Halford & Brough in the Morning - BC Lions Starting QB Nathan Rourke

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest news from the NHL (3:00), they discuss the boring Winnipeg Jets (sorry), plus they speak with BC Lions starting QB Nathan Rourke ahead of Friday's home tilt versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. 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.

🎵 Is Laddie sneaking in Christmas music in September? Yeah. Cause this kinda sounds like Christmas music. 🎵 We're gonna love it. Stop! Oh god. No, please. Please no. No? Too early. Hold're going to love it. Stop. Oh, God. No, please.

Please, no. No? Too early. Hold on. Let it breathe. Let's see. Sounds jazzy, huh? Yeah, there's some Kris Kringle vibes there.

Yeah. These more jingle bells. Andy doesn't like this because we're glossing over Halloween if we do this. Yeah, no, no. It's Christmas music starts December 1st. Let's go. Come on. I would like to make a special announcement.

Okay. I was just joking about laying out the goalies in beer league hockey. No, you weren't. I like to yell it from the bench sometimes just as a joke, and everyone on the bench laughs because no one would ever lay out a goalie in a meaningless beer league game i would but uh someone texted someone texted in and said lay out the goalie i play beer league try that on me bro i'll take your head off you should try it on him bro and i replied try that on me, bro. Listen to yourself.

He has since switched stations. Ooh. We lost another one. I can't lose the goalie listenership, you guys. We lost another one. The beer league goalie demo is just plummeting. I made up one eighth of our listenership. Our Woodley hits are going to be in.

Try that on me, bro. Come at me, bro. I did like the come at me, bro, of our listenership. Our Woodley hits are going to be in. Try that on me, bro. Come at me, bro. I did like the come at me, bro, of the whole thing. We can't lose listeners like this. One by one, we're going to whittle them away until it's just Bill from Buffalo. I do have to remember that not all beer leagues are the same in intensity level. Some of them get a little snap showy. See, okay, now that we're down this road whatever we got an open segment i feel

like there needs to be a differentiator between beer league like it should be when you're competitive well okay you do run the risk of self-importance where it's like it's not beer league it's a competitive men's amateur yeah no one wants to hear that no one liked that but at the same time you're right there are very very varying degrees of adult recreational hockey yeah right back in my old gym which was right above the ice rink at den at denman and uh man that those beer league guys were like insane they would just go at each other hard and i'm like aren't you supposed to be having fun out there this looks incredibly don't you have to work tomorrow yeah league guys were like insane. They would just go at each other hard. And I'm like, aren't you supposed to be having fun out there? This looks incredibly painful. Don't you have to work tomorrow?

Yeah, these guys are like all in their 50s and like throwing hits. And like, that looks really painful. Okay, so there's the level of seriousness that people take it. That's one part of it. And then there's the level of play, right? Because you can take it seriously and still be horrible at it. Sure. The dirtiest leagues are often the lower leagues.

Yeah, I was going to say. Yeah, like the more skill guys there yeah one guy out there is like did you have a tough week fella he's just taking all his frustrations out in hockey there is and then there's always comedy that follows from that because like he'll try and throw a punch and fall and you're like okay you're making all the super skill guys you're just like we're just trying to have fun out here man like what are you doing anyone anyone that's played anyone that's played this sport at the adult level knows that, and at the competitive level knows that, generally speaking,

the guys that were really good at it growing up and through their early adult years aren't the ones going balls to the wall in beer league because they're like, They've had their moments. They've had their moments. They've played in their intense games. Exactly. Yeah. As opposed to maybe someone

that hasn't quite reached those heights, but still feels like he could. Those are the guys you have to watch out for. Those are the ones that are- I marvel at the guys that still do it into their 50s. Like,

play like that. Not play hockey, but just play on the edge. I almost admire them. You're still chasing the dream, aren't you? The key word is almost. Almost admire them. Okay, we got to take care aren't you? The key word is almost. Almost admire them.

Okay, we got to take care of some- Try that on me, bro. And we lost another listener. Okay, we got to do some business before we get into this open segment. You are listening to Halford & Brough on Sportsnet 650. Halford & Brough in the Morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda. Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for.

Sales, financing service, or parts. This hour of the show is brought to you by Jason dot mortgage. I got to get this one right today. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. That's reverse psychology.

Or as I understand it, uh, visit him at Jason dot you. That's reverse psychology, or as I understand it. Visit him at jason.mortgage. It's not.ca. It's not.com. Like AJ with.pizza, we got new suffixes on the internet. So jason.mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider,

powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. Sorfy, what are you waiting for? Kintec. Sorry, I thought we lost another listener, but it's just another listener weighing in on the previous spat that you had with a listener. The in-basket is a funny place right now. News and notes from around the National Hockey League.

