Halford & Brough in the Morning - BC Lions Owner Amar Doman

Episode Date: November 4, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss last night's 'Nucks win, as well as what's next for the club, with radio commentator Brendan Batchelor (1:22), plus they speak with BC Lions owner Amar Doman (24:13) ahead of Saturday's West Final at the Riders. 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 his friend and Bachelor, Bachelor, Bachelor, Bachelor, Life from Rogers Arena, Collin' Canucks Games. It is Brendan Bachelor, Bachelor, Bachelor. 7.03 on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday, everybody, Halford, Brough, Sportsnet, 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. debt freedom hat trick. One, no more interest, two, much lower payments than three. Financial peace of mind. Visit them online at sands dash trustee.com. We are now in our two of the

program, as the music suggests. Brennan Batchelor. Play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Canucks is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour two. Our two is brought to by Jason hominock at Jason.morgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason.morgage. We're coming to live from the Kintech studio, Kintech Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you and Step. I actually listened to Batchez call last night on the winning goal. Nice. It was a good one.

We played it. I preferred it to Shorties. Oof. Yeah. I like it. I actually had the TV on mute. To the phone lines, we go. The Superior Voice of the Vancouver Canucks.

Brendan Batchelor joins us here now on the Halford and Brough show on Sports 10650. What up, Batch? Good morning, guys. It's glad to know people were listening last night because I don't. know if anybody was on Saturday for that Minnesota game during the World Series. Didn't even know they played a game on Saturday until I came in on Monday. I had no idea. Yeah, was there like an echo to the play-by-play when you were doing it? Hello, hello. Yeah, it felt very much like calling a game in an empty gymnasium or something

like that. So, Badge, we were talking this morning about all the different guys that stepped up for the Vancouver Canucks. Perhaps it was an homage to the Toronto Blue Jays. what did you think of the game last night? Yeah, I thought they played well. Obviously, I'm sure they would have liked to salt it away in the third period so that they didn't need overtime. But, you know, my biggest takeaway from the game is just how much Quinn Hughes changes the way this team plays.

And, you know, obviously it's kind of a juxtaposition against the game on Saturday against Minnesota where that's that, you know, performance didn't have as much oomph to it, I guess you can say, in terms of play driving and immediately coming back into the lineup, the impact he makes in terms of this team's ability to drive play, to create chances, to produce offense is pretty special. So, you know, we talk about it all the time that we need to appreciate Quinn Hughes, and I appreciated him a little bit extra last night because of the impact he had on that game. But at the same time, for this group that is still injury riddled in spite of the fact that he's back to find a way to get the win and

battle through some adversity after giving up the lead a couple of different times. I thought was impressive and good on them with all the bodies they're missing to come back home with four of a possible six points from that road trip. It's a good feat for them to accomplish and now they've got four games on home ice to try and build some momentum. I don't know if I can remember a season where we've said the phrase play driving more. Brock Bessor even in his post-game interview with Dan Murphy was saying like he was asked about Quinn and he goes, yeah, you know, like he's so good, he drives play for us. And, you know, I think at the end of the day, if you're looking at the Canucks lineup, you're just looking for more guys to drive play. And hopefully, hopefully Connor Garland is back soon because I would say he's the other very good play driver on the Vancouver Canucks.

Is there anyone else that you think can do it for this team because they're going to need it? Yeah, I think Elias Patterson is capable of doing it just because we've seen him do it in the past, but it hasn't happened in a while. So whether it's reasonable to expect that to happen in the immediate future or not, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

But, you know, yeah, it is something that's tough for them. I think Keeper-Sherwood can do it in moments too, but probably not with the consistency and regularity that guys like Hughes and Garland can. And, you know, when we talk about play driving, like the thing I noticed the most with Hughes back in the lineup is just how much easier it is for them to get out of their own zone and enter the attacking zone.

And, you know, those are things that, to be honest, they struggled with at times, I thought, on Saturday against Minnesota. So, you know, those are their two primary playdrivers in Garland when he's healthy and Hughes. when he's healthy. But yeah, if they could have some help in that regard, I'm sure they would appreciate it.

Unfortunately, it seems like those are the two guys that really do it most regularly and most consistently. And so you're right, you know, as much as it was good news to see that Hughes was going to be back in the lineup yesterday, I was equally pleased when Adam Foote mentioned that Garland's pretty close in his media availability too, because I think, you know, as much as they need Hughes, they probably need Garland. you know, pretty close to as much as well in their lineup.

