Halford & Brough in the Morning - Baseball Trade Deadline Fallout & Olympic Basketball Update

Episode Date: August 1, 2024

In hour two, Josh & Jason chat with Adnan Virk to break down the MLB trading deadline and where the results of it leaves teams now moving forward. Nabil Karim then joins the show to give an update from the Olympic basketball tournament as the Canadian men are undefeated in group play and the Americans continue to dominate. 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 Ferkey's on the show We're gonna talk some baseball and take a trip to the silver screen That's right, it's time for red man yes and then berkey joins us now we'll head out to the ball game and talk about all the films he's seen 702 hoffert brough it's a thursday that's maybe not my favorite guest intro but it's like the one that showcases andy skills the most yeah i think yeah really showed up for that show off yeah that was his uh use your illusion album um a lot of people liked appetite for destruction more i'm dating myself aren't i yeah these are definitely albums i get it I get it. I get it. What band is that? What band is it?

Oh, come on, Josh. Appetite for Destruction. Here's the thing. Welcome to the jungle. Dude, I know the song. Oh my god. I don't know who sings it. No! I'm sorry. I've never felt older. Let's go talk about Carl Lewis some more.

It's Guns N' Roses. There you go. I've heard of them. Yes. Anyway, Halford & Brough, brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today.

And this hour of Halford & Brough brought to you by Bridge Brewing. Meticulously brewed for quality and taste. Primetime craft beers, full flavor without compromise. At a liquor store near you or visit the brewery to see how it's made. You know, I was looking forward to working with you

because you're young and you're enthusiastic and you're doing pretty well for your age, but now I'm depressed. You're turning to dust, bro, in front of my eyes right now. We are coming to you live, barely alive, from the Kintec studio. Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews.

So, Rafi, what are you waiting for? Kintec, that's what you're waiting for. I'm going to name some young albums later in the show. Oh, I won't know any of them. Okay. I won't know any of them. Well, there we go. It goes both ways.

I'll be like Justin Bieber. 650-650. Is it the weekend? Keep your texts coming in. The Bridge Street Dunbar Lumber and Ladder has moved to Progress Way in Tilbury's Industrial Park. More more product more awesome details at dumb bar lumber dot com to the phone lines we go adnan virk mlb network nhl network and the cinephile pod joins us now thanks for taking the time adnan how are you

of course of course jason good to be with you guys. How are we doing? Uh, we're doing pretty well. The connection might be a little dicey, so don't move. Just stay where you are. Uh, and then, uh, thought, uh, actually, you know what, let's, let's try and get you back because the connection doesn't, uh, sound great. So we'll just try and get you back. A few texts in here. Good Lord, Josh, that was a very off-putting conversation to not know that album or band. I feel nauseous. So what was the album called again?

Appetite for Distraction? That was their first one where they broke through with Welcome to the Jungle, Paradise City. And then they had a double album called Use Your Illusion. Right. Right. So Appetite for Destruction came out 11 years before I was born. I know. Yeah.

I knew the Beatles. Did it persist, though? Did it last, that album? I've heard it a few times since then. Yeah. Yeah. No, but I'm not. Because old music is better.

Well. Oh. Okay. Well, this is from the 80s. Let's name a young album. Here we go. To Pimp a Butterfly, if you I'm not. Because old music is better. Well, okay. Well, it's from the 80s. Let's name a young album. Here we go. To Pimp a Butterfly, if you're into that. No.

All right. It's a Kendrick Lamar album. One of the best reviewed albums of all time. Right, okay. Very good. See, I should know that. I know. I do enjoy Kendrick Lamar when I hear him,

I just don't know the album. Fair enough. Yeah. Let's try Adnan again. Adnan Virk, appreciate you reconnecting here. Just wanted to get your thoughts on the deadline, if this connection is good. Thoughts on the deadline,

and it felt like a lot of quantity in terms of moves around the league, but maybe not a lot of quality of players moved. Without question, Josh. To me, there was no seismic activity. You had a lot of movement. I mean, definitely teams were making trades, but certainly if you're a casual sports fan,

I don't think you'd know many of these guys, if at all. And even if you're a casual baseball fan, you'd be hard-pressed to really care about any of these moves. Again, as an avid fan, it's my job. I know all these guys, if at all. And even if you're a casual baseball fan, you'd be hard-pressed to really care about any of these moves. Again, as an avid fan, it's my job. I know all these guys. But it's funny. Sometimes, you know, you hear these trades being made, and, like, everyone's kind of talking about what a whopper it was.

In this instance, you know, the biggest name moved, as far as a position player, was Randy Rosarena, who is about a league-average player this year. Yes, he's had playoff success in the past, but there's no Vlad Jr. getting moved. There's no Juan Sono being moved. And in terms of pitchers, the top three pitchers available, at least let's believe, did not get moved in Derek Scoble,

Garrett Crochet, and Blake Snell for varying reasons. So I think Jack Flaherty is a decent pitcher. I think he'll help the L.A. Dodgers, but this isn't exactly Clayton Kershaw being traded. So I'm with you. The trade deadline certainly saw movement and contenders made moves. The Mariners, for example, needed offense. They got a Rosaranda. They got Justin Turner. But as far as

major moves, no. This was not a big trade deadline. And I think we expected that, quite honestly, because of the fact of the National League, there's so much parity. This third wild card, you know, only two teams are truly out of it, the Rockies and the Marlins. So too many teams, rightly or wrongfully, still think they're in it. And then there's the Jays who smartly said, yeah, we're out of it.

