Halford & Brough in the Morning - A Huge Playoff Match For The Whitecaps Tomorrow

Episode Date: November 7, 2024

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest hockey news with Amazon Prime NHL host Adnan Virk (1:30), plus the boys speak with Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini (26:48) ahead of tomorrow's elimination game at LAFC. This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

🎵 🎵 It's time to chat with Adnan 🎵 🎵 It's Adnan Furkey's on the show 🎵 🎵 We're gonna talk some hockey 🎵 🎵 And take a trip to the silver screen 🎵 🎵 That's right, it's time for Adnan. Yes, Adnan Berkey joins us now. We'll head out to the ice rink and talk about all the films he's seen.

7.04 on a Wednesday. We spare no expense here at the Halpern and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Delivering you the finest in jingles for the last two years. Adnan Virk's going to join us in just a moment here. The kickoff hour two of the program. Need to take care of some business first. Halford & Brough in the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers.

They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for. Sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in hour two of the program. Hour two is brought to you by Jason Hominuk from Jason.Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. That is sarcasm. Let him do that. Visit him on the internet at Jason.Mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. So, Orfi, what are you waiting for? Kintec, to the

phone lines we go. MLB Network, Amazon, NHL coverage. Adnan Virk joins us now on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Adnan. How are you? I'm doing great, Mike, Jason. As you said, sparing no expense. A phenomenal job by Andy and the production crew. Keeping me down year-round here.

Substitute hockey for baseball. You've got to love it. I do actually want to start with some baseball, if that's okay with you, Adnan. Where do you think Juan Soto is going to go? So what's fascinating is in the past, Jay, when you had these big names, you'd go, oh, my God, they're in on them. They're in on them. They're in on like five or six teams.

And yet I think everyone agrees there's two teams. That's it. He's going to get $600 million, and that's even too rich for the Dodgers. And the Cubs aren't going to pay that much. Maybe the Giants, who have been desperate forever to get a superstar, they have not had a well, I know obviously so does the lefty, but they haven't had a righty excuse me, they have not had a 30-home run hitter. That's right, since Barry Bonds in 2004. Think about that.

20 years in a game where there's so much power, then one guy hit 30-home runs. So obviously I'd love to get Soto. But generally speaking, it's Yankees or Mets. And it's just like a coin flip. They're both going to offer $600 million. It's going to be 12 years, I'm going to say. And I think if Stevie Cohen goes, hey, how

about 12 for $660? And Cash from the Yankees say, eh, a little too much for us. He goes, okay, he'll be a Met. And I think if it's both around the same number, he'll go to the Yankees because clearly he's comfortable there, had the season of his career, hit.288, 41 home runs, 109 RBI. The only one that I'd

say, just watch out for them as the Giants because they've got money and they haven't been able to sign anyone. And Buster Posey is now the new president of baseball operations. He can sell some. I'm like, literally, you will be the face of this team, the face of this franchise. You will own the Bay Area because we have nothing else, quite frankly.

When it comes to Giants, they lack those stars they had for years when it was Posey and Lincecum and all the rest of those guys. I think it's Yankees or Mets and maybe Giants. That's it. But the number's going to be $600 million, which is crazy. What did you think? I don't know if you've seen this yet, but what did you think of super agent Scott Boras kind of talking up Rodgers as a sports entity because Rogers, which is the company that we work for, now owns all of, well, I guess the majority of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. It, of course, owns the Toronto Blue Jays, and Scott Boras called it a sports entertainment juggernaut and should be viewed as such. Is this Scott kind of like prodding Rogers? He'd be like, hey, you're a sports entertainment juggernaut and should be viewed as such is this is this scott kind of like prodding rogers you'd

be like hey you're a sports entertainment juggernaut you should go spend on maybe a guy like juan soto without question jay like he scott forrest knows what he's doing man he is so smart and and calculating and i don't maybe teams don't like me just drive up the price but as alice carver my old buddy said he goes, you'd love to have him as your agent. Like, he goes out there, he gets it done. And you're right. I think he's trying to say, because he understands the market right now for Soto, just as I said it, I think he knows it's just Yankees-Mets.

He knows the Cubs aren't going to be in, the Angels aren't in, the Red Sox aren't in. And like in the past, you go, okay, those are the 5 or 6 teams, but it's too much money this time. So he's thinking, all right, I've got to leave Yankees-Mets. I've got to drive up this price. Hey, you'd go, okay, those are the 5 or 6 teams, but it's too much money this time. So he's thinking, alright, I gotta leave the Yankees' match. I gotta drive up this price. Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, Toronto! Hey, those guys were in Otani. They were gonna offer him $600 million, so they clearly have $600 million to spend. Yes,

I'll butter them up a little bit. Hey, they're a big enterprise. You know, quite frankly, guys, they always can. I mean, God, if you are a Canadian, you know that Rodgers is where it's at. So, yeah, I think that's exactly what Scott's doing. And it's funny because for the Jays, I saw Ross Atkins being interviewed by our buddy J.P. Morosi the other day at the GM meetings in San Antonio. And he was fairly coy. Now, all these guys are.

