Barn Burner: Boomer & Pinder with Rhett Warrener - FlamesNation Barn Burner: Bo Levi Mitchell Live In Studio

Episode Date: November 15, 2022

Live from the Tower Chrysler Studios in Marda Loop! FlamesNation Barn Burner: Boomer & Pinder with Rhett Warrener Tuesday November 15th, 2022- Flames LA Kings Game Recap - Bo Levi Mitchell Live in Studio - Trade to the Ti-Cats - Losing the Starting Position in Calgary - Relationship with Dave Dickenson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Away we go. It is a Tuesday edition of Barn Burner here in the Barnburner Studios, the Tower Chrysler Studios, in fact. It's boomer along with Pinder. And there's Rhett Warner. The Rettster. The Rettster is with us once again wearing his hip t-shirt as we get ready for a big program today. You got a little bit of a Lloyd Christmas going on here. What's that hair? Are you combing it forward? I just thought I hit the gym. I hopped out of the shower. I was running late. It's a pretty good Lloyd. I could put a hat on, but I don't care. First, I've heard of it.

Spiky. To give a crap meters low today or just in general? I'm going to check a pulse, make sure he's okay. In general. Just in general. Workaholic. Let's check in. Make sure he's all right.

Almost spilt by coffee. Spilt. Who's on the mug there? quite a photo. A little man. I don't know who kid it is. It's one of them. Yours.

One of yours. Flames last night, 6-5 win at the dome over the L.A. Kings. Never in doubt, Dean. Retro lines look good. Like we were saying. You score six, you're going to win. You get everybody rolling.

All the lines are contributing. It's easy hockey for the flames right now. I mean, things are great. Like Brett was saying, they were due for some bounces. They were going to run into some bad gold. At some point. Good balance. Yeah.

Lines made sense. Chemistry between... Yeah. I don't know why anyone's doubt in Sutter, guys. He's got rings. Like, who in the right mind would question the reigning Jack Adams trophy winner, a multiple-time Stanley Cup champion, and a future Hall of Famer? Who would do it?

Who, like, how high would you have to be? What kind of drugs would you have to be on the? The size of the balls of the guy. Yes, seriously. Who would have all take on? With what Sutter's putting out there on a nightly basis. I don't know who to do it. I'm sure somebody is.

Must have been Francis. Somebody drinking or smoking too much, that's for sure. Not a perfect game. Really? By any strength. Did you notice that? Not a perfect game. But a feel good game, you know, it's not because if you get one, you win one.

Now if it's two, it's two in a row. It's a trend. And you kind of get straight. That's right. That's how that works. Two for two on the homestand. somehow avoided the constipation and radiation of that first game back. Yeah, how did they do that? Just incredible.

Brett, can you kind of like, because people, some will be new to the... Yeah, all that travel, when you're going up and down in those airplanes and such, there's a lot of radiation that you have to deal with. Plus the barometric pressure, it takes a toll on the... It can cause constipation, to be quite honest, is what it is, and somehow the boys got through it. It can wreak havoc on your sphincter. It's what we've been led to believe. That first game back is a real humdinger.

That's why teams, it always happens. Tough to play when you're smuggling a bag of potatoes, when you're all bunged up. Lindholm to Foley both with a goal and two assists. Lindholm, eight shot attempts, five on target. He does like his line mates. The coach wasn't lying. Who would ever doubt the coach?

He has to like who he's playing with. Apparently. Don't experiment with your best four. Why would you do that? I don't know why he hates the other guys, but he sure likes these guys. That's great. Yeah. Doesn't seem like a guy that would hold a grudge.

Doesn't. Right? He just seems very affable, very nice guy. Seems quite polite and thoughtful. Scandinavians. They don't hold grudges. No. We'll just have a steam together.

Drink a little bit of vodka and we're friends on again. Delicious. Now, the final was 6'5. Hang on now because it was 6'3. It was 5. You're telling me it was six, five? I went to sleep, but it was six to three. What do you mean?

Because see, here's the thing. As you said, you score six, you're going to win a lot of games. You could flip the coin and say, you needed six to win last night. I kind of think that's true. Is it the same? Because I here's the thing. If it was four three, not six three, call me crazy. I think they get more than four shots in the third period.

They really found a nice way to kick it into neutral and miss nets and shoot into shin pads. and there was an urgency level that seemed to be a little higher with L.A. than Calgary. Did you have a shot total bet on? I might have a shot total bet and was like, what in the fuck is happening? Three shots, 15 minutes into the period? Because I was going to say, two shots. One of the first things he brings up is, I only got four shot. I could get a couple extra shots.

I need eight shots in the third to hit the over. All of all of it. Eight, that's it. Bitching about the shots. It's like, well, somebody had the over on the. shot clock didn't get it last. And it certainly wasn't, uh, you know, a huge divergence between the plot line, which was L.A. took over the third. I mean, that's really what we should talk about, not the shot total, but that L.A. kind of had their way with the flames. Um, well, they certain,

after Copatar, ping, scored that goal. They, yeah, they turned it on. You needed a massive marks from save in the final 20 seconds to preserve a win, which feels ridiculous when you're up 5, 2, and 6.3, but they'll take the two points and place it in the standings. And I think you probably get an incomplete mark on process and a full marks on, did you get two points? Yes, you did. Red, I know you hate goalies, but even you had to be impressed with this save. Well, it's good because he sieved out on the other ones. Absolutely. It's nice that he makes up for the easy save.

Which is the sieve out one? You want to walk us through? Because Copatar's posting pretty nice. So he can't go from his right to his left and make a save ever? Like, what are we talking about here? Is that the off the end wall Kempe that you're talking about, right to left? Well, any of them. Okay. Well, Fial.

All right. Fiala. Kempi is Fiala. You're right. Cali of the second. Yeah. A lot of Cali over. Either way, I'm, you know what?

All of them are right to left. I'm noticing a trend. I'm a goalie guru. Who's the guy you have on there used to talk to? Woodley. We got to get it back on. Yeah, wouldn't they? I'll ask him how Mark.

Ask him how Markstrom moves from right to left. Coppatar was posted in on his right side. So that would be left to right. But there was five. He was moving right to left, wasn't he? On the, was it the Kempe one, the Fiala one? Copatar two, wasn't it? Did anyone watch the game?

Oh, no. Well, here's the problem. There were so many goals. and he made the same. Yeah. There were so many goals. It's five. It's hard to be fair.

Too many. Too many. Too many. Trevor. Trev. Too many. But they did need six. And you could see as soon as that Kopitar goal went in, Darrell was furious.

You know how pleasant Darrell was last night? Didn't do media. Didn't even come out. Said, you know what? Ryan Huska, you talk to these guys. Which reminded me the only other time in the Darryor we did do a post game when Markstrom absolutely got let up like a. Christmas tree and he sent out La Barber to do the press.

That's right. Barb's like, hey, everyone, how are we today? Maybe he's getting wise in his years and he realizes that he's like a 24-hour rule or grumpy father. It's like there's no sense me going out here talking to the media. I'm going to go ballistic on my goaltender for not making a safe. I'm going to just stay in my room. I'm not going to say anything negative.

I'm not going to give these dopes any reason to criticize me. he's tired of having Warner picking away at his postgame comments. That's right. Everything I say, Warner's trying to twist it. So I say something nice about Lindholm and he's got to stir up some shit that I'm trying to, he's the best forward. So what does that mean for Hubert?

Oh, he's tired of you. Warner. I doubt it. Got his big new podcast out there. I got a feeling that Darrell Sutter's never seen her. He doesn't have any thoughts on that olive tree? No. You mean he's not getting late to?

practice or morning skates because he's hanging out on the YouTube to see what you've got to say no timing doesn't work for him he's working that's right um now so you went to sleep did you watch come did you watch it this morning have you caught up on it i did yeah i just watched okay so i do want to ask you it was six to three sorry like i know when at what point is it what are you allowed to pass out i just wonder if you were working for the flames say scouting if they're like, oh, it's six to three. There's Red heading down to the elevator. Is that different or no?

I don't know. I'll guarantee I could watch a game on TV if I'm scouting. Yeah, why not? Yeah. Whenever I feel like it, that's the beauty of it, right? That's why you got the tape recorder. So let's tape. Let's go through some of the things we brought up yesterday.