A lot of stuff is happening. This is the part of the preseason that I like. Sometimes I feel we can get too hyper-focused on the Canucks, and then you're like, this is the part of the preseason that I like. Sometimes I feel we can get too hyper-focused on the Canucks, and then you're like, this is the fourth day in a row we're talking about Danton Heinen playing with Besser and Miller. So you get to start looking at these other developments around the league that Wish brought up a good point. You kind of forgot about.

You're like, oh, yeah, that guy's there. Oh, yeah, that's happening over there. For example, Patrick La made his pre-season debut yesterday for the montreal canadiens what a fascinating and interesting story that is going to be because quite honestly i have no idea where linea's game is at i have no idea if he can reach the heights that he had when he broke into the league and let's not forget because i remember when he got drafted and he broke into the league there was talk about him being the Finnish Ovechkin that was his he was going to be the next

great sniper in the NHL he was electrifying in those first couple of years and now he's back in a Canadian market he's in Montreal and there's real hopes that he's going to be a reclamation project for this and it looks like he had a few moments last night at the Bell Center and the crowd was really behind Patrick Laine. We talked about this a lot when Laine was traded to the Habs and the Habs this was a good gamble for them. And they're in kind of a position right now where they might as well try and find some offensive stars and some guys with upside. had the cap space um they got some young kids coming up uh this

lane hudson kid i don't know if he's gonna make the team this year a lot of hype around there's a lot of hype around him um and linea looked like he had some legs last night he had five shots on goal which is good didn't score no points but um so far so good for patrick linea i am more interested in the habs this year than i have been in years past me as well for a lot for the for the linea factor and that actually brings up another piece of news um about linea's old team and that is that they got a bridge deal done with Cole Perfetti yeah okay hands are sweaty bobbing on his sweater already spaghetti he's a good player um but I don't think he's gonna like move the needle much in Vancouver to talk about the Cole Perfetti contract I do have

a question though and I'm gonna throw it out to you guys and the listeners um the winnipeg jets used to be a really interesting team yep like they had line a they had you know dustin bufflin they had they had blake wheeler their their coach paul maurice was was interesting um you know they they were uh entertaining team to watch right like sometimes their games would boil over. They played a really physical style, sometimes undisciplined. The team was newer to Winnipeg and the crowds were crazy. And now the honeymoon is over in Winnipeg.

They're having some trouble selling some tickets there. They weren't selling out all their games. They're a good team, but I don't know if anyone considers them selling some tickets there. They weren't selling out all their games. They're a good team, but I don't know if anyone considers them a Stanley Cup contender. So with all that said, what is the hook with the Winnipeg Jets this year?

Tell me why I should be interested in them. I just gave a good example of why I'm more interested in Montreal. You got some good good example of why I'm more interested in Montreal. You've got some good young kids. You've got Patrick Lainé there. They're hoping to come out of their rebuild at some point. What is the hook with the Winnipeg Jets? Okay, so for the answer, I don't have one.

I find them as uninteresting as you, but Laddy has one. I think I maybe know where this is going, but I'm going to let you have the microphone anyway. Laddie, what is the hook with the Winnipeg Jets? You get to watch the best goalie on the planet. There it is. Connor Hellebuck. I can respect that.

If you're not a goalie guy, I get it, but for me, that is a significant draw. Connor Hellebuck. It's not Dominic Hastic, though. I mean, it's not like riveting. He's the best in the league right now. Yeah, but it's like, is that what you're tuning in? Well're tuning well i guess you are but i mean your average person is tuning in just for the i don't know sometimes i don't feel i feel like you're you're like really project your

interests you ask all of us individually a reason why and you're projecting your lack of interest that's true i am doing that uh raps just like man hopefully he runs hellebuck that's all he's thinking wouldn't that be more interesting Wouldn't that be more interesting? That's true. Wouldn't that be more interesting? Maybe it was Connor Hellebuck texting the show. Who knows? He might listen.

I don't know. Do you remember when Ryan Miller got run? Very interesting. Yeah, Hellebuck's 6'4", 207. I don't think anyone's going to be running at him too much. Oh, because you think they'd be scared of him? He's going to punch him out with a big pocket. You just don't do it.

He's a big dude. You just don't do it. And you'd have eight players on your back. It'd be interesting, wouldn't it? So on the subject of the Winnipeg Jets not being interesting, I want someone, one of our, like the tens of listeners out there, you guys have ideas. Dunbar-Lemertech, 6'50", 6'50".