But generally, they'll at least say, like, I'll give you an example. David Sturgeon spoke to you yesterday, the Mets president of baseball operations. He says all the right things, and there's a lot to answer. But he clearly is like, yeah, we'd like to sign him. Hopefully things work out. We'll be in touch at Pete's camp, and away we go. But, yes, we're going to retain him. Whereas, Ross wasn't saying anything.

For the Jays, it was like, who are you targeting? Or, like, what areas are you targeting? And he wouldn't give them anything. So I think Scott even realizes, hey, as many suitors as possible, the Jays do have money to spend. We all know that. I remember years ago ago when ESPN, J.P. Ricciardi was there briefly.

There was a little bit of stuff on baseball tonight. I see him in the cafeteria, and I don't think he knows any of it. I'm familiar with his face. He doesn't recognize me. I go, how are you? Good. And I very quickly said, hey, man, you're a good dude. I like you. But what do you think of that Vernon Wells contract? And he laughed. And he said, you know this. He said,

Rodgers has got as much money as the Yankees. Like, if they wanted to be the Yankees, they could be. So when they're saying, hey, we can sign this guy, I'm like, I do it. I give him $100 million. And at that time, Vernon had a 330 home run, 100 RBI season. In retrospect, was the contract not good? But no. But they could be the Yankees, meaning they, the Jays, if they wanted to.

That was the case when J.P. Ricciardi was in charge. And it's the case now for Shapiro and Atkins and Scott Borch trying to nudge them along in that direction. Do you think the Jays are being a bit coy or maybe a bit shy with their aspirations just because of the whole Otani episode last summer or last offseason? I think so. I think so. Because if you come out and say, hey, we're going to be, because here's what Brian Cashman said, he goes, we're going to be as aggressive as possible in the reliever market. Okay, like, that's a pretty straightforward statement. Like, they're going to try to go after Devin Williams, the Milwaukee Brewers, or Tanner

Scott's available for the Marlins, excuse me, was on the Marlins before. So, like, when someone says, we're going to be pretty aggressive, like, okay, that means they're going to spend some money. Got it. And I think for the Jays, you go, oh, we're taking a wait-and-see approach. And you're right. I think it's because of what happened last year when there was so much pomp and circumstance that, yes, we're going to be in on Otani.

And we all know we thought he was going to play in Toronto instead of the guy from Shark Tank. Yeah, they had a little bit of egg in their face. And quite frankly, Jay, it ended up impacting the fan base. Because naturally, if you get your hopes up, you're expecting some return. If you tell me we're not going to do anything, I can be angry, I can be disgruntled, I can be frustrated, but if you're being honest with me, I'm like, okay, well, I guess I'm just not expecting much. I'll just find something else to do.

But if you tell me, so, Tani, like, really? What's going on? And then you give me an idea, kind of bluffing Justin Turner, I'm going to be pretty bummed out. So I think this year, it's clear the Jays are not saying, hey, we're going to be aggressive in terms of landing a big name free agent, i.e. Juan Soto, because of what happened a year ago.

And because, honestly, I don't know if they're willing to go that high. At $600 million, how about Soto? He turned down $15,440. And he's going to make out like a bandit. He's going to make another $160 million more than that. It's amazing. We are speaking to Adnan Virk from MLB Network and Amazon Prime's NHL coverage here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

One more baseball one before we move along. It's been a minute since I thought about the Seattle Mariners, but I was flipping around MLB Network stuff yesterday. I saw you throwing to John Marossi, talking to Mariners GM Justin Hollander about their offseason plans. Anything interesting come from that conversation? Anything interesting coming from the Mariners about what they might do this offseason plans. Anything interesting come from that conversation? Anything interesting coming from the Mariners about what they might do this offseason?

Well, I appreciate you watching, Mike. That's kind of you, because I don't know how many people are watching MLB tonight in Canada in the offseason, so I appreciate you did see that. Yeah, Hollander seems like a nice guy. I was joking, actually, at the damn play sack. I said, you know, how many people actually know

Justin Hollander's the GM? Like, even within baseball, because Jerry DiPoto is always the guy out there. Like, at the time, it was just GM manager, right? Like Pat Gillick of the Blue Jays and Theo Gadsden's manager. And then it's become like the president of baseball operations, then the GM, then a bunch of other people as well. But generally, you know, the president, you don't know the GM.