Huberto gets back in. First game back after what I'm missing two or three. Score is early. What did you make of his response to getting back in? Well, I looked like he was in. into it and excited and trying to prove the coach to tell him to beat it. So I liked it. It was good. He was a bit.

Offensively. I liked that he was passionate about scoring that goal. It looked like it meant something to him. Boy, he just missed on that power play. We're in the high slot where he rips one over the bar too. Had some looks.

Yeah. So. It's funny you bring up the emotion, because they have on the replay. You can see that it does mean something. That's a huge. weight off of his shoulders. He's a proud player. This hasn't gone as he's wanted.

I'm sure he hasn't enjoyed the interactions through the media with the coach when he's hurt on the table and someone's suggesting he's taking a shit. This is a, this was he's back, he's healthy enough to play and he wants to contribute. Yeah, vindication, baby.

Third liner. They almost missed it. I don't even know if you get a number of these damn lines. Like I play Coleman and Dylan Dubay, is that a fourth line? Or are you just spreading your fourth line over four lines? It was Daryl's quote.

He was asked why Hubert O was on the third line. He says, we've tried him everywhere else and hasn't worked. I mean, yeah, it's just okay. So number the lines then. What's the second line called? I don't care. I don't care. So on one of the other lines,

Lindholm skated with Tifoli and Rizekka. Good night for those three. Tafoling's not really good. He feels like more of a leader than I thought necessarily he'd be. Like when they need emotion, he's really been there for them. big tying goal. What was it against the Devils in the third there? They end up losing that game in the road.

But I've been impressed with the give a fuck meter. You didn't need to go F. Geez. I mean, South Street. Sorry, South Street, Burger. Just paying out the yinger on this. And all the kids that were listening. And they're not allowed to anymore.

Be nice if I could let my kids listen to the show, guys. Now, Adam Rozichke, we had a little bit of fun. Oh, the chemistry with he and Lindholm. Last night has to be his best game in the National Hockey League. just way more confident with the puck, hanging on to it, making some plays. I thought, by a wide margin, it was his best game that we've ever seen him play in Flamescullers.

We've seen good shifts, you've seen good periods, but it looks like he belongs with those guys rather than like, okay, we need to keep you here for a bit to move someone else into a better spot. Almost looks Monahanish to me. On the wing. right?

Yeah, a little bit. There's a bit of Monaghan to him, which I'm not trying to say is bad or good. I just kind of watching him in how he moves around and how he plays. But if he can, look, it's not about taking your three best players and you're putting all on one line. If you can, is Adam Rizitschka one of their top eight, nine, ten forwards? I don't know. But if he can play on that line.

That helps him a lot. And it's sustainable. And the other two aren't suffering because of it. If he's adding a little bit and if he's better because of it, perfect. Lindy's been really strong in the last five games, I want to say, relative to that forward group and the start of his season. Remember, it was that second line, Magiapani, Dubay, and Cadry that carried them off to that great start five and one. That top line you're saying, it's only in the power play. They're not really doing much five on five.

Linholm has really been awesome in the last week or so, relative to the start. Took a shot late, and I don't know if you saw it, well, I don't know. But right before the final buzzer, shot block takes it off the foot. and then didn't even get to the net for the, you know, the head tap with Markstrom or the stick. He just went straight off as he was doubled over. So hopefully nothing too bad there. But he has been better.

Manjapani finally scores. Monkey. Did he need that? And you look back to how many goals he had at the start of last season, how tremendous he was. We were done talking about him because every night there was something that you could take away that was impressive about him.

And he has been, for the better part of two weeks, really a non-factor in any aspect of the game. Not affecting the game enough, and the chances he's had, look snake-bitten. Bad combo, right? Gets, again, it's so many, I was going through this morning on pretty much every King goal, or every Flames goal, a King mistake. They preyed on that King's D. They caught him pinching early. They were dumping pucks getting on him a bunch.

Yeah. On that Richie goal, Edler gives him the puck and then falls down, Dersie pinches twice. Goodness gracious. On the man on the Maghapani goal, Fiala goes to turn it up, misses it all together. I'll take it, pass it to Magiapia. So the Kings, I'm guessing, are better than what we saw last night. Absolutely.

Four game winning streak. And if you recall that series against the Oilers, like when they're playing their best, they're really tight defensively. That's as bad as they've been defensively. that we've seen them in that building for a while. Now, you're not going to be happy with this one. I could see you're dying to shit on somebody. So what do you got?

Well, I was just, you're right. I am dying to because I'm like, it's awesome and it's been great. The flames, yeah, monkey off the back and all this stuff. But the kings did contribute to. Big time. Right. Like, it wasn't like the flames went into the game and just owned the puck from start to finish. The kings were garbage.

Well, you forget, the kings were up 2-1 here. How does Todd McClellan want to play on the road when you're up 2-1 early? The exact opposite of how they look for the rest of the first and second period. Yeah. Like exact opposite. Turnovers, guys caught up ice, horrible defensive lapses. I was waiting for Jonathan Quick to do a stick snap or something. Yeah, like pull me.

I'm out of here. This isn't on me. Because the flames got six. Six on 21, I think it was. I had put in my notes. They had, I think it was 15 or 16 shots. they had four or five goals and about three breakaways or other 10 bell chances. Blenholm has the breakaway.

Every shot was an unbelievable scoring chance. So yeah, the king certainly did contribute to it. And I guess if you want to glass half empty it, you got a bunch of gifts. You scored six and you still were a miracle save away from having to go to overtime. I can't read too much into it, though, because like Pindro's saying, it's circumstantial to, the game's being played. You get up six three. You slow down.

Yeah. So if you're up six three and you're at just inside the blue line, halfway through a shift, you're dumping it on the corner and trying to get a good clean change. You're not like working your tail off to get to the net. And on top of that, you're just naturally going to relax and the Kings are going to be really, really hungry. This is why a lot of people that work in the data just throw out stuff when teams are

up by three or more. It's just it's not really apples to apples anymore because one team's not that interested in scoring a lot more compared to the other. And to be fair, like, yeah, okay, they need a miracle save at the end. How many times is a puck going to go off McKenzie Weger's skate and into the net like that? That's a, you know, that's a very fortunate bounce that kings get. Not that the flames didn't get some as well, but like, it's a weird set of circumstances.

Yeah? Happened the other day in Rochester. I mean, it happened. Is that right? Yeah. What game was that? He was scouting in Roch. What game was a game in Roch?

Yeah. It was actually gaming the Rochester Americans versus the Cleveland. The Lake Erie Monsters. Lumberjacks? That's right, the Lake Erie Monter. Yeah, there you go. The Cleveland. Is that what they're called?

Did you go to Dinosaur barbecue after? That place is legendary. Tell me what the dinosaur barbecue. No, no, no. I didn't. Healthy eating. I can't eat that stuff. Well, you look good.

Somewhere in that shot there. There's Rhett down low. Yeah, you look good. buddy you look good so now they are off uh to uh f la they got some time in f la you you pull side you want to be on the beach you do what you want is that good or bad i remember darrell's first go around in calgary he hated going to the california or anywhere on the west coast is he burn easily what's the story why does he not like florida wear a hat allergic to salt water wear a big hat yeah come on d cheer up

Tomorrow they've got the calendar empty. It doesn't say off day yet, but it also doesn't say they're skating or doing anything. So he just didn't like that the guys would relax. Is that it? You know what he didn't like. Yeah, exactly. These guys going out and joining themselves. Well, and I don't think he cares about that if you win.

It's the go have fun and follow it up with a loss that I think irked him a little bit. If they want to put a real nice deposit into the old brownie point jar here, get a win against Tampa. So I guess just back to the kind of the analysis for a minute. You had said off the start about, you know, process results. Was there anything gained in the process last night? First 40 minutes, pretty good. But I think L.A. was just so bad. It's really, I think he'd give them credit for taking advantage of a sloppy King's team.

I think the, what would you, I think this is a good to ask is, what do you like? Do you like last night's victory? Or like the Boston loss. Yeah. Yeah. Because they work their tails off on the road trip, but you need points here. We'll take the win. Yeah.

It's a good homestand, four for four. Markstrom was good. I thought Markstrom was good, despite letting in five. I thought he was good. I did, yeah. Well, Rett says he can't move right to left. So, I mean. Five.