Let's go sell our expiring assets. And they got a decent haul, at least we're led to believe, when it comes to all these prospects. Is there a reason for the lack of the big moves around the league? It kind of feels like teams have maybe gone the other way on prospects a little bit and are much much less willing to trade a top 10 20 prospect in their system even if it means getting a really good rental yeah i think part of it is definitely that but i think it's more what i said i think it's more the fact that so many teams are in it

with that third wild card spot. Like, I think in the past, if you knew, hey, we're out of this thing by July 1st, you'd go, okay, go ahead and sell and get what we can. And by the way, you know, Ross Atkins is getting a lot of praise here for the Jays and like, hey, what a great return they got for Houston Kikuchi. They got three prospects back from Houston, including two of their top prospects. But two things to that, Yonder Lonzo, my colleague, had a good line. He said, prospects are like suspects, which is true.

You never know what you're going to get. And furthermore, the reason why the Jays were in a position to sell is because the team wasn't very good. So if Atkins had done a truly good job as a GM, the Jays would not have been selling. That's one of the easiest things to do. I imagine if I'm a GM, okay, I've got six guys in expired contracts. Here's Yusei Kikuchi, Justin Turner, Danny Jansen. You go ahead and tell me your best offer. And once I get the best offer, I press send. So just specifically to the Jays, I guess they did fine, but who knows if these prospects turn out. But honestly, guys, I think it comes down to the fact there's an extra wildcard

spot that teams still believe like they're in the mix, and therefore they should not actively sell, whereas in the past they were more inclined to do so. Adnan, now that we're through the deadline and we're through much of the regular season, is there an obvious World Series favorite for you? Feels like Philly, Jason. You know, I just went there on Monday

I took a few of my kids there Yankees, Phillies You know, that's a massive matchup I said, oh my god I'd never actually seen a game in Philadelphia I didn't see a handful of Flyers games I've seen the Eagles a couple times But I'd never seen a Phillies game before

And the bank is a heck of a ballpark, man If you like offense The thing I really noticed And I've heard people say this Is you really feel like you're on top of the action I don't know exactly how they did that architecturally But I had great seats behind home plate And I really noticed, and I've heard people say this, is you really feel like you're on top of the action. I don't know exactly how they did that architecturally, but Iowa had great seats behind home plate, and I was like, man,

I'm right on top of this. And great sight lines to see. Six Yankee home runs, including Aaron Judge going twice. A frenzied fan base that is in every pitch. Philadelphia feels legit. And I'm saying on the night in which I saw them got crushed 14-4, and Zach Willer, their ace, got beat up. But I think top to bottom, in which I saw them got crushed 14-4 and Zach Wheeler, their A's, got beat up.

But I think top to bottom, Jason, if you look at their starting pitching, with Zach Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, Christopher Sanchez, the latter two have fallen off a bit, but that's still a pretty strong one through four. And in fact, I last checked the best starting pitcher ERA. I feel like Seattle's got the best starters, but at least

by ERA, it is Philly. And then offensively, it's Harper, and it's Schwarber, and it's Trey Turner, and it's Alec Baum, and all those guys are all-stars, and Castellanos, and Thornton, Brandon Marsh. And then their bullpen, which recently had been a little bit leaky. They'd been strong previously, former Jay, Trevor Hoffman, Jose Alvarado, but they've been a little bit leaky, despite the fact Matt Strom also did the all-star team in addition to Hoffman.

But they went and got Carlos Estevez, who's an excellent closer coming off the Angels. I thought that was a very good move to show off their bullpen. So as we're two-thirds of the way through this baseball season, if you said one team to make the World Series, I'd say Philadelphia. The New York Yankees haven't won a World Series since 2009, which is unacceptable for the New York Yankees.

How good a shot do they have this season? I do think they genuinely bolstered their lineup and their bullpen. Again, not Tyson Booth, Jason, but Jazz Chisholm Jr., who, again, is about a league average player so far this year, but he actually brings intangibles along with the tangibles. Now, the criticism of him, which is fair, is that he's more styled and substance. He's been hurt a little bit. He talks a lot. You know, on the cover, MLB The Show 23, what's he actually done? Well, the thing is, he's got some pop. First ever Yankee, back-to-back two-run home-run games in his first three games, and I get to see him again in one of those games on Monday.

And he also brings speed. The Yankees are the second fewest stolen bases in baseball, and they'll steal you at 25, 30 bags. And I was a little surprised Aaron Boone did not have a batting leadoff. They had him bat at fifth where he can provide some punch in that lineup and help out. Now that Giancarlo Stanton is back, that lineup looks a lot better. You know, for the last month, the Yankees have the second worst record in Major League Baseball behind only the White Sox.

The problem was they didn't have any length. It's just Soto and Judge. Well, now Stanton's back. He's got some power. Austin Wells has been a pleasant surprise recently. Volpe went deep in that game on Monday, and all of a sudden they're feeling a little better. Even De'Vege LeMay, you guys, has been unplayable. I mean, he's been absolutely horrific.