And the sooner he can get back, the better for this team. Batch, I'm going to throw in a very open-ended going whatever direction you want with your reply. What do you think of the officiating last night? I didn't think it was perfect, but it rarely is. The high-sticking call on Evander Cain was not a great one. And obviously, you know, you're going to have bad calls or calls that go against you over the course of a season, it's those, you know, to use a drance is a high leverage calls that change the result of games that I think are the ones that you want to avoid.

And unfortunately, last night that that phantom high sticking call ends up allowing the, you know, the game to be tied and go to overtime, whereas, you know, maybe the Canucks could have closed it out in regulation if they hadn't called that. And it's also equally frustrating for fans when in the moments prior to that, Brock Bessor took a high stick behind the play that went undetected. So, you know, I can understand the frustration. Ultimately, I still come back to the over the course of a long season. The calls tend to even out, and I'm sure we'll have a moment, even within the next few weeks, where the Canucks are helped by a call that doesn't make the most sense for the other team.

But at the same time, I think NHL officiating should be held to a higher standard. and I think even last season I felt coming out of the year just over the body of work of the season that NHL officiating is struggling and there were a lot of times where we were talking about bad calls that changed games or reviews where calls were overturned when we didn't necessarily understand why.

So, you know, last night's an example of that, but it's not anything new and it's probably not going to change anytime soon. So it's something that teams have to find a way to battle through. Because I'm assuming that you heard the remarks from Adam Foote in the post game where he, you know, he did sort of the rare NHL coaching moment of openly saying that they got the call wrong and, you know, in what could be considered a criticism. And, you know, so we talked about it a bit in the intro and I wondered if that was more about taking umbrage with the officiating or a defense of Evander Kane, who, I mean, let's be honest, he's been a penalty magnet this year. And I wonder if that's his way of sticking up for his guy saying, yeah, there's a reputation. Yeah, he takes some penalties.

that just wasn't one. Yeah, well, I think probably both because of Andrew Kane has been under fire here a little bit prior to last night when he scored a couple of goals. You know, we were talking about it on the pregame show yesterday going into the game of all the forwards in the NHL that didn't have a goal.

He had the most shots without having scored yet on the season. And obviously he got unlucky that, you know, the goal the other night didn't end up standing. But, yeah, I think there's an element to that because, you know, and we've seen Adam Foote certainly as a different approach with some of these things than Rick Tocket did, right? Rick Talkett without fail would say after the game,

well, it's a tough job for the officials, tough job, you know, right? He was like physically averse to criticizing referees. Yeah. Adam Foote's going to be a little bit different than that, it seems like. But I think the point about defending Kane is well made because that's a guy they're going to need to get going here in their top six to help them with some of the offensive struggles that they've been having. And it was a good night for him overall that was unfortunately kind of barred by that penalty call.

And so I understand his head coach wanting to stick up for him for sure. The other thing that we've noticed in Halford put it well this morning, he said that Adam Foote has an optimistic view publicly, at least on game. even games that don't go all that well. You're in a lot of these scrums. Have you noticed that? And do you think it's intentional or just who Adam Foote is? Yeah, I'm having a hard time figuring that out.

And part of that is because we're just, what, 14 games into Adam Foote's tenure as the head coach. And I think over the course of a season, you can kind of figure these things out where, you know, Rick Talkin, I thought at times, was pretty honest, but also you could tell when he was trying to hide his emotions. And he would say one thing, but his body language would tell you another thing. Whereas, you know, Adam Foote comes across as genuine to me, but at the same time, I agree, some of the things he's saying are quite positive. Now, is he just a positive guy?

And that's what he wants to, you know, impart to his team and in part to the fan base and to the media. that is entirely possible. But I haven't really been able to get an accurate read on that yet because we're so early in the season. So maybe that's just who he is, right? Maybe he's a guy that looks at things glass half full that wants to take the positive out of every game. And I can understand that too,

especially for a team that's had some negative things happen to them over the last few years. You know, that could be part of the reason why Foote was hired is if he's a guy that has an optimistic viewpoint and always looks on the bright side of things that that might be the best way to move forward rather than, you know, ultimately in a game last night, yeah, that penalty call goes against you, but, you know, is there, is there any use dwelling on it or you have a tough game or things don't go your way? You know, you want to take

the positives from things. Yeah, you want to learn from things that go against you, but ultimately you want to look forward after those sorts of things happen. So, you know, whether that's the way foot is as a person or whether that is intentional from him in terms of the message. he wants to send to the public and whether it's different behind closed doors. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer to that because I'm not behind those closed doors. But I think it's something that as the season goes along, we'll get a better feel for, you know, how genuine he is in those moments or whether that is sort of an intentional plan to deliver a more positive message coming out of the organization.

