to have ambition? Yeah. It's a beautiful feeling.

I'm lucky. I love what I do. I think so many of us at Sportsnet love what we do. We have such a unique job. And I've had a great opportunity where I've hustled, and I've made connections. And each step of the way, there's been someone who's looked out for me and someone who's pushed my name forward. And that's really given me an ability to dream and to feel like there are opportunities. Let me pick up on that real quick because, you know, like I'm kind of a mentor to Elliot in a lot of ways. He talks a lot about how influential I've been on his career and how crucial a person in his life I am. Who's your

Jeff Merrick in your life? Who are some of the people that have really helped you along, Michelle? That's a great question. I would say for me, it's Kathy Broderick, who is the coordinating producer on Hockey Night in Canada. Oh, she's going to be so mad you mentioned her name. That's the best part of it. She loves to be under the radar. I know. So I reported to her when I was an intern and the first day I sat with her and I remember we worked together on putting together a piece that Cassie Campbell Paschal had done. And Kathy has been someone that inspired me. She was maybe the first woman that I ever met that was doing something that I wanted to do that made me really feel like there was a place

for women in production. And she's always been someone that's looked out for me and cheers me on still in what I do. And to reference Cassie from that story, Cassie's been another person that has always sort of been there and supported me and gives me sort of inspiring words and inspiring, just has always been someone that really pushes my name forward and respects what I've done. And she's another person that's incredible. And growing up watching her play and then having a relationship with her now is someone that I can't thank enough for really looking out for me and making sure I'm comfortable in this space. Well, she's a, she's a great teammate and she, she was as a player and she is since she's been at Sportsnet. So I'm, I'm not surprised to hear that. I don't know anybody who knows Cassie would

be. So the question now becomes, these are the people who treated you great when you were running for us, who was the Sportsnet on air personality who treated you the running for us who was the sports net on-air personality who treated you the worst like who was the most demanding with the coffee requests you know things like that you know yeah and why is it elliot i was gonna say it has to be david amber like there's no question it's david amber you know you're gonna hate that I say this, but everyone was really good. I can't think of, I know. Can you make up a story of someone who treated you really poorly? Like Kelly Rudy, he made you like go get his dry cleaning or something like that.

There was. Oh, this is going to be good. Oh, I can't wait to hear this. Yes, yes, she's going to do it. There was a very dramatic time as a runner, and I can't remember who specifically needed their pants hemmed, but Deb Berman, who's in charge of making you guys all look fabulous and force that wardrobe,

she asked if I could go get these pants hemmed and gave me her corporate card. And I just felt like I was in the devil wears Prada. Devil wears Prada. Yeah. Yeah. Because I was, I think it was raining. I had these pants.

I was trying to get a cab who accepted American express, which seemed like a very difficult thing and had to go. And there was a specific place I had to go to get pants hemmed. You know, when you're a runner, and your job is to make sure everything's organized, I just felt like the pizza order wasn't going to get in that night. So I had the extra stress of that I felt like, you know, coffee wasn't going to be ready for the boys when they come in. And I just remember feeling like I was in a movie but at the same time I thought to myself this is the beginning of my career I'm gonna look back at moments like this

and you know look at how far I've come and for some diva on hockey night that's right I have to say like we all have stories like that of of us starting out I mean I remember and Spears he talked about it in the in this in this holiday party, we're doing Blue Jays regular season and Leafs playoff games on two radio stations our company own, and I'm running the tape back and forth, and a Joe job, but this is the way you start. And if you screw it up, they're going to go get someone else. I totally understand what you're thinking in this moment. And I like the devil wears Prada reference. Cause we all know Deb is kind of like the Meryl Streep and a wind tower character. And that if you screw it up, you're dead. And number three, are you not saying the name of the person because the pants belong to one of the two people interviewing you on this podcast? I honestly cannot remember. If it was either of you, I would have straight up said.

Oh, okay. Just checking to make sure. Yeah. I got soaked in the rain because you guys needed your pants hemmed. I thought you were going to say because one of your guys' legs was too fat and therefore you ripped the legs. Because I was doing too many squats. That's why I was just all jacked. Working on your game.

Yeah. I want to ask you about the Pittsburgh Penguins because inevitably when you and I start talking about hockey, Michelle, around the shop or elsewhere, the conversation turns to the Pens. You've got some pretty cool stuff too, like some pretty sweet swag that you've received over

the years from the Penguins. I know Colby hooked you up with a couple of things as well when Colby started working with us. Where does your fandom of the Penguins come from? My dad really inspired me to be really big into hockey and Mario Lemieux was someone that my dad idolized and got me into. And but my parents will give me credit for I really embraced this team. And it was the team that I wanted to cheer for. And that, you know, I started pushing my parents to say, let's go on road trips to Pittsburgh to see the penguins and, and let's go to Buffalo to see the penguins. And, And it started to become a part of our whole family. And, you know, my mom has always loved hockey, but she is a diehard Penguins fan. She'll tell me that she's got a shirt in the playoffs that they've won every time she's worn it.

So she has to keep wearing it. And it really became a part of who I am and such a special part of my family and really nice moments that I've created with my parents over the years. And, you know, especially around the holidays, a lot of my Christmas presents growing up would be a ticket to go see the penguins in Pittsburgh. And, and my dad and I, or my mom and I would go down and we would, you know, stay in the hotel the night before and then go across the road to the old melon arena and it's such a part of who i am and i think that the city should pay me to be an ambassador because i will tell i will tell anyone that listens what a great sports city it is and um how special it is to be

a fan of that team and getting to really watch this team succeed. And it's incredible. And they're a part of who I am. I have the area code for the city of Pittsburgh tattooed on my ankle. I am a Pittsburgh girl through and through. Wow. And is it Steelers, Pirates, in addition to Penguins? When I was in third and fourth year of university, height of my love for the city and university,

I would say to my friends, oh, there's this concert in Pittsburgh. Do you guys want to jump in the car and we'll go down and see a concert and have a fun night in the Berg? And so I ended up interning at a radio station for two summers in Pittsburgh. That was a part of the Pittsburgh Tribune. And then from there, I became a huge Pirates fan and always like a a part of the Pittsburgh Tribune. And then from there, I became a huge Pirates fan and always like a little bit of the Steelers as well. Growing up, that was really the team that my dad and I enjoyed watching in the NFL. But the summers I spent there,

I went to a lot of Pirates games because I could walk from the apartment I had rented. And same thing, I'll say to my friends now, hey, in the summer, let's all get in the car and go see the Pirates play. And that's such a gorgeous stadium. It is fantastic. It's such, again, if the city of Pittsburgh is listening, I think it's a wonderful place for families to go. There's so much to do. And living in Toronto, it's like a five and a half hour drive. And I can't say enough what an underrated place it is to visit and such an underrated sports city as well. Hang on, your favorite piece of Pittsburgh Penguins swag is what?