We can't stop. Split decision. Well, when's a power plate goal? Well, it's got to be what, when's Vladar do for his weekly start? No, I'm going to make excuses. Fial is the bad bounce. No, it's never the goalie's fault. Calli have one from the side.

Nobody could. Shouldn't go in there. That's stinky. Stop. Copatar. Copatar. The Caliav's the stinker, you're right. The next, now gone for a bit.

What, two home games left in the month? Boy, they're not back for a while. If I'm not, or three, maybe, I guess they've got it. We have the 29th against Florida, and that's it. That's it, yeah. And then it's the 1st of December, Montreal on a Thursday, buckle up. Olao'Leo. You're rocking two in a row.

Cachuk Bowl, followed by Montreal's only visit. Ow! We give tickets away to Flames Games all season long, courtesy of our friends at Madrose Pub up in Royal Oak, 20 bears on tap, burgers, pasta, steaks, full entrees. This is not bar food, people. This is some serious, serious grub.

Gourmet. pizza, dough, and signature sauce made every day fresh. You can order off their website. Have it delivered madrose.pub located 15 Royal Vista Place. We do have tickets for that. Florida game, the Kachuk Bowl. We're not sure. We're going to come up with something.

Feels like that's... We've got some time to think about it. That's a good news. You've got two weeks to figure it out. Feels like that's something we should get people working for it. Or do something a little bit of have a little bit of fun with. We have a guest... Yeah, if you go shovel my driveway, you can have the tickets.

We have some volunteers to shovel your driveway. We have more on that later. There's probably not a lot left there. Do you have anyone in charge or you're just letting Mother Nature take your... Big Dax! Dax attack! Is that right? He's handling it.

He was mowing lawns and... Yeah. It's just nicknames. Z and it's Dax attack and it's Trev. Is Dax... My nephew, Dax. Is Dax attacks getting... What's the hourly wage there?

Is he getting compensated fairly? I'm not paying him until I'm going to give him a lump sum at Christmas because he'll just piss it away. And I think Dax attack is maybe not attending to it as... Dilligently as needed? As much... Yeah, that's a good word, Ryan. Thank you.

That's exactly it. Not quite as diligent as he may like me to believe. Well, to be fair, no lot of foot traffic around there at this point. I'd think a lot of tire tracks going in out of the garage per se. You'll be very excited, Retro. Your buddy Greg from Bontan meets. Because we're here in the studios. Things are taking place.

We've got, you know, TVs are up. We've got some things coming in. There's going to, we're building out the studio. And Greg from Bonton is going to be making a contribution to the studio. He's very excited about it. And a smoker? Is that damn smoker? The old boss stole from me?

It's a lot of smoker. Crook. But no, well, uh, we'll do an unveiling. When it gets here, when it gets here, when it's arrived and when it's set. We'll make sure that we do it on the show. We'll do it live to get your, because, of course, you'd ever come back to Calgary.

But we'll do it on the show. Yeah. And I think you'll be impressed. Greg's very impressed. If he's happy, I'm happy. Yeah. We do have to get them squared away for Saturday. We were going to go up there this week.

It's Bennett and Kachuk this week. He's wound tight. We've got to go visit him. I saw the story. Oh, Bennett's scoring, coming back around right at the right time for the Florida Panthers. Like, oh, God. Oh, you're this. Great guy, though.

Don't take it the wrong way. Craig's a hell of a guy. Bontanmeatmarket.com, 28 crowfoot circle in the northwest. Love Sam Bennett. When we come back, we have a special guest here in the studios, the Barnburner Studios. He is... Just statistically speaking... Still pissed at me.

One of the greatest Hamilton Tiger Cat quarterbacks of all time. Really? Joining us here in studio, Bo Levi Mitchell. We take... Yeah, that Bo Levi to Darren Flutie. connection. That's right. Never forget. Yeah, that's right. Danny McManus, Henry Burris, Bo Levi Mitchell, all great ticats. Smile and hank a ticat? Sure he was, buddy. Yeah. Sam Metchavari. He had a great year. Had a great year. We'll see,

we'll talk about Bo's year as a tie cat coming up. There we are. Tight turn. Two minutes. Don't go anywhere. Back at the Barnburner Studios, boomer, Pinder, Rhett Warner on this Tuesday. The, I guess, I found. found this out yesterday. The Grey Cup. It's coming up what this weekend? This week?

Yeah. Someone said. In the rectangular province. That's right. Minus 8 the high, minus 13 the low. Gustin to 30. Let's go. It's a big deal.

That's a playoff football weather. Retro, you're a lifelong rider fan. So are you coming back? You're heading to Regina for the big game? You got tickets? I can't leave the country or I would. Yeah. What's the matter?

Have you got... Love to get to Regina. It's a warranted for us arrester. You can't leave the country. I fled the country and now I can't return. Tomorrow's show. I'll write that down. Right before we took a quick little breather there, we threw it out there.

One of the greatest quarterbacks, statistically speaking, that's ever suited up for the... Well, it's not suited up for the Hamilton-Tycats. We'll get into it. But in all honesty, the greatest quarterbacks, quarterback to play for the Calgary Stampeders, joins us here in the Barnberger Studios. Bo Levi-Mitchell, good to see you, buddy. Hi, praise. Now, let me go ahead and stop you there because I am going to say,

Doug Flutie is still number one. If he'd have played 10 years here, the numbers would be insane. Okay, I know, I know. But he didn't. But there's a lot to undress in what just happened. First of all, you said, you know, the Grey Cups coming up. I didn't know Pender knew that because I know he doesn't watch the CFL. Not true.

I watched at least one quarter of the West Semi-Funt. So he's on the show with me the very first time. that I do the Bo Show over with you guys, Sports at 960. And I was like, man, you know, let's talk about this Hamilton Toronto game. Like, this game was great. You know, what did you think? What was your kind of takeoff? You said, oh, I didn't watch it.

I don't really watch CFL. And I'm like, looking around. I'm like, why is he on the show? Like, what is it going on right now? I wasn't on the show much after that, to be fair. It was a lot of Pat. Yeah. But, yeah, Rhett, you're wearing a Yankees hat all the time.

I can't see you right now. But normally you're wearing a Yankees hat on this show. I've been watching you, boys. Love the studio, by the way. Thank you. The cars are very nice. Tower, taking care of us.

Good people. But, Ray, why can you not leave the country? I want to know. Oh. Immigration issues, Beau.

If I leave, I probably can't come back. If I come, it's just, ill planned, I guess, is really the gist of it. Out of character for that,

too. He's such a planner that something, a little oversight would never we'd expect to happen, right? And just such an overall good human. He's a guy,

yeah. Is he wearing a Yankees hat? He is wearing a Yankees hat. You know, that's embarrassing. I just put it on. That hurts. But at the stage. The shoveler's cousin had on an Astros hat yesterday.

He was giving me crap about my Yankees hat. Is the Astros hat the one I need to get? Lots of a bowl is wearing right there. I don't know. Congrats, by the way. They are the best. I can't. I appreciate it, man.

It's good to get past the scandal. I just got to get to the Patriots. I just fair. I got to get to the stadium and I'll have a, Astros hat myself and I'll be a huge fan. Okay, so to fill a bow in here, there's a little backstory here. The greatest series maybe ever in the history of baseball was the socks coming back from a 3-0 deficit to win.

It never happened in baseball before, down through O to win a series. Rhett went to, I believe, all seven games wearing the home team's gear. Yankees, Red Sox. No way. How in the world you flip-flop between those two iconic franchises. It's like dressing up as Satan one day and an angel the next. It's crazy. That is amazing.

I'm a sports fan. I'm a supporter of sport. They took his money. That's part accurate. I love that you just explained that the Red Sox came back against the Yankees 3-0. Rett was there. He was chair for much. If I don't watch baseball, I know that that happened.

Well, this was the year he literally went to every game of that series. I will say, man, we went to the Astros World Series last year against the Braves when they lost. And we were wearing all of our Astros stuff. We were at the Braves Stadium. It is, it is better. I do think it's better to be in the away team stadium wearing the other the other gear. It is, it is nice.

I think there's a few cities you don't want to do that. Like Philly, when Oakland had the Raiders, you don't want to be doing that. You don't want batteries throwing at your... You are asking for it, though. Oh, 100%. But usually people to do that want it to happen. They want to talk trash back.