We're speaking of Brendan Batchelor, Play-by-Play Voice of Vancouver Canucks here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. batch your thoughts on the penalty kill both last night and then over the last little bit yeah it's in tough right now and you know I think part of it is because some of the guys they have out of the lineup for players that play some of those minutes you know Derek forbert I think Connor Garland's become a pretty important penalty killer for them early in the season but at the same time it's been a little too leaky for my liking and you know Adam foot again took a positive perspective on things when he was asked

about it in the last couple of days where he talked about how they didn't really click on the penalty kill until the second half of last season and, you know, especially this year incorporating new guys in, there's going to be some growing pains. And, you know, I think that's all fair comment. At the same time, you know, a successful penalty kill right now would make a big difference for them when, you know, they're scratching and clawing for points to stay in the fight here and not fall out of things with the number of guys they have out with injuries right now. So, unfortunately, the injuries are a part of why the penalty kill is struggling, but it, you know, I think both special teams need to improve. They're both in the bottom half of the league, or they were going

into the game yesterday anyway. And to be a successful team in this league, you obviously need to be able to kill penalties effectively, but you need to have a more consistent power play as well. So I thought it was a good confidence booster for them yesterday that the power play was able to score a couple of times. And, you know, getting Hughes back should help in that regard. But, you you know, even if you had a great power play, if your penalty kills struggles, it kind of offsets it. So there are some things they need to figure out in that area of the game for sure. I'm glad you brought up the power play because it did look good last night.

It should be pointed out, like that's one thing that Nashville does really well is kill penalties, especially at home. I think they were borderline perfect in their first day. I think it only given up one goal killing penalties. But it wasn't just, you know, the fact that they scored, it was the way that they scored, especially that second goal. I thought it was very nice, you know, Adam Foote. but we joked that his plan was like, well, zip it around.

If we're not zipping around, zip it around harder. But it looked sharp yesterday, especially the second one. Very nice passing play. And that's got to be another reason for optimism is that they got it done against the team that does kill penalties pretty well. Yeah, and you hope that that can be sort of a springboard for them, right? Much like we talk about, Amanda Cain scores a couple of goals. Maybe that can get him going offensively while getting Quinn Hughes back

and having a successful night against your right. They were the top home ice penalty kill in the league. I think they were like 96% or something going into the game yesterday. So there's some confidence you can build off of scoring against the team that's really good on the penalty kill. And now you're going to be home for the next handful of games. So, you know, use that confidence and the opportunity, too, to get some more practice time here because this is a group

that hasn't been able to practice a whole lot yet this season because of how congested the schedule is, but that's going to change, right? They have two days between games later this week. Wow. Wow. These guys are so soft. It's just two days between games.

Come on. I know, but like in this season with this compressed schedule, that feels like a luxury to have a couple of days off. So, you know, all kidding aside, the practice time will be important for them. I know Adam Foote has wanted to have more practice time, but with the way the schedule has been, been built. They haven't been able to do it just yet. So for things like the power play and

the penalty kill, I think practice time makes a big difference for them. And ultimately we'll see if they could parlay the positive momentum and the time they're going to have to work on things into some more success into this homestown. Is the month of November going to be just survival for the Canucks? Because at some point, some point if they want to make the playoffs, They're going to have to go on a run of wins, not necessarily in a row, but you're going to have to rack up, you know, I don't know, eight wins and ten games or whatever you've got to do in order to cross that bar. They're 500 right now, so they haven't buried themselves yet.

But considering all the injuries, I think that might be all you can ask of them. Is it still going to be that way for the rest of this month? Or we, you know, if they get out of November and they're still 500, are you happy with that? yeah I think so because of the injuries now you know the goalposts could move on this based on how quickly they get some of these guys back right like seven guys out of the lineup right now if you get four or five of them back in the next week then you know maybe the expectations need to be a little bit higher in terms of winning some more games and being above 500 we always talk about american thanksgiving as being that sort of you know important marker in the season where you've got to be at least relevant and in the fight, if not actually mathematically in a playoff spot at that point to hope to have success. So, you know, yeah, 500, I think at the end of the month, assuming they missed some of these guys for most of the month, I think is a fair and reasonable expectation based on the personnel that they're working with. And, you know, ultimately it's about treading water and keeping yourselves in the conversation and not allowing the bottom to fall out.