So I just think it's interesting the way the game has changed, and specifically the Hollander and the Mariners, you just always look at them as Jerry DePoto's team. And Jerry DePoto has never seen a trade that he didn't want to make. He's always going to be eager and aggressive. But from the interview, Hollander didn't give JP much. He did say, of course, we need to target some bats, and we have to get some offense.

So it's one thing to say. It's another thing to actually look at who's available. So I was looking at the top three that's available. And in terms of the hitters, we all know it's Soto. And then after that, it's Alonzo. But the big guy I keep looking at is Anthony Santander. He had 44 home runs for the Baltimore Orioles last year. And the Orioles are in a curious situation because you thought they were going to be contenders for years to come.

Kind of like the 2015 Cubs. And then the Cubs won that World Series in 2016. You go, here we go again. They go, no, that's it, actually. They just won one. No, it's it. And for the Orioles, you go, they're on the verge of winning one. And after this year's playoff exit, I'm like, it, actually. They just won one, and that was it. And for the Orioles, you go, they're on the verge of winning one, and after this year's playoff

exit, I'm like, when are they going to win that one? They've actually got a bunch of issues beyond the two stars, and Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, they're going to lose Corbin Burns. He's the top major pitcher available. He's going to get $200, $250 million. So I look at Santander, and I go, hey, maybe Baltimore can't afford this guy, because

he just hit 44 home runs. He's going to get like an eight-year, $150 million deal. Why can't the Mariners go get that guy? Like Alonzo, I feel like he's going to be in the $152 million range. So, again, if I'm Seattle, I should target him as well because wherever Pete goes, he hits home runs. But I'm looking for the surety of power from the Mariners. They have to find guys who, no matter where they are, are going to slug.

Even in a so-called down year, Alonzo hit 34 home runs. He's the only guy who's going to hit your 40. And sometimes they just hit 44. So for Seattle, and Hollander wasn't this blunt about it, but obviously they know they have to get some power. They've got to get some power back. And they've got to find them. The choice is do you trade one of those great young arms?

Because you could get a ton, right? You said we're going to trade George Kirby, guys. Trust me, you'll get some bats back. But if you want to do it by actually going the other route, which is spending some money, those are the two I'm looking at, Alonzo and Santander, because it doesn't sound like they're going to be going after Soto. Okay, to the hockey we go. The Monday game this week, which you guys did on Amazon, New Jersey, Edmonton.

Now, obviously, a bit of a bummer because Connor McDavid wasn't in the lineup for the Oilers on that one. But your takeaways from having covered the Oilers for the first time this season on Amazon Prime, even though they were without the captain in their leading score, what did you think of Edmonton? You would have thought when he first got hurt, it could have been a lot worse. But the fact that it only ended up

being, you know, three games that are missing, played last night, it's a good sign for the Oilers. But again, I just think these early deficits are going to be tough for this team to overcome. I actually thought Skinner's been better than I realized. In the past, it was okay to go to the issue, but we know how much they have up front, how much they can score.

I keep thinking how a year ago, there were three and nine, and Chris Knobloch came in and played today. I'm like, again, you're off to this inconsistent middling 500 start. It doesn't portend well, and I think that, again, the McDavid injury could have been a lot worse. As long as he drives it all there, you have a chance to contend. But I just don't like the idea of these slow starts to the Oilers

and trying to make up Brown. It's just too tough a league to try to overcome that. But, listen, it was nice to have them on prime. And we continue our Alberta jaunt, as we'll have the Flames on this Monday. Curiously, the Flames, of course, they started out 3-0, 4-0. Then they lost a few games in a row. But I'm curious to see because Hubert was off to the best so far that he has had. Anderson's been a good number one D.

But Darin Wolfe has been surprisingly good in net. So I'm curious to see what we get with the Flames Monday on, Brian. New Jersey made short work of Western Canada. I know that they lost to the Flames, but we were at that game on Wednesday night where they absolutely tooled on the Canucks. And then they finished it up with a pretty resounding win in Edmonton. What did you think of New Jersey in their Western swing? Yeah, it's interesting.

Normally these teams, when they go East Coast to West Coast, it's like, oh, man, if we can just try to finish 500, they feel great about it. They can just overcome the fact that that's significant travel when you're going all those places. But I think, honestly, it can be such a motivating factor, Mike, if you can come out and go, oh, my God, like we went through this stretch and we picked up six points or five of the possible six points.

That can be very energizing for a team. So I thought for the Devils, they look great. And, again, good collection of young talent. Eastern Conference is fairly wide open. I mean, you pitch a shutout in Edmonton, like anyone's bar on the road like that, three zip, that was a pretty strong statement there from New Jersey. Adnan this was great man thanks for taking the time to do this today we appreciate it enjoy the rest of the week we'll do this again next Thursday. All right thanks so much Mike Jay we'll talk to you soon boys take care.