He had six RBI yesterday. So, like, that shows this Yankee team, and I'll tell you guys, Tim Kirk, my old friend used to tell me, it's called a circle game. You look at the calendar and you circle a game and go, that's where our season in many ways was defined, rightly or wrongly. You can look at a handful of games. Saturday night, that Yankees-Red Sox series was outstanding. And not just Matt Damon and Casey Affleck being in the booth

in the second inning and throwing out the first pitch, but three hours and 30 minutes of top tension. That's the Yankee-Red Sox games I remember. The Yankees were down their final strike, and then Trent Grisham, who again, role player known for his defense, he got the big knock. Deep double, and also the Yankees came off

the mat, won 11-8. They won Sunday convincingly, and they just swept the best team in baseball in the Phillies. So the Yankees have got some mojo now. They've won five straight games. They're a half game back. The Orioles are first place in the American League East. Ultimately, Jason, you asked me. I think they are the best team coming out of the American League. It's going

to be a tough fight with Baltimore, but I like the fact they picked up Mark Leiter Jr., very good bullpen piece. That'll help out their bullpen, which has been a little bit beat up recently. On the Baltimore side, it feels like once a month they have a they have a call up and it's just everything about that guy is like ah this guy's amazing best hitter in the minors and they just have an infinite supply of them but are they are they ready to compete like are they going to be legitimately competitive in the postseason this year because it just kind of

feels like hey the Orioles are good and legitimately good but also they're the Orioles and it's kind of hard to take them seriously sometimes yeah I know what you mean it's been a lot since that playoff success I worked with Buck Show also the other day of course Buck was there back in 2015 2016 when the Orioles did have some playoff success and but Camden Yards is arguably my favorite ballpark. I hope they do well in the playoffs. I'd love to see Camden Yards in October in the World Series. It's a gorgeous place to watch a game. And they've got a long and treasured fan base.

But my issue with them, Josh, is I think they should have done more at the trade deadline. I'm a little bit disappointed. If I'm an Orioles fan, last year they could have gone out and got Verlander and they got Jack Flaherty, who was a big disappointment. This year, by the way, Flaherty, who was a big disappointment. This year, by the way, Flaherty's had a good bounce-back season. He was arguably the best pitcher traded.

He goes to the Dodgers. But they didn't make a big move. They got Trevor Rodgers in the Marlins. They dealt one of those prospects you're speaking about in Norby. Connor Norby gets dealt. But they didn't go out and get the big fish. They didn't go out and get the Blake Snell or Mason Miller from the A's. If they'd given up Jackson Holiday, number one prospect in baseball, they could have got it.

But they're choosing to hang on to these guys. And Tybill thought that's the right decision. Listen, you've got a great young core led by Gunnar Henderson, who's an MVP candidate, Adley Rutschman, and all the rest of it. But Burns will be a free agent after next season. He's going to walk. They're not going to be able to afford that contract. And all these young players are under club control for a few years.

But, again, they're going to get expensive. So if I was an Orioles fan, I'd be a little disappointed. I wish they had done more at the deadline. Instead, I think the Yankees are slightly better. I think Baltimore makes the playoffs because that collects a young talent. But by no means is it a certainty that they're going to go deep. And they could have parted with all those prospects

and gotten someone big. They chose not to for the second year in a row. We'll see if it pays dividends. Adnan, according to fan graphs, the Mariners have a 48.1% chance of making the playoffs. Now, I don't know what this number was about a month and a half ago, but I imagine it was a little bit higher. What's on the line for the Mariners here as they go down the stretch and hope to make the playoffs

and hope that these additions that they made to their lineup pay off? Honestly, Jason, it would be incredibly frustrating. And I can't underline and emphasize and italicize that enough. If the Marriotters don't make the playoffs, if that collection is starting pitching, it would be an absolute embarrassment. I can't put too fine a word on it, honestly. When I look at that starting pitching, it is an embarrassment of riches

to think every day, day in, day out, you're getting Logan Gilbert, who's an all-star. George Kirby's one of my favorite pitchers. Yesterday, by the way, he threw a knuckleball in his first pitch at Fenway as a tribute to the late Tim Wakefield. How classy is that? Kirby's got the best striker to walk ratio in the game. He's unbelievable.

Luis Castillo's really good. Woo, Zach Miller. But those five, you go, dude, every day we're out there competitive, and you've got Andres Munoz as a closer. And if you can't win that division with a Houston team, which was down for much of the first half, and is now getting healthy and showed you, hey, we're still the Houston Astros, we're going to win this division,

and a Rangers team, which is sub-500, but is also getting healthy, they've got Scherzer back, they hope to get DeGrom back. If you're the Mariners and you can't win that division to make some noise, honestly, also getting healthy. They've got Scherzer back. They hope to get DeGrom back. If you're the Mariners and you can't win that division to make some noise, honestly, shame on you. Now, Jerry DiPoto knew he had to get some bats, and he got two of them. And I said he's going to need at least two or three. So he's got a Rosarena. He's got Justin Turner.

Those are good pickups. Again, they're not massive pickups. It's not Pete Alonzo. It's not Vlad Jr., but I get it. You do what you got to do. But hopefully the rest of the offense can do something, because, again, it would be criminal if they don't make the playoffs. 48%? That to me sounds about fair. If the point puts you in the division, and if not,

you should be good enough to get the wild card. But for a franchise that has never even been to the World Series, and they've got that kind of talent, you'd love to see them finally make a push, and hopefully Julio Rodriguez has one of his coveted second halves and puts this team on his back and gets going. You mentioned the pickups in Randy

Rosarena and Justin Turner, but does it come down to Julio Rodriguez, JP Crawford, some of these guys figuring it out offensively? A thousand percent. Right now, the average OPS in the game on baseball slugging is around 700. If you look at that Mariners lineup right

now, go call it up on Baseball Reference or whatever page you like, the majority, I think they have two guys who are above 700. That's crazy. Julio is not one of them. He's had a below average suspect season. Didn't make the All-Star team despite the fact he's based on franchise and expected to be a star for years to come.