because if that happens here in the month of November, and it's a busy month, right? Like, I joked about them having two days off between games, but they've got a ton of games this month. And, you know, the schedule is unrelenting here, although I think they've got a little bit more time on home ice than they've had to this point in the season. But, yeah, this is survival mode for them right now with the injuries,

and then if they get a little bit more healthy, then I think the expectations need to improve. Because you're right, you can stay 500 for so long, But eventually that has to, you know, become a three-game winning streak, a five-game winning streak, you know, seven or eight wins in ten games to allow yourself to legitimately put yourself into the playoff conversation. And the longer the season goes where that run doesn't happen, the harder and harder it is to make up that ground. So obviously the injuries are different this year. And I think our expectations for this team would be more by the end of this month if they didn't.

have as many guys out of the lineup as they do right now but that's the situation that they're in so they've got to just find a way to keep battling here and then worry about getting on that run once they get some bodies back well the other thing with all the injuries what it's done is um kind of like people have almost forgotten like wait a man there might be one injury that they're not going to overcome this season and that's philippeatles um how do you think how do you think it's looked down the middle without Heidel? And is there any way that this team can get some momentum

without addressing that position? Yeah, it's going to be hard for them. I don't think Lucas Reichael has been the answer. You know, as much as there's some speed and there's some offensive ability there, there hasn't been much bottom line production and there have been some defensive lapses that I think are concerning for a guy

that you're essentially putting in the second line center role. I think, you know, Max Sassone has played some good minutes, but also, you know, the expectations of him shouldn't be much higher than where he's being deployed in the lineup as a fourth-line player. You know, as much as they're going to miss Heel, I think getting Teddy Bueger back would make a big difference for this team, which I think speaks to the situation at Santa Rice. One player that I've liked more over the last few games, though, is Atu Ratu.

Me too. And one thing that I think when you have, injuries down the middle or injuries at any position, you know, it does give some of these guys opportunity to play bigger roles to try to have more success and gain more confidence. And if there's someone that's benefited from, you know, Heidel and Bluger being out of the lineup, I think Ratu is probably that guy. So if he can grow his role a little bit and show that he's more capable of playing in some situations that they might not have considered putting him in coming into the year, then that could be a positive that comes from these injuries.

but ultimately this is a team without a second line center and you know depending on how Elias Pedersen performs you could argue without a first line center at times too so that's something they're going to have to address if Heel's not going to be back anytime soon but in this stretch

where they're trying to keep their heads above water they're you know the guys in there are battling I think and doing an admirable job but ultimately if this team has higher aspirations this year which are to make the playoffs and you know certainly they do then that's something that they'll need to address if Heidel isn't going to be back or is it going to be

back anytime soon. And it wouldn't surprise me, especially once we get later into the month of November or early December, if the Kodaks are quite aggressive in trying to make a move to help things down the middle, because that's around the time of year that we've seen Jim Rutherford and Patrick Alvin in the past be able to get some business done. You know, the Nikita's Adorov trade, I believe, was right at the end of November. So, you know, to a certain extent, I think results this month will dictate that, right? If this team finds a way to get some wins and keep in the battle, then, you know, there's more motivation for management to go out

and make a move to find a guy that can help down the middle. Conversely, though, if, you know, they struggle, then maybe there's more desperation too from management to try and help things from slipping away. So that'll be fascinating, you know, not just to see how things develop down the middle or who gets back from injury or when, but also when that pain point hits for this organization that they either have to do something

they haven't been willing to do to this point and pay a price to bring in a center to help things or whether we'll see the market open up a little bit as some other teams fall out of it and teams separate themselves where maybe players that weren't available before become available for a more reasonable price. And if that happens, I would expect the Canucks to jump on any opportunity they can to bring in some center ice help. Batch, thanks for this, buddy. We appreciate it.

Sounds good, boys. Have a good one. You too, thanks. Brendan Batchel will play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Canucks here on the Alford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. We got to go to break,

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today at limitless a.c.a.c. Amar Dome and owner of the BC Lions coming up next, you're listening to the Halford and Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Strance. Get your daily dose of Canucks Talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on SportsNet 650.

Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. 733 on a Tuesday, happy Tuesday, everybody, Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford Brup in the morning is brad to you by Sands and Associates. Only a licensed insolvency trustee can get your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees to learn how. Visit sands dash trustee.com. We are in hour two of the program, midway point of the show. BC Lions owner, Amar Domen is going to join us in just a moment here.