Do you have a compelling hook for this team? Because when Jason threw this out there last night, I just kind of felt myself nodding along as I was reading those I'm like yeah they're really not interesting going into this year there's just I mean even like a sort of smaller thing but like Rick Bonus who I liked as a coach and at least there was something kind of inspiring about him being one of the oldest coaches in the NHL and you know remember when he blew up on the team? He's like, I hate all of you. And then they're like, please come back and coach us again. We should just do an entire week of the boring NHL teams

and get all the guests on and be like, Jim Toth, sell us on the Winnipeg Jets. Yeah. Why are they not boring? You know what I think is happening? The Jets uniforms are boring. Yeah, they got to switch back to the good ones. Totally.

You know what I think might have happened in Winnipeg? I was thinking about this last night. They might have finally, after years, just adopted the personality of their general manager. They just kind of became the physical embodiment of Kevin Sheveldayoff's personality. Do you remember all the drama they used to have with Evander Kane? Yeah. Like, okay, you brought up a good point because... For once.

Well, yeah, and it wasn't that great a point. Don't bathe in it. Come at me, bro. They used to be fun to watch like i know that dustin bufflin has a bit of a rift with a lot of canucks fans but um i used to love watching bufflin play hockey because no one played it like he did no one was he was so much fun no fun. He was one of my favorite guys I love to hate. Like, I just hated him so much, but he was so much fun. I just started to love him. I'll be honest with you.

I couldn't do it. After all the Canucks stuff. But I was just like, I respected him. Like, if you want to talk about the, we talk about generational talents and players you'll only see once in your life. You'll never see another Dustin Bufflin again. Like, so physically imposing.

He's like, maybe Eric Lindros in my lifetime was the only other guy I ever watched play, and I was like, nobody else could move this guy on the ice. Just impossible to move. So you mentioned the general manager in Kevin Sheveldayoff who's been there the whole time, right? He'll never leave. Are the Jets stale as a brand and a team?

Yeah, and I'm not joking. I think it might have a lot to do with him. Do you remember when we thought they might make a bunch of big changes? We thought that Hellebuck might move on. And then the goalie market, I think, for contracts for him wasn't maybe where he wanted it to be. So he stayed in Winnipeg because winnipeg was willing to pay him because winnipeg is pretty much willing to pay anyone that will stay well

that's that's a star level yeah but then we also thought well maybe scheifele will move on and he didn't and he didn't and i realized like some guys have but it's you know ehlers is still there scheifele still there um kyle connor is still there. Scheifele's still there. Kyle Conner's still there. And they're good players. Don't get me wrong. They're good players. I just don't find them all that interesting.

I don't know what the narrative is there this season. And I know that word is, some people don't even like that. So I prefer to use the one like, what's the hook? What's the interesting storyline that will keep me watching them? Because I don't think they're, I think they're probably maybe a playoff team, but I don't know if they've got what it takes to win a Stanley Cup. Yep. Okay, so we got Jeff in East Hill. Boys, I think the only thing that's remotely interesting

will be to monitor how long Kevin Shevelyov will last as the GM. Sure, I don't know if that's going to compel me to watch the actual team play, but I'll monitor the situation. I'm not seeing it. They're in the group right now with the Seattle Kraken and the Dallas Stars where I'm just not sure outside of the market and the fans that follow the team what the compelling reasons would be to watch them this season. And it's unfortunate because I would love to see Winnipeg thrive.

I would love to see that market do well because they're an underdog at this point. They are the smallest of small markets. They've got their issues financially. I don't love the fact that the fan base is tuning them out because that was sort of their one calling card. It was like, Winnipeg's a hockey city. Everyone there loves the team. Everyone loves the Jets. Every night it's crazy there.

It's got to be like that in order for that market to matter when and when they start to check out and tune out and look I understand there's financial implications here with uh inflation and how much it costs to go to games and all that stuff I get it all I'm saying is that from an outsider's perspective if it's not frenzied in Winnipeg for the team, it really resonates outward. Got a text in here. They are what their city is to other Canadians. Just kind of there.

No hatred, but no love either. Just there doing their thing, playing hockey, presumably. I wouldn't actually know because they are boring to follow. Yeah, that's fair. Other news. Table saw James. The Jets are that bag of chips that someone opened had a handful of and then put back in the cupboard without closing it properly and the next person gets stale chips also the chips

are plain yeah the jet starts selling plain stale chips opened opened pre-opened chips winnipeg jet flavored chips well it was more interesting when evander kane was with the winnipeg jets he helped let's talk a little bit about evander kane because he finally underwent his uh abdominal surgery do you remember how much trouble i had said saying abdomen the other day and look at you now well i can say abdominal yeah that seems abdomen easier um abdomen so he had abdominal surgery abdominal surgery he had a bomb so he had surgery to repair both abductors two hernias and two abdominal tears. That's a lot of surgery. He's expected to miss five to six months. And the big question I think a lot of people had was,

why did it take so long for them to have this surgery? Why did he just have it? If he had all these ailments, why wait? Right. So he explained it as, well, after going to the last possible day of the NHL season, of course, game seven, the Oilers, and trying to figure out how I was going to proceed in the off season, everybody agreed we wanted to see how things looked after we took some time off to see if anything settled down, if anything could be rehabbed.