So I have a lot of stuff that I've collected over the years, but recently I've become a fan of looking for vintage Pittsburgh Penguins stuff. Right. So recently I purchased a old school Pittsburgh Penguins starter jacket with the late 90s, early 2000s Penguins logo. And I think I might even, it might even be a little too cool for me, but I, I absolutely love it. I did get tickets for Christmas when the penguins were in Toronto, I guess last month I wore that to the game here in Toronto and I felt really cool. Well, I guess my final question for you is highlight of your athletic career. Okay. Athletic career. Wow. So I actually didn't start playing hockey until I was an adult. I grew up doing competitive dance since I was about eight years old. So I did jazz,

tap, ballet across the board. So I would say I've had a lot of success in competitive dance. And that's, I would say, sort of the height of my athletic career. I always wanted to play hockey growing up, but my parents and I guess my dance teachers were kind of concerned that that was something that didn't really go together and that I could get injured in one and couldn't participate in the other. And so when I was in my early 20s, my dad finally had the moment where I said, you know, I'm going to sign up to do beginner hockey. And my dad and I went and bought all my gear. And then from there, I've sort of been picking up since then. But that's been such a great experience. And my dad is like the classic hockey dad who will come watch his 30 year old daughter play hockey now. So awesome. But yeah,

dance was always my thing growing up. And I think that a lot of my love for music and performing, I've been able to sort of carry that over into some of our production as up. And I think that a lot of my love for music and performing, I've been able to sort of carry that over into some of our production as well. And I've really enjoyed that. That's fantastic. Listen, Michelle, happy holidays. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Health and happiness to everyone.

And like we mentioned off the top, you are a blazing star in this industry. Just make us one promise. Just make us one promise right here so we have it on record before we sign off with you. Can you make us one promise? Of course. When you are running all of it, do you promise to hire me and Elliot and Amel? Yeah, don't forget the little people. Let's make that promise right now. 100% because this is my first podcast experience. You guys are the first guys who have ever asked me to be a guest, so I will

remember that forever. So you guys are set. We are hitching our wagon to you. Thank you. You guys are wonderful. Thanks so much. Have a great holidays, you. You too, and happy holidays to your families. Can't wait to see you guys in 2022. Thanks a lot, Michelle. All the best. Awesome. Thank

you guys. Elliot, there's Luke Fox from Sportsnet.ca. Let's open up with the obligatory question. Luke, are you a drinking man? I have to say yes. We are in a pandemic, so I would say yes. Have you found your alcohol consumption has gone up? Probably a little bit. I hate to admit.

Commensurate with the numbers? Yeah. I try only to drink if I'm really happy or really sad. So, yeah, it's probably gone up a little bit. Or when I'm really bored or when I'm doing something around the house or when I'm out with friends. What's in your cup, bud? I'm not that picky, but I would say if it's a holiday party and we're trying to class it up, I might go for an old-fashioned. Oh, wow.

Nice. Yeah. Now, let me ask you something. They have old-fashioned in a box now. I haven't tried it. Okay. I was going to say, is that acceptable? Or would Luke Fox say, don't insult me with that? That's what I'm curious about.

Are you a real snotty or serious old-fashioned person? Hang on, I'll say it better. Are you like Jason York with your old fashions? No, I am very low maintenance in most things. How I dress, how I drink, I'll take whatever's there. So no, I would try it. I haven't tried old-fashioned in a can, in a box. What is it? In a box, I see. In a funnel? In a funnel. In a baseball helmet? Yeah, I'll do it.

I actually would like to see that, you drinking an old-fashioned out of a baseball helmet. I could really handle that. Hey, we're just trying to get numbers on the website, Luke. Let's go. Come on, bud. So you got a big promotion this year, Luke. Chris Johnson, unfortunately, moved on, and you got a very deserved this year, Luke. You know, Chris Johnston, unfortunately, moved on. And you got a very deserved step up in your role.

You work really hard. And you are really low maintenance. How has it been moving? Like, I mean, you were on the Leaf Beat before. But now you're the number one person. How have you found it? I found it a blast. I don't know if I'd call it a promotion.

I just kind of, you know, there was a gap. And then they needed somebody to step in a little bit. Luke, if you don't accept compliments or praise for things you may not have really achieved, you will never go anywhere in this business. Come on, we're trying to butter you up here. We're trying to make you good. I appreciate that. It's been a lot of fun. The big thing is more time to the left of Sean McKenzie on screen, which is, you know, he's kind of showing me the ropes about how to come off smooth on TV. And I'm still trying to catch up. I will never matches, you know, his outfits like that. Those are off the charts. And then the other thing is, is more travel. So I've gone on the big disastrous trip at the beginning of the season

where they were falling apart in Pittsburgh and lost in Raleigh. And we went to Chicago and the Kyle Beach news broke out and it was a pretty intense trip. And then some positive trips like the Western Swing where they just rolled through California

and were killing every team in sight. So it's been a lot of fun. What I've found is you learn a lot more about the team when you're on the road, even in these times that you're not allowed in the dressing room. So I feel like I have a better handle on the team just spending more time around them. How was Vancouver?

Your most recently comeback after not even a game? Yeah, it was a week away for one game, the Edmonton game, and that was it. It was a bit of an odd one for me personally. It was kind of nice because we skipped Calgary and went to Vancouver a couple days earlier, and I have two brothers, two sisters-in-law, and I have two young nephews in Vancouver. So I got to spend a little extra time with them, and I've hardly seen them. So that was nice. That's good. That game getting scrubbed was a real drag. I know we were very much looking forward to it on hockey night. And I would imagine locally in Vancouver set the scene for us because

there's a lot of storylines here. Bruce Boudreaux, you know, six wins in a row, turning around the Vancouver Canucks, optimism once again in British Columbia, the Maple Leafs riding a hot streak as well. What was the mood like in Vancouver leading up to, well, I guess a game that ended up getting scrubbed? You're onto something there, Jeff. Like 30 games into a season, you very rarely get a game that feels like an event, but that one felt big.