Hour 2 of this program is brought to by Jason Hamanuk at Jason dot 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 them online at Jason dot mortgage. To the phone lines, we go, the owner of your BC Lions, Amar Domen, joins us now on the Halford and Breft Show on SportsNet 650. Good morning, Amar. How are you? Good morning, gentlemen. I'm fine, thanks.

How are you guys? We're good. We're excited about the Lions. You know, a couple months ago. I didn't expect that the Lions would be hosting a playoff game, but they did, and they won it, and they're off to the West Final. Hopefully, a trip to the Grey Cup is coming up. Tell us about your last two months and the roller coaster of this team.

You know, it just continues to get better. We had some lows early. Nathan was hurt for a couple of games. We lost both those games, and, you know, there's a guy that, you know, basically he was six yards short of the rushing title, and he played two last games, so that would have been his. He's had a stellar year. The defense gelled a bunch of new players this year, new coaching staff.

I'm going to tell you where we're at in the Western Final with all the moving pieces. You know, Nathan finally back in control. We're very proud of this team and where we're at today. And, you know, hey, two more to go, gentlemen. I wanted to check in with you and just see how it's going for you. You know, you've been the owner of the BC Lions for a few years now. I think you've done a terrific job. I can't think of anyone who has ever texted into our show and said anything else.

Where are you at right now? When you took over the team, how much progress have you made? How much more progress do you need to make? Yeah, you know what? First of all, I want to thank the fans. They are supporting, and they've come back in droves. And really, you know, if you look back and look at some of the earlier comments I was making when we took the club over was we wanted to get the youth in there.

When you go to a game today, you're going to see tons of families, tons of kids, little kids, and pushing those games up to the afternoon has really helped drive that strategy of bringing young kids into the building. And, you know, a lot come from all over the lower mainland further out. And, you know, when it's seven at night and going home at 10, 10, 10, 30, or 11, that's hard for a family. So we've tried to accommodate that with the league the best we could out here. And it's driving, you know, not only season's ticket sales, but game day sales, merch is through the roof. We did more merch

almost on this game on Saturday than we did for our home opener. And, you know, I asked Dwayne to double check the numbers. I said, are you seriously? I just want to thank the fans. Everyone's wearing swag and into the gear. It's great. So I've got to tell you that all the arrows are going in the right direction as far as the BC lines

go. And I just want to say thank you to everybody in B.C. So how has the project to get more kids playing flag football gone. It's gone fantastic. In fact, on the North Shore, we're short of coaches now.

We have so many kids playing. And as you know, I coach myself, and it's been fantastic. And we've also supported GSL in the North Shore and other leagues that are in tackle and they're all development leagues. And we're all over the place supporting and, you know, we're being selfish. You're putting our logos everywhere.

But really, we're writing checks in helping kids get into sports that sometimes don't have an opportunity or need a shot. And We're doing a lot for the community, and that was a dream of mine. And it comes back, and people wanted to be, you know, fans of the BC Lions or the CFL, but also just being good people in general by playing sports and getting the disciplines and learning those things you learn

when you play a team sport. How important is it to have a guy like Nathan Rourke that you can market to the fans, and people will know that name and know that he's the quarterback of the BC Lions? Well, it's wonderful. And being Canadian is just another, you know, wonderful piece about him. So, you know, having him back and at the controls, he's a very loyal guy here. You know, he's just all in with Buck Pierce. They're working together hand and glove.

Very, very excited about, you know, the next number of years with Nathan Rourke. And he just continues to improve all the time. And I've got to tell you, we just, we're very fortunate to have him with us. He's not shy about putting his opinion out there either, is he? No, we love the passion. Look, there's all kinds of opinions on rule changes and stuff. And, you know, you're starting to do a little bit of heart surgery when you're, touch rules in the CFL, but another reason they haven't been touched for so long.

It feels like if you change something, you know, you're turning the world on its edge. And these are just adjustments. And we love his passion. We want people to be passionate. That means they love the league. Have you had a conversation about the rule changes? Are you guys on the same page? You know, really, we're going to let the season end.

Nothing changes and stuff goes over for a couple of years. Let's focus on the playoffs. Well, I do want to talk about some more big picture issues with the league with you, if that's okay. Are you going to be involved at all in the new broadcast deal, or do you just leave that to the commissioner? Because this seems like a big one for the CFL. Yeah, for sure. And that does go to the commissioner. That's his responsibility. And I think one of the reasons, you know, there's nine of us governors selected Stuart Johnson is because of his experience in media. He knows everybody in the media world, 30 years there, very well-known entity, very trusted guy.