There were some people who believed that we could possibly get better through rehab, but that ended up not being the case. Then, you've got to start the due diligence process and trying to find the best surgeon and surgeons out there to do what they do in hearing from them. Fair enough. Conspiracy

minded people would say, you, Evander Kane, and you, the Edmonton Oilers, are going to try and pull a fast one on the league. You're going to have this surgery. You're going to miss the entire regular season. And whoa, great timing. Evander Kane is ready to roll and he's healthy for game one of the playoffs.

Can I just add a wrinkle to this as well? You remember the last dance Chicago Bulls documentary, right? Talking about Michael Jordan and the famous Chicago Bulls from the 90s. You remember what Scottie Pippen said in 1997 when he decided to get foot surgery like the day before the season started? He's like, I'm not going to F up my summer. I got a feeling. Which is amazing. Yeah. And I was was like i want to do some stuff yeah i'm like you know what i get it like you know i mean if you're not gonna play anyway

why not just enjoy your summer i mean it sucks post-surgery you can't do all the fun stuff that you i mean look uh all the core muscle issues that Evander Kane had wasn't going to keep him from hanging out and having a good time at the beach or the dock or the cottage or whatever. You can do all those things. It might be uncomfortable, but you can still have a good time doing it. I think it was the perfect storm of Evander Kane not wanting to F up his summer and the Oilers being like, that's fine with us.

That's great. And that's the entire regular season. Yeah, like that is perfect for our LTIR situation. A lot of the guys don't really like you a lot anymore. Yeah, like you're just going to screw stuff up if you hang around here anyway. You're going to rub somebody the wrong way. You're going to say something stupid.

So just, you know, let's just let this thing hang. And hey, I know that people don't like this I know that between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Vegas Golden Knights and going back to when the Chicago Blackhawks did it even going back to when the Vancouver Canucks did it back in 2011 people don't like these

LTIR and salary cap shenanigans where poof this guy that's been injured all year is suddenly ready to go in the playoffs if you're not taking advantage of the collective bargaining agreement the rules that are where, poof, this guy that's been injured all year is suddenly ready to go in the playoffs. If you're not taking advantage of the collective bargaining agreement, the rules that are set forth, you're not trying. That is my stance on this. It always has been.

I don't like what Vegas has done the last couple years, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't want my team to do it. It was more advantageous for the playoffs. We loved it when the Canucks did it. It was great. Back in the day. Larry Gilman, man, he was way ahead of the curve on this. He figured it out early and everyone's been

And then the NHL got revenge. Yeah. In the form of cap recapture. Sweet, sweet and punitive, punitive revenge. I wonder if they will do something about LTIR. What are you going to do? I don't know. Because you can't do anything under the current CBA. They're not going to go back and revamp it.

I think public medical exams. Right? Could that be a privacy thing? You think? And also, you know how hard it would be to prove half this stuff? All these claims that people are making? Yeah. You just get Dr. Nick in there.

Yeah. He's like, he's hurt. What's hurt? It's like his backbone. Playoff start today. Oh, wait, wait. He's ready. It's connected to his front bone both of them are hurt right i mean you can and so i i mean how how we've laid it out with the oilers is probably exactly how this is going to play out is that their trade deadline acquisition isn't going to be some big splashy

deal in february or march it's going to to be getting Evander Kane back in time for the playoffs. Nathan Rourke, starting quarterback of the BC Lions and also brother of Curtis Rourke, is going to join us next on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drance. 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.

Warrick. Swarm. Stays on his feet somehow. He'll have a chance to get it away and he completes it for a touchdown. Oleson worked free, but Wark did the magician work. 7.31

on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough in the Morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service, or parts.

Hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason.Mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around for the perfect mortgage for you. That's Jason Hominick. Visit him at Jason.Mortgage. I'm getting good at it. You're getting better atick. Visit him at jason.mortgage. I'm getting good at it. You're getting better at it. I'm getting really good at it.

Read it how you originally read it. I played it straight. I was like, if you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around. I was like, what? That didn't make any sense. Who loves paying too much for their... Oh, it's sarcasm.