You know, just being around the city, you saw a lot of sweaters both for the Canucks and the Leafs. And, you know, I went to the hotel pool and I even saw some tattoos, Leaf and Canucks tattoos on a couple of the patrons there. Like the diehards were going to come out for this one. It was sold out. Tickets were going for over asking, you know, in these times where attendance hasn't been necessarily the best around the NHL. I know the secondhand market, the tickets were jacked up, going to be a full building. It was going to be the last full building before BC dropped down to 50% capacity. And there was a buzz in town for that

one. The Canucks are finally playing well. And I think there's probably was a little bit of leftover feelings from the last time the Canucks were coming out of their pandemic game. And they just crushed the heavily favored Leafs from last season, if you guys remember that one. Yeah, they had just gone through Edmonton and starched them three games in a row and riding high. And then Vancouver halted them. Brought them back down to earth. So even though they rarely face each other, except for the Canadian division, I feel like there's a little extra juice.

And then you throw in the fact that, you know, morgan riley and alexander kerfoot local guys i'm sure they would have had lots of family at the game so it felt like it was going to be a fun one so it's it's a real bummer but you know fingers crossed they get it going in the new year the number one obvious expect expectation is when you're on the company time you you do your work, right? But I always encourage people, get a run in, do something that you like, go see something that you like, because we have to turn our brains off from time to time. When you were in California, where you were in Vancouver, is there anything in particular that you did that you got the opportunity to do? You said, you know what? That was really cool. That was such a great opportunity to do. Yeah. I try to maximize that a lot,

Ellie. I remember my very first road trip was Washington. So I did the full tourist thing and went to the Smithsonian. It was nice. Take it all in. I mean, California, the Leafs were, you know, very cruel to us in that they didn't take a single day off. So every day you're either doing morning skate plus a game, or you're doing hop on a plane and hustle to practice. So it was a serious work trip. But that being said, you're in California and I have some friends out there I got to visit, which was nice. Took in an underground rap concert because I'm a big music guy. So you find your free time is at night when you're traveling with the team on the road. So that's kind of when you try to take advantage of the downtime if they don't give you a practice

day off. That's going to sound pretty funny because people are going to be like, don't you go to the games at night? Luke just skips the games and goes to underground rap concert. No, I'm talking about after the game. Let's just make sure here. You know, I don't want you to get in any trouble because somebody like, here's this and they're like, wait a sec, isn't

Luke going to games at night and he's going to underground rap concerts. So now I've seen you quote rap lyrics before on your Twitter feed. And sometimes I've seen you refer to articles. If something big happens, whether, you was with with any kind of rapper or artist or anything like that there's certain articles you quote tell us about your love for that kind of music and how it grew and who your favorites were and like if you have to listen to one song if you're in a drive and you're angry at something and you're like i gotta blow off steam what are you turning up to 15 and just belting out in your car? You know what song I love? I got five on it by the loonies.

I'll throw that song out there. Give us a couple of bars here. Let's go. No, no, I would rather not. It's a party. Let's go. A couple of old fashions in you. Let's go. But yeah, I mean, my, my era is like my favorite era is ninetiess but I stay up on the current stuff too I'm a bit obsessive about rap music before I took this job I me and my friends started a rap magazine called Pound in Canada and it had like a 10-year run and I got to interview a ton of ton of rappers like Jay-Z, Kanye, Gangstar a bunch bunch, a bunch. And it's always been my other passion is it's sports and music. And I came from a very musical household where there was always music playing. And I was the only one that was listening to rap music, though.

My brothers all went into rock and one of my brothers is in a band. And yeah, I have a very big collection of CDs and vinyl and my computer. I'm constantly getting notifications because there's not enough storage because I have so much rap music on there. So, yeah, it's a big passion of mine. I try to go to as many concerts as possible, too. That's awesome. Did you play any instruments growing up? Just the ones and twos, Jeff.

I messed around DJing a little bit, but no, I'm not very musically inclined. We have a piano in our house and got our son in piano lessons. He also has a guitar that he messed around with. He hasn't got proficient at that yet. There was always musical instruments in my house. I just didn't have the skills and I didn't care enough to put in the practice. I'd rather go outside in the driveway and shoot pucks or shoot hoops. I was the same. My parents had me take piano lessons. I just stopped them. And I have to admit, I kind of regret it. I was also the worst saxophone player in the history of Yorkville's collegiate at all three saxes, the alto, tenor, and the baritone. I know there's also the soprano sax, but I never played that one. But my son, he's got a really good ear for it. He really has a real talent, but getting him to

play it sometimes, like we have the piano, we have a guitar, or not a piano, a keyboard. We have a guitar, we have a drum set, but getting him to play it, it's like fighting a war against him like you know it's just getting him like you know he'd rather play his switch or he'd rather watch youtube yeah but i i know this feeling i'm laughing at this because i know exactly where you're coming from yeah it is a battle and the thing is he's actually really good at it like he picked it up very fast but getting to stick with it is, is tough. And then when the pandemic hit, we tried some virtual piano lessons where we'd prop his instructor up on an iPad and try to angle it so he could see him. And it was just like, all right,

what are we doing here? Like, this is, this is getting a little bit much, but if he has the instructor in the house sitting beside him, he's really into it. And then when we go visit his grandparents, which we plan to hopefully between Christmas and New Year's, my dad plays the piano and tries to do it every day. So he loves sitting with him and they do it together, which is great. That's fantastic. Christmas memories from growing up, favorite gifts, anything like that? My favorite gift, there's a couple, but my birthday is really close to Christmas, and my memory is bad, so they all kind of blend together. So I can't remember if this was birthday

or Christmas, but I'll give it to you anyway. And it is applicable to the theme of the podcast. So when I was about, I would say eight or nine years old, I was Gretzky obsessed. And this was... Oh, really? Yeah. And my dad didn't really like the Oilers, but I liked the Oilers. And what I came down to and what he had made for me was a plywood cutout of Billy Smith. So we could put it in front of the net like a shooter-tooter, but this is probably before they even had the word shooter-tooter.

it in front of the net like a shooter tutor but this is probably before they even had the word shooter tutor and he was cut out life size or semi life size and we could prop it up in front of the net so i could be gretzky and i could pretend to shoot and score on billy smith pick corners and there's a cut out five hole and everything and he had painted it up to look exactly like billy smith but there was one problem wow Wow. The goalie stick, he accidentally had it so it was going underneath his leg, so he would have been tripping himself. He forgot to draw the goalie stick over top of the pad, but I forgave him for that.

Hang on a second. If it was Billy Smith and a goalie stick issue, there'd have to be someone standing beside the net like Billy Smith trying to slash you. Well, I was just going to say, was there a movable arm to hammer you as you came around the net? There Smith trying to slash you. Well, I was just going to say, was there a movable arm to hammer you as you came around the net? There was no movable arm.

But that would have been a nice feature. I mean, he was talented, I guess, at woodwork, but not that talented. You know, I just want you to mention that you liked the Oilers, but your dad didn't. Who was your dad's team? He was a Leaf guy. Okay.