Talk soon have a good one thank you that's Adnan Virk from MLB Network and Amazon Prime's NHL coverage here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. What'd you think, Jay? Let's talk a little bit about the Los Angeles Kings who are the Canucks opponents tonight down in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena. Obviously, the

big off-season move for the Kings was trading Dubois to Washington for Darcy Kemper. Darcy Kemper. Darcy Kemper is coming off a 16 save shutout. Wow. 16 saves. Over the Nashville Predators on Monday.

So I expect he'll be back in there against the Canucks. Not only did he get a shutout, but he barely had to work in that game against the Preds. But he still got a night off the next night. They put David Riddick in that the next night against Minnesota. Oh, right. And then they won 5-1? Yeah. Yeah.

The goaltending's been phenomenal for the last few games. I know I mentioned this in yesterday's show, but the Kings doing what they did. I know going into National and beating National isn't that tall a task because National's terrible right now. But then going back-to-back, not an easy trip overnight, going from National to Minnesota and then playing David Riddick. tall task because Nashville's terrible right now. But then going back to back, not an easy trip overnight, going from Nashville to Minnesota and then playing David Riddick.

I mean, that's almost a schedule loss to me. Yeah, for sure. But not only did they win it, they won it in pretty resounding fashion, scoring five unanswered goals to beat the wild 5-1. The other big story with L.A. is no Drew Doughty. How long is he out for? He's out for a while, right? Yeah. They were talking about a December return.

The question will be given his age and how long he's going to be off the ice for. One, how long it'll take him to get back up to speed. And then two, the thing that's hovering is obviously his participation for Canada, the four nations face off. So the Kings are relying on the likes of Mikey

Anderson, who might want to go to Mike at some point, and Vladislav Gavrikov to play the heavy minutes. And then they got that young defenseman that they've been talking about for a while now, Brant Clark, who is running the power play. So they've still – Mikey Anderson is actually – I'm going to make fun of Mikey, but he's a pretty good player. And Gavrikov is as well. So the blue line, it's different without doubt because he played so much.

He played like 25 minutes. So all of a sudden you're like, all right, we're going to spread some minutes around here. Good friend Kyle Burrows is now manning pretty significant minutes for the Kings on the blue line. Right. The Kings are good. Now, last year was, I think it's safe to call it pretty disastrous for the Kings

because they went into that season with legit Stanley Cup aspirations after adding Dubois because they were essentially looking at their team and expecting Dubois to return to a pretty high level and saying, we got Kopitar, Deneau, and Dubois down the middle. And they met the Oilers again in the playoffs, and they got blown out. So the Oilers and Kings have met three straight seasons, and for the Kings it got progressively worse,

how they did against them. And I think you can say credit the Kings for recognizing that it wasn't working with Dubois and going, we want out of this contract. Yeah, I think, you know, one of those trades that benefited both teams, at least in the early stages of the season, quite well. Kemper's been very good for the Kings.

I know it's his second tour of duty there, and there were some questions about whether getting the band back together in that capacity was going to work, but statistically he's been solid. Dubois has made Washington better. I don't know how much he's particularly contributed to that especially statistically

but you can't argue that the proof is in the 9-3-0 record that he's come in there and he's done a decent job of it so it's worked from that regard

part of the reason they wanted to get rid of Dubois wasn't just that he was kind of an anchor on the team and it wasn't fitting but they wanted to make sure that Byfield would play center

and I think Dubois given that Kopitar and Deneau were already there, was taking up some of that oxygen at center and kind of giving Hiller the freedom to move Byfield to the wing where he was effective, but it's not where they want him to play long term. Kopitar's still putting up points for this team. Is he 37 years old? Pretty impressive. He's over a point a game.

So after the Canucks played a couple of division rivals in San Jose and Anaheim who are bad. Yes. And after watching the Ducks, I think the Ducks might be worse than the Sharks. No, the Ducks are worse than the Sharks. Which is crazy. Now the Canucks get a couple of more division rivals in Los Angeles. And then on Saturday when they return home, the Edmonton Oilers. So the competition is going to ramp up,

and I think that's especially noteworthy for the way the Canucks have started the season where they've beaten some bad teams and they've not beaten – who's the best team they've beaten? Florida, but they didn't have Barkov or Kachuk playing for them. What's their most impressive win? I think their most impressive win in terms of process might have actually just been the Anaheim game. Even though I would say they got off to a bit of a sluggish start

and they surrendered the first goal for the fifth straight time. Once they took over that game, they really took over that game. And when they got the third goal when it was 3-1, I was pretty confident, like, this is over. Yep. Now they tacked on a few more and ultimately won the game 5-1. But now the competition is going to ramp up. And, you know, I'm happy for Connor McDavid that he's back from his injury

a little sooner than expected. But that also means now that the Canucks will have to face Connor McDavid on Saturday. And there's a question into the Dunbar-Lumber text line, and it's a pretty good one, actually. Do you think Canucks season ticket holders hope to see Connor McDavid in the lineup on Saturday or rather not see him play? Well, they are going to see him play.