No one told me. Okay? There needs to be a sarcasm font. I guess like the internet one, you know, like there's a lowercase word and then an uppercase and lowercase, uppercase. Like if they wrote it like that, then you know what they were talking about.

We used to have... Growing up, we had... I hate that on the internet, by the way. Oh, do you? It's so obnoxious. I got a story about this we can tell later. Nathan Rourke is waiting patiently on the line here. Joining us now, starting quarterback for the BC Lions, Nathan Rourke,

here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Nathan. How are you? I'm doing well, guys. Thanks for having me. Yeah, thanks for coming on. We appreciate you taking the time. So the bye week is over. You guys are now back in prep. There's a game on Friday against the Hamilton Tiger Cats. Did this bye week come at the right time and give you guys a chance to decompress

and maybe try and flush that game against Toronto out of the system? Yeah, I think so. I think that we've got a lot of guys that are banged up and that are in critical spots that have the opportunity to come back this week or the week next. And, you know, we've got a really important stretch here these last four games. And we've really got to play our best football and start to get to build some momentum. So I think it's been good for us. And obviously, I'd love to have an opportunity to play right away to get that Toronto game out of your system.

But I think that the bye week will be good in the long run, and we're looking forward to this Friday. Now that you've had the time to sit back and absorb everything and go over the tape, what went wrong against Toronto? Yeah, I mean, credit to them. They played well, especially that front four. They were doing things up there, exposing some of our weakness that we have to them. They played well, especially that front four. They were doing things up there, exposing some of our weakness that we have to address. They had a good plan in the back end as well. I think it just comes down to execution. We were really close on a lot of

things. We had balls that were hitting hands, and we had some throws that I needed to make and be a little more accurate on. We were just really close, especially in that first quarter, to a lot of big plays. But good teams are able to make those plays, and we need to be able to do that to beat good teams like Toronto. So I think from an offensive perspective, being able to come out fast and start strong is really important to us playing a complete game.

But I think at the end of the day, we have to be able to play well no matter how our first quarter goes, no matter how many first downs we get in the first quarter. We have to be able to bounce back. That's what big teams do, and we believe we're a good team, and we have to do that. For you personally, how much higher a level do you think you can reach? Yeah, I think that I'm getting better every week still.

Obviously, last week was a tough one in terms of that, but I feel like if you take that one out, you know, I'm still improving every week and I feel more and more comfortable out there. And I think that we're just waiting on a game to be able to really, you know, get in sync as an offense, get into a rhythm, and hopefully that comes this week on Friday. Tell us about the challenge of your last, I suppose, couple of years. You go down to the NFL. You don't play many meaningful snaps

during that time, and then you come back to the CFL. You're back to a lead the expectations are high you're kind of thrown into the fire right away what were some difficult parts about all that and do you feel that that is fully behind you yet or are you still trying to come back if for lack of a better way of putting it yeah I mean at this point I feel like I'm in a pretty good rhythm good routine you know it's obviously you know better to be able to go back into a routine that you once had you know a couple years ago same staff um same facilities you know

a lot of the same things in terms of practice plan the offense is the same but i think there is there's definitely challenges no matter you know if you know the offense or not to be able to go back and be able to play i think that um not playing for a year and a half was definitely something i had to transition back into it and um just getting you know live reps and and you know um i think that i think that and then transitioning back to the cfo game as well i think that there are some differences between the nfl game and the cfo CFL game that you definitely have to adjust to. Obviously, I think playing on a short week, and the first week in Winnipeg when I really was there for five days

before I had to go in and start, I think it was a present challenge for a lot of people. I think it was definitely harder than I thought. I'm very glad with this decision. Nathan, we're going to have to call you back here. We seem to have lost a fairly decent connection here. We're speaking to Nathan Roark, BC Lions starting quarterback here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650

to see if we can try and get him on a more solidified line. Maybe a landline. That'd be nice. Yeah, so it is confirmed that Nathan Rourke is going to start on Friday against the Hamilton Tiger Cats. We've got a variety of things that we want to ask him, including stuff about his brother. But, you know, in the line of conversation you were having, not only did he come back to the team having not played a lot of meaningful snaps, as you pointed out, only five days before his first start.

He also came back to a team that had a quarterback. It wasn't like they had a vacancy at the position. Vernon Adams Jr. was there and really only lost that starting job because of injury. And then Nathan came into the fold. So there were a lot of different dynamics at play there. And it's going to be an ongoing thing now for the head coach, Rick Campbell. We got Nathan Rourke back.