And I don't know if it was out of spite, like just trying to have a different favorite team or just I've, I was a front runner maybe. And just, this is the guy everyone was talking about. So yeah, I fell in love with the eighties Oilers. Well, you know what, as a kid with his parents too, it's probably half front runner and half spite like most of us really. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Luke, you know, we, Luke, we really appreciate you coming on, man, and great work so far this year. You've done a real nice job on the Leaf beat,

and the good thing is if they have a good year and break through in the playoffs, you can take a look at CJ in the press box and point and say, it was all me, buddy. Yeah, well, yeah, Merrymas to you guys and shout out to to cj he you know what he was actually a great mentor of mine even though i'm a little bit older he taught me a lot about covering the beat so uh yeah i i miss that guy on our team but uh yeah you got you guys have a great great holiday thanks yeah he's a good man. We miss him too. Thanks, Luke. Appreciate it, pal. Take care.

So, Jeff, a couple weeks ago, second week of December, you and I were part of the Sportsnet team down at the Board of Governors in Florida. David Ambers, Sean Reynolds, also on this podcast. Producer Dan Fernandez and our great camera people, Alvin Wong and Hugo Regimbald. Eric Engel stayed a couple of days later to golf, and then unfortunately, he tested positive for COVID. And Eric had to stay in quarantine until yesterday, Thursday, and he can fly home early next week. But we're glad to hear he's doing okay, and we're glad to have him on the podcast. Eric, how are you doing? I feel okay. I've been better. week, but we're glad to hear he's doing okay, and we're glad to have him on the podcast.

Eric, how are you doing? I feel okay. I've been better. I've also been worse, so no complaints. I think everybody out there has had a hard year and a hard time, certainly of late with everything flying around, so hope everybody's doing well and to better times ahead. Amen. Well, we're really happy you're feeling good, Eric. You had to stay in your hotel room. How did you pass the time? What did you do?

Well, I wasn't golfing, that's for sure. No, the truth is I went down and covered the board of governors meeting in Palm Beach. And because the CDC found out that I spent two days with Merrick and Frege, and they were like, you need to isolate immediately for as long as possible. It's not an easy thing being in isolation in a hotel room. Wouldn't recommend it for anybody. So wear the masks and be careful everywhere. I was super careful about everything and vigilant, but as we've seen around the world, this thing is just sneaking up and getting everybody. So all things considered, I was sick for four or five days and with not terrible symptoms, but I wasn't feeling great. And then turn the corner and continue to turn the corner and hopefully there's no long lasting lingering effects. I'm happy to be vaccinated.

I was actually planning on getting a booster shot right before I found out I was positive for COVID. We'll work on the natural immunity and get the boosted immunity soon and get back to covering the Montreal Canadiens. Now, is there anything you watched or read to pass the time that you would recommend that you said this is good and people need to know about it? I was all caught up on Yellowstone and on Dexter,

so I didn't have that, but I did start watching the show The Americans, which is amazing. That is a great show. I dropped it in the middle and I have to watch the show The Americans, which is amazing. That is a great show. I dropped it in the middle and I have to watch the last couple of seasons simply because of time. But The Americans is a great show. Good choice. Yeah, good suspense.

One of my favorite movies is Spy Game and I like all that kind of stuff. And I like those books. And The Americans, can't recommend it enough. Really great. And Keri Russell is amazing in it. I know we're post Hanukkah now and this is Christmas time. What's this time always been like for you? Well, growing up, it was hit the outdoor rinks for as many days in a row as possible.

There was a point in time, I think, got into my teenage years where they barely got the outdoor rinks up in time. Like the bureaucracy around Montreal always screwed it up. And that was a frustrating thing as a kid because that was all we wanted to do. I grew up in an era where you spent most of your time outside. We had Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo and that stuff, but we didn't spend a lot of time playing it. It was like, get out of the house and go and come home even after your mom wants you to be back there. That's kind of what I associate this time of year and being around family, which unfortunately wasn't able to do this year.

But that's the last couple of years of our lives here. So, you know, of course, it's the Canadians and hitting the road. And they always take extremely long road trip at this time of year. And usually they're in the mix with things. Not the case this year. So it's weird. Everything's weird now, isn't it? Everything is weird now.

So when I was out out i got texts like i thought venereal disease could beat covid and i have one exec and i we have a really tough relationship and he was like hey i know we always don't see eye to eye but you know hope you're okay did you get many texts like that that made you laugh or kind of made you smile in the middle of all this? Yeah, I did get a few. I took some time to reach out to some people that I had a meeting to reach out to for a while. One of those people was Marc Bergevin. I hadn't reached out to him since he lost his job in Montreal and just wanted to let him know, you know, look, you know, I know you have to deal with pain in the asses like me. And that's only one of the challenges of the many that you dealt with

10 years as GM. And like not a lot of people could have held that chair for as long as you did. And you stuck to your convictions. And that's true. And I always respected that about you and tried to treat you with respect

and wish you all the best. And, you know, you wrote back saying, I hope you're feeling better. Good luck in Florida and we'll catch up down the road. That was nice. And yeah, I reached out to a few different people and heard from a few different people that I didn't expect to hear from. And the

hockey world's amazing. It's such a close-knit community and a lot of reporters out there and a lot of different scouts and people that I interact with on a daily basis. So always nice people are thinking of you and it's reciprocated. Are you a New Year's resolution guy? Not really. Although I am certainly in need of being like a new year's resolution guy not really although i am certainly in need of being like a new year's resolution guy like i i could stand to lose 20 pounds maybe that's a good one to get on the books right away start the new year that way because i'm not a resolution guy either like i'm with you i don't i don't like disappointing myself you know setting goals i know i can't keep hang on a second that's like saying i'm not going to enter a

friendship because i know ultimately i'll have to leave or that person will have to. It's like starting a friendship knowing you're going to break up. Yeah, that's why you and I were never friends, Merrick. I just thought it was because you had no time for me in the same room. When the pandemic started and we were forced to get out of this insane schedule around the Canadians and around hockey that we keep. And I was done running around on the road and locked inside. And finally, some structure introduced into my life. I got on a regimen where I worked out every day for like 180 days straight, ate really well and lost like 40

pounds. And then hockey got going full force and things got insane with the Canadians. And slowly but surely, my routine kind of went, well, you know the word I probably would have used there. So I should set a resolution to get much more in a healthier lifestyle. And I think that's what I'll do now that I'm putting it out there in public. Well, one thing that we've learned in the last year is that Chris Johnson has made us all look bad. As a matter of fact, I really beginning to uh hate and dislike him for it he's made us all look terrible i'm right there with you you know this year the canadians so you and the for the canadians their players their organization their fans the last year has been