He's going to be better. Crawford's going to be better. Cal Raleigh's going to be better. You know, all these guys have got to produce at a much higher level. And you see Ty France didn't work out. They jettisoned him. They have to hope that Rosarena can be Superman. I mean, Turner, when I looked at his numbers of the Jays, he actually is a good on-base percentage.

He hasn't had much power, which is surprising. A year ago, 23 home runs with the Red Sox. He hasn't provided power. What's the problem for Seattle? They lead the league in strikeouts, and they don't have enough power. So maybe Turner's a guy who won't strike out. He won't hit home runs, but at least he'll put the ball in play and try to make contact.

In a game today in which there's so many strikeouts, there's a reason why the Padres have been hot, and I believe really could be an interesting opponent come playoff time. They lead the league right now in contact percentage the Padres strike out fewer than anybody so Seattle could take a page of the San Diego and just try to make contact and and have a better offense because you're expecting a lot right now for Rosarena and Turner but you're right Josh it has to start with the guys in that clubhouse namely Julio and Crawford and I imagine we're right around the corner from NFL season it's like having a great defense

and then the offense can't score. You know how frustrating that is? You literally create a divide within the team. So, hopefully Seattle can wake up and make a push. Adnan, I'm going to have a vacation in a couple days

and I'm going to have time to possibly go see a matinee, possibly. I love a solo movie experience. Which movies that are in the theater if you could pick one that's in the theater right now i don't want to watch it at home i want to watch it in the theater tell me what to go see well i love the fact that you're a guy like me who wants to go to the theater and i'm with you also on matinees people often ask me you know what is your preferred movie going experience i tell them all the time i you also on matinees. People often ask me, you know, what is your preferred movie going experience? I tell them

all the time, I like going to matinees. I like going by myself. I don't want anyone there with me. I don't want anyone bothering me. If I choose to have some Milk Duds or Twisters, I may, but generally I just want to go in and watch the movie and get the heck out. And by the way, some reclining seats would be nice as well. So I'm going to check out the two movies that

will probably be at the top of your docket, which is Deadpool, Wolverine, and Twisters. Now, Twisters opened at $80 million. It's only expected to open at $50 million. That's a real bona fide success. And Deadpool, Wolverine, my eyes can't believe the box office numbers. $205 million opening is gigantic. Highest ever for an R-rated movie.

I think that's good news and bad news. The good news is it means people still love going to the movies like me. The bad news is more superhero movies, more going to the movies like me. The bad news is more superhero movies, more sequels, which I have fatigue of both. So my long-winded answer to you is this. I have not seen either of those movies. I will the next week, but I'll tell you to go see

Long Legs. Serial killer. Oh, that sounds terrifying. About a dozen minutes. Yeah. But it is somewhat of a... Now listen, it's not nearly as good jason as staunch the lambs or seven you know i saw some of these blurbs going oh my god best serial killer movies since those michael boseman like all-time classics it's not quite that good but i enjoyed it it's creepy and understated and atmospheric and i enjoyed it so i that that's what i enjoyed and also kinds of

kindness if you like yorgos lanthimos, the Greek director who did The Lobster, he did poor things last year. He's in a new film called Kinds of Kindness with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe, which I also enjoyed as well. So a couple of choices off the beaten path. But yeah, if you're not a serial killer guy, Long Legs may give you the heebie-jeebies. Just watch it for a matinee. You won't be as scared walking under bright sunlight.

Is it? Is it? Like, I heard it was compared to um those movies that that you mentioned and i was like well wait a minute is this a horror movie that's like supernatural or is this a pure serial killer movie pure serial killer thank you there's no like ghosts and stuff like that right it's it's rooted in uh it's rooted in darkness and by the way this is i don't why I'm laughing, but this is music to me. You know, so many of these movies,

I always love, like, in this case, Blair Underwood, who plays the veteran cop who's seen it all, and he's dealing with these grisly murders, you know, fathers killing their kids, just horrific stuff. The first time you see him, he's in the car talking to the lead actress, his name escapes me, but she's very good in the movie.

I swear to God, what he says is, how about the Maritors? I almost burst out, but she's very good in the movie. And I swear to God, what he says is, how about the Mariners? I almost burst out laughing. Oh, it is a horror movie. The Seattle Mariners have been used... Yeah, yeah.

Is this the first time the Mariners have been used as pop culture conversation? And he starts saying, he's like, oh man, the Mariners, I'm a little bit so good. And she's like, yeah, because I wish I could talk

to somebody about it. And she's like, how about your wife? He's like, oh, I try. And then she turns me up. You know, she's just being polite. And I'm like, wow. Hey, wish I could talk to somebody about it. She's like, how about your wife? He's like, oh, I tried. And then she turns me up. She's just being polite. And I'm like, wow. Hey, thank God the Maritors are getting some love in a Hollywood feature film. I don't know if it's inspired by this recent one of them starting pitching,

if the director's a Maritors guy, but the Maritors get some love in Long Legs. Who knew? And it's not Nick Cage doing it. And the killer was Julio Rodriguez. That was a bit of a spoiler. Bit of a spoiler. Adnan, always fun chatting with you, buddy. They wanted to have a big ball player.

All right. Thanks so much, John. I appreciate it, guys. Take care, buddy. Julio just killed the Mariners season. He didn't kill any actual people. Right. You go to movies alone? Oh, yeah. Yeah? I love it. I don't go as movies alone? Oh yeah.