So, Nathan, you were talking about getting, you know, return to live action. What is it about missing that live action? What do you have to almost remember about playing these games to get comfortable playing these games again? Yeah, I think just the difference between taking the mental reps and the physical reps,

there is a difference there, right? You have to be able to actually go through it. I think from the mental standpoint of being able to prepare for each week is a big deal and getting into a game and getting into a rhythm, I think those are all things that you have to adjust to. And I think I'm at that point now where, you know,

all that nuance is gone. And I feel like, you know, thanks to the organization and for continuing to believe in me and all that kind of stuff, I'm hoping to be able to put it together this week. And as an offense, I don't think that there's, you know, obviously our expectations are still high because we know what we're capable of but um i think that it's important for us to stick it one game at a time one play at a time and it'll be all right was there any

awkwardness when you returned um given that vernon adams was on the team i know he was hurt at the time but um he was on the team and i imagine you had a conversation with Vernon about this. I mean, you know, Vernon's been a pro. You know, he's been great about it the entire time. You know, I think the war with Vernon is because of the way he's handled things. We were in a similar situation, you know, back in 22 after I was coming back from injury. He had played in my absence. Coming back and trying to take over that position is always difficult, but I think he's handled it extremely well. I think the biggest thing for both of us is that we just put what's best for the team

and we want to have success no matter who's playing. That was my mindset last week when Vernon went in in the second half. And, you know, whatever Coach Campbell wanted to decide this week coming out of Dubai, you know, we were going to support each other no matter what. So I think that that really helps everything. It makes it, you know, better for the team, less drama for the team. And I think that that is that is really important just a testament of his character and his leadership so just getting

back to the bye week and having some time were you able to decompress because it felt like a real whirlwind for not only you but the team as well you had to go to victoria for a game then you're off to mont, and then there's also the return of Matthew Betts. There was a lot of stuff happening, and kind of overarching all of it is the fact that BC is hosting the Grey Cup, so maybe there's a little bit more pressure to get to that game this season. Did you feel the need to decompress a little bit, or did you just want to keep working through it all? Yeah, you know, personally, I didn't really feel like I needed the bye week.

I hadn't been here as long as the rest of the guys, but I know that the rest of the team feels, you know, that the bye came at a good time. And, yeah, we've certainly been in some interesting situations this year with the touchdown at Pacific and the short weeks and all that kind of stuff. But I think we've handled it, for the most part, really well. It's just disappointing that when things are a little bit easier, we have a full week and we play at home at BC Place,

that we haven't been showing up there in Toronto, Winnipeg, some of their games earlier this season. So that's what we really have to focus on. We have to get better. We have to play better there. And obviously, you know, the CFL, I'm sorry, the Grey Cup being in D.C. is something in the back of our mind.

But the reality is that, you know, we're trying to be in that game and win that game every single year, no matter where it's being played. So the fact that there's extra pressure, that shouldn't be, that shouldn't exist. We're focused on one week at a time, one game at a time, no matter where we're at and where that game is being played. We're speaking to BC Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke here on the Halford & Ruff Show on Sportsnet 650. The Lions are back in action this Friday at home against Hamilton.

Nathan, are you still keeping an eye on what's going on down in the National Football League, specifically what's going on in Jacksonville right now? Yeah, I mean, I still have some people that I've got to know and stay in touch with. And my wife has also got to know some of the partners down there. And so we've been definitely keeping track on some of the teams and some of the stops we've been at.

And I certainly saw the score from last night in Buffalo. Do you feel like you got a fair shot down there? You know, I think that in the grand scheme of things that um i think there's a lot of things that just didn't go my way um you know i think that the nfl is all about opportunity um you know people who are paid to evaluate people and um and and uh you know bring them in and and uh you know do the front office type of things um you know, bring them in and, and, uh, you know, do the front office type of things. Um, you know, they, they really want the, they, they really make or make a break to someone's career based off of the opportunities that they give them. And sometimes you're, um, you're wanted, sometimes you're not, sometimes you're there,

you're just a guy. And a lot of times in the stops that I was at, uh, you know, I was just really a guy. And, um, I think that that's the great thing about being here in BC is that I feel like there's an opportunity for me and there's people here that believe in me and know who I am as a person and what kind of work ethic I have, stuff off the field, and are able to believe in that. And sometimes you're not able to prove that type of thing when you're there for, you know, a week or more

or close to that amount of time. And so sometimes I think, you know, close to that amount of time. And so, um, sometimes I think, uh, you know, and then obviously learning different offices and having to pick up things really quickly. Those are all things that are, are, are barriers and stumbling blocks. And so, um, to be able to, uh, be in a consistent environment, I think is really important. And, um, I think that a lot of guys careers are, you know, for one reason or another, they just don't get those opportunities that you like.