They want to fight. You know, we're going to see a video at some point of Rhett fighting in that series. Yeah, it's out there. I said, I've said it many times. if I'm ever in a fight again, then life is just, it's,

it's, we've gone too far. I can't handle it. Yeah. There'll be no fighting. Bad shoulders. Somebody texted me yesterday when they saw that you were coming on the show and they're like,

wow, that's unbelievable get guy, just got trained, you guys pulled that off. It's like, yeah. That's how we roll. And the real answer is,

I actually had them like a couple weeks. We know where Bo likes his barbecue. So we happen to be at the same place for lunch. The real answer is that I'm in second to last or last place in the fantasy league of everybody here. So, yeah. By the way, speaking to that, the fantasy teams. So I drafted my team. And I did what any dumb owner would do is that go around and tell everybody that I drafted the greatest fantasy football team of all time.

Yep. And I am now one in eight. One in nine. And I just lost Cooper Cup. Yeah. It's only getting worse voice. Your boy. Yeah, no, it's not a good game.

I mean, I know you guys. We've been friends for a long time, you know. Princey, you know, obviously wanted to do a show with me and Ben first, and he couldn't get us, so then they offered the show to you guys. That's right, yeah. Second fettle to a curler and a tie cast. Yeah, I just met Jerry and I just had to let him know. We like to talk trash.

Yeah, that's good. No, and you know, thanks for that because my shit team actually just passed yours this week because I was at the one in eight. I actually got a win this week. Two days. Oh, nice. Congratulations, man. It feels good, doesn't it?

First overall pick, Jonathan Taylor, this is going to be great. Yeah, so what is it? Me and DJ PowerPlay at the bottom now? Yeah, you and DJ Power Play at the bottom? Boom, third from the bottom. So I guess, let's get into it. Did you know that this trade was in the works? Did you have a heads up on this?

Because I think it caught a lot of people kind of off guard. Yeah, no, I mean, it kind of caught me off guard. You know, I knew that at some point, it would probably happen. Huff did it with Arbuckle. To Hamilton specifically, or just that he would move your rights? Just move my rights. Yeah, yeah.

And I didn't know what team. You know, I knew at some point it would probably happen just because of that. Like they did it with Riley, Caleros, I believe, at one point. They did it with Arbuckle and it worked out he signed. So the draft hit moved from like a third to a first, which is huge for them. I mean, I was excited about it too, like he told me. But, you know, I go in, it's my exit meeting with Dave and Huff. So this is like the first time kind of having that talk like, all right, guys.

Like, you know, thank you so much. It's been amazing. You know, Huff goes, you know, hey, I just want to thank you. First of all, you've been an amazing stampede. You know, loyal. You've been, you know, this franchise OG huge debt. Like, thank you so much. Now, with that being said, we've traded you to the Hamilton Tigers.

And as a token of our appreciation, check out the smelters in Hamilton. No, I'm just kidding. It was a, no, he presented a good way and asked me if it was something I wanted to do. and, you know, I think to wait until February is tough, you know, because you have a family. I have, I have kids and, you know, find schools, housing, stuff like that. You know, so I'll definitely hear Helton out. I want to hear their pitch and kind of what's going on there.

But, you know, what I said two days ago before the, you know, West Final was I want to go into free agency. I want to find out what the office are. I want to know where the coaches are going to end up. I want to know where some players are going to end up. Who's going to even make it to free agency as a player? because, you know, at this point in my career, I'm not, you know, I'm not going to fight over, you know, a certain amount of money with a different team. It's more to me. I want to build on a legacy that I've started.

And, you know, I want to do what Henry did, what Ricky Ray did. I want to go to another team, what Zach did. And I want to win a Grey Cup. So I'll make sure I make the best decision based off the team. Because I guess people understand with free agency. They've traded your rights, but that you can just wait it out and become a free agent. Yeah, they get to negotiate you. Hamilton is going to try and woo you, obviously.

Have they, what kind of contact have you had with them? Yeah, I've gotten to talk to, you know, some of the guys up top. And first off, I mean, I'm a huge fan of Coach O. You know, Orlando Seinhauer is definitely one of the best guys in the CFL. And I had a lot of players reach out, not just from Hampton, but from other teams telling me, hey, man, Coach O is, he's that guy. And I've always known that just from playing. And we've had a lot of good battles in the past, you know, speaking of the 24-0 comeback this year against them. So it was a lot of fun.

And it's awesome to get to talk to those guys and kind of just, you know, I mean, I think you guys. know you guys came here for a reason to do the Barnburner podcast that you want to be wanted. You know what I mean? Like you want to go somewhere where people want you. They respect you. They want to hear your opinions and what you want to do with your offense and your team and things like that. So, you know, I've talked to some guys over there. I'm excited about it.

You know, I'm sure at some point I'll probably fly out there, you know, go see the city, you know, talk to them. But, you know, right now, as of right now, the plan is not to sign anywhere until for agency. I do want to see what all is happening. but I'm going to respect Hamilton and make sure that I listen to everything they have to say and check it out because right now they've got my rights and that's where I'm at. So, and if I'm correct, the only other time you'd have like something close to free agency or that would have been what coming back from that visit with the Vikings and the other NFL teams and you did the workouts?

Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, I'll be honest. I still really know how free agency works. Okay. Been in the league for a while. So it's rare. It's kind of like there's like a window, I think a week before where teams can finally talk to you, you know, try to put something in place before the actual day of free agency starts.

But, yeah, so, yeah, the last time we've been 2018 after the Great Cup in MOP, going out to try some NFL teams and then coming back. And, yeah, I mean, that was, it was fun. But I think the hard part is, man, as the quarterback, you know, let's say you're, you know, you're me or, you know, you're somebody, another big-time quarterback in the league and you're about to sign, you want to see where other guys are going. So I want to know where, you know, certain receivers are going to end up, where certain O-Lignment are going to end up.

Yeah. OCs, definitely. Coaches will happen right away, so I'll get a sense of where coaches are going to be. But the hard thing about the players is the quarterback costs most money. Right. So you're typically the first chip to fall. You know, so teams really need to know, okay, like, am I spending, you know, 500,000 on you, or am I spending $250,000 on a different guy?

Because that gives me an extra $2.50 that can go spend on a different receiver or O. Lyman or whatever. So it's hard because as a quarterback, you want to know, okay, where is this guy going to end up? where is this got to get into of, and that's where I want to be, but those guys don't typically sign until after the QB sign. So, I mean, it's a little bit tough in that sense, but I think I'll try to talk to guys and get a sense of where people are going to go and, you know, just keep everything above board, obviously,

but just try to get an understanding of everybody wants to be. If I may real quick, Nathan Rourke's a big topic conversation. Schaefter tweeted about him today. You've gone through a part of that journey, although he's got one real, not even a full season under his belt. What advice would you have for Nathan Rourke? and what do you think the future holds for him, given his skill set, and the incredible partial season he had this year?

Yeah, I mean, first off, have you guys got to see him in person yet? Yeah, I was at the game here where he just, what was it, 300 yards in the fourth quarter, something hilarious? Insane. You know what I mean? Like, when we punted the ball to him and they had the ball in the four-yard line or whatever it was, I did not feel good about it. You know, and we have an amazing defense,

and our defense that played well against him all game. But for some reason, it was the same feeling as me is like when we would punt the ball back to Mike Riley. I'm like, I don't like this. I don't like the fact that we're giving the ball back to this guy. He is outstanding and he is fun to watch in person. And now not competing against him, I can kind of talk about him. But he is everything that everybody thinks he is and it's probably going to be more.

So it's a little bit different than my situation because we didn't have the NFL window when I was originally young. Let's say I won the Great Cup in 14. I would have been able to try out the NFL window then. So, I mean, my advice would be, you know, you're young. you're an amazing player. You know, you saw this year that health can change in an instant. So if you have the opportunities, I don't know why you wouldn't try it, to see if I will be here for you.

Yeah. You know, he can go try the NFL every single year if he wanted to, and he will continue to probably progress towards one of the greatest Canadian players ever playing this game, you know, barring staying healthy. But regardless, he's an amazing talent. He's fun to watch. And, yeah, it was not fun, but fun at the same time getting to watch and play. So I just want to go back to the free agency thing.

You kind of talk about how chronologically how that works. You have to pay the quarterback and then everything else. You also said that you want to win. Money has to be there to a certain extent, but it's about getting another ring. You can kind of control all of that in a way, right? Because like not to compare. Tom Brady has never been the highest paid quarterback.