a total roller coaster a surprise ride to the stanley cup final to this year where they're at the bottom of the nhl and the frustration is showing. What's it been like covering the team in the last year, Eric? Elliot, I actually go back even further than that, like go back to 2020 because it just feels all so jumbled together, like from the team kind of bottoming out, or I should say just barely bottoming out to ending up in the bubble and beating Pittsburgh and going to Philadelphia and working in the summer and Zoom and then like all the crazy ups and downs and trauma that comes with working in Montreal. Like it has been the most challenging two years of my life. And I love my job. You guys know that about me. Like I love

what I do. I love doing it. But so much of what we do and being able to distinguish yourself as a reporter, as a writer and columnist and all that stuff, even as a reporter to get certain information, like being in the room is essential and haven't been there in two years. So that's been really difficult. The never-ending drama, it just seems so reinforced that in the Canadian markets, when the snowball starts rolling downhill, it becomes an avalanche. You start to really feel for the people involved too, because it would just be different elsewhere. Part of what makes Montreal such a difficult market. It's unbelievable how fast things roll downhill. And when there's positive momentum, it's amazing how it goes the other way. The Stanley Cup final, getting all the

way to there, that playoff run, you can't take anything away from the Canadians. It was, they played unbelievable hockey. It was incredible to watch. It was incredible to document that journey. One day I hope to write a book about it. I just think that was an amazing experience. And now, you know, like this year, the enemy in our job is monotony, right? Like you do need the ups and downs. And I always say like a 10 game winning streak by the end of it is just as boring to write about as a 10 game losing streak. I think I'd take the winning streak, you know, like seeing the Canadians win seven of their first 30 games is ugly, especially following that season. The real word for it, it's been absolutely insane. That's what it's been. Let me finish up my part of this with asking you a question about the Montreal Canadiens,

the team itself, actually a player himself a question about the Montreal Canadiens, the team itself, actually a player himself. When I say Montreal Canadiens, what's the first player that flashes to your mind? It's Carey Price. More so than like Rocket or Beliveau or Flower? Yeah, like I would think of Guy Lafleur. I would think of Guy Lafleur. I thought you meant like current. Saku Koivin. Oh, that's an awesome one. And that's my era, right? so oh that's a good pick too but you know to be perfectly honest i don't think carrie

price is a bad pick at all i like the question when i go current i think carrie price but when i think about the canadians i think about saku koivu because i grew up you know watching the canadian i'm 38 years old and like the peak of watching of watching the Canadians for me were Saku Koivu's Canadians. And obviously what he went through was something. And to be able to cover that guy and build a relationship with him is one of the highlights of my career. Because as much as I idolize him as a player,

he is an amazing person. Eric, I just want to say, we're all glad you're feeling better. It sucks. And we're all going through it together, but it sucks. And you're our teammate. Thanks, guys. I almost believe you. Yeah, I'm with you on that. This whole thing has sucked horrible and for everyone. And it's

obviously raging all over the place. So I hope everybody's okay out there and just be careful. Awesome. Thanks, Eric. Thanks a lot, Eric. Glad to chat with you, bud. Thanks, guys. Bob Stauffer with us, Oilers analyst. Also, you can check him out on Oilers Now. Bob, first of all, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, best to you and your family. What are you drinking, sir? Baileys and coffee coffee and then a little bit later on we're going to dip into something a little bit stronger bob we're really happy to have you here at the party but you know that we do refer to you as the oilers propagandist are you at all bothered by

this description well nuance at times elliot is lost on some people they don't appreciate that it's a term of endearment that you're providing me with. And so for the 98% of the listeners or your readers on 32 Thoughts, they get it. That other 2% though seem to take it in the most literal of terms. So 98% of the time I like it and I think it's funny. The other 2%, well, I really can't help them. So, Bob, I wanted to ask you about your career. The thing I like most about you, Bob, is you started from the bottom and you kind of worked your way up into a big position in Edmonton. Your Oilers Now show is very popular there.

Give us the Reader's Digest condensed version of how you started and how you got to where you are. Well, Elliot, I lack the speed, talent, agility, coordination, toughness, character, and discipline to have even been a Western League player, let alone an NHL player. That's good. So I was going to have to take a different path and it wasn't easy.

You know, I had to plant trees while I was in university in the summer to pay and to be in a position where I could do Golden Bears play-by-play during the season. I love the game. I love hockey. I also love football. I really love those two sports.

I got a little bit lucky along the way, grinded, learned to grow up through a Golden Bears program, which expected men to have terrific time management skills and to conduct themselves in a certain fashion. I had to grow into that. That didn't happen overnight for me. I basically made every possible mistake in my journey along the way that you could. But you know what?

If you have relentless passion in your pursuit, at times you can achieve. And frankly, I got a little bit lucky. So, you know, went from working behind the scenes in NHL broadcasts for Molestar throughout most of the late 1990s and then got my own radio show in the early 2000s. And then that morphed itself into an opportunity with the Oilers. At one point, I thought I was going to go work for the Eskimos, but got the chance to join the Oilers in 2008. And 14 years later, I have somehow managed to stay there.

At what point do you think that it might be a career? Oh, I'd say probably 1989, 90. Like the first year I did golden bears play by play i thought it was possible it's funny i remember back then thinking if i could just make x and do oilers games i would have reached the pinnacle and i used to think that way in 89 90 when i was doing golden bears and i kind of impressed us more upon people the opportunity to work behind the scenes and do font court and stats with visiting NHL teams, that helped me learn how to sell. And Jeff, we're all salesmen. I don't mean to paraphrase Arthur Miller and Willie Loman, but it doesn't matter what you're doing, you're

selling yourself in some fashion. And I did the play-by-play for hockey and football, 89 and 92, but by learning how to sell, that gave me a second crack at it in 98 to do more radio and that led itself into getting a you know an afternoon drive sports show on the all sports station in 2002 because the guys there said if you can sell university hockey on a campus radio station with the politics you know on a station like that imagine what you could do on a commercial am station so you got to be able to sell and you got to have a you know some luck and you got to have some people that believe in you along the way and on the journey and that i wouldn't say it was an accident it was if anything i probably blew the opportunity to play i wasn't mature enough at 13

14 15 and 16 i had enough physical talent at that age. My center's the head coach at Penn State, Guy Godowski, my major AA center. And if I had listened to more people when I was 14, 15, I surely would have played in the WHL. I joke about not having the ability. I had enough ability. I just wasn't ready for the challenge. And I allowed myself to get deterred as a player. And I refused to get deterred in my pursuit in the media. Let me follow that up really quick.