You know, we think we've got the right person to assist us in that next media deal when that comes up in about a year. Let's go back to the rule changes then. What did you think about the response, some positive, but there were some negative as well? Yeah, what I've told fans is, look, you know, we're making adjustments. There's some very, very die-hard CFL guys on this board, okay? So the vote was 9-0. So that tells you something. And that came from all kinds of, I would say, you know, passionate people.

Some guys are new to the league like me for a few years. But knowing the league forever, but guys that have really been involved, you know, at that governor level for a long time, they were all for it. These are adjustments. We're not tearing it up. We're not going to U.S. football. Third down, that's not discussed changing. We're not changing the fair catch. We're not changing the kickoff.

Like, we're not going to U.S. So people just need to see it, evidence it. and let's move on and let's just improve as a league those uprights are a disaster they're in the wrong spot I don't think anyone can argue against that and also having cadence on the clock guys I mean seriously right now the referee walks around for sometimes 30 40 seconds then starts 30 seconds like people want to get the game moving look what they did with baseball look what they did with tennis we're getting cadence on the clock as soon as the whistle blows boom 35 starts that's good for the game so you know let's give these things a try I've said to fans face to face

And, you know, if things aren't good and, you know, it's a disaster, we can make adjustments again. But, you know, I just think it's time to make some adjustments. Shorten that end zone a little bit as well. And, you know, get rid of that 55 and just make it 100 yards. So these were things that were presented over the years. Nothing's been done for years. And, you know, finally we're to do something. And it's implemented over two years, gentlemen.

Are the games too long still? Well, I think the cadence on the clock's going to really help. But, look, U.S. football, Canadian football college, You're going to run just about three hours depending on injury, right? So that's kind of where it's going to sit. I think we can clean up a little bit of time, though, with this cadence, and we're pretty excited about shortening that game a little bit. And eventually, if we get a 10th team, I know you've been talking about this for a thousand years,

but if something comes, you know, that would really help shorten the season by two weeks. And also, we're going to start a week early now right around Labor. Sorry, not Labor Day. We're going to start around Victoria Day, my apologies, and then now finish right. before the long weekend. So in November, which is great instead of pushing this out. And, you know, it's going to be minus six in the magina this weekend, too. So we kind of want to avoid that in the overlap with the NFL.

We're speaking to BC Lions owner, Amar Doman here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Amar, I know we're up against it for time, but I did want to circle back to the opportunity this weekend. We talked about it. It's like for all the marketing initiatives and changes and things to do to get people in the door and eyeballs on the product, winning is often the best marketing that you can have. And we saw, you know, with the Jays going to the World Series and the great run that they went on, what happens when you get in those spotlight games,

those high-profile games. How excited are you guys as an organization for this opportunity, given the fact that this team is on a heater, they've won a lot of games in a row. And to go into Saskatchewan to win that game would be a huge statement, not just to win in a tough place, but to get that spot in the Grey Cup. Well, I think, guys, we were two and five,

if I recall, at the start of this season. And, yeah, there was some head scratching and new coaching kind of going, oh, boy, you know, is this all jelling? And now, look, you know, the train's right on the track. Wins a win. Some are pretty. Some aren't, just like any sport. And I'll tell you what, though, the guys on special teams find a way or defense finds away. Offense, like that pass to McKinnis over the middle.

Like, things are just kind of clicking here. Sask, they're an excellent football team, Corey Mace. You know, he's a stud out there coaching. This is going to be a hard-battle game. I think it's going to be a close game. And, you know, hey, we're just happy we're there. To go from where we were to now the Western Final, a game away from the Grey Cup, I'm pretty proud of this team, the organization, management, everybody.

Here we are, guys. And it does help everything, to your point. Winning Phil's stadiums, it sells seats. We had the curse of the Js a bit on Saturday. We still had a great loud crowd. I'll tell you, anybody that missed that game in person missed one of the best football games I've ever seen. Did you, what were your thoughts when they ran the ball? ball on the first play because I was like, are we going for overtime here? What's going on?