He takes less. It allows the teams to spend more on other aspects of the game. They win jewelry. Is that, are you at that kind of a stage where winning means that much that you would, I'll take less if this guy and this guy, if these guys all come in and we run it back together. Yeah, no, definitely. I mean, I think, I think, you know, it's, it's easy, I guess, to take that praise, you know, but I'm not coming off a Grey Cup or an MOP. I'm coming off a season where I got my job taken from me. You know what I mean?

So I think even trying to demand Zach Cleros money, who is, you know, possibly going to win. three straight gray cups and back-to-back MOPs. Knowing where his contract is at, I think there's kind of a ceiling there and you kind of work your way down knowing where you stand. And obviously there's history of what I've done in my past. But, you know, I just think the biggest thing

is you have to look around and say, okay, well, how do I sign with the team and give them the opportunity to win? The same thing I did here in Calgary. Yeah, if I'm the most, you know, let's say, coveted quarterback free agent on the market, yeah, I could go try to demand. top dollar and all that. And it's great for, you know, a year or two or three of the bank account

later on. But, you know, the biggest thing is I've always talked about leaving a legacy in the Canadian football game. And I want to continue to build on that. I think the only way to do that is to continue being who I am, you know, try to put guys around me. And I think if there's some guys I want out there and if I'm going to go ask, you know, Hamilton or, you know, whoever, the team that I signed with, if I'm going to ask him like, hey, I want this guy. You know, I want to be able to to throw to this guy. I want to be able to have this guy protecting me. Or, hey, I believe in this guy on defense. Y'all should really go get him. I've got to be willing to take a little bit less in order to make that happen.

We've talked about this over the years. And it's kind of fascinating because it's so foreign to us, the high school football thing and just how big it is. You're from KK to Texas. I'll never forget your voice. The fake call in. Yeah, or something like that. You don't know what was me. Somebody was doing it.

I don't know who it was. Who's to say? So, because we always talked about it. You see on Friday night lights, the quarterback has the sign in the front lawn. And then it's, you know, home of Bo Levi-Mitchell, like, that happened to you, right? You were the Texas high school star quarterback. That whole thing was your life story in a way. Yeah, I mean, I always, like when people always ask, what is Texas high school football?

Like, I've always explained it, like, Friday Night Lights. Yeah. You know, like the town kind of shuts down. Certain restaurants aren't open. It's a country song. Yeah, we still have, like, those signs, like, where you have to, like, use the stick. put up the letters and they would all say like go katie win state or good luck against katie taylor this weekend um so yeah it was it was a lot like that i mean i would say you know i came i became

the quarterback the year after andy dalton so uh there's probably one guy that perceives me that his name's a little bit bigger than mine um and uh you know he's still playing the league and he's a guy that i respect a lot too so i think uh it's probably home of anti dalton and you know a little bit smaller letters and bully by mitchell it's just more letters you got to squeeze the line down yeah yeah yeah i guess the point to kind of pivot off of that. You mentioned you lost your job. Going back to Katie, Texas in high school, when was the last time you weren't the guy? Oh, man. Or I guess, has there been a time since Katie that you weren't the guy? Yeah, you know what? I lost my job in college also, actually. I tore my shoulder. I was running a speed option. I have no idea why. I'm not a

running quarterback. I think you guys obviously know that. This is the year, was going to run more. We heard that every training camp. I'm running a speed option and Jerry Hughes comes off the edge and tackles me. And as I'm like mid-pitched out to the running back and the ball just kind of like trickles out of my hand as he hits me. So I reach out for it and tear my shoulder. And the kid that came in, we were, I think we were three and two at the time.

The kid that came in went like six and one or something. And he was a true freshman. I was a sophomore at the time. And yeah, so they kept him in against Kaepernick and Nevada in the bowl game. And that was kind of the time I'd made the decision. I was going to transfer and try to play with my brothers. I wanted to play with those guys one more times. We grew up playing baseball together.

So we ended up getting my brother's scholarship as well to play a decent. But that would probably be the last time that I guess I wasn't the guy has got my job taken. So away from the stadium, you, your wife, your family, when it's everyone knows that it's going to happen. It's whatever career you're in, the day comes when it's just not happening. You're not the guy anymore. to go through it at the professional level, how hard on a personal level was that for you? Because I know you're a proud guy. And the thing about you is you wear your heart in your sleeve.

You're the gunslinger. You got the tattoo. You're a cocky, brash guy. So when those guys get knocked down a peg, a lot of people love to dance on that grave. Oh, yeah. How hard was it for you? Yeah, I think a lot of people were dancing on the grave before I was even in it. You know, I think a lot of people were calling for Jake and they wanted to see what the next young guy.

has and I understand that being a fan in Calgary. I really do. We've been blessed in this city with a lot of great quarterbacks and it seems like every time that one is left, the next one that steps up is that next guy. So I kind of understand where everybody's coming from because I remember that with Drew Tate. You know, I remember when I took over, I remember a lot of people, you know, were calling for me at the same time as like, you know, I was happy. He was like, yeah, I can't wait. I want to play. Like I saw, I was friends with Drew, so I still felt bad for the guy. But, uh, Tate wasn't a two-time M-O-P. Yeah, no, I mean, yeah. I understand that, but he did take the job from Henry Burroughs, who was, you know, that guy.

So I think, you know, when it happened, it was tough, but I kind of, you know, leaned on Madison a lot. You know, Madison's always been that rock for me. She's, you know, she's forgiven me for a lot of bad things and been there for me in my entire life. And so she's somebody that I respect a lot and that I love her opinion because I think she takes the emotion out of it. And she thinks of it from a situation of like, okay, well, what, how do you want to be looked at? You know, like, yeah, you could come off and you can, you can be, you know, oh, I don't deserve this. I deserve to be a starter, like, trade me right now. She's like, you can be like that.

Or you can be the guy that everybody who knows you knows you are, and you could be professional about this. And when she had me kind of thinking that way, I was just like, you know, I love everybody in this team. I love everybody in this organization. And I think when I was thinking about the legacy of leaving Calgary in my mind, I was like, I don't want to ruin or tarnish anything that we've done together for. the last 10 years over a decision that they have to make for the future. And I understood at the time, and I like Jake a lot. He's a great quarterback.

And honestly, I think he's going to be that next guy. So I didn't want to see him fail. You know, so I'm cheering him on. I'm trying to give him all the information I can. At the same time, you know, I'm trying to hold back the fact that, damn, I want to be on that field right now. Do you feel that you deserve to be at times when you weren't? Yeah.

I mean, obviously, I think, I think there's times, you know, I, First of all, I mean, Dave's in a very tough position once you make that move, right? Like, you make the move to the young guy, you know, he plays amazing against Winnipeg. You know, he plays very good the next couple games. Everybody's like, all right, yeah, they obviously made the right decision. So I think as soon as he falters and has, you know, a two-interception game against Toronto, I think, you know, I was instantly upset. I was like, oh, I should be in.

I should be in right now. But I started thinking about it from Dave's perspective because I thought about being a coach before. And I was like, man, if, I mean, if he pulled him right now, everybody started to question him and his decision. They start to question Jake. You know, Dave and Huff stood by me a lot of times when I was struggling and I wasn't playing great. So I understand their loyalty and that's the way that those guys work. And then, you know, the Hamilton game came and there was three interception. I was like, oh, I'm so angry.

Like, I should be in the game right now. And then I just, you know, talk to myself again. I was like, man, I understand what they're doing and why they're doing it. And I've said that I'm going to stand here and be ready to go. when the moment comes. And so I was like, all right, just keep your head down, keep working. And when that moment comes, if you need to be there for your team, guys that you've built a locker room with for the entire training camp an entire year, just be ready to go. And I remember Nick Lewis texted me and he said, hey, he said, Henry Burris, you know, had a game and he had his job taking, whatever. And then he had to come in, like the second, third quarter. And he's like, I remember being there. He's like, he didn't prepare and he wasn't ready. And he didn't play that great. So then they went back to Drew the next game. He's like, just be ready for your moment if it happens. So, I just kept my head down, kept studying, you know, kept just being ready. And so when the moment came, just made sure I was taking advantage of it. Are you glad you got that last couple drives in BC, or is it just the result is so big?