Who is then, because we all have these people in our lives that we've seen, and you say, wow, this person is a can't miss. Oh, this one loaded with skill. This one's going to the NHL, going away. Who are a couple of people, maybe just one or two, that you can think of along the way that you looked at and you said, this person is going to the show, and then for whatever reason, it just didn't happen.

Who are those guys for you? Yeah, I'll use a couple of WHL examples because that's the league I, you know, in terms of developmental league that I'm going for. Yeah. Pavel Brendel. Yeah. I worked on Sportsnet's broadcast doing font cord and stats the first year of Sportsnet, 99-2000.

He was unbelievable. We had the Sunday games back then. I saw him on a Saturday night in Regina. He had two shorthanded goals in 25 seconds. He was unbelievably skilled. And then, unfortunately for Oilers fans, Griffin Reinhardt. Griffin had the physical tools, but I don't know if he had the drive. And I guess that's the message like if there's

people listening that want to work in the industry be it as a broadcaster or in hockey operations you gotta you gotta have the ticker you gotta have the passion and it's an extended metaphor for what the players like that's why I'm so optimistic about where Edmonton's gonna go David Dreisaitl and Darnell Nurse are the three hardest working players. So every guy that comes out after them in the draft and joins the organization, that's the standard that you've got to get to. So when your three best players are your three hardest working, you're going to be okay. And I didn't realize when I was 5'10.5 and 170 pounds at 13 that I needed to work on my footwork and needed to compete relentlessly all the time. And I just stopped growing. And so I was the same size as Todd Ewan when I was 12. And by the time I was 14, he was three inches taller than me. The point of that is, is you

just got to keep working at it. You guys have both worked at it and you're constantly, I wouldn't say reinventing yourself along the way, but you're certainly learning and the smartest people never stop learning ever. And that's a myth that's out there. We have a younger generation and they're really smart and they're really astute. I mean, my daughter had to get me on to do this today because I had no idea how, right? Like they're really astute and sharp, but the reality is older people that are relentlessly growing as well have that experience behind them as well and that's why they can be very effective later on in their careers so work ethic is uh you know critical but in terms of guys that didn't pad out there's two guys out of western league that were both fourth overall picks pavel brendel and griffin

reinhardt that i thought when i saw them play in junior i thought they were both going to be really good. So I got to tell you guys the story of when Bob and I first met because I do Bob's show weekly in Edmonton, and I get a good kick out of it because Bob's personality just makes me laugh. So years ago, I'm working for the CBC, and on Thanksgiving Monday, I'm out in Edmonton for a CFL on CBC game where I'm working as the sideline reporter. And we're flying home that night after the game, but we have to wait for a while because it's a

red eye. So Chris Cuthbert, who's working on the broadcast, takes me to a sports bar for dinner in Edmonton. And Bob, I'd never met Bob. He walks up to the table and he starts talking to Chris and Chris goes, Elliot, have you ever met Bob Stauffer? And you know what the first thing is that Bob ever says to me, Jeff? What's that? This is the first thing that ever comes out of his mouth to me. Go get me a drink? No, no, no.

He goes, yeah, Elliot, I got better ratings here in Edmonton than Bob McCowan. And I'm looking at this guy and I'm going, are you freaking serious? Like, who is this guy? I love it. And I learned, and this is, this has got to be close to 15 years ago. More than that. Okay. Maybe it was because I'm my first year at hockey night was oh three Oh four.

So it's, it's around there. And like, I remember the time he walked away. I said, I said to Cuthbert, I said, is that guy for real? And he goes, that's Bob. I always remember that story. I laugh every time I think about it. And that's you. You're a big talker, but you're a very, very generous person.

And I always remember that story. And I think about you, and I laugh my freaking head off at it. Well, I'd like to think I've become a little bit more modest since. And I will tell you, you can make numbers work anywhere you want. You know, Bob McCown obviously kind of set the standard for the type of shows that he did. His show was on before our show at that time when I was on 1260, which is now a TSN affiliate, a Bell affiliate here at Edmonton. which is now a TSN affiliate, a Bell affiliate here at Edmonton. And we were able to, Mark Spector and myself, and we're not tight,

but we were able to sometimes opposites just work on the air. And we had a little bit different perspective. We did have, you know, some pretty positive years together, but there were some growing pains along. And, you know, you tell me that story and part of me cringes, but the other part of me just laughs and says, yeah, that's who I was. Bob, that's, it's just you. It's just you like awesome embrace it don't cringe like i just remember at the time i was like who the freak is i can't say what i really said i was like who the freak is this guy but the more i got to know you i was kind of like ah that fits it's pretty funny well i mean it's

and it's funny how far you can go right like in Like in terms of, like there's been a real, you know, I used to sit on the plane the first year, first couple of years I did the order. So 2008, I started doing the color for the team. And then again, picked up doing a show in 2009. And when I first started, you know, we used to have videos on the plane and Dustin Penner was on the team and he had all those celebrity rows.

And I used to just love Greg Giraldo, you know, the Harvard educated comedian. Those celebrity roasts are phenomenal. They are really, and Rod Phillips, the hall of famer and myself would sit there and on days where we were flying in other cities,

you know, we'd have a couple, you know, things weren't going great for the team. We needed that. And I just thought of how incredibly like you watch them today and you're like, Oh man, you couldn't say any of that stuff today it's so politically correct and we live in such a a woke world but you know even in terms of how far you can push the envelope with what you

say on the air today compared even back to you know 2005 2006 2007 you got to be at times really careful and what's happened here is stuff like what you guys, you know, the podcasts, there's a little bit more creative and artistic flexibility with that. You're not as limited as much, and you're not necessarily worried about every single word that you utter. Maybe you guys are, you know, we had,

we had Joffrey Lupo's dad, Craig Lupo is a lawyer at Edmonton. We had his firm on retainer, uh, legal services in case we went too far. We had to do it. That was part of the condition. So it just shows you how far things have sort of gone over the last several years. Bob, let me ask you about Loud Buildings, because in 2006, I went to Edmonton when I was working for CBC and it was the Anaheim series and the San Jose series.

And it was easily one of maybe the loudest building I've ever been in. That's how crazy Oilers fans were for their team on that run. What's the loudest building you think you've ever been in? Well, Edmonton's loud in the playoffs, but there's a difference between the playoffs and the regular season. And I mean, the Oilers have been incredibly fortuitous to have had the support that they have had from their fan base,

given what their fans have gone through over the last 15 years. That said, the last couple of seasons have been pretty good. But part of it for me, Jeff, is the building, the structure and the makeup of the building. Like San Jose has a loud building because it's small and it's compressed.