Yeah, I scratched my head too. I said, hey, what's going on with that? And, you know, hearing coach talk a little bit about that post game was, you know, if he ran that a bit, you know, or had a good run, he could have ran it again. There was still at that point in time, 30 seconds left. So, you know, he was chewing the clock a little bit there. And then, boom, I think he might have tricked him into that one over the middle. So I've got to tell you, whatever Buck did, it worked. It worked. It was brilliant. Amar this was great Thank you very much for taking the time to do this today

We appreciate it Best of luck to the Lions on Saturday in Saskatchewan Hopefully they come out with a win And are on their way to the Grey Cup You guys are awesome Thank you, go Lions Yeah thank you Amar we appreciate that Samar Domen B.C. Lions owner here on the Halford

and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650 Not gonna get a lot of owners That are that dialed into the intricacies And nuances of their team It's like Jerry Jones Who we got to see last night on TV Oh yeah yet again How to go for the Cowboys

Not great Not great at all they got a QB controversy going in Arizona though. Yeah. Notice that. That's pretty interesting. I don't know if Kyler Murray will join the ranks of Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold and all these countless

other quarterbacks, Daniel Jones, that have to reinvent their careers elsewhere, but there is a full-blown QB controversy now that Jacoby Brissette has come in. Well, that's a nice opponent for the Seahawks too, right? That's Arizona. So tell us about it. So last night in, was it a great Monday night football game

and I'm not sure how many people actually paid attention to it. The lead up to the game was that a lot of people thought that Kyler Murray was going to make his return to the starting job at quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals having missed the last couple of games with an injury.

As it got closer and closer Monday night football, it became apparent that he wasn't going to return even though some people like but he feels like he's healthy enough to return. So what exactly is going on here? Well, Jacoby Brissette is what's going on here. Brissette threw for two touchdowns, ran for another one in a game where

Kyler Murray was in civvies on the sideline with a foot injury, and the Cardinals beat the Cowboys 27 to 17 on Monday night football. So that's three straight starts for Brissette. Again, in a week where going into it, everyone thought that Murray was going to make his return. Now you look at it and the Cardinals have played, I would say, Better football, not by a huge margin, but better football with Brissette at quarterback. The story of their season is still that they've lost.

I think they've lost six games that were either one score or around like eight or nine points. They haven't been able to win close football games, but Brisset, the things that he does that Murray doesn't do is keeps it a little bit more close to the vest. He's not as exciting, but he's also not as high risk. He doesn't turn the ball over with the regularity.

that Kyler Murray does. And now you look at it. Arizona's probably not going anywhere this season. They're three and five, although that's not riding the season off entirely. But they're a better football team and the offense looks better under Berset than it has under Kyler Murray.

And it feels like over the course of time for Murray in Arizona that the raw athletic abilities, which are elite. Yeah, yeah. You can do things on the football field that other guys just can't do. But those things have never translated

into consistent winning football and really good consistent quarterbacking play. And he's been given a long leash there and he's been given the contract and he's given a lot of time to prove himself. Is he too short, man? Like he's listed at 510.

There's no way he's 5'10. It doesn't help. Yeah, I think he's 5'8 or 9. His size does not help. Yeah. It's a problem. For the amazing things that he can do with his feet.

Yeah. And I mean amazing. There are decisions that he makes and there are, I think, throws that he needs to make that maybe his size or just his ability to replays often sees him turning the ball over. Now, I think that right now

we're in a very interesting phase in the evolution of the quarterback position at the NFL because what we're seeing right now is guys playing at an MVP level that anyone could have had. Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones. The new drafting first overall is acquiring a guy who was once drafted first overall.

Just wait. There's no point to... Let them have their tough times. There's no point to drafting a guy first overall anymore. Hey, do you think this might result in... Do you think this will ever happen where teams draft a guy first overall and just like, he's not playing in his first year?

Like, we're not doing this thing. We're not throwing these guys... First overall? Well, whatever. Fifth overall. But just like, we're not throwing these guys to the wolves in. anymore because it ruins them. It ruins them psychologically.

The expectations are way too high. Frankly, there's injury concerns. If you throw them out there, because a lot of the times, right, with the importance of an offensive line, a lot of the times, if you're bad enough that you're drafting in the top five, there's a very good chance that your offensive line stinks. There's a good chance. Yes, there is.