Who cares? I am glad. I think it, you know, I think there's probably a lot of, you know, coaches, players, GMs, whatever out there that were looking at film with me early in the year. And they, you know, they want to know, okay, if we're going to make a run at this guy, like, you know, what does he have? And how does he feel? How does he look? I think it was important for me to get out there and just kind of not

you know play thinking like okay if I play bad are they going to make a move to the next guy you know so that's kind of what I think my feeling was in the beginning of the year I think I was playing loose and then I started if I had a bad if I had a pick or something I started thinking like oh man if I throw another one you know are they going to move on to Jake because we kind of had

discussions early in the year that you know Dave wanted to be kind of you know that Hamilton that Dane and Moselli you know kind of go back and forth with the hot hand because we didn't know how my shoulder was going to respond from the year before. And, you know, luckily everything just went so good this off-season on my shoulder and I felt great. So I was feeling like, okay, well, I'm here and I feel great. Like, I should definitely be the guy right now. So I was ready to play the entire year. So I think when I was playing like that in the beginning of the year, I was kind of, you know, of the opinion that, you know, just don't do anything to let them feel like they have to make that decision to move on.

And so I was playing very conservative. So then I think you get into the BC game. game. There's no time for conservative there. Well, there's just no, there's no care. You know what I mean? It's, it's, I'm going out there to do this for the team and try to get a win and do this for myself and I'm going to play the game the way that I play it. And I think that that allowed me to again, get back to being who I was and just letting the ball fly. So take us on the field. It's the season's over. You got the ball on your hand and I just, take me there. Yeah, man. It was, you know, obviously we're taking. knee at the end of the game, so don't love it because we're losing, but, you know, it's

what you had to do at the moment. There's no reason to get somebody hurt, so I take that knee, and I think some of the feelings kind of rushed to me, especially some of the old lineman that I've played with for a long time, giving me hugs, right now, players from the other team, you know, T.J. Lee, who was in eastern Washington Eagles, so where I went, Ryan Phillips, eastern Washington Eagle, so, you know, guys that I went to school with and, you know, coaches, everybody kind of shaking your hand, just kind of realizing that this is the end of an era, that's time that you spent in a place for a very long time. So it was weird, but I will say, like, until yesterday when I was working out at the

stadium and I get the kind of news that my rights are going to be traded, it was the first time that I was in the locker room and I'm working out, I was like, I am no longer a part of this football team. Like, this is, it's crazy, it's weird. There's a lot of different feelings, you know, good, bad, you know, whatever, but I think the good thing is I feel very excited about it. You know, I'm excited about the opportunity. I'm excited kind of that new thing. rather than thinking like, oh, man, you know, did I want it to end this way, blah, blah. I just feel excited about the next opportunity and getting a chance to go out there

and kind of just do this all over again. There is something about that final moment when, like you said, because I know even for me, seeing it on the screen of a laptop, but Levi Mitchell traded to Hamilton. That's it. It's a, you knew it was coming. Yeah. Could see it coming for a long time.

And I'll say watching you with the ball at the end of that game. And then seeing that, it was like, it was real. It was really kind of, it was a weird, weird kind of emotion. And I think probably for a lot of fans, they would feel the same way that guys get older, young guys come in. It's only gone on forever in sport that guys, you know, take over jobs and that sort of thing. But I think it would have been an emotional day for a lot of people yesterday that, not even clinging to hope, but just it was, it's finally official.

And I wondered how that was for you yesterday. Yeah, I mean, I think it was, I mean, a lot of, lot of those fans messaged me. So I think that was really cool. Like we've been through a lot together, you know, you know, taking over a team to winning a grade cup the first year, to losing two straight grade cups and then coming back to win another one. So I think just knowing there's a lot of fans that message saying, hey man, you know, I became a fan of this team 10 years ago. I became a fan of the CFL 10 years ago. So to know that I had a part in bringing some people into the game and know that they'll be a fan of the San Peters or the CFL for a long time because of it, that's an amazing

feeling knowing that. So I think it was a lot of gratitude and a lot of just kind of feeling of, you know, just enjoyment to know that, you know, I did make a difference in the city. And I think that's kind of what I always wanted to do. And Mattie and I've always talked about doing. So yeah, man, just decided to decide to do it again. How would you describe your relationship, I guess, along over the years. And is it any different today with Dave Dickinson? former quarterback, great quarterback, beloved legend back home. Oh, yeah. Played and, you know, got a little taste in the NFL, but is a legendary quarterback.

And I always wondered about your relationship because there'd be so much in common between you two, but tough decisions have to be made. And not all of them are going to be ones that you think are the right decision. Yeah, I think, you know, Dave and I have been through a lot together. You know, he was a guy that believed in me very early on, you know, gave him. me the reins and we had obviously when he took over for huff you know we had a very awesome run together um dude i don't i don't know if there's anybody in football that i respect more than that guy you know he's he shows up early you know he does all the things you want a head coach to do whatever he says

in the meeting room that's what he says on the field you know so players respect that they want to play for that um dave's always been a guy also that is honest with you you know he tells you straight up like he might not give the media everything but he'll tell you in person this is what we're doing, this is our plan, you know, this is what I need you to do, and he does that with every single player. So, you know, respect couldn't be higher. Obviously, you know, there was, you know, feelings between us this last year with, you know, what was going on.

But again, like, I just try to look at things from his perspective as well, which I'm sure he tried to do, you know, for me because he's been through it and he's been behind the center and, you know, with the helmet on. So I have nothing but love for Dave and I always will. And, you know, if I ever get to coach, he'll probably be the first guy that I'm making a phone call too to coach with because he's still a guy that I can learn from. But definitely nothing but absolutely respect. That makes it harder when the decisions are made too, doesn't it? Yeah. Because I know for me, if you've got a boss at your job or whatever and they make changes like this guy's in.

Oh yeah, you can't wait. Peace. See you later. I can't wait. But when it's any other time, I really respect this guy, love working for this guy. And then he makes that decision that negatively affects you. It's like, man, that's, that hurts because I think this guy really knows what he's doing. It's harder then. You know what? It's like, I mean, he's like a brother to me. You know, like we are able to be honest to each other, able to talk to each other. You know, we've yelled at each other.

We've, you know, you know, cried together after a great cup. Like, you know what I mean? Like there's a lot of great things that have gone on. I guess in that sense, I would compare it to like a situation like, you know, your dad is the coach of the baseball team, you know, and you're pitching and he has to pull you. And you're like, I can't believe he would do that. But like he also knows probably what's best. for you and what's going on in the situation. So, you know, I mean, it's been, it's been amazing.

And, yeah, it's tough at the time when it happens. But I've always, I've always looked back on Dave as a guy that has made me a much better player than I think I would be if I didn't play for him. You've been in the city for a decade. What does the city mean to you? And what is the future hold for you in the city? Yeah, I mean, I think that's, that's probably one of the hardest parts, honestly, like the friends we've made here, you know, just the drive you make all the time. Like I made that drive from Chesmere now, you know, just seeing the mountains, seeing seeing the needle, you know, going past Peter's drive-in. You know, there's that weird gorilla on the comic. Yeah, like, just things that you always know and you know exactly where

every single turn is and how to get every single place in this city. I live in the northwest and northeast and Chesapeer now. You know, I think this city means more to me than I even know right now because, you know, both my daughters were born here. You know, my wife and I built a legacy here. We've built a marriage here. You know, we've been here for a long time. You know, I think it's always going to be a special place in my heart and a place that maybe I move back to and live full time, you know, after football is over.

Because Madison loves it here. Our girls love it here. We've got a lot of amazing friends. You know, the best golf course in the city, Lakeside. Shout out. Shout out, lakeside. But, yeah, it's just, you know, we've had a lot of, I think, I think one thing that's really hard about being an American

and being up here is when you have kids, you don't have any family up here. Yeah. Your mother-in-law can't just move up here, you know, like the work visa and everything. Like, you don't get to have that. So when you build those friendships and those family friends that become babysitters that become people you spend Thanksgiving with

and, you know, Christmas, that's what's hard to leave and not feel like you're, you know, going to lose something. It's like a Canadian family. I was going to say, and you adopted Calgary early. A lot of players will come, through and it's as quick as I can get out of here. Hey, I love Calgary. I love this town. It's great. But there was something different about, I think, you and how you approached coming here,

because I had texted you. I feel like when our morning show started and we started to really kind of get traction, that's when you came to town. It was almost, it was all very much at the same time. And I just remember how much Calgary meant to you. And I knew it wasn't lip service, that you were, yeah, I'll sign here long term. If the NFL's the NFL, the NFL. And if it happens, it happens. But this is where I want to be. And it was legit. This was your place to be.