The roof is not a million miles away. Like it's difficult for Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Edmonton with the structure of their facilities, and they're all reasonably new buildings. It's difficult for those buildings to be loud. Like I find Toronto to be quite antiseptic, and I don't know if there's, there's, you know, half that lower bulls.

That's because you're from Alberta and you hate everything about Ontario and Toronto. I don't hate everything about Toronto and Ontario. I like you two guys, but, uh, so, so, but no, like in Toronto, you guys know lower bull, half that lower bull is gone until the first commercial timeout each intermission, right? So you come back and...

It's quiet. It's a quiet building. It's a quiet building. Montreal's fans are really knowledgeable. They can read the game and their passion. Chicago was a loud building. I don't know if it's quite the same anymore because we haven't been there for a couple of years. So my favorite buildings to go to are Chicago and Montreal montreal but i would say san jose when they were full and when they were really good

and they were good for a number of years that was a loud building but part of it just had to do with the roof and then there's buildings you go to and it's just like i'm going to be really intrigued to see how good florida is if and when we get back there because the others haven't gone there this year but that can be a quiet building when there's only 6,000 or 7,000 fans. Arizona, it depends if there's travel. Like if there's travel, there's 3,500 Oilers fans at those games in Arizona. Bob, we didn't ask you to rank the whole league. We asked you to pick like a couple of them, okay?

All right. Everybody but not Toronto. How's that, Elliot? I love it. Well, Bob, it's great to have you on. Thanks very much for joining our holiday party. You're awesome. Thanks so much, Bob.

Make sure you pack in a couple waters, boys. Yeah, we will. Absolutely. Thank you very much, fellas. All right. Take care, Bob. Merry Christmas, bud. Merry Christmas.

Emily Agar joins us here. This is our final guest, by the way. Our final guest. And I would submit, Emily will probably be our most interesting guest. No offense to any of the other guests, but she is a triple threat. She is a host.

She is a producer. And I can't wait to talk to her about this. She is a drummer, Elliot. And she's going to actually drum out the podcast this week. So very much looking forward to that. First of all, Emily, welcome to the party. Thank you so much for doing this. Can you guys be my hype men for life and introduce me like that everywhere I go?

This is the way actually that I would have introduced you, Emily, if I was doing it. I would have said that Jeff and I represent the aging out of sports net like they're looking at our birth certificates one born in 1969 and the other born in 1970 and they they are saying your time is coming to an end truth and you wait wait wait and you represent as one of our more recent hires you you represent the future. Like when I look at people like yourself and Caroline and Faisal and Daniel Michaud, I look at it and I say, those are the people who are taking over and will be making sure we get to the buffets in our old folks' homes pretty soon.

Oh, stop it, Elliot. Just make sure the jello is served on time, Elliot. Some Jell-O and whipped cream. Well, no, thank you so much for having me on here. This is awesome. We really appreciate it. And the first thing I want to do is, you know, tell us a little bit about yourself. You were recently hired by Sportsnet.

You know, we did a video together. And to be honest, Emily, like I was really flattered you asked because I actually thought like it was bad for you to have me in one of your videos. But, you know, Jeff and I and Alma, we think you have a really bright future and we just want you to tell us a little bit about yourself and your path to here. Well, first of all, I appreciate that. But yeah, no, for sure. I can. So before I got started with Sportsnet, I was working for MLSC. I was a host for the Leafs and the Raptors, doing interviews with the teams, but then also with a focus on music. So whenever

a touring act would come into the building, I would sit down with them if time allowed and if it all worked out and do some interviews with them and create content around the actual artists in the building. So really just like a host for MLSC and Scotiabank Arena. And then I've also dabbled in kids television. So I was doing a little bit of YTV and TVO Kids for a little bit, which is pretty funny when I think about it and I say that back. And I'm all over the place when it comes to my career. I've touched a little bit of everything and that's good. Yeah. Leading up to Sportsnet, I have like, I'm just so excited to just be here. There's just so many talented people here and there just seems to be so many opportunities here to do so many things. And I think that's why I'm excited. What she's really trying to say here, Elliot, there's a lot of

talented people here and there's you and Elliot too, so I was waiting for Emily um okay I want to get right into the drum talk here I'm gonna let you do it because I'm gonna sit back and let you do it I just I just want to ask you Emily like all your experiences interviewing bands yeah what was the solo or group act that you walked out and said that was the most incredible interview I've ever done? The first one for sure was Ed Sheeran, the nicest guy. Like everything that you hear about him is absolutely true. He's the best. And then second is James Blunt.

He is so funny. I don't know if you guys follow him on Twitter, but if you don't, you should. He's very sassy and he will sass anyone that tweets him. And he's like that in real life too. So that interview was just like hilarious. It was very sarcastic and just great. I would say those two for sure. Jeff drum time.

It's all yours, man. Am I allowed to do drums now? Okay. Yes, you are. First of all, when did you start drumming? Oh man. I started drumming when I was like probably 15, 14, 15 years old. I am obsessed with the Foo Fighters.

I love the Foo Fighters. And it was Taylor Hawkins that got me into wanting to drum. I would watch YouTube videos of him over and over and over. And I was like, I want to do this. I never actually took drum lessons. And anyone that watches like some of my videos of me play, like if a professional is watching me, they're like, she took drum lessons and anyone that watches like some of my videos really play like if a professional is watching me they're like she needs drum lessons for sure because i taught myself you're so so you're it's okay so your pivotal moment was taylor hawkins and he's good

he hits the drums hard oh yeah like that's like because i mean girl does certainly but man taylor hawkins hits it hard and he's got a great look and he's actually a decent singer too as I'm sure you know so so my moment like I was already playing drums I started right around the same age that you were when you started and I did take drum lessons Mark French was my drum teacher Mark French played with Blue Rodeo was on one album the Casino album he was with them and toured with them for a couple of years. But I remember going to see Sting. This was during the Dream of the Blue Turtles tour at Kingswood Music Theater. And this is when he had this ridiculous band.

Kingswood, by the way, that brings up so many great memories. It was such a great venue. And he had Brantford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis' brother was in the band. Daryl Jones is playing bass. But Omar Hakim was a drummer that I knew a little bit from an old fusion band called Weather Report. So Sting hired the best musicians in the world, paid them top dollar. And this band was incredible.

And I remember I couldn't take my eyes off Omar Hakim. When I saw Omar Hakim playing with Sting, that was it for me. I just became obsessed. And that's when you started? No, I'd already started a little bit, but I was like, okay, yes, it's kind of cool. And I'm taking lessons and I'm doing this in school band. But when I saw that show, like that was it, it was just like, all I wanted to do was play the drums. And you're saying that Taylor Hawkins was essentially your Omar Hakeem for me? Oh yeah. Big. Taylor Hawkins. And I would say a little bit of Dave Grohl. So here's my question to you.