He played last night for the Edmonton Oilers, although they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights. Not his fault, Evan Bouchard's fault. But, yeah, if I had tickets to see the Oilers. You want to see them. I want to see McDavid. Like, this isn't the playoffs. Come on, man, it's November 9th.

It's early in the season. It's November 9th. You want to see Connor McDavid. I think if you're going to the Canucks game, and especially with ticket prices for Canucks games these days, you want to see the best player in the world. I think seeing McDavid in person is awesome because you can just key in on him and just watch him play.

I also think, hey, listen, if the Canucks are going to play the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs and it's possible they meet again, could be a 2-3 matchup in the division. They might see them in the first round. It is possible if Vegas wins the division, maybe you get an Edmonton-Vancouver first round series. And then you want to have some practice in how to play this guy. And you want to be as familiar as possible with him. And then for the ticket holders,

I think you just want to see the best of the Oilers go up against the best of the Canucks. I'm ready for my chaos theory now that you play Lankanen tonight against L.A. in L.A. Oh, and you hope that Seal House finds the magic again, the playoff magic against the Edmonton Oilers? That would be quite a decision from Rick Tauk.

Hockey night in Canada, Saturday night, especially if Lankanen plays well tonight. Now, if Lankanen looks a little ragged tonight, like maybe he needs a rest or something, then I think it's an easier decision. But if Seeloff plays well against the Oilers and gets him going again. Man, the confidence comes back.

The thing is, is the last time the Canucks were at home at Rogers Arena, the ticket holders were not very pleased with the effort, and you and I were in attendance for that. Oh, are you speaking of the 6-0 loss to New Jersey, which Archer Seelovs was in for all six goals? Are you talking about that game? Yeah, we were like 10 minutes in, and I was like, well, I think I'll hit the old dusty trail.

Elevator for one, please. You left the game early? Yes, you would have too. Like I said, I got in the elevator. It was 4-0. I got downstairs. It was 6-0. I was like, well, I made the right decision.

Okay, it is equal parts terrifying and intoxicating, the thought of putting C-Loves in on Saturday. It really is. Because you know why? You're doing it with the inherent risk and fear of how badly it could go given how this season is gone but also what if what if everyone knows what i'm talking about right it's like i think they should go with patera yeah call them up total pilo you know throw that curveball in there oh i am a little bit worried about wearing lincoln and out yeah

and i think that's why talk it got that question yesterday and it's a valid question because if you don't we don't know what's going to happen with demko we don't know okay if you don't play sea loves tonight they're not going to they're going to play lankanen you're now talking about more than 10 days between starts and that's assuming he you know edmonton is still up for grabs, which let's be honest, if I'm speaking logically, Saturday's not up for grabs. That's a Lankanen game too. Then you're talking about Tuesday, November 12th against Calgary.

Now you're talking about basically two full weeks where he hasn't played a game. That's a long layoff. And you are, as much as I say this and I joke, I'm like just Lankanen and then Lankanen and then start Lankanen again. And then what's the question? The answer is Lankanen. Eventually, you're going to have to play Seelovs. Eventually.

I wonder internally what the Canucks are targeting for Demko. I wonder just in... It's not like, don't talk about it! You know, they're definitely probably... Well, definitely probably looking at some certain game

and going could we get him get him in there for that i would imagine also there's probably the next step would be maybe he can dress as a backup and then that it's another backup yeah yeah backup lankan well there's another step in progress. Then he needs to sit on the bench. He's like, this is bad for my Plot Plutia. You got to see what it feels like being ready to go. Fanny Sartini. The Whitecaps have a big game on Friday. Beat LA down in LA.

It is a tall task for the Whitecaps, but with a very impressive win at BC Place over LAFC in game two of the MLS Series. The Whitecaps have given themselves a chance to do something pretty special if they can beat LAFC down in LA. And we will talk to Vanni Sartini coming up next on the Halford and Brock Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Vic Nazar.

Have your say and join me on the people's show with big takes and even bigger bets weekdays three to four on sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts 734 on a Thursday I just want to go on record as saying I did not pick this music This is a Greg special This is all Laddie Intern Ethan just seems Completely overwhelmed by all of this

Let's blame Ethan There's this great Like dynamic here At the Halford and Brough show. Whenever any of the interns work the boards from the 7 o'clock to 8 o'clock hour, Greg comes in with a mug of tea and his mustache and his dad's sweater. Yeah, he's got a sweatshirt that just says dad on it. You know those scenes of the dad in the Folgers commercial that's just looking out the window at the lake?