Yeah, man, I think I was lucky early on to, like, win in high school, a championship, went in college. And I think what it did was it makes you realize, like, how special those places become to you once you do that. So I knew that with Calgary, I was like, man, I want to be here and I want to win that championship here because I know what it could, like, do for my family, this city to, like, come together when you know you're new you're young but if you can come in and make something happen like you can be a part of something and i think that was something that madison and i have always wanted to do

and that's why you know i try to say to myself for the most part during the season and you guys know like during the off season that's when we do the charity work and whatnot so it became this full year round you know hey we're going to do everything we can to make this team better during the year do everything we can to make the city better um but really i mean honestly the city just made us better i mean we we love the people here you know we're we're we're from the states, obviously, I'm from Texas, she's from Washington. And when we go back now, we feel foreign. So it feels weird to be in Texas. It feels weird to be in Washington sometimes and like, realize how people talk to each other, realize how people talk to you. And, um, and they realize,

like, man, like, people are so much nicer in Canada. You know, people are so much more respectful. Um, you know, so I think we always just felt like the longer we were here, the more this was home and it obviously will be. Do you have a Canadian accent when you're, oh, yeah, bud. You do, right? Yeah. No, if I do say A, like, people are like, dude, no, no, you can't do that. I'm like, part of the thing. You live around the world. You're not where you came from when you go back. Like, I'm married to an Aussie and they're like, what the hell's wrong with you?

You don't sound like an Aussie anymore. Like, this is it. This is part of being, you know, it's amazing what the sports given you. You've got to see some really amazing parts of the world. Man, yeah, it's been an absolute amazing time. And honestly, I just don't think I don't think I would change anything. Even the way this last year went, I think it's been amazing. It was awesome with Dave, I think, to put me in those last two plays to get, you

know the fans to be able to kind of send me off. And, you know, honestly, it was like minus five degrees. I didn't think there would be a lot of fans there. The flames were playing the Oilers that night. So in my head, I was like, I was like, I hope Dave doesn't send me out. Because I don't know if there's going to be any fans here. But it was an amazing moment, man. It's been an amazing run.

And then we've done a lot of great things here. And, you know, we'll continue to, obviously. But, yeah, we'll just kind of see where the future takes us. Tell me about the next week. Speaking of future, short term. You're on a flight tomorrow. Wake up. Yeah.

Man, yeah. Except the scene here. The hard thing is, I'll, I was hoping these news kind of wouldn't come out until after the breakups. You don't want to be a distraction. You know what I mean? Like this is the biggest sporting event in our league and what we do. So to set something to set the event up, I would say you've got a chance to, you know,

watch probably one of the greatest franchises, you know, of our time right now, do something very special, and that's win three straight breakups. You've got a quarterback who was ridden off by a lot of people because of injury because, you know, oh, they think he's over the hill. keeps getting injured, keep getting concussed. And, you know, I played him in the 14th grade cup and thought he was going to be probably one of the best guys that I've ever played against.

And obviously, that has now played out. You know, Zach's doing something very special. And for Toronto to stop that is going to be very tough. And I think you can kind of see that. You know, Dalton's shown might be, you know, I mean, I don't know when was the last time a rookie receiver led to league in receiving, but he's one of those guys.

Like, in our quarterback room we talk about, we're like, man, like, you'd imagine throwing that guy at the ball. Like, look what he's out there doing. when he's dunking on people. He understands scramble rules. He understands blocking assignments in the CFL, which is very rare for an American in the first year they come up here. And that defense is who they are and what they've been for a really long time.

So to set the stage, man, I think Toronto, they've got to make some big plays down the field. I don't think anybody throws a ball down the field more than McLeod. So you need a VAR, you need a currently getting his junior, you need some guys in that offense to go make some big plays down the field. You need the defense to come up with some random, random turnover. You know what I mean? Like the tip picks, the fumble in the pocket from Zach.

Like you need something to happen that it looks like Winnipeg's maybe playing out of character. Because, I mean, let's not forget, like when we were 15 and 3, however many years back, and going to the Great Cup. Everybody's like, oh, this might be one of the greatest teams ever playing this league. And we lost that Great Cup. You know, they're doing that same thing right now after a back-to-back championships. Like, this might be one of the best teams who've ever seen playing this game. So I would say to set the stage, man, turn your TVs on, enjoy it, listen to everything everybody's saying about it.

because it is going to be a special moment. And if Toronto can pull it out, it's even more special because they're possibly going to be one of the best teams ever play. So I'm excited, man. I can't wait to get out there and start talking to some of these guys. I mean, that's probably my favorite part is getting out there and getting to talk to guys in these teams and seeing how they're feeling. But, man, Great Cup week is a fun special time,

and I'm sure people in Regina are going to make it even more fun. Yeah, that's, man, a city to host. That's unbelievable. And our boy, friend of the show, Corey Mace, Scott has worked cut up for him with everything he said about Winfick. He does, man. Quite a nice first year for him. He does, man.

Him, Josh Bell, I think all those guys over there, you know, all former St. Peter, I think Ryan Dinwiddie is doing some fun things offensively. They've got a chance to do something really cool. And Mace is one of the best in the game. So he'll dial some stuff up for Zach. He'll try to confuse him. But it's going to be, it's going to be fun to watch. When you look back, just as we'll kind of bring it in here,

favorite target, favorite receiver, guy, because I just, I think I'm, I've got a couple names. I think I know who you would say, but just one guy you just knew was going to come down with it. I think it's hard because you don't ever want to offend anybody, and, you know, guys will always find a way to get offended. But I think down the field, you know, when it matters, Eric Rogers. You know, second down, possible blitz. You got to find a guy that's going to be in the right spot at the right time, Marquay McDaniel.

Those are the two, Dan. Yeah, I was going to say, because I think of Eric. because he goes down and gets a, you know, get some time and he gets hurt. It felt like as good as you guys were, how good you could have been. Like that was cut short. And there was nobody better, you know,

Pesette Marquay. If you need six yards, he's getting you seven. Yeah. And that two, the two point conversion that you guys had, it was basically an automatic thing. He was automatic for you.

Yeah, man, it was, it was fun to get to play with both those guys. I mean, you know, Eric's a guy that it just seemed like sometimes, you know, double coverages, fuck it, just throw it up there.

You know, and you just go up there and dunk on somebody. And there you go. I had to get one out. I was going to say you've done more on AM radio than you have here. And yeah, man, Mark Wade is understanding, you know, what I want and where I need him to be. But he understood the defense. He understood pressure. He understood when he was hot, when I was hot, even if he wasn't a hot receiver,

kind of giving me those eyes and maybe even if the guy's covered, I can throw it back shoulder. So two guys I definitely relied on that made me look very, very good. I would say those two guys. Well, I know for Stampeder fans, like I said, I think it was tough. And when we had Mark Giordano as the captain of the flames, and he had Bolivia as the quarterback of the Stampeders, and I've told you this, I think that those two of the greatest ambassadors that the two teams could have had and that the city of Calgary could have had.

So that when they went out, it's like, oh, so this is your guy? Well, that's awesome, because Gio did so much for the community. And you and your wife, Mitchell's miracle, you gave back all the time. and I think Calgarians should be very proud and have been very happy to have you as one of ours for as long as you have been. It's tough to see you go, man. Hey, man, I appreciate it. I appreciate everybody here. You know, the people of Calgary, the fans of Calgary, you know, love you guys.

It's been an absolutely amazing run. You've got a good guy in Jake, and you're going to enjoy watching the player problems to that. But just stay with your team, you know, but when I do come back to play y'all, make sure you all feel that stadium because it's going to be a fun one to watch. I love it. So you're going. So what do we do with this guy's fantasy team now? Like he stinks. No,

he's going to leave the province. Are you, do we have to like contract the league? 14's a lot anyway. I know, I know. You tell us what you want. I might have to,

I'm going to sell the team. Yeah, there you go. Relocation fee. Now Retro's been sitting there. I think maybe he's working on his fantasy football team. Waivers tonight, are you still here?