Yeah? I love it. I love, I don't go as much as I used to, but I love a matinee, solo matinee. The other good thing about a solo matinee, less people in the theater. So you don't have people talking during, I'm amazed that people still talk during movies,

active conversations during movies. And the worst is when you'll get someone who will, have you ever been in a theater when there's a joke explainer in the theater? It's the worst. I feel like turning around and going like, are you out of your mind that you're explaining jokes or adding to a joke oh or being like yeah yeah no you go ahead when they when they're like oh i gotta like i gotta put my own thing on the end of this and the theater is gonna find it hilarious yeah yeah out loud and you're just like man shut up do people stop knowing how to be in public during the pandemic i think so well i i some people, maybe in my generation, just feel like they're the main character.

Yeah, yeah. You guys do have that main character thing about you. Do you think that's social media? Maybe. Do you feel like there's a lot of people, okay, we're going to have a real conversation here. Do you feel that there's a lot of people in your generation that put things out on social media as if it is scripted in a movie like they might have seen a tv show

that was kind of like that and they write in the same way that they might hear things on tv i guess i i would need to like see an example i don't know Ben if you've It's almost like melodrama When they talk about themselves And like the things that I have been through I did see that Where it's like you are the main character You are the main character

People's like stories Like the reposting of happy birthday Post and someone has 37 stories up and I'm like, okay. I don't need to see everybody that wished you happy birthday. Also, 37 people should not be wishing you happy birthday. Well, maybe I'm just...

Maybe I live a sad life. In my day, we didn't have birthdays. They just made them up. It was too much about yourself. Nobody had birthdays. You went to a solo matinee. It was just the about yourself. Too much about yourself. Nobody had birthdays. You went to a solo matinee. That's it. It was just the way things went.

Okay, Nabil Karim is going to join us next. We'll talk a little basketball. We can talk about the Canadian men's basketball team. The women's basketball team, which has been, I know they weren't really expected to do a whole lot of these Olympics, but I wonder if what they've done so far has been a bit of a disappointment. And also we'll talk about the American team that

did beat South Sudan yesterday, but they didn't break or they didn't beat the point spread that I laid down. And so basketball Ben was wrong about that one. You got me. Another loss for Ben. Another loss for Ben. And that's going to come up later in the show as well.

All right. Time now for the Canadian football report brought to you by securing Canada, the official life insurance partner of the CFL, your BC lions in action tonight in Winnipeg at five 30, looking to extend their lead at the top of the West Division. The Rough Riders do play later in the week, and they play Edmonton, so it might not be a long-lived lead at the top of the West. If the BC Lions do win, though, they still have the tiebreaker.

Hamilton and Montreal tomorrow, and then on Sunday, it is the Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts. That was the Canadian Football Report brought to you by Securian Canada, the official life insurance partner of the CFL. Nabil Karim up next on Halpern and Brough. 7.33 on a Thursday. This is Halford and Brough, Josh Elliott-Wolf filling in for Mike Halford, who is away this week.

You can text in 650-650-DUMBAR-LUMBER-TEXTLINE. Halford and Brough is brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today. And also this hour of half an hour brought to you by Bridge Brewing, meticulously brewed for quality and taste. Primetime craft beers, full flavor without compromise. At a liquor store near you or visit the brewery to see how it is made. We go to the phone lines where we welcome in Nabil Kareem,

NBA on TNT and covering basketball for CBC in Paris. Appreciate you taking the time, Nabil. How are you? I'm good. How are you guys? Doing very well. What have you thought of the Canadian men through two games so far in this tournament? Well, I think they're starting to develop their identity, right, which is going to always be defense. Before the tournament started, we were talking to Jordy Fernandez, and he was talking about the World Cup and how well they did there. And he said the one thing we were really good at at the World Cup was offense.

But our defense kind of let us down in the World Cup for getting a better result there. So he wanted to be a top three defensive team at this tournament. I think when you saw what they did against Australia in their last game, that was kind of what he had envisioned as far as their defense. They got all these wings that can make a difference, and especially in FIBA-style basketball. I know we talked about that a little while ago,

the more physical brand of basketball. You can get away with more stuff. And guys like Lou Dort become more effective, although he's pretty effective in the NBA too. But a guy like Lou Dort really took over the game. They made that switch from Dylan Brooks to Lou Dort on Josh Givy last game, and from there, Camden was just rolling.

So I think they're starting to really pick up on that side of the ball. Have you been surprised, pleasantly surprised, by the play of R.J. Barrett? He's been awesome. You know, he's actually, I was just looking him up right now. We're going to go to practice in just a bit.

And I want to talk to RJ. And coming into the tournament again, we talked about Shane, we talked about Jamal Murray, right? That one-two combination, how special that's going to be. And Jamal's kind of limited with his minutes right now. And they've got a plan for Jamal.

But RJ Barrett stepped in and he has just been fantastic. And Jordan Fernandez has not run any plays for R.J. Barrett. R.J. Barrett is coming through and getting buckets in situations where he's kind of making something up on the fly, or he's going to the offensive glass, getting a rebound, getting extra possessions. And so R.J. Barrett has just been God sent for Canada.

And the way he has played so far, I think if you're a Raptors fan, you're loving what you're seeing from R.J. Barrett has just been God sent for Canada And the way he has played so far I think if you're a Raptors fan You're loving what you're seeing from R.J. Barrett right now Because not only is he putting up numbers He's doing it really, really efficiently From two, from three And a free throw line Where historically he's kind of struggled a little bit

But R.J. Barrett's just been He has been the X factor for Canada so far There's no doubt about it So Jamal Murray What's the story with him? What are you hearing about him? Is he just off or is he hurt, a combination of both? Well, from what we know with Jamal, he's on a minutes restriction.