Like you obviously know... I'm the host. Hold on. How dare you? Okay, go ahead. I'm taking over. Who would you say is the better drummer between Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins?

Ooh, Dave hits it big. Dave hits it hard. But I would say that as far as being a technically better drummer i'd say taylor hawkins is and a more versatile drummer as well thank you so much i have this debate with everyone and everyone seems to argue that dave girl is better which like obviously he is one of the greatest drummers of all time in my opinion but i don't know i think taylor hawkins is like his range is quite different he is you

know what he's and he's more versatile too the first time that I ever saw Taylor Hawkins play was with Alanis yes because he was with Alanis Morissette's band and you know there's a pretty big difference between Alanis Morissette and and the Foo Fighters now think of it you know if you want to position an argument to your friends say I can see Taylor Hawkins playing with everyone from Alanis Morissette to the Foo Fighters. Can you see Dave Grohl playing with Alanis Morissette? Absolutely not. No. I can't see it. Because I'm with you. I think Taylor Hawkins is the more versatile drummer. And then from there, I got into old jazz, like Ed Shaughnessy and Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa and all these types

of drummers. But to me, and even to this day, like maybe you listen to music the same way. When I listen to songs, the first thing I listen for, even before, you know, a melody or anything like that, is I listen to what the drummer is doing. I'm the same way. And I can't stop. And as I get older, I'm like, okay, I got to stop just listening to the drum track.

I got to stop just listening to what the drummer is doing because I'm missing out, but I can't stop. Emily, how about you? It's, you have an ear for it. When you play the drums, it's just, you do it like without even noticing that you're doing it. So when was the first time you went out and played for people? How old were you? Never. I will. No, I will not play. Like you've never done it like at a talent show, like a school talent show or anything like that?

No. So the only thing closest that I've ever done to, so every holiday season, my brother and my cousin come over and we do an Agar jam session. So I'm on the drums, my brother's on guitar, my cousin's on bass, and that's it. Like maybe some family members, but that's it. And then I'll post, like I do like playing drums

for my socials and like for the internet and stuff. So I'll do stuff like, I do like playing drums for my socials and, like, for the internet and stuff. So I'll do stuff like that, but never in public. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to send an anonymous note to, like, the Sportsnet staff that you want to do something on the next company town hall. Absolutely not, Elliot. Absolutely not. Drum us in. Drum us in.

Any other drummers? I mean, I'm a big fan of Danny Carey of Tool. I mean, that guy's ridiculous. You know, all the drummers from the Zappa band, from, you know, Chester Thompson to Vinnie Coliuta, all the way through Terry Bozzio to Chad Wackerman. Do you have any other ones or any other, you know, people that come to mind right away when you, when you think about drummers you really enjoy? We'll move on after this one. I know Elliot's like, we're talking about something else about something else no no i actually think this is really good i have to say i love talking drums i love talking music travis barker for sure i love his style yeah josh dunn from 21 pilots also has kind of

a similar style to him and i've recently really gotten into 21 pilots of course dave roll taylor hawkins neil pierre was also amazing great chad smith chili peppers meg white i'll throw her in there like that was one of the first female drummers hang on meg's great yeah meg helped make a huge sound that's a two-person operation and i i know that she doesn't get the headlines for it but she was perfect for that setup and you know what she didn't try to do anything that would wreck a song yeah like she played the perfect parts for those songs and people i look at it go like ah it's pretty simple stuff it's like no man you have to have a discipline not to stray from what she was doing i was always impressed

with meg i thought she was fantastic and growing up she was like one of the first female drummers that i actually got into so okay elliot we're done going on about drummers. It's good because before I want you to introduce, you're going to actually end the podcast here. Last year, Carolyn Cameron did it with her incredible music talent, and this year you're going to do it. But before we get you to introduce what you've put together for us,

I just want to ask you about your goals. Like Jeff and I said, you're new to the company. You've obviously got a big future here. What do you hope to do? Like when, in 70 years, when your career is all done, what are your goals and dreams and things you want to accomplish? Oh, wow. This is quite the question, Elliot. You know, honestly, I could go on and say a hundred things, but I think at the end of the day, and this is something that I have always said to myself I just want to be able to relate to people that has been my biggest thing I want someone who turns on you know the TV or turns on digital or social or whatever it is that they're watching I just want them to

feel like I'm almost their friend and that's something that I've always aimed for I just want to be able to be relatable and just make people feel comfortable and you know another thing being a woman of color in sports too like that's a huge thing coming into sports that that was a huge thing for me you know as a kid growing up I never really saw a brown woman on tv in sports and to be that you know get into that role. And perhaps like maybe it's a young girl who turns on the TV or digital or social and they see me there. Like that's enough for me.

It's huge. That's yeah. You know what? I'm like, I love that answer because you didn't really give a specific. And if Elliot was asking me that question, I would do the exact same thing, Emily. Like I don't set goals. I just sort of make myself available and wherever and wherever, wherever the career takes me, it takes me.

Absolutely. Like I don't set myself up for, oh, in five years, I've got to be here in 10 years. I better be there. A thousand percent. I'm much more, much more in tune with work hard, make yourself available, see where the career takes you and, and do as many things that allow you to grow as a broadcaster. I think that was, I think it was about as close to a perfect answer as we could get, Emily. Thank you, yeah.

And I just feel like goals change so often too, right? Every year it changes for me. The business changes a lot too. So where we thought we were going 20 years ago when Jeff and I were really trying to hit our peak and where you're gonna be going, it's gonna be so different. I do think riding the wave is the smartest thing.

Totally true, totally true. Absolutely. So do think riding the wave is the smartest thing. Totally true. Totally true. Absolutely. So tell us what you've put together for us. How are we closing out the holiday party, the Christmas party edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast? I personally don't think there's a better way to close out the holiday party

than with a good old cover of Run Rudolph Run by the Foo Fighters. Wow. Of course. So, yeah, I'm going to do that. I'm going to do that song. Jeff. Yes.

Amal, Merry Christmas. Happy holidays, boys. Always great to do the podcast with you. Amal, thanks very much for all your work editing the garbage that Jeff and I say. And to everybody who listened, have a great holiday. The best possible Christmas,

the best possible holiday season, a great 2022, and get your mental break. God knows we all need it. Amen. Turn off that smartphone for a day and at least clear your mind. Emily, the floor is yours. When shall we three meet again In thunder, lightning, or in rain

When the hurly-burly's done When the battle's lost and won There to greet upon the heath There to greet Macbeth That's, uh, first year university Opening the three witches from Macbeth. We can open it that way.