What are you got? How are the waivers looking? I picked up a couple of wide receivers or put in for them. Yeah, I was ever, I was talking. the people on YouTube. They love you both.

On YouTube. We're live on YouTube. The comments are flying. Just going through the comments? He's the moderator there. I love it. That's where he plays sheriff. Right in the comment section there.

I love it, man. And I want to apologize because I took a stab at you after a gray cup once when I was drunk. I do remember. In the group chat. And I don't know. I was always too shy to say story. It was meant as a joke, okay?

I always know that, man. Soxen sin. I have nothing but respect for you, big dog. Didn't get quiet there for a while. I'll say that. I don't know. That Yanke's head is hard to look at it. I believe it was end zone pick. In the gray cup.

In the gray cop. Intercept in the end zone. And Rhett, what was it that you said? Do you remember? I remember. I said, Bose, going for the headlines. Bose trying to be the hero. Bose trying to be the hero.

I was trying to be the hero, full cost and the great cop. And you're like, Rhett, Bo's in this chat. And then basically it was crickets for two months in there. I could have deleted it, but it was a, it was a joke. You know what? I respect you standing by it, though. That's what's bad. I respect you standing by it.

He's good humored. So, and it's interesting. Go ahead, Retro. Sorry. Well, I just, I did feel bad because it was really soon after. And I've lost a few big games myself. So I started to think, geez, I wonder how I would have responded to that a day after a game seven loss. in the Stanley Cup finals.

Or within the hour. Yeah, as they're sweeping up the confetti in the stands. He wasn't checking his phone an hour after. I think I replied to you right away. So when you're coming back, what color are you? Because I was having a hard time,

but I was here in green. And you're going to Regina, I thought you're getting real estate agents and stuff. I mean, oh, God, that was a crazy rumor. Hey, what's going on? He's already bought a house here in Regina. They've always loved you there.

everyone, every single person. Oh, yeah, no, they love me in Regina. Huge. It's like Hasselhoff in Germany. Could you handle that, Redd? If you had Bo Levi-Mitchell wearing the green? Absolutely. I want him to come.

No, he's going to come down when he gets to Hamilton. He's going to come down and we're going to go to a Bill's game. Rets and Buffalo are now. You can walk me through why they screw everything up. Yeah, I don't know yet, man. I mean, we'll see. Like I said, Hamils got my right. So I've got to respect them, you know, to the T and make sure that I give them every opportunity to hear them out what they've got to say.

Because honestly, I respect those coaches a lot. A very good coaching staff. And there's a lot of players in that team that I would love to play with. But, yeah, I've got to do what's best for me and my family and make sure that I do listen to everybody out there. But, you know, right now I'm going to listen to Hamilton and see what they have to say. Before you go, NFL, what's going on here? Eagles lose for the first time last night. Alan is throwing up making horrible passes.

He's leading a league in picks. I don't know what's going on. Kurt Cousins is dancing with a shirt off on the plane. Blamed up. Mahomes is just quietly going about his business. Yeah, man. What are you seeing? I mean, it's weird to see the greatest team in the NFL not up there right now,

you know, the Houston Texans. You know, we're on a bit of a downturn this year. Just this year, right? Just this year. You've been in a cold. But we do have Damien Pierce, which is really cool. But we'll find a way to mess that up. I'm sure we'll trade him for, you know, a laramie.

Tunsell and Brandon Coates or Kenny Stills. Yeah, I asked about the NFL and it. Yeah, it's where you know exactly where it was going to say. Astros won. You can't have it all. I don't know. I think the hard thing for me is when everybody picks the preseason MVP, you know, everybody's, Josh Allen's going to be the guy.

And he starts off hot. It's everybody's like, well, they're going to win the super. I mean, yeah. It's a pretty cool era to get to watch the Philadelphia Eagles start off 8 and O. You know, like they've always been a team that's like been teetering on the line and everybody wants to see it be good. but everybody kind of hates them, but secretly would love to be a fan of them because they're so diehard. I think it's really cool to see what they're doing.

You know, it's weird to see the Vikings doing what they're doing because Kirk is later on in his career, so to see him kind of taken off right now. And, I mean, he's always been a great quarterback, but just to kind of do what he's doing right now and leading that team to come back against the bills right there, that makes a statement that, hey, we're real and we're here. So defense in the NFL, man, you saw it last year or two years ago with the Bucks, seen the Rams last year. The offense is big.

You have to have a great offense. You've got to have a great quarterback. But if your defense is not elite, the other team is going to find a way. So I think if you look at the top three defense in the league, those are, you know, who's going to likely end up in the Super Bowl. I saw this morning, Alan down Tua, now second after Mahomes for odds on MVP. Really?

You buy into a stock right now? Man. You'd like to throw to those guys, I'm guessing. I think my problem with that, and I had this conversation when it was like, I think it was 15 or 16. And they put me up for Calgary's pick for MOP, and I felt like it should have been Eric Rogers, because I think Eric had like 1,400 yards

and 11 touchdowns. And I think when you see it to it last year, and then all of a sudden you add Tyreek, and now he's doing what he's doing, I think the answer is it's because of Tyreek. You know, everybody thought that Tyreek would go down after losing Patrick Mahomes. So I think that's where the conversation should be. He's the guy.

That opens up Waddle even more. you know, so he's going to play better. So, I mean, when you add a weapon like that, like that's, dude, Tyrese is generational talent. That guy's speed is insane. You know, a guy, you know, kind of like when Deshaun Jackson first came on, it just seems like nobody could cover him down the field. It kind of feels like what Malik Henry is doing right now with Calgary.

Like, doesn't seem like anybody can cover him down the field. So it's fun to watch, man, but Tyrese a guy that I think I'm not buying two as much as I am, Tyree. That's fair. And it seems so cruel, like all the positions, all the stars, all the pro bowlers, it's only quarterback conversation. Always, right? The rules need to be changed. It needs to be, like everybody votes on top, you know, O-line receiver.

It needs to be top quarterback. And then most valuable player needs to start becoming more of a full team. It's here's Aaron Donald. You know what I mean? It's this guy. Like it needs to start changing a little bit because it's just like, oh, who led the league? Yeah, because last year, honestly, I personally believe, like Aaron Rogers had a great year, not something he hasn't done before.

Cooper Cup almost broke very old record. You know what I mean? Of guys, like, we're talking about Jerry Rice, Calvin Johnson. Like, we're talking about two guys that you put up there with the best players ever playing this game. And he's a six-foot-tall receiver that came out of Houston Washington. Yes, like, insane. Like, that's the guy that's the most valuable player at that time.

So, I mean, that's what needs to change when you kind of move there. And did I have a bet on him becoming MVP? Yeah. So there was a lot of money that could have played off. I got screwed out of an Aaron Donald Super Bowl MVP, too. I wasn't happy. Bo, thanks for coming by. Thanks for everything.

Have fun in Regina. I brought a small gift for you. What do you got? This is my putter cover. Very nice. Yeah, so it's a, it's a shoe. It fits on your putter. I can't putt, so I've broken my putters.

My putter no longer fits this. But yeah, I brought you guys. It was red, black and white. It's not that it looked good. Put it on the display up here somewhere. There you go. All right. Love it.

Appreciate you guys, man. Take care. Don't be stranger when you're back. Never. Coming on the show. I'll come on the show the week we play in Calgary. See, there's a deal. There is. Yeah.

Perfect. Put an ink. What's up? Coming up tomorrow, tonight, today, all that. Yeah. We've got snow in the forecast. So shovelers, we want you to send in your photos for the shoveler Y Y, YC in Buffalo. All right.

The movement is happening. If you got a shoveler out there, submit your photos. Snow is in the forecast. Oilers Nation everyday coming up on YouTube. There's our first shoveler. Look at this. Stopped at dinner the other night. I said, I'm the Parkdale shoveler.

It's taken over. Shoveler 2.0. Nice. Rhett? Send that along to your beautiful wife. A little couple centimeters in the forecast. And we'll continue to support this movement. She rattled.

The shoveler was rattled here in Buffalo because we don't have one of shovel. She had to run out today. She's shovel hunting. It's support for her. We're going to get through this together. Big shovel. Yeah. Good stuff.

Oilers Nation every day coming up next on YouTube. See you, buddies. Oilers suck.