So I definitely feel like in some ways I'm like one of them. Okay. I traded Trevor Lawrence in fantasy over the weekend. So I won't ask you for a detailed analysis of that one. We can move along to another quarterback that I want to ask you about, your brother. So we've been following his exploits at Indiana over the last few weeks, and there's a lot to follow because he's putting up unreal numbers right now.

I guess first, how closely are you monitoring Curtis' work at the University of Indiana right now? Yeah, I've been watching every game and been really following it intently. He's been tearing it up. I've been so excited to watch him this year, just knowing that he's getting an opportunity to play at a bigger stage. I think that with the new coaching staff and um a lot of the other transfers that they have in there there's a lot of buzz around the football program obviously indiana being a basketball school uh traditionally

and so for them to do what they're doing on offense for some points obviously you know they only got one conference game out of the four um they really begin their conference so their big 10 conference slate this week with Maryland. Things are going to get a little bit tougher now here, but the fact that they've been able to handle business in the first couple of games, big win over UCLA. He's playing well. He's playing confident coming off of his ACL injury.

It's just been great to see his progress and the way that he's adapted to the offense and the new coaching staff. And I think his best football is really yet to come. So I'm really excited to continue to watch him this year. What are some of the similarities you guys have as quarterbacks and what are some of the differences? I think at the end of the day, I think we're trying to get the ball out of our hands quick

and get it to our playmakers. Obviously, quick decision-making is going to make it easier for, you know, in terms of just executing the play, but also for offensive line. And I think what he's done this year has been even really good at getting the ball out of his hands quick and going through his reads and being decisive. Then obviously, you know, making some plays when things break down a little bit, I mean, you know, making some scramble. I think he's an underrated athlete just because of his size

and sometimes his strides look a little bit longer than they do quick. But he's still fast and he can still move and make some plays with his legs. He had a rushing touchdown this past week against Charlotte. I think that definitely a little bit of some things that we do well that are similar. And obviously, yeah, he's been doing great and really fun to watch. Are you excited? And is he excited? Have you talked about the prospect? I mean, this is going to happen, assuming he stays healthy, that he's going to play against Michigan at home and then he's going to go into Ohio State and play the Buckeyes.

That's going to be pretty cool. Yeah, yeah, we're really excited for him. I mean, just to be able to play those two schools has been great. Like this Big Ten schedule is a really good opportunity for him to play against some really good competition. I mean, the whole reason for him transferring in the first place was to get out of the MAAC and play some incredible competition, and that's not a knock on the MAAC at all.

That's just the way that people think about the MAAC. That was always something I felt like had a knock on me was my size and the competition that I played against coming out of college. For him, he's a bigger dude. He's bigger than I am. More of that prototypical build for the pros, and he's playing in the Big Ten, so there's no knock on the competition. I think he's going to get a real shot to be able to play at the next level,

especially if he continues to play well at this point. So we're excited about that, and we're just excited to continue to watch him grow and develop. Nathan, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do this. We really appreciate it. Best of luck on Friday against Hamilton. And hopefully we can do this again later on down the road.

Yeah, sure. Appreciate it, guys. Thanks. Thanks, Nathan. That's Nathan Roark, starting quarterback for the BC Lions and brother of Curtis Roark, a star at Indiana University. I think pretty honest about what's going on with the BC Lions. He said that he didn't necessarily need a bye week,

but the team probably did. Yeah, I think the more interesting... He probably wanted to get right back at it after getting yanked in the first half. But I think the team has just been through a lot in the last, what, month and a half. You had the five-game losing streak, and then you had the trip to Victoria,

and they won there. And then they got to go to Montreal against the best team in the CFL, and they win there and everyone's like oh we're back baby yeah and then they come home to Toronto play at BC Place again and lay an absolute egg which I don't want to call it predictable but maybe understandable like could you see that psychologically they're like okay we're back we're back and maybe they come back against the Argos and I don't want to say take the game

for granted but Toronto was also coming off a loss and Toronto's a good team and Toronto was ready to roll and the Lions weren't maybe they just needed some time away to compress a little bit get away from the, get away from all of the stuff that has been happening, and really get focused for the final stretch. I think this is what the Lions are. I think they're a high-peak, low-valley team. I think trying to suggest that they're back or they're not back or they're cooked or they're on fire, it's a fool's errand.

Yeah. Okay. They're a 7-7 football team, and I think they've earned all seven wins and all seven losses. I think that they're a dangerous team in the playoffs because you know what their ceiling looks like, but we also saw what their floor looked like

against Toronto, and it was a pretty low floor. I got to find some chemistry. I personally believe that it's Nathan Rourke or if they're going to win the Grey Cup, it's going to be's Nathan Rourke or if they're going to win the great cup, it's going to be with Nathan Rourke. Let me put it that way.