And he's just like, yep. Greg does that in here. Anyway, you are listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Halford's doing some lunges. It's weird. That music was actually his soundtrack for coming in. That's right. He's like, yep.

Hey, fellas, how we doing today? Everything good in here? All right, boss. Halford and Brougham in the Morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service, or parts. Vanni Sardini is going to join us in just a moment here for Hour 2.

Hour 2 of this program is brought to you by Jason Hominuck at jason.mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him on the internet at Jason.Mortgage. It is the third and final and decisive game of the Whitecaps opening

round series against LAFC. It goes tomorrow at 7.30 from LAFC. Joining us now, Vanny Sartini, manager of your Vancouver Whitecaps, here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Vanny. How are you? Good, guys. How are you? We are well.

It is exciting times for your football club as they try and pull a big, big upset. You said going into this game on Friday that LAFC will be the favorite, but you also astutely pointed out that upsets do happen in this league. What's the mentality of you and your side going down to LAFC? I got to ask you the question. Is there any thought that you're given to just parking the bus and just trying to run this one out and maybe go to penalty kicks? Or are you going to be on the front foot on Friday?

No, parking the bus, I would say it's not an option, at least at the beginning. Of course, if you're winning 1-0 at this minute 80 in the last 10 minutes, maybe you're going to do it. But we need to go to a game like we kind of

with the same mentality that we did for the first two, trying to be on the front foot and trying to be I would say aggressive as possible and trying to get our chances. Both the games were played well by us, to be honest. The one that we lost closely in LA and of course the one that we won last Sunday. The big difference was that last Sunday we really took our chances and we scored instead of, you know, missing them. And I think that's going to be another time

the key tomorrow in L.A. How much confidence does Ryan Gould give the team right now? Well, a lot. You know, it's just seeing him wearing our uniform brings the guys to have a little bit more confidence because he's on fire. He's been our best player for two, three seasons now,

but he's on a level at the moment. He really, really stepped up for the playoffs. So I hope that he can continue in this role. Does he get extra attention in the game on Friday? And could you maybe take advantage of that, some other players taking advantage of that, if LAFC is just watching Ryan Gould the whole time? Yeah, you know, that's...

NFC, they were saying that, you know, they had a kind of magic potion because they were shielding Ryan Gould in LA and being very physical against us. They tried the same in Vancouver and Ryan was clearly the best player on the pitch, scoring one and a half goals and serving assists. And so for sure they will look at him, they will be very, I would say, physical against him, but the big thing that we need to do is to work as a team, to move all the 11 players when we are on the ball

in order to create spaces for him, and also in a way that if they overmark someone, someone else is going to be free. So it's always a team effort on this. Because it is worth noting, when you beat LA pretty emphatically on Sunday, 3-0, I was there and I noticed the starting 11, like five what I would consider very attack-minded players, Gauld, White, Armstrong, Fafa, and Ali Ahmed,

all in the starting 11. And you guys went after it and got after it. And I noticed you on the touchline. It seemed like you had the look of someone that was, like there was an affirmation, there was a pleasure about the way that you were playing and the way that you were able to win and dominate against a very good opponent, playing that style.

Is that a fair assessment of what happened on Sunday? There was an affirmation, there was a sense of like, yeah, we can do this, we can play this way, and we can be successful with it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We played really well, especially the first half, I think, was fantastic. We were up 2-0.

We should have been up even more, in my opinion. And you're right, we played a lot of offensive players, but that has been possible only because the guys that we played, also they were doing their part defensively. You know, Ali, Fafa, Goldie, Stewart, Brian, they all worked a lot even when we didn't have the ball. That's the key to have a lot of guys that can help you in the final third. You need them to sacrifice themselves when they don't have the ball

in order to be always compact and be in the right position when we have the ball and exploit their characteristics. So, yeah, I think we have, again, a lot of options for Los Angeles. And again, the game will be more or less the same. We will try to be, again, aggressive, trying to win the ball high and go, because that's the way that we play. We cannot change our identity and become a team that defends with nine guys in front of the box. But it's good also to have the fact that the guys that didn't play,

that didn't start at the beginning, last game, they came on and they did very well. Like Alessandro Schof, we have Pedro Vite. There's a lot of options. Those guys are offensive players too that can help during the game today. Tomorrow, sorry. For the listeners that might not fully understand how things can change with different formations, with having like Berhalter, who's been very versatile,

a real Swiss army for you this year, and Adekube on either side, Veselinovic and Blackman, more of a sort of standard back four, what sort of looks does that give you? How does that make your style of play different from other lineups and other iterations you've had this year?