So he played 18 the first game. He played, I think, 23 and a half the second game. They're going to ramp him up. And that's, you know, we've been told they're going to ramp him up. And they're waiting to do that at the right game. I think 23 and a half the second game. They're going to ramp them up. And that's, you know, we've been told they're going to ramp them up and they're waiting to do that at the right time.

And listen, Jordy Fernandez knows Jamal Murray really well. He was this assistant coach in Denver. Spent a lot of time with Jamal. So he knows him. He knows his body very well.

And that's the good thing here. They had that relationship. They can communicate these sorts of things together. But, you know, he was saying the other day to a reporter who asked him about Jamal, he said, listen, this guy's a game changer. And at any point, Jamal Murray can go off.

And so they're happy to have Jamal, to have him kind of figure his way out here. And for Jamal, he even mentioned this after the last game, everyone's got a role on this team, right? I mean, you look at the Americans and the situation they're going through where guys are not playing and being these huge names. Well, it's kind of the same thing with Canada now when you have so many NBA players at stars

that guys are going to have to accept roles. And Jory Frandes had actually talked about that in one of his first practices he sat in on. He said guys are going to have to accept roles. It's going to be different from your NBA role for some players. But there's a trust that comes with all this, right? And does that mean Jamal is not going to contribute in a big way like you've seen him in Denver? Donald says no, that doesn't mean that at all.

In fact, when we think about Jamal Murray, you think about the big moments. So I think there's more to come from Jamal. But at this point right now, again, I think he is being held back just a little bit. The one guy that has stepped up in these first couple games is Shea Gilgis-Alexander. What have you thought of his first two games? And it kind of feels like he's primed

to almost show people through this tournament how good he can really be. Well, I think everybody already knows. I mean, Shea Gilgis-Alexander almost won MVP this past year, so I don't think he has to show anything at these Olympic Games. Everybody in the NBA and basketball fans know this guy is a perennial

MVP every single year. He's done it two years in a row. The thing about Shane Gilders to Alexander is that, I mean, here's a prime example of a guy who just does not get rattled. He got two early fouls last game. It's a really important game against Australia, right? His former teammate, Josh Giddey, is going off.

You know, obviously there's that connection there. He comes back in. I think he didn't play for roughly nine minutes. He was off the court for nine minutes. He comes back in and, again, takes over. And Jamal – I mean, not Jamal – Shea Gildas-Alexander, he has this rare ability that's like four or five NBA players like Luka Doncic is one guy that comes to mind, but like

Shea Gildas-Alexander has this rare ability to like play at his own pace. You can't speed him up. You can't really like, you can't really affect his game. He's going to get to his spot. He loves the mid-range. You can see that here. He's been doing that throughout his time so far at the Olympics.

But he is just such an impressive player to watch. And I think it kind of resonates with the rest of the team, right? Because as well as RJ has been playing, as most of the other guys have kind of been chipping and dilling and blue, and you know you've got SGA. And at the end of the day, when the game is on the line, I think that kind of resonates, his calmness, his coolness, that we've got a guy, we have a closer,

and a guy who can take us to that next level. Because at this tournament, it's the stars of all the stars, right? Every team that's in contention for this thing has a game changer, and we definitely have one here with SGA. Nabil, Canada is a nine-point favorite over Spain, which seems like a lot of points, but maybe I'm just not used to this quite yet. How important is it for Canada that they get the favorite over Spain, which seems like a lot of points, but maybe I'm just not used to this quite yet. How important is it for Canada that they get the win over Spain,

finish undefeated in their group? Are there – is the most important thing the seeding, or is there still a possibility if they lose this game that they actually don't go through to the quarterfinals? No, they're already into the quarterfinals, so they've already clinched that. So they're good in that sense. They're going to the quarterfinals? No, they're already into the quarterfinals, so they've already clinched that. So they're good in that sense. They're going to the quarterfinals no matter what.

Now, here's the important thing. You want to finish the top two seeds, right? Because the top two seeds kind of get split up, and then when they do the seeding after that, so potentially, okay, the Americans are going to go number one. You kind of want to be that two seed, right? So that you avoid the Americans until potentially the finals, if all goes well.

Now, point differential comes into play here. So I'm looking at it right now. Germany is a plus 33. They're also 2-0. The Americans are a plus 43. They're 2-0. And Canada is 2-0 at a plus 17. So, yeah, they're going to have to go for it.

Not only are they going to have to win this next game, but they've got to go for it and really try to run up the score and get themselves in the best position possible to not to the Americans, frankly. I mean, listen, you never know how it's going to work because they kind of just toss the balls up in the system where

the quarterfinals are concerned, but you do know for a fact that if you are one of the top two seeds, you will avoid them until the end. And that's the best plan for success. So we're going to talk to Jordy about that a little later today. But I'm sure that if you see Canada running up the score, you know why they're going to do it.

Well, let's talk about this American team. We all know they're unbelievably talented and unbelievably deep. If there is one thing that's going to trip them up, what would it be? Boy, it's hard to say because it looks so good. You know, you can have a rock shooting night, but I think it would be on the flip side of things where they play a quality opponent who is big, physical, and are on fire. And that's really what it would be.

It would come down to a situation where the other team is shooting the lights out from three. They can match the American size because nobody can really do that in this tournament. But if they can, to a certain degree, and be real physical, what you're seeing in this tournament, you're noticing, like, the fouls are very different here, right? And it's kind of frustrating to watch, too, because sometimes you see with these refs, like it's a foul. You know it's a foul. They don't call it. They wait to see what happened on the plate and then they call a foul if it was a bucket or not.