Nathan Rourke's the guy. Well, there's a lot of people that are like Vernon Adams is just as good as Nathan Rourke at this point. Those people are wrong. Right. So that's the, I mean,

I, there's no question in my mind. Nathan Rourke is, but he hasn't quite risen to that level yet. No, because he spent two years toiling in the National Football League. By the way, that was the most interesting thing of the entire interview, by the way. When you asked him, did you get a fair shot?

And he very diplomatically said, no. He called himself a jag. And a jag is just a guy. That's what it is. And later in the call, he kind of clarified exactly what just a guy. Yeah, yeah. That's what it is. And later in the call, he kind of clarified exactly what just a guy is, and that's a... How tall is he?

Six foot one? Six foot two? So not an overwhelmingly towering quarterback. Like, his brother's much taller. Curtis Rourke is listed at 6'5". No, no, no. Nathan.

No, I know. He just said his brother. No, no, I'm talking about Nathan Rourke right now. No, I don't... Nathan Rourke is... I know. Nathan just said his brother. No, no, I'm talking about Nathan Rourke right now. No, I don't think that. Nathan Rourke is an average-sized MAAC quarterback from the CFL. That's what just a guy means. You know?

Like, everyone's like, well, Skylar Thompson. I mean, Skylar Thompson. Skylar Thompson was a Big 12 Kansas State quarterback that got drafted. That's it. Sometimes you can, and the National Football League is very cutthroat for this, sometimes it's very hard to break the mold and break the perception of what people think you are. Not what you are, but what people think you are. And Nathan Rourke said it.

He was just a guy down there. He was a guy that got picked up and then dropped and then picked up and then dropped. And it's unfortunate. There's not many games either. No. Do you think that's a factor? There's 82 games in a hockey season.

It's easier to just be like, yeah, give him a shot. So it's funny. In football, there's not many games. So you have to use those games if you're identifying talent. Right. It's funny because they were talking about Jaden Daniels on the broadcast last night. And they're like, Jaden Daniels has played a ton of football because he was at Arizona State and started and then entered the transfer portal and finished at LSU. And he played like, there's something about playing that many games, having that much tape, being that visible against good quality opponents

that puts you in a different stratosphere. Compared to, say, Trey Lance? Yeah. Really? Trey Lance was a film quarterback. He existed in some people's minds, but the perception. I picture it as camcorder footage too. Seriously.

He was playing at a no-name school during covid it's one but that's perception is the perception that lance was this unbelievable athlete that was going to be the next great mobile quarterback in the nfl 6-4-225 great athlete it carried him to the heights that he got to. I think the inverse might have been true of Rourke. You can't tell me that he shouldn't have got a shot when you see some of the guys that are getting shots right now. I think when he went to the Patriots, they just had no intention of...

He wasn't in their plans. Right. So why... And that's a ridiculous approach. No, no, no. Because you had Bailey Zappi playing. But maybe they had someone in the organization that was like, I'm a big Zappi guy.

Maybe. And if that's the case, that's more of an indictment on how things work in the NFL than Nathan Rourke. Yeah. Right? What would have been the worst thing that would have happened if he would have got out there? Would he have been any more of a flash in the pan than Tommy DeVito?

I wish he would have. I wish he would have i wish he would have got a chance yeah like i'm don't get me wrong he might not have been he might not have been might not have been good enough by it might have been terrible but nobody knows because down there he was as he said just a guy okay uh we gotta go to break when we come back the canucks talk continues it is our first hit with Batch in a long time where we're going to look ahead to a game that he's calling tonight. 7 o'clock right here on

Sportsnet 650. It's the Canucks. It's the Kraken. It's the preseason. It's Brendan Batchelor. He's going to join us next. And then at 8.30, we're going to do What We Learns. Also included in this week's What We Learns. Every day this week, we're giving away a four-pack of Monster Jam tickets. Saturday, Pacific Coliseum.

All your favorites are there. Gravedigger. That one car that's brought to you by Great Clips. I can't remember the name of it. And it's a truck, not a car. Aside from that, I got all the details right. Best what we learned. Four-pack of tickets.

It's a Toyota Corolla. It's a high big tires it'll get you for me to be yeah it's a civic hatchback like the one i had back in the 90s um okay it's since been stolen that car got stolen 20 times no it never you could break into it it was the original car to go it was you could yeah it was was a car to go with. You didn't have to pay for it. It was free and you could just take it wherever you wanted. Nothing worked. It got broken into on a weekly

basis. It was a great car, but it was also the worst car. Anyway, four pack of Monster Jam tickets were given away to the best of what we learned. Get them in. Dunbar Lumber Tax Line is 650-650. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650.