Well, not very different because when we had the ball, it was always the same. It was just changing position to the player. I thought that Sam was a little bit, I would say, under pressure too much playing higher on the pitch as a wingback on the left. And so when we built up, we needed to use his left foot from deep on the field,

close to our goal in the build-up. So he played as a left-centre back when we had the ball. And Sebastian is not only the guy that is really a Swiss Army knife because he can play in multiple positions positions but he's also very dynamic so he was able to play that role that he was a wingback when we had the ball so keeping the system that we played the entire season when we had the ball but then

getting back and being in the line of the back four because we don't have to be I would say blind and understand that the wingers of LAFC, Buanga, Oliveira, Bogus, are really, really, really good. So having a back four, having someone that is already in position,

then having someone that needs to arrive there from inside with a back three could have been a better option and he did a fantastic job, to be honest. What do you think about the position that you're in right now? You've got the potential to win arguably the biggest game in franchise history. People are going to see you as an underdog, but the opportunity is there. Yeah, that's exactly what it is. I think the main pressure is on their back, on the LFC back, because they won the Western Conference and

so everyone expects them to advance. But we need to put a little pressure on ourselves too, because again, it would be massive to win the game, it would be massive to go to the Western Conference semi-final and be a top-four team. That's something that we always said that as a, I don't know, almost as a miracle to happen and this time can really happen. And it would be fantastic because also winning would allow us to play against our biggest rival, Seattle in Seattle. So the, with a game with a lot of implication or not, not only for not only for the Cup, but also for our fans. So we need to embrace the fact that

this is a very important game. This is a big stage and we have a chance that the club didn't have in the last few years. So we have the moral duty to do everything to try to make it. Kickoff is 7.30 tomorrow night.

That's Friday night at LAFC. Reminder, it is on Apple TV. The Whitecaps are also doing a watch party at Goodco on Granville if you want to go check it out. Vanny, thank you very much for doing this today. We really appreciate it. Best of luck in LA. Go get that win, and let's have that next round series in Seattle.

Fantastic. Thank you. Thank you so much round series in Seattle. Fantastic. Thank you. Thank you so much, guys. Bye-bye. Thank you. That's Vandy Sartini, Whitecaps manager here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. By series, of course, I mean one match. So, what chance do you give the Whitecaps in this game? I brought up the

parking the bus thing only only because it's a daunting task in LA they're just they're very good they're it's a very tough place to play i know some people will scoff at the notion of mls having atmospheres and fierce places to play but la it is tough it's uh a soccer specific stadium the crowd is loud the team's had a lot of success, so the supporters are very much invested in the side. They don't lose a lot of matches at home,

and they kind of had, always had this in their back pocket, this third match at home, right? Whatever happened on Sunday in Vancouver, and they did get outclassed on Sunday. They were the second-best team on the pitch, but it's hard to say that they played with the desperation of the white caps because that desperation didn't exist yeah it's i i admire what vanny does he went out on sunday and put like i said five attacking players and he's like go after it and go get it

and they had two goals within 20 minutes i just it's just gonna be hard to do that again i just feel like this is the opportunity the whitecaps have been waiting for which is if you think about if you think about what makes a a Cinderella run can you imagine it starting with

not being able to play a home game because the motocross yep was in your stadium but you get over that

and you go down to Portland, one of your geographic rivals, and you whip them five to nothing. And then you get a matchup with maybe the favorite to go to the final in LAFC, the number one seed, and then you beat them. Yep. And then you get Seattle.

Yeah. Like that's what, you know, I know it's unlikely, but the Whitecaps have blown so many opportunities to get the casual fans invested in them beyond like, hey, let's go to the Whitecaps game. That'll be fun. The kids seem to like it. It's only two hours, right?

This is the opportunity they've been waiting for. This is like the 1982 Canucks who got into the NHL in 1970, had a few moments here and there, but for the most part did nothing. Yeah. And then they go all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1982 in their 12th or 13th year in the league. They weren't expected to do that.

They found a way. There was some luck along the way, but they did it, and it was incredible this to me feels like you know look put it this way if the whitecaps lose against lafc people will be like well they were supposed to lose to lafc but then you start going you know what they never should have put themselves in this position they never should have been playing the number one seed in this round because they should have finished higher in the table. And it's just another early playoff exit for the Whitecaps.

But, man, if they win it, it's like, holy cow. Like, should we all road trip down to Seattle for this game? Yes. Right? Like, that would be incredible. Yeah. That would really motivate this fan base. And I think even if the games aren't on regular TV,

if it's on Apple, people will be like, whoa, wait a minute. The Whitecaps did this? And now they're playing in Seattle? That's cool. It's a massive opportunity and a massive challenge at the same time. That's the biggest takeaway I can have

is the opportunity to do something unprecedented in franchise history is right there, but it's also a massive challenge because of the opponent, because of the venue, because of the star power and the talent and the ability that LAFC has. It's difficult. But again, nothing good comes from challenges that are easy. It's often the most difficult ones that get the biggest response from the players and from the supporters. That's what makes a Cinderella run.