And so I think for the Americans, that would maybe be the one thing that kind of sticks out is that, you know, they have maybe an off shooting night and the other team's on fire it kind of could match the physicality because besides that they look unreal i mean kevin durant uh that second unit that comes out for the americans i mean that's a team on its own like that could be you know um one of the top teams that's ever played in this tournament so uh they're very deep but it's interesting because they're going through their own set of drama because they they have and i because they're going through their own set of drama because they they have and i shouldn't say drama but their own set of circumstances where um they got so many good players you know you can only play so many guys so for steve furr he's got

to figure out the right combination because at the end of the day you know some of these guys are not going to play as much and when you're a guy like a joel and you know you're used to getting the ball every time down the floor. When you're playing with Philadelphia, the offense goes through you. Which guys can really – which guys' games can kind of resonate when they don't have to have the ball all the time and can kind of develop those roles like we talked about with Canada? You mentioned – so, yeah, the roles part.

Is there almost too much much i guess like ego is probably the word but um on the american side for these guys to be able to fully accept these roles and if we talk about hey it's still like a crazy uphill battle to try to craft a way to beat them but would that play a part in it as well if these guys aren't fully into the role they're expected josh is asking you the question if egos are going to tear this American team apart. Yeah, right. I don't think so. I really don't.

I mean, I think when Grant Hill put this team together, I'm sure they had conversations about this. When Steve Kerr originally sat the team down, I'm sure they had conversations. They were never going to play guys even. It's just not going to happen. They were never going to play guys even. It's just not going to happen. You're not going to play guys even. What you've seen from Steve Kerr so far is he's going by

the match. Certain guys are going to play certain minutes. LeBron and Steph are going to play certain minutes. Kevin Durant will play certain minutes. But after that, he's got so many pieces that he can interchange them. But I think at the end of the day, they realize what's at stake here.

They realize the pressure, you know, that's around being this team and the fact that the narrative has changed quite a bit in basketball, right? Like everybody is coming up and they saw what happened at the World Cup. And so I really don't think ego is going to be a thing here. And you could go

on X and Twitter or whatever and people can make up that narrative. I really just don't think it's a thing. I think these guys are pretty focused. They know what they got to do. The Canadian women lost to Australia today. Is that pretty much it for them this tournament, or do they still have a chance to advance?

Yeah, it was a tough loss. We just did that game a couple hours ago now, and the situation is this now. They're 0-2. The next game that's coming up in about half an hour is Nigeria and France. Now, Nigeria upset Australia in their first game, so if Nigeria beats France in this next game, Canada is out, eliminated out of contention.

So it was tough. It was tough to talk to some of the players after the game because they played really well for three quarters. They kind of went back and forth. And in that fourth quarter, Australia's experience, their size, it just came through. They got a roster that has current WNBA players. I think it was six of them.

And then the other five had all played in the WNBA. Whereas Canada's mix-up, they do have four WNBA players. I think it was six of them. And then the other five had all played in the WNBA, whereas Canada's mix-up, they do have four WNBA players and a few who played prior to, but there's some experience and then there's a lot of youth. And you can kind of see that. And for Canada, the one thing that

has not gone right for them in this tournament is offense. They just have not found a way to open up that offense. They've been shooting pretty poor percentages. Bridget Carlton was great today from three, so she gave them a chance. But Ken has really got to figure that out. It was, I believe, a five-point game at the end of it. But it kind of got close towards the end.

But it's tough. It's a tough situation right now. Now, that being said, they've been in this position before. Because to qualify for the Olympics, they were also waiting on one final game. And in that game, it was kind of crazy and they ended up qualifying because it kind of threw back channels. So they're still alive at this point. There are some positives to take.

Some of the performances from the young players have been great. But at this point right now, it's kind of a wait and see deal for the Canadians. And then moving forward, you got to unlock the offense somehow. What is the state of the women's program? I think it's a good state.

Like I say, they went through some turnover, right, with some of their players from the last Olympics in 2021. And now you've got this roster of really young players. And I'm talking young players. I'm talking Silas Thornton, who's 18 years old. She's

18. She came straight from high school to this. And she's going to Michigan next year. She was outstanding, actually. She was absolutely, I think for an 18-year-old, she's the youngest basketball player ever to play at the Olympics for Canada, men's or women's.

You had Aaliyah Edwards, who is in her rookie season at the WNBA right now. She was a star at UConn for a while. She's had an impact. But it's going to take time for them to grow, right? Because you talk to the vets on this team, and they'll all tell you the same thing. Their first Olympic experience is really difficult because you're coming in and you're playing these teams.

And this is the big difference. You look at a team like France. They played France that first game. The French team, they asked their WNBA players to stay back this year. So they did not play in the WNBA. They're three best players. They played in their local French league here. So they've been playing all year round together.

And that cohesiveness, that chemistry, that's huge. Now for Canada, Victor LePenier, their coach, has had his entire team, I'm not even joking, for one full game leading up to this tournament in 2024. So that's due to injuries and that's due to WNBA availability. But that's difficult. That's really hard. And then you factor in a lot of young players who are still learning the game,

still learning at the professional level. There's a lot going on but I think the future is bright. It looks tough right now especially if you go back to back in these Olympic Games and not get out of the group stage but I think there has to be some patience

and there has to be some realization that the future, it's bright for Canada as far as the talent we have coming up and nabil really appreciate you taking the time and uh enjoy the tournament in paris all right thanks guys there is nabil kareem nba on tnt and covering basketball for cbc in paris canadian men uh in action tomorrow against sp. How important is this tournament for you on the men's side as a fan? Very important, I would say.