Like, I mean, that's, that just makes sense. So then you throw these guys into the situation where your offensive line stinks. They have no protection. They're all, like, you know, all of a sudden they're just, like, running for their lives on every play. Well, that's not a good way to train a quarterback. So right now, okay, let's run through them. We got a little bit of time here. So this year's first overall pick, Cam Ward, Tennessee's been an abject disaster.

they'd fire their head coach after six games I believe it was all because they were worried about how much the development of their first overall pick and future franchise quarterback was going to be stunted and it's very dicey because they look terrible they're a really bad football team

and as to your point you have to be really bad to get that first pick but then when he joins the team he looks around he's like these guys really are bad like they're a bad team and he's had a lot of struggles Caleb Williams second year

we've seen things especially lately that suggests that maybe he'll come out on the other side all right but they had to make a head coaching changes well so much of it is dependent

on the pieces around you coaching and personnel right Bryce Young extremely tough go of it in Carolina Trevor Lawrence you go two years prior to that

it's been very erratic in Jacksonville there's been some highs and there's been some lows before him Joe Burrow and there's the offensive line question that you were talking about yeah he got sacked like a hundred times

Unquestionable talent Unquestionable ability franchise type quarterback heard all the time and then the two guys prior to that were Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield I mean it is it's such a fascinating look

because you have the guys that have hit and are absolute studs yeah they drafted and developed and it worked out great and then you have the case of Baker Mayfield who all these years later finally found the right fit the right team the right coach the right coordinator or the right

receivers and he's an MVP candidate for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You look back on some of the quarterbacks that, I don't want to say came out of nowhere because they were well known, but they were not highly drafted. A lot of them had the advantage of starting with teams that were further along than a team that drafts in the top five would be. Think about Tom Brady with the New England Patriots, right? That team was pretty good when he took over. Think about, I don't know, Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks that team was pretty far along

they just needed a quarterback that's almost the ideal scenario for a young player to come into it's like oh you got a you got a decent offensive line you got a you know Russ came in he's like who's my running back Marshawn Lynch oh that's good that's good

how's the defense coming along it's looking elite right so I mean you know maybe that's I have always wondered if that's what the Seahawks were intending to do by trying to stay competitive and saying we're not going to go through a rebuild, certainly not intentionally at least. And, you know, you bring in a coach and Mike McDonald

and you keep John Schneider. And like the whole plan for the Seahawks stayed the same. It's like, you know, we're just going to keep drafting and hopefully we'll find our quarterback. Because, you know, some way, but it won't be like, we're not going to tear it all down just to find the quarterback. And I've always been kind of like, well, that's going to be interesting. But are you going to find it? Now, maybe they found it in Sam Darnold. Maybe they have or maybe they get a late first round pick or a second or a third round pick where they get a quarterback and they find it that way. See, this is what I was trying to get as it. Traditionally, the model has been the same. Bad teams are bad. They finish low. They

get a high pick. They draft them. And that's how you find the guy. That's like Peyton Manning to the Colts. However, again, if you look right now, three of the bona fide MVP candidates in the NFL through week nine are guys that got chewed up and spit out by one, sometimes two teams, and found home somewhere else. The big three right now are Danny Dimes, Baker Mayfield, and Sam Darnold. Yeah, Danny Dimes had a bit of a tough week. Right, but I mean, there's still seven and two. Yeah, yeah. And it's just, I mean, I'm not saying, you can't blueprint this.

No, you can't blueprint. The fact that we are having the conversation about Sam Darnold being an MVP candidate in week nine is wild to me. me. All of our preseason predictions for the Seahawks were they'll hang around, maybe be a couple of games above 500, they'll play low scoring, low event football, and they'll win games with their defense, and hopefully,

hopefully, they'll have enough on offense. Hopefully Darnold can manage the offense well enough. And what they've done is, you've got to understand, put together one of the best passing offenses in the entire NFL. Jackson Smith and Jigba is on pace for 2,000 receiving yards.

Like he is He traded DK Yeah he's almost done And on the weekend He did not score one of the five touchdowns That the Seahawks had And Cooper Cup didn't play Like that shows you the versatility

Of that offense And how good of a passer Darnold's become in that system Okay we are up against it for time The dogs are yelling at me Because they want everybody to know But those ACDC tickets When are we getting those ACDC tickets

We're doing it at 8 o'clock this morning We are giving away a pair of tickets Every day this week to see ACDC in August of 2026. Yeah, next year. That's how far out in front of this thing we are. Tickets go on sale this Friday, but we're giving away tickets every day this week.

Be caller number five at 8 a.m. this morning. The phone number is 604-280-650. That number again, 604-280-650. Caller number five this morning gets a pair of ACDC tickets to see them at BC Place in August of 2026. Coming up on the other side of the break, Some whitecaps talk with radio play-by-play guy, Asa Raymond. He's joining us next on the Halford Inbrough show on Sportsnet, 650.