You've got to have one massive upset. So you understand why I posed the question right off the top. Is there any part of your mind that goes to... Get it to Pelicaks. Can we extend this for as long as possible? But are the Whitecaps... Is that a strength of theirs? Shutting down a team and playing for nil-nil?

It comes down to, there's a few things. One is the lineup and the selections that the manager makes. But it's also the moments in the game where you don't gamble, basically. It's where you stay on the conservative side of things, stay on the right side of the ball, stay on the conservative side of things, stay on the right side of the ball, stay on the right side of your man, and maybe don't push forward in numbers. In this particular game, not to get too deep in the weeds about strategies and everything,

but LAFC is a counterattacking team. I've watched enough of their games this year. They will sit there and watch you knock the ball around, absorb some pressure. So they're not a possession team. The moment that you push forward, they will sit there and watch you knock the ball around, absorb some pressure. And the moment that you push... So they're not a possession team. The moment that you push forward, they fly forward. And Boanga and Boguch, and to a lesser degree, Giroux, I actually don't think Giroux fits

great for them. It didn't look fantastic on Sunday. But they've got enough talent, enough guys that can score, that they hurt you doing that. And if you don't allow those chances to happen, every minute that ticks along that it's nil-nil, the pressure shifts even further to LAFC. That's what I'm talking about when you talk about parking the bus, is LAFC suddenly is like,

holy crap, we're 15 minutes away from a coin flip. You know, as opposed to we scored early because the Whitecaps had five guys committed forward, and now we can sit on a 1-0 and try and hit them on the counter because now they have to chase the match. It does. I hate using chess match all the time,

but that's what it becomes in these one-offs is are you willing to take the risk or are you willing to play for hours? You know, that kind of thing. I guess the alternative is take some chances right off the bat and see if you can get a 1-0 lead. That'd be risky. But in a game like this, what's your mentality?

Is it park the bus or go out and try and do something special because you're not supposed to win this game anyway. Unsigned text, you've got to take your challenge tunities. Challenge tunities. Yeah, that's very nice. I do think that Vanny's philosophy and the way the game's supposed to be played and the way that he wants his team to play, it's like

we go. And also don't you think their biggest weapon is Ryan Gould? So use him. Yes. Yeah, you don't want to take Ryan Gould and have him pump the ball up the pitch for 90 minutes and play it safe. Put bucks in deep, Ryan, right? That's not what they want.

But I guess we'll see. If there's one thing I've learned from the Whitecaps this year, it's to expect the unexpected, Jason, like a motocross interrupting a potential home date in the playoffs and then going to Portland and scoring five on, which it's unbelievable how they were able to do that,

catching everybody off guard, and then being able to reverse the script from last year where they weren't able to come home and get a win over LAFC, and now they've done it, and it did put doubt into LAFC's mind because they had come up here the year prior and taken care of business so there is something about

this squad where it at least gives you pause to say hmm I wonder if there's something there and that's a positive thing for a team that really hasn't had that question asked over the last few years. It would be so cool if they could play Seattle in the next round it would be great I would have fun going down there

yeah I'd go down there. Yeah. Here's the other part of this, too. If you get rid of LAFC, suddenly that road through the playoffs looks a lot less daunting. Yeah. A lot less daunting. Get to the final and play Messi, and he'll be like, I'm actually not going to play. Yeah.

We're not doing this in BC Plays. A white cast, forget it. Okay, we've got a lot more to get to on the Half we're not doing this to be easy players. A white cast, forget it. Okay, we got a lot more to get to on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. In the final hour of this show, we're going to talk to

Thomas Drance from The Athletic. Tonight, 7.30 from Crypto.com. It's the Canucks and the Kings. We'll look ahead to Drance. While that, we'll ask him questions about Thatcher Demko, Dakota Joshua, Derek Forbert, anything else.

At 8.15, we're going to open the phone boards and give away a $100 gift card to Mucho Burrito. The phone number, 604-280-0650. That number again, 604-280-0650. Call at 8.15 exactly. Caller numero ocho, that's number eight, will win the $100 gift card to Mucho Burrito.

Finally. Imagine how many burritos that'll get you. Or maybe one really large one. The $100 burrito. Yeah, it's the body size one. Finally, at 8.30, we're going to do what we learned, ours and humanoids. And because it's Ethan's last day,

intern Ethan's last day, he's going to do what we learned as well. So there's so much. Oh, I thought you were going to make him sing or something. Yeah. We're doing some gentle hazing. No, we're going to. He's just going to do what we learned as well so there's so much i thought you're going to make him sing or something yeah we're doing some gentle hazing no uh we're gonna he's just gonna do what we learned that's it that's all we're doing uh that's all in the final hour of the program so don't go anywhere you're listening to the halford and brough show on sportsnet 650.