Yeah. Because they haven't been to the Olympics in so long, and it's kind of weird. Now there's immediately the expectation of, hey, you have to get silver or you have to medal at least. Right. So it's kind of a weird spot expectation-wise, but they should be getting silver like it's

it's weird and disappointing that they haven't been competitive in so long despite you know like even last olympics they should have been there and they should have been able to be competitive and they just weren't and now they get to this point and I do think it's very important for them to at least medal. And I honestly, going into it, there was some worry, especially with their group, that I was like, man, they might just not make it out of the group stage. Yeah, it was a tough group. It was a deep group. Every team is good.

But they obviously did, and now the expectations kind of change again. Is Shea your favorite player? I like him. I'm more of like, because I'm a Nuggets fan, Jamal Murray is out there for me. But he's been frustrating. Shea's fun, though. So what do you think is going on with Jamal?

I just think he's still battling through an injury. And again, I think we talked to someone about this, but through the playoffs as well in Denver, he was kind of struggling too so it's it's difficult to say but i do think he's battling through something and personally like look again if he gets hot he'll get really hot and bill kind of mentioned that but the he's also a very inconsistent player at times yeah it's tough to put all your eggs in the jamal it feels like the coaching staff isn't playing this hoping game with jamal they're just like we got a plan for him to not yes reach the level that he has in the past which is good because i i don't know if he will

be able to reach that in this short of a tournament uh by the time the NBA season gets going, hey, maybe he'll be able to get it back. But I think in this tournament, him coming off the bench, I think is a good move. Okay, I'm going to bring it back to age again. Are you too young to be bitter that SGA plays for Oklahoma City? Instead of Seattle?

Yeah. I wouldn't say I'm bitter about it, no. Right, yeah. Are you bitter about it? Well, I would have a lot of issues cheering for SGA in the playoffs, put it that way. Oh, I see. Yeah.

So, okay. I mean, I'm cheering for him now, and I love that we can cheer for a player that's as talented as he is. But when the playoffs are on, I am anyone but Oklahoma City still. And I think that won't even change when Seattle gets an expansion team. What is your even memory of NBA in this region? Not much. But you're a big NBA fan, right?

I'm like a decent NBA fan. You're a decent NBA fan. Okay. So, yeah, I would say at that age regardless, I wasn't really watching basketball. But I do remember the whole move and all of that. And I remember it being disappointing, but in terms of being bitter or like upset about it, I don't have that. I'm more bitter about the Sonics leaving than I am about the Grizzlies leaving. The Grizzlies won. Because the Sonics had such a history in that city. And, you know, I think it was a joke the way it was,

the NBA was handled here in Vancouver. But the history in that city and then to go to a town like, I'm sorry, but Oklahoma City instead of Seattle. And I don't know if those feelings are going to be righted when the Sonics are back in Seattle, but it's weird. I still have this feeling like I do not want Oklahoma City to win an NBA title, but I think they're capable of it with a player like SGA.

They're a very good team. For sure. Are you going to cheer for a Seattle team in the return? Definitely. Like they'll just hop right back on? Absolutely. For me, I still cheer for the Sonics when the Grizzlies were in Vancouver.

Like, it never got to the point... Well, Vancouver was so bad. Yeah. Like, it... There was never a rivalry. There was never a year where I was like, well, I've got to make a decision now. Even the first year?

I mean, I was happy. I mean, the first year they were... I mean, they won their first two games. Yeah. We were hot. And then we got real cold. Real fast. Yeah. We were hot. And then we got real cold. Real fast. Got off to a good hashtag start.

I mean, it never really came to the point where there was any sort of rivalry. There was nothing. And I still don't think there's been a rivalry between the Kraken and the Canucks yet because when the Kraken did have their one – I mean, they've only been, what, three years? Yeah. They did have their one year. The Canucks yet because when the Kraken did have their one, I mean, they've only been what, three years? Yeah. They did have their one year. The Canucks were still bad. And then the Canucks take a massive step forward

last season and the Kraken missed the playoffs. But do you think that this stuff is born in the playoffs? It is born mostly in the playoffs, but I do think there can be some geographic elements to it. Is Edmonton a rival? I think there can be some geographic elements to it. I think so. I think it's our rival.

I'd be curious to know what Oilers fans would say. Oilers fans seem, at least on social media, seem to hate Canucks fans. Well, Canucks fans are hateable. Yeah, it's a very easy thing to do. Especially on social media, right? And maybe they see Calgary right now and say, okay, we're going to put this rivalry on the back burner.

It's all about the Canucks now because I think the Flames are going to be going through a few years of hurt there. They've still got some things to unravel. Their team does not look very good going forward. And I feel like that's almost the plan. Plus you've probably got an ownership group there that's like, eh, we won't be spending to

the cap. And maybe their plan in Calgary, and it's probably a good one, is like, let's aim to be good when the new arena opens in a few years. If there's any Oilers fans listening right now, I'd be curious to know. Text in 650-650. What your feelings are about the Canucks. Are they the biggest rival? I don't want to assume though, because remember, remember the Canucks wild rivalry? It was kind of like the wild were like, oh, I hate the Canucks. And we were still kind of like, yeah, we don't really care. We don't think about you all that often.

Yeah. Right. And it's happened in an opposite way to the Canucks as well. So text in to the Dunbar Lumber text line 650-650. No guest in the next hour. So it's going to be all what we learns and random discussions that we get out of the text line. So any questions or comments, text them in to the Dunbar Lumber text line at 650-650. And don't forget to get your What We Learns in as well.

And we'll read yours in the final half hour of